Edisi 30 Januari 2014 | International Bali Post

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Entertainment

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Yen says son inspired Monkey King performance

WEATHER FORECAST 23 - 32 Dps

Freezing US storm threatens south

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Associated Press Writer

HONG KONG — Actor Donnie Yen says his toddler son was his inspiration for his performance in “The Monkey King.” The action star plays the title role in the 3D film, “The Monkey King,” loosely based on a classic Chinese folktale where the Monkey King accompanies a Buddhist monk on a pilgrimage to retrieve a sacred Buddhist script.

AP Photo/Vincent Yu

In this Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014 photo, Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen gestures during an interview at a restaurant in Hong Kong. The action star plays the title role in the upcoming 3D film, “The Monkey King”

The movie opens in Hong Kong on Thursday and in the rest of China on Friday in a bid to capture box office sales at the start of the Chinese New Year holiday period. It is a popular story that has been told numerous times on the small and big screen, and many actors have played the part before.

But instead of looking to those past performances, Yen watched his young son, who was 3 years old at the time, playing at home.

“He was hopping around from couches to couches, this sofa to that sofa, very active,” Yen said.

“I saw my son running around, jumping around, just acting like any other active child and I said to myself ‘you know, this is the essence that I wanted to kind of preserve’ ... the Monkey King’s, his purity, his youth, his childhoodlike, his — the whole innocence of his character.”

While it was easy to get inspiration from his son, it was not as much fun for Yen to put on the full-body monkey suit with prosthetic make up.

“The hardest part was that once you have that full on make up, you can’t eat, you can’t eat normally ... and you can only

Miley Cyrus duets with Madonna for MTV special

EPL leader Arsenal held as Liverpool, United win

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Not Published We, The International Bali Post would like to apologize in advance because we will not be published on Friday, January 31, 2014 Thank You

Ahead of Chinese New Year

Ngurah Rai Airport makes extra flight

IBP/File Photo

Facing the flood of passengers ahead of the Chinese New Year 2565, the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Bali has prepared 94 additional flights to and from Bali with the destinations like Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Naning Airport - China.

Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES — Miley Cyrus is mashing things up with Madonna for MTV. The 21-year-old pop star and the 55-year-old Queen of Pop grinded and grabbed each other as they performed Cyrus’ hit “We Can’t Stop” and Madonna’s 2000 track “Don’t Tell Me” Tuesday during a taping in Hollywood. The “MTV Unplugged” special that closes with the duet is set to air Wednesday.

Cyrus is the star of the show. She performs a selection of songs from her latest album, “Bangerz,” including “Wrecking Ball,” her new single, “Adore You,” and the live debut of “Drive.” Though her whittled stomach and occasional crotch-grabs compete for attention, Cyrus’ voice takes center stage in the hourlong acoustic show.

drink liquids out of a straw,” he said in an interview. Yen also denied rumors the he was no longer involved in the sequel to Ang Lee’s classic martial arts film, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” But he said the script is still being written.

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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Bali Post

MANGUPURA - Facing the flood of passengers ahead of the Chinese New Year 2565, the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Bali has prepared 94 additional flights to and from Bali with the destinations like Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Naning Airport - China.

AP Photo/Sandy M. Cohen

Miley Cyrus performs with Madonna for MTV Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014.

Co-General Manager of PT Angkasa Pura 1, I Gusti Ngurah Ardita, said the addition of dozens of extra flights had been carried out since a week

before the Chinese New Year celebration.

“Chinese New Year celebration has quite good impact on the flight out of Bali and to Bali. Moreover,

in this political year, many people travel out of Bali for the campaign as well as come to Bali for the same purposes,” said Ngurah Ardita as confirmed on Tuesday.

In harmony with the increasing number of travelers visiting Bali, he added, the tourism supporting facilities should also be improved.

“We have to keep environment clean, thus it will have a positive impression to travelers visiting Bali,” he said.

According to him, the political year brought in major impact on the world of aviation. Even, it was estimated that aside from commercial flights, the use of charter flights or private jet also indicated a surge.

“All this time, there are many small aircrafts or charter flights holding VIP guests to Bali. Within a year they can reach thousands.

To that end, we have prepared parking space for 16 private jets,

so that private aircrafts will not mix with commercial aircrafts,” he explained.

He predicted the flights related to legislative and presidential election occurred next April and would be followed by school holidays from July to August. “The passenger growth is quite significant. In the year 2013, we handled 224,118 domestic passengers and 169,952 international passengers,” he said. (kmb27)

2

International

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Bali News Discotheque chaotic

Foreign visitor thrown with a bottle Bali Post

DENPASAR - One of the nightclubs located around Jalan Legian, Kuta, apparently had got riot on Tuesday (Jan 28) at 01:30 a.m. A discotheque visitor, Andrzej Piotr–Kozdra, 43, a Polish-born visitor, was thrown with a bottle to sustain injury. Not only that, the victim was also kicked. The case has been reported to Kuta Police a week later.

Chief of Kuta Police, Nyoman Resa, through the Chief of Detective Criminal Section, Wahyu Setyo, said on Tuesday (Jan 28) that his party was still investigating the case. Motive of the beatings against the victim staying at Hotel Kedin’s II on Jalan Poppies Lane Gang Sorga, Kuta, was unknown.

“We have received the report today (Wednesday—Ed). Now, it is still under investigation,” said Chief Resa.

He explained the incident began when the victim came to the discotheque to see his friend

singing. The victim was sitting on a chair. Suddenly, the culprit came up and stood in front of the victim. It was not known what the problem was, while the other culprits then kicked the trash.

“Another culprit threw a bottle at the victim,” he explained.

Throw of the bottle at the victim caused painful on his eyes and hands. More unluckily, the victim’s left eye could not see. In addition, the victim having the permanent address on SA Gavina Street 22 PTA 607820 Baleares - Spain also sustained injuries in

the head and temples. Such incident triggered a tense situation in the discotheque. “Indeed, the condition turned austere, but it was soon under control,” he said.

As the victim got injured, he was then quickly rushed to hospital. Chief Resa claimed not to know the culprit of the beatings.

Since the case was just reported, his party was still making an investigation. “We’ve examined several witnesses. Hopefully, information on the incident could be promptly revealed,” he added. (kmb21)

Poultry development project infringes valley borderline Bali Post

SINGARAJA - An illegal project alleged to be used for chicken coop by taking advantage the space of a cliff borderline occurred at Busungbiu village, Busungbiu subdistrict.

When seen from the results of field observation, condition of the project site is less feasible. Construction of the chicken coop uses the space near the valley borderline and quite steep road.

As the latest information, the illegal project near the valley has been discontinued by Municipal Police (Satpol PP) of Buleleng on Friday (Jan 24) because it is located near the bridge connecting the Mayong village and Busungbiu village, Buleleng. It is known the project will be

used for chicken farm. However in terms of security, it does not guarantee because the location is prone to avalanche.

According to a source, the project is owned by a resident of Busungbiu named Ariyasa Budi. Meanwhile, the Head of Buleleng Municipal Police Putu Harthana met on Monday (Jan 28) said that his party had given a reprimand to stop the project. “We have stopped the project development activity first. Together with the team, the Municipal Police at Busungbiu observed that it is true if the cliff border has been flattened. When asked to the owner, the project was indeed planned for a chicken farm. Therefore, we stopped it because it did not have any permits and should comply

with the applicable rules,” he said.

The project site is very hazardous because it is a very steep cliff side. If the development is allowed, it will endanger the connecting bridge.

“Condition of the terrain where the project established is very steep.

If the project is forced to be continued, an avalanche may occur and it is certainly very hazardous for people crossing the connecting bridge,” said Hartana.

Based on observation last Monday (Jan 27), the project remained to take place and masons looked to work on the sides of the project wall. Relevant agencies should take decisive action against the illegal project. If it indeed infringes the rules, there must be clearness. (dgk)

Singaraja Police ‘secure election demonstration’ Bali Post

SINGARAJA - Ahead of the General Election 2014 no party can predict if there will be any mass action later on. To prevent any turbulence of the mass action in the five-yearly event, the lineups of Singaraja Police did an exercise at the former Buleleng Harbor. The exercise activity took place on Tuesday afternoon (Jan 28) by involving three platoons of troops to disperse the crowd.

Originally the crowd was not satisfied with the Electoral Committee 2014, so they went to the office of the Regent of Buleleng with the intent to demand for justice and hopefully the official was willing to receive them. As a result, no officials wanted to get out because the amount of crowd reached thousands of people. Definitely the crowd was getting more emotional and it culminated in the act of anarchism.

Singaraja Police arrived at location and alerted three platoons of troops equipped with riot squad, a water cannon tactical vehicle and two dogs from the canine squad. Ultimately the crowd got involved in clash and was then swiftly faced by police by arresting the demonstrator leader. Deputy Chief of Buleleng Police Bima Arya Viyasa witnessed in person the rehearsal of the technical function of the quick response squad.

Deputy Chief of Buleleng Police Bima Arya Viyasa said the exercise was meant to make preparation for the upcoming General Election 2014.

Readiness of the personnel was very much expected to help secure the election. Security was the shared responsibility, so that people were expected to practice their democracy without anarchism. “A refreshing exercise is quite required by the security forces because there are also personnel who are mutated from different section. It is intended to give illustration where their position should be in case of a mass action.

Buffering platoons from the subdistrict police are also involved so they know what to do when they are deployed,” he said. (dgk)

Baby girl discarded in front of boarding room Bali Post

DENPASAR - Residents living on Jalan Cenigan Sari Gang I, Sesetan, South Denpasar, were shocked by the finding of a baby, Sunday morning (Jan 26). Such female baby was dumped by its parent in front of the neighboring boarding room, Winawati. It has not been known for sure who has the heart to dump the little baby.

Meanwhile, the officers of South Denpasar Police are still conducting further investigation.

Based on information compiled on Monday (Jan 27), the finding of the unfortunate baby was around 06:00 a.m. The witness Winawati admitted to hear a baby crying outside her room. Once she woke up and opened the door, in front of the neighboring room was seen a baby wrapped in a blanket and crying hard.

The finding made people excited, including the dwellers of the boarding house. Moreover, no dwellers in the boarding house had a baby. They immediately reported the case to South Denpasar Police. Some officers then came down to the scene and conducted an examination of witnesses. After the crime scene investigation, the baby was immediately taken to the Bros Hospital at Renon.

“Condition of the baby is still fine. Allegedly the baby was dumped due to the results of a love affair,” said Chief of South Denpasar Criminal Detective Police Ngurah Yudhisthira last Sunday. He explained that his party had examined a number of witnesses. However, so far it was still under investigation. “We have not known its parents and are still investigating the case,” he added. (kmb21)

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Activities

International

Thursday, January 30, 2014

15

Archipelago International celebrates Chinese New Year

IBP

JAKARTA – With Chinese New Year on the horizon, Archipelago International have launched a group-wide promo throughout the month of January to honor the traditional Chinese holiday. Running for the month of January, guests staying at all of Archipelago’s hotels are given the chance to win select prizes upon check-in.

The “Happy Chinese New Year” promo sees each of Archipelago International’s hotels and villas offering their guests a chance to win a reward at the front desk. As guests check-in, they are invited to pull a piece of paper from a bowl (one per room) in the hope of picking a winning ticket with a select prize.

Prizes include instant cash and instant discounts on the room rate, free upgrades and vouchers for a free night on the next stay, 25% off spa treatments, complimentary mini bar, 50% off lunch or dinner, free

breakfast, a branded pen or T-shirt and a flower or fruit basket in the room. There are also electronics and other premium gifts, as well as free airport drop off, a romantic dinner and vouchers for nearby activities in the area.

“This exciting promo is our way to give something back to our loyal customers, whilst also celebrating the festivities of Chinese New Year.

Not only do we hope to promote Archipelago International’s hotel brands, but we also aim to provide a fun holiday and fantastic prizes for

IBP/Courtesy of AI

our guests” Says Norbert Vas, VP Sales & Marketing Archipelago International Tenaiya Brookfield, Director of E-commerce Archipelago International adds, “We decided to celebrate Chinese New Year for the entire month

of January to really kick off another fantastic year! All of our guests therefore get a chance to win prizes when they come and stay at one of our hotels or villas. Look out for the red envelopes, or “ang pao”, at the front desk which

Calendar Event for January 1 through February 26, 2014 1 Jan Buda Kliwon Matal, Kajeng Kliwon And Tilem Sasih Kenam Pura Desa Sukawati Sukawati Pura Pasek Gelgel Gelgel Bebetin Pura Maspahit Sesetan Pura Padharman Arya Kanuruhan Besakih 11 Jan Tumpek Kandang Pura Desa Gianyar Pura Luhur Dalem Sagening Kediri Tabanan Pura Sang Hyang Tegal Tegalalang 15 Jan Purnama Sasih Kapitu Pura Dalem Tarukan Cemenggaon Sukawati Pura Penataran Dalem Ketut Pejeng Kaja Gianyar Pura Puseh Manakaji Peninjauan Bangli Pura Taman Limut Pengosekan Mas Ubud Pura Benua Besakih Pura Gunung Rena Sidemen Karangasem Pura Pasek Gelgel Abadi Karangasem Pura Pucak Gunung Mangun Kubu Karangasem 16 Jan Kajeng Kliwon Uwudan

17 Jan Hari Bhatara Sri 21 Jan Anggara Kasih Prangbakat Pura Bukit Buluh Gunaksa Klungkung Pura Tirtha Sidamala Bebalang Bangli Pura Gunung Pangsong Lombok Pura Dalem Benawah Gianyar Pura Dalem Bitra Gianyar Pura Pura Hyang Haluh/Jenggala Besakih

Pura Tengkulak Tulikup Gianyar Pura Taman Sari Ubud Pura Penataran Badung

Pura Penataran Giri Purwo Tegal Delimo Banyuwangi Pura jala Sidhi amerta Juanda Surabaya

29 Jan Hari Siwaratri

19 Feb Buda Cemeng Kelawu Pura Penataran Agung Teluk Padang Karangasem Pura Melanting Camenggaon Sukawati Pura Penataran ped Nusa Penida Pura Gaduhan Jagat Singakerta Ubud Pura Masceti Sanding Tampak Siring Pura Penataran Batu Lepang Kamasan Kelungkung Pura Paibon Pasek Gelgel Kedonganan Kuta Pura Guwa Besakih Pura Basukian Besakih Pura Jati Ubud Pura Melanting Ubud Pura Dalem Peed Nusa Penida Pura Sad Kayangan Nusa Penida Pura Penataran Agung Gunung Karangasem

30 Jan Tilem Sasih Kepitu Pura Buana Kawan Besakih Pura Ulun Kulkul Besakih 31 Jan Kajeng Kliwon Enyitan 5 Feb Buda Kliwon Ugu Pura Dalem Tarukan Peninjauan Tembuku Bangli Pura Pemayun Banyuning Tengah Buleleng Pura Kayangan Tiga Seririt Buleleng Pura Agung Gunung Raung Taro Tegalalang 6 Feb Pura Dalem Puri Besakih 14 Feb Purnama Sasih Kawulu Pura Dalem Batur Bangli Pura Ida Ratu Pasek Besakih Pura Dalem Suci Sidemen Karangasem Pura Buana Kawan Besakih 15 Feb Tumpek Wayang & Kajeng Kliwon Uwudan Pura Majapahit Jembrana Pura Panti Gelgel Pengembungan Sesetan Pura Pedarman Dalem Sukawati Besakih Pura Pedarman Mengwi Besakih Pura Pedarman Kaba-kaba Besakih Pura Pedarman Dalem Bakas Besakih Pura Pedarman Dinasti Dalem Besakih

21 Feb Hari Bhatara Sri 25 Feb Anggara Kasih Dukut Pura Dalem Batuyang Batubulan Pura Pasek Gelgel Mengening Kediri Tabanan Pura Pasek Undagi Krambitan Tabanan Pura Pucak Taman bedulu Gianyar Pura Puser Jagat Nusa Penida Pura Dalem Purwa Kawan Bangli Pura Desa Ketewel Gianyar 26 Feb Pura Agung Pasek gelgel Sibang Kaja Abian Semal Pura Dalem Samprangan Gianyar

hold cash, discounts, prizes, free upgrades, merchandise and much more!”

More details of the promo can be found online and on the hotel booking pages, as well as within e-blasts, social media pages and online banners.

Balinese Temple Ceremony Every Temple and Shrine has a special date for it annual Ceremony, or “ Odalan “, every 210 days according to Balinese calendar, including the smaller ancestral shrine which each family possesses. Because of this practically every few days a ceremony of festival of some kind takes place in some Village in Bali. There are also times when the entire island celebrated the same Holiday, such as at Galungan, Kuningan, Nyepi day, Saraswati day, Tumpek Landep day, Pagerwesi day, Tumpek Wayang day etc.

The dedication or inauguration day of a Temple is considered its birth day and celebration always takes place on the same day if the wuku or 210 day calendar is used. When new moon is used then the celebration always happens on new moon or full moon. The day of course can differ the religious celebration of a temple lasts at least one full day with some temple celebrating for three days while the celebration of Besakih temple, the Mother Temple, is never less than 7 days and most of the time it lasts for 11 days, depending on the importance of the occasion.

The celebration is very colorful. The shrine are dressed with pieces of cloths and sometimes with brocade, sailings, decorations of carved wood and sometimes painted with gold and Chinese coins, very beautifully arranged, are hung in the four corners of the shrine. In front of shrine are placed red, white or black umbrellas depending which Gods are worshipped in the shrines.

