Edisi 31 Juli 2009 | International Bali Post

16

Friday, July 31, 2009

German press hails return of ‘Ferrari’s angel’

Agence France Presse

BERLIN - Michael Schumacher’s stunning decision to dust off his racing helmet and come out of retirement to help Ferrari in their hour of need had the German media in raptures on Thursday.

“An angel for Ferrari” was how Berlin daily Tagesspiegel summed up the news of the 40-year-old German’s comeback to the cockpit to fill in for injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.

“The legend returns” was Bild’s headline above a photograph of a jubilant Schumacher on its front page.

Despite “two children, seven world titles, and 900 million euros,”

Schumacher is coming back, the paper commented.

Schumacher’s family gave their assessment of the news.

His father, Rolf, reckoned his son was making the right move, pointing out with reference to Michael’s motorcycle accident in February: “Motorbikes are more dangerous than F1”.

As for his brother, former F1

Sport

last weekend had become too easy.

But while Stoner concurred with the sentiment, he cannot envisage the rule-makers agreeing to remove traction control.

“I completely agree. The problem is they won’t go back now,” he said.

“There are 70 or 80 per cent less broken bones than there were before, there are less accidents, less problems, and how are we going to

driver Ralf, Schumacher will still be “sufficiently quick” despite his time off the track.

The Berliner Zeitung daily meanwhile put forward their take on the reasons behind his return. “He’s doing it for the team that made him, he’s a team player.”

The Tagesspiegel carried a warning for Schumacher however, noting that the “good old days of F1” have evolved, with or without Schumacher.

The newspaper suggested F1 has become too expensive, even for the big manufacturers, and that numerous circuits are struggling to meet the “enormous demands of F1’s great moneyman Bernie Ecclestone”.

AP Photo/Tom Hevezi

Ducati’s Australian rider Casey Stoner lifts up his machine after falling off at the Melbourne loop during practice at the British Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Donington Circuit, Donington, England Saturday July 25, 2009.

go back now? There’s no way when there’s a safety issue.

“It’s saved a lot of people a lot of pain. Jorge [Lorenzo] and I have proved that you can still have a flickoff. But honestly if it was still 500cc or even the early 1000cc days people would still be flying through the air and hurting themselves.”

Stoner added that he had been using traction control more in recent races after changes to the Ducati’s electronics, and that it had proved helpful despite his personal dislike of it.

“We’ve only found a good system since Catalunya. We found something that’s helped tame the Ducati and calmed a down a lot,” he said.

“Up to that point I never had TC cuts, I never liked the feeling of it and I still don’t. But you can’t live without them. When you do make that big mistake it is there to save you.

“For me it takes a lot of the power of the bike away as well. You can slide it to a certain degree, but it is taking a lot away from the bikes. It seems like everyone’s focusing on it now.

“For the last couple of years we didn’t have nearly as much as we’ve had since Catalunya. And I hate to admit it, but it is helping. But before that point, I hated any cuts during a lap. I felt it just hindered me and I wasn’t able to ride like I wanted.

Unfortunately when you’re struggling in those long corners at Catalunya and it’s easy to spin up, it does help you.”

He believes traction control is starting to become one of the most important elements of MotoGP engine performance.

“They’ve got all their cuts between the firing orders, it’s getting really complicated now,” said Stoner. “It’s starting to be designed around the engine management system.”

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Chinese visitors pose for photos on statues on display for a souvenir photograph outside a shopping mall in Beijing, China, Thursday, July 30, 2009.

Bali police circulate Noordin Top’s latest photos PAGE 8

Stoner: Traction control is here to stay Casey Stoner thinks there is no chance of MotoGP removing traction control as the system has proved to be such a safety benefit.

Riders have regularly complained that electronics now play too great a role in controlling MotoGP bikes, and there were further calls for rider aids to be reduced or removed after suggestions that even riding in the wet practice sessions at Donington Park

Iraqi police dig in after deadly Iran camp clashes

AP Photo/Maurilio Cheli

FILE - The Nov. 25, 2007 file photo shows retired seven-times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher of Germany, right, and Ferrari’s Formula One driver Felipe Massa of Brazil ride a four wheels motorbike during the International Challenge of Go-Kart Champs in Florianopolis, Brazil. Seventime Formula One champion Michael Schumacher said Wednesday, July 29, 2009 he is preparing for Ferrari comeback. He will replace Felipe Massa who crashed during the Grand Prix in Hungary.

Matt Damon gets political in documentary PAGE 12

AP Photo/Andy Wong

Nigerian troops attack Islamist mosque, kill 100 Associated Press Writer

MAIDUGURI - Nigerian security forces shelled then stormed the mosque and compound of an Islamist sect blamed for days of violence across northern Nigeria, killing more than 100 militants in a raging gunbattle.

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The bodies of barefoot young men littered the streets of Maiduguri on Thursday morning as the army conducted a house-to-house man-

escaped along with about 300 followers but his deputy was killed in Wednesday night’s bombardment, according to Army commander

Continued on page 6

Hong Kong’s yoga boom sparks injury surge Agence France-Presse

HONG KONG - During her fourth yoga class, Yvonne Kong attempted a seated twist to stretch her spine. She couldn’t turn as far as the rest of her class, so the instructor pushed her into the position.

The Hong Kong hairdresser immediately felt a sharp pain in her lower back, which persisted after the class. She visited a chiropractor the next day to begin a course of treatment.

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hunt on the outskirts of the city for sect members. Police said most of the dead were Islamist fighters.

Sect leader Mohammed Yusuf

Maj. Gen. Saleh Maina.

An AP reporter watched soldiers, under fire, shoot their way into the mosque in Maiduguri on Wednesday and then rake those holed up inside with gunfire. The reporter later counted about 50 bodies inside the building and another 50 in the courtyard outside.

AFP PHOTO/ED JONES

In a picture taken on July 25, 2009, Yoga director Yogananth Andiappan (top) helps a student into position during an instructor training class at the Anahata Yoga centre in Hong Kong.

Kong, aged 40, said she had never checked whether the instructors were qualified to teach yoga.

“I thought they should be or they wouldn’t be teaching,” she added.

As in many Asian cities, yoga has boomed in Hong Kong over the past few years, but according to some students and medical pracitioners there has been a corresponding spike in injuries.

“Yoga keeps us in business,” said chiropractor David Cosman. The popular exercise, which originated in India, combines meditation with a series of poses meant to improve strength and flexibility.

It has become the workout of choice for many Hong Kongers in high-pressured jobs as they seek to ease the stress of city life, leading to the establishment of an increasing number of yoga studios.

Continued on page 6

2

International

Friday, July 31, 2009

News WORLD NEWS

Clinton says ‘no, never’ to a White House bid WASHINGTON - There is apparently no such thing as a simple yes or no when it comes to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and questions about another run for the White House.

Burqa candidates SHIRAK PIRAK - In the Aug. 20 election, two women are running for president and 328 female candidates are vying for seats on the country’s 34 provincial councils. In remote villages where women do not work outside the home, they face stiff resistance, from death threats to whisper campaigns accusing them of being bad Muslims.

Guantanamo interrogations WASHINGTON - A judge who has grown impatient with the Obama administration’s handling of a young Guantanamo Bay detainee is preparing to decide whether he’ll go home to Afghanistan or to the United States for prosecution. Moved; hearing scheduled for 1430 GMT. Source: ap

Clinton, 61, seemed to go further Sunday than she had previously in shutting the door to another presidential campaign, following her defeat for the Democratic nomination last year by Barack Obama.

“Well, you know, I say no, never, you know, not at all. I don’t know what, what else to say,” Clinton said on NBC television’s “Meet the Press” after host David Gregory noted that she left some wiggle room in an interview last week in Thailand.

But then Gregory followed up by asking, “Are you saying you wouldn’t entertain another run?”

Clinton’s response was less clear: “I have absolutely no belief in my mind that that is going to happen, that I have any interest in it happen-

ing. You know, as I said, I, I am so focused on what I’m doing.”

In the interview on Thai television, Clinton said, “I don’t know, but I doubt very much that anything like that will ever be part of my life.”

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at a US-China Business Council dinner honoring China’s Vice Premier Wang Qishan, State Councilor Dai Bingguo and their delegation, Tuesday, July 28, 2009, at a hotel in Washington. U.S. and Chinese leaders engaged in two days of intense meetings at the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

‘The Lady’ still haunts Myanmar junta

Agence France-Presse

BANGKOK - With a signature flower in her hair, Aung San Suu Kyi has for more than two decades been an icon of peaceful defiance despite the indignities meted out by Myanmar’s military dictatorship.

The frail 64-year-old, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, faces up to five years in jail when a prison court sentences her on Friday on charges of breaching the terms of her seemingly endless house arrest.

Despite recent questions about her relevance, the junta showed that it still regarded her as its arch foe when it pounced on a bizarre incident in May when an American intruder swam to her lakeside villa.

“The fact that the junta has locked her up shows they still feel intimidated by her. She is the icon who gives inspiration to the people of Burma,” Sunai Phasuk of New Yorkbased Human Rights Watch told AFP. Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years in jail or under house arrest at the hands of Myanmar’s all-powerful generals, but her virtual isolation from the outside world has not

dimmed her quiet fervour.

Much of that time has been at her crumbling lakeside house in Yangon, where she is kept without telephone or Internet access, with only the company of two female aides and occasional visits permitted from her doctor and lawyer.

In November last year and again in May, she received an uninvited visitor — eccentric American John Yettaw, who crossed scenic Lake Inya to her house using home-made flippers and stayed there for two days.

After Yettaw was arrested, she was suddenly shifted to the notorious Insein prison in Yangon and placed on trial — just days before the latest, six-year period of her house arrest was due to expire.

But analysts and opposition groups say the junta’s determination to exploit the incident shows how much they fear her influence ahead of widely derided elections scheduled for some time in next year.

The daughter of Myanmar’s founding father General Aung San, who was assassinated in 1947, she launched her political career relatively late after spending much of her life abroad.

A slender woman who prefers traditional clothing, Suu Kyi studied at

Oxford, married a British academic, had two sons and seemed settled in Britain.

Diplomats said that while in detention she still nurtured a hankering for British chocolate biscuits.

But when she returned to Yangon in 1988 to tend to her ailing mother, she found the city gripped by protests against the military that ended later that year in a brutal crackdown, leaving at least 3,000 dead.

Within days she took a leading role in the pro-democracy movement, delivering impassioned speeches to hundreds of thousands of people at Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda, the country’s most sacred Buddhist site.

