Edisi 27 March 2017 | Internasional Bali Post

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I N T E R N A T I O N A L

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Monday, March 27, 2017

Harrison Ford called himself a ‘schmuck’ after plane incident LOS ANGELES - Harrison Ford is heard calling himself a “schmuck” in an audio recording released on Friday of his exchange with an air traffic controller following a February incident in which the actor landed his private plane on a taxiway instead of a runway.

“Yeah, hi, its Husky Eight-Niner Hotel Uniform,” Ford is heard saying on the recording, using the phonetic pronunciation of his aviation call sign. “I’m the schmuck that landed on the taxiway.”

The star of “Star Wars” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” then goes on to explain that he landed in the wrong place because he was distracted by two jets.

On the audio tape, released by the Federal Aviation Administration, the air traffic controller asks for Ford’s name and pilot’s license, assuring the film star that the mishap is “no big deal.”

“Well it’s a big deal for me, hold on,” Ford responds, adding that he is looking in a backpack, apparently for his pilot’s license.

At that point the audio cuts off.

In the Feb. 13 incident Ford flew his single-engine Aviat Husky over an American Airlines Boeing 737 jet in Santa Ana, California, before landing on the taxiway that runs parallel to the runway. Taxiways are paths along which aircraft can taxi when moving to or from a runway, where planes take off and land.

In 2015 Ford crashed a vintage plane onto a Los Angeles-area golf course, suffering serious injuries. (rtr)

Melasti, Purifying Earth Before Nyepi

REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Cast member Becky G. poses at the premiere of “Power Rangers” in Los Angeles, California U.S., March 22, 2017.

Rebooted Power Rangers return to big screen

Earlier in the day, Power RangLOS ANGELES - The latest reboot of the 1990s “Power Rangers” children’s television series held its world premiere ers creator and producer Haim Saban received a star on the Holin Los Angeles on Wednesday night.

REUTERS/Lucy Nicholso/File PHoto

Actor Harrison Ford’s damaged airplane is taken away after its crash landing at Penmar Golf Course in Venice, Los Angeles California March 6, 2015.

e-mail: info_ibp@balipost.co.id online: http://www.internationalbalipost.com. http://epaper.internationalbalipost.com.

Monday, March 27, 2017

Directed by Dean Israelite, the film tells the backstories of the five teenage characters - a misfit, a loner, a school bully, an intellectual and a drop-out - and their transformation into action heroes.

“It’s like an instruction manual of how to become a Power Ranger because you go through the kids’ journey...these inadequate insecure little kids, and how they become

superheroes,” said actor Ludi Lin, who plays the Black Ranger.

As in the television series, the Rangers’ mission is to stop arch villain Rita Repulsa, played in the rebooted film version by American actor Elizabeth Banks.

“It’s hard work. I will say that but it was really fun to yell at everyone,” Banks said. “It’s fun to feel like I was invincible.”

lywood Walk of Fame for his achievements in television.

The TV series that debuted as “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” in 1993 is now in its 24th season, making it one of the longest running children’s action series in television history.

It also spawned three theatrical films, with the latest, “Saban’s Power Rangers”, set to open in U.S. theaters on Friday. (rtr)

REUTERS/Agung Parameswara

A procession of Balinese Hindus walk along a beach during Melasti, a purification ceremony ahead of the holy day of Nyepi, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia March 25, 2017.

Denpasar - The Tawur Kesanga Ritual which is held in connection with Nyepi was started with Melasti Ceremony. The ceremony is held by all villages in Bali as the symbol of purification and it is done in the water source such as rover and sea.

You can find International Bali Post at: 1 Kuta Beach Club Jl. Bakung Sari Kuta 2 Wen Dys Kuta the Coffe Bear Jl. Pantai Kuta 3 Seminyak Paradiso Bali Hotel Jl. Camplung Tanduk 4 Ramayana Resort&Spa Jl. Bakung Sari Kuta 5 The Lokha Legian Resort&Spa Jl. Padma Legian Kuta 6 66 Corner Live Sport Emtertaiment Jl. Doble Six/Werkudara 23 7 Leghawa Grill Jl. D.Tamblingan No. 51 8 Retno Barr dan Restoran Jl. D.Tamblingan No.126 A Sanur 9 Elkomedor Jl. D.Tamblingan 140

10 Malaika Scret 11 Snack Shack 12 Warung Lokal 13 Cokro Cafee 14 T.J.Bar 15 J & N Kebab 16 Goanna Bar 17 Batu Jimbar 18 Ramayana Cafee

Jl. D.Poso No 68 Jl. D.Poso No. 50D Jl. D.Poso No. 39 Jl. D.Poso Sanur Jl. D.Poso Sanur Jl. D.Poso Sanur Jl. D.Poso Sanur Jl. D.Tamblingan Sanur Jl. D.Tamblingan

19 Smirnof Cafee Jl. D.Tamblingan Sanur 20 Legwa Hotel Jl. D.Tamblingan Sanur 21 Nu Laser Cafee Jl. D.Tamblingan Sanur 22 Ganesa Book Jl. D.Tamblingan Sanur 23 All For Daiving Jl. D.Tamblingan Sanur 24 Barocca Jl.Petitenget 17 DKerobokan 25 Lantern Jl.Petitenget 17E Kerobokan 26 Shearlock Jl.Petitenget 17C Kerobokan Klod 27 Cafe Degan Jl.Petitenget 9 Kerobokan Klod

28 Kopi Made Jl. Raya Puputan No. 106 Dps 29 Dimsum Manan Jl. Raya Niti Mandala Renon No 148 30 Furama Jl. Raya Niti Mandala No. 148 Renon 31 Warung Subah Renon Jl. Mohamad Yamin No.18 32 Ayam Betutu khas Gilimanuk Jl. Merdeka No.88 Renon 33 Bali Bakery Jl. Hayam Wuruk 184 Denpasar

REUTERS/Agung Parameswara

A Balinese Hindu throws a duck into the ocean as an offering during Melasti, a purification ceremony ahead of the holy day of Nyepi, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia March 25, 2017.

In Denpasar, Melasti is held in beaches throughout the city. Many Hindus came to Padanggalak Beach bringing the Pretima which is the symbol of God. On other beaches such as Matahari terbit and Bali Beach is also packed with the Hindus.

The Balinese traditional instrument (Gamelan) is sound during the parade procession with some of priest lead among the people.

After arriving at the beach, all god symbols are purified based on local rituals process. afterward, it carried back to the temple and keep it sacred. Each of Balinese Hindu people will go to the temple for worshiping to get the prosperity and peaceful for the entire world.

Every “banjar” that has done with the “encircling beach” ritual continued their cavalcade toward their own temple to put their “pratima” back. As like as their arrival so does their homing, they went back to their temple by feet. Cavalcade

of Balinese Hindus people within white nuance clothing carrying the sacred worship symbols—pratima—once again enliven along the road of Sanur-Denpasar. Colourful of magnificence, majesty, and splendour of Bali wrapped by such a white nuance of purity move and march as if fence in the coast of Padanggalak Beach.

This ceremony is very important value to remind /realize how important this life and we need a day to purify ourselves and the universe. With this ceremony, all the components that live in this world have a clean soul so the world can survive from the threat of a bad thing.(kmb) News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http://globalfmbali.listen2myradio. com or live video streaming at http:// radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.

REUTERS/Agung Parameswara

Balinese Hindu men carry Jempana, or symbols of God, along a beach during Melasti, a purification ceremony ahead of the holy day of Nyepi, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia March 25, 2017.

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Monday, March 27, 2017

Bali News

International

Bali prone to earthquake DENPASAR —

AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati

Balinese women pray during the ritual of Melasti in Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, March 25, 2017.

The ritual, which is performed ahead of the Balinese Hindu’s Day of Silence, is held to purify the universe from bad influences, bad deeds and bad thoughts.

Bali named best destination by TripAdvisor

DENPASAR —

TripAdvisor named Bali as the best destination that even surpassed London (UK) and Paris (France). Both destinations respectively occupied the second and third position after Bali.

Meanwhile, the fourth to tenth position is respectively occupied by Roma (Italy), New York (USA), Crete (Greece), Barcelona (Spain), Siem Riep (Cambodia), Prague (Czech Republic) and Phuket (Thailand).

Head of the Bali Tourism Office, A.A. Gede Yuniartha Putra, when asked for his confirmation on Thursday (Mar. 23) justified the awarding of Bali as The Best Destination in the World by TripAdvisor. The information was obtained on Wednesday (Mar. 22) from the ministry of tourism.

“TripAdvisor is a big enough institution. So, it has a team to assess. I do not know whether this happened due to the viral of King Salman’s visit. Probably, it could also boost because the defeated are big countries,” he said last Thursday.

Aside from King Salman, added Yuniartha, the branding of Wonderful Indonesia echoed by the ministry of tourism overseas is also likely to influence the assessment. It happened because the promotion conducted by the ministry of tourism put Bali at the forefront followed by the other regions.

“Of course this can be very powerful because the branding of Wonderful Indonesia is already known throughout the world. Well ...it comes with the addition of taksu (divine vibration) of Bali that has made it ranked first,” he explained.

Yuniartha believed that the power of Balinese taksu plays the most important role. This award is not the first time for Bali especially in 2017 alone. Last February, Bali was named as the best island for 12 years in succession

by DestinAsian Readers Choice Award (RCA) in 2017 based in Singapore.

“It means that people are still glancing at our cultural tourism.

Branding has its value where the higher the branding attached to products, they will be more expensive. Just like branded products, no matter how much the price set, if people like they will certainly purchase,” he added.

Yuniartha asked people not to remain silent, but must help the government in improving the destinations in their respective regions. The government will provide guidance for tourist destinations. Overall, this year Bali province allocates the budget of approximately IDR 15 billion for tourism development, including promotion and branding.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Tourism Industry Association of Indonesia (GIPI) of Bali, Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana, said that Bali over the years has often got a top position in the category of World’s Best Island or Asia’s Best Destination. However this time, the award of TripAdvisor seems very special because Bali wins in the major category, namely World’s Best Destination.

“Actually, this award belongs to the whole people of Bali for the awarding of Bali as the world’s best destination,” he said. (kmb32)

Earthquakes are sudden violent shaking of the ground due to the release of energy in the earth marked by the breaking of rock layers in the earth’s crust. Accumulation of energy causing the earthquake is resulted from the movement of tectonic plates. The resulting energy is emitted to all directions in the form of earthquake waves so that the effects can be perceived up to the surface of the earth.

“Tectonic plates are hard segments of the earth’s crust floating above the molten and heat asthenosphere. Therefore, these tectonic plates are free to move and interacts each other. The border area of tectonic plates are places having an active tectonic conditions causing earthquakes, volcanoes and the formation of plateau,” explained the Division Head of Data and Information of the national weather service (BMKG) for Region III Denpasar, I Nyoman Gede Wiryajaya, on Wednesday (Mar. 22).

Furthermore, it is described there are three possible movements of tectonic plates being relative to the other plates, namely when the two plates mutually go away (spreading), mutually approach (collision) and mutually shifts (transformation).

If two plates meet at a fault, they can move away from each other, approach each other or shift each other. Generally, this movement takes place slowly and cannot be perceived by humans, but measured at 0-15 cm per year. “Sometimes, movement of these plates is stagnant and interlocked, causing the continuous collection of energy until the rocks in the tectonic plates are no longer able to resist the movement so that it triggers sudden release known as earthquake,” he added.

In general, Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because the path is traversed by the intersection of tectonic plates, namely the Indo-Australian plate, the Eurasian plate and the Pacific plate. Indo-Australia plate moves relatively northward and infiltrates into the Eurasian plate, while the Pacific plate moves relatively westward. Strip of the plate confluence is at sea, so that in the event of a large earthquake with a shallow depth, it will potentially cause a tsunami. As a result, Indonesia is prone to tsunamis.

Meanwhile, tectonic condition of the Island of Bali and its surroundings poses a part of the seismo-tectonic of Indonesia. This area is passed through by Mediterranean mountain paths and their subduction zone as a result of a confluence between the Eurasian Plate and Indo-Australian Plate. Limit of the confluence is in the form of canyons of the ocean (Oceanic Trench) in the southern of Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara Islands.

Movement of the Indo-Australian plate towards the Eurasian Plate was first estimated through a research of Global Positioning System (GPS) in 1989 was obtained that relative movement of Christmas Island is located in Indo-Australia plate against West Java in the Eurasian plate by 67 ± 7 mm / year with a direction of N11 ° E ± 4 ° (Tregoning et al, 1994), and this approximates to the results calculated theoretically by using NUVEL-1 model that is equal to 71 mm / year with the direction of more northward of N20 ° E ± 3 ° (DeMets et al, 1990).

“So, with this condition, it will cause Bali Island to be one of the regions that have a high enough level of seismicity associated with plate subduction under Sunda exposure and activity at the edge of the Australian continent and activities as well as the continuation of the line of Sunda exposure eastwardly encountering the Banda Arc,” he said.

Movement of the plates also resulted in arising fault zone of rear arc that extends from the North of Bali Island to Nusa Tenggara. Thus, this led to an active seismic region in the north of Bali Island. “Bali Island’s seismic activity is also influenced by the presence of local faults. For example, the Culik fault seen from historical seismicity poses an active fault on the Island of Bali,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, the impact of the movement of these plates is the presence of tectonic types denoting the characteristic of subduction system, namely the trenches, Benioff zone, outer arc basin, foreland basin, and mountain trails. Under the Island of Bali sits an earthquake zone in the form of a slab with a depth of 100 km and slope of up to 65 ° with a range up to a depth of 650 km below the northern part of the Island of Bali.

On the Benioff line is found frozen rocks with alkaline composition along with the result of volcanic activities. The presence of peak (arising continental slope) of Java-Bali trench is formed by sediment imbrications and mélange with uprising fault as the main structural characteristics of the outer arc ridge. Outer arc basin extends between the outer arch ridge and volcanic arcs. (win)

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Activities

International

Monday, March 27, 2017

Waterbom Bali Golden Ticket, Win Waterbom Bali’s Ultimate VIP Experience “To maintain the high standards waterbom Bali located in south Kuta, set for facilities, Waterbom Bali is undertaking a complete renovation of

the park and an extensive maintenance program from starting from March 13th until March 28th, 2017”. Sayan Gullino GM Waterbom Park Bali.

WEEKLY EVENTS and FARMERS MARKETS EVERY SATURDAY Meditation class by Mangku Budi Dharma 14-16:30 Bona, Blahbatuh meet at Ubud Cocomarket at 13:00 Saturday Market Oldman’s Cafe Canggu, Batu Bolong Beach, pottery fresh produce, clothing Sand Beach Club and Restaurant, Sanur Every second Saturday Biasa Art Space, Jl. Raya Seminyak 24, Seminyak, Fresh produce, potted plants, meat pie, sshie, coffee and more.

Every Saturday 9AM-2PM OrganIc Farmer’s Market Pizza Bagus (Jl. Pengosekan), Ubud EVERY SUNDAY Soul to soul spirituall dialogue Anand Ashram, Ubud Jl Sri Wedari KM 3 Mantra chanting 6-6:30pm Navaraha Arati 6:30-6:45pm Meditation, Satsang and celebration 6:45-8:30pm www.ubudashram.org SUNDAY MARKETS 10AM 1PM Sunday Market at Batu Jimbar Jl. Danau Tablingan , Sanur 10AM-4PM The Sands Beach Club and Restaurant Sunday MArket Jl. Danau Tamblingan, No 27, Sanur 9:30AM-1PM Sunday Market @ Warung Sopa Jl. Sugriwas no36, Padang Tegal, Ubud 9AM-2PM Samadi Sunday Market Jalan. Padang Linjong 39, Canggu, 9AM-2PM Wednesday and Sunday Ubud Organik Market Jl. Raya Pengosekan across from Zens Hotel Tebesaya, Ubud 12PM-10PM Sunday Food Festival & Bazaar Byrdhouse Beach Club, Sanur 10AM-6PM, Mercure,last sunday of every month, jl. ,Mertasari, Sanur, fashion food and and kids activities The Coffee Spot, Jalan Peigenet 888X,Seminyak, last Sunday of every month, garage sale clothing, books, and hand-made jewellery

“So The park will be closed during this time(13th until March 28th, 2017) and will re-open to the public on March 29, 2017 at 11am. Want to be the first to check out our fresh new look? Here is your chance”. Sayan

Added.

On March 29, 2017.We are offering The Waterbom Bali Golden Ticket, one lucky guest and up to 5 friends the chance to be the first to experience the newly re-opened park

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as our VIP guests including, exclusive access to the park including all slides and facilities for just you and your friends on the morning of re-opening and Full VIP treatment for the rest of the day.(kmb)

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Monday, March 27, 2017

Traveling

International

Bali News

International

3

Monday, March 27, 2017

Ahead of Nyepi, Melaya police meddle in alcohol merchants

NEGARA - Ahead of Nyepi, the ranks of Melaya police began to aggressively raid alcoholic beverages within the past few days. In addition to combing a number of places indicated to be producer of alcoholic beverages like Balinese arrack, the officers also combed a number of dimly lit stalls at Melaya village, Melaya, suspected of selling alcohol.

Disneyland Paris 25th Anniversary celebration PARIS - Mickey Mouse’s house across the Atlantic is fast approaching its silver birthday, and guests at the resort originally known as EuroDisney will soon enjoy the new Disney Stars on Parade and Hyperspace Mountain attractions as part of the Disneyland Paris 25th Anniversary celebration.

Starting March 26, 2017, Disneyland Paris presents Disney Stars on Parade, a brand new parade at Disneyland Park featuring a plethora of Disney Characters to celebrate the 25th Anniversary in style. Mickey and Friends journey through Disney and Pixar masterpieces to the land of imagination. The new daytime parade will feature new floats, new music, new costumes and never-before-seen choreography. “In Disney Stars on Parade, we follow Mickey and Friends on a journey of discovery to the land of imagination” explains Emmanuel Lenormand, the Show Director. “We started with the words that are most frequently used by our guests when they talk about Disneyland Paris. This helped us to create a story with eight chapters, and as many emotions. We then associated these emotions with major Disney and Pixar animated films

that have proved a huge hit with the public”.

The Disney characters and floats featured in the parade are as follows: Discover the Magic: Disney Stars on Parade opens with Tinker Bell, who escapes from the pages of an enormous storybook. This is followed by an amazing float featuring Mickey and Friends dressed as explorers of the future… “A future in which technology retains a magical aspect” according to Olivier Dusautoir, the Set Designer.