In front of important shrine one sees, besides these umbrellas soars, tridents and other weapons, the “umbulumbul”, long flags, all these are prerogatives or attributes of Holiness. In front of the Temple gate put up “Penjor”, long bamboo poles, decorated beautifully ornaments of young coconut leaves, rice and other products of the land.

Most beautiful to see are the girls in their colorful attire, carrying offerings, arrangements of all kinds fruits and colored cakes, to the Temple. Every visitor admires the grace with which the carry their load on their heads.

14

Health

Thursday, January 30, 2014

International

Doctors: Too few cancer patients enroll in studies Associated Press Writer

One of every 10 clinical trials for adults with cancer ends prematurely because researchers can’t get enough people to test new treatments, scientists report. The surprisingly high rate reveals not just the scope and cost of wasted opportunities that deprive patients of potential advances, but also the extent of barriers such as money, logistics and even the mistaken fear that people won’t get the best care if they join one of these experiments.

“Clinical trials are the cornerstone of progress in cancer care,” the way that new treatments prove their worth, said Dr. Matthew Galsky of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

When an experimental drug or other treatment fails to make it to the market, people often think it didn’t work or had too many side effects, but the inability to complete studies can doom a drug, too, Galsky said. He helped lead an analysis of 7,776 experiments registered on Clinicaltrials.gov, a government web site for tracking medical experiments, from September 2005 to November 2011.

All were mid- or late-stage studies testing treatments for various types of cancer in adults.

About 20 percent of the studies were not completed for reasons that had nothing to do with the

treatment’s safety or effectiveness, both legitimate reasons for ending a study early. Poor accrual — the inability to enroll enough patients in enough time to finish the study — led to nearly 40 percent of premature endings.

Company-sponsored studies were less likely to be completed than those sponsored by the government or others. Late-stage cancer trials can cost companies “tens to even hundreds of millions of dollars,” and that money is wasted if no clear answer on the drug’s value is gained, said Dr. Charles J. Ryan, a cancer specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.

He heads the program for a conference later this week in San Francisco, where Galsky’s study will be presented. It was discussed Tuesday in a telebriefing by the American Society of Clinical On-

AP Photo/Karin Schermbrucker, File

FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 9. 2007 file photo, a doctor examines chest X-rays at a tuberculosis clinic in Gugulethu, Cape Town, South Africa. cology, an organization for doctors who treat cancer.

Ryan and Galsky said they hoped the study would spur more research on why more patients don’t participate. In most cases, the treatment being tested is provided for free, but

there can be other costs such as lab tests. Some states require insurers to cover these additional costs, but others do not, so money may be one hurdle for patients.

Some doctors do not strongly encourage patients to participate

in studies, and sometimes patients fear they’ll get a dummy treatment instead of real medicine. However, in cancer clinical trials, ethical standards require that all patients get the current best care, plus a chance at an experimental treatment.

Texas husband named brain-dead wife’s fetus Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/Tim Sharp

Erick Munoz, husband of Marlise Munoz, is escorted out of court by his attorney Heather L. King, right, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014 in Fort Worth, Texas.

DALLAS — Before a pregnant, brain-dead Texas woman was taken off life support over the weekend at the end of a long legal battle, her husband said he decided to name what would have been the couple’s second child. Erick Munoz said Monday he gave the 23-weekold fetus the name Nicole, the middle name of his late wife, Marlise Munoz. He would not say why he chose to name the fetus.

The case inspired debates about abortion and end-of-life decisions, as well as whether a pregnant woman who is considered legally and medically dead should be kept on life support for the sake of a fetus.

Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry and the two leading candidates running to replace him noted the case, but none has called for any new laws or ac-

tion yet. In recent years, the Texas Legislature has enacted several new anti-abortion restrictions, including setting the legal guideline for when a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks. Similar laws have gone into effect around the U.S. Munoz said doctors at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth indicated to him that the fetus would likely have been a girl, though his attorneys previously said the fetus suffered from lower body deformation that made it impossible to determine its sex. “They think it was a female,” Munoz said in a brief telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Munoz told WFAA-TV in an interview aired Monday evening that he has seen many negative comments about his decision, but he feels he made the right choice. “I’m just glad they are not in my shoes. I hope every day that no one ever has to go

through what I went through,” he said. Munoz said his wife will be cremated and there are no plans for memorial or funeral services because the family is concerned that protesters would show up.

“She made me a better man, and I thank her for it. I thank her very much,” he said. Both the hospital and his attorneys agreed the fetus could not have been born alive that early in the pregnancy, and the fetus was not delivered when the hospital complied Sunday with a judge’s order to pull any life-sustaining treatment from Marlise Munoz.

Doctors said she was braindead in November after Erick Munoz found her unconscious in their Haltom City home, possibly due to a blood clot, but the hospital had kept on machines to keep her organs functioning for the sake of the fetus, which it said was per Texas law.

Bali News

International

Thursday, January 30, 2014

3

Illegal tour guides proliferate

Bali Post

HPI Bali furious

DENPASAR - The presence of illegal tour guides in Bali increasingly makes the Indonesian Tour Guides Association (HPI) of Bali furious. It happens because numerous illegal tour guides are operating in the field that can potentially tarnish the image of Bali as a tourist destination of the world.

“Frankly speaking, their existence (illegal tour guide—Ed) makes us furious. They do not only harm the licensed tour guides, but also tarnish the reputation of Bali in the eyes of the world,” said Chairman of the HPI Bali, Sangtu Subaya, in Denpasar.

According to him, his party had made coordination with relevant agencies, namely the Bali Government Tourism Office and Municipal Police to discipline the illegal local and foreign tour guides. “To become a tour guide, it is required an education and training on guiding techniques, mastery of language and local culture because Bali develops cultural tourism, general knowledge and code of ethics,” he explained.

Such an effort, recognized Sangtu, was pursued through a certification process in higher education institution having the competence in culture and tourism. After that, the applicants were tested by the government, in this case the Bali Government Tourism Office on behalf of the governor, to obtain an operating permit.

“The inspection team already came down to the field on Monday (Jan 27) at Tirta Empul,

Tampaksiring and Ubud Market under coordination of the Municipal Police. It is intended to maintain the orderliness and law enforcement because the working procedures of the profession have been set forth,” he said.

He explained that profession of tour guide had been governed in the Regional Bylaw No.5/2008 and Gubernatorial Regulation No.41/2009, while the travel agencies as the users employing them had also been governed in the Regional Bylaw No.1/2010 on travel-related business services where one of the articles prohibited the employment of the unlicensed tour guides.

“Together with the team, we managed to capture 11 illegal tour guides, including a foreigner from Hungary named George Miholovic who worked as a tour guide,” he explained.

He said the team then made coordination with the Immigration Office and the subsequent handling was delivered to the Immigration Office. Some of the illegal tour guides were even facilitated by a certain travel agency by allowing the name of the company and making identification (badge) that mentioned the

Tourists during a visit to Kerthagosa, Klungkung Regency, Bali Island. The presence of illegal tour guides in Bali increasingly makes the Indonesian Tour Guides Association (HPI) of Bali furious. It happens because numerous illegal tour guides are operating in the field that can potentially tarnish the image of Bali as a tourist destination of the world. senior tour guide at the bottom of the picture hung around the neck.

“Actually, the individual person does not have a license at all,” he

exclaimed.

It was added that his party would continuously encourage the government to discipline the

presence of foreigners serving as tour guides in order to maintain the image of Bali tourism. (kmb27)

Balinese Characters: From Palm-leaf to Keyboards Probably, you have watched or are going to watch arja operetta or Ramayana Ballet during the visit in Bali. It would be more convenient if it is enjoyed while having dinner of Balinese cuisine. At the same time, you watch the beauty of culture and taste the delicacy of local culinary. You may hear the language spoken by players or puppeteer was not understandable. Of course, it is Balinese language.

As Japanese and Chinese, Balinese language also has its own characters. They consist of some 18 main characters and 10 vowel sounds. Ordinarily, Balinese characters are used to write palmleaf manuscript or lontar. Such characters are incised with sharp knife or stylus. When the writing works have completed, they

should be rubbed with a blend of oil and lamp shoot to blacken them. So they are visible easily.

Since the works were performed manually, the copying of a manuscript took a long time.

At a glance, Balinese characters look like Old Javanese, Tamil (India). It is inseparable from historical aspect where they had similarity of genealogical lines. Today, Balinese characters still have restricted use, namely at school for local subject from elementary school to senior high school. It is becoming the responsibility of local government to preserve and develop Balinese language in order it could survive in the midst of the growth of other languages like Bahasa Indonesia and foreign languages.

Balinese language poses a me-

dium and spirit of Balinese culture. To preserve Balinese culture should also simultaneously maintain and use of Balinese language in daily life. In other words, speaking Balinese language also characterizes one of the identities as a Balinese. Among the use of other languages, Balinese language should remain to give a space to grow and develop. Other than speaking and teaching it at schools, it should also accommodate the need of modern community or use in wider functions of language.

Balinese community receives abundant heritages of lontar or palm-leaf manuscripts from the predecessors retained by individuals and museums. They carry many aspects of knowledge, ranging from philosophy, local

healing, literature, architecture, agriculture, herbal practice, astrology and so forth. Therefore, if they could be interpreted and presented in popular language, they could become attractive information for young generation and saleable books for commercial needs. Today, there is also a trend of poising the tradition with modern science namely by re-interpreting the indigenous wisdoms that are relevant to the current time. People will get balanced inputs from the past and current orientation.

Of course, such treasures will be beneficial for the conservation and future development of Balinese culture because it stays in touch with its original roots.

Young generation should be introduced to these roots at early

stage. Later, they will not lose their identity and even could feel proud of it. Moreover, it could give them inspiration in making their creativities, either in fine arts, performance, traditional architecture or herbal healings.

Thanks to modern technology, the writing of Balinese characters now can be made easy by Bali Simbar font. It is the innovative thinking of I Made Suatjana (1986) lies behind the composing of this font. His work has helped the writing of Balinese characters in word processing application like Microsoft Word. Hopefully, there would be more creative software helping the development and learning of Balinese language so it would not come into extinction or be far left behind with the modern life.

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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Bali News

International

International

W

RLD

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, in what served as the opening salvo in a fight for control of Congress ahead of the November election, used his biggest speech of the year to push for programs to narrow economic disparities between rich and poor. Looking to energize his sluggish second term, Obama pledged in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night to sidestep Congress “whenever and wherever” necessary to bypass the political gridlock that has bedeviled his presidency.

Suspected of bird flu, an Arabian traveler dies Bali Post

DENPASAR - Allegation of the H5N1 avian influenza virus infection to an Arabian traveler, ANJ, 71, based on the test carried out by Biomol Laboratory of Medical Faculty, Udayana University, showed a negative result. Though being negative, the vigilance should still be done. Moreover, the ambulance driver of Sanglah Hospital having got a contact with the Arabian traveler was suffering from flu symptoms.

Bali Post

from the suspicion of bird flu, the death toll was also from the Middle East where the MERS-CoV disease spread due to the attack of corona virus. The symptoms were similar to that of influenza so the vigilance against the virus should also be carried out.

Examination against the samples targeted two viruses namely the avian influenza with H7N9 type and corona virus. “Even though the test of H5N1 showed a negative result, in the blood sample of the Arabian traveler was found influenza virus

belonging to type A that requires further investigation, especially for the type of H7N9 or another type of avian influenza virus having the same ferocity as the H5N1,” said Ken. Examination of the H7N9, according to Ken, could be carried out at the Biomol Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University, while for detection of corona virus, the sample should be sent to the Health Research and Development in Jakarta because Bali had not owned a primary substance to detect the virus.

If the sample showed a negative result to H7N9 virus, the patient having had a contact with the victim would no longer be treated with the avian influenza procedure. “If it is positive, then everyone who had contact with the deceased victim will be treated in accordance with the procedures of bird flu,” said

Ken. So far, all people having had contact with the dead victim but did not indicate any symptoms were given Tamiflu as an initial step of prevention.

For the examination of corona virus, when it was positive, the patient would be cared for and its symptoms would be treated.

According to Ken, the corona virus was transmitted from person to person via droplets and air.

Percentage of the death was high reaching 50 percent. However, according to Ken, high mortality percentage only applied to people with the background of risky disease such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and pregnant women. “Otherwise, the disease caused by corona virus is equal to the common cold that can be cured by itself by maintaining a diet and adequate rest,” said Ken.

IBP/File

Until Monday, the corpse of ANJ was still commended in the mortuary of Sanglah Hospital. As provisional information, it was known if ANJ, the Arabian travelers who died of bird flu suspicion, came to Bali alone without being accompanied by any family member.

The absence of family, according to Ken, made the medical team difficult to know the history of the disease and whether the victim had contact with poultry before.

Ken continued that ANJ arrived in Bali on January 15. He then fell ill on January 24. The hotel staff brought him to a private hospital.

Having encountered a viral infection in the patient’s blood sample, the private hospital then referred ANJ to Sanglah Hospital as a suspect of bird flu patient. No longer after getting treatment, ANJ died. (san)

AP Photo/Larry Downing, Pool

Democrats, seeking to cast Republicans as uncaring about the middle class, have urged Obama to focus on economic mobility and the gap between the wealthy and poor. His focus on executive actions that don’t need congressional approval was greeted with shouts of “Do it!” from many Democrats.

Coming off a year in which his major legislative proposals largely fell flat, Obama’s speech was an amalgam of modest proposals designed to chip away at some of the same problems he’s been working on all along: persistent unemployment, middle-class insecurity, lagging schools and more. “Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled,” Obama said.

“The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by — let alone get ahead.”

For Obama, the address was also aimed at convincing an increasingly skeptical public that he still wields power in Washington even if he can’t crack through the divisions in Congress. Burned by a series of legislative failures in 2013, White House aides say they’re now redefining success not by what Obama can jam through Congress but by what actions he can take on

DA 11135179 without document was found when it was checked by X- ray equipment in the Regulated Agent of PT Krisna Multi Sarana Indonesia, Sunday (Jan 26) at 12:00 a.m.

As information, the prohibited item was sent via one of the freight forwarders in Denpasar. The sender was on behalf of Surahman, while

the recipient was on behalf of Andi Lala with the address at Jalan Darma X/13 RT 06/04 Cijantung, East Jakarta. The case was being handled by the officers of the Benoa Harbor Police and still being developed.

Prior to the finding, the consignment freight was detected in the checking by the X-Ray equipment.

When checked, a packing sack was found to contain goods and a box where the box itself held a handheld gun. Having been unpacked, the box in fact contained an air soft gun.

In addition, it was also found two magazines put into a small bag.

To smooth the delivery, the sender seemed to coat it with carbon

paper. It was done in order not to be detected in the inspection. However, such mode could be foiled.

“Yes, it truly happened and a unit of air soft gun has been confiscated.

We are still developing the case,” said Chief of Benoa Harbor Police I Made Suarjana, Monday (Jan 27). (kmb21)

his own.

While domestic issues dominated the speech, Obama also warned Congress he would veto any sanctions bill that threatens to derail talks with Iran, even as he acknowledged that the talks may not succeed.

The hour-long speech came as Obama is trying to recover from the blundered rollout of his signature health care overhaul. An AP-GfK poll this month found 45 percent of those surveyed approved of Obama and 53 percent disapproved. That’s worse than a year ago, when 54 percent approved and 42 percent disapproved, but an improvement over his ratings in December, when 58 percent disapproved of his job performance.

Obama unveiled an array of executive actions, including increasing the minimum wage for some federal contract workers and making it easier for millions of low-income Americans to save for retirement.

His proposals for action by lawmakers were slim and largely focused on old ideas that have gained little traction. He pressed Congress to revive a stalled immigration overhaul and increase the minimum wage.

His one new legislation proposal calls for expanding a tax credit for workers without children.

President Barack Obama delivers the State of Union address before a joint session of Congress in the House chamber Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Washington, as Vice President Joe Biden, and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, listen.

NKorea warns of tensions over US-SKorea war games Associated Press Writer

Police foil dispatch of illegal air soft gun

DENPASAR - Personnel of the Benoa Harbor Police who worked with PT Krisna Multi Sarana Indonesia, Benoa, managed to thwart the delivery of prohibited items. A unit of air soft gun having a trade mark Colt SPT F AMFG with series number

13

Obama speech aims to bypass gridlock in Congress

The patient is treated in Sanglah Hospital

Secretary of the Sanglah Hospital Bird Flu Mitigation, Ken Wirasandhi, explained on Monday (Jan 27) that the ambulance driver of Sanglah Hospital was currently being treated in the Nusa Indah Room with the procedures of bird flu patient to the examination of sample of the dead victim sent to the Health Research and Development Jakarta, while the result of the Biomol Laboratory of Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University, had been issued.

Ken further added that aside

Thursday, January 30, 2014

AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File

FILE - In this May 30, 2013 file photo, U.S. and South Korean Army soldiers cross Nam Han river during a joint military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea in Yeoncheon near the border with North Korea, in South Korea.

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s propaganda machine is churning out near-daily diatribes against the United States and South Korea for a series of soon-to-start military maneuvers, warning nuclear war could be imminent and saying it will take dramatic action of its own if further provoked. Sound familiar?

Pyongyang’s increasingly shrill opposition to the annual joint drills looks very similar to the kind of vitriol that preceded the start of the same exercises last year and led to a steep rise in tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

That round of escalation culminated in threats of a nuclear strike on Washington and the flattening of Seoul before the maneuvers ended and both sides went back to their corners.