In September 1988 she helped found the National League for Democracy (NLD), an alliance of 105 opposition parties. Alarmed by her fearlessness and the support she commanded, the generals in 1989 placed her under house arrest.

Despite being confined to her home, she led the NLD to a landslide victory in elections the following year. The junta refused to accept the result.

Her dedication to non-violence won her the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, putting her beside Nelson Mandela among the world’s leading voices against tyranny.

During a brief moment of freedom, she told AFP in a 1999 interview that the military struggled to accept the very concept of dialogue.

“They think it is some kind of competition where one side loses and the other wins, and perhaps they are not so confident they will be able to win,” she said.

But her struggle has exacted a heavy price.

As her husband Michael Aris was in the final stages of a long battle with cancer, the junta refused him a visa to see his wife. He died in March 1999, not having seen her since 1995.

In recent years her own health has suffered, and she had to be put on an intravenous drip twice in recent months.

Critics see her resolve as intransigence that has contributed to Myanmar’s stalemate, but the woman known in Myanmar simply as “The Lady” remains the most powerful symbol of freedom in a country where the army rules with an iron fist.

“The quest for democracy in Burma is the struggle of a people to live whole, meaningful lives as free and equal members of the world community,” she wrote in “Freedom from Fear and Other Writings”.

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International

Friday, July 31, 2009

15

United defeated Boca

Berlin - Antonio Valencia scored on his Manchester United debut as the Red Devils reached the final of the Audi Cup in Munich with a 2-1 win over Boca Juniors.

The Ecuadorian winger needed just 42 minutes of his United debut to find the target after Anderson had earlier netted his first goal for the club with a stunning free-kick.

Federico Insua reduced the arrears in the 55th minute as the Argentinians dominated the second half, but Sir Alex Ferguson’s side held on to reach the final, where they will meet either AC Milan or hosts Bayern Munich.

Ferguson named Federico Macheda and Wayne Rooney in his attack with Valencia making his debut on the right wing.

Much of the attention was on the Ecuadorian, who is earmarked to fill the void left by the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid.

His first few touches exhibited a touch of nerves and it was Boca who made the more confident start to the game with Juan Roman Riquelme playing an intricate one-two with Insua before his shot was deflected wide of the post.

The sale of Ronaldo has not only provided Valencia with the opportunity to take his career onto the next level, but Anderson showed he too could benefit from a bit more of the limelight this season.

He curled an unstoppable free-kick from outside the right-hand corner of the penalty area into the far corner of Roberto Abbondanzieri’s goal for his first ever goal for the Red Devils.

He was inevitably invited by the fans to shoot the next time he received the ball 25 yards from goal, but his earlier strike had not quite given him the confidence to try his luck once again as he instead laid the ball off to Wayne Rooney.

The sight of Wes Brown limping from the field with 10 minutes of the first half remaining dampened the spirits somewhat as Rio Ferdinand made an earlier than expected entrance into the game.

By this time, Rooney was fully warmed up and he led United’s search for a second.

His first shot, a volley from fully 35 yards out, drew the approval from 61,000 fans inside the Allianz Arena, but it lacked the direction to trouble Abbondanzieri.

Rooney’s persistence almost earned him United’s second five minutes before the break. He had two bites of the cherry from Valencia’s right-wing cross but was denied twice, first by a Boca defender and then by Abbondanzieri.

Valencia’s early nerves had evaporated as he started to find his rhythm and it was not long before he opened his account for his new club.

He received the ball centrally from Rooney and, with a dip of the shoulder, he skipped past two Boca defenders before taking aim and releasing a shot from the edge of the area which squirmed under Abbondanzieri’s body and in.

Boca emerged for the second half five minutes later than United, but they entered the field with a renewed determination.

Substitute Christian Chavez’s curling shot tested Tomaz Kuszczak for the first time in the 52nd minute before Insua brought Alfio Basile’s side back into the tie.

He volleyed in Gary Medel’s right-wing cross as Boca began to stamp their authority on the game.

Riquelme curled a shot just wide before Craig Cathcart headed against his own crossbar as United began to show a degree of tiredness after their recent trip to the Far East.

Riquelme tested Kuszczak again with 15 minutes remaining and Pablo Mouche’s effort just skimmed past the United goalkeeper’s left-hand upright as Boca threatened an equaliser, but failed to find one.

AP Photo/Christof Stache

Manchester’ player Frederico Macheda, left, and Boca Junior’s player Medel Soto, right, challenge for the ball during a pre-season friendly soccer tournament match between Manchester United and CA Boca Juniors in Munich, southern Germany, Wednesday, July 29, 2009.

Wheels come off Milan’s Audi Cup hopes as Bayern impress Agence France Presse

BERLIN - Bayern Munich humiliated Italian giants AC Milan 4-1 on Wednesday as they set up an Audi Cup final date with En-

glish champions Manchester United.

A double from promising youngster Thomas Muller and a goal apiece from German international midfielder Bastian

Schweinsteiger and Frenchman Saer Sene saw Bayern to an ultimately easy victory over Milan.

The Italian side - whose lack of a big name signing has provoked the ire of their fans as they have

AP Photo/Christof Stache

Munich Mark van Bommel, right, attacks Milan Ignazio Abate, center, beside of Munich player Daniel Pranjic, left, challenge for the ball during the pre-season friendly soccer tournament match between FC Bayern Munich and AC Milan in Munich, southern Germany, Wednesday, July 29, 2009.

seen Kaka and David Beckham leave - saw their only goal come courtesy of a howler by Bayern ‘keeper Michael Rensing, who let a tame freekick from Andrea Pirlo slip through his arms into the goal.

Milan’s Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho - left out on Tuesday of the national squad for an upcoming friendly with Estonia was at fault for Bayern’s first goal as he lost possession in the centre circle and the hosts Uruguayan midfielder Jose Ernesto Sosa centred for Muller to shoot home.

The score remained the same till a crazy final 10 minutes saw four goals scored as first Schweinsteiger scored from 16 metres out with a low shot, then Rensing’s blunder a minute later gave Milan some hope.

However, an increasingly exhausted Milan defence allowed Muller and Sene to round off a convincing victory in front of their French playmaker Franck Ribery, who was watching from the stands as he is suffering from tendinitis in the knee.

It left their demanding Dutch coach Louis van Gaal more than satisfied. “I saw a good Bayern performance this evening (Wednesday), in terms of the style of play and in terms of their patience.

“We ran this match really well.”

Earlier Manchester United had disposed of Argentinian side Boca Juniors 2-1.

United looked to have wrapped it up by half-time as they scored both their goals with Anderson scoring a superb first goal for them with a stunning freekick which taken from the right hand side went in at the far corner of the goal.

Recent multi-million pound signing Antonio Valencia added a second three minutes from halftime as he fired in a powerful shot, though, the Boca keeper should have done better as it was right at him.

The Argentinian side - who saw their league campaign along with all their rivals suspended earlier on Wednesday because of non payment of wages to players came back strongly in the secondhalf inspired by playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme and deservedly got a goal back.

United hung on, though, and left manager Sir Alex Ferguson content if not overjoyed at their overall performance.

“I am happy with the way the match went, even if I wouldn’t say that we played very well,” said the ever demanding Scot.

14

Sport

Friday, July 31, 2009

International

Sharapova advances at Stanford tennis Agence France Presse

STANFORD - Maria Sharapova rolled over fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the 700,000 dollar Bank of the West Classic on Wednesday.

Former world number one Sharapova needed just over an hour to beat current world number 10 Petrova.

Sharapova now has 13 wins and four losses in 2009 as she continued

AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Maria Sharapova, of Russia, celebrates after winning a point against Nadia Petrova, of Russia, during the Bank of the West tennis tournament in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, July 29, 2009.

her domination over Petrova, winning seven of their eight career matches.

“I knew what I had to improve upon,” Sharapova said. “I started that first match lousy. This time the goal was to get a better start.”

Sharapova was playing just her 17th match since returning from a nine-month layoff because of shoulder surgery.

“I was aggressive the whole way through,” she said. “I didn’t have many letdowns and even when I made unforced errors I stayed with it.” In other second round matches,

third-seeded and fourth-ranked Elena Dementieva beat Maria Kirilenko, 6-1, 6-2 and Daniela Hantuchova upset seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 in a two hour, 30 minutes match.

Samantha Stosur downed Monica Niculescu, 6-1, 7-5 in earlier second round action.

Anne Keothavong, of Britain, suffered a season-ending knee injury Tuesday when she slammed into a fence while playing doubles.

Keothavong has been diagnosed with a severe left knee sprain.

Setback for Arsenal’s Day off for Phelps but 100m butterfly looms Rosicky on road to recovery Agence France Presse

Associated Press Writer

LONDON Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky has picked up a minor injury problem since making his comeback earlier this month after nearly 18 months out.

The Czech Republic international has not played in Arsenal’s last three preseason matches, including a 1-0 victory Wednesday night against Hannover 96 in

BP/doc

Tomas Rosicky

Germany.

Arsenal said Thursday that Rosicky picked up a “minor problem” in the Barnet friendly on July 18. That was his comeback after hamstring and knee injuries ruled him out since January 2008.

It was not immediately clear if Rosicky would be available for the Emirates Cup preseason tournament this weekend.

If the most recent problem turns out to be worse than expected, it would be a major blow to manager Arsene Wenger’s plans.

The Frenchman had highlighted the 28-year-old Rosicky as a key attacking option after striker Emmanuel Adebayor ’s joined Manchester City and Samir Nasri was ruled out last week for up to three months.

Despite defender Kolo Toure leaving Wednesday to join City, Wenger claims his squad is “strong enough” without any more new signings.

The Gunners have only signed defender Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax this offseason. “I feel we are strong enough but if we can add then we will do it,” Wenger said.

“In England people think that all the problems can be sorted out by buying players.

“I believe the biggest target is to work hard in training, improve what we can improve and have confidence in the players that we have. If we need to add then we will. We have money available so for us it is now important to spend it in the right way when we do it, or if we do it.”

ROME - Michael Phelps had a rare day off at the swimming World Championships on Thursday, but with the 100m butterfly looming, he probably needed it.

“I’m ready for that event, it has been the biggest event of the year and I hope I can go faster,” said Phelps, who seized the 100m butterfly world record he had long coveted at the US championships earlier this month.

Despite the record, Phelps predicted a tight race with Serbian Milorad Cavic - the man he beat to Olympic gold by a fingertip in Beijing - and Spanish speedster Rafael Munoz.

“There’s a bunch of guys who are going to be there at 50sec and faster,” said Phelps, who set the record at 50.22 in Indianapolis.

The world mark had eluded Phelps for four years - as he tried in vain to break the record set by compatriot Ian Crocker in winning the 2005 world title.