Discover Friendship: The second highlight pays a dazzling tribute to children’s games. Buzz Lightyear’s rocket pulls an oversized truck in which Andy has placed all his toys in carefree disarray. The heroes of Toy Story celebrate true friendship and take us to infinity and beyond!

Discover Adventure: Who better than Simba and Nala or Baloo and Mowgli to embody the spirit of adventure? A high rock overlooks the exuberant jungle flora, while the percussion and shimmering colours release the wild instincts of an exotic world where, fortunately, it takes very little to be happy.

Discover Imagination: From one rock to another, this one is in the shape of a skull and serves as the throne of Captain Hook. Peter Pan is close by, at the helm of a ship suspended beneath an immense, dreamlike moon. “After all, Disneyland Paris is – quite literally – the Land of Imagination!”, Emmanuel Lenormand reminds us.

Discover A New World: A large turtle swims above a majestic float, covered with coral. The heroes of Finding Nemo and Finding Dory remind us of their philosophy: “Just

keep swimming!” and leave guests starry-eyed. Sea stars, of course.

Discover Enchantment: Water is followed by fire, in hot pursuit.

Like Sleeping Beauty, the story of Disney Stars on Parade would not be complete without an epic battle starring Prince Phillip and the three fairies against an evil dragon, described by Olivier Dusautoir as “mechanical, made entirely of copper with visible mechanisms, as if it has been taken straight out of Jules Verne’s imagination”. Faced with a fire-breathing monster, will good win out? (Based on the photo supplied by Disneyland Paris, this segment appears to be a duplicate of the dragon centerpiece from Walt Disney World’s Festival of Fantasy parade.

Discover Romance: Fortunately in fairy tales, good… and love always triumph in the end. Contrasting beautifully with the impressive floats that precede them, Rapunzel, Cinderella and Snow White with their respective Prince Charmings make their entrance on three graceful carriages. A romantic moment

which will melt the hearts of little girls… of all ages.

Discover Wonder: The great Disney storybook will close with a flourish with the two heroines of Frozen, on the balcony of an ice castle, accompanied by a few friends who are particularly popular with guests.

In addition to Disney Stars on Parade, the Disneyland Paris 25th anniversary celebration will feature the arrival of two new Star Wars attractions. After the upgraded Star Tours: The Adventures Continue launches in March, the Discoveryland at Disneyland Paris will welcome Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain.

In Spring 2017, Star Wars will take over a legendary space attraction that offers a unique experience.

Space Mountain will transform into Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain.

On this new adventure, guests will be able to join, in a brand new ambiance, the famous Rebel Alliance and enjoy an epic and sensational ride with total immersion in the Star Wars universe. (IBP/net)

Chief of Melaya Police, I Ketut Darmita, said on Saturday (Mar. 25) that his authority indeed intensively raided alcohol in the past few days. According to him, the intensive raid of alcohol is indeed a precaution before holding of the catur bratha penyepian on the upcoming Nyepi celebration.

From the raid, his ranks could seize 30 liters of alcohol belonging to Balinese arrack from a resident’s home, I Komang Yastra, 38, at Ketiman Kaja hamlet, Manistutu, Melaya. The Balinese arrack was secured by the officer on Thursday afternoon (Mar. 23).

In addition to alcohol raid, long before it his authority also held dissemination on the hazards of alcohol to a number of villages and figures indicated to be the areas being prone to friction. He also appealed to the people who

work outside Jembrana, especially young people, not to bring home alcohol and then make party at their home village as could potentially lead to friction.

From the result of creating condition operation ahead of Nyepi Day his ranks could reveal three cases of alcohol possession without permission from relevant authorities. On Thursday (Mar. 16), his ranks could seize alcohol at a resident’s home at Klatakan hamlet, Melaya, was then on trial on Friday (Mar. 24), and another raid on Thursday (Mar. 23) at Ketiman Kaja hamlet, Manistutu.

Then, on Saturday (Mar. 25), the raid was resumed to the location of Ketut Sumitra aka Petruk, 50, at Puseh hamlet, Tuwed, Melaya. From Petruk, the officers managed to secure 19 bottles

of ex-mineral water sizing 600 containing alcohol belonging to arrack type with a total volume of 10 liters.

Police chief said that in Melaya there is rarely circulation of alcohol, unlike in other subdistricts in Jembrana. If there is, it is surely prepared to fulfill customers’ order. Moreover, his ranks have raided a market but there is no alcohol found.

Nevertheless, he will continuously monitor the circulation of alcohol in Melaya in the future to anticipate the Nyepi celebration, chiefly the parade of ogohogoh. Do not let the parade of ogoh-ogoh be prone to friction due to the presence of alcohol.

Later, the perpetrators of alcohol ownership will be imposed with misdemeanor in accordance with the applicable rules. (kmb)

IBP/kmb

The intensive raid of alcohol is indeed a precaution before holding of the catur bratha penyepian on the upcoming Nyepi celebration.

MSS case has no impact on roasted suckling pig consumption Officials and employees district govt in queue TABANAN - Long queue of waiting for the turn to enjoy rice with roasted suckling pig was seen on the Dangin Carik tennis court, Tabanan, on Thursday (Mar. 23). The officials and staff of the government of Tabanan were not even awkward to enjoy the dish of three culinary entrepreneurs of roasted suckling pig invited by the committee. Just in a short time, three heads of roasted suckling pig were sold out.

Streptococcus suis meningitis (MSS) cases that was widely heard lately as if did not affect the people’s intention to consume the delicacy. The banquet of roasted suckling pig held by local government of Tabanan is one of the forms to eliminate people’s anxiety against the MSS bacteria.

Regional Secretary of Tabanan government, Nyoman Wirna Ariwangsa, stated if pork is slaughtered and processed properly, surely it is safe to consume. “People should not be afraid and worry about eating pork because if the pork has been properly cooked I am confident people will not be infected by the bacteria,” he affirmed.

He also admitted getting some reports on the impact of MSS causing the decrease in turnover of culinary entrepreneurs and the consumption of pork in the market. This was justified

by Deputy Chief of the Indonesian

BPM/kmb28

swine breeders association (GUPBI) of Bali, Nyoman Ariadi. He said that five days after the finding of the MSS bacteria there was indeed a significant impact on the abattoirs whose volume continued to fall and so did people’s purchasing power.

Nyoman Ariadi who is also the headman of Sudimara asked relevant agencies to proactively provide education on proper farm management and the correct meat processing.

Health agency was also expected to continuously provide information about procedures to tackle the emergence of the bacteria. Ariadi welcomed the idea of the government of Tabanan that urged people not to worry about consuming pork through the roasted suckling pig banquet.

“Moreover, Nyepi and Galungan are around the corner, so by this way we

The officials and staff of the government of Tabanan were not even awkward to enjoy the dish of three culinary entrepreneurs of roasted suckling pig invited by the committee.

hope people will no longer worry about it,” he said.

Impact of the MSS cases is also experienced by culinary entrepreneurs of roasted suckling pig. Ni Wayan Widiasih alias Mrs. Wina from Samsam village, Kerambitan, for instance, admitted that her sales declined by 75 percent. Prior to the emergence of MSS case, she was able to gain a profit of approximately IDR 2 million per day, while today it only reached IDR 500,000 to IDR 700,000. “Previously, we chose a rather large roasted suckling pig, but now somewhat smaller because the buyers slightly down,” she said.

She also welcomed the prompt action of the government of Tabanan in the effort to relieve the people’s anxiety to consume processed pork. (kmb28)

After inventorying

Buleleng district offers dozens of tourist destinations SINGARAJA - Buleleng does not only have a few of tourist destinations. After the district government through tourism agency made an inventory, in fact, it amounts to tens of locations scattered throughout the district territory.

Head of the Buleleng Tourism Office, Nyoman Sutrisna, mentioned that all this time Buleleng is only famous for its marine tourism as well as waterfalls. However, based on the results of inventory carried out this year, it reaches 86 locations in nine subdistricts. Their type is indeed very varied. Aside from nature and marine tourism, there are also spiritual, agro, artificial and cultural tourist destination. “All this time the tourist attraction in Buleleng is only known to consist of waterfalls and marine tourism. We have inventoried the number reaching dozens,” he explained on Saturday (Mar. 25).

He acknowledged the tourist destinations have not entirely owned the attractions, amenities and accessibility. These conditions caused the number of tourist visit to be not much, only dominated by local community. On that account, the district government will pay attention to their handling. A number of objects have been equipped with the attractions, amenities and accessibility. There are still under process. It becomes one of the assessment criteria for the visit,” he said.

To develop the destination, he claimed to have provided dissemination related to the management as well as development of its human resources. This will be continuously monitored and evaluated and finally will be issued a decree or regent regulation. “To determine the levies, the measure will have something to do with regional bylaw (Perda),” he said. (sos)

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Monday, March 27, 2017

Bali News

International

Monday, March 27, 2017

International

Ban of broadcasting on Nyepi must be made permanent

DENPASAR - Minister of communications and informatics has issued a Circular No.2/2017 on the Appeal Not to Broadcast (on air) during Nyepi celebration in Bali province. The circular defined in Jakarta on March 24, 2017 was signed by the Director General of Post and Informatics, Geryantika Kurnia, on behalf of minister of communications and informatics.

The inputs of the Bali House of Representatives and Indonesian broadcasting commission (KPI) of Bali related to the implementation of Nyepi on the upcoming March 28 become the consideration for the issuance of the circular. In this case, the entire broadcasting institution both radio and television is appealed not to conduct their broadcast in the province of Bali from Tuesday (Mar. 28, 2017) at 06:00 until Wednesday (Mar. 29, 2017) at 06.00.

The day before issuance of the circular, Commission I of the Bali House of Representatives did meet ministry of communications and informatics and KPI Center in Jakarta. The legislator requested the ministry of communications and informatics to issue an appeal to broadcasters in Bali in order to stop their broadcast on Nyepi Day. “The circular has been disseminated. It automatically passes through KPI and through the communication, informatics and statistics agency. So, there is no reason if the station will be suddenly on air because it is an official from the ministry issuing the circular. Hopefully, it could be obeyed, so that there will be no stations violating to broadcast in Bali, including TV cables,” said Chairman of Commission I of the Bali House of Representatives, Ketut Tama Tenaya, when asked for his confirmation on Saturday (Mar. 25).

Tama added that termination of broadcasts during Nyepi in Bali is actually expected to be permanent.

In this case, it can be regulated in Law No.32/2002 on Broadcasting which is now in the process of revision in the House of Representatives. The proposal was already submitted last year, when there was a plan to amend the Law of Broadcasting.

“Incidentally, it has now been included in the national legislation program, where KPI Center asked to provide inputs in the national legislation program. Well, we from Bali propose it to become a permanent rule. So, we do not need to submit to the KPI and minister of communications and informatics every year,” said this PDI-P politician.

According to Tama, actually

there has been article in the Law to respect local wisdom. In other words, the needs of Bali had been able to be accommodated. However, it is not clear or focused to mention the cessation of broadcast on the celebration of Nyepi in Bali.

In other words, it merely tolerates the local wisdom. However, if mentioned explicitly, the cessation of broadcasts during Nyepi in Bali will be recognized nationally.

“So, it would be better if it can be arranged in one of the articles in the amendment of the Law so that it becomes permanent. It can be written or inserted in the article of explanation that local wisdom in Bali is the cessation of broadcasting on the celebration of Nyepi,” he explained.

In the meantime, related to Nyepi packages at hotel, Tama claimed to have received an explanation from the Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI). The Nyepi packages will include taking guests to see ogoh-ogoh parade. After that, they will be transferred back to hotel and celebrate Nyepi inherent in the catur bratha penyepian or four abstinences. This means that hotel guests are forbidden to leave the hotel or go on the spree at hotel.

“We will monitor it whether there are complaints from surrounding communities. After Nyepi we can make sure whether it is correct or not. If the hotel package is carried out as explained it does not matter, lest guests are taken to have promenade right the Nyepi Day, this is what we worry about.

In the past, there was such incident, lest there is eccentric package,” he hoped.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Hindu Dharma Council of Indonesia (PHDI) of Bali, Ngurah Sudiana, urged Balinese people both in rural and urban areas not to foul celebration of Nyepi because there has been an agreement between the parliament, government and the private sector related to it. His council did not want any violations to occur in this year’s Nyepi.

“Violation of this year will be monitored by the whole world, not only by the people of Indonesia.

Hopefully, people will not go out of the house or make events like taking selfie, drinking, and so forth outside the house, except for the officers on duty,” he said.

Preferably, added Sudiana, people should be in the house and carry out the celebration well because the proper implementation of catur bratha penyepian will increase the value of tolerance. Additionally, by that way the adherence of Balinese people and democracy will also increase. (kmb32)

13

France’s Macron ahead in polls, Fillon faces angry protesters

Styrofoam remains to be used as material of ogoh-ogoh (papier mâché demon)

IBP/kmb

Late to ban styrofoam use

MANGUPURA - Styrofoam remains to be used as material of ogoh-ogoh (papier mâché demon). Some customary youth clubs (sekaa taruna) claimed to have taken advantage of such non-eco-friendly material because the appeals of the Badung culture agency not to use styrofoam were late.

As is known, styrofoam waste is difficult to decompose like other plastic waste. However, plastic waste is sought after by scavengers because it can be recycled, unlike the styrofoam. For this reason, styrofoam waste keeps piling and disturbs the environment. If discharged into rivers or drains, styrofoam can clog drains and cause flood. Not only that, this noneco-friendly material has a negative impact on human health as well.

Head of the Badung Culture Agency, I.B. Anom Bhasma, denied if the making of ogoh-ogoh by a number of customary youth clubs still use styrofoam. “We do admit that some still use styrofoam. It’s okay because we were too late (to warn them—Ed), but slowly we’d like to educate them first. In the future, it will be no longer allowed to use styrofoam,” he said.

Prohibition from using styrofoam in making ogoh-ogoh, in fact, is widely violated. The culture agency of Badung is unable to do much. The papier mâché demon to be paraded on the new moon of Balinese ninth month or ahead of Nyepi Day has reached the stage of finishing.

This prohibition is imposed related to the provision of creativity-enhancing fund for customary youth clubs in welcoming Nyepi of Caka 1939 worth IDR 15 million each with tax deduction of 15

percent, so they totally received IDR 12,750,000. “This work of art will also be displayed through the ogoh-ogoh contest,” he said.

He explained there are a number of criteria used in the assessment of the ogoh-ogoh contest, such as that it must be in the form of bhuta kala (demon), using eco-friendly and natural materials such as bamboo, wood, paper, bamboo cage, rattan, plaited bamboo and without the use of styrofoam, sponge or cork.

Then, it may not have political, pornographic and discriminative content.

“However, the making of ogohogoh by styrofoam is still tolerated for this time because we want to educate them first. Next year they will be directly disqualified,” he said.

However, in the assessments will be sought after the ogoh-ogoh that complies with the criteria or those approaching the criteria specified. “Well, the ogoh-ogoh remaining to use styrofoam will definitely be unable to win. If they want to be a champion, simply meet the criteria,” he affirmed.

On the other side, hundreds of pieces of ogoh-ogoh to be paraded at the night of Pengrupukan are out of supervision of the Badung government. Local district government through the culture agency only oversees 534 pieces of ogohogoh that have received creativity-

enhancing funds. Actually, the number of the detected ogoh-ogoh to be paraded in a series of Nyepi of Caka 1939 reaches 790 pieces.

Loose supervision by government officials of Badung against the ogoh-ogoh is potential to bring out political and discriminative content. District government quibbled it cannot monitor the entire ogoh-ogoh that will be paraded at the night of Pengrupukan. Therefore, the supervision is left entirely to village officials, except for the ogoh-ogoh to be contested.

“We leave it (supervision—Ed) to their respective village. For the 534 pieces of ogoh-ogoh to be contested, the assessment team has now come down to the field.

If found any violations against the specified provisions, they will be immediately disqualified,” said Secretary of the Badung Culture Agency, Made Rustan, accompanied by Spokesman, I Nyoman Sujendra.

According to him, the assessment team will assess according to the criteria specified. For instance, the ogoh-ogoh must be in the form of demon. It is not allowed to use styrofoam material and to contain political and discriminative elements. When violating these criteria, the assessment team will immediately disqualify.

“We have prepared attractive prizes for the winners of the ogohogoh contest. Hopefully, the creativity-enhancing fund worth IDR 15 million per customary youth club would make them more vivacious in doing art creativity,” he concluded. (kmb27)

REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Carrie Lam is accompanied by her husband and son after she won the election for Hong Kong’s Chief Executive in Hong Kong, China March 26, 2017.

Hong Kong chooses new Beijing-backed leader amid political tension

HONG KONG - A Beijing-backed civil servant, Carrie Lam, was chosen to be Hong Kong’s next leader on Sunday amid accusations that Beijing is meddling and denying the financial hub a more populist leader perhaps better able to defuse political tension.

The majority of the China-ruled city’s 7.3 million people have no say in deciding their leader, who is chosen from among several candidates by a 1,200-person “election committee” stacked with pro-Beijing and pro-establishment loyalists.

Lam, who will become Hong Kong’s first female chief executive when she takes office on July 1, won 777 votes compared with 365 for her closest rival, former financial secretary John Tsang, who polls show is more popular.There were several invalid protest ballots including one that carried an obscenity.

“Hong Kong, our home, is suffering from quite a serious divisiveness,” Lam said in a victory speech.

“My priority will be to heal the divide and to ease the frustration, and to unite our society to move

forward.”

Lam also pledged to follow through on election promises including introducing a “two-tier” profits tax, reducing tax to spur research and development, tackling the high cost of housing by increasing land supply and boosting education spending.

She also promised to defend the rule of law and freedom of expression as integral to underpinning prosperity.

“Hong Kong needs new thinking,” she said.

TENSIONS Some scuffles broke out outside the voting centre between protesters and police, who used metal barricades to keep the demonstrations well away.

The activists denounced Bei-

jing’s “interference” amid widespread reports of lobbying of voters to back Lam, rather than Tsang.

Some protesters chanted “I want universal suffrage” and unfurled yellow umbrellas, a symbol of the civil disobedience “umbrella movement”, when the result was announced.

“Lies, coercion, whitewash,” read one banner. A big yellow banner calling for full democracy was hung from the Lion Rock peak overlooking the city.

“The central government has intervened again and again,” said Carmen Tong, a 20-year-old student. “It’s very unjust.”