It appears the first stages of this year’s battle have already begun — though some experts say they don’t think it will be as high-pitched as last year’s. In the latest of the North’s increasingly frequent salvos against the exercises, it said through its state-run

media that the United States is building up its military forces in Asia so it can invade the country — formally called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK — and take control of the whole region.

“It is the strategic goal of the U.S. to invade the DPRK, bring its neighboring countries under its control with it as a stepping-stone and, furthermore, dominate the whole Asia-Pacific region,” the ruling party’s Rodong Sinmun said in an analysis on Monday.

“The U.S. is working hard to kick off large-scale joint military drills this year, too, for the purpose of mounting a pre-emptive nuclear attack upon the DPRK.” The invectives against the exercises began earlier this month, when the North’s powerful National Defense Commission proposed the rivals halt military actions and “mutual vilification” to build better relations. The North, however, strongly hinted it would maintain its nuclear weapons program while urging South Korea to cancel the drills with the United States, set to begin in late February.

12

International

Thursday, January 30, 2014

BUSINESS In this photo taken Friday Jan. 24, 2014, construction cranes work on buildings in London. The face of London is about to change. Dozens of buildings of 20 stories or more are slated for construction, many to be clustered along the south bank of the River Thames just down the river from Big Ben and the majestic dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Associated Press

LONDON — The face of London is about to change. Dozens of buildings of 20 stories or more are under construction or planned along the south bank of the River Thames just upstream from Big Ben and the majestic dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The development surge, fueled by wealthy foreigners looking for a safe place to invest, has spawned concern that the city is sacrificing its heritage for the sake of luxury homes.

“London is in danger of becoming a sort of Abu Dhabi, a sort of Hong Kong,” warned Nigel Barker of English Heritage, a body devoted to protecting the nation’s inheritance.

It’s not that London lacks distinctive tall buildings: the 87-story Shard stabs the sky south of London Bridge, the 41-story Gherkin rises above the financial district, and soon there will be the 38-story Walkie Talkie, all of which earned their nicknames because of their unique shapes.

But critics are concerned about the sheer number of new projects — some 200 in various stages of consideration or construction, according to New London Architecture, an independent group studying development. Many of them are residential properties clustered along the south side of the Thames with views of the water and the architectural treasures across the river.

Unease about tall buildings in this city, which prides itself in having risen from the ashes of the Great Fire in 1666, isn’t new. Architectural purists like Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, have long warned against skyscrapers.

But economic forces following the

2008 economic crisis have rekindled the conflict between development and conservation. While the government seeks to rein in the financial services industry, London continues to attract foreign money and wealthy expatriates, straining the city’s Victorianera infrastructure and widening the wealth gap.

The independent Smith Institute estimated in 2012 that investment in luxury homes was 5 billion pounds ($8.3 billion) a year. In the two years through June 2013, foreign nationals bought 69 percent of the newly built homes that sold for more than 1 million pounds in central London, according to an October report by Knight Frank, a London property adviser.

“It is a honeypot for global capital,” said Peter Murray, chairman of New London Architecture. “So we’re seeing pressures we’ve never experienced before. The movement of global capital is having a dramatic effect on how we plan the city.”

Rooms with a view

As governments poured money into banks to save them during the financial crisis, rich people around

the world sought safe places to park their money. Investors flocked to London because of the stability of Britain’s government, the city’s vibrancy and its tolerance for newcomers.

“We didn’t know that the U.K. in general, and London in particular, would be seen as a safe haven for people all over the world,” said Tony Travers, an expert on issues facing the capital at the London School of Economics. “Property in London was treated as an asset class that was safer than say, banks in Cyprus.”

From 2007, just before the crisis, to October 2013, house prices in London’s most desirable neighborhoods rose sharply. In Kensington & Chelsea, home to Kensington Palace and Notting Hill, average prices rose 42 percent to 1.2 million pounds, according to the Smith Institute. In the City of Westminster, which hosts the Houses of Parliament, prices jumped 43 percent to 863,000 pounds.

Prices for newly built homes on the south bank of the river are even higher. A four-bedroom, 6,600 square-foot apartment in the 50-story Tower at St. George Wharf is being offered for 19.5 million pounds.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Government urged to commence Buleleng Airport project

5

Antara

DENPASAR - The people of Bali have called on the local and central governments to immediately commence construction on an international airport in the Buleleng district in the southern part of the island.

“The local and central governments should be serious about beginning the construction of Buleleng International Airport,” Pro Bali Foundation Chairman Mangku Made Ariawan said on Wednesday.

Mangku noted that the progress of tourism in the southern part of Bali Island should be balanced with an international airport for the welfare of the local community.

“Due to its strategic location, an airport in Buleleng would be accessible from the adjacent districts of Bangli, Karangasem, and Badung,” Mangku stated.

Luxury home boom to change face of London

Bali News

International

He noted that the tourism sector was the mainstay of the Balinese people’s welfare since it provided their primary source of income.

IBP/File Photo

Regent of Buleleng, Agus Suradnyana during a visit to one of airport locations in Buleleng not long ago. The people of Bali have called on the local and central governments to immediately commence construction on an international airport in the Buleleng district in the southern part of the island.

Blahbatuh Grand Palace as center of art conservation IBP AP Photo/Sang Tan

Renault-Nissan alliance sells record 8.3 mn vehicles in 2013

Agence France-Presse

TOKYO - The Renault-Nissan alliance sold a record 8.3 million vehicles last year, giving it fourth spot among global automakers, new data showed Wednesday, as the pair reportedly boost ties to cut costs.

Nissan said it sold 5.1 million units globally in 2013, a 3.3 percent rise from a year ago, while the French automaker earlier reported that it sold 2.63 million vehicles in 2013.

The group sold a total of 8.3 million vehicles last year, including sales by Russian affiliate AvtoVAZ, putting it behind top three automakers Toyota, General Motors and Germany’s Volkswagen.

Last week, Toyota said it sold a record 9.98 million vehicles in 2013, its highest-ever annual sales volume, thanks to a weaker yen as well as strong demand in the United States and China, which is now the

world’s biggest car market.

The Camry sedan and Prius hybrid maker beat US-based GM, which sold 9.71 million cars last year, while Volkswagen logged annual sales of 9.5 million units.

On Wednesday, Toyota said it made more than 10 million vehicles at its plants around the world last year, logging another annual industry record.

The figures come after Japan’s Nikkei business daily reported that Nissan and Renault plan to boost their alliance by bringing together production as well as research and development in a bid to save about $3.8 billion annually.

Despite their close links -- Renault is the Japanese automaker’s biggest shareholder and they are both chaired by Carlos Ghosn -- the pair have operated largely independently of each other, except on parts procurement and engine development.

GIANYAR - Palace is the ancient royal house. As the ruler of kingdom, all the materials and design of the building are selected from the best quality. Besides, the architect is not arbitrary and the design is unique as well as hard to replicate. Last but not least, the

making also considers the auspicious day, so that when entering the palace, visitors will feel different and the divine vibration or taksu really exists.

The atmosphere can be intensely felt when visiting the Blahbatuh Grand Palace. The palace located at Kebon hamlet, Blahbatuh village, Gianyar—

about 18 km from Denpasar still preserves all the existing buildings. The layout is based on the Asta Kosala Kosali (Balinese geomancy). “Even, if there are damaged buildings, they will be repaired in accordance with the original design,” said AA Kakarsana, a descendant of Blahbatuh kingdom.

IBP/File photo

Palace is the ancient royal house. As the ruler of kingdom, all the materials and design of the building are selected from the best quality.

Sublime, wise and authoritative impression remains visible here. Spatial division is nicely arranged into the outermost, middle and innermost courtyard and the architecture is still original.

Even, there is a carving pattern that cannot be replicated, no matter if it is done by a skilled craftsman. “Gunung rata located in the Rajadani building (a royal room) is still in the original design and no one can imitate it,” he said.

Its ornament tells a story and contains a philosophy of life. It is made of bricks producing a neat slanting formation. Since it is sanctified, any woman who gets her period is not allowed to come in and this prohibition also applies to all the royal family members. A Vietnam War general veteran from the United States has visited the architecture for four times. “We ever asked people to plagiarize the wall ornamental style, but none were successful,” he affirmed.

People coming into the palace area must pass through the gates made in traditional architectural style. Beautiful garden is overgrown by colorful flowers denoting the native plants to the Island of the Gods. Similarly, the big trees grow sustainably in the palace area belong to rare plants.

“We deliberately plant the rare species belonging to Balinese ancestors. Aside from preserving, these trees can also exude a positive aura,” he said.

Loji, a building for hosting

guests remains sturdy and applies traditional ornament. Meanwhile, in the next building is stored a gamelan set that is usually played by natural artists from local village.

Meanwhile, weaving activity used to be performed by royal ladies in the past remains to survive. However, it is carried out by some artisans living close to royal palace.

On Saturdays and Sundays or any particular time, the area is thronged by kids. They learn to dance and play gamelan music.

It is a cultural course organized at free of charge and instructors are specially brought in to the palace. “We want to preserve the function of palace as a center for cultural preservation. Besides, it also poses an attempt to encourage younger generation to love their cultural heritages,” he said.

Sacred objects such as the Gajah Mada mask and Ki Tunjung Tutur weapon (in the form of large blowpipe) and puppet gambuh make this palace more unique.

Other than community leaders and government officials, many tourists also make a visit. “We remain open for tourists who want to make a visit, but there are certain norms to be followed,” he said.

Kakarsana then pointed out that it was not allowed to organize any wedding ritual or other rituals in the royal palace. Meanwhile, reception or art performance was still allowed. Even, the royal party would support it. According to him, it was carried out to keep the sacred culture. (ocha/bud)

6

Thursday, January 30, 2014

W

RLD

International

UN inspectors in Iran to visit uranium mine

Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian official says a group of U.N. inspectors are on the way to visit a key uranium mine as part of a deal to allow expanded monitoring of the country’s nuclear sites. Nuclear spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told the official IRNA news agency that the inspectors were en route Wednesday to Bandar Abbas to visit the nearby Gachin mine.

Tehran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — struck a deal in November that grants U.N. inspectors wider access to Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The deal was parallel to an agreement with world powers to have Iran halt its most sensitive uranium enrichment activities in return for easing of Western sanctions over its controversial nuclear program.

Tehran denies Western charges that it seeks to make nuclear weapons.

Philippines says 37 rebels killed in offensive

Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/Hal Yeager

A horse grazes in a snow covered field near Wilsonville, Ala. as a snow inundated the south Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014. A winter storm that would probably be no big deal in the North all but paralyzed the Deep South on Tuesday, bringing snow, ice and teeth-chattering cold, with temperatures in the teens in some places.

Freezing US storm threatens south

MANILA, Philippines — At least 37 Islamic fighters have been killed in a two-day offensive against insurgents opposed to a new peace deal between the government and the main Muslim rebel group, military officials said Wednesday. President Benigno Aquino III said the military launched the assault to protect villages after Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement fighters staged attacks in southern Maguindanao province. Troops were aiming “to seriously degrade their abilities to again act as spoilers,” Aquino told reporters.

The rebels involved in the fighting have opposed peace talks between the government and the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which were concluded over the weekend in Malaysia. They said because the Malaysianbrokered talks would not lead to a separate homeland for minority Muslims in the south they would continue their armed uprising.

Regional military spokesman Col. Dickson Hermoso said 12 of the slain rebels have been identified with the help of village leaders, while others were buried in graves that were discovered by troops in and near a village in Maguindanao. One soldier died and four others were wounded by rebel bombs hidden around a mosque late Tuesday, Hermoso said.

Rebel spokesman Abu Misry disputed the military report, saying there have been no deaths and only seven insurgents had been wounded in army shelling and helicopter rocket fire.

Hundreds of villagers fled the fighting, which underscored the difficulty of ending violence in the country’s south.

Aside from the main Moro rebel group which concluded negotiations Saturday with the government for a new Muslim autonomy deal in the south, at least four other smaller insurgent groups threaten the peace in the region.

Agence France Presse

Miami - A freezing winter storm that has already sent temperatures plunging on much of the US east coast was Tuesday threatening usually balmy Florida, forecasters warned. Just weeks after a “polar vortex” brought some of the coldest weather in decades to the eastern half of the United States, parts of the country are again in the throes of another vicious blast of cold air.

New Jersey, scene of Sunday’s NFL Super Bowl, was struggling in temperatures of 16 degrees Fahrenheit (-9 Celsius) on Tuesday, and the biggest spectacle in the US sporting calendar is being billed as possibly the coldest in the Super Bowl era. But the cold front is spreading unusually far southward, forecasters say.

The National Weather Service said: “The strong cold front that is now off the east coast, moving toward central Florida, and in the

Gulf is advancing arctic air across these regions. “Meanwhile, the upper level system hangs back in the Mississippi Valley and is pulling warm, moist air over the frigid, arctic airmass.

“This set up is classic for widespread freezing rain and sleet.

Reports of freezing rain and sleet have been on-going mostly along the coast, with light to moderate snow further inland. “This wintry mix will continue through Tuesday night for the Gulf Coast states along

with the snow in the deep South.”

In Florida, more than 80 flights were canceled at the international airports of Miami and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood. Nationally a total of 3,000 flights were scrapped.

North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and some of Florida would be hit with more unusually cold weather on Wednesday, forecasters say, warning of snow north and west of there. The cold front over Florida is expected to give way on Thursday to showers.

AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, seated left, chairperson of Philippine Government Peace Panel, and Mohagher Iqbal, seated right, chief negotiator for the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), sign documents as Malaysian facilitator Abdul Ghafar Tengku Mohamed, sitting center, witnesses after the 43rd GPH-MILF Exploratory Talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014.

International

Thursday, January 30, 2014

11

INDONESIA RI, UK FM meet discussing investment, education Antara

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa met his British counterpart William Hague, on Wednesday to discuss bilateral issues including investment and education cooperation.

“Cooperation in investment is one of the key elements of cooperation between Indonesia and the United Kingdom. UK is one of Indonesia’s largest sources of foreign direct investments,” Marty stated in a press conference.

According to him, ministers related to investment issues will meet soon to discuss ways to further boost investments and identify hurdles hampering investments between the two countries.

Marty noted that they also discussed environment protection, human rights, education and good governance.

Meanwhile, Minister Hague stated that the year 2013 had proved excellent for bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and the UK.

“About 22 agreements were signed last year between education institutes from both countries. More and more Indonesians now visit the UK to study,” he explained.

During the meeting on Wednesday, the ministers also discussed the crisis in Syria and the nuclear issue with Iran.

Indonesia and the United Kingdom are committed to boost cooperation between them, which could yield US$7 billion (RM22.14 billion) in 2015.

Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Hatta Rajasa stated that the two countries had agreed to enhance their trading value to US$7 billion (RM22.14 billion) by 2015 from US$4.9 bil-

lion (RM9.69 billion) in 2013.

He added that given the current conditions, the commitment implies a boost and the countries will work hard to achieve the US$7 billion target.

Rajasa stated that the two countries had already developed a trade and investment vision for the year 2030 with the aim to boost value added policies.

He also pointed out that the two countries had discussed three main subjects, namely the investment potential of the infrastructure sector in Indonesia, Britain’s private sector’s interest in investing in Indonesia and British investment in Indonesia, especially in the consumer goods, paramedics, health and financial services sectors.

AP PHOTO/Tatan Syuflana

British Foreign Minister William Hague, right, is greeted by his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa prior to their bilateral meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014.

Hague is currently on a two-day visit in the country.

People-smuggler behind fatal voyage jailed Agence France-Presse

JAKARTA - A court Tuesday jailed a people-smuggler for seven years after he arranged an asylum boat voyage to Australia which ended when the vessel sank with the loss of some 90 lives.

Javaid Mahmood, a 54-year-old Pakistani who organised the voyage which was supposed to take asylum-seekers from Indonesia to Australia in June 2012, was found guilty of people-smuggling.

The boat left Indonesia’s main island of Java carrying some 200 Afghan and Pakistani asylumseekers but almost half drowned when it went down.

Hundreds of would-be refugees have died in recent years trying to make the sea voyage from Indonesia to Australia, with people-smugglers charging huge sums for passage on rickety wooden fishing boats.

Chief judge Nasir Simanjuntak told the East Jakarta District Court that Mahmood had caused the “loss of many lives” by organising the voyage to the Australian territory of Christmas Island.

He was also found to have organised a second voyage in February 2013, which made it safely to Christmas Island.

“The defendant Javaid Mahmood has been proven legally and convincingly guilty of committing people-smuggling activities,” the

judge said, as he handed down the seven-year sentence.

He also ordered Mahmood to pay a fine of 800 million rupiah ($65,600).

The sentence was three years lighter than the 10 years sought by prosecutors.

The judge said an Afghan man, Dawood Amiri, who was jailed in 2013 for six years for peoplesmuggling, helped organise the fatal voyage.

Mahmood was arrested in May 2013. He worked with agents in Pakistan and Afghanistan to arrange trips for asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia, according to his indictment.

He charged the would-be refugees between $5,000 and $12,000 each.

Indonesia is a major transit hub for asylum-seekers from countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

The conservative government in Canberra has implemented a navy-led operation to stem the flow of asylum-seeker boats by turning them back to Indonesia when it is safe to do so, a policy which has angered Jakarta.

Australia Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that asylum-seeker arrivals had dropped to their lowest level in almost five years.

Customs probe alleged abuse of rice import permits Antara

JAKARTA - The Indonesian customs authorities are investigating the alleged abuse of permits to import Vietnamese rice, which had sparked a polemic at the Cipinang wholesale market in East Jakarta.