Cavic nearly denied Phelps in Beijing, where Phelps was seventh at the turn and had to throw in a desperate finishing half-stroke that carried him past Cavic by one-hundredth of a second. The victory kept him on course for his record eight-gold haul.

“It’s going to be the same kind of thing,” Phelps said. “I guess the final will be a little more tight than it was last year. I think I’ve got a little bit more speed than I had last year, so hope I’m not at Cav’s knee by the time I turn.”

Phelps said technical precision would make the difference.

“It’s going to be the same as it was last year, whoever gets a good turn and gets their hand on the wall. The 100s and 200s usually come down to having a good start, having a good turn and a

good finish.

“I’m just going to set myself up to be close enough or ahead at the 50m to be in with a shot to win.”

With the 100m fly heats and semi-

finals scheduled for Friday, and the final on Saturday, Phelps wasn’t planning a lot of sightseeing on his off-day.

“I’ve got to try to get as much rest as possible,” Phelps said.

News

International

AP Photo/Michael Sohn

3

Iraqi police dig in after deadly Iran camp clashes Agence France-Presse

BAQUBA - Iraqi police said on Thursday they have set up a police station in a camp housing Iran’s main exiled opposition People’s Mujahedeen group after two days of deadly fighting there.

More than 200 police officers and 800 Iraqi soldiers are now inside Camp Ashraf, which was stormed by security forces on Tuesday, said Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim alKarawi of the provincial police.

“The situation so far is calm, and there have been no clashes today (Thursday). We have set up the police station,” he said.

Two policemen were killed and hundreds of people were wounded after Iraqi soldiers stormed the camp on Tuesday, Iraqi security officials said.

People’s Mujahedeen spokesman Shahriar Kia said eight residents were killed and nearly 400 wounded in the clashes, although there was no independent confirmation of the figures.

The security forces have denied killing members of the People’s Mujahedeen. The Iraqi police say

that in addition to the two dead officers another 120 were wounded, 60 of whom were still receiving medical treatment.

Iraqi soldiers are not allowing journalists to enter the camp, meaning it is not possible to independently confirm tolls of the dead and wounded.

The storming of the camp coincided with a visit to Iraq by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, but the top US commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, said the US military had no advance warning of the raid.

Maryam Rajavi, the head of the exiled National Council of Resistance of Iran which includes the Mujahedeen, condemned the raid and accused Baghdad of doing Tehran’s bidding.

The People’s Mujahedeen was founded in 1965 in opposition to the

shah and has subsequently fought to oust the clerical regime which took power in the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The group set up Camp Ashraf in the province of Diyala northeast of Baghdad in the 1980s — when former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was at war with the Islamic republic — as a base to operate against the Tehran government.

In this image provided by the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, Iraqi police clash with protestors opposition group’s camp northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, July 28, 2009. Residents say Iraqi forces have raided a camp housing members of an Iranian opposition group north of Baghdad.

AP Photo/HO

Egyptian FM talks Middle East UN agency says budget shortfall will cut food aid issues with Brazilian leader

BRASILIA - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit discussed Middle East tensions with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during a visit on Wednesday.

The meeting, which played to Brazil’s ambition of having a role in helping negotiate peace in the Middle East, took place a week after Lula talked over the same issues with visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, who also took part in the discussions, reiterated the view that peace in the Middle East could only be achieved through the creation of an “economically viable” Palestinian state that was not broken up by Israeli control lines.

He also lent Brazil’s voice to the international

Michael Phelps reacts after winning the gold medal in the final of the Men’s 200m Butterfly, at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Rome, Wednesday, July 29, 2009.

Friday, July 31, 2009

community’s consensus that Israel should immediately cease expanding settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.

Abul Gheit hailed Brazil’s stance, saying: “Brazil can play a role (in the Middle East peace negotiations) because it has political as well as economic potential.”

Brazil plans to extend its Middle East mediating position by receiving Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the next few weeks, followed by Israeli President Shimon Peres in November.

Latin America’s biggest economy is seeking the extra clout as part of its longterm ambition to one day join the UN Security Council as a permanent member.

AFP PHOTO / Evaristo SA

Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Minister Aboul Gheit (L) shakes hands with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during a meeting at the Bank of Brazil Cultural Centre in Brasilia on July 26, 2009. Gheit is on one-day official visit to Brazil.

Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON - The United Nations food aid agency said Wednesday it will be forced to cut programs even as hunger soars amid the global economic crisis because pledged donations have failed to materialize.

World Food Programme executive director Josette Sheeran said that the agency’s 2009 budget of “assessed, approved needs” is 6.7 billion dollars.

The WFP now expects, after consultations with governments, donations of 3.7 billion.

“For the World Food Programme, we are facing a dangerous and unprecedented shortfall in emergency funding. This is mainly due to the fact that the needs which were greatly increased last year due to the food crisis have not come down, in fact have increased, just as we’re seeing the numbers of hungry increase,” Sheeran told reporters in Washington.

“So we are actively cutting three billion dollars of our program, which means a reduction in rations and programs throughout the world, including those to the world’s most vulnerable people.”

The head of the Rome-based UN agency did not provide specific details on the cutbacks and their timetable. She declined to name the countries that are not meeting their commitments.

Sheeran said the drop in donations this year was in part due to tight government budgets after the global financial crisis accelerated in late 2008, triggering the worst recession in decades.

She also suggested that the impact of the crisis was “not as dramatic at home”

in the developed world, resulting in a reduced sense of urgency to provide relief to the world’s hungry.

Those living on a dollar a day can only afford to buy about a third of the food they were able to buy a few years ago, she said.

Sheeran said that for the first time in history, 1.02 billion people are undernourished worldwide, up from 60 million just two years ago.

“One out of every six today are on the official list of the urgently hungry,” she said. “One third of the world’s children in the developing world are stunted.”

Last year, the agency’s needs doubled as food prices spiked, sparking riots in more than 30 countries, the overthrow of the Haitian government, and unrest in Italy over pasta prices, she recalled.

Sheeran highlighted the crucial role the WFP plays in reducing hunger in the developing world, where 80 percent of countries lack a food safety net.

Sheeran said the United States was “leading the way” in aid relief.

She praised Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her “leadership on this issue to find not only solutions for the long term but to meet the emergency needs.

“The Obama administration has been an advocate on both scores and we’re thankful for that. And the US Congress and the administration have really stepped up to the plate this year to make sure that the emergency needs are met,” she added.

The WFP chief was in Washington meeting with key officials of President Barack Obama’s administration and US lawmakers, as well as World Bank officials, WFP spokeswoman Jennifer Parmelee said.

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News

Friday, July 31, 2009

Angola eases import rules for housing scheme Agence France-Presse

LUANDA - Angola is lifting customs duties on construction materials imported to build houses for the poor, the government announced Wednesday, one day after a housing protest in the capital Luanda.

Angola suffers a critical shortage of housing due to three decades of civil war which destroyed huge swathes of the country and saw millions seek refuge by cramming into Luanda, where many remain in slum conditions without basic sanitation.

A reliance on imported material like cement means construction projects are expensive and time consuming, and the focus has been on high end residential developments which yield the most profit.

The state news agency Angop said the cabinet decided to lift the duties on building supplies for housing schemes in a bid to prod

the scheme forward.

Last year President Jose Eduardo dos Santos pledged to build one million homes by 2012, but many Angolans feel progress has been too slow.

On Tuesday around 200 people staged a protest outside parliament after their tin shacks were bulldozed by the local government, which wants to develop on the land.

Human rights organisations have described the forced evictions in the south of the capital as a “humanitarian catastrophe” but the local government has denied use of force and says the homes had been illegally constructed on unsuitable land.

Shortly after Tuesday’s protesters were dispersed from parliament by armed police, lawmakers inside voted to improve dialogue around the so-called “urban requalification” process but warned people to respect the land laws.

Twitter and Facebook make Afghan election debut Agence France-Presse

KABUL - Afghans may be desperately poor, largely illiterate and without electricity, but that does not stop would-be presidents campaigning in cyber space on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Mimicking tactics made famous by US President Barack Obama, one of the top contenders to rule Afghanistan “tweets” on hot micro-blogging service Twitter and has a flashy website where supporters can make donations.

Of 41 presidential candidates standing on August 20, some trumpet policies on social networking site Facebook, while video-sharing website YouTube carries clips of campaign rallies from across the war-scarred nation.

As only 10 percent of the estimated population of 26 to 30 million have access to electricity — let alone a computer with Internet access — it

may seem like a waste of resources.

But Luke Cholerton-Bozier, who heads London-based digital media agency Red Narrative, says that even in a country where at best five percent of people have Internet access, that still means 1.5 million potential voters.

“The Internet has huge potential to affect elections in the developing world, as it does in richer countries,” he told AFP by email.

“Those few people that do have computers or Internet access are going to be the types of people who are influential amongst their peers, and so it’s important to gain their support for the election,” he added.

His agency handles online strategy for Afghan presidential hopeful Ashraf Ghani, who blogs on Twitter and has his own YouTube page.

Another of the top three contenders, ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, has a sophisticated website with photo galleries and videos.

AFP PHOTO/SHAH Marai

An Afghan man poses as he uses a computer to access ‘Facebook’ on the internet in Kabul on July 30, 2009.

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International

US enlists citizens in anti-terrorism strategy

Friday, July 31, 2009

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Agence France-Presse

NEW YORK - A top US domestic security chief announced Wednesday a strategy to make ordinary citizens the first line of defense against increasingly complex — and sometimes homegrown — terrorist threats.

“For too long, we’ve treated the public as a liability to be protected rather than an asset in our nation’s collective security,” Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said in a speech in New York.

“This approach, unfortunately, has allowed confusion, anxiety and fear to linger.”

Napolitano, who also announced an extra 78 million dollars in antiterrorism funding for 15 mass transit systems nationwide, said modern communications had increased the sophistication of threats since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

“The tools for creating violence and chaos are as easy to find as the tools to buy music online or restocking inventory,” she said. “If 9/11 happened in a web 1.0 world, terrorists are certainly in a web 2.0 world now.”

Napolitano urged a “much broader society response” in which the public helps curb a growing phenomenon of so-called homegrown terrorism.

Referring to a spate of arrests around the country of US citizens and residents charged with jihadtype militancy, Napolitano said that ordinary people were often the best eyes and ears.

“You are the ones who know when something is not right in your communities,” she said in her speech at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“Indeed, if you look at the last couple of weeks, arrests have been made in places like Minneapolis and North Carolina,” she said.

AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi

PRNewsFoto/Orkin, Inc

Mosquitoes are among Orkin’s list of top four pests to avoid this Fourth of July.

AFP PHOTO

These undated images provided by the City County Bureau of Identification in Wake County, North Carolina shows (Clockwise from upper-L) Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, Daniel Patrick Boyd, Ziyad Yaghi and Hysen Sherifi. The four are being charged with conspiring to support terrorism and traveling overseas to participate in a ‘violent jihad,’ according to an indictment unsealed on July 27, 2009. The oldest member of the group, Daniel Boyd, who is said to be the ringleader, is accused of traveling to Afghanistan and Pakistan between 1989 and 1992 for “military-style training in terrorist training camps for the purpose of engaging in violent jihad.”

Spain blames separatists in car bombing, 64 wounded Agence France-Presse

BURGOS - The Spanish government accused the Basque separatist group ETA of targeting women and children Wednesday in a powerful car bombing outside a police barracks in northern Spain which wounded more than 60 people.

About 120 people, one-third of them children, were sleeping inside the building in Burgos when the bomb went off at around 4:00 am (0200 GMT), blowing off most of its facade, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said.

The blast left a two-metre (sixfoot) deep crater in the street outside the barracks which filled with water from broken pipes while the walls of several rooms were blasted off with damage visible to all 14 floors of the building.

Rubalcaba charged that ETA was

“undoubtedly trying to kill” people with the bomb as it had not issued any prior warning as it often does when it strikes.

“It was not just aimed at those working in the Civil Guards but also at their families, which makes this particularly despicable. Forty-one children could have been killed,” he said at the scene of the bombing.

“When we deal with ETA we know we are dealing with murderers and savages and now we know that they are also crazed. This does not make them stronger, but it does make them more dangerous,” he added.

Of the 64 people who were wounded, 49 required hospital care, mostly for cuts from broken glass and bruises, and have already been released, the director of the regional health service, Francisco Javier Guisasola, told a news conference.

ETA, considered a terrorist

organisation by the European Union and the United States, has frequently targeted the Civil Guard in its 41year campaign to carve a Basque homeland out of northern Spain and southwestern France.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero vowed that those behind the attack would be brought before justice.

“All the state security forces are already working intensely to arrest these assassins. I am convinced that his craziness, the criminal fanaticism is scorned by all Spaniards,” he told reporters.

The latest attack came just two days before the 50th anniversary of ETA’s founding, on July 31, 1959, by nationalist students inspired by Marxist-Leninist teachings, at a time when Spain was still run by rightwing dictator Francisco Franco. It is blamed for the deaths of 825 people.

Mosquitoes deliver malaria ‘vaccine’ through bites Associated Press Writer

In a daring experiment in Europe, scientists used mosquitoes as flying needles to deliver a “vaccine” of live malaria parasites through their bites. The results were astounding: Everyone in the vaccine group acquired immunity to malaria; everyone in a non-vaccinated comparison group did not, and developed malaria when exposed to the parasites later.

The study was only a small proofof-principle test, and its approach is not practical on a large scale. However, it shows that scientists may finally be on the right track to developing an effective vaccine against one of mankind’s top killers. A vaccine that uses modified live parasites just entered human testing.

“Malaria vaccines are moving from the laboratory into the real world,” Dr. Carlos Campbell wrote in an editorial accompanying the study in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine. He works for PATH, the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, a Seattlebased global health foundation.

The new study “reminds us that the whole malaria parasite is the most potent immunizing” agent, even though it is harder to develop a vaccine this way and other leading candidates take a different approach, he wrote.

Malaria kills nearly a million people each year, mostly children under 5 and especially in Africa. Infected mosquitoes inject immature malaria parasites into the skin when they bite; these travel to the liver where they mature and multiply.

From there, they enter the bloodstream and attack red blood cells —

the phase that makes people sick.

People can develop immunity to malaria if exposed to it many times.

The drug chloroquine can kill parasites in the final bloodstream phase, when they are most dangerous.

Scientists tried to take advantage of these two factors, by using chloroquine to protect people while gradually exposing them to malaria parasites and letting immunity develop.

They assigned 10 volunteers to a “vaccine” group and five others to a comparison group. All were given chloroquine for three months, and exposed once a month to about a dozen mosquitoes — malaria-infected ones in the vaccine group and non-infected mosquitoes in the comparison group.

That was to allow the “vaccine” effect to develop. Next came a test to see if it was working.

All 15 stopped taking chloroquine. Two months later, all were bitten by malaria-infected mosquitoes. None of the 10 in the vaccine group developed parasites in their bloodstreams; all five in the comparison group did.

The study was done in a lab at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and was funded by two foundations and a French gov-

ernment grant.

“This is not a vaccine” as in a commercial product, but a way to show how whole parasites can be used like a vaccine to protect against disease, said one of the Dutch researchers, Dr. Robert Sauerwein.

“It’s more of an in-depth study of the immune factors that might be able to generate a very protective type of response,” said Dr. John Treanor, a vaccine specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, N.Y., who had no role in the study.

The concept already is in commercial development. A company in Rockville, Md. — Sanaria Inc. — is testing a vaccine using whole parasites that have been irradiated to weaken them, hopefully keeping them in an immature stage in the liver to generate immunity but not cause illness.

Two other reports in the New England Journal show that resistance is growing to artemisinin, the main drug used against malaria in the many areas where chloroquine is no longer effective. Studies in Thailand and Cambodia found the malaria parasite is less susceptible to artemisinin, underscoring the urgent need to develop a vaccine.

Stratasys Inc. Vice President Sales and Marketing Woody Frost, left, and Product Marketing Manager Fred Fischer pose with a uPrint during its launch in Bangalore, India, Thursday, July 30, 2009. The uPrint, a personal 3D (three dimensional) printer allows one to make ABS plus plastic 3D models for visualization, functional testing and planning. The printer is priced at USD $14,900.

This photo taken on July 28, 2009 shows a Canon 5D Mark II on display in Hong Kong. Japan’s Canon Inc. said on July 28, 2009 its net profit tumbled 84.5 percent in the first half of 2009 from a year earlier, hit by sluggish sales of compact digital cameras and other electronics.

AFP PHOTO / Richard A. BROOKS

AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA

The new EVOLTA robot powered by Panasonic’s EVOLTA battery runs in a demonstration during a press conference in Tokyo on July 24, 2009. Panasonic decided to challenge the Guinness World Record for running the longest distance by remote-controlled car-like robot in the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans city, France on August 5 this year where the famous 24 hour endurance race takes place.

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Friday, July 31, 2009

Entertainment

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International

Lefevre ‘stunned’ Howard has her role in ‘Eclipse’

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file

FILE - In this May 14, 2009 file photo, Bryce Dallas Howard arrives at the premiere of the film “Terminator Salvation” in Los Angeles.

Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES – Bryce Dallas Howard is taking over as the villainous vampire Victoria in the third “Twilight” movie, and the actress who’s played the part in the first two films says she was “stunned” and “hurt deeply” by the switch.

Rachelle Lefevre says she was unaware that Summit Entertainment, which is releasing the vampire saga, had chosen someone else to play her part in “Eclipse.” Summit announced Howard as her replacement late Tuesday, saying Lefevre had scheduling conflicts that would make her unable to participate in the production.

But Lefevre said Wednesday that she was “fully committed” to returning as Victoria. She says her involvement in the drama “Barney’s Version,” starring Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman, would only last 10 days.

“I turned down several other film opportunities and, in accordance with my contractual rights, accepted only roles that would involve very short shooting sched-

ules,” she said in a lengthy statement.

“Although the production schedule for `Eclipse’ is over three months long, Summit said they had a conflict during those 10 days and would not accommodate me. Given the length of filming for `Eclipse,’ never did I fathom I would lose the role over a 10-day overlap.”

Summit says Lefevre didn’t inform the studio she would be shooting “Barney’s Version” — which will require her to be in Europe during rehearsal and at least 10 days of principal photography on “Eclipse” — until July 20, even though she reportedly signed onto the project in early June. The studio says it made her representatives aware several days ago that taking part in “Barney’s Version” could place her “Eclipse” job status in jeopardy.

“Contrary to Ms. Lefevre’s statement, it is simply untrue that the studio dismissed her over a 10-day overlap,” Summit said in its own statement Wednesday night. “It is not about a 10-day overlap, but instead about the fact that `The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ is an ensemble production that has to accommodate the schedules of numerous actors while respecting the established creative vision of the filmmaker and most importantly the story.”

The news shook up the fervent fans of the “Twilight” series: Several are circulating online petitions urging that she return, and the toptrending topic on Twitter for a while Wednesday afternoon was “Bring Back Rachelle.””Eclipse,” based on the third book in Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” saga, is scheduled to begin shooting in Vancouver in August. Part two, “New Moon,” comes out Nov. 20.

Howard, while a newcomer to the “Twilight” franchise, is no stranger to blockbusters, having costarred in “Spider-Man 3” and “Terminator Salvation.” She also appeared in “The Village” and “Lady in the Water.”

AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa

5

Fugitive arrested after 16 years in a cave Agence France-Presse

LISBON - An escaped prisoner who had been hiding out in caves and living mainly off fruit was finally recaptured in northern Portugal Wednesday — after 16 years on the run, said police.

Although the bearded, longhaired man tried to resist arrest when police cornered him at daybreak, he did not use the pistol he had on him, said a spokesman.

The 54-year-old man had been serving a 10-year sentence for murder when he escaped in 1993 and disappeared into his native region of Vieira do Minho.

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Matt Damon, performer and executive producer of the film “The People Speak”, speaks as executive producer Chris Moore looks on during the History Channel panel at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Pasadena, Calif. on Wednesday, July 29, 2008.

Matt Damon gets Parents cradle dying infants political in documentary

AFP PHOTO/Munir uz ZAMAN

Bangladeshi mother Kohinur Akhter sits beside her sick 19-month-old son Safin at the Dhaka Shishu Hospital on July 29, 2009, after Safin took a contaminated pain-killer.

Associated Press Writer

PASADENA, Calif. – How does Matt Damon make reciting the Declaration of Independence exciting?

“You just read it,” says the actor-writer-producer. “Seriously. It is an incredible document. I think people either forget about it or have been taught it too early in their lives. It’s a document worth reading and rereading every single year because it’s the principles in that document that we should be loyal to and fight for and struggle for, rather than whichever government is in power.”

“The Bourne Ultimatum” star reads the declaration in “The People Speak,” an upcoming History Channel movie co-executive produced by Damon and based on Howard Zinn’s book, “A People’s History of the United States.”