Hundreds of Lam’s supporters waved Chinese flags and cheered inside and outside the venue after her win. Since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, Beijing has gradually increased control over it even though it promised wideranging freedoms and autonomy not allowed on the mainland under the formula of “one country, two systems”, along with an undated promise of universal suffrage. (rtr)

CAMBO-LES-BAINS - Francois Fillon’s aides used an umbrella to shield him from eggs thrown by protesters in south-west France on Saturday as the beleaguered conservative fell further behind centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-rightist Marine Le Pen in opinion polls.

The contrast between former frontrunner Fillon, embroiled in a financial scandal, and new poll favourite Macron was striking as both candidates campaigned 29 days before the first round of France’s unpredictable presidential election.

Addressing a rally in the French island of La Reunion, in the Indian ocean, Macron departed from typical campaign speeches by inviting members of the audience -- including a six-year old who asked him “How do you get to be president?” -- on stage to ask questions on a wide range of issues.

“It’s historic, we need to decide whether we want to be afraid of the century that has just started ... or want to bring fresh ambition to France,” the 39-year-old former investment banker said to chants of “Macron President!”

Macron, a former economy minister to Socialist President Francois Hollande, set up his own centrist party last year.

He has shot to first place in opinion polls since Fillon was put under investigation over suspicions he misused public funds by paying his wife hundreds of thousands of euros as a parliamentary assistant for work she may not have done. Fillon denies any wrongdoing.

Fillon slipped 2.5 percentage points on the week to 17 percent in a BVA poll published on Saturday, which saw Macron getting 26 percent of the first-round vote, up one

percentage point from a week ago with Le Pen on 25 percent, down one point.

The number of undecided voters for the first round remains high, with 40 percent of voters still undecided.

The poll showed Macron winning a second round vote with 62 percent of the vote versus 38 percent for Le Pen, who is due to hold a rally in the northern France city of Lille on Sunday.

The poll was carried out partly before a TV interview on Thursday night in which Fillon, 63, accused Hollande of leading a smear campaign against him.

Met by some 30 protesters throwing eggs and banging pots and pans to shouts of “Fillon in prison” in the south-west France town of Camboles-Bains, Fillon told reporters: “Those protests are an insult to democracy ... the more they protest, the more French voters will support me.”

Less than two weeks after revelations that Fillon had been given expensive suits as gifts, franceinfo radio said he had received two watches worth 12,000 and 15,000 euros from a businessman and a watchmaker. It quoted one of them as saying nothing was requested in return for the gift.

Fillon’s team could not immediately be reached for comment. Meanwhile, a faction of the centrist UDI party, which is allied with Fillon’s The Republicans, was kicked out of the party on Saturday for rallying behind Macron.

The BVA poll also showed farleft candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon gaining ground in the first round, up 2 points from a week earlier to 14 percent, now 2.5 points ahead of the ruling Socialist Party’s candidate Benoit Hamon. (rtr)

REUTERS/Laurent Capmas

Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche ! (Onwards !) and 2017 presidential candidate of the French centre-right visits the Chaudron market in Saint-Denis as he campaigns on the French Indian Ocean island of the Reunion, March 26, 2017.

12

International

Monday, March 27, 2017

BUSINESS Decline of ancient trade route deepens Yemeni food crisis

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates - Captains of small wooden dhows are carrying food and wares from the United Arab Emirates to war-torn Yemen. But supplies are falling even from this centuries-old Arabian sea route that is one of the last lifelines to a country on the brink of famine.

A two-year-old civil war has severely restricted the flow of food into the main Yemeni cargo ports of Hodeidah and Salif on the Red Sea, where all the large grain silos are located.

The small wooden boats sailing from souks in the UAE are moving small but vital supplies by making for the smaller ports to the south coast that are of little use to larger vessels - and often sidestepping military inspections that choke traffic by dropping anchor at secluded coves nearby.

The deals originate in the sprawling Al Ras Market, a collection of dusty alleyways near the Dubai Creek where an array of food and spices are on display including colourful sacks of Pakistani and Indian rice.

The dhows - plying the ancient trade route that once carried the likes of pearls, frankincense and myrrh - supply 14,000 to 18,000 tonnes of foodstuffs a month to Yemen, according to traders. That represents a drop of about 30-40 percent over the past year because of problems with payment, as well as adverse sailing conditions.

“The Yemeni currency is destroyed, sometimes we can’t get paid enough. We can only go once a month because the seas are too rough,” said trader Mohammed Hassan, at a docking station at nearby Port Khaled in Sharjah “Sometimes we have to wait 40 days.”

The volumes of food carried on this route represent a small fraction of the supply to Yemen, which relies on imports for 90 percent of its food. But it has become increasingly important as fighting has raged, the economy has collapsed and Yemen has needed all the help it can get.

PORT DAMAGE Thousands of people have been killed in the civil war pits the

A ship unloads grain at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen, March 23, 2017.

Iran-allied Houthi group against a Saudi-backed coalition - which includes the UAE - fighting to restore the government of President AbdRabbu Mansour Hadi. The conflict has choked imports. Sixty percent of Yemenis, or 17 million people, are in “crisis” or “emergency” food situations, according to the United Nations.

While vessels seeking access to Houthi-held areas must face inspections for smuggled weapons, the government-controlled south has less restrictions. Food imports into Hodeidah have fallen relentlessly, with only a few ships arriving each week - compared with dozens before the war - and more shipping lines pulling out due to the growing risks, according to aid and shipping sources.

In recent weeks damage to infrastructure in the neighbouring port

of Salif has also cut food deliveries, aid officials said. “The country is living on its reserves,” said Robert Mardini, International Committee of the Red Cross regional director for the Near and Middle East in Geneva this week.

“There is a lack of liquidity, no payment of salaries, which means that the spending power has collapsed and that the price of food is soaring whenever it is available.”

‘PAY THUGS’ UAE-based dhow captains avoid these snarl-ups by steering clear of the big Red Sea ports and instead ply their trade to the south, often docking at informal inlets. The average journey takes about five to eight days, with the boats capable of taking up to 2,000 tonnes of goods, still small fry compared with cargo ships that could provide

more relief to one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the world.

Trader Ali Mahdani ships his goods out of Dubai to the southern Yemeni ports of Aden, Mukalla or Mokha, goods worth 4-6 million UAE dirhams ($1.1-1.6 million) per month, around 2,000 tonnes of mostly rice, spices or cooking oil.

To avoid payments in the battered Yemeni currency he gets paid in Saudi riyals.

There are few issues upon arrival. That’s a sharp contrast the scrutiny that any vessels hoping to access the north would be subjected to as the Saudi-led coalition search for weapons which may be headed into Houthi hands.

“You may have to pay thugs every once in a while but otherwise it is all good to go,” said Mahdani, dressed in a flowing white robe.

REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad

Trader Amin Baghersh ships powered milk, tomato paste, sugar and rice from Al Ras to Yemen, selling about one million UAE dirhams worth per month. He and others rely on hawala, an informal TRADING SYSTEM through exchange houses based on trust and personal ties.

Most of his goods make their way to Mukalla and Aden and surrounding areas. But he, like others, has taken a heavy hit from the Yemeni currency crisis and payment problems caused by the war. An Iranian trader had similar complaints.

“I used to transfer about 2,000 tonnes of food a month,” said the trader, who declined to give his name. “In the last three or four months people asked me for supplies but I am reluctant to deal with them.”(rtr)

Bali News

International

Monday, March 27, 2017

Special, Celebrating Nyepi in Bali

5

Hindu community in Bali celebrates Nyepi or the Caka New Year on Tuesday (Mar. 28). According to the belief of Balinese Hindu, Nyepi is the turn of the Caka Year whose history comes from India. It is said the Kaniska kingdom was first led by a wise king who was very advanced in culture and religion. His golden era was then honored as the turn of the Caka Year started in 78 AD and in Bali is celebrated as Nyepi.

Chairman of the Hindu Dharma Council of Indonesia (PHDI) of Bali, Prof. Dr. I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana, stated that the King Kaniska led successfully so that fierce battle among local tribes could be totally ended. It happened because the king led by culture, not by violence. Under his leadership, his people lived prosperously and peacefully. Ultimately, it is celebrated as the turn of the Caka Year.

IGN-Sudiana In Bali, Prof. Sudiana added that prior to the existence of Caka influence from India there has been similar celebration to Nyepi at each village. There was Nyepi Desa specially implemented at particular village after holding a grandiose ritual; Nyepi Segara implemented by fishermen where their members are not allowed to do activities at sea; Nyepi Tegal (in the moor) and Nyepi Carik (in paddy field). “Local Nyepi is intended to provide a space for people to make evaluation and introspection heading for better life in the future,” he said.

Nyepi in each location also provides a space for nature to do the rotation in accordance with the plot, and not to be coerced.

Since the implementation of Nyepi was carried out locally, the Hindu Dharma Council of Indonesia (PHDI) took the philosophy of

Caka New Year in India to unite the celebration across Bali starting in 1959 so that it can be celebrated simultaneously.

Nevertheless, he added that the implementation of Nyepi could not be made simultaneously like it can be done today.

There are important reasons to propose the Nyepi into a national holiday feast. Incidentally there was also a call from the government for each religion to have a national religious holiday. After that, PHDI proposed Nyepi to the government and was accepted and approved by President Soeharto in 1986 as a national holiday.

By degrees, PHDI made coordination with religious councils, stakeholders and the communities so that Nyepi can be celebrated as the Hindus do today. “It enables due to the coordination and tolerance of all the Balinese people, not only the Hindus but also other communities. Therefore, Nyepi becomes a special day in Bali and even the world,” he explained.

In the celebration of Nyepi in Bali, the entire communities are not allowed to go out, make entertainment, work and start a fire.

All the bans are complied with and implemented by Balinese people.

People are not riding a motorcycle and car; as well as the flights are even abolished. A variety of entertainments including TV broadcasts

are stopped. People light no fire and turn off power. Services of all government and private offices including people’s daily activities are nullified.

“These can work due to great tolerance and the values ??of Nyepi are universal. Apart from being useful for the people of Bali and Indonesia, it is also for the world, so that the world then adopts it to be a Silent Day,” he added.

According to him, Nyepi is not only useful for humans, but also for the entire universe. At the moment of Nyepi, there is no pollution and the whole sky is clean.

With the clean sky above, the ozone layer is not eroded. Clean

air brings in health to all living beings. Trees also become healthy so that they can contribute to the life of every creature.

On that account, Nyepi actually contains a more profound meaning so that the public can make a self-evaluation for their future.

The evaluation is done to organize a better life. No fire means that people can control their passions.

Celebration of Nyepi is commenced by implementation of melasti where pilgrims come together and carry all the symbols of God’s manifestation to the sea to take holy water of life and dispose of impurities and stains.

Then, mecaru tawur signifies

the attention to the existence of the negative elements that change into positive ones, negative thoughts into positive ones towards a better life. If nature has not been changed into positive, nobody will be able to help human life. “To help this process, it must be followed with the implementation of catur bratha penyepian or four abstinences,” he said.

After implementing the catur bratha penyepian it is then resumed with Ngembak Geni that philosophically means that pilgrims do their best after making an evaluation. It is then ended with Darma Shanti to forgive each other.(kmb)

Virginie Sandstrom; Bali Becomes Unique Due to Its People Do you know why Bali Island becomes unique destination? It happens because the people have a noble personality. Prioritizing the nature of mutual cooperation and kinship, the community on this Island of the Gods is able to maintain the tradition of its ancestors.

“Bali becomes special because the people are friendly, honest and having inborn culture,” said Virginie Sandstrom, General Manager of HARRIS RESORT KUTA BEACH amid the Aerobic Competition 2017. Unfortunately, added Virginie, only a few Balinese people that have ambition to be a leader or to occupy an important position at workplace. Balinese people having occupied top management at the hotel can be counted on fingers. “I always encourage them (the Balinese of her men) to be a manager. However, many of them do not want to be a manager because they are busy at their home village,” she explained.

She always promotes her employees, so as to provide a better life for their family.

Besides, the Balinese people can also manage a hotel and get high salary. “I usually encour-

age by providing them with training and learning continuously. Currently, I’ve managed to drive about seven people to become general manager (GM),” she said.

Then, how long have you been a GM? This woman who loves to stay in Bali claimed to have been 16 years as a GM or since she came to Bali in 2001. At first, she was the GM at the Mercure Kuta Beach, Alam Kulkul and Grand Istana Rama. From 2008 she has worked with Harris Kuta Beach. “The key is diligent in exercising to make the body stay in good shape, mind peaceful and comfortable as well as the sleep healthy,” she added.

As a key in serving guests, people must stay healthy by exercising. Healthy people will definitely serve guests more patiently, calmly, positively and the body becomes more balanced. “I relieve stress after working by doing exercise. I have to be always healthy so that I can do my hobby in the field of tourism. I love tourism since childhood, so that it must be kept up to feel tired,” she added. (kmb)

6

Monday, March 27, 2017

W

RLD

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to journalist at the Oval Office of the White House after the AHCA health care bill was pulled before a vote, accompanied by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price (L) and Vice President Mike Pence, in Washington, U.S., March 24, 2017.

After healthcare flop, White House seeks help from Congress on tax

WASHINGTON - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday blamed the U.S. Congress for thwarting a Republican plan to overhaul healthcare law, but acknowledged that the White House will need to work with lawmakers to accomplish its next set of legislative plans.

Speaking to a group of small business owners in Charleston, West Virginia, Pence said President Donald Trump is ready to move on to his next priority: simplifying the tax code and cutting tax rates.

“We’re going to roll our sleeves up and we’re going to cut taxes across the board for working families, small businesses and family farms,” Pence said.

“Working with this Congress, President Trump is going to pass the largest tax cut since the days of Ronald Reagan, and we’re going to get this American economy moving again,” he said.

Comprehensive tax reform has eluded previous Congresses and administrations since 1986 when it was last accomplished under former President Ronald Reagan.

Pence made his comments the day after the Republicancontrolled House of Representatives failed to find enough support

within its own ranks to pass legislation to roll back Obamacare -- a setback that raised doubts about Trump’s ability to deliver on other big promises requiring help from Congress.

Trump and Republicans had campaigned to overhaul former President Barack Obama’s health care law, which they have argued is too intrusive and expensive.

“As we all learned yesterday, Congress just wasn’t ready,” said Pence, who spent a dozen years in Congress starting in 2001, and has been a key emissary for Trump on Capitol Hill.

“With 100 percent of House Democrats -- every single one -- and a handful of Republicans actually standing in the way of President Trump’s plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, we’re back to the drawing board,” Pence said.

On tax reform, Pence said Trump wants to cut the corporate

tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent to spur investment.

The House of Representatives’ tax committee is working on legislation that would cut the corporate rate to 20 percent.

Pence said the White House also would seek to work with Congress to boost funding for the military, roll back regulations on the energy sector, and confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s pick to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court.

Standing with Linda McMahon, who started and ran World Wrestling Entertainment before being named as head of Trump’s Small Business Administration, Pence joked that the White House could use some muscle to work with lawmakers.

“Maybe we could have used a few of your WWE superstars on Capitol Hill yesterday,” Pence said. (rtr)

International

International

Monday, March 27, 2017

11

Ohio nightclub shooting leaves 1 dead, 14 wounded, police say

OHIO - Fifteen people were shot, one fatally, at a packed nightclub in Cincinnati, Ohio, early on Sunday, and police said they believed at least two shooters may have been involved.

The motive was still unclear, but Cincinnati Assistant Police Chief Paul Neudigate said on Twitter that “there are no indications this incident is terrorism related.”

The shooting took place around 1 a.m. when hundreds of people were reported to be at the Cameo Nightlife club, which the Cincinnati Police Department said has had “multiple problems” in the past.

“At this point it’s unclear exactly what instigated the shooting,” Captain Kimberly Williams said at a televised briefing. “We believe that there were at least a couple of shooters involved.”

“Just a lot of chaos when the shots went off,” Williams added.

The suspects were at large and police do not have good descriptions of them, in part because witnesses were reluctant to cooperate, Williams told WCPO. The shooting comes less than a year after a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people. It was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Several of the victims in Cincinnati had life-threatening injuries, WLWT-TV reported on its website, quoting Neudigate, who said hundreds of people were in the nightclub at the time of shooting.

“We are in the middle of a very horrific situation that occurred at the nightclub with multiple victims,” Neudigate told NBC News.

“It’s going to be a long night for our homicide units to investigate this incident, but right now things are stable.”

The University of Cincinnati Medical Center admitted eight people early Sunday, a spokeswoman told ABC News, but she did not say specifically whether the patients were connected to the nightclub shooting.

A representative of the hospital could not be reached immediately for comment.

Cameo Nightlife’s Facebook page says it features “College Friday’s” for students 18 and older and “Saturday’s 21+ grown and sexy night.”

The club, a large single-story structure, is a 7-mile (11 km) drive from downtown Cincinnati near the southeast corner of the city, the heart of the second largest metropolitan area in Ohio with more than 2 million residents. (rtr)

UK minister says encryption on messaging services is unacceptable LONDON - Technology companies must cooperate more with law enforcement agencies and should stop offering a “secret place for terrorists to communicate” using encrypted messages, British interior minister Amber Rudd said on Sunday.

Local media have reported that British-born Khalid Masood sent an encrypted message moments before killing four people last week by ploughing his car into pedestrians and fatally stabbing a policeman as he tried to get into parliament in an 82-second attack that struck terror in the heart of London.

There may be difficulties in taking on technology companies - in the United States, officials have been trying to make U.S. technology firms provide a way around encryption, talks that have intensified since a mass shooting in San Bernardino.

But while saying she was “calling time on terrorists using social media as their platform”, Rudd also appealed for cooperation from the owners of encrypted messaging apps such as Facebook’s WhatsApp, backing away from seeking to introduce new legislation.

Asked for her view on companies which offer end-to-end encrypted messages, Rudd said: “It is completely unacceptable, there should be no place for terrorists to hide. We need to make sure organisations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, don’t provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other.”

“We need to make sure that our intelligence services have the ability to get into situations like encrypted WhatsApp.” The attack on Wednesday looks set to reignite the privacyversus-secrecy debate in Europe, especially after warnings from security officials that Western countries will be increasingly targeted as Islamic State loses ground in the Middle East.

Rudd, appointed home secretary or interior minister shortly after Britain voted to leave the EU, said the British case was different when asked about Apple’s opposition to helping the FBI break into an iPhone from one of the San Bernardino shooters. (rtr)

REUTERS/Beawiharta/File Photo

Indonesia port graft investigation disrupting coal shipments

A coal barge is pulled along the Mahakam river in Samarinda, East Kalimantan province, Indonesia, March 3, 2016.