“The Directorate General of Customs and Excise will soon take anticipatory steps in response to the alleged abuse (of the rice import permits) at an operational level in the customs service and supervision system,” Director General of Customs and Excise Susiwijono Moegiarso stated in a press statement released on Tuesday.

He noted that the import of 16.9 thousand tons of rice complied with the standing procedures and rules, the given import approvals, surveyor’s reports and the automated reconciliation from the Indonesian National Single Window portal.

However, he did not rule out the possibility of the import permits being abused on the grounds that the permits used written approvals intended to import special rice instead of general rice which can be imported by state logistics board (Bulog).

“This has happened as the HS codes of the two types of rice are the same: 1006.30.99.00.

The Directorate General of Customs and Excise is investigating the alleged abuse of the import permits, including the audit of the surveyor’s reports,” he explained.

Under the Trade Minister’s Regulation No.06/M-DAG/ PER/2/2012, the import of rice, with headings 1006.30.99.00, can be done only by Bulog with approval from the ministry to stabilize price, cope with a state of emergency, provide subsidized rice for the poor, or address food scarcity issues.

Last year, the ministry is-

sued a permit to import 16.9 thousand tons of special rice, consisting of 1,845 tons of the Basmati variety and 14,997 tons of the Japonica variety.

According to the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, the rice imports from Vietnam were shipped 83 times and involved 58 importers other than Bulog. The rice was imported via Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta and Belawan port in North Sumatra.

The rice imports were supported by import permits and surveyor’s reports.

On Tuesday, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan pledged to take stern measures against abusers of the rice import permits, explaining that the permits were issued according to the standing procedure and recommendation from the Agriculture Ministry.

However, he added that the Trade Ministry had yet to find evidence pointing toward the abuse of rice import permits.

10

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Destination

International

Sports

International

Ser Hill developed into spiritual tourist resort

IBP/File Photo

7

Rockets rally for 9790 win over Spurs

Associated Press Writer

IBP

BULELENG - Ser Hill area at Pemuteran village, Gerokgak, is now prepared to become a spiritual tourist resort. Aside from offering a beautiful natural panorama, the seaside hill in the region is indeed known as a sacred area being suitable for performing meditation, yoga and other similar activities.

Some residents around the Ser Hill said on Monday (Oct 21) that a number of foreign and local tourists were often seen getting into the area of Ser Hill just for trekking or specifically performing meditation activities. Moreover, on certain days, many Hindus also came to the area to say prayers in the temple located on the small hill.

In terms of scenery, the beach in the area of Ser Hill had been already very well known to foreign tourists. Other than having calm ocean waves and white sand, the beach area also had a very beautiful coral reef and no less attractive than the coral reed at Nusa Lembongan and Karangasem tourist area. “To that end, the area of Ser Hill is worth to be made into spiritual tourist area,” said a resident living at Pemuteran village.

Regent of Buleleng, Putu Agus Suradnyana, said that Buleleng government indeed had a plan to develop the Ser Hill area into a spiritual tourist destination with a beautiful nature exuding magical impression and strong spiritual vibration. Moreover, the area had a number of temples venerated by the Hindus from some villages. Around the area also sat large temples like the Pulaki, Melanting and Kerta Kawat Temple. For the development of such spiritual tourism, Buleleng government planned to propose the management of the state land located around the Ser Hill.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

AP Photo/Miguel Angel Morenatti

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain drives his Mercedes W05 Formula One car at the Circuito de Jerez on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

Motor racing-Hamilton starts new F1 turbo era with a crash Reuters

JEREZ, Spain - Lewis Hamilton crashed his Mercedes, world champion Sebastian Vettel failed to complete a timed lap and McLaren’s car stayed in the garage as Formula One’s new turbo era endured a difficult, and strangely quiet, birth on Tuesday. Twin black streaks of scorched tyre rubber marked the asphalt at the end of the Jerez pit straight where Hamilton locked up and careered into the tyre wall after a front wing failure on the first day of pre-season testing.

The 2008 champion was unhurt in the crash, on his 18th lap after being first out of the pit lane following the unveiling of his sleek silver F1 W05 car, but it ended his team’s track activities for the day. “Apart from the ending, it’s been quite a positive day,” said Hamilton, who said it was way too early to give any assessment of the car.

“Always when you crash it’s big, but it’s OK. I was able to walk away, no problems,” he told reporters. Vettel’s work at the wheel had not even started at that point, Red Bull’s quadruple champion kicking his heels while the team fixed setup problems which had emerged overnight with their new RB10.

The German eventually emerged, after a brief squall of rain, for one installation lap.

Fans who had paid for tickets got scant value for money, with only 93 laps completed by eight of the 10 teams present on a cold day in southern Spain. Kimi Raikkonen,

returning to Ferrari after winning the championship with them in 2007, accounted for 31 laps after bringing out the first red flag of the day when he stopped on track early on. That compared to a total of 657 laps run on the opening day of testing last year and 718 in 2012.

“We want to do more laps but it’s pretty normal with such a big change,” the Finn told reporters. “It will take a little time before we can run 100 percent the whole time and be confident we don’t have any issues.”

MCLAREN SIDELINED Formula One has ditched the ear-splitting 2.4 litre V8 engines for a new turbocharged 1.6 litre V6 with complex energy recovery systems and more emphasis on fuel economy. Reliability is a major concern and times were therefore of no relevance as teams focused on troubleshooting rather than performance.

Hamilton had also crashed last

year in Jerez in his first test for Mercedes after moving from McLaren, whose troubles continued after a 2013 season to forget.

The Woking team, who had hoped to have Jenson Button on track, said they had been hit by electrical issues that led to the dismantling, inspection and re-installing of several major components. Tailenders Marussia and Caterham also hit unexpected turbulence.

Marussia’s car was still on its way to Jerez after being delayed at the factory on Monday by what team principal John Booth called a “small but frustrating teething problem”. Malaysian-owned Caterham delayed their car presentation due, according to their Twitter feed, to “some last minute issues bolting it together” but finally made it out on track.

With a thin new moon still visible over the circuit, Hamilton had got the new era rolling shortly after 0900 local (0800 GMT) for an installation lap before silence resumed.

Mercedes, who carried out a private 40km shakedown at Silverstone with Germany’s Nico Rosberg on Friday, presented the car in the pitlane shortly after dawn with champions Red Bull taking the wraps off their RB 10 challenger minutes later.

HOUSTON — Dwight Howard scored 23 points and Terrence Jones had 21 as the Houston Rockets held on for a 97-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. The Rockets trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before scoring 33 in the third quarter to go on top. San Antonio closed to 90-88 in the final minutes, but Howard and Jeremy Lin helped Houston hold on for the win.

Boris Diaw scored a seasonhigh 22 points for the Spurs, and also had 11 rebounds. Tony Parker added 17 points and Tim Duncan had 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. The Rockets were without leading scorer James Harden (bruised left thumb), who is averaging almost 24 points a game this season.

Memphis forward Zach Randolph scored 23 points and had 10 rebounds, and Mike Conley added 19 points and seven assists to lead the Grizzlies past the Portland Trail Blazers 98-91..

Marc Gasol had 15 points and

eight rebounds and Courtney Lee scored 12 points for the Grizzlies (23-20), who have won three straight games and seven of eight.

Lamarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 16 rebounds as the Blazers (33-13) slipped three games behind Northwest Division-leading Oklahoma City and had their home winning streak snapped at five.

At Los Angeles, David West scored 19 point and Lance Stephenson had 15 points and 14 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers wrapped up a five-game road trip by beating the spiraling Lakers 104-92.

George Hill had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who stayed atop the overall NBA standings despite losing twice on their West Coast trip.

Los Angeles kept it close into the second half before the Pacers finished an easy win over the injury-riddled Lakers, who have lost five straight. Pau Gasol had 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who returned from a two-week road trip for their 17th loss in 20 games.

AP Photo/Pat Sullivan

Houston Rockets’ Dwight Howard (12) looks to the basket while San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) had a hand on his back during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Houston.

8

International

Thursday, January 30, 2014

International

Sp rt

EPL leader Arsenal held as Liverpool, United win Associated Press Writer

LONDON — Arsenal’s title push was slowed by a draw at Southampton, Liverpool humbled neighbor Everton and Robin van Persie made a goal-scoring return from injury for Manchester United on a lively night in the Premier League on Tuesday. Arsenal clung on to a 2-2 draw at Southampton with 10 men after Mathieu Flamini was sent off in the 80th minute for a twofooted tackle.

AP Photo/Jon Super

Manchester United’s Robin van Persie, left, celebrates with teammate Phil Jones after scoring against Cardiff City during their English Premier League soccer match at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014.

After trailing through Jose Fonte’s goal, Arsenal led briefly at the start of the second half when Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla scored but Adam Lallana quickly leveled for Southampton.

While Arsenal extended its lead to two points, Manchester City can now go top with a victory at Tottenham on Wednesday. If City slips up, Chelsea can take the lead by beating West Ham. Liverpool’s focus is Champions League qualification, and a 4-0 derby demolition of Everton — with Daniel Sturridge scoring twice — took them three points ahead of Tottenham in fourth place. United is staying in touch with the top four, but remains six points adrift despite Van Persie taking just six minutes to score after almost two months out in a 2-0 victory over bottom-place Cardiff.

Jonjo Shelvey and Chico Flores scored as Swansea beat Fulham 2-0 for its first win in nine league games, while Jason Puncheon eased Crystal Palace’s relegation fears by clinching a 1-0 victory over Hull. The only game without goals on Tuesday

was at Carrow Road, but the drama was provided by the 80thminute scuffle that led to Norwich midfielder Bradley Johnson and Newcastle striker Loic Remy being sent off.

On the south coast, Arsenal experienced an unusually dismal first half in a bright season for Arsene Wenger ’s side. Fonte rose over Nacho Monreal to meet Luke Shaw’s cross to head past Wojciech Szczesny in the 21st. Arsenal avoided conceding again, and turned the game around after the break, with Giroud deflecting Bacary Sagna’s cross into the net in the 48th and Cazorla set up by Mesut Ozil for a goal four minutes later.

But Southampton became just the second side to score more than one against the Gunners in their last 22 league games when Lallana scored from Jay Rodriguez’s cutback in the 54th. And Arsenal settled for the point after Flamini saw red for a two-footed lunge on Morgan Schneiderlin.

At Anfield, Liverpool completely overwhelmed Everton after captain Steven Gerrard

headed the hosts in front after 21 minutes. Sturridge then sprung the offside trap twice in two minutes to score a brace, and Luis Suarez scored his 23rd league goal of the season at the start of the second half. Sturridge missed out on a hat trick when he sent a penalty kick over the crossbar after Raheem Sterling was brought down by goalkeeper Tim Howard.

“It’s a massive victory over rivals close to us,” Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said.

“If you look at Everton they’ve only conceded 11 goals away from home before tonight and for us to get four and to maybe have had a few more is very pleasing.”

At Old Trafford, it was the perfect debut for record signing Juan Mata, and the perfect return for Van Persie. “We have missed his goals,” United manager David Moyes said. After seven weeks out with a thigh injury, Van Persie headed United in front after six minutes, and Ashley Young struck the second after the break.

Falcao leaves Portuguese hospital after knee op Associated Press Writer

PORTO, Portugal — Radamel Falcao has left hospital in northern Portugal after successfully undergoing surgery on a torn ligament in his left knee. Leaning on crutches the Colombia striker left Porto Trindade hospital where knee specialist Jose Carlos Noronha operated on him Saturday.

Carlos Ulloa, head of the Colombian Football Federation on Tuesday accompanied Falcao to a hotel in the city of Porto, where the striker will rest and recuperate for three weeks before flying back to his club.

Noronha told reporters Monday that Falcao had a 50 percent chance of being fit enough to play in the World Cup with Colombia set to play its first match against Greece in Brazil on June 14.

AP Photo/Paulo Duarte

Colombian soccer star Radamel Falcao arrives for a press conference at the Trindade Hospital in Porto, Portugal, Monday, Jan. 27, 2014.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

9

Netherlands to play Ghana in pre-WCup friendly Associated Press Writer

ACCRA, Ghana — The Ghana Football Association says the Black Stars will play the Netherlands in a pre-World Cup friendly in Rotterdam on May 31. GFA President Kwesi Nyantakyi says it will be “the tough test we need ahead of the World Cup.” Ghana made the quarterfinals in South Africa four years ago, equaling the best performance by an African team. It will play Germany, Portugal and the United States in a tough Group G in Brazil. The Netherlands lost to Spain in the 2010 final and will face the world champion again in Group B, along with Chile and Australia.

Ghana also travels to Montenegro during its preparations. The Dutch have other games against France, Ecuador and Wales before opening their World Cup against Spain.

English clubs help boost 2013 global transfer spending Reuters

LONDON - English clubs led the way as worldwide spending on international transfers shot up by 41 percent last year to reach $3.7 billion, FIFA said in a report published on Wednesday. English clubs spent $913 million on international transfers in 2013, an increase of 51 percent over the previous year.

Surprisingly, they were followed by Italian clubs who, despite widespread reports of financial difficulties, splashed out a total of $475 million between them, a staggering jump of 120 percent yearon-year. Spanish clubs were the biggest sellers, which the report said was prompted by a push to cut their debts, as they received $565 million between them. They were followed by Italy, Brazil, Portugal and England.

There was a significant increase in so-called conditional transfers, where part of the fee is fixed and the rest is performance-based. Fees from such transfers leapt 73 percent to a total of $525 million. Mark Goddard, general manager of FIFA’s Transfer Matching System (TMS), said the jump in conditional transfers could be significant.

“It is a very interesting trend because the market is becoming more astute, a lot of the transfers are based on either potential performance or past performance, if the players are older,” he told reporters.

“Conditions can be represented by a number of performance factors such as qualification for competitions, relegation, or the players’ performance on an individual level. “Clubs are hedging their bets, trying to be more sensible in how much money they put into the guaranteed section and into the potential section (of the fee).”

TELEVISION RIGHTS

World soccer’s governing body said English spending increased after the Premier League signed a new television rights deal for three seasons starting with 2013/14. BSkyB and former state telecoms company BT agreed to a three-year deal worth 3.018 billion pounds ($4.70 billion), a 70 percent increase on the previous agreement, to show Premier League matches.

FIFA said that 82 percent of the spending came from nine countries, England, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and Portugal. Fifteen percent was spent by 14 countries comprising the market’s middle segment, while the remaining 3 percent was spent by the bottom segment of 116 countries.

The lion’s share of the money was exchanged within Europe which accounted for 77 percent of the total market value. The oldest player to be transferred internationally was aged 43 while, at the other end of the scale, there were 48 transfers of players aged 16 and 88 transfers of players aged 17.

Argentina and Brazil spent less on transfer fees last year, with the former down from $25 million to $22 million and their neighbours more significantly from $94 million to $73million. “A currency crisis afflicting emerging economies has reduced Brazilian and Argentine buying power in the international market,” said the report.

REUTERS/Juan Medina

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during their Spanish King’s Cup match against Espanyol at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid January 28, 2014.

Real ease past Espanyol into King’s Cup semis

Reuters

MADRID - Real Madrid set up a King’s Cup semi-final against holders Atletico Madrid or Athletic Bilbao when they beat Espanyol 1-0 in their quarter-final, second leg on Tuesday for a 2-0 aggregate success. Real lost 2-1 to Atletico at their own Bernabeu stadium in last year’s final and will be keen to avenge that bitter defeat, which meant they ended the season without any silverware, if they face their city rivals in the last four.

Atletico have a 1-0 advantage over Bilbao from last week’s first leg at the Calderon and play at the Basque club’s new San Mames arena on Wednesday. Real were quickly into their stride on a chilly night in the Spanish capital and their Spain playmaker Xabi Alonso unlocked the Espanyol defence with a magisterial seventhminute pass.

Forward Jese sped clear before

clipping a clinical effort into the net past goalkeeper Kiko Casilla from a tight angle. Casilla made several fine saves to deny Cristiano Ronaldo but any faint hope Espanyol had of getting back into the tie disappeared when midfielder Victor Sanchez earned a second yellow card and was sent off 13 minutes from time. Real keeper and captain Iker Casillas barely touched the ball and Carlo Ancelotti’s side have now gone eight matches without conceding a goal, a club record.

CLUB BEST

Casillas also set a new club best of 682 minutes without conceding a goal, overtaking the record set

by Paco Buyo, who played for Real in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Real have come into form in recent weeks but have some difficult games coming up, including Sunday’s La Liga visit to fourthplaced Bilbao and the two-legged

Cup semi-final which takes place next week and the week after.

“It’s a very tough calendar for us but I think we are on the right path,” centre back Nacho Fernandez told reporters.

“It’s key that we are keeping so many clean sheets,” added the 24-year-old, whose younger brother Alex featured in midfield for Espanyol. “We knew that we were playing against the best club in the world and it would be very tough,” Alex, who played with Nacho in Real’s B team before joining Espanyol, told Canal Plus.

“We gave a good account of ourselves and now we have to focus on the league,” he added with Espanyol in mid-table. On the other side of the draw, record King’s Cup winners Barcelona have a 4-1 advantage when they host Levante at the Nou Camp on Wednesday and would play Real Sociedad or third-tier Racing Santander in the semi-finals.