Joining Damon in reading letters, speeches and text from famous and not-so famous Americans are such stars as Josh Brolin, Viggo Mortensen, Morgan Freeman and Marisa Tomei.

“The material is inherently dramatic,” says Tomei, who recited the words of factory worker Harriet

Hanson Robinson at a 2003 celebration of the millionth copy of Zinn’s book sold and in the documentary.

“You don’t have to wonder, ‘How am I going to rephrase that?’ or ‘How am I going to make it through this scene?’

It’s all right there for you in the words of these impassioned people.”

One political topic Damon is avoiding is Sarah Palin. Damon drew headlines last September when he told The Associated Press during an interview that the Republican vice presidential candidacy was like “a bad Disney

movie.” He said he had “no idea” what Palin would do now that she has stepped down as Alaska’s governor.

He joked that he’s still in shock about the attention his remarks received.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Damon.

“Certainly, that whole campaign was a next-generation campaign in the sense that YouTube and all these different things existed that weren’t really around in 2004. Campaigning is different now than it was a couple of cycles ago. I think that little interview was a small part of that.”

3 more Chinese films pulled at Melbourne festival

Rebiya Kadeer, head of the pro-independence World Uyghur Congress, speaks during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, July 29, 2009 . Kadeer, an exiled Uighur activist whose visit to Japan has already drawn fire from China, is seeking international support to urge Beijing to give full accounting of the deadly riots in its far west and have a dialogue with her to end the ethnic plight.

Friday, July 31, 2009

HONG KONG – Three more Chinese-language films have been pulled from an Australian film festival to protest the planned appearance of an exiled Uighur activist Beijing blames for inciting recent ethnic violence, organizers said Thursday.

Rebiya Kadeer’s scheduled visit to the Melbourne International Film Festival on Aug. 8 has already prompted Venice Film Festival winner Jia Zhangke and Hong Kong director Emily Tang to withdraw their movies.

The makers of the short Chinese documentary “YB Box,” the Hong Kong-Taiwan romance “Miao Miao,” and the Hong Kong black comedy “The Moss” have also withdrawn their films, festival spokeswoman Louise Heseltine told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

The boycotting filmmakers are upset by Kadeer’s visit and the screening of a documentary about her, Heseltine said.

The 62-year-old U.S.-based activist is scheduled to attend a questionand-answer session after a screening of “10 Conditions of Love” on Aug. 8.

“YB Box” director Liu Feng thinks the Melbourne event has become too political, a publicist said.

“He shares the feelings of the other directors who have pulled out. ...

Movies are an art form to him, but if they are linked to politics, he will question that,” said Julia Liu, a spokesman for the advertising agency Wieden and Kennedy Shanghai, which made “YB Box.” An official at Mei Ah Entertainment Group Ltd., which made “The

Moss,” said it was following the lead of other Chinese filmmakers.

“We are worried about the political sensitivity of the situation,” said Sara Law, an official in the company’s distribution department.

Charlotte Yu, a publicist at Jettone Films, which made “Miao Miao,” said she did not handle the film’s withdrawal and couldn’t immediately comment.

The Melbourne festival has been besieged by objections to Kadeer’s appearance. Festival director Richard Moore said an official from the Chinese consulate in Melbourne asked him to pull the film about three weeks ago. The festival’s Web site was also hacked — an attack Moore blames on his refusal to scrap the Kadeer film or her visit.

after Bangladesh drug scam Agence France-Presse

DHAKA - When Kohinur Akhter’s 19-month-old baby boy came down with a fever and cough a little over a week ago, she had no idea the medicine she gave him to ease the pain would put him on his death bed.

Now Akhter has been told by doctors in Bangladesh that there is no hope for her infant son and he will die within days just as 26 other children have done in the past six weeks after taking paracetamol laced with a killer chemical.

“It started as a simple fever. We took Safin to the doctor and gave him the medicine as instructed.

Hours later he stopped urinating, then the next day he was barely conscious,” she told AFP through tears as she clutched her dying boy.

Tests ordered by the Bangladeshi government have shown that the paracetamol syrup that Safin and the

26 dead children had taken was mixed with the toxic chemical diethylene glycol, used mainly in textile and leather dyeing.

The substance, which almost certainly caused kidney failure in the infants according to doctors, was used by a local drug company instead of the safe solvent propylene glycol, which is 10 times more expensive.

Akhter, a farmer’s wife from eastern Bangladesh, said she wanted those who had laced the paracetamol to know that although they saved money, she was about to lose one of her two sons.

“We borrowed 5,000 taka (72 dollars) to bring him to Dhaka to try and save him, but they killed my son before anything could be done.

They’ve killed him,” she said.

Mohammad Hanif, the senior paediatrician at Dhaka Shishu Hospital, where some of the sick children have been brought, was outraged that history was repeating itself.

In the early 1990s, Hanif watched thousands of infants die in Bangladesh after they too consumed toxic paracetamol.

“What’s happening to these children at the moment is a chilling reminder of the past when thousands — maybe four to five thousand — died needlessly,” he told AFP. “The symptoms are same in the children who have swollen eyes and heavy breathing. They stop urinating and then they die.”

“Since his escape, he hid out and lived in three or four caves in the region, which he knew well,” Chief Inspector Carlos Gomes of the judicial police in Braga, northern Portugal, told AFP. “He fed himself on fruits and had never seen a doctor, but he seemed to us to be in good health,” Gomes added.

Police got back on to his trail a couple of years ago and launched Operation Cro-Magnon to bring the caveman to justice, said Gomes.

They discovered that from time to time the fugitive received food and medicine from members of his family.

Holocaust museum shooter indicted for murder Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON - James Von Brunn, an 89-year-old white supremacist, was indicted Wednesday on murder and hate crimes by a grand jury in connection with his shooting attack at the US Holocaust Museum on June 10.

In a statement, the US Justice Department said the octogenarian, who killed a security guard when he opened fire at the Washington DC museum, would appear before a federal judge on Thursday.

He faces seven charges, including murder, gun law violations and hate crimes violations.

“If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Four of the counts in the indictment also are death penalty eligible,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

The indictment accuses Von Brunn of “willfully, deliberately, maliciously and with premeditation and malice” committing first degree murder.

It also alleges that he carried out the shooting attack with “prejudice” based “on the actual or perceived race and religion of another”

and that he violated gun laws.

On June 10, at 1:00 pm local time, Von Brunn entered the Holocaust Museum in downtown Washington DC’s central tourist zone near the White House and opened fire.

He seriously injured Stephen Tyrone Johns, 39, a black security guard who later died of his wounds.

As visitors panicked and ran for cover, other security guards at the museum returned fire and seriously wounded Von Brunn, who was taken to hospital in critical condition.

A resident of Maryland, which borders Washington DC, Von Brunn was an unapologetic racist, who described the United States on his blog as “a Third-World racial garbage-dump — stupid, ignorant, dead broke and terminal.”

He served time in prison after entering the US Federal Reserve in 1981 carrying a shotgun, saying he was going to carry out a citizen’s arrest. According to his ex-wife, his hatred of Jews and blacks “ate him alive like a cancer.”

Experts on hate groups say they have seen a resurgence in their activities since the election in November 2008 of Barack Obama, the first black president in US history.

‘Bald’ bird Asia’s first songbird in 100 years Agence France-Presse

HANOI - A “bald” bird discovered in Laos is Asia’s first new species of bulbul, or songbird, in more than 100 years, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said Thursday.

Scientists from the Society, as well as the University of Melbourne, identified the bird, which has “a bald head”, WCS said in a news release.

They reported their findings in the July issue of Forktail, the scientific journal of the Oriental Bird Club, a United Kingdom charity.

“This paper describes for the first

time in over 100 years a new Asian species of bulbul,” the scientists wrote of their discovery late last year in an area of limestone karsts in Laos’s Savannakhet province.

The bird, named the Bare-faced Bulbul, is not completely bald but has a narrow line of hair-like feathers down the centre of its crown. It also has a distinctive featherless, pink face with bluish skin around the eye extending to the bill, said the Society, which manages urban wildlife parks including the Bronx Zoo in New York.

“Its apparent restriction to rather inhospitable habitat helps to explain why such an extraordinary bird with

conspicuous habits and a distinctive call has remained unnoticed for so long,” said Iain Woxvold, the University of Melbourne scientist who was part of the team that made the discovery.

Limestone karsts remain among the least studied ecosystems in Southeast Asia, he and the other scientists wrote in their journal article.

This undated handout picture received from the Wildlife Conservation Society on July 29, 2009 shows a “bald” bird newly discovered in Laos’ Savannakhet province.

AFP PHOTO

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Friday, July 31, 2009

Nigerian troops...

From page 1

AFP PHOTO / MAURICE AMOUREUS

A Dutch East India Company (VOC) replica of the Prince Willem vessel burns in the historical museum harbor in Den Helder on July 30, 2009. The replica was built in 1985 at the Amels shipyard in Makkum and was 68 meters long and its mast was 54 meters. - netherlands out - belgium out -

Malaysia to deploy controversial corps in crime fight Agence France-Presse

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s plan to deploy personnel from a notorious volunteer task force to help enforce a crackdown on crime triggered criticism Thursday from human rights campaigners.

The New Straits Times said the home ministry had enlisted 254 members from the Civil Defence Department and RELA, a 553,000-strong citizen corps that has been accused of serious rights abuses.

The report described the personnel as the “cream of the crop” and said they were undergoing a two-week training programme before being assigned to crime hot spots next month.

However, rights groups said that RELA officers were unsuited to the task, and called for the closure of the unit which has been accused of violence and extortion, particularly against suspected illegal migrants.

“They shouldn’t be given enforcement power because they are volunteers — they are not trained, and have no background in law or how to handle criminals,” said Temme Lee from leading rights watchdog Suaram.

“We have made it clear from the beginning that RELA should be disbanded and the use of RELA corps with barely any training in law and enforcement will lead to more rights abuses,” she told AFP. Amnesty International Malaysia also spoke out against the plan to deploy RELA — an acronym for People’s Volunteer Corps in the Malay lan-

guage.

“Why don’t we hire more police instead? We should stop this temporary measure,” said the group’s executive director Nora Murat.

The US-based Human Rights Watch has accused RELA of harassing and abusing foreigners and said it was responsible for numerous cases of illegal detention.

Prime Minister Najib Razak this week announced a plan to cut crime by 20 percent, as part of a raft of measures aimed at appeasing public dissatisfaction with the government.

Opinion polls show that along with endemic corruption, spiralling street crime — including violent muggings which are extremely common in Kuala Lumpur — is a major concern for Malaysians.