JAKARTA/SINGAPORE - Indonesia is cracking down on corruption and widespread graft at some of its top coal export hubs, disrupting shipments to destinations across Asia. Indonesia is the world’s top exporter of thermal coal, still the main feedstock for global power generation.

Interruptions to coal’s output and shipment can impact seaborne prices of the fuel as well as wholesale electricity markets.

East Kalimantan Police spokes-

man Ade Yaya Suryana told Reuters that authorities were targeting stevedores that were asking coal companies in the Mahakam area to pay extra fees to load ships.

One coal mining company had been asked by stevedores to pay 3 billion rupiah ($225,000) per month in illegal fees based on tonnage, Suryana said, adding that such fees had been charged on shipments since last year and that police estimated Komura had amassed several hundred billion rupiah from the illegal charges.

Komura chairman Jaffar Abdul

Gaffar told local media outlet tempo. co that 6.1 billion rupiah confiscated by police in the raid on the cooperative was for wages and not from illegal fees. “I just took it out of the bank,” Gaffar said, according to tempo.co.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said in the ministry statement he had asked police “not to hesitate in cracking down on all forms of illegal fees.” The crackdown follows coal shipment disruptions that occurred last month, when authorities put up road blocks in investigations that prevented workers from accessing ports.

Indonesian Coal Mining Association chairman Pandu Sjahrir told Reuters that several coal producers had reported shipping and logistics delays

their intended areas, sending smoke across to neighbours Singapore and Malaysia. For the first time, the Peatlands Restoration Agency - set up by President Joko Widodo in 2016 to fight the fires - has struck a deal with indigenous groups in a bid to tap their traditional knowledge in managing lands and fires.

“We realise indigenous groups are already practising good peatland management, using their local wisdom,” the agency’s deputy head Myrna Safitri told the Thomson

Reuters Foundation. For instance, a long-held tradition by the Dayak tribe on Borneo island dictates they cannot leave a place that has been set on fire until the fire stops.

Fires are often started in the dry season by farmers to clear their land quickly and cheaply to plant new harvests. In other places, some tribes have already developed new ways to avoid burning the land when they are preparing for the new planting season, according to the official.

“We are really impressed. We hope

with our recognition of the indigenous people, that kind of knowledge sharing can be expanded to other places,” Safitri said.

Under an agreement with the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago signed last week, the agency will promote such practices and hope the tribespeople can inspire others. The alliance is the umbrella group that represents some 50 million indigenous people in Indonesia.

“We hope it would be one of the effective ways to control the fires at the

The investigations that began on Friday are targeting port operations along the large anchorage area off Samarinda in East Kalimantan, officials said on Wednesday, delaying ships waiting to load new supplies from the region’s mines.

Police initially raided four port facilities, including the Samudra Sejahtera Stevedores Cooperative (Komura) office, a Transportation Ministry statement said, based on allegations of “blackmail, corruption, money laundering, and thuggery”.

“We are cracking down on pat-

terns linked to illegal fees,” Transportation Ministry spokesman J. A. Barata told Reuters.

Almost 30 large dry-bulk ships are waiting offshore Samarinda to load coal, according to shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon. The data shows that some of the ships have been waiting to load coal since late February. The office of the stevedores’ cooperative did not answer calls seeking comment.

JAKARTA - Indonesia is recruiting tribespeople to help fight outbreaks of haze which shroud Southeast Asia every year with a government deal designed to tap into traditional ways of containing forest fires. The region suffers every dry season from a haze caused by smouldering fires, often set deliberately to clear land for pulp and paper and palm oil plantations on Sumatra and Borneo islands.

Most of the fires are on peat land which are highly inflammable and often cause fires to spread beyond

EXTRA FEES TO LOAD COAL

resulting from the investigations.

The police investigations are preventing many ports from arranging staff for loading and unloading coal, said one coal trader on the condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to talk to the press.

“It’s very chaotic, delays in loading are common anyway, so these (investigations) have further disrupted coal operations,” he said.

East Kalimantan Transportation Agency, which oversees port authorities and marine transportation, declined to comment on the investigations.

Coal miners in the region include Banpu unit Indo Tambangraya Megah (ITM), and Bayan Resources . The two mining companies could not be reached for comment.(rtr)

Indonesia’s new ally on war against haze - tribespeople grassroots level,” Safitri said. Indonesia has been criticised by neighbours and green groups for failing to end the annual fires.

In 2015, dry weather caused by the El Nino phenomenon saw one of the worst outbreaks of haze in years, with smoke blanketing neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia for weeks and drifting as far north as the Thai capital Bangkok. The fires cost Indonesia $16 billion that year and left over 500,000 Indonesians suffering from respiratory ailments.(rtr)

10

Monday, March 27, 2017

Destination

International

Monday, March 27, 2017

International

No cakewalk as Federer wins opening Miami match

Gunung Kawi Temple

GIANYAR - Gunung Kawi Temple complex, locally referred to as Pura Gunung Kawi, is one of Bali’s most unique archaeological sites, comprising a collection of ancient shrine reliefs carved into the face of a rock cliff. The main site overlooks the sacred Pakerisan River, which also flows by the Tirta Empul Temple a kilometre up north. Across the river from the ancient reliefs is a temple courtyard featuring old Hindu shrines in a more contemporary architectural style, which is attended by pilgrims especially during its ‘piodalan’ temple anniversaries. Bali’s Pejeng

region is famous for its rich collection of archaeological sites, and Gunung Kawi Temple is a popular stopover on itineraries through the central uplands of the Gianyar regency. The temple complex is easily located, only a few hundred meters east from the Jalan Raya Tampaksiring main route, from where you continue down on foot to a paved walkway that is lined with art shops and small local warungs. Along the further 300 steps towards the river, lush paddy terraces and gorgeously green valley go together to transport you back in time away from modernity.

Where the stairs end, proceed through a stone archway with small pillars each holding an earthen vase filled with holy water, which you sprinkle onto yourself before further entering. Inside, the view opens to the main site with ten seven-metre-high shrines carved into the rocky hillside. There are four on the west side and another five on the eastern side of the river, while to the south across the valley hides one other. Legend goes that these are the memorials of the deified Balinese King Udayana, his concubines and family, which leads to Gunung Kawi temple being

widely considered as the tomb site of the Warmadewa Dynasty.

Small stone caves that actually serve as meditation sites complement the shrines, where Buddhist monks used to sit and contemplate.

Indeed, Balinese history has shown that the two religions coexisted in harmony. Across the river and beside the first rock shrine complex is the functional temple courtyard that the locals essentially refer to as Pura Gunung Kawi. Inside is what you would commonly find in any other Balinese temple courtyard, complete with various shrines surrounding the temple’s main grand

pavilion or ‘bale’. As with any other temple visit in Bali, proper attire comprising a sarong cloth with a sash around the waist is required, and women during their periods are not permitted entry into the Gunung Kawi Temple complex. The sash and sarong are available for rent with the ticket purchase at a booth before the stairs down to the valley.

The temple is decorated during its ‘piodalan’ temple anniversary every year following the Purnama Katiga or ‘third full moon’ on the Balinese calendar, allowing for a more festive and exotic setting for photographs. (IBP/net)

REUTERS/Brandon Malone

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany (front) sprays champagne alongside second-placed Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain on the podium.

Ferrari prancing as Vettel wins in Australia

MELBOURNE - Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel won the Australian Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday to dash Mercedes’ hopes of extending their dominance into a fourth successive season of Formula One. The German cruised to his 43rd race victory with a 9.9 second gap to Mercedes’ runner-up Lewis Hamilton, with the Briton’s new team mate, Valtteri Bottas, finishing third on a glorious afternoon at Albert Park.

The victory was Vettel’s fourth for Ferrari but his first since the Singapore Grand Prix in September 2015.

That triumph was also the last time Ferrari had topped the podium but Vettel’s victory underlined the huge leap in performance made by the glamour team, whose cars showed impressive pace and reliability in winter testing.

“For all of us, it is a positive surprise,” a beaming Vettel said at the post-race media conference.

“The big difference was being

able to deliver a really good car...

I think the new car in general obviously is fantastic and is a great reward, a big relief for everyone.”

For the first time in the V6 turbo hybrid era, which started in 2014, there is a non-Mercedes driver at the top of the championship standings.

Vettel’s 2007 championshipwinning team mate Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen one behind.

On the front row next to polesitter Hamilton, Vettel got off to a sluggish start and his British rival broke clear to avoid Albert Park’s usual messy log-jam at turn one.

But Hamilton was soon complaining on the team radio about his car’s grip and was first to pit on lap

18 to change tyres.

It proved a turning point as he rejoined behind Verstappen and was unable to pass the feisty Dutch teenager.

As Hamilton vented on the team radio, Vettel forged ahead.

The German pitted at lap 23 and exited the pit-lane just in front of Verstappen, who was still gamely holding off Hamilton while riding his tyres thin.

Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff was enraged. Television pictures showed him pounding his fist into a desk in the team garage.

Vettel showed the reigning constructors’ champions a clean set of heels and quickly established a sixsecond gap, which only got wider as the race progressed.

After crossing the finish line, Vettel howled in ecstasy and thousands of red-clad Ferrari fans flooded onto the lakeside circuit to share in the German’s triumph. (rtr)

MIAMI - Roger Federer continued his impressive 2017 campaign with a straight-sets, second-round victory at the Miami Open in Florida on Saturday.

But it was far from a cakewalk for Federer, who came within two points of losing the first set before breaking twice in the second for a 7-6(2) 6-3 triumph over American teenager Frances Tiafoe.

Next up for Federer is Juan Martin del Potro, who beat Dutchman Robin Haase 6-2 6-4 in a night match at Crandon Park.

Federer has a 15-5 career record against del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion.

“I would love to play against (del Potro),” Federer said, speaking before knowing who his next opponent would be. “We’ve had some epic matches against each other. I’m sure the crowd would love to see it.”

Tiafoe provided a good competitive workout for the 35-year-old Swiss maestro in his first match since he won the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Sunday.

Tiafoe broke in the first game of the second set, but fourth seed Federer broke straight back with a sizzling backhand winner and another break was all he needed to clinch his 1094th career victory at tour level.

Tiafoe, ranked 101st in the world, has only four career victories, but he showed enough to suggest he will add to that number sooner rather than later.

Federer could be on course for a semi-final showdown with compatriot Stan Wawrinka, less than two weeks after they met in the Indian Wells final.

Top seed Wawrinka defeated Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos in 65 minutes, firing seven aces in a 6-3 6-4 victory in less than favourable morning conditions.

“I’m really happy with the match today,” Wawrinka told reporters. “It’s quite tough conditions, raining and really windy today. It’s really windy on the court, so it’s never easy.

“I’m happy with the way I was moving, the way I was playing and my attitude in general was really positive,” he added. “So it’s a great match.”

Austrian number six Dominic Thiem was the only high seed to suffer a loss on Saturday.

Thiem fell to 20-year-old Croatian Borna Coric, who overcame an embarrassing brain freeze in the final game to win 6-1 7-5.

Serving for the match, Coric stopped in the middle of a rally, challenging a line call, only to be reminded by the chair umpire that he had no challenges left.

Volatile Australian Nick Kyrgios won his match, and also received a code violation warning from the chair umpire for swearing at a spectator who called out during a point.

Kyrgios, the 12th seed, dropped his first two service games, but roared back to beat Damir Dzumhur 6-4 6-3. (rtr)

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Roger Federer of Switzerland (L) shakes hands with Frances Tiafoe of the United States (R) after their match on day five of the 2017 Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center. Federer won 7-6(2), 6-3.

8

Monday, March 27, 2017

Monday, March 27, 2017

Sp rt

Albania denounces ‘extremist acts’ of its fans in Italy TIRANA — Albania’s soccer federation has strongly denounced the incident that halted the World Cup Group G qualifier with Italy for nearly nine minutes on Saturday.

During the match, which was won by Italy 2-0, a group calling itself Illyrian Elite threw flares onto the pitch.

“Such totally extremist actions from the grouping Illyrian Elite have nothing to do with the excellent Albanian fans” who were distinguished in the Euro 2016 finals in France for their friendship and camaraderie in their festivities, the statement added.

The federation said an coach Gianni De Biasi also was “upset by the flares,” adding that during five years he has been in charge “I’ve seen something that’s never happened before.”(ap)

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring a goal during the World Cup Group B qualifying soccer match between Portugal and Hungary at the Luz stadium in Lisbon Saturday, March 25 2017.

Ronaldo nets 2 in Portugal win, Andorra ends 58-loss streak When Portugal last faced Hungary in June, Ronaldo netted twice in a 3-3 thriller that kept his team on course to win the European Championship. Ronaldo made sure the rematch in Lisbon was a onesided affair with some help from his young partner in strike.

Silva first tapped in a pass by Raphael Guerreiro for his fifth goal for Portugal since making his international debut in September.

The striker then added a deft control of a long ball before passing for Ronaldo to fire a left-footed shot from outside the area into the corner of the net. Silva is having a breakout season for FC Porto, scoring four times in the Champions League and 15 more in the Portuguese league. “Silva is doing a phenomenal job,” Ronaldo said.

SWISS ROLL

Josip Drmic headed in a cross from Admir Mehmedi two minutes after going on as a substitute for the Swiss in the 64th. It was the forward’s first international goal

since November 2015 and ended a scoring drought for both country and club that had lasted just over a year.

ANDORRA CELEBRATES

Rarely has a scoreless stalemate in front of the home fans tasted so sweet. But 11 years of nothing but losing will do that to a team. Andorra’s draw with fellow minnow Faroe Islands ended its run of 58 competitive defeats.

It was the first point in qualifying for the Pyrenees mountain principality, population 80,000, since a scoreless draw with Finland in 2005.

“We are happy because we know who we are and how hard this has been,” said team captain Ildefons Lima. Faroe Islands finished with 10 men after Joan Edmundsson was booked a second time with 15 minutes to play. Faroe Islands has five points, ahead of Latvia with three.

The winner of each of the nine groups in Europe qualifies for the tournament in Russia. The eight best second-place finishers enter a playoff.(ap)

LUXEMBOURG - Olivier Giroud struck twice as France stayed top of World Cup qualifying Group A with an efficient 3-1 victory in Luxembourg on Saturday. Giroud, who has started only seven Premier League games for Arsenal this season, found the back of the net in each half and Antoine Griezmann scored a penalty after Aurelien Joachim had equalised for the hosts.

Didier Deschamps’s side, who looked shaky in defence, now have 13 points from five games, three ahead of Sweden who beat Belarus 4-0.

France take on Spain in a friendly at the Stade de France on Tuesday before resuming their World Cup qualifying campaign with a trip to Sweden on June 9. “It was not an

SOFIA - Danny Blind has said he will think about his future as coach of the Netherlands after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat in Bulgaria left them facing an uphill struggle to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Russia. The loss in the Bulgarian capital saw the Dutch drop to fourth place in Group A at the halfway stage of the qualifying campaign.

“The blame is on me. It falls firmly on my roof. I must now think about it and my employer will be doing the same,” Blind told reporters.

“I’ve worked long enough in football to understand how it works. I must now look at myself in the mirror.

It can’t carry on like this.”

Blind took over as coach from Guus Hiddink in a bid to resuscitate the Dutch qualifying campaign for the 2016 European Championships in France but a shock home defeat to Iceland in his first match in charge quickly ended any possibility of a revival.

Blind has won seven and lost seven of his 17 games in charge since taking over in 2015. “I must be truthful to myself and to the KNVB (the Dutch football association),” the manager said.

“I must be convinced that I can get things right but we must also be honest and say that getting to Russia is now going to be a lot more difficult. “I must

LISBON — Cristiano Ronaldo teamed up with rising talent Andre Silva to score twice and lead Portugal past Hungary 3-0 in World Cup qualifying on Saturday. Silva scored the opening goal before setting up Ronaldo for his first strike four minutes later.

SILVA SHINES

Clinical Giroud earns France 3-1 win in Luxembourg easy game but we did what we had to do. Three points, three goals, it’s positive,” said Deschamps.

Luxembourg endured a difficult start as goalkeeper Anthony Moris sustained a knee injury and was substituted by Ralph Schon in the 21st minute. Griezmann found Djibril Sidibe on the right flank and striker Giroud latched on to the Monaco full back’s pass to put Les Bleus ahead after 28 minutes with his 22nd international goal.

Luxembourg, however, reacted swiftly and Joachim converted a penalty in the 34th minute after Blaise Matuidi had brought down Daniel Da Mota. France were clearly the superior side, however, and Griezmann put the visitors back in front three

minutes later with a penalty after Sidibe was fouled by Da Mota.

France went close to a third goal when Matuidi’s half-volley from 20 metres crashed against the post. The Euro 2016 runners-up lost Sidibe when he was carried off the pitch on a stretcher with a rib injury.

The third goal came in the 77th minute when Giroud headed home a cross by Benjamin Mendy, who was making his international debut after an impressive season with Monaco.

His club team mate Kylian Mbappe, 18, earned his first cap when he replaced Dimitri Payet in the 78th minute. The forward came close to adding a fourth with a fine half-volley that was parried by Schon.(rtr)

Dutch coach Blind ponders on future after World Cup setback

AP Photo/Armando Franca

Ronaldo scored again from a free kick in the second half to seal the win for the European champions with his ninth goal in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. Ronaldo leads scoring in qualification, followed by Poland’s Robert Lewandowski with seven.

“We started off slowly, but the first goal gave our confidence a boost and the other goals came naturally,” Ronaldo told Portuguese television.

With 70 career goals in 137 appearances for Portugal, Ronaldo moved to fourth on Europe’s alltime scorers list. He trails only Miroslav Klose (71), Sandor Kocsis (75) and Ferenc Puskas (84).

Portugal strengthened its hold on second place in Europe Group B with 12 points, opening a gap over Hungary, which stayed with seven points in third.

Switzerland, meanwhile, earned a fifth win in as many matches after beating Latvia 1-0 to remain on top of the group with 15 points.

Still stuck at the foot of the table, Andorra nevertheless savored the end to a losing streak that had lasted over a decade after drawing with Faroe Islands 0-0.

9

Mike Palazzotto/ANSA via AP

Albania’s supporters light flares during a 2018 World Cup Group G qualifying soccer match between Italy and Albania, at the Renzo Barbera stadium, in Palermo, Italy, Friday, March 24, 2017.