8

International

Thursday, January 30, 2014

International

Sp rt

EPL leader Arsenal held as Liverpool, United win Associated Press Writer

LONDON — Arsenal’s title push was slowed by a draw at Southampton, Liverpool humbled neighbor Everton and Robin van Persie made a goal-scoring return from injury for Manchester United on a lively night in the Premier League on Tuesday. Arsenal clung on to a 2-2 draw at Southampton with 10 men after Mathieu Flamini was sent off in the 80th minute for a twofooted tackle.

AP Photo/Jon Super

Manchester United’s Robin van Persie, left, celebrates with teammate Phil Jones after scoring against Cardiff City during their English Premier League soccer match at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014.

After trailing through Jose Fonte’s goal, Arsenal led briefly at the start of the second half when Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla scored but Adam Lallana quickly leveled for Southampton.

While Arsenal extended its lead to two points, Manchester City can now go top with a victory at Tottenham on Wednesday. If City slips up, Chelsea can take the lead by beating West Ham. Liverpool’s focus is Champions League qualification, and a 4-0 derby demolition of Everton — with Daniel Sturridge scoring twice — took them three points ahead of Tottenham in fourth place. United is staying in touch with the top four, but remains six points adrift despite Van Persie taking just six minutes to score after almost two months out in a 2-0 victory over bottom-place Cardiff.

Jonjo Shelvey and Chico Flores scored as Swansea beat Fulham 2-0 for its first win in nine league games, while Jason Puncheon eased Crystal Palace’s relegation fears by clinching a 1-0 victory over Hull. The only game without goals on Tuesday

was at Carrow Road, but the drama was provided by the 80thminute scuffle that led to Norwich midfielder Bradley Johnson and Newcastle striker Loic Remy being sent off.

On the south coast, Arsenal experienced an unusually dismal first half in a bright season for Arsene Wenger ’s side. Fonte rose over Nacho Monreal to meet Luke Shaw’s cross to head past Wojciech Szczesny in the 21st. Arsenal avoided conceding again, and turned the game around after the break, with Giroud deflecting Bacary Sagna’s cross into the net in the 48th and Cazorla set up by Mesut Ozil for a goal four minutes later.

But Southampton became just the second side to score more than one against the Gunners in their last 22 league games when Lallana scored from Jay Rodriguez’s cutback in the 54th. And Arsenal settled for the point after Flamini saw red for a two-footed lunge on Morgan Schneiderlin.

At Anfield, Liverpool completely overwhelmed Everton after captain Steven Gerrard

headed the hosts in front after 21 minutes. Sturridge then sprung the offside trap twice in two minutes to score a brace, and Luis Suarez scored his 23rd league goal of the season at the start of the second half. Sturridge missed out on a hat trick when he sent a penalty kick over the crossbar after Raheem Sterling was brought down by goalkeeper Tim Howard.

“It’s a massive victory over rivals close to us,” Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said.

“If you look at Everton they’ve only conceded 11 goals away from home before tonight and for us to get four and to maybe have had a few more is very pleasing.”

At Old Trafford, it was the perfect debut for record signing Juan Mata, and the perfect return for Van Persie. “We have missed his goals,” United manager David Moyes said. After seven weeks out with a thigh injury, Van Persie headed United in front after six minutes, and Ashley Young struck the second after the break.

Falcao leaves Portuguese hospital after knee op Associated Press Writer

PORTO, Portugal — Radamel Falcao has left hospital in northern Portugal after successfully undergoing surgery on a torn ligament in his left knee. Leaning on crutches the Colombia striker left Porto Trindade hospital where knee specialist Jose Carlos Noronha operated on him Saturday.

Carlos Ulloa, head of the Colombian Football Federation on Tuesday accompanied Falcao to a hotel in the city of Porto, where the striker will rest and recuperate for three weeks before flying back to his club.

Noronha told reporters Monday that Falcao had a 50 percent chance of being fit enough to play in the World Cup with Colombia set to play its first match against Greece in Brazil on June 14.

AP Photo/Paulo Duarte

Colombian soccer star Radamel Falcao arrives for a press conference at the Trindade Hospital in Porto, Portugal, Monday, Jan. 27, 2014.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

9

Netherlands to play Ghana in pre-WCup friendly Associated Press Writer

ACCRA, Ghana — The Ghana Football Association says the Black Stars will play the Netherlands in a pre-World Cup friendly in Rotterdam on May 31. GFA President Kwesi Nyantakyi says it will be “the tough test we need ahead of the World Cup.” Ghana made the quarterfinals in South Africa four years ago, equaling the best performance by an African team. It will play Germany, Portugal and the United States in a tough Group G in Brazil. The Netherlands lost to Spain in the 2010 final and will face the world champion again in Group B, along with Chile and Australia.

Ghana also travels to Montenegro during its preparations. The Dutch have other games against France, Ecuador and Wales before opening their World Cup against Spain.

English clubs help boost 2013 global transfer spending Reuters

LONDON - English clubs led the way as worldwide spending on international transfers shot up by 41 percent last year to reach $3.7 billion, FIFA said in a report published on Wednesday. English clubs spent $913 million on international transfers in 2013, an increase of 51 percent over the previous year.

Surprisingly, they were followed by Italian clubs who, despite widespread reports of financial difficulties, splashed out a total of $475 million between them, a staggering jump of 120 percent yearon-year. Spanish clubs were the biggest sellers, which the report said was prompted by a push to cut their debts, as they received $565 million between them. They were followed by Italy, Brazil, Portugal and England.

There was a significant increase in so-called conditional transfers, where part of the fee is fixed and the rest is performance-based. Fees from such transfers leapt 73 percent to a total of $525 million. Mark Goddard, general manager of FIFA’s Transfer Matching System (TMS), said the jump in conditional transfers could be significant.

“It is a very interesting trend because the market is becoming more astute, a lot of the transfers are based on either potential performance or past performance, if the players are older,” he told reporters.

“Conditions can be represented by a number of performance factors such as qualification for competitions, relegation, or the players’ performance on an individual level. “Clubs are hedging their bets, trying to be more sensible in how much money they put into the guaranteed section and into the potential section (of the fee).”

TELEVISION RIGHTS

World soccer’s governing body said English spending increased after the Premier League signed a new television rights deal for three seasons starting with 2013/14. BSkyB and former state telecoms company BT agreed to a three-year deal worth 3.018 billion pounds ($4.70 billion), a 70 percent increase on the previous agreement, to show Premier League matches.

FIFA said that 82 percent of the spending came from nine countries, England, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and Portugal. Fifteen percent was spent by 14 countries comprising the market’s middle segment, while the remaining 3 percent was spent by the bottom segment of 116 countries.

The lion’s share of the money was exchanged within Europe which accounted for 77 percent of the total market value. The oldest player to be transferred internationally was aged 43 while, at the other end of the scale, there were 48 transfers of players aged 16 and 88 transfers of players aged 17.

Argentina and Brazil spent less on transfer fees last year, with the former down from $25 million to $22 million and their neighbours more significantly from $94 million to $73million. “A currency crisis afflicting emerging economies has reduced Brazilian and Argentine buying power in the international market,” said the report.

REUTERS/Juan Medina

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during their Spanish King’s Cup match against Espanyol at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid January 28, 2014.

Real ease past Espanyol into King’s Cup semis

Reuters

MADRID - Real Madrid set up a King’s Cup semi-final against holders Atletico Madrid or Athletic Bilbao when they beat Espanyol 1-0 in their quarter-final, second leg on Tuesday for a 2-0 aggregate success. Real lost 2-1 to Atletico at their own Bernabeu stadium in last year’s final and will be keen to avenge that bitter defeat, which meant they ended the season without any silverware, if they face their city rivals in the last four.

Atletico have a 1-0 advantage over Bilbao from last week’s first leg at the Calderon and play at the Basque club’s new San Mames arena on Wednesday. Real were quickly into their stride on a chilly night in the Spanish capital and their Spain playmaker Xabi Alonso unlocked the Espanyol defence with a magisterial seventhminute pass.

Forward Jese sped clear before

clipping a clinical effort into the net past goalkeeper Kiko Casilla from a tight angle. Casilla made several fine saves to deny Cristiano Ronaldo but any faint hope Espanyol had of getting back into the tie disappeared when midfielder Victor Sanchez earned a second yellow card and was sent off 13 minutes from time. Real keeper and captain Iker Casillas barely touched the ball and Carlo Ancelotti’s side have now gone eight matches without conceding a goal, a club record.

CLUB BEST

Casillas also set a new club best of 682 minutes without conceding a goal, overtaking the record set

by Paco Buyo, who played for Real in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Real have come into form in recent weeks but have some difficult games coming up, including Sunday’s La Liga visit to fourthplaced Bilbao and the two-legged

Cup semi-final which takes place next week and the week after.

“It’s a very tough calendar for us but I think we are on the right path,” centre back Nacho Fernandez told reporters.

“It’s key that we are keeping so many clean sheets,” added the 24-year-old, whose younger brother Alex featured in midfield for Espanyol. “We knew that we were playing against the best club in the world and it would be very tough,” Alex, who played with Nacho in Real’s B team before joining Espanyol, told Canal Plus.

“We gave a good account of ourselves and now we have to focus on the league,” he added with Espanyol in mid-table. On the other side of the draw, record King’s Cup winners Barcelona have a 4-1 advantage when they host Levante at the Nou Camp on Wednesday and would play Real Sociedad or third-tier Racing Santander in the semi-finals.

10

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Destination

International

Sports

International

Ser Hill developed into spiritual tourist resort

IBP/File Photo

7

Rockets rally for 9790 win over Spurs

Associated Press Writer

IBP

BULELENG - Ser Hill area at Pemuteran village, Gerokgak, is now prepared to become a spiritual tourist resort. Aside from offering a beautiful natural panorama, the seaside hill in the region is indeed known as a sacred area being suitable for performing meditation, yoga and other similar activities.

Some residents around the Ser Hill said on Monday (Oct 21) that a number of foreign and local tourists were often seen getting into the area of Ser Hill just for trekking or specifically performing meditation activities. Moreover, on certain days, many Hindus also came to the area to say prayers in the temple located on the small hill.

In terms of scenery, the beach in the area of Ser Hill had been already very well known to foreign tourists. Other than having calm ocean waves and white sand, the beach area also had a very beautiful coral reef and no less attractive than the coral reed at Nusa Lembongan and Karangasem tourist area. “To that end, the area of Ser Hill is worth to be made into spiritual tourist area,” said a resident living at Pemuteran village.

Regent of Buleleng, Putu Agus Suradnyana, said that Buleleng government indeed had a plan to develop the Ser Hill area into a spiritual tourist destination with a beautiful nature exuding magical impression and strong spiritual vibration. Moreover, the area had a number of temples venerated by the Hindus from some villages. Around the area also sat large temples like the Pulaki, Melanting and Kerta Kawat Temple. For the development of such spiritual tourism, Buleleng government planned to propose the management of the state land located around the Ser Hill.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

AP Photo/Miguel Angel Morenatti

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain drives his Mercedes W05 Formula One car at the Circuito de Jerez on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

Motor racing-Hamilton starts new F1 turbo era with a crash Reuters

JEREZ, Spain - Lewis Hamilton crashed his Mercedes, world champion Sebastian Vettel failed to complete a timed lap and McLaren’s car stayed in the garage as Formula One’s new turbo era endured a difficult, and strangely quiet, birth on Tuesday. Twin black streaks of scorched tyre rubber marked the asphalt at the end of the Jerez pit straight where Hamilton locked up and careered into the tyre wall after a front wing failure on the first day of pre-season testing.

The 2008 champion was unhurt in the crash, on his 18th lap after being first out of the pit lane following the unveiling of his sleek silver F1 W05 car, but it ended his team’s track activities for the day. “Apart from the ending, it’s been quite a positive day,” said Hamilton, who said it was way too early to give any assessment of the car.

“Always when you crash it’s big, but it’s OK. I was able to walk away, no problems,” he told reporters. Vettel’s work at the wheel had not even started at that point, Red Bull’s quadruple champion kicking his heels while the team fixed setup problems which had emerged overnight with their new RB10.

The German eventually emerged, after a brief squall of rain, for one installation lap.

Fans who had paid for tickets got scant value for money, with only 93 laps completed by eight of the 10 teams present on a cold day in southern Spain. Kimi Raikkonen,

returning to Ferrari after winning the championship with them in 2007, accounted for 31 laps after bringing out the first red flag of the day when he stopped on track early on. That compared to a total of 657 laps run on the opening day of testing last year and 718 in 2012.

“We want to do more laps but it’s pretty normal with such a big change,” the Finn told reporters. “It will take a little time before we can run 100 percent the whole time and be confident we don’t have any issues.”

MCLAREN SIDELINED Formula One has ditched the ear-splitting 2.4 litre V8 engines for a new turbocharged 1.6 litre V6 with complex energy recovery systems and more emphasis on fuel economy. Reliability is a major concern and times were therefore of no relevance as teams focused on troubleshooting rather than performance.

Hamilton had also crashed last

year in Jerez in his first test for Mercedes after moving from McLaren, whose troubles continued after a 2013 season to forget.

The Woking team, who had hoped to have Jenson Button on track, said they had been hit by electrical issues that led to the dismantling, inspection and re-installing of several major components. Tailenders Marussia and Caterham also hit unexpected turbulence.

Marussia’s car was still on its way to Jerez after being delayed at the factory on Monday by what team principal John Booth called a “small but frustrating teething problem”. Malaysian-owned Caterham delayed their car presentation due, according to their Twitter feed, to “some last minute issues bolting it together” but finally made it out on track.

With a thin new moon still visible over the circuit, Hamilton had got the new era rolling shortly after 0900 local (0800 GMT) for an installation lap before silence resumed.

Mercedes, who carried out a private 40km shakedown at Silverstone with Germany’s Nico Rosberg on Friday, presented the car in the pitlane shortly after dawn with champions Red Bull taking the wraps off their RB 10 challenger minutes later.

HOUSTON — Dwight Howard scored 23 points and Terrence Jones had 21 as the Houston Rockets held on for a 97-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. The Rockets trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before scoring 33 in the third quarter to go on top. San Antonio closed to 90-88 in the final minutes, but Howard and Jeremy Lin helped Houston hold on for the win.

Boris Diaw scored a seasonhigh 22 points for the Spurs, and also had 11 rebounds. Tony Parker added 17 points and Tim Duncan had 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. The Rockets were without leading scorer James Harden (bruised left thumb), who is averaging almost 24 points a game this season.

Memphis forward Zach Randolph scored 23 points and had 10 rebounds, and Mike Conley added 19 points and seven assists to lead the Grizzlies past the Portland Trail Blazers 98-91..

Marc Gasol had 15 points and

eight rebounds and Courtney Lee scored 12 points for the Grizzlies (23-20), who have won three straight games and seven of eight.

Lamarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 16 rebounds as the Blazers (33-13) slipped three games behind Northwest Division-leading Oklahoma City and had their home winning streak snapped at five.

At Los Angeles, David West scored 19 point and Lance Stephenson had 15 points and 14 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers wrapped up a five-game road trip by beating the spiraling Lakers 104-92.

George Hill had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who stayed atop the overall NBA standings despite losing twice on their West Coast trip.

Los Angeles kept it close into the second half before the Pacers finished an easy win over the injury-riddled Lakers, who have lost five straight. Pau Gasol had 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who returned from a two-week road trip for their 17th loss in 20 games.

AP Photo/Pat Sullivan

Houston Rockets’ Dwight Howard (12) looks to the basket while San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) had a hand on his back during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Houston.

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Thursday, January 30, 2014

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UN inspectors in Iran to visit uranium mine

Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian official says a group of U.N. inspectors are on the way to visit a key uranium mine as part of a deal to allow expanded monitoring of the country’s nuclear sites. Nuclear spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told the official IRNA news agency that the inspectors were en route Wednesday to Bandar Abbas to visit the nearby Gachin mine.

Tehran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — struck a deal in November that grants U.N. inspectors wider access to Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The deal was parallel to an agreement with world powers to have Iran halt its most sensitive uranium enrichment activities in return for easing of Western sanctions over its controversial nuclear program.

Tehran denies Western charges that it seeks to make nuclear weapons.

Philippines says 37 rebels killed in offensive

Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/Hal Yeager

A horse grazes in a snow covered field near Wilsonville, Ala. as a snow inundated the south Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014. A winter storm that would probably be no big deal in the North all but paralyzed the Deep South on Tuesday, bringing snow, ice and teeth-chattering cold, with temperatures in the teens in some places.

Freezing US storm threatens south

MANILA, Philippines — At least 37 Islamic fighters have been killed in a two-day offensive against insurgents opposed to a new peace deal between the government and the main Muslim rebel group, military officials said Wednesday. President Benigno Aquino III said the military launched the assault to protect villages after Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement fighters staged attacks in southern Maguindanao province. Troops were aiming “to seriously degrade their abilities to again act as spoilers,” Aquino told reporters.

The rebels involved in the fighting have opposed peace talks between the government and the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which were concluded over the weekend in Malaysia. They said because the Malaysianbrokered talks would not lead to a separate homeland for minority Muslims in the south they would continue their armed uprising.

Regional military spokesman Col. Dickson Hermoso said 12 of the slain rebels have been identified with the help of village leaders, while others were buried in graves that were discovered by troops in and near a village in Maguindanao. One soldier died and four others were wounded by rebel bombs hidden around a mosque late Tuesday, Hermoso said.

Rebel spokesman Abu Misry disputed the military report, saying there have been no deaths and only seven insurgents had been wounded in army shelling and helicopter rocket fire.

Hundreds of villagers fled the fighting, which underscored the difficulty of ending violence in the country’s south.