Najib set a 2012 deadline to reach the crime reduction target, as well as for plans to tackle graft in the public service and improve public transport.

RELA’s uniformed volunteers have legal immunity and are allowed to arrest individuals as well as enter and search any premises without a warrant.

The force was established in 1972 under the home affairs ministry to help maintain public order.

The militants, armed with homemade hunting rifles, bows and arrows and scimitars, were no match for the government forces. Another five corpses were just inside a large house near the mosque. Maina pointed to the body of a plump, bearded man and said it the Boko Haram sect’s vice chairman, Bukar Shekau. “The mission has been accomplished,” said Maina, the army commander.

Militants seeking to impose Islamic Shariah law throughout this multi-religious country attacked police stations, churches, prisons and government buildings in a wave of violence that began Sunday in Borno state and quickly spread to three other states in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria.

It is not known how many scores of people have been killed, wounded and arrested. Relief official Apollus Jediel said Wednesday that at least 4,000 people have been displaced by the fighting.

The epicenter of the violence has been the Boko Haram sect’s headquarters in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, which was bombarded Wednesday. Maina said his troops would fire mortar shells later Thursday to destroy what is left of the sprawling compound, which stretches over 2.5 miles (4 kilometers).

The radical sect is known by several different names, including Al-Sunna wal Jamma, or “Followers of Mohammed’s Teachings” and “Boko Haram,” which

means “Western education is sin.”

Some Nigerian officials have referred to the militants as Taliban, although the group has no known affiliation with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

Earlier this week, President Umaru Yar’Adua said the sect were preparing to unleash “the holy war.” Security agents have been watching the sect for months and were ordered to attack when the movement began gathering fighters from nearby states at its Maiduguri headquarters, he said.

In recent months, police have been raiding militant hideouts and finding explosives and arms. The house at the compound in Maiduguri included a laboratory the military said was used to make chemical and fire bombs.

Borno Gov. Ali Modu Sheriff told journalists Yusuf had been seen Wednesday night in a village about 28 miles (45 kilometers) northeast of Maiduguri. Men in Bauchi state and in Maiduguri, meanwhile, started trimming and even shaving off their beards Thursday, fearful the facial hair could make them targets for security forces.

In other violence, Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper reported that militants attacked security forces in Yobe state on Wednesday, and quoted police as saying that 43 sect members were killed in a shootout near the city of Potiskum.

Police in Bauchi state have reported 42 people killed, including two soldiers and a police officer, 67 hospitalized with serious injuries and 157 men arrested.

BUSINESS IMF chief warns of return to bank bonus ‘dramas’ Agence France-Presse

PARIS - The return of the big bonus culture for top banking executives will trigger new “dramas” in the financial sector if tougher regulation is not applied, IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Wednesday.

“I am appalled at what I see,” the Fund’s managing director told France 24 television in reference to multi-billion-dollar bonus provisions set aside at the likes of Wall Street’s Goldman Sachs and top London firms.

“The fact that... one of the causes of (the crisis) — the lure of profit, this easy money, the taking of huge risks to make money — is returning so quickly... that appalls

AFP PHOTO/PHILIPPE LOPEZ

Hong Kong’s yoga...

From page 1 The Pure Yoga centre opened its first 4,000 square-foot (372 square-metre) studio in Hong Kong in 2002. Now, the chain’s largest studio is 35,000 square feet and it has since expanded globally, with branches in Taipei and New York City.

The city hosts a huge yoga conference every year, and magazines are packed with adverts promoting different styles or studios.

“The busy lifestyle in Hong Kong allows time to perform only one or two hours of exercise a day and they choose yoga because it seems less harsh,” said Elton Ng, a physiotherapist specialising in the treatment of sports injuries.

Cosman said the yoga craze has brought his office a steady stream of visits from injured enthusiasts. The most common complaints are of lower back and neck pain.

Eleanor Kee, a chiropractor who works in Causeway Bay said that 20 percent of all her current patients were injured through yoga.

“One of the reasons people injure themselves is that they don’t realise (yoga is) more than just some relaxing technique, it’s a practice people take years to perfect,” she said.

Often, she said, she encounters injuries caused by an instructor forcing a student into a pose.

Chiropractor Heidi Petrick said it is important for students to check that instructors have the proper certification.

There is a temptation, she said, for fitness centres to offer yoga classes simply because there is such a high demand.

“There is a strong danger in people having too much faith... when putting your body in someone else’s hands,” she said.

Carrie Chan had been doing yoga for

three years. Around two months ago, she changed her warm-up routine from running to working on a stepper.

When she later attempted a simple stretching pose during her yoga class, the 37-year-old felt a sharp pain.

“I heard a sound from my hamstring, like a broken sound,” said Chan, who works as a team manager at an insurance firm.

Chan said she could hardly walk or sit afterwards and had to go three times a week for three weeks to her chiropractor to relieve the pain.

There have been several personal injury lawsuits filed by yoga students against studios around Hong Kong.

In 2002, Ma Yuen-wah sued the exercise chain California Fitness for an injury she sustained at one of their branches.

The chain’s spokesman Ken To would not comment on the court case, but said the firm held regular workshops and ongoing training to maintain and improve the skills of its staff.

In December 2008, a judge ruled that Yoga Plus had to pay more than 300,000 Hong Kong dollars (38,000 US) to a former student who had to be hospitalised after practising yoga for the first time at the company’s studio.

Yoga Plus closed down five months before the ruling.

Yogananth Andiappan, yoga director at Anahata Yoga, an internationally accredited yoga centre specialising in teaching instructors, said a lack of training for the yoga teacher could result in injuries. “(Injuries are) possible when instructors are not knowledgeable or experienced in yoga,” he told AFP. Instructors who attend Anahata’s yoga centre must complete 200 hours of training and pass practical and theoretical exams before they are certified.

11

A woman walks toward a branch of Bank of China in Shanghai on July 30, 2009. China’s central bank reaffirmed on July 30 it will pursue a loose monetary policy to support the country’s economic recovery, after shares recorded their biggest drop in eight months.

China central bank to maintain credit policy after slump Agence France-Presse

SHANGHAI - China’s central bank reaffirmed it will pursue a loose monetary policy to support the country’s economic recovery, after shares recorded their biggest drop in eight months.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) published remarks by one of its vice governors, Su Ning, after the market slumped five percent on Wednesday, in part due to concerns that banks had been ordered to rein in aggressive lending.

The dive, the biggest singleday percentage decline since November 18, also had a knock-on effect on Wall Street and other markets around the world.

China will “steadfastly continue to apply an appropriately loose monetary policy to consolidate the economic recovery momentum,” Su was quoted as saying in a statement posted late Wednesday on the PBoC website.

State media reported this week that two top Chinese commercial banks — Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and

China Construction Bank — had set ceilings for new loans this year as regulators raised fears over credit risks.

If put in place, the ceilings would imply the banks had already issued around 80 percent of their total lending for the year in the first half and credit growth would slow sharply in the rest of 2009.

Su stressed at a meeting in Shanghai that market-based tools rather than government-set lending quotas, which worry investors, would be used to ensure appropriate credit growth and facilitate economic growth, the statement said.

It did not say when the meeting occurred, but the timing of the statement after stocks plunged appeared to be a message to mar-

kets.

“We will focus on market tools, not methods of controlling (credit) size, flexibly using various monetary policy instruments,” Su said.

Beijing has taken aggressive steps including a looser monetary policy and massive fiscal stimulus package since late 2008 to pull the world’s third-largest economy out of its worst slump in decades.

However, economists have said the country’s economic growth, which rose to 7.9 percent in the second quarter from 6.1 percent in the first, was largely underpinned by unprecedented lending.

Shanghai’s benchmark index rebounded 0.45 percent to 3,281.28 points in mid-morning session Thursday.

me,” Strauss-Kahn said.

He also expressed his sadness at a failure by leaders to “put in place regulations preventing this, stopping a small group of men and women drawn to profit from dragging the entire world economy into catastrophe.”

While Strauss-Kahn said it was “not the job of the IMF” to press for such regulation, he said the bonus culture “is something that has created dramas (for the financial sector) and which will create more again if we don’t put the brakes on.”

Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan have reported record profits for the first half of the year, while Europe’s biggest bank, Santander, on Wednesday reported the second highest quarterly profit in its history.

US economy shows signs of stabilizing: Beige Book Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON - The ailing US economy is showing signs it “has begun to stabilize” at low levels after more than a year and a half of recession, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report Wednesday.

The report, to be used by policymakers at next month’s Federal Open Market Committee, said the decline is moderating, although many indicators remain weak and prospects for job creation remained grim.

“Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve districts suggest that economic activity continued to be weak going into the summer, but most districts indicated that the pace of decline has moderated since the last report or that activity has begun to stabilize, albeit at a low level,” the report said.

Some Fed districts used the words “slow,” “subdued,” or “weak” to describe activity levels, while others indicated the pace of decline appeared to be moderating. Others pointed to “signs of stabilization.”

The Beige Book noted “sluggish retail activity” in most of the nation, while manufacturing showed some gains in parts of the country.

Residential real estate “stayed soft in most districts, although many noted some signs of improvement,” the report added, but commercial real estate markets “weakened further in recent months” in most areas.

The banking sector encountered weaker demand for some categories of loans as the economic slump persisted.

As to job prospects, the Fed noted that conditions remained difficult, highlighting fears that weak hiring

could dampen recovery prospects.

“Most districts indicated that labor markets were extremely soft, with minimal wage pressures, and cited the use of various methods of reducing compensation in addition to, or instead of, freezing or cutting wages,” the report said.

Earlier Wednesday, President Barack Obama said the economy may be seeing “the beginning of the end of the recession.”

“Here is what’s true: we have stopped the freefall. The market is up and the financial system is no longer on the verge of collapse,” Obama said during a visit to North Carolina.

“So there is no doubt that things have gotten better. We may be seeing the beginning of the end of the recession.”

The US economy has been in recession since December 2007, according to the economic panel accepted as the arbiter of business cycles.

The economy suffered a 5.5 percent pace of decline in the first quarter, on the heels of a 6.3 percent slide in the fourth quarter of 2008. But many forecasters are expecting growth to resume in the second half of 2009.

The Fed this month raised its outlook for 2009 and 2010 economic output, projecting a rebound in the second half of 2009 that would leave the contraction for the year at between 1.0 and 1.5 percent.

For 2010, the new Fed outlook saw growth in a range of 2.1 to 3.3 percent, slightly better than its forecast from April.

The government’s first estimate for gross domestic product in the second quarter to June 30 is to be released Friday. The consensus forecast by private economists is for a 1.5 percent rate of decline.