Reuters / Eric Vidal

France’s Olivier Giroud celebrates scoring their first goal

REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

Netherland’s coach Danny Blind before the match. think now whether I’m still capable of doing the job.”

Blind was heavily criticised for handing 17-year-old defender Matthijs de Ligt a starting berth after just a few matches at club level for Ajax Amsterdam. It was the teenager’s mistake which led to a fifth minute goal for Spas Delev, who scored a second 15 minutes later.

“If I have to now judge it, it was too early to put him in the team,” Blind added. “It did not work out with Matthijs as we hoped it would and that’s my responsibility. But he will become

a great defender. “But the big players also did not bring to the game what we expected from them.”

Failure to qualify for the Euro 2016 finals was a major blow just two years after the Netherlands finished third at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In the 2018 qualifiers, they have seven points in Group A, behind France (13), Sweden (10) and Bulgaria on nine.

The Dutch next meet Italy in a friendly in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

Their next World Cup qualifier is at home to neighbours Luxembourg on June 9.(rtr)

8

Monday, March 27, 2017

Monday, March 27, 2017

Sp rt

Albania denounces ‘extremist acts’ of its fans in Italy TIRANA — Albania’s soccer federation has strongly denounced the incident that halted the World Cup Group G qualifier with Italy for nearly nine minutes on Saturday.

During the match, which was won by Italy 2-0, a group calling itself Illyrian Elite threw flares onto the pitch.

“Such totally extremist actions from the grouping Illyrian Elite have nothing to do with the excellent Albanian fans” who were distinguished in the Euro 2016 finals in France for their friendship and camaraderie in their festivities, the statement added.

The federation said an coach Gianni De Biasi also was “upset by the flares,” adding that during five years he has been in charge “I’ve seen something that’s never happened before.”(ap)

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring a goal during the World Cup Group B qualifying soccer match between Portugal and Hungary at the Luz stadium in Lisbon Saturday, March 25 2017.

Ronaldo nets 2 in Portugal win, Andorra ends 58-loss streak When Portugal last faced Hungary in June, Ronaldo netted twice in a 3-3 thriller that kept his team on course to win the European Championship. Ronaldo made sure the rematch in Lisbon was a onesided affair with some help from his young partner in strike.

Silva first tapped in a pass by Raphael Guerreiro for his fifth goal for Portugal since making his international debut in September.

The striker then added a deft control of a long ball before passing for Ronaldo to fire a left-footed shot from outside the area into the corner of the net. Silva is having a breakout season for FC Porto, scoring four times in the Champions League and 15 more in the Portuguese league. “Silva is doing a phenomenal job,” Ronaldo said.

SWISS ROLL

Josip Drmic headed in a cross from Admir Mehmedi two minutes after going on as a substitute for the Swiss in the 64th. It was the forward’s first international goal

since November 2015 and ended a scoring drought for both country and club that had lasted just over a year.

ANDORRA CELEBRATES

Rarely has a scoreless stalemate in front of the home fans tasted so sweet. But 11 years of nothing but losing will do that to a team. Andorra’s draw with fellow minnow Faroe Islands ended its run of 58 competitive defeats.

It was the first point in qualifying for the Pyrenees mountain principality, population 80,000, since a scoreless draw with Finland in 2005.

“We are happy because we know who we are and how hard this has been,” said team captain Ildefons Lima. Faroe Islands finished with 10 men after Joan Edmundsson was booked a second time with 15 minutes to play. Faroe Islands has five points, ahead of Latvia with three.

The winner of each of the nine groups in Europe qualifies for the tournament in Russia. The eight best second-place finishers enter a playoff.(ap)

LUXEMBOURG - Olivier Giroud struck twice as France stayed top of World Cup qualifying Group A with an efficient 3-1 victory in Luxembourg on Saturday. Giroud, who has started only seven Premier League games for Arsenal this season, found the back of the net in each half and Antoine Griezmann scored a penalty after Aurelien Joachim had equalised for the hosts.

Didier Deschamps’s side, who looked shaky in defence, now have 13 points from five games, three ahead of Sweden who beat Belarus 4-0.

France take on Spain in a friendly at the Stade de France on Tuesday before resuming their World Cup qualifying campaign with a trip to Sweden on June 9. “It was not an

SOFIA - Danny Blind has said he will think about his future as coach of the Netherlands after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat in Bulgaria left them facing an uphill struggle to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Russia. The loss in the Bulgarian capital saw the Dutch drop to fourth place in Group A at the halfway stage of the qualifying campaign.

“The blame is on me. It falls firmly on my roof. I must now think about it and my employer will be doing the same,” Blind told reporters.

“I’ve worked long enough in football to understand how it works. I must now look at myself in the mirror.

It can’t carry on like this.”

Blind took over as coach from Guus Hiddink in a bid to resuscitate the Dutch qualifying campaign for the 2016 European Championships in France but a shock home defeat to Iceland in his first match in charge quickly ended any possibility of a revival.

Blind has won seven and lost seven of his 17 games in charge since taking over in 2015. “I must be truthful to myself and to the KNVB (the Dutch football association),” the manager said.

“I must be convinced that I can get things right but we must also be honest and say that getting to Russia is now going to be a lot more difficult. “I must

LISBON — Cristiano Ronaldo teamed up with rising talent Andre Silva to score twice and lead Portugal past Hungary 3-0 in World Cup qualifying on Saturday. Silva scored the opening goal before setting up Ronaldo for his first strike four minutes later.

SILVA SHINES

Clinical Giroud earns France 3-1 win in Luxembourg easy game but we did what we had to do. Three points, three goals, it’s positive,” said Deschamps.

Luxembourg endured a difficult start as goalkeeper Anthony Moris sustained a knee injury and was substituted by Ralph Schon in the 21st minute. Griezmann found Djibril Sidibe on the right flank and striker Giroud latched on to the Monaco full back’s pass to put Les Bleus ahead after 28 minutes with his 22nd international goal.

Luxembourg, however, reacted swiftly and Joachim converted a penalty in the 34th minute after Blaise Matuidi had brought down Daniel Da Mota. France were clearly the superior side, however, and Griezmann put the visitors back in front three

minutes later with a penalty after Sidibe was fouled by Da Mota.

France went close to a third goal when Matuidi’s half-volley from 20 metres crashed against the post. The Euro 2016 runners-up lost Sidibe when he was carried off the pitch on a stretcher with a rib injury.

The third goal came in the 77th minute when Giroud headed home a cross by Benjamin Mendy, who was making his international debut after an impressive season with Monaco.

His club team mate Kylian Mbappe, 18, earned his first cap when he replaced Dimitri Payet in the 78th minute. The forward came close to adding a fourth with a fine half-volley that was parried by Schon.(rtr)

Dutch coach Blind ponders on future after World Cup setback

AP Photo/Armando Franca

Ronaldo scored again from a free kick in the second half to seal the win for the European champions with his ninth goal in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. Ronaldo leads scoring in qualification, followed by Poland’s Robert Lewandowski with seven.

“We started off slowly, but the first goal gave our confidence a boost and the other goals came naturally,” Ronaldo told Portuguese television.

With 70 career goals in 137 appearances for Portugal, Ronaldo moved to fourth on Europe’s alltime scorers list. He trails only Miroslav Klose (71), Sandor Kocsis (75) and Ferenc Puskas (84).

Portugal strengthened its hold on second place in Europe Group B with 12 points, opening a gap over Hungary, which stayed with seven points in third.

Switzerland, meanwhile, earned a fifth win in as many matches after beating Latvia 1-0 to remain on top of the group with 15 points.

Still stuck at the foot of the table, Andorra nevertheless savored the end to a losing streak that had lasted over a decade after drawing with Faroe Islands 0-0.

9

Mike Palazzotto/ANSA via AP

Albania’s supporters light flares during a 2018 World Cup Group G qualifying soccer match between Italy and Albania, at the Renzo Barbera stadium, in Palermo, Italy, Friday, March 24, 2017.

Reuters / Eric Vidal

France’s Olivier Giroud celebrates scoring their first goal

REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

Netherland’s coach Danny Blind before the match. think now whether I’m still capable of doing the job.”

Blind was heavily criticised for handing 17-year-old defender Matthijs de Ligt a starting berth after just a few matches at club level for Ajax Amsterdam. It was the teenager’s mistake which led to a fifth minute goal for Spas Delev, who scored a second 15 minutes later.

“If I have to now judge it, it was too early to put him in the team,” Blind added. “It did not work out with Matthijs as we hoped it would and that’s my responsibility. But he will become

a great defender. “But the big players also did not bring to the game what we expected from them.”

Failure to qualify for the Euro 2016 finals was a major blow just two years after the Netherlands finished third at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In the 2018 qualifiers, they have seven points in Group A, behind France (13), Sweden (10) and Bulgaria on nine.

The Dutch next meet Italy in a friendly in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

Their next World Cup qualifier is at home to neighbours Luxembourg on June 9.(rtr)

10

Monday, March 27, 2017

Destination

International

Monday, March 27, 2017

International

No cakewalk as Federer wins opening Miami match

Gunung Kawi Temple

GIANYAR - Gunung Kawi Temple complex, locally referred to as Pura Gunung Kawi, is one of Bali’s most unique archaeological sites, comprising a collection of ancient shrine reliefs carved into the face of a rock cliff. The main site overlooks the sacred Pakerisan River, which also flows by the Tirta Empul Temple a kilometre up north. Across the river from the ancient reliefs is a temple courtyard featuring old Hindu shrines in a more contemporary architectural style, which is attended by pilgrims especially during its ‘piodalan’ temple anniversaries. Bali’s Pejeng

region is famous for its rich collection of archaeological sites, and Gunung Kawi Temple is a popular stopover on itineraries through the central uplands of the Gianyar regency. The temple complex is easily located, only a few hundred meters east from the Jalan Raya Tampaksiring main route, from where you continue down on foot to a paved walkway that is lined with art shops and small local warungs. Along the further 300 steps towards the river, lush paddy terraces and gorgeously green valley go together to transport you back in time away from modernity.

Where the stairs end, proceed through a stone archway with small pillars each holding an earthen vase filled with holy water, which you sprinkle onto yourself before further entering. Inside, the view opens to the main site with ten seven-metre-high shrines carved into the rocky hillside. There are four on the west side and another five on the eastern side of the river, while to the south across the valley hides one other. Legend goes that these are the memorials of the deified Balinese King Udayana, his concubines and family, which leads to Gunung Kawi temple being

widely considered as the tomb site of the Warmadewa Dynasty.

Small stone caves that actually serve as meditation sites complement the shrines, where Buddhist monks used to sit and contemplate.

Indeed, Balinese history has shown that the two religions coexisted in harmony. Across the river and beside the first rock shrine complex is the functional temple courtyard that the locals essentially refer to as Pura Gunung Kawi. Inside is what you would commonly find in any other Balinese temple courtyard, complete with various shrines surrounding the temple’s main grand

pavilion or ‘bale’. As with any other temple visit in Bali, proper attire comprising a sarong cloth with a sash around the waist is required, and women during their periods are not permitted entry into the Gunung Kawi Temple complex. The sash and sarong are available for rent with the ticket purchase at a booth before the stairs down to the valley.

The temple is decorated during its ‘piodalan’ temple anniversary every year following the Purnama Katiga or ‘third full moon’ on the Balinese calendar, allowing for a more festive and exotic setting for photographs. (IBP/net)

REUTERS/Brandon Malone

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany (front) sprays champagne alongside second-placed Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain on the podium.

Ferrari prancing as Vettel wins in Australia

MELBOURNE - Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel won the Australian Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday to dash Mercedes’ hopes of extending their dominance into a fourth successive season of Formula One. The German cruised to his 43rd race victory with a 9.9 second gap to Mercedes’ runner-up Lewis Hamilton, with the Briton’s new team mate, Valtteri Bottas, finishing third on a glorious afternoon at Albert Park.

The victory was Vettel’s fourth for Ferrari but his first since the Singapore Grand Prix in September 2015.

That triumph was also the last time Ferrari had topped the podium but Vettel’s victory underlined the huge leap in performance made by the glamour team, whose cars showed impressive pace and reliability in winter testing.

“For all of us, it is a positive surprise,” a beaming Vettel said at the post-race media conference.

“The big difference was being

able to deliver a really good car...

I think the new car in general obviously is fantastic and is a great reward, a big relief for everyone.”

For the first time in the V6 turbo hybrid era, which started in 2014, there is a non-Mercedes driver at the top of the championship standings.

Vettel’s 2007 championshipwinning team mate Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen one behind.

On the front row next to polesitter Hamilton, Vettel got off to a sluggish start and his British rival broke clear to avoid Albert Park’s usual messy log-jam at turn one.

But Hamilton was soon complaining on the team radio about his car’s grip and was first to pit on lap

18 to change tyres.

It proved a turning point as he rejoined behind Verstappen and was unable to pass the feisty Dutch teenager.

As Hamilton vented on the team radio, Vettel forged ahead.

The German pitted at lap 23 and exited the pit-lane just in front of Verstappen, who was still gamely holding off Hamilton while riding his tyres thin.

Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff was enraged. Television pictures showed him pounding his fist into a desk in the team garage.

Vettel showed the reigning constructors’ champions a clean set of heels and quickly established a sixsecond gap, which only got wider as the race progressed.

After crossing the finish line, Vettel howled in ecstasy and thousands of red-clad Ferrari fans flooded onto the lakeside circuit to share in the German’s triumph. (rtr)

MIAMI - Roger Federer continued his impressive 2017 campaign with a straight-sets, second-round victory at the Miami Open in Florida on Saturday.

But it was far from a cakewalk for Federer, who came within two points of losing the first set before breaking twice in the second for a 7-6(2) 6-3 triumph over American teenager Frances Tiafoe.

Next up for Federer is Juan Martin del Potro, who beat Dutchman Robin Haase 6-2 6-4 in a night match at Crandon Park.

Federer has a 15-5 career record against del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion.

“I would love to play against (del Potro),” Federer said, speaking before knowing who his next opponent would be. “We’ve had some epic matches against each other. I’m sure the crowd would love to see it.”

Tiafoe provided a good competitive workout for the 35-year-old Swiss maestro in his first match since he won the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Sunday.

Tiafoe broke in the first game of the second set, but fourth seed Federer broke straight back with a sizzling backhand winner and another break was all he needed to clinch his 1094th career victory at tour level.

Tiafoe, ranked 101st in the world, has only four career victories, but he showed enough to suggest he will add to that number sooner rather than later.

Federer could be on course for a semi-final showdown with compatriot Stan Wawrinka, less than two weeks after they met in the Indian Wells final.

Top seed Wawrinka defeated Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos in 65 minutes, firing seven aces in a 6-3 6-4 victory in less than favourable morning conditions.

“I’m really happy with the match today,” Wawrinka told reporters. “It’s quite tough conditions, raining and really windy today. It’s really windy on the court, so it’s never easy.

“I’m happy with the way I was moving, the way I was playing and my attitude in general was really positive,” he added. “So it’s a great match.”

Austrian number six Dominic Thiem was the only high seed to suffer a loss on Saturday.

Thiem fell to 20-year-old Croatian Borna Coric, who overcame an embarrassing brain freeze in the final game to win 6-1 7-5.

Serving for the match, Coric stopped in the middle of a rally, challenging a line call, only to be reminded by the chair umpire that he had no challenges left.

Volatile Australian Nick Kyrgios won his match, and also received a code violation warning from the chair umpire for swearing at a spectator who called out during a point.

Kyrgios, the 12th seed, dropped his first two service games, but roared back to beat Damir Dzumhur 6-4 6-3. (rtr)

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Roger Federer of Switzerland (L) shakes hands with Frances Tiafoe of the United States (R) after their match on day five of the 2017 Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center. Federer won 7-6(2), 6-3.

6

Monday, March 27, 2017

W

RLD

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to journalist at the Oval Office of the White House after the AHCA health care bill was pulled before a vote, accompanied by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price (L) and Vice President Mike Pence, in Washington, U.S., March 24, 2017.

After healthcare flop, White House seeks help from Congress on tax

WASHINGTON - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday blamed the U.S. Congress for thwarting a Republican plan to overhaul healthcare law, but acknowledged that the White House will need to work with lawmakers to accomplish its next set of legislative plans.

Speaking to a group of small business owners in Charleston, West Virginia, Pence said President Donald Trump is ready to move on to his next priority: simplifying the tax code and cutting tax rates.

“We’re going to roll our sleeves up and we’re going to cut taxes across the board for working families, small businesses and family farms,” Pence said.

“Working with this Congress, President Trump is going to pass the largest tax cut since the days of Ronald Reagan, and we’re going to get this American economy moving again,” he said.

Comprehensive tax reform has eluded previous Congresses and administrations since 1986 when it was last accomplished under former President Ronald Reagan.

Pence made his comments the day after the Republicancontrolled House of Representatives failed to find enough support

within its own ranks to pass legislation to roll back Obamacare -- a setback that raised doubts about Trump’s ability to deliver on other big promises requiring help from Congress.

Trump and Republicans had campaigned to overhaul former President Barack Obama’s health care law, which they have argued is too intrusive and expensive.

“As we all learned yesterday, Congress just wasn’t ready,” said Pence, who spent a dozen years in Congress starting in 2001, and has been a key emissary for Trump on Capitol Hill.

“With 100 percent of House Democrats -- every single one -- and a handful of Republicans actually standing in the way of President Trump’s plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, we’re back to the drawing board,” Pence said.

On tax reform, Pence said Trump wants to cut the corporate

tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent to spur investment.

The House of Representatives’ tax committee is working on legislation that would cut the corporate rate to 20 percent.

Pence said the White House also would seek to work with Congress to boost funding for the military, roll back regulations on the energy sector, and confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s pick to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court.

Standing with Linda McMahon, who started and ran World Wrestling Entertainment before being named as head of Trump’s Small Business Administration, Pence joked that the White House could use some muscle to work with lawmakers.

“Maybe we could have used a few of your WWE superstars on Capitol Hill yesterday,” Pence said. (rtr)

International

International

Monday, March 27, 2017

11

Ohio nightclub shooting leaves 1 dead, 14 wounded, police say

OHIO - Fifteen people were shot, one fatally, at a packed nightclub in Cincinnati, Ohio, early on Sunday, and police said they believed at least two shooters may have been involved.

The motive was still unclear, but Cincinnati Assistant Police Chief Paul Neudigate said on Twitter that “there are no indications this incident is terrorism related.”