Aside from the main Moro rebel group which concluded negotiations Saturday with the government for a new Muslim autonomy deal in the south, at least four other smaller insurgent groups threaten the peace in the region.

Agence France Presse

Miami - A freezing winter storm that has already sent temperatures plunging on much of the US east coast was Tuesday threatening usually balmy Florida, forecasters warned. Just weeks after a “polar vortex” brought some of the coldest weather in decades to the eastern half of the United States, parts of the country are again in the throes of another vicious blast of cold air.

New Jersey, scene of Sunday’s NFL Super Bowl, was struggling in temperatures of 16 degrees Fahrenheit (-9 Celsius) on Tuesday, and the biggest spectacle in the US sporting calendar is being billed as possibly the coldest in the Super Bowl era. But the cold front is spreading unusually far southward, forecasters say.

The National Weather Service said: “The strong cold front that is now off the east coast, moving toward central Florida, and in the

Gulf is advancing arctic air across these regions. “Meanwhile, the upper level system hangs back in the Mississippi Valley and is pulling warm, moist air over the frigid, arctic airmass.

“This set up is classic for widespread freezing rain and sleet.

Reports of freezing rain and sleet have been on-going mostly along the coast, with light to moderate snow further inland. “This wintry mix will continue through Tuesday night for the Gulf Coast states along

with the snow in the deep South.”

In Florida, more than 80 flights were canceled at the international airports of Miami and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood. Nationally a total of 3,000 flights were scrapped.

North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and some of Florida would be hit with more unusually cold weather on Wednesday, forecasters say, warning of snow north and west of there. The cold front over Florida is expected to give way on Thursday to showers.

AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, seated left, chairperson of Philippine Government Peace Panel, and Mohagher Iqbal, seated right, chief negotiator for the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), sign documents as Malaysian facilitator Abdul Ghafar Tengku Mohamed, sitting center, witnesses after the 43rd GPH-MILF Exploratory Talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014.

International

Thursday, January 30, 2014

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INDONESIA RI, UK FM meet discussing investment, education Antara

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa met his British counterpart William Hague, on Wednesday to discuss bilateral issues including investment and education cooperation.

“Cooperation in investment is one of the key elements of cooperation between Indonesia and the United Kingdom. UK is one of Indonesia’s largest sources of foreign direct investments,” Marty stated in a press conference.

According to him, ministers related to investment issues will meet soon to discuss ways to further boost investments and identify hurdles hampering investments between the two countries.

Marty noted that they also discussed environment protection, human rights, education and good governance.

Meanwhile, Minister Hague stated that the year 2013 had proved excellent for bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and the UK.

“About 22 agreements were signed last year between education institutes from both countries. More and more Indonesians now visit the UK to study,” he explained.

During the meeting on Wednesday, the ministers also discussed the crisis in Syria and the nuclear issue with Iran.

Indonesia and the United Kingdom are committed to boost cooperation between them, which could yield US$7 billion (RM22.14 billion) in 2015.

Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Hatta Rajasa stated that the two countries had agreed to enhance their trading value to US$7 billion (RM22.14 billion) by 2015 from US$4.9 bil-

lion (RM9.69 billion) in 2013.

He added that given the current conditions, the commitment implies a boost and the countries will work hard to achieve the US$7 billion target.

Rajasa stated that the two countries had already developed a trade and investment vision for the year 2030 with the aim to boost value added policies.

He also pointed out that the two countries had discussed three main subjects, namely the investment potential of the infrastructure sector in Indonesia, Britain’s private sector’s interest in investing in Indonesia and British investment in Indonesia, especially in the consumer goods, paramedics, health and financial services sectors.

AP PHOTO/Tatan Syuflana

British Foreign Minister William Hague, right, is greeted by his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa prior to their bilateral meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014.

Hague is currently on a two-day visit in the country.

People-smuggler behind fatal voyage jailed Agence France-Presse

JAKARTA - A court Tuesday jailed a people-smuggler for seven years after he arranged an asylum boat voyage to Australia which ended when the vessel sank with the loss of some 90 lives.

Javaid Mahmood, a 54-year-old Pakistani who organised the voyage which was supposed to take asylum-seekers from Indonesia to Australia in June 2012, was found guilty of people-smuggling.

The boat left Indonesia’s main island of Java carrying some 200 Afghan and Pakistani asylumseekers but almost half drowned when it went down.

Hundreds of would-be refugees have died in recent years trying to make the sea voyage from Indonesia to Australia, with people-smugglers charging huge sums for passage on rickety wooden fishing boats.

Chief judge Nasir Simanjuntak told the East Jakarta District Court that Mahmood had caused the “loss of many lives” by organising the voyage to the Australian territory of Christmas Island.

He was also found to have organised a second voyage in February 2013, which made it safely to Christmas Island.

“The defendant Javaid Mahmood has been proven legally and convincingly guilty of committing people-smuggling activities,” the

judge said, as he handed down the seven-year sentence.

He also ordered Mahmood to pay a fine of 800 million rupiah ($65,600).

The sentence was three years lighter than the 10 years sought by prosecutors.

The judge said an Afghan man, Dawood Amiri, who was jailed in 2013 for six years for peoplesmuggling, helped organise the fatal voyage.

Mahmood was arrested in May 2013. He worked with agents in Pakistan and Afghanistan to arrange trips for asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia, according to his indictment.

He charged the would-be refugees between $5,000 and $12,000 each.

Indonesia is a major transit hub for asylum-seekers from countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

The conservative government in Canberra has implemented a navy-led operation to stem the flow of asylum-seeker boats by turning them back to Indonesia when it is safe to do so, a policy which has angered Jakarta.

Australia Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that asylum-seeker arrivals had dropped to their lowest level in almost five years.

Customs probe alleged abuse of rice import permits Antara

JAKARTA - The Indonesian customs authorities are investigating the alleged abuse of permits to import Vietnamese rice, which had sparked a polemic at the Cipinang wholesale market in East Jakarta.

“The Directorate General of Customs and Excise will soon take anticipatory steps in response to the alleged abuse (of the rice import permits) at an operational level in the customs service and supervision system,” Director General of Customs and Excise Susiwijono Moegiarso stated in a press statement released on Tuesday.

He noted that the import of 16.9 thousand tons of rice complied with the standing procedures and rules, the given import approvals, surveyor’s reports and the automated reconciliation from the Indonesian National Single Window portal.

However, he did not rule out the possibility of the import permits being abused on the grounds that the permits used written approvals intended to import special rice instead of general rice which can be imported by state logistics board (Bulog).

“This has happened as the HS codes of the two types of rice are the same: 1006.30.99.00.

The Directorate General of Customs and Excise is investigating the alleged abuse of the import permits, including the audit of the surveyor’s reports,” he explained.

Under the Trade Minister’s Regulation No.06/M-DAG/ PER/2/2012, the import of rice, with headings 1006.30.99.00, can be done only by Bulog with approval from the ministry to stabilize price, cope with a state of emergency, provide subsidized rice for the poor, or address food scarcity issues.

Last year, the ministry is-

sued a permit to import 16.9 thousand tons of special rice, consisting of 1,845 tons of the Basmati variety and 14,997 tons of the Japonica variety.

According to the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, the rice imports from Vietnam were shipped 83 times and involved 58 importers other than Bulog. The rice was imported via Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta and Belawan port in North Sumatra.

The rice imports were supported by import permits and surveyor’s reports.

On Tuesday, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan pledged to take stern measures against abusers of the rice import permits, explaining that the permits were issued according to the standing procedure and recommendation from the Agriculture Ministry.

However, he added that the Trade Ministry had yet to find evidence pointing toward the abuse of rice import permits.

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International

Thursday, January 30, 2014

BUSINESS In this photo taken Friday Jan. 24, 2014, construction cranes work on buildings in London. The face of London is about to change. Dozens of buildings of 20 stories or more are slated for construction, many to be clustered along the south bank of the River Thames just down the river from Big Ben and the majestic dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Associated Press

LONDON — The face of London is about to change. Dozens of buildings of 20 stories or more are under construction or planned along the south bank of the River Thames just upstream from Big Ben and the majestic dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The development surge, fueled by wealthy foreigners looking for a safe place to invest, has spawned concern that the city is sacrificing its heritage for the sake of luxury homes.

“London is in danger of becoming a sort of Abu Dhabi, a sort of Hong Kong,” warned Nigel Barker of English Heritage, a body devoted to protecting the nation’s inheritance.

It’s not that London lacks distinctive tall buildings: the 87-story Shard stabs the sky south of London Bridge, the 41-story Gherkin rises above the financial district, and soon there will be the 38-story Walkie Talkie, all of which earned their nicknames because of their unique shapes.

But critics are concerned about the sheer number of new projects — some 200 in various stages of consideration or construction, according to New London Architecture, an independent group studying development. Many of them are residential properties clustered along the south side of the Thames with views of the water and the architectural treasures across the river.

Unease about tall buildings in this city, which prides itself in having risen from the ashes of the Great Fire in 1666, isn’t new. Architectural purists like Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, have long warned against skyscrapers.

But economic forces following the

2008 economic crisis have rekindled the conflict between development and conservation. While the government seeks to rein in the financial services industry, London continues to attract foreign money and wealthy expatriates, straining the city’s Victorianera infrastructure and widening the wealth gap.

The independent Smith Institute estimated in 2012 that investment in luxury homes was 5 billion pounds ($8.3 billion) a year. In the two years through June 2013, foreign nationals bought 69 percent of the newly built homes that sold for more than 1 million pounds in central London, according to an October report by Knight Frank, a London property adviser.

“It is a honeypot for global capital,” said Peter Murray, chairman of New London Architecture. “So we’re seeing pressures we’ve never experienced before. The movement of global capital is having a dramatic effect on how we plan the city.”

Rooms with a view

As governments poured money into banks to save them during the financial crisis, rich people around

the world sought safe places to park their money. Investors flocked to London because of the stability of Britain’s government, the city’s vibrancy and its tolerance for newcomers.

“We didn’t know that the U.K. in general, and London in particular, would be seen as a safe haven for people all over the world,” said Tony Travers, an expert on issues facing the capital at the London School of Economics. “Property in London was treated as an asset class that was safer than say, banks in Cyprus.”

From 2007, just before the crisis, to October 2013, house prices in London’s most desirable neighborhoods rose sharply. In Kensington & Chelsea, home to Kensington Palace and Notting Hill, average prices rose 42 percent to 1.2 million pounds, according to the Smith Institute. In the City of Westminster, which hosts the Houses of Parliament, prices jumped 43 percent to 863,000 pounds.

Prices for newly built homes on the south bank of the river are even higher. A four-bedroom, 6,600 square-foot apartment in the 50-story Tower at St. George Wharf is being offered for 19.5 million pounds.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Government urged to commence Buleleng Airport project

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Antara

DENPASAR - The people of Bali have called on the local and central governments to immediately commence construction on an international airport in the Buleleng district in the southern part of the island.

“The local and central governments should be serious about beginning the construction of Buleleng International Airport,” Pro Bali Foundation Chairman Mangku Made Ariawan said on Wednesday.

Mangku noted that the progress of tourism in the southern part of Bali Island should be balanced with an international airport for the welfare of the local community.

“Due to its strategic location, an airport in Buleleng would be accessible from the adjacent districts of Bangli, Karangasem, and Badung,” Mangku stated.

Luxury home boom to change face of London

Bali News

International

He noted that the tourism sector was the mainstay of the Balinese people’s welfare since it provided their primary source of income.

IBP/File Photo

Regent of Buleleng, Agus Suradnyana during a visit to one of airport locations in Buleleng not long ago. The people of Bali have called on the local and central governments to immediately commence construction on an international airport in the Buleleng district in the southern part of the island.

Blahbatuh Grand Palace as center of art conservation IBP AP Photo/Sang Tan

Renault-Nissan alliance sells record 8.3 mn vehicles in 2013

Agence France-Presse

TOKYO - The Renault-Nissan alliance sold a record 8.3 million vehicles last year, giving it fourth spot among global automakers, new data showed Wednesday, as the pair reportedly boost ties to cut costs.

Nissan said it sold 5.1 million units globally in 2013, a 3.3 percent rise from a year ago, while the French automaker earlier reported that it sold 2.63 million vehicles in 2013.

The group sold a total of 8.3 million vehicles last year, including sales by Russian affiliate AvtoVAZ, putting it behind top three automakers Toyota, General Motors and Germany’s Volkswagen.

Last week, Toyota said it sold a record 9.98 million vehicles in 2013, its highest-ever annual sales volume, thanks to a weaker yen as well as strong demand in the United States and China, which is now the

world’s biggest car market.

The Camry sedan and Prius hybrid maker beat US-based GM, which sold 9.71 million cars last year, while Volkswagen logged annual sales of 9.5 million units.

On Wednesday, Toyota said it made more than 10 million vehicles at its plants around the world last year, logging another annual industry record.

The figures come after Japan’s Nikkei business daily reported that Nissan and Renault plan to boost their alliance by bringing together production as well as research and development in a bid to save about $3.8 billion annually.

Despite their close links -- Renault is the Japanese automaker’s biggest shareholder and they are both chaired by Carlos Ghosn -- the pair have operated largely independently of each other, except on parts procurement and engine development.

GIANYAR - Palace is the ancient royal house. As the ruler of kingdom, all the materials and design of the building are selected from the best quality. Besides, the architect is not arbitrary and the design is unique as well as hard to replicate. Last but not least, the

making also considers the auspicious day, so that when entering the palace, visitors will feel different and the divine vibration or taksu really exists.

The atmosphere can be intensely felt when visiting the Blahbatuh Grand Palace. The palace located at Kebon hamlet, Blahbatuh village, Gianyar—

about 18 km from Denpasar still preserves all the existing buildings. The layout is based on the Asta Kosala Kosali (Balinese geomancy). “Even, if there are damaged buildings, they will be repaired in accordance with the original design,” said AA Kakarsana, a descendant of Blahbatuh kingdom.

IBP/File photo

Palace is the ancient royal house. As the ruler of kingdom, all the materials and design of the building are selected from the best quality.

Sublime, wise and authoritative impression remains visible here. Spatial division is nicely arranged into the outermost, middle and innermost courtyard and the architecture is still original.

Even, there is a carving pattern that cannot be replicated, no matter if it is done by a skilled craftsman. “Gunung rata located in the Rajadani building (a royal room) is still in the original design and no one can imitate it,” he said.

Its ornament tells a story and contains a philosophy of life. It is made of bricks producing a neat slanting formation. Since it is sanctified, any woman who gets her period is not allowed to come in and this prohibition also applies to all the royal family members. A Vietnam War general veteran from the United States has visited the architecture for four times. “We ever asked people to plagiarize the wall ornamental style, but none were successful,” he affirmed.

People coming into the palace area must pass through the gates made in traditional architectural style. Beautiful garden is overgrown by colorful flowers denoting the native plants to the Island of the Gods. Similarly, the big trees grow sustainably in the palace area belong to rare plants.

“We deliberately plant the rare species belonging to Balinese ancestors. Aside from preserving, these trees can also exude a positive aura,” he said.

Loji, a building for hosting

guests remains sturdy and applies traditional ornament. Meanwhile, in the next building is stored a gamelan set that is usually played by natural artists from local village.

Meanwhile, weaving activity used to be performed by royal ladies in the past remains to survive. However, it is carried out by some artisans living close to royal palace.

On Saturdays and Sundays or any particular time, the area is thronged by kids. They learn to dance and play gamelan music.

It is a cultural course organized at free of charge and instructors are specially brought in to the palace. “We want to preserve the function of palace as a center for cultural preservation. Besides, it also poses an attempt to encourage younger generation to love their cultural heritages,” he said.

Sacred objects such as the Gajah Mada mask and Ki Tunjung Tutur weapon (in the form of large blowpipe) and puppet gambuh make this palace more unique.

Other than community leaders and government officials, many tourists also make a visit. “We remain open for tourists who want to make a visit, but there are certain norms to be followed,” he said.

Kakarsana then pointed out that it was not allowed to organize any wedding ritual or other rituals in the royal palace. Meanwhile, reception or art performance was still allowed. Even, the royal party would support it. According to him, it was carried out to keep the sacred culture. (ocha/bud)

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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Bali News

International

International

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Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, in what served as the opening salvo in a fight for control of Congress ahead of the November election, used his biggest speech of the year to push for programs to narrow economic disparities between rich and poor. Looking to energize his sluggish second term, Obama pledged in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night to sidestep Congress “whenever and wherever” necessary to bypass the political gridlock that has bedeviled his presidency.

Suspected of bird flu, an Arabian traveler dies Bali Post

DENPASAR - Allegation of the H5N1 avian influenza virus infection to an Arabian traveler, ANJ, 71, based on the test carried out by Biomol Laboratory of Medical Faculty, Udayana University, showed a negative result. Though being negative, the vigilance should still be done. Moreover, the ambulance driver of Sanglah Hospital having got a contact with the Arabian traveler was suffering from flu symptoms.

Bali Post

from the suspicion of bird flu, the death toll was also from the Middle East where the MERS-CoV disease spread due to the attack of corona virus. The symptoms were similar to that of influenza so the vigilance against the virus should also be carried out.

Examination against the samples targeted two viruses namely the avian influenza with H7N9 type and corona virus. “Even though the test of H5N1 showed a negative result, in the blood sample of the Arabian traveler was found influenza virus

belonging to type A that requires further investigation, especially for the type of H7N9 or another type of avian influenza virus having the same ferocity as the H5N1,” said Ken. Examination of the H7N9, according to Ken, could be carried out at the Biomol Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University, while for detection of corona virus, the sample should be sent to the Health Research and Development in Jakarta because Bali had not owned a primary substance to detect the virus.