10

Business

Friday, July 31, 2009

International

International

Indonesia Today

Friday, July 31, 2009

FTA turns RI’s India says global trade pact trade surplus with could help crisis-hit economy Agence France-Presse

NEW DELHI - India said Wednesday the crisis-hit global economy has much to gain from a new trade liberalisation pact as it confirmed it would host a September meeting of world trade ministers.

The meeting of G20 ministers from rich and emerging market nations aims to capitalise on a fresh momentum in global commerce discussions and is planned for September 3-4 in the Indian capital, a government official said.

The New Delhi meeting is being held to “impart the necessary impetus” to the World Trade Organisation negotiations, Trade

Minister Anand Sharma told a business forum.

“A fair and satisfactory outcome to the trade negotiations can actually be a catalyst for the combined international effort to break free of the economic crisis” by promoting trade, he said.

“India stands committed to bringing Doha to a successful and early conclusion and is keen to resume

negotiations,” he added.

But at the same time, he insisted there could be no compromise on the round’s key development thrust, saying India wants to “ensure historic distortions are corrected” to improve the livelihoods of millions of poor.

India has been unbending in its championing of the cause of small and marginal farmers, saying it will not sacrifice the interests of its millions of subsistence producers to clinch a global trade pact.

The Doha Round of trade liberalisation talks were launched in the Qatari capital in late 2001 but has been repeatedly stalled by dis-

International Bali Post Classifieds Contact us

putes between rich and developing nations on agricultural and industrial products.

Negotiators almost clinched a deal last year but the talks fell apart in a row between the United States and emerging nations led by India over efforts to assist poor farmers.

But with newly elected governments in both countries, efforts are underway to put talks back on track.

Earlier this month, leaders of the world’s most powerful nations and emerging economies agreed to wrap up the Doha talks by 2010 at a Group of Eight (G8) summit in L’Aquila, Italy.

The meeting in India is being held as a precursor for a G20 summit to be held in Pittsburgh in the United States on September 24-25.

India initially announced in June plans to host the WTO meeting but gave no precise dates.

Sharma, who replaced Kamal Nath as minister following the May re-election of India’s Congress party, said after his appointment he had a mandate to negotiate a global trade deal.

But Sharma, regarded by some observers in WTO circles as being more conciliatory than his predecessor, said the global slump could make it harder to reach a deal.

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China into deficit

Antara

JAKARTA - The implementation of its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China has turned Indonesia’s trade surplus with the former into a deficit of 3.61 billion dollars, a chamber of commerce and industry official said.

“Since the implementation of the FTA, the growth of Indonesia’s imports from China is not balanced with its exports to that country,” deputy chairman for trade, logistics and distribution of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Beny Sutrisno said here on Wednesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of a discussion on the anticipation of ASEAN-China FTA in 2010 at the hall of the Indonesian Textile Industry Association (API) here on Wednesday, Beny said Indonesia’s trade surplus with China had dropped significantly since the signing of the FTA. The drop was marked by a decline in Indonesia’s trade surplus with China to a deficit of 3.61 billion dollars in 2008, he said.

Indonesian trade deficit with China in the non oil and gas sector is also large. It dropped from a surplus of 79 million dollars in 2004 to a deficit of 7.16 billion dollars in 2008.

Besides, he said, in 2008 Indonesia’s trade balance also tumbled from 32.75 billion dollars in 2007 to only 23.31 billion dollars.

The decline was mostly experi-

enced by the non oil and gas sector which reached 42.5 percent.

“The decline in the country’s trade balance surely influences Indonesia’s economic growth which is not balanced with the inflation rate and eventually will reduce the people’s prosperity,” Beny said.

He said that the jump in Indonesia’s imports from China was fueled by among others the cut in import duties since the signing of the ASEAN-China FTA in 2004.

In 2005, China’s agricultural products enjoyed a zero percent import duties when they entered the country. The same was true to the manufacturing products, where the tariff of their import duties continued to be cut until 5 percent in 2009.

Based on the agreement, Beny said, the import duties of most of manufacturing goods would have been cut to zone percent in 2010, except sensitive agricultural products.

“If the zero percent import duties on manufacturing goods are imposed in 2010, it can be ascertained that Indonesia’s manufacturing products would be harmed and its trade deficit would continue to increase,” he said.

AFP PHOTO/Bay ISMOYO

A man prepares to open his business at street market in Jakarta on July 30, 2009. The implementation of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China has turned Indonesia’s trade surplus with the former into a deficit of 3.61 billion dollars, a chamber of commerce and industry official said.

Hospital on fire, scores of patients evacuated Antara

SERANG - Sari Asih hospital in Serang caught fire Wednesday night, but the local fire fighters and the relevant government agencies managed to control the flames in a relatively short period.

However, while the fire did not cause too much damage on the hospital building, the patients and their visiting families panicked and rushed out of the building to

THE CCTV SYSTEM TOTAL SOLUTION

save themselves.

The hospital’s financial division chief Yusuf said the fire was triggered by a short circuit at the hospital’s generator located at the East Serang toll gate in Kemang area, Penancangan villge, Serang.

A patient, Rahmat (40), of Serang, said he did not know there was a fire, because everything was so dark.

“I know that there was a fire by the cries and shouting of the nurses

telling me to get out of my room,” Rahmat said.

A total of 59 patients and two sick babies were evacuated to a nearby mosque, while other patients were transferred to other nearly clinics.

Up to the publication of this report, the patients are still sheltered at the mosque, and the hospital was still filled with smoke. The police and fire fighters were still trying to find the real cause of the fire.

RI, U.S hold joint forest fire extinguishing exercises Antara

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AFP PHOTO/Bay ISMOYO

An employee cleans the dust from a Jaguar XJ on display at the 2009 Indonesia International Motor Show in Jakarta on July 29, 2009. The 17th Indonesia International Motor Show is taking place from July 24 to August 2 at the Jakarta International Expo-Kemayoran and expected to draw over 200,000 visitors and 300 brands throughout the auto industry.

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PEKANBARU - The Indonesian Military head quarters (Mabes TNI) and the United States Pacific Command (US Pacom) will jointly hold a forest and land fire extinguishing exercise on Thursday, a military commander said.

“The fire extinguishing exercise actually will also be participated in

by Singapore and Thailand, but these two countries will only observe the measure,” operational division chief of the district military command “Korem 031 Wira Bima”, Lt. Col. Ayi Supriatna said here on Wednesday.

The forest and land fire extinguishing exercise will be conducted at the Pasir Putih field, Kampar district, Riau province on Thursday.

The joint fire extinguishing exercise will involve three helicopters and a number of fire trucks, the

spokesman said.

The U.S. military side through the U.S. Pacom, which is currently operational in the Pacific area to overcome the disaster, will involve 13 personnel in the exercise, he said, adding that the Riau provincial administration and the related institutions will assigne hundreds of their personnel in the exercise.

Previously, a workshop aimed to get an experience in exchange in overcoming land and forest fire between the Indonesian military and the U.S. Pacom was held here on July 27-28, 2009.

Riau is chosen for the exercise because forest fires often happened in the region, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, Riau deputy Governor Mambang Mit said the joint exercise between TNI and US Pascom was expected to produce the best possible solution to the land and forest fires in the province.

8

International

Friday, July 31, 2009

Bali Today

Balinese Culture

Bali police circulate Noordin Top’s latest photos

Antara

DENPASAR - Bali police on Wednesday circulated again the latest photos of fugitive terror mastermind Noordin Muhammad Top after spreading hundreds of others over the weekend.

The Bali Police’s public relations chief, Senior Commissioner Gde Sugianyar Dwi Putra, said here on Wednesday the circulation of leaflets with Noordin M Top’s picture on them was part of an effort to anticipate the threat of terrorism in the island resort.

“We do this so that the people in Bali may develop an understanding of the threat, and a responsibility to help the police in the war on terrorism in Indonesia, in Bali in particular,” Sugianyar said.

He said the leaflets with Noordin M Top’s photos on them were distributed at public places such as schools, market places and bus terminals to familiarize the public with his face.

Sugianyar expressed hope that through the leaflets, the people would give information to the police if they saw someone whose face matched Noordin M Top’s picture.

Earleir, the head of the AntiTerror Desk at the office of coordinating minister for political, legal

and security affairs, Ansyaad Mbai, said fugitive Noordin M Top was connected to the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels bombings in the Mega Kuningan area in Jakarta on Friday, July 17, 2009.

“Before, the suicide bombers attacked from outside the hotel. This time they were able to slip through the hotel’s security system and get close to their target,” he added.

Suicide bombers posing as guests attacked the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels in the Mega Kuningan area, South Jakarta, on Friday killing nine people and injuring more than 50 others.

Ansyaad added that although there had been a lull in terror attacks in the past four years, Noordin M. Top and his network of Jemaah Islamiyah bombers were still active and consolidating their strength.

“This incident proves that they are still strong, and now, catching the main actor, Noordin M. Top, must be our main priority. As long as the actor is still at large, our terror fighting efforts will be futile,” he said.

Friday, July 31, 2009

FOTO ANTARA/Nyoman Budhiana

A policewoman giving explanation to students during the circulation of the latest photos of fugitive terror mastermind Noordin Muhammad Top. Bali police on Wednesday circulated again the latest photos of fugitive terror mastermind Noordin Muhammad Top after spreading hundreds of others over the weekend.

Klungkung, the Smallest Regency on Bali

This is the smallest regency in Bali. It covers only 121 square kilometers and includes three islands, Nusa Penida, Lembongan and Ceningan. Despite its size, its influence on Balinese culture has been powerful. It was here, in the shadow of the holy volcano Agung, that the princes and priests of Majapahit gathered in 1343 to continue the kingdom by setting up ‘Keraton’ in Samprangan, but within a couple of generations, they moved to Gelgel and then to Klungkung, in 1710. In the 16th century the Gods smiled on Gelgel when Dalem Baturenggong reached an impressive political and cultural achievement to earn his ‘golden age’ Kertha Gosa, which is situated in the central town of Semarapura, was the place for administration and traditional justice in the precolonial times by a council consisting of the great king and his priests.

Next to the Kertha Gosa is Taman Gili, known as a Floating House (Bale Kambang) which was the King’s Guard’s headquarters.

These two buildings are decorated with Kamasan Traditional Paintings. A colonial building, located next to these two buildings, is Semarajaya Museum, collecting some handicraft of Klungkung, prehistoric and historic articles especially those used in the period of Klungkung’s heroic battle. In the southern part of the museum area, there stands the main gate of Semarapura Palace ‘Pemedal Agung’.