The shooting took place around 1 a.m. when hundreds of people were reported to be at the Cameo Nightlife club, which the Cincinnati Police Department said has had “multiple problems” in the past.

“At this point it’s unclear exactly what instigated the shooting,” Captain Kimberly Williams said at a televised briefing. “We believe that there were at least a couple of shooters involved.”

“Just a lot of chaos when the shots went off,” Williams added.

The suspects were at large and police do not have good descriptions of them, in part because witnesses were reluctant to cooperate, Williams told WCPO. The shooting comes less than a year after a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people. It was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Several of the victims in Cincinnati had life-threatening injuries, WLWT-TV reported on its website, quoting Neudigate, who said hundreds of people were in the nightclub at the time of shooting.

“We are in the middle of a very horrific situation that occurred at the nightclub with multiple victims,” Neudigate told NBC News.

“It’s going to be a long night for our homicide units to investigate this incident, but right now things are stable.”

The University of Cincinnati Medical Center admitted eight people early Sunday, a spokeswoman told ABC News, but she did not say specifically whether the patients were connected to the nightclub shooting.

A representative of the hospital could not be reached immediately for comment.

Cameo Nightlife’s Facebook page says it features “College Friday’s” for students 18 and older and “Saturday’s 21+ grown and sexy night.”

The club, a large single-story structure, is a 7-mile (11 km) drive from downtown Cincinnati near the southeast corner of the city, the heart of the second largest metropolitan area in Ohio with more than 2 million residents. (rtr)

UK minister says encryption on messaging services is unacceptable LONDON - Technology companies must cooperate more with law enforcement agencies and should stop offering a “secret place for terrorists to communicate” using encrypted messages, British interior minister Amber Rudd said on Sunday.

Local media have reported that British-born Khalid Masood sent an encrypted message moments before killing four people last week by ploughing his car into pedestrians and fatally stabbing a policeman as he tried to get into parliament in an 82-second attack that struck terror in the heart of London.

There may be difficulties in taking on technology companies - in the United States, officials have been trying to make U.S. technology firms provide a way around encryption, talks that have intensified since a mass shooting in San Bernardino.

But while saying she was “calling time on terrorists using social media as their platform”, Rudd also appealed for cooperation from the owners of encrypted messaging apps such as Facebook’s WhatsApp, backing away from seeking to introduce new legislation.

Asked for her view on companies which offer end-to-end encrypted messages, Rudd said: “It is completely unacceptable, there should be no place for terrorists to hide. We need to make sure organisations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, don’t provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other.”

“We need to make sure that our intelligence services have the ability to get into situations like encrypted WhatsApp.” The attack on Wednesday looks set to reignite the privacyversus-secrecy debate in Europe, especially after warnings from security officials that Western countries will be increasingly targeted as Islamic State loses ground in the Middle East.

Rudd, appointed home secretary or interior minister shortly after Britain voted to leave the EU, said the British case was different when asked about Apple’s opposition to helping the FBI break into an iPhone from one of the San Bernardino shooters. (rtr)

REUTERS/Beawiharta/File Photo

Indonesia port graft investigation disrupting coal shipments

A coal barge is pulled along the Mahakam river in Samarinda, East Kalimantan province, Indonesia, March 3, 2016.

JAKARTA/SINGAPORE - Indonesia is cracking down on corruption and widespread graft at some of its top coal export hubs, disrupting shipments to destinations across Asia. Indonesia is the world’s top exporter of thermal coal, still the main feedstock for global power generation.

Interruptions to coal’s output and shipment can impact seaborne prices of the fuel as well as wholesale electricity markets.

East Kalimantan Police spokes-

man Ade Yaya Suryana told Reuters that authorities were targeting stevedores that were asking coal companies in the Mahakam area to pay extra fees to load ships.

One coal mining company had been asked by stevedores to pay 3 billion rupiah ($225,000) per month in illegal fees based on tonnage, Suryana said, adding that such fees had been charged on shipments since last year and that police estimated Komura had amassed several hundred billion rupiah from the illegal charges.

Komura chairman Jaffar Abdul

Gaffar told local media outlet tempo. co that 6.1 billion rupiah confiscated by police in the raid on the cooperative was for wages and not from illegal fees. “I just took it out of the bank,” Gaffar said, according to tempo.co.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said in the ministry statement he had asked police “not to hesitate in cracking down on all forms of illegal fees.” The crackdown follows coal shipment disruptions that occurred last month, when authorities put up road blocks in investigations that prevented workers from accessing ports.

Indonesian Coal Mining Association chairman Pandu Sjahrir told Reuters that several coal producers had reported shipping and logistics delays

their intended areas, sending smoke across to neighbours Singapore and Malaysia. For the first time, the Peatlands Restoration Agency - set up by President Joko Widodo in 2016 to fight the fires - has struck a deal with indigenous groups in a bid to tap their traditional knowledge in managing lands and fires.

“We realise indigenous groups are already practising good peatland management, using their local wisdom,” the agency’s deputy head Myrna Safitri told the Thomson

Reuters Foundation. For instance, a long-held tradition by the Dayak tribe on Borneo island dictates they cannot leave a place that has been set on fire until the fire stops.

Fires are often started in the dry season by farmers to clear their land quickly and cheaply to plant new harvests. In other places, some tribes have already developed new ways to avoid burning the land when they are preparing for the new planting season, according to the official.

“We are really impressed. We hope

with our recognition of the indigenous people, that kind of knowledge sharing can be expanded to other places,” Safitri said.

Under an agreement with the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago signed last week, the agency will promote such practices and hope the tribespeople can inspire others. The alliance is the umbrella group that represents some 50 million indigenous people in Indonesia.

“We hope it would be one of the effective ways to control the fires at the

The investigations that began on Friday are targeting port operations along the large anchorage area off Samarinda in East Kalimantan, officials said on Wednesday, delaying ships waiting to load new supplies from the region’s mines.

Police initially raided four port facilities, including the Samudra Sejahtera Stevedores Cooperative (Komura) office, a Transportation Ministry statement said, based on allegations of “blackmail, corruption, money laundering, and thuggery”.

“We are cracking down on pat-

terns linked to illegal fees,” Transportation Ministry spokesman J. A. Barata told Reuters.

Almost 30 large dry-bulk ships are waiting offshore Samarinda to load coal, according to shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon. The data shows that some of the ships have been waiting to load coal since late February. The office of the stevedores’ cooperative did not answer calls seeking comment.

JAKARTA - Indonesia is recruiting tribespeople to help fight outbreaks of haze which shroud Southeast Asia every year with a government deal designed to tap into traditional ways of containing forest fires. The region suffers every dry season from a haze caused by smouldering fires, often set deliberately to clear land for pulp and paper and palm oil plantations on Sumatra and Borneo islands.

Most of the fires are on peat land which are highly inflammable and often cause fires to spread beyond

EXTRA FEES TO LOAD COAL

resulting from the investigations.

The police investigations are preventing many ports from arranging staff for loading and unloading coal, said one coal trader on the condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to talk to the press.

“It’s very chaotic, delays in loading are common anyway, so these (investigations) have further disrupted coal operations,” he said.

East Kalimantan Transportation Agency, which oversees port authorities and marine transportation, declined to comment on the investigations.

Coal miners in the region include Banpu unit Indo Tambangraya Megah (ITM), and Bayan Resources . The two mining companies could not be reached for comment.(rtr)

Indonesia’s new ally on war against haze - tribespeople grassroots level,” Safitri said. Indonesia has been criticised by neighbours and green groups for failing to end the annual fires.

In 2015, dry weather caused by the El Nino phenomenon saw one of the worst outbreaks of haze in years, with smoke blanketing neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia for weeks and drifting as far north as the Thai capital Bangkok. The fires cost Indonesia $16 billion that year and left over 500,000 Indonesians suffering from respiratory ailments.(rtr)

12

International

Monday, March 27, 2017

BUSINESS Decline of ancient trade route deepens Yemeni food crisis

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates - Captains of small wooden dhows are carrying food and wares from the United Arab Emirates to war-torn Yemen. But supplies are falling even from this centuries-old Arabian sea route that is one of the last lifelines to a country on the brink of famine.

A two-year-old civil war has severely restricted the flow of food into the main Yemeni cargo ports of Hodeidah and Salif on the Red Sea, where all the large grain silos are located.

The small wooden boats sailing from souks in the UAE are moving small but vital supplies by making for the smaller ports to the south coast that are of little use to larger vessels - and often sidestepping military inspections that choke traffic by dropping anchor at secluded coves nearby.

The deals originate in the sprawling Al Ras Market, a collection of dusty alleyways near the Dubai Creek where an array of food and spices are on display including colourful sacks of Pakistani and Indian rice.

The dhows - plying the ancient trade route that once carried the likes of pearls, frankincense and myrrh - supply 14,000 to 18,000 tonnes of foodstuffs a month to Yemen, according to traders. That represents a drop of about 30-40 percent over the past year because of problems with payment, as well as adverse sailing conditions.

“The Yemeni currency is destroyed, sometimes we can’t get paid enough. We can only go once a month because the seas are too rough,” said trader Mohammed Hassan, at a docking station at nearby Port Khaled in Sharjah “Sometimes we have to wait 40 days.”

The volumes of food carried on this route represent a small fraction of the supply to Yemen, which relies on imports for 90 percent of its food. But it has become increasingly important as fighting has raged, the economy has collapsed and Yemen has needed all the help it can get.

PORT DAMAGE Thousands of people have been killed in the civil war pits the

A ship unloads grain at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen, March 23, 2017.

Iran-allied Houthi group against a Saudi-backed coalition - which includes the UAE - fighting to restore the government of President AbdRabbu Mansour Hadi. The conflict has choked imports. Sixty percent of Yemenis, or 17 million people, are in “crisis” or “emergency” food situations, according to the United Nations.

While vessels seeking access to Houthi-held areas must face inspections for smuggled weapons, the government-controlled south has less restrictions. Food imports into Hodeidah have fallen relentlessly, with only a few ships arriving each week - compared with dozens before the war - and more shipping lines pulling out due to the growing risks, according to aid and shipping sources.

In recent weeks damage to infrastructure in the neighbouring port

of Salif has also cut food deliveries, aid officials said. “The country is living on its reserves,” said Robert Mardini, International Committee of the Red Cross regional director for the Near and Middle East in Geneva this week.

“There is a lack of liquidity, no payment of salaries, which means that the spending power has collapsed and that the price of food is soaring whenever it is available.”

‘PAY THUGS’ UAE-based dhow captains avoid these snarl-ups by steering clear of the big Red Sea ports and instead ply their trade to the south, often docking at informal inlets. The average journey takes about five to eight days, with the boats capable of taking up to 2,000 tonnes of goods, still small fry compared with cargo ships that could provide

more relief to one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the world.

Trader Ali Mahdani ships his goods out of Dubai to the southern Yemeni ports of Aden, Mukalla or Mokha, goods worth 4-6 million UAE dirhams ($1.1-1.6 million) per month, around 2,000 tonnes of mostly rice, spices or cooking oil.

To avoid payments in the battered Yemeni currency he gets paid in Saudi riyals.

There are few issues upon arrival. That’s a sharp contrast the scrutiny that any vessels hoping to access the north would be subjected to as the Saudi-led coalition search for weapons which may be headed into Houthi hands.

“You may have to pay thugs every once in a while but otherwise it is all good to go,” said Mahdani, dressed in a flowing white robe.

REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad

Trader Amin Baghersh ships powered milk, tomato paste, sugar and rice from Al Ras to Yemen, selling about one million UAE dirhams worth per month. He and others rely on hawala, an informal TRADING SYSTEM through exchange houses based on trust and personal ties.

Most of his goods make their way to Mukalla and Aden and surrounding areas. But he, like others, has taken a heavy hit from the Yemeni currency crisis and payment problems caused by the war. An Iranian trader had similar complaints.

“I used to transfer about 2,000 tonnes of food a month,” said the trader, who declined to give his name. “In the last three or four months people asked me for supplies but I am reluctant to deal with them.”(rtr)

Bali News

International

Monday, March 27, 2017

Special, Celebrating Nyepi in Bali

5

Hindu community in Bali celebrates Nyepi or the Caka New Year on Tuesday (Mar. 28). According to the belief of Balinese Hindu, Nyepi is the turn of the Caka Year whose history comes from India. It is said the Kaniska kingdom was first led by a wise king who was very advanced in culture and religion. His golden era was then honored as the turn of the Caka Year started in 78 AD and in Bali is celebrated as Nyepi.

Chairman of the Hindu Dharma Council of Indonesia (PHDI) of Bali, Prof. Dr. I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana, stated that the King Kaniska led successfully so that fierce battle among local tribes could be totally ended. It happened because the king led by culture, not by violence. Under his leadership, his people lived prosperously and peacefully. Ultimately, it is celebrated as the turn of the Caka Year.

IGN-Sudiana In Bali, Prof. Sudiana added that prior to the existence of Caka influence from India there has been similar celebration to Nyepi at each village. There was Nyepi Desa specially implemented at particular village after holding a grandiose ritual; Nyepi Segara implemented by fishermen where their members are not allowed to do activities at sea; Nyepi Tegal (in the moor) and Nyepi Carik (in paddy field). “Local Nyepi is intended to provide a space for people to make evaluation and introspection heading for better life in the future,” he said.

Nyepi in each location also provides a space for nature to do the rotation in accordance with the plot, and not to be coerced.

Since the implementation of Nyepi was carried out locally, the Hindu Dharma Council of Indonesia (PHDI) took the philosophy of

Caka New Year in India to unite the celebration across Bali starting in 1959 so that it can be celebrated simultaneously.

Nevertheless, he added that the implementation of Nyepi could not be made simultaneously like it can be done today.

There are important reasons to propose the Nyepi into a national holiday feast. Incidentally there was also a call from the government for each religion to have a national religious holiday. After that, PHDI proposed Nyepi to the government and was accepted and approved by President Soeharto in 1986 as a national holiday.

By degrees, PHDI made coordination with religious councils, stakeholders and the communities so that Nyepi can be celebrated as the Hindus do today. “It enables due to the coordination and tolerance of all the Balinese people, not only the Hindus but also other communities. Therefore, Nyepi becomes a special day in Bali and even the world,” he explained.

In the celebration of Nyepi in Bali, the entire communities are not allowed to go out, make entertainment, work and start a fire.

All the bans are complied with and implemented by Balinese people.

People are not riding a motorcycle and car; as well as the flights are even abolished. A variety of entertainments including TV broadcasts

are stopped. People light no fire and turn off power. Services of all government and private offices including people’s daily activities are nullified.

“These can work due to great tolerance and the values ??of Nyepi are universal. Apart from being useful for the people of Bali and Indonesia, it is also for the world, so that the world then adopts it to be a Silent Day,” he added.

According to him, Nyepi is not only useful for humans, but also for the entire universe. At the moment of Nyepi, there is no pollution and the whole sky is clean.

With the clean sky above, the ozone layer is not eroded. Clean

air brings in health to all living beings. Trees also become healthy so that they can contribute to the life of every creature.

On that account, Nyepi actually contains a more profound meaning so that the public can make a self-evaluation for their future.

The evaluation is done to organize a better life. No fire means that people can control their passions.

Celebration of Nyepi is commenced by implementation of melasti where pilgrims come together and carry all the symbols of God’s manifestation to the sea to take holy water of life and dispose of impurities and stains.

Then, mecaru tawur signifies

the attention to the existence of the negative elements that change into positive ones, negative thoughts into positive ones towards a better life. If nature has not been changed into positive, nobody will be able to help human life. “To help this process, it must be followed with the implementation of catur bratha penyepian or four abstinences,” he said.

After implementing the catur bratha penyepian it is then resumed with Ngembak Geni that philosophically means that pilgrims do their best after making an evaluation. It is then ended with Darma Shanti to forgive each other.(kmb)

Virginie Sandstrom; Bali Becomes Unique Due to Its People Do you know why Bali Island becomes unique destination? It happens because the people have a noble personality. Prioritizing the nature of mutual cooperation and kinship, the community on this Island of the Gods is able to maintain the tradition of its ancestors.

“Bali becomes special because the people are friendly, honest and having inborn culture,” said Virginie Sandstrom, General Manager of HARRIS RESORT KUTA BEACH amid the Aerobic Competition 2017. Unfortunately, added Virginie, only a few Balinese people that have ambition to be a leader or to occupy an important position at workplace. Balinese people having occupied top management at the hotel can be counted on fingers. “I always encourage them (the Balinese of her men) to be a manager. However, many of them do not want to be a manager because they are busy at their home village,” she explained.

She always promotes her employees, so as to provide a better life for their family.

Besides, the Balinese people can also manage a hotel and get high salary. “I usually encour-

age by providing them with training and learning continuously. Currently, I’ve managed to drive about seven people to become general manager (GM),” she said.

Then, how long have you been a GM? This woman who loves to stay in Bali claimed to have been 16 years as a GM or since she came to Bali in 2001. At first, she was the GM at the Mercure Kuta Beach, Alam Kulkul and Grand Istana Rama. From 2008 she has worked with Harris Kuta Beach. “The key is diligent in exercising to make the body stay in good shape, mind peaceful and comfortable as well as the sleep healthy,” she added.

As a key in serving guests, people must stay healthy by exercising. Healthy people will definitely serve guests more patiently, calmly, positively and the body becomes more balanced. “I relieve stress after working by doing exercise. I have to be always healthy so that I can do my hobby in the field of tourism. I love tourism since childhood, so that it must be kept up to feel tired,” she added. (kmb)

4

Monday, March 27, 2017

Bali News

International

Monday, March 27, 2017

International

Ban of broadcasting on Nyepi must be made permanent

DENPASAR - Minister of communications and informatics has issued a Circular No.2/2017 on the Appeal Not to Broadcast (on air) during Nyepi celebration in Bali province. The circular defined in Jakarta on March 24, 2017 was signed by the Director General of Post and Informatics, Geryantika Kurnia, on behalf of minister of communications and informatics.

The inputs of the Bali House of Representatives and Indonesian broadcasting commission (KPI) of Bali related to the implementation of Nyepi on the upcoming March 28 become the consideration for the issuance of the circular. In this case, the entire broadcasting institution both radio and television is appealed not to conduct their broadcast in the province of Bali from Tuesday (Mar. 28, 2017) at 06:00 until Wednesday (Mar. 29, 2017) at 06.00.