If the sample showed a negative result to H7N9 virus, the patient having had a contact with the victim would no longer be treated with the avian influenza procedure. “If it is positive, then everyone who had contact with the deceased victim will be treated in accordance with the procedures of bird flu,” said

Ken. So far, all people having had contact with the dead victim but did not indicate any symptoms were given Tamiflu as an initial step of prevention.

For the examination of corona virus, when it was positive, the patient would be cared for and its symptoms would be treated.

According to Ken, the corona virus was transmitted from person to person via droplets and air.

Percentage of the death was high reaching 50 percent. However, according to Ken, high mortality percentage only applied to people with the background of risky disease such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and pregnant women. “Otherwise, the disease caused by corona virus is equal to the common cold that can be cured by itself by maintaining a diet and adequate rest,” said Ken.

IBP/File

Until Monday, the corpse of ANJ was still commended in the mortuary of Sanglah Hospital. As provisional information, it was known if ANJ, the Arabian travelers who died of bird flu suspicion, came to Bali alone without being accompanied by any family member.

The absence of family, according to Ken, made the medical team difficult to know the history of the disease and whether the victim had contact with poultry before.

Ken continued that ANJ arrived in Bali on January 15. He then fell ill on January 24. The hotel staff brought him to a private hospital.

Having encountered a viral infection in the patient’s blood sample, the private hospital then referred ANJ to Sanglah Hospital as a suspect of bird flu patient. No longer after getting treatment, ANJ died. (san)

AP Photo/Larry Downing, Pool

Democrats, seeking to cast Republicans as uncaring about the middle class, have urged Obama to focus on economic mobility and the gap between the wealthy and poor. His focus on executive actions that don’t need congressional approval was greeted with shouts of “Do it!” from many Democrats.

Coming off a year in which his major legislative proposals largely fell flat, Obama’s speech was an amalgam of modest proposals designed to chip away at some of the same problems he’s been working on all along: persistent unemployment, middle-class insecurity, lagging schools and more. “Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled,” Obama said.

“The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by — let alone get ahead.”

For Obama, the address was also aimed at convincing an increasingly skeptical public that he still wields power in Washington even if he can’t crack through the divisions in Congress. Burned by a series of legislative failures in 2013, White House aides say they’re now redefining success not by what Obama can jam through Congress but by what actions he can take on

DA 11135179 without document was found when it was checked by X- ray equipment in the Regulated Agent of PT Krisna Multi Sarana Indonesia, Sunday (Jan 26) at 12:00 a.m.

As information, the prohibited item was sent via one of the freight forwarders in Denpasar. The sender was on behalf of Surahman, while

the recipient was on behalf of Andi Lala with the address at Jalan Darma X/13 RT 06/04 Cijantung, East Jakarta. The case was being handled by the officers of the Benoa Harbor Police and still being developed.

Prior to the finding, the consignment freight was detected in the checking by the X-Ray equipment.

When checked, a packing sack was found to contain goods and a box where the box itself held a handheld gun. Having been unpacked, the box in fact contained an air soft gun.

In addition, it was also found two magazines put into a small bag.

To smooth the delivery, the sender seemed to coat it with carbon

paper. It was done in order not to be detected in the inspection. However, such mode could be foiled.

“Yes, it truly happened and a unit of air soft gun has been confiscated.

We are still developing the case,” said Chief of Benoa Harbor Police I Made Suarjana, Monday (Jan 27). (kmb21)

his own.

While domestic issues dominated the speech, Obama also warned Congress he would veto any sanctions bill that threatens to derail talks with Iran, even as he acknowledged that the talks may not succeed.

The hour-long speech came as Obama is trying to recover from the blundered rollout of his signature health care overhaul. An AP-GfK poll this month found 45 percent of those surveyed approved of Obama and 53 percent disapproved. That’s worse than a year ago, when 54 percent approved and 42 percent disapproved, but an improvement over his ratings in December, when 58 percent disapproved of his job performance.

Obama unveiled an array of executive actions, including increasing the minimum wage for some federal contract workers and making it easier for millions of low-income Americans to save for retirement.

His proposals for action by lawmakers were slim and largely focused on old ideas that have gained little traction. He pressed Congress to revive a stalled immigration overhaul and increase the minimum wage.

His one new legislation proposal calls for expanding a tax credit for workers without children.

President Barack Obama delivers the State of Union address before a joint session of Congress in the House chamber Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Washington, as Vice President Joe Biden, and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, listen.

NKorea warns of tensions over US-SKorea war games Associated Press Writer

Police foil dispatch of illegal air soft gun

DENPASAR - Personnel of the Benoa Harbor Police who worked with PT Krisna Multi Sarana Indonesia, Benoa, managed to thwart the delivery of prohibited items. A unit of air soft gun having a trade mark Colt SPT F AMFG with series number

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Obama speech aims to bypass gridlock in Congress

The patient is treated in Sanglah Hospital

Secretary of the Sanglah Hospital Bird Flu Mitigation, Ken Wirasandhi, explained on Monday (Jan 27) that the ambulance driver of Sanglah Hospital was currently being treated in the Nusa Indah Room with the procedures of bird flu patient to the examination of sample of the dead victim sent to the Health Research and Development Jakarta, while the result of the Biomol Laboratory of Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University, had been issued.

Ken further added that aside

Thursday, January 30, 2014

AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File

FILE - In this May 30, 2013 file photo, U.S. and South Korean Army soldiers cross Nam Han river during a joint military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea in Yeoncheon near the border with North Korea, in South Korea.

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s propaganda machine is churning out near-daily diatribes against the United States and South Korea for a series of soon-to-start military maneuvers, warning nuclear war could be imminent and saying it will take dramatic action of its own if further provoked. Sound familiar?

Pyongyang’s increasingly shrill opposition to the annual joint drills looks very similar to the kind of vitriol that preceded the start of the same exercises last year and led to a steep rise in tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

That round of escalation culminated in threats of a nuclear strike on Washington and the flattening of Seoul before the maneuvers ended and both sides went back to their corners.

It appears the first stages of this year’s battle have already begun — though some experts say they don’t think it will be as high-pitched as last year’s. In the latest of the North’s increasingly frequent salvos against the exercises, it said through its state-run

media that the United States is building up its military forces in Asia so it can invade the country — formally called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK — and take control of the whole region.

“It is the strategic goal of the U.S. to invade the DPRK, bring its neighboring countries under its control with it as a stepping-stone and, furthermore, dominate the whole Asia-Pacific region,” the ruling party’s Rodong Sinmun said in an analysis on Monday.

“The U.S. is working hard to kick off large-scale joint military drills this year, too, for the purpose of mounting a pre-emptive nuclear attack upon the DPRK.” The invectives against the exercises began earlier this month, when the North’s powerful National Defense Commission proposed the rivals halt military actions and “mutual vilification” to build better relations. The North, however, strongly hinted it would maintain its nuclear weapons program while urging South Korea to cancel the drills with the United States, set to begin in late February.

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Health

Thursday, January 30, 2014

International

Doctors: Too few cancer patients enroll in studies Associated Press Writer

One of every 10 clinical trials for adults with cancer ends prematurely because researchers can’t get enough people to test new treatments, scientists report. The surprisingly high rate reveals not just the scope and cost of wasted opportunities that deprive patients of potential advances, but also the extent of barriers such as money, logistics and even the mistaken fear that people won’t get the best care if they join one of these experiments.

“Clinical trials are the cornerstone of progress in cancer care,” the way that new treatments prove their worth, said Dr. Matthew Galsky of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

When an experimental drug or other treatment fails to make it to the market, people often think it didn’t work or had too many side effects, but the inability to complete studies can doom a drug, too, Galsky said. He helped lead an analysis of 7,776 experiments registered on Clinicaltrials.gov, a government web site for tracking medical experiments, from September 2005 to November 2011.

All were mid- or late-stage studies testing treatments for various types of cancer in adults.

About 20 percent of the studies were not completed for reasons that had nothing to do with the

treatment’s safety or effectiveness, both legitimate reasons for ending a study early. Poor accrual — the inability to enroll enough patients in enough time to finish the study — led to nearly 40 percent of premature endings.

Company-sponsored studies were less likely to be completed than those sponsored by the government or others. Late-stage cancer trials can cost companies “tens to even hundreds of millions of dollars,” and that money is wasted if no clear answer on the drug’s value is gained, said Dr. Charles J. Ryan, a cancer specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.

He heads the program for a conference later this week in San Francisco, where Galsky’s study will be presented. It was discussed Tuesday in a telebriefing by the American Society of Clinical On-

AP Photo/Karin Schermbrucker, File

FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 9. 2007 file photo, a doctor examines chest X-rays at a tuberculosis clinic in Gugulethu, Cape Town, South Africa. cology, an organization for doctors who treat cancer.

Ryan and Galsky said they hoped the study would spur more research on why more patients don’t participate. In most cases, the treatment being tested is provided for free, but

there can be other costs such as lab tests. Some states require insurers to cover these additional costs, but others do not, so money may be one hurdle for patients.

Some doctors do not strongly encourage patients to participate

in studies, and sometimes patients fear they’ll get a dummy treatment instead of real medicine. However, in cancer clinical trials, ethical standards require that all patients get the current best care, plus a chance at an experimental treatment.

Texas husband named brain-dead wife’s fetus Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/Tim Sharp

Erick Munoz, husband of Marlise Munoz, is escorted out of court by his attorney Heather L. King, right, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014 in Fort Worth, Texas.

DALLAS — Before a pregnant, brain-dead Texas woman was taken off life support over the weekend at the end of a long legal battle, her husband said he decided to name what would have been the couple’s second child. Erick Munoz said Monday he gave the 23-weekold fetus the name Nicole, the middle name of his late wife, Marlise Munoz. He would not say why he chose to name the fetus.

The case inspired debates about abortion and end-of-life decisions, as well as whether a pregnant woman who is considered legally and medically dead should be kept on life support for the sake of a fetus.

Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry and the two leading candidates running to replace him noted the case, but none has called for any new laws or ac-

tion yet. In recent years, the Texas Legislature has enacted several new anti-abortion restrictions, including setting the legal guideline for when a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks. Similar laws have gone into effect around the U.S. Munoz said doctors at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth indicated to him that the fetus would likely have been a girl, though his attorneys previously said the fetus suffered from lower body deformation that made it impossible to determine its sex. “They think it was a female,” Munoz said in a brief telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Munoz told WFAA-TV in an interview aired Monday evening that he has seen many negative comments about his decision, but he feels he made the right choice. “I’m just glad they are not in my shoes. I hope every day that no one ever has to go

through what I went through,” he said. Munoz said his wife will be cremated and there are no plans for memorial or funeral services because the family is concerned that protesters would show up.

“She made me a better man, and I thank her for it. I thank her very much,” he said. Both the hospital and his attorneys agreed the fetus could not have been born alive that early in the pregnancy, and the fetus was not delivered when the hospital complied Sunday with a judge’s order to pull any life-sustaining treatment from Marlise Munoz.

Doctors said she was braindead in November after Erick Munoz found her unconscious in their Haltom City home, possibly due to a blood clot, but the hospital had kept on machines to keep her organs functioning for the sake of the fetus, which it said was per Texas law.

Bali News

International

Thursday, January 30, 2014

3

Illegal tour guides proliferate

Bali Post

HPI Bali furious

DENPASAR - The presence of illegal tour guides in Bali increasingly makes the Indonesian Tour Guides Association (HPI) of Bali furious. It happens because numerous illegal tour guides are operating in the field that can potentially tarnish the image of Bali as a tourist destination of the world.

“Frankly speaking, their existence (illegal tour guide—Ed) makes us furious. They do not only harm the licensed tour guides, but also tarnish the reputation of Bali in the eyes of the world,” said Chairman of the HPI Bali, Sangtu Subaya, in Denpasar.

According to him, his party had made coordination with relevant agencies, namely the Bali Government Tourism Office and Municipal Police to discipline the illegal local and foreign tour guides. “To become a tour guide, it is required an education and training on guiding techniques, mastery of language and local culture because Bali develops cultural tourism, general knowledge and code of ethics,” he explained.

Such an effort, recognized Sangtu, was pursued through a certification process in higher education institution having the competence in culture and tourism. After that, the applicants were tested by the government, in this case the Bali Government Tourism Office on behalf of the governor, to obtain an operating permit.

“The inspection team already came down to the field on Monday (Jan 27) at Tirta Empul,

Tampaksiring and Ubud Market under coordination of the Municipal Police. It is intended to maintain the orderliness and law enforcement because the working procedures of the profession have been set forth,” he said.

He explained that profession of tour guide had been governed in the Regional Bylaw No.5/2008 and Gubernatorial Regulation No.41/2009, while the travel agencies as the users employing them had also been governed in the Regional Bylaw No.1/2010 on travel-related business services where one of the articles prohibited the employment of the unlicensed tour guides.

“Together with the team, we managed to capture 11 illegal tour guides, including a foreigner from Hungary named George Miholovic who worked as a tour guide,” he explained.

He said the team then made coordination with the Immigration Office and the subsequent handling was delivered to the Immigration Office. Some of the illegal tour guides were even facilitated by a certain travel agency by allowing the name of the company and making identification (badge) that mentioned the

Tourists during a visit to Kerthagosa, Klungkung Regency, Bali Island. The presence of illegal tour guides in Bali increasingly makes the Indonesian Tour Guides Association (HPI) of Bali furious. It happens because numerous illegal tour guides are operating in the field that can potentially tarnish the image of Bali as a tourist destination of the world. senior tour guide at the bottom of the picture hung around the neck.

“Actually, the individual person does not have a license at all,” he

exclaimed.

It was added that his party would continuously encourage the government to discipline the

presence of foreigners serving as tour guides in order to maintain the image of Bali tourism. (kmb27)

Balinese Characters: From Palm-leaf to Keyboards Probably, you have watched or are going to watch arja operetta or Ramayana Ballet during the visit in Bali. It would be more convenient if it is enjoyed while having dinner of Balinese cuisine. At the same time, you watch the beauty of culture and taste the delicacy of local culinary. You may hear the language spoken by players or puppeteer was not understandable. Of course, it is Balinese language.

As Japanese and Chinese, Balinese language also has its own characters. They consist of some 18 main characters and 10 vowel sounds. Ordinarily, Balinese characters are used to write palmleaf manuscript or lontar. Such characters are incised with sharp knife or stylus. When the writing works have completed, they

should be rubbed with a blend of oil and lamp shoot to blacken them. So they are visible easily.

Since the works were performed manually, the copying of a manuscript took a long time.

At a glance, Balinese characters look like Old Javanese, Tamil (India). It is inseparable from historical aspect where they had similarity of genealogical lines. Today, Balinese characters still have restricted use, namely at school for local subject from elementary school to senior high school. It is becoming the responsibility of local government to preserve and develop Balinese language in order it could survive in the midst of the growth of other languages like Bahasa Indonesia and foreign languages.

Balinese language poses a me-

dium and spirit of Balinese culture. To preserve Balinese culture should also simultaneously maintain and use of Balinese language in daily life. In other words, speaking Balinese language also characterizes one of the identities as a Balinese. Among the use of other languages, Balinese language should remain to give a space to grow and develop. Other than speaking and teaching it at schools, it should also accommodate the need of modern community or use in wider functions of language.

Balinese community receives abundant heritages of lontar or palm-leaf manuscripts from the predecessors retained by individuals and museums. They carry many aspects of knowledge, ranging from philosophy, local

healing, literature, architecture, agriculture, herbal practice, astrology and so forth. Therefore, if they could be interpreted and presented in popular language, they could become attractive information for young generation and saleable books for commercial needs. Today, there is also a trend of poising the tradition with modern science namely by re-interpreting the indigenous wisdoms that are relevant to the current time. People will get balanced inputs from the past and current orientation.

Of course, such treasures will be beneficial for the conservation and future development of Balinese culture because it stays in touch with its original roots.

Young generation should be introduced to these roots at early

stage. Later, they will not lose their identity and even could feel proud of it. Moreover, it could give them inspiration in making their creativities, either in fine arts, performance, traditional architecture or herbal healings.

Thanks to modern technology, the writing of Balinese characters now can be made easy by Bali Simbar font. It is the innovative thinking of I Made Suatjana (1986) lies behind the composing of this font. His work has helped the writing of Balinese characters in word processing application like Microsoft Word. Hopefully, there would be more creative software helping the development and learning of Balinese language so it would not come into extinction or be far left behind with the modern life.

2

International

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Bali News Discotheque chaotic

Foreign visitor thrown with a bottle Bali Post

DENPASAR - One of the nightclubs located around Jalan Legian, Kuta, apparently had got riot on Tuesday (Jan 28) at 01:30 a.m. A discotheque visitor, Andrzej Piotr–Kozdra, 43, a Polish-born visitor, was thrown with a bottle to sustain injury. Not only that, the victim was also kicked. The case has been reported to Kuta Police a week later.

Chief of Kuta Police, Nyoman Resa, through the Chief of Detective Criminal Section, Wahyu Setyo, said on Tuesday (Jan 28) that his party was still investigating the case. Motive of the beatings against the victim staying at Hotel Kedin’s II on Jalan Poppies Lane Gang Sorga, Kuta, was unknown.

“We have received the report today (Wednesday—Ed). Now, it is still under investigation,” said Chief Resa.