The day before issuance of the circular, Commission I of the Bali House of Representatives did meet ministry of communications and informatics and KPI Center in Jakarta. The legislator requested the ministry of communications and informatics to issue an appeal to broadcasters in Bali in order to stop their broadcast on Nyepi Day. “The circular has been disseminated. It automatically passes through KPI and through the communication, informatics and statistics agency. So, there is no reason if the station will be suddenly on air because it is an official from the ministry issuing the circular. Hopefully, it could be obeyed, so that there will be no stations violating to broadcast in Bali, including TV cables,” said Chairman of Commission I of the Bali House of Representatives, Ketut Tama Tenaya, when asked for his confirmation on Saturday (Mar. 25).

Tama added that termination of broadcasts during Nyepi in Bali is actually expected to be permanent.

In this case, it can be regulated in Law No.32/2002 on Broadcasting which is now in the process of revision in the House of Representatives. The proposal was already submitted last year, when there was a plan to amend the Law of Broadcasting.

“Incidentally, it has now been included in the national legislation program, where KPI Center asked to provide inputs in the national legislation program. Well, we from Bali propose it to become a permanent rule. So, we do not need to submit to the KPI and minister of communications and informatics every year,” said this PDI-P politician.

According to Tama, actually

there has been article in the Law to respect local wisdom. In other words, the needs of Bali had been able to be accommodated. However, it is not clear or focused to mention the cessation of broadcast on the celebration of Nyepi in Bali.

In other words, it merely tolerates the local wisdom. However, if mentioned explicitly, the cessation of broadcasts during Nyepi in Bali will be recognized nationally.

“So, it would be better if it can be arranged in one of the articles in the amendment of the Law so that it becomes permanent. It can be written or inserted in the article of explanation that local wisdom in Bali is the cessation of broadcasting on the celebration of Nyepi,” he explained.

In the meantime, related to Nyepi packages at hotel, Tama claimed to have received an explanation from the Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI). The Nyepi packages will include taking guests to see ogoh-ogoh parade. After that, they will be transferred back to hotel and celebrate Nyepi inherent in the catur bratha penyepian or four abstinences. This means that hotel guests are forbidden to leave the hotel or go on the spree at hotel.

“We will monitor it whether there are complaints from surrounding communities. After Nyepi we can make sure whether it is correct or not. If the hotel package is carried out as explained it does not matter, lest guests are taken to have promenade right the Nyepi Day, this is what we worry about.

In the past, there was such incident, lest there is eccentric package,” he hoped.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Hindu Dharma Council of Indonesia (PHDI) of Bali, Ngurah Sudiana, urged Balinese people both in rural and urban areas not to foul celebration of Nyepi because there has been an agreement between the parliament, government and the private sector related to it. His council did not want any violations to occur in this year’s Nyepi.

“Violation of this year will be monitored by the whole world, not only by the people of Indonesia.

Hopefully, people will not go out of the house or make events like taking selfie, drinking, and so forth outside the house, except for the officers on duty,” he said.

Preferably, added Sudiana, people should be in the house and carry out the celebration well because the proper implementation of catur bratha penyepian will increase the value of tolerance. Additionally, by that way the adherence of Balinese people and democracy will also increase. (kmb32)

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France’s Macron ahead in polls, Fillon faces angry protesters

Styrofoam remains to be used as material of ogoh-ogoh (papier mâché demon)

IBP/kmb

Late to ban styrofoam use

MANGUPURA - Styrofoam remains to be used as material of ogoh-ogoh (papier mâché demon). Some customary youth clubs (sekaa taruna) claimed to have taken advantage of such non-eco-friendly material because the appeals of the Badung culture agency not to use styrofoam were late.

As is known, styrofoam waste is difficult to decompose like other plastic waste. However, plastic waste is sought after by scavengers because it can be recycled, unlike the styrofoam. For this reason, styrofoam waste keeps piling and disturbs the environment. If discharged into rivers or drains, styrofoam can clog drains and cause flood. Not only that, this noneco-friendly material has a negative impact on human health as well.

Head of the Badung Culture Agency, I.B. Anom Bhasma, denied if the making of ogoh-ogoh by a number of customary youth clubs still use styrofoam. “We do admit that some still use styrofoam. It’s okay because we were too late (to warn them—Ed), but slowly we’d like to educate them first. In the future, it will be no longer allowed to use styrofoam,” he said.

Prohibition from using styrofoam in making ogoh-ogoh, in fact, is widely violated. The culture agency of Badung is unable to do much. The papier mâché demon to be paraded on the new moon of Balinese ninth month or ahead of Nyepi Day has reached the stage of finishing.

This prohibition is imposed related to the provision of creativity-enhancing fund for customary youth clubs in welcoming Nyepi of Caka 1939 worth IDR 15 million each with tax deduction of 15

percent, so they totally received IDR 12,750,000. “This work of art will also be displayed through the ogoh-ogoh contest,” he said.

He explained there are a number of criteria used in the assessment of the ogoh-ogoh contest, such as that it must be in the form of bhuta kala (demon), using eco-friendly and natural materials such as bamboo, wood, paper, bamboo cage, rattan, plaited bamboo and without the use of styrofoam, sponge or cork.

Then, it may not have political, pornographic and discriminative content.

“However, the making of ogohogoh by styrofoam is still tolerated for this time because we want to educate them first. Next year they will be directly disqualified,” he said.

However, in the assessments will be sought after the ogoh-ogoh that complies with the criteria or those approaching the criteria specified. “Well, the ogoh-ogoh remaining to use styrofoam will definitely be unable to win. If they want to be a champion, simply meet the criteria,” he affirmed.

On the other side, hundreds of pieces of ogoh-ogoh to be paraded at the night of Pengrupukan are out of supervision of the Badung government. Local district government through the culture agency only oversees 534 pieces of ogohogoh that have received creativity-

enhancing funds. Actually, the number of the detected ogoh-ogoh to be paraded in a series of Nyepi of Caka 1939 reaches 790 pieces.

Loose supervision by government officials of Badung against the ogoh-ogoh is potential to bring out political and discriminative content. District government quibbled it cannot monitor the entire ogoh-ogoh that will be paraded at the night of Pengrupukan. Therefore, the supervision is left entirely to village officials, except for the ogoh-ogoh to be contested.

“We leave it (supervision—Ed) to their respective village. For the 534 pieces of ogoh-ogoh to be contested, the assessment team has now come down to the field.

If found any violations against the specified provisions, they will be immediately disqualified,” said Secretary of the Badung Culture Agency, Made Rustan, accompanied by Spokesman, I Nyoman Sujendra.

According to him, the assessment team will assess according to the criteria specified. For instance, the ogoh-ogoh must be in the form of demon. It is not allowed to use styrofoam material and to contain political and discriminative elements. When violating these criteria, the assessment team will immediately disqualify.

“We have prepared attractive prizes for the winners of the ogohogoh contest. Hopefully, the creativity-enhancing fund worth IDR 15 million per customary youth club would make them more vivacious in doing art creativity,” he concluded. (kmb27)

REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Carrie Lam is accompanied by her husband and son after she won the election for Hong Kong’s Chief Executive in Hong Kong, China March 26, 2017.

Hong Kong chooses new Beijing-backed leader amid political tension

HONG KONG - A Beijing-backed civil servant, Carrie Lam, was chosen to be Hong Kong’s next leader on Sunday amid accusations that Beijing is meddling and denying the financial hub a more populist leader perhaps better able to defuse political tension.

The majority of the China-ruled city’s 7.3 million people have no say in deciding their leader, who is chosen from among several candidates by a 1,200-person “election committee” stacked with pro-Beijing and pro-establishment loyalists.

Lam, who will become Hong Kong’s first female chief executive when she takes office on July 1, won 777 votes compared with 365 for her closest rival, former financial secretary John Tsang, who polls show is more popular.There were several invalid protest ballots including one that carried an obscenity.

“Hong Kong, our home, is suffering from quite a serious divisiveness,” Lam said in a victory speech.

“My priority will be to heal the divide and to ease the frustration, and to unite our society to move

forward.”

Lam also pledged to follow through on election promises including introducing a “two-tier” profits tax, reducing tax to spur research and development, tackling the high cost of housing by increasing land supply and boosting education spending.

She also promised to defend the rule of law and freedom of expression as integral to underpinning prosperity.

“Hong Kong needs new thinking,” she said.

TENSIONS Some scuffles broke out outside the voting centre between protesters and police, who used metal barricades to keep the demonstrations well away.

The activists denounced Bei-

jing’s “interference” amid widespread reports of lobbying of voters to back Lam, rather than Tsang.

Some protesters chanted “I want universal suffrage” and unfurled yellow umbrellas, a symbol of the civil disobedience “umbrella movement”, when the result was announced.

“Lies, coercion, whitewash,” read one banner. A big yellow banner calling for full democracy was hung from the Lion Rock peak overlooking the city.

“The central government has intervened again and again,” said Carmen Tong, a 20-year-old student. “It’s very unjust.”

Hundreds of Lam’s supporters waved Chinese flags and cheered inside and outside the venue after her win. Since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, Beijing has gradually increased control over it even though it promised wideranging freedoms and autonomy not allowed on the mainland under the formula of “one country, two systems”, along with an undated promise of universal suffrage. (rtr)

CAMBO-LES-BAINS - Francois Fillon’s aides used an umbrella to shield him from eggs thrown by protesters in south-west France on Saturday as the beleaguered conservative fell further behind centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-rightist Marine Le Pen in opinion polls.

The contrast between former frontrunner Fillon, embroiled in a financial scandal, and new poll favourite Macron was striking as both candidates campaigned 29 days before the first round of France’s unpredictable presidential election.

Addressing a rally in the French island of La Reunion, in the Indian ocean, Macron departed from typical campaign speeches by inviting members of the audience -- including a six-year old who asked him “How do you get to be president?” -- on stage to ask questions on a wide range of issues.

“It’s historic, we need to decide whether we want to be afraid of the century that has just started ... or want to bring fresh ambition to France,” the 39-year-old former investment banker said to chants of “Macron President!”

Macron, a former economy minister to Socialist President Francois Hollande, set up his own centrist party last year.

He has shot to first place in opinion polls since Fillon was put under investigation over suspicions he misused public funds by paying his wife hundreds of thousands of euros as a parliamentary assistant for work she may not have done. Fillon denies any wrongdoing.

Fillon slipped 2.5 percentage points on the week to 17 percent in a BVA poll published on Saturday, which saw Macron getting 26 percent of the first-round vote, up one

percentage point from a week ago with Le Pen on 25 percent, down one point.

The number of undecided voters for the first round remains high, with 40 percent of voters still undecided.

The poll showed Macron winning a second round vote with 62 percent of the vote versus 38 percent for Le Pen, who is due to hold a rally in the northern France city of Lille on Sunday.

The poll was carried out partly before a TV interview on Thursday night in which Fillon, 63, accused Hollande of leading a smear campaign against him.

Met by some 30 protesters throwing eggs and banging pots and pans to shouts of “Fillon in prison” in the south-west France town of Camboles-Bains, Fillon told reporters: “Those protests are an insult to democracy ... the more they protest, the more French voters will support me.”

Less than two weeks after revelations that Fillon had been given expensive suits as gifts, franceinfo radio said he had received two watches worth 12,000 and 15,000 euros from a businessman and a watchmaker. It quoted one of them as saying nothing was requested in return for the gift.

Fillon’s team could not immediately be reached for comment. Meanwhile, a faction of the centrist UDI party, which is allied with Fillon’s The Republicans, was kicked out of the party on Saturday for rallying behind Macron.

The BVA poll also showed farleft candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon gaining ground in the first round, up 2 points from a week earlier to 14 percent, now 2.5 points ahead of the ruling Socialist Party’s candidate Benoit Hamon. (rtr)

REUTERS/Laurent Capmas

Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche ! (Onwards !) and 2017 presidential candidate of the French centre-right visits the Chaudron market in Saint-Denis as he campaigns on the French Indian Ocean island of the Reunion, March 26, 2017.

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Monday, March 27, 2017

Traveling

International

Bali News

International

3

Monday, March 27, 2017

Ahead of Nyepi, Melaya police meddle in alcohol merchants

NEGARA - Ahead of Nyepi, the ranks of Melaya police began to aggressively raid alcoholic beverages within the past few days. In addition to combing a number of places indicated to be producer of alcoholic beverages like Balinese arrack, the officers also combed a number of dimly lit stalls at Melaya village, Melaya, suspected of selling alcohol.

Disneyland Paris 25th Anniversary celebration PARIS - Mickey Mouse’s house across the Atlantic is fast approaching its silver birthday, and guests at the resort originally known as EuroDisney will soon enjoy the new Disney Stars on Parade and Hyperspace Mountain attractions as part of the Disneyland Paris 25th Anniversary celebration.

Starting March 26, 2017, Disneyland Paris presents Disney Stars on Parade, a brand new parade at Disneyland Park featuring a plethora of Disney Characters to celebrate the 25th Anniversary in style. Mickey and Friends journey through Disney and Pixar masterpieces to the land of imagination. The new daytime parade will feature new floats, new music, new costumes and never-before-seen choreography. “In Disney Stars on Parade, we follow Mickey and Friends on a journey of discovery to the land of imagination” explains Emmanuel Lenormand, the Show Director. “We started with the words that are most frequently used by our guests when they talk about Disneyland Paris. This helped us to create a story with eight chapters, and as many emotions. We then associated these emotions with major Disney and Pixar animated films

that have proved a huge hit with the public”.

The Disney characters and floats featured in the parade are as follows: Discover the Magic: Disney Stars on Parade opens with Tinker Bell, who escapes from the pages of an enormous storybook. This is followed by an amazing float featuring Mickey and Friends dressed as explorers of the future… “A future in which technology retains a magical aspect” according to Olivier Dusautoir, the Set Designer.

Discover Friendship: The second highlight pays a dazzling tribute to children’s games. Buzz Lightyear’s rocket pulls an oversized truck in which Andy has placed all his toys in carefree disarray. The heroes of Toy Story celebrate true friendship and take us to infinity and beyond!

Discover Adventure: Who better than Simba and Nala or Baloo and Mowgli to embody the spirit of adventure? A high rock overlooks the exuberant jungle flora, while the percussion and shimmering colours release the wild instincts of an exotic world where, fortunately, it takes very little to be happy.

Discover Imagination: From one rock to another, this one is in the shape of a skull and serves as the throne of Captain Hook. Peter Pan is close by, at the helm of a ship suspended beneath an immense, dreamlike moon. “After all, Disneyland Paris is – quite literally – the Land of Imagination!”, Emmanuel Lenormand reminds us.

Discover A New World: A large turtle swims above a majestic float, covered with coral. The heroes of Finding Nemo and Finding Dory remind us of their philosophy: “Just

keep swimming!” and leave guests starry-eyed. Sea stars, of course.

Discover Enchantment: Water is followed by fire, in hot pursuit.

Like Sleeping Beauty, the story of Disney Stars on Parade would not be complete without an epic battle starring Prince Phillip and the three fairies against an evil dragon, described by Olivier Dusautoir as “mechanical, made entirely of copper with visible mechanisms, as if it has been taken straight out of Jules Verne’s imagination”. Faced with a fire-breathing monster, will good win out? (Based on the photo supplied by Disneyland Paris, this segment appears to be a duplicate of the dragon centerpiece from Walt Disney World’s Festival of Fantasy parade.

Discover Romance: Fortunately in fairy tales, good… and love always triumph in the end. Contrasting beautifully with the impressive floats that precede them, Rapunzel, Cinderella and Snow White with their respective Prince Charmings make their entrance on three graceful carriages. A romantic moment

which will melt the hearts of little girls… of all ages.

Discover Wonder: The great Disney storybook will close with a flourish with the two heroines of Frozen, on the balcony of an ice castle, accompanied by a few friends who are particularly popular with guests.

In addition to Disney Stars on Parade, the Disneyland Paris 25th anniversary celebration will feature the arrival of two new Star Wars attractions. After the upgraded Star Tours: The Adventures Continue launches in March, the Discoveryland at Disneyland Paris will welcome Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain.

In Spring 2017, Star Wars will take over a legendary space attraction that offers a unique experience.

Space Mountain will transform into Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain.

On this new adventure, guests will be able to join, in a brand new ambiance, the famous Rebel Alliance and enjoy an epic and sensational ride with total immersion in the Star Wars universe. (IBP/net)

Chief of Melaya Police, I Ketut Darmita, said on Saturday (Mar. 25) that his authority indeed intensively raided alcohol in the past few days. According to him, the intensive raid of alcohol is indeed a precaution before holding of the catur bratha penyepian on the upcoming Nyepi celebration.

From the raid, his ranks could seize 30 liters of alcohol belonging to Balinese arrack from a resident’s home, I Komang Yastra, 38, at Ketiman Kaja hamlet, Manistutu, Melaya. The Balinese arrack was secured by the officer on Thursday afternoon (Mar. 23).

In addition to alcohol raid, long before it his authority also held dissemination on the hazards of alcohol to a number of villages and figures indicated to be the areas being prone to friction. He also appealed to the people who

work outside Jembrana, especially young people, not to bring home alcohol and then make party at their home village as could potentially lead to friction.

From the result of creating condition operation ahead of Nyepi Day his ranks could reveal three cases of alcohol possession without permission from relevant authorities. On Thursday (Mar. 16), his ranks could seize alcohol at a resident’s home at Klatakan hamlet, Melaya, was then on trial on Friday (Mar. 24), and another raid on Thursday (Mar. 23) at Ketiman Kaja hamlet, Manistutu.

Then, on Saturday (Mar. 25), the raid was resumed to the location of Ketut Sumitra aka Petruk, 50, at Puseh hamlet, Tuwed, Melaya. From Petruk, the officers managed to secure 19 bottles

of ex-mineral water sizing 600 containing alcohol belonging to arrack type with a total volume of 10 liters.

Police chief said that in Melaya there is rarely circulation of alcohol, unlike in other subdistricts in Jembrana. If there is, it is surely prepared to fulfill customers’ order. Moreover, his ranks have raided a market but there is no alcohol found.

Nevertheless, he will continuously monitor the circulation of alcohol in Melaya in the future to anticipate the Nyepi celebration, chiefly the parade of ogohogoh. Do not let the parade of ogoh-ogoh be prone to friction due to the presence of alcohol.

Later, the perpetrators of alcohol ownership will be imposed with misdemeanor in accordance with the applicable rules. (kmb)

IBP/kmb

The intensive raid of alcohol is indeed a precaution before holding of the catur bratha penyepian on the upcoming Nyepi celebration.