He explained the incident began when the victim came to the discotheque to see his friend

singing. The victim was sitting on a chair. Suddenly, the culprit came up and stood in front of the victim. It was not known what the problem was, while the other culprits then kicked the trash.

“Another culprit threw a bottle at the victim,” he explained.

Throw of the bottle at the victim caused painful on his eyes and hands. More unluckily, the victim’s left eye could not see. In addition, the victim having the permanent address on SA Gavina Street 22 PTA 607820 Baleares - Spain also sustained injuries in

the head and temples. Such incident triggered a tense situation in the discotheque. “Indeed, the condition turned austere, but it was soon under control,” he said.

As the victim got injured, he was then quickly rushed to hospital. Chief Resa claimed not to know the culprit of the beatings.

Since the case was just reported, his party was still making an investigation. “We’ve examined several witnesses. Hopefully, information on the incident could be promptly revealed,” he added. (kmb21)

Poultry development project infringes valley borderline Bali Post

SINGARAJA - An illegal project alleged to be used for chicken coop by taking advantage the space of a cliff borderline occurred at Busungbiu village, Busungbiu subdistrict.

When seen from the results of field observation, condition of the project site is less feasible. Construction of the chicken coop uses the space near the valley borderline and quite steep road.

As the latest information, the illegal project near the valley has been discontinued by Municipal Police (Satpol PP) of Buleleng on Friday (Jan 24) because it is located near the bridge connecting the Mayong village and Busungbiu village, Buleleng. It is known the project will be

used for chicken farm. However in terms of security, it does not guarantee because the location is prone to avalanche.

According to a source, the project is owned by a resident of Busungbiu named Ariyasa Budi. Meanwhile, the Head of Buleleng Municipal Police Putu Harthana met on Monday (Jan 28) said that his party had given a reprimand to stop the project. “We have stopped the project development activity first. Together with the team, the Municipal Police at Busungbiu observed that it is true if the cliff border has been flattened. When asked to the owner, the project was indeed planned for a chicken farm. Therefore, we stopped it because it did not have any permits and should comply

with the applicable rules,” he said.

The project site is very hazardous because it is a very steep cliff side. If the development is allowed, it will endanger the connecting bridge.

“Condition of the terrain where the project established is very steep.

If the project is forced to be continued, an avalanche may occur and it is certainly very hazardous for people crossing the connecting bridge,” said Hartana.

Based on observation last Monday (Jan 27), the project remained to take place and masons looked to work on the sides of the project wall. Relevant agencies should take decisive action against the illegal project. If it indeed infringes the rules, there must be clearness. (dgk)

Singaraja Police ‘secure election demonstration’ Bali Post

SINGARAJA - Ahead of the General Election 2014 no party can predict if there will be any mass action later on. To prevent any turbulence of the mass action in the five-yearly event, the lineups of Singaraja Police did an exercise at the former Buleleng Harbor. The exercise activity took place on Tuesday afternoon (Jan 28) by involving three platoons of troops to disperse the crowd.

Originally the crowd was not satisfied with the Electoral Committee 2014, so they went to the office of the Regent of Buleleng with the intent to demand for justice and hopefully the official was willing to receive them. As a result, no officials wanted to get out because the amount of crowd reached thousands of people. Definitely the crowd was getting more emotional and it culminated in the act of anarchism.

Singaraja Police arrived at location and alerted three platoons of troops equipped with riot squad, a water cannon tactical vehicle and two dogs from the canine squad. Ultimately the crowd got involved in clash and was then swiftly faced by police by arresting the demonstrator leader. Deputy Chief of Buleleng Police Bima Arya Viyasa witnessed in person the rehearsal of the technical function of the quick response squad.

Deputy Chief of Buleleng Police Bima Arya Viyasa said the exercise was meant to make preparation for the upcoming General Election 2014.

Readiness of the personnel was very much expected to help secure the election. Security was the shared responsibility, so that people were expected to practice their democracy without anarchism. “A refreshing exercise is quite required by the security forces because there are also personnel who are mutated from different section. It is intended to give illustration where their position should be in case of a mass action.

Buffering platoons from the subdistrict police are also involved so they know what to do when they are deployed,” he said. (dgk)

Baby girl discarded in front of boarding room Bali Post

DENPASAR - Residents living on Jalan Cenigan Sari Gang I, Sesetan, South Denpasar, were shocked by the finding of a baby, Sunday morning (Jan 26). Such female baby was dumped by its parent in front of the neighboring boarding room, Winawati. It has not been known for sure who has the heart to dump the little baby.

Meanwhile, the officers of South Denpasar Police are still conducting further investigation.

Based on information compiled on Monday (Jan 27), the finding of the unfortunate baby was around 06:00 a.m. The witness Winawati admitted to hear a baby crying outside her room. Once she woke up and opened the door, in front of the neighboring room was seen a baby wrapped in a blanket and crying hard.

The finding made people excited, including the dwellers of the boarding house. Moreover, no dwellers in the boarding house had a baby. They immediately reported the case to South Denpasar Police. Some officers then came down to the scene and conducted an examination of witnesses. After the crime scene investigation, the baby was immediately taken to the Bros Hospital at Renon.

“Condition of the baby is still fine. Allegedly the baby was dumped due to the results of a love affair,” said Chief of South Denpasar Criminal Detective Police Ngurah Yudhisthira last Sunday. He explained that his party had examined a number of witnesses. However, so far it was still under investigation. “We have not known its parents and are still investigating the case,” he added. (kmb21)

 Founder : K.Nadha,  General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Diah Dewi Juniarti  Editors: Gugiek Savindra,Alit Susrini, Alit Sumertha, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Sri Hartini, Suana, Sueca, Sugiartha, Yudi Winanto Denpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subrata, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Suasrina, Buleleng: Adnyana, Gianyar: Agung Dharmada, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Bagiarta. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto.  Development: Alit Purnata, Mas Ruscitadewi.  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.

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Activities

International

Thursday, January 30, 2014

15

Archipelago International celebrates Chinese New Year

IBP

JAKARTA – With Chinese New Year on the horizon, Archipelago International have launched a group-wide promo throughout the month of January to honor the traditional Chinese holiday. Running for the month of January, guests staying at all of Archipelago’s hotels are given the chance to win select prizes upon check-in.

The “Happy Chinese New Year” promo sees each of Archipelago International’s hotels and villas offering their guests a chance to win a reward at the front desk. As guests check-in, they are invited to pull a piece of paper from a bowl (one per room) in the hope of picking a winning ticket with a select prize.

Prizes include instant cash and instant discounts on the room rate, free upgrades and vouchers for a free night on the next stay, 25% off spa treatments, complimentary mini bar, 50% off lunch or dinner, free

breakfast, a branded pen or T-shirt and a flower or fruit basket in the room. There are also electronics and other premium gifts, as well as free airport drop off, a romantic dinner and vouchers for nearby activities in the area.

“This exciting promo is our way to give something back to our loyal customers, whilst also celebrating the festivities of Chinese New Year.

Not only do we hope to promote Archipelago International’s hotel brands, but we also aim to provide a fun holiday and fantastic prizes for

IBP/Courtesy of AI

our guests” Says Norbert Vas, VP Sales & Marketing Archipelago International Tenaiya Brookfield, Director of E-commerce Archipelago International adds, “We decided to celebrate Chinese New Year for the entire month

of January to really kick off another fantastic year! All of our guests therefore get a chance to win prizes when they come and stay at one of our hotels or villas. Look out for the red envelopes, or “ang pao”, at the front desk which

Calendar Event for January 1 through February 26, 2014 1 Jan Buda Kliwon Matal, Kajeng Kliwon And Tilem Sasih Kenam Pura Desa Sukawati Sukawati Pura Pasek Gelgel Gelgel Bebetin Pura Maspahit Sesetan Pura Padharman Arya Kanuruhan Besakih 11 Jan Tumpek Kandang Pura Desa Gianyar Pura Luhur Dalem Sagening Kediri Tabanan Pura Sang Hyang Tegal Tegalalang 15 Jan Purnama Sasih Kapitu Pura Dalem Tarukan Cemenggaon Sukawati Pura Penataran Dalem Ketut Pejeng Kaja Gianyar Pura Puseh Manakaji Peninjauan Bangli Pura Taman Limut Pengosekan Mas Ubud Pura Benua Besakih Pura Gunung Rena Sidemen Karangasem Pura Pasek Gelgel Abadi Karangasem Pura Pucak Gunung Mangun Kubu Karangasem 16 Jan Kajeng Kliwon Uwudan

17 Jan Hari Bhatara Sri 21 Jan Anggara Kasih Prangbakat Pura Bukit Buluh Gunaksa Klungkung Pura Tirtha Sidamala Bebalang Bangli Pura Gunung Pangsong Lombok Pura Dalem Benawah Gianyar Pura Dalem Bitra Gianyar Pura Pura Hyang Haluh/Jenggala Besakih

Pura Tengkulak Tulikup Gianyar Pura Taman Sari Ubud Pura Penataran Badung

Pura Penataran Giri Purwo Tegal Delimo Banyuwangi Pura jala Sidhi amerta Juanda Surabaya

29 Jan Hari Siwaratri

19 Feb Buda Cemeng Kelawu Pura Penataran Agung Teluk Padang Karangasem Pura Melanting Camenggaon Sukawati Pura Penataran ped Nusa Penida Pura Gaduhan Jagat Singakerta Ubud Pura Masceti Sanding Tampak Siring Pura Penataran Batu Lepang Kamasan Kelungkung Pura Paibon Pasek Gelgel Kedonganan Kuta Pura Guwa Besakih Pura Basukian Besakih Pura Jati Ubud Pura Melanting Ubud Pura Dalem Peed Nusa Penida Pura Sad Kayangan Nusa Penida Pura Penataran Agung Gunung Karangasem

30 Jan Tilem Sasih Kepitu Pura Buana Kawan Besakih Pura Ulun Kulkul Besakih 31 Jan Kajeng Kliwon Enyitan 5 Feb Buda Kliwon Ugu Pura Dalem Tarukan Peninjauan Tembuku Bangli Pura Pemayun Banyuning Tengah Buleleng Pura Kayangan Tiga Seririt Buleleng Pura Agung Gunung Raung Taro Tegalalang 6 Feb Pura Dalem Puri Besakih 14 Feb Purnama Sasih Kawulu Pura Dalem Batur Bangli Pura Ida Ratu Pasek Besakih Pura Dalem Suci Sidemen Karangasem Pura Buana Kawan Besakih 15 Feb Tumpek Wayang & Kajeng Kliwon Uwudan Pura Majapahit Jembrana Pura Panti Gelgel Pengembungan Sesetan Pura Pedarman Dalem Sukawati Besakih Pura Pedarman Mengwi Besakih Pura Pedarman Kaba-kaba Besakih Pura Pedarman Dalem Bakas Besakih Pura Pedarman Dinasti Dalem Besakih

21 Feb Hari Bhatara Sri 25 Feb Anggara Kasih Dukut Pura Dalem Batuyang Batubulan Pura Pasek Gelgel Mengening Kediri Tabanan Pura Pasek Undagi Krambitan Tabanan Pura Pucak Taman bedulu Gianyar Pura Puser Jagat Nusa Penida Pura Dalem Purwa Kawan Bangli Pura Desa Ketewel Gianyar 26 Feb Pura Agung Pasek gelgel Sibang Kaja Abian Semal Pura Dalem Samprangan Gianyar

hold cash, discounts, prizes, free upgrades, merchandise and much more!”

More details of the promo can be found online and on the hotel booking pages, as well as within e-blasts, social media pages and online banners.

Balinese Temple Ceremony Every Temple and Shrine has a special date for it annual Ceremony, or “ Odalan “, every 210 days according to Balinese calendar, including the smaller ancestral shrine which each family possesses. Because of this practically every few days a ceremony of festival of some kind takes place in some Village in Bali. There are also times when the entire island celebrated the same Holiday, such as at Galungan, Kuningan, Nyepi day, Saraswati day, Tumpek Landep day, Pagerwesi day, Tumpek Wayang day etc.

The dedication or inauguration day of a Temple is considered its birth day and celebration always takes place on the same day if the wuku or 210 day calendar is used. When new moon is used then the celebration always happens on new moon or full moon. The day of course can differ the religious celebration of a temple lasts at least one full day with some temple celebrating for three days while the celebration of Besakih temple, the Mother Temple, is never less than 7 days and most of the time it lasts for 11 days, depending on the importance of the occasion.

The celebration is very colorful. The shrine are dressed with pieces of cloths and sometimes with brocade, sailings, decorations of carved wood and sometimes painted with gold and Chinese coins, very beautifully arranged, are hung in the four corners of the shrine. In front of shrine are placed red, white or black umbrellas depending which Gods are worshipped in the shrines.

In front of important shrine one sees, besides these umbrellas soars, tridents and other weapons, the “umbulumbul”, long flags, all these are prerogatives or attributes of Holiness. In front of the Temple gate put up “Penjor”, long bamboo poles, decorated beautifully ornaments of young coconut leaves, rice and other products of the land.

Most beautiful to see are the girls in their colorful attire, carrying offerings, arrangements of all kinds fruits and colored cakes, to the Temple. Every visitor admires the grace with which the carry their load on their heads.

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

16 Pages Number 33 6th year

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

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Entertainment

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Yen says son inspired Monkey King performance

WEATHER FORECAST 23 - 32 Dps

Freezing US storm threatens south

Page 6

Associated Press Writer

HONG KONG — Actor Donnie Yen says his toddler son was his inspiration for his performance in “The Monkey King.” The action star plays the title role in the 3D film, “The Monkey King,” loosely based on a classic Chinese folktale where the Monkey King accompanies a Buddhist monk on a pilgrimage to retrieve a sacred Buddhist script.

AP Photo/Vincent Yu

In this Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014 photo, Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen gestures during an interview at a restaurant in Hong Kong. The action star plays the title role in the upcoming 3D film, “The Monkey King”

The movie opens in Hong Kong on Thursday and in the rest of China on Friday in a bid to capture box office sales at the start of the Chinese New Year holiday period. It is a popular story that has been told numerous times on the small and big screen, and many actors have played the part before.

But instead of looking to those past performances, Yen watched his young son, who was 3 years old at the time, playing at home.

“He was hopping around from couches to couches, this sofa to that sofa, very active,” Yen said.

“I saw my son running around, jumping around, just acting like any other active child and I said to myself ‘you know, this is the essence that I wanted to kind of preserve’ ... the Monkey King’s, his purity, his youth, his childhoodlike, his — the whole innocence of his character.”

While it was easy to get inspiration from his son, it was not as much fun for Yen to put on the full-body monkey suit with prosthetic make up.

“The hardest part was that once you have that full on make up, you can’t eat, you can’t eat normally ... and you can only

Miley Cyrus duets with Madonna for MTV special

EPL leader Arsenal held as Liverpool, United win

Page 8

Not Published We, The International Bali Post would like to apologize in advance because we will not be published on Friday, January 31, 2014 Thank You

Ahead of Chinese New Year

Ngurah Rai Airport makes extra flight

IBP/File Photo

Facing the flood of passengers ahead of the Chinese New Year 2565, the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Bali has prepared 94 additional flights to and from Bali with the destinations like Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Naning Airport - China.

Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES — Miley Cyrus is mashing things up with Madonna for MTV. The 21-year-old pop star and the 55-year-old Queen of Pop grinded and grabbed each other as they performed Cyrus’ hit “We Can’t Stop” and Madonna’s 2000 track “Don’t Tell Me” Tuesday during a taping in Hollywood. The “MTV Unplugged” special that closes with the duet is set to air Wednesday.

Cyrus is the star of the show. She performs a selection of songs from her latest album, “Bangerz,” including “Wrecking Ball,” her new single, “Adore You,” and the live debut of “Drive.” Though her whittled stomach and occasional crotch-grabs compete for attention, Cyrus’ voice takes center stage in the hourlong acoustic show.

drink liquids out of a straw,” he said in an interview. Yen also denied rumors the he was no longer involved in the sequel to Ang Lee’s classic martial arts film, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” But he said the script is still being written.

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

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Bali Post

MANGUPURA - Facing the flood of passengers ahead of the Chinese New Year 2565, the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Bali has prepared 94 additional flights to and from Bali with the destinations like Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Naning Airport - China.

AP Photo/Sandy M. Cohen

Miley Cyrus performs with Madonna for MTV Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014.

Co-General Manager of PT Angkasa Pura 1, I Gusti Ngurah Ardita, said the addition of dozens of extra flights had been carried out since a week

before the Chinese New Year celebration.

“Chinese New Year celebration has quite good impact on the flight out of Bali and to Bali. Moreover,

in this political year, many people travel out of Bali for the campaign as well as come to Bali for the same purposes,” said Ngurah Ardita as confirmed on Tuesday.

In harmony with the increasing number of travelers visiting Bali, he added, the tourism supporting facilities should also be improved.

“We have to keep environment clean, thus it will have a positive impression to travelers visiting Bali,” he said.

According to him, the political year brought in major impact on the world of aviation. Even, it was estimated that aside from commercial flights, the use of charter flights or private jet also indicated a surge.

“All this time, there are many small aircrafts or charter flights holding VIP guests to Bali. Within a year they can reach thousands.

To that end, we have prepared parking space for 16 private jets,

so that private aircrafts will not mix with commercial aircrafts,” he explained.

He predicted the flights related to legislative and presidential election occurred next April and would be followed by school holidays from July to August. “The passenger growth is quite significant. In the year 2013, we handled 224,118 domestic passengers and 169,952 international passengers,” he said. (kmb27)