MSS case has no impact on roasted suckling pig consumption Officials and employees district govt in queue TABANAN - Long queue of waiting for the turn to enjoy rice with roasted suckling pig was seen on the Dangin Carik tennis court, Tabanan, on Thursday (Mar. 23). The officials and staff of the government of Tabanan were not even awkward to enjoy the dish of three culinary entrepreneurs of roasted suckling pig invited by the committee. Just in a short time, three heads of roasted suckling pig were sold out.

Streptococcus suis meningitis (MSS) cases that was widely heard lately as if did not affect the people’s intention to consume the delicacy. The banquet of roasted suckling pig held by local government of Tabanan is one of the forms to eliminate people’s anxiety against the MSS bacteria.

Regional Secretary of Tabanan government, Nyoman Wirna Ariwangsa, stated if pork is slaughtered and processed properly, surely it is safe to consume. “People should not be afraid and worry about eating pork because if the pork has been properly cooked I am confident people will not be infected by the bacteria,” he affirmed.

He also admitted getting some reports on the impact of MSS causing the decrease in turnover of culinary entrepreneurs and the consumption of pork in the market. This was justified

by Deputy Chief of the Indonesian

BPM/kmb28

swine breeders association (GUPBI) of Bali, Nyoman Ariadi. He said that five days after the finding of the MSS bacteria there was indeed a significant impact on the abattoirs whose volume continued to fall and so did people’s purchasing power.

Nyoman Ariadi who is also the headman of Sudimara asked relevant agencies to proactively provide education on proper farm management and the correct meat processing.

Health agency was also expected to continuously provide information about procedures to tackle the emergence of the bacteria. Ariadi welcomed the idea of the government of Tabanan that urged people not to worry about consuming pork through the roasted suckling pig banquet.

“Moreover, Nyepi and Galungan are around the corner, so by this way we

The officials and staff of the government of Tabanan were not even awkward to enjoy the dish of three culinary entrepreneurs of roasted suckling pig invited by the committee.

hope people will no longer worry about it,” he said.

Impact of the MSS cases is also experienced by culinary entrepreneurs of roasted suckling pig. Ni Wayan Widiasih alias Mrs. Wina from Samsam village, Kerambitan, for instance, admitted that her sales declined by 75 percent. Prior to the emergence of MSS case, she was able to gain a profit of approximately IDR 2 million per day, while today it only reached IDR 500,000 to IDR 700,000. “Previously, we chose a rather large roasted suckling pig, but now somewhat smaller because the buyers slightly down,” she said.

She also welcomed the prompt action of the government of Tabanan in the effort to relieve the people’s anxiety to consume processed pork. (kmb28)

After inventorying

Buleleng district offers dozens of tourist destinations SINGARAJA - Buleleng does not only have a few of tourist destinations. After the district government through tourism agency made an inventory, in fact, it amounts to tens of locations scattered throughout the district territory.

Head of the Buleleng Tourism Office, Nyoman Sutrisna, mentioned that all this time Buleleng is only famous for its marine tourism as well as waterfalls. However, based on the results of inventory carried out this year, it reaches 86 locations in nine subdistricts. Their type is indeed very varied. Aside from nature and marine tourism, there are also spiritual, agro, artificial and cultural tourist destination. “All this time the tourist attraction in Buleleng is only known to consist of waterfalls and marine tourism. We have inventoried the number reaching dozens,” he explained on Saturday (Mar. 25).

He acknowledged the tourist destinations have not entirely owned the attractions, amenities and accessibility. These conditions caused the number of tourist visit to be not much, only dominated by local community. On that account, the district government will pay attention to their handling. A number of objects have been equipped with the attractions, amenities and accessibility. There are still under process. It becomes one of the assessment criteria for the visit,” he said.

To develop the destination, he claimed to have provided dissemination related to the management as well as development of its human resources. This will be continuously monitored and evaluated and finally will be issued a decree or regent regulation. “To determine the levies, the measure will have something to do with regional bylaw (Perda),” he said. (sos)

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Monday, March 27, 2017

Bali News

International

Bali prone to earthquake DENPASAR —

AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati

Balinese women pray during the ritual of Melasti in Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, March 25, 2017.

The ritual, which is performed ahead of the Balinese Hindu’s Day of Silence, is held to purify the universe from bad influences, bad deeds and bad thoughts.

Bali named best destination by TripAdvisor

DENPASAR —

TripAdvisor named Bali as the best destination that even surpassed London (UK) and Paris (France). Both destinations respectively occupied the second and third position after Bali.

Meanwhile, the fourth to tenth position is respectively occupied by Roma (Italy), New York (USA), Crete (Greece), Barcelona (Spain), Siem Riep (Cambodia), Prague (Czech Republic) and Phuket (Thailand).

Head of the Bali Tourism Office, A.A. Gede Yuniartha Putra, when asked for his confirmation on Thursday (Mar. 23) justified the awarding of Bali as The Best Destination in the World by TripAdvisor. The information was obtained on Wednesday (Mar. 22) from the ministry of tourism.

“TripAdvisor is a big enough institution. So, it has a team to assess. I do not know whether this happened due to the viral of King Salman’s visit. Probably, it could also boost because the defeated are big countries,” he said last Thursday.

Aside from King Salman, added Yuniartha, the branding of Wonderful Indonesia echoed by the ministry of tourism overseas is also likely to influence the assessment. It happened because the promotion conducted by the ministry of tourism put Bali at the forefront followed by the other regions.

“Of course this can be very powerful because the branding of Wonderful Indonesia is already known throughout the world. Well ...it comes with the addition of taksu (divine vibration) of Bali that has made it ranked first,” he explained.

Yuniartha believed that the power of Balinese taksu plays the most important role. This award is not the first time for Bali especially in 2017 alone. Last February, Bali was named as the best island for 12 years in succession

by DestinAsian Readers Choice Award (RCA) in 2017 based in Singapore.

“It means that people are still glancing at our cultural tourism.

Branding has its value where the higher the branding attached to products, they will be more expensive. Just like branded products, no matter how much the price set, if people like they will certainly purchase,” he added.

Yuniartha asked people not to remain silent, but must help the government in improving the destinations in their respective regions. The government will provide guidance for tourist destinations. Overall, this year Bali province allocates the budget of approximately IDR 15 billion for tourism development, including promotion and branding.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Tourism Industry Association of Indonesia (GIPI) of Bali, Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana, said that Bali over the years has often got a top position in the category of World’s Best Island or Asia’s Best Destination. However this time, the award of TripAdvisor seems very special because Bali wins in the major category, namely World’s Best Destination.

“Actually, this award belongs to the whole people of Bali for the awarding of Bali as the world’s best destination,” he said. (kmb32)

Earthquakes are sudden violent shaking of the ground due to the release of energy in the earth marked by the breaking of rock layers in the earth’s crust. Accumulation of energy causing the earthquake is resulted from the movement of tectonic plates. The resulting energy is emitted to all directions in the form of earthquake waves so that the effects can be perceived up to the surface of the earth.

“Tectonic plates are hard segments of the earth’s crust floating above the molten and heat asthenosphere. Therefore, these tectonic plates are free to move and interacts each other. The border area of tectonic plates are places having an active tectonic conditions causing earthquakes, volcanoes and the formation of plateau,” explained the Division Head of Data and Information of the national weather service (BMKG) for Region III Denpasar, I Nyoman Gede Wiryajaya, on Wednesday (Mar. 22).

Furthermore, it is described there are three possible movements of tectonic plates being relative to the other plates, namely when the two plates mutually go away (spreading), mutually approach (collision) and mutually shifts (transformation).

If two plates meet at a fault, they can move away from each other, approach each other or shift each other. Generally, this movement takes place slowly and cannot be perceived by humans, but measured at 0-15 cm per year. “Sometimes, movement of these plates is stagnant and interlocked, causing the continuous collection of energy until the rocks in the tectonic plates are no longer able to resist the movement so that it triggers sudden release known as earthquake,” he added.

In general, Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because the path is traversed by the intersection of tectonic plates, namely the Indo-Australian plate, the Eurasian plate and the Pacific plate. Indo-Australia plate moves relatively northward and infiltrates into the Eurasian plate, while the Pacific plate moves relatively westward. Strip of the plate confluence is at sea, so that in the event of a large earthquake with a shallow depth, it will potentially cause a tsunami. As a result, Indonesia is prone to tsunamis.

Meanwhile, tectonic condition of the Island of Bali and its surroundings poses a part of the seismo-tectonic of Indonesia. This area is passed through by Mediterranean mountain paths and their subduction zone as a result of a confluence between the Eurasian Plate and Indo-Australian Plate. Limit of the confluence is in the form of canyons of the ocean (Oceanic Trench) in the southern of Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara Islands.

Movement of the Indo-Australian plate towards the Eurasian Plate was first estimated through a research of Global Positioning System (GPS) in 1989 was obtained that relative movement of Christmas Island is located in Indo-Australia plate against West Java in the Eurasian plate by 67 ± 7 mm / year with a direction of N11 ° E ± 4 ° (Tregoning et al, 1994), and this approximates to the results calculated theoretically by using NUVEL-1 model that is equal to 71 mm / year with the direction of more northward of N20 ° E ± 3 ° (DeMets et al, 1990).

“So, with this condition, it will cause Bali Island to be one of the regions that have a high enough level of seismicity associated with plate subduction under Sunda exposure and activity at the edge of the Australian continent and activities as well as the continuation of the line of Sunda exposure eastwardly encountering the Banda Arc,” he said.

Movement of the plates also resulted in arising fault zone of rear arc that extends from the North of Bali Island to Nusa Tenggara. Thus, this led to an active seismic region in the north of Bali Island. “Bali Island’s seismic activity is also influenced by the presence of local faults. For example, the Culik fault seen from historical seismicity poses an active fault on the Island of Bali,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, the impact of the movement of these plates is the presence of tectonic types denoting the characteristic of subduction system, namely the trenches, Benioff zone, outer arc basin, foreland basin, and mountain trails. Under the Island of Bali sits an earthquake zone in the form of a slab with a depth of 100 km and slope of up to 65 ° with a range up to a depth of 650 km below the northern part of the Island of Bali.

On the Benioff line is found frozen rocks with alkaline composition along with the result of volcanic activities. The presence of peak (arising continental slope) of Java-Bali trench is formed by sediment imbrications and mélange with uprising fault as the main structural characteristics of the outer arc ridge. Outer arc basin extends between the outer arch ridge and volcanic arcs. (win)

 Founder : K.Nadha,  General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Gugiek Savindra  Editors:Agus Toni, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Sueca, Sugiartha, Yudi Winanto Denpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subrata, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Suasrina, Buleleng: Dewa kusuma, Gianyar: Manik Astajaya, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Dewa Farendra. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto.  Office: Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, Facsimile: 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp. (0370) 639543, Facsimile: (0370) 628257. Publisher: PT Bali Post

Activities

International

Monday, March 27, 2017

Waterbom Bali Golden Ticket, Win Waterbom Bali’s Ultimate VIP Experience “To maintain the high standards waterbom Bali located in south Kuta, set for facilities, Waterbom Bali is undertaking a complete renovation of

the park and an extensive maintenance program from starting from March 13th until March 28th, 2017”. Sayan Gullino GM Waterbom Park Bali.

WEEKLY EVENTS and FARMERS MARKETS EVERY SATURDAY Meditation class by Mangku Budi Dharma 14-16:30 Bona, Blahbatuh meet at Ubud Cocomarket at 13:00 Saturday Market Oldman’s Cafe Canggu, Batu Bolong Beach, pottery fresh produce, clothing Sand Beach Club and Restaurant, Sanur Every second Saturday Biasa Art Space, Jl. Raya Seminyak 24, Seminyak, Fresh produce, potted plants, meat pie, sshie, coffee and more.

Every Saturday 9AM-2PM OrganIc Farmer’s Market Pizza Bagus (Jl. Pengosekan), Ubud EVERY SUNDAY Soul to soul spirituall dialogue Anand Ashram, Ubud Jl Sri Wedari KM 3 Mantra chanting 6-6:30pm Navaraha Arati 6:30-6:45pm Meditation, Satsang and celebration 6:45-8:30pm www.ubudashram.org SUNDAY MARKETS 10AM 1PM Sunday Market at Batu Jimbar Jl. Danau Tablingan , Sanur 10AM-4PM The Sands Beach Club and Restaurant Sunday MArket Jl. Danau Tamblingan, No 27, Sanur 9:30AM-1PM Sunday Market @ Warung Sopa Jl. Sugriwas no36, Padang Tegal, Ubud 9AM-2PM Samadi Sunday Market Jalan. Padang Linjong 39, Canggu, 9AM-2PM Wednesday and Sunday Ubud Organik Market Jl. Raya Pengosekan across from Zens Hotel Tebesaya, Ubud 12PM-10PM Sunday Food Festival & Bazaar Byrdhouse Beach Club, Sanur 10AM-6PM, Mercure,last sunday of every month, jl. ,Mertasari, Sanur, fashion food and and kids activities The Coffee Spot, Jalan Peigenet 888X,Seminyak, last Sunday of every month, garage sale clothing, books, and hand-made jewellery

“So The park will be closed during this time(13th until March 28th, 2017) and will re-open to the public on March 29, 2017 at 11am. Want to be the first to check out our fresh new look? Here is your chance”. Sayan

Added.

On March 29, 2017.We are offering The Waterbom Bali Golden Ticket, one lucky guest and up to 5 friends the chance to be the first to experience the newly re-opened park

15

as our VIP guests including, exclusive access to the park including all slides and facilities for just you and your friends on the morning of re-opening and Full VIP treatment for the rest of the day.(kmb)

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

16 Pages Number 61 9th year

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Monday, March 27, 2017

Harrison Ford called himself a ‘schmuck’ after plane incident LOS ANGELES - Harrison Ford is heard calling himself a “schmuck” in an audio recording released on Friday of his exchange with an air traffic controller following a February incident in which the actor landed his private plane on a taxiway instead of a runway.

“Yeah, hi, its Husky Eight-Niner Hotel Uniform,” Ford is heard saying on the recording, using the phonetic pronunciation of his aviation call sign. “I’m the schmuck that landed on the taxiway.”

The star of “Star Wars” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” then goes on to explain that he landed in the wrong place because he was distracted by two jets.

On the audio tape, released by the Federal Aviation Administration, the air traffic controller asks for Ford’s name and pilot’s license, assuring the film star that the mishap is “no big deal.”

“Well it’s a big deal for me, hold on,” Ford responds, adding that he is looking in a backpack, apparently for his pilot’s license.

At that point the audio cuts off.

In the Feb. 13 incident Ford flew his single-engine Aviat Husky over an American Airlines Boeing 737 jet in Santa Ana, California, before landing on the taxiway that runs parallel to the runway. Taxiways are paths along which aircraft can taxi when moving to or from a runway, where planes take off and land.

In 2015 Ford crashed a vintage plane onto a Los Angeles-area golf course, suffering serious injuries. (rtr)

Melasti, Purifying Earth Before Nyepi

REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Cast member Becky G. poses at the premiere of “Power Rangers” in Los Angeles, California U.S., March 22, 2017.

Rebooted Power Rangers return to big screen

Earlier in the day, Power RangLOS ANGELES - The latest reboot of the 1990s “Power Rangers” children’s television series held its world premiere ers creator and producer Haim Saban received a star on the Holin Los Angeles on Wednesday night.

REUTERS/Lucy Nicholso/File PHoto

Actor Harrison Ford’s damaged airplane is taken away after its crash landing at Penmar Golf Course in Venice, Los Angeles California March 6, 2015.

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Monday, March 27, 2017

Directed by Dean Israelite, the film tells the backstories of the five teenage characters - a misfit, a loner, a school bully, an intellectual and a drop-out - and their transformation into action heroes.

“It’s like an instruction manual of how to become a Power Ranger because you go through the kids’ journey...these inadequate insecure little kids, and how they become

superheroes,” said actor Ludi Lin, who plays the Black Ranger.

As in the television series, the Rangers’ mission is to stop arch villain Rita Repulsa, played in the rebooted film version by American actor Elizabeth Banks.

“It’s hard work. I will say that but it was really fun to yell at everyone,” Banks said. “It’s fun to feel like I was invincible.”

lywood Walk of Fame for his achievements in television.

The TV series that debuted as “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” in 1993 is now in its 24th season, making it one of the longest running children’s action series in television history.

It also spawned three theatrical films, with the latest, “Saban’s Power Rangers”, set to open in U.S. theaters on Friday. (rtr)

REUTERS/Agung Parameswara

A procession of Balinese Hindus walk along a beach during Melasti, a purification ceremony ahead of the holy day of Nyepi, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia March 25, 2017.

Denpasar - The Tawur Kesanga Ritual which is held in connection with Nyepi was started with Melasti Ceremony. The ceremony is held by all villages in Bali as the symbol of purification and it is done in the water source such as rover and sea.

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REUTERS/Agung Parameswara

A Balinese Hindu throws a duck into the ocean as an offering during Melasti, a purification ceremony ahead of the holy day of Nyepi, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia March 25, 2017.

In Denpasar, Melasti is held in beaches throughout the city. Many Hindus came to Padanggalak Beach bringing the Pretima which is the symbol of God. On other beaches such as Matahari terbit and Bali Beach is also packed with the Hindus.

The Balinese traditional instrument (Gamelan) is sound during the parade procession with some of priest lead among the people.

After arriving at the beach, all god symbols are purified based on local rituals process. afterward, it carried back to the temple and keep it sacred. Each of Balinese Hindu people will go to the temple for worshiping to get the prosperity and peaceful for the entire world.

Every “banjar” that has done with the “encircling beach” ritual continued their cavalcade toward their own temple to put their “pratima” back. As like as their arrival so does their homing, they went back to their temple by feet. Cavalcade

of Balinese Hindus people within white nuance clothing carrying the sacred worship symbols—pratima—once again enliven along the road of Sanur-Denpasar. Colourful of magnificence, majesty, and splendour of Bali wrapped by such a white nuance of purity move and march as if fence in the coast of Padanggalak Beach.

This ceremony is very important value to remind /realize how important this life and we need a day to purify ourselves and the universe. With this ceremony, all the components that live in this world have a clean soul so the world can survive from the threat of a bad thing.(kmb) News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http://globalfmbali.listen2myradio. com or live video streaming at http:// radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.

REUTERS/Agung Parameswara

Balinese Hindu men carry Jempana, or symbols of God, along a beach during Melasti, a purification ceremony ahead of the holy day of Nyepi, in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia March 25, 2017.