The newest sight in Semarapura Town is Patung Kandapat Sari, situated at the main junction of Semarapura town. Some people consider this statue as the landmark of Klungkung Regency.

Next to this landmark stands an historical monument known as Monument of Klungkung Heroic Battle.

This monument is a cenotaph reminiscent of an event that once took place on April 28, 1908. It is well known as ‘Puputan’, a counter-defence of The Great King of Klungkung against the Dutch soldiers. Moving south of Semarapura town along the main road, one will

arrive at the ‘under construction’ area of Tourism Villages, home of traditional Painting, Kamasan Village and Bali’s original capital, Gelgel.

Moving east of Semarapura Town along the main road, one will cross the Unda River. A rapid wading (rafting) recreation is now available along the river. One should come and enjoy it. Passing through the river, there are a number of interesting villages including Paksabali, famous for the Pasraman Dewa festival. Further to the east, one will arrive at the fishing village of Kusamba, with its dramatic black sand beaches. Beyond Kusamba but not too far is the famous Goa Lawah bat cave temple, one of the state temples of Klungkung.

Driving to the west of the town of Semarapura is the village of Tiingan, most famous as the village of Gamelan Smiths. Not far from Tiingan, there is a Museum of classical painting ‘I Nyoman Gunarsa’, collecting diverse kinds of classical Balinese paintings. (BTN/*)

DENPASAR – Several rivers in Bali categorized in polluted type because the water is contaminated with E Coli bacteria and heavy metals which can destroy the quality of the water.

Gede Wardhana, the head of Bali Environmental Department (BLH), said that the pollution caused by the wastes from industries. “At least eleven rivers in Bali are heavily polluted. The water can not be consumed anymore. Generally, the pollution is because the waste and the activities around the rivers area,” he added.

Based on the measurements by BLH which was done twice a year, the most contamination happened in the downstream area while the most polluted river in Bali is Badung and Ayung rivers. Both of them flow through several cities and regencies in Bali.

The data of BLH showed that Bali has 401 rivers but only 162 rivers still contain sufficient number of water. 22 of those rivers flow through several cities and regencies and 11 categorized as polluted rivers. .

The contamination of river in Bali is also shown by the data from Environment Education Center (PPLH) Bali. The research by PPLH Bali is using the biology

http://bali4u.files.wordpress.com

Tourists rafting in Telaga Waja River, Bali Island. At least eleven rivers in Bali are contaminated with E.Coli bactery and metal that ruin quality standard for drinking water.

indicator and the quality of water in Denpasar is in D Category. It means that the water can not be used as drinking water and only can be used to water the plant or mining.

Catur Yudha, the Director of PPLH Bali, said that the water categorized in D type because there was no water biota that can live in the water. “If there are no animals or plants that can survive in the water then we can say that the water is polluted. The simplest example is there was no dragonfly around the rivers,” he added. Meanwhile, the research done by Udayana University on the water flow area in Bali showed that from 162 rivers, 34 of them categorized in critical condition. Erosion and flood often happened in the water flow area.

I Wayan Sandhi Adnyana, a river researcher in Udayana University, said that the rivers in Bali have lost it function. The river can not contain the water from the rain so floods tend to occur during rainy season.

Mr. Adnyana said that many thing can caused the problem in the water flow area, one of them is because the building in the river area. The government should inform the people to concern more on the condition of river in Bali. There is great hope that the people in Bali will understand the importance of rivers for them.

development will be established Antara

DENPASAR – The head of Bali Tourism Board, Ngurah Wijaya, said that he wanted to establish Bali-Dili tourism development because it can increase the accessibility of tourism in the two countries.

“It is very interesting. We can exchange tourist sites which can be combined in one tourism package. Dili as the main tourism destination in East Timor is well known in Bali and many foreign people who stay in Dili went to Bali to spend their holiday,” he added.

The number of tourists from Dilli to Bali decreased in the past few years.

Since Eat Timor became an indepen-

dent country, United Nation and other international organization placed thousand of their personnel in the country.

However, the number is decreasing from time to time. Regularly, they spend their holiday in Bali. Mr. Wijaya said that the development in the cities must be done simultaneously with careful planning. Bali has good resources in tourism and that could help in developing tourism in those cities.

Previously, there was a talk between Indonesian officers with Timor Timur Ambassador for Indonesia, Manuel Cerrano, regarding the tourism development between Denpasar and Dili.

The cooperation will increase the income in both countries.

BTN/Doc

Tourist getting a foot message from local vendor near Sanur beach area.

The chairman of Bali’s tourism board express his interest in combining Denpasar - Dili area to give more chance for both area expanding their tourism source.

(Ox Tongue in Sweet Nutmeg Sauce) Overview: Although native to Indonesia, the nutmeg is not often used in cooking. One exception is the braised meat dish known as Semur, which is generally made with beef.

This Balinese version uses ox tongue and partners the inimitable fragrance of nutmeg with sweet soy sauce.

Ingredients : 2.5 lt (10 cups) water 600 gr (1 ¼ lb) ox tongue, washed well 1 cup beef stock 4 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) 2 tbsp thin soy sauce ¾ tsp ground black pepper ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg 4 ea salam leaves 3 fragrant lime leaves 3 tbsp fried shallots 3 medium size potatoes, peeled and cut in 2 cm (3/4 in dice) Fried shallots to garnish

PREPARATION: 1. Bring water to boil in a heavy stockpot, add beef spice paste and salam leaves, whole ox tongue and bring back to boil.

2. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 3 hours or until tongue is cooked and very tender.

3. Plunge ox tongue into ice water and cool for 5 minutes. Peel skin off with a sharp knife.

4. Slice ox tongue in thin even slices and place in saucepan.

5. Fill up with beef stock and add all remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Add potatoes and continue to simmer until potatoes are cooked.

7. Garnish with fried shallots. (http:// www.baliguide.com/balifood)

Rivers in Bali had been poluted Bali-Dili tourism Antara

Semur lidah

Museum Subak

Bp/Bali Putra

The picture show the fire which burn most of the Penataran Agung Temple in Klungkung regency of Thursday, July 30th 2009.

Rice cultivation has been a part of Balinese life since well before the 9th century AD. The island has been developed by an organization called the subak, which controls watercourses. The subak and the Goddess of Rice, Dewi Sri are part and parcel of daily life in Bali, with every sawah, or rice field having a shrine to Dewi Sri. The original type of rice that grew in Bali (nasi Bali) has slowly been replaced by newer brands from overseas, which ripen quicker. These newer brands have other characteristic too. The rice tends to fall off of the ripened stalks easily, so rather than taking bundles of ripened rice to the village for threshing, the rice must be threshed on site. Men are always responsible for rice planting, but women and men help with threshing. Many of the songs and rituals that were shared during the village threshing are disappearing. As Norm from Eco Lodge pointed out, people look for the easy route - fast growing rice, easy threshing and not returning the stalks to the field, but burning them instead.

Here in Bali rice has 3 names: padi is growing rice, beras is harvested uncooked rice and nasi is cooked rice. (BTN)

9

8

International

Friday, July 31, 2009

Bali Today

Balinese Culture

Bali police circulate Noordin Top’s latest photos

Antara

DENPASAR - Bali police on Wednesday circulated again the latest photos of fugitive terror mastermind Noordin Muhammad Top after spreading hundreds of others over the weekend.

The Bali Police’s public relations chief, Senior Commissioner Gde Sugianyar Dwi Putra, said here on Wednesday the circulation of leaflets with Noordin M Top’s picture on them was part of an effort to anticipate the threat of terrorism in the island resort.

“We do this so that the people in Bali may develop an understanding of the threat, and a responsibility to help the police in the war on terrorism in Indonesia, in Bali in particular,” Sugianyar said.

He said the leaflets with Noordin M Top’s photos on them were distributed at public places such as schools, market places and bus terminals to familiarize the public with his face.

Sugianyar expressed hope that through the leaflets, the people would give information to the police if they saw someone whose face matched Noordin M Top’s picture.

Earleir, the head of the AntiTerror Desk at the office of coordinating minister for political, legal

and security affairs, Ansyaad Mbai, said fugitive Noordin M Top was connected to the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels bombings in the Mega Kuningan area in Jakarta on Friday, July 17, 2009.

“Before, the suicide bombers attacked from outside the hotel. This time they were able to slip through the hotel’s security system and get close to their target,” he added.

Suicide bombers posing as guests attacked the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels in the Mega Kuningan area, South Jakarta, on Friday killing nine people and injuring more than 50 others.

Ansyaad added that although there had been a lull in terror attacks in the past four years, Noordin M. Top and his network of Jemaah Islamiyah bombers were still active and consolidating their strength.

“This incident proves that they are still strong, and now, catching the main actor, Noordin M. Top, must be our main priority. As long as the actor is still at large, our terror fighting efforts will be futile,” he said.

Friday, July 31, 2009

FOTO ANTARA/Nyoman Budhiana

A policewoman giving explanation to students during the circulation of the latest photos of fugitive terror mastermind Noordin Muhammad Top. Bali police on Wednesday circulated again the latest photos of fugitive terror mastermind Noordin Muhammad Top after spreading hundreds of others over the weekend.

Klungkung, the Smallest Regency on Bali

This is the smallest regency in Bali. It covers only 121 square kilometers and includes three islands, Nusa Penida, Lembongan and Ceningan. Despite its size, its influence on Balinese culture has been powerful. It was here, in the shadow of the holy volcano Agung, that the princes and priests of Majapahit gathered in 1343 to continue the kingdom by setting up ‘Keraton’ in Samprangan, but within a couple of generations, they moved to Gelgel and then to Klungkung, in 1710. In the 16th century the Gods smiled on Gelgel when Dalem Baturenggong reached an impressive political and cultural achievement to earn his ‘golden age’ Kertha Gosa, which is situated in the central town of Semarapura, was the place for administration and traditional justice in the precolonial times by a council consisting of the great king and his priests.

Next to the Kertha Gosa is Taman Gili, known as a Floating House (Bale Kambang) which was the King’s Guard’s headquarters.

These two buildings are decorated with Kamasan Traditional Paintings. A colonial building, located next to these two buildings, is Semarajaya Museum, collecting some handicraft of Klungkung, prehistoric and historic articles especially those used in the period of Klungkung’s heroic battle. In the southern part of the museum area, there stands the main gate of Semarapura Palace ‘Pemedal Agung’.

The newest sight in Semarapura Town is Patung Kandapat Sari, situated at the main junction of Semarapura town. Some people consider this statue as the landmark of Klungkung Regency.

Next to this landmark stands an historical monument known as Monument of Klungkung Heroic Battle.

This monument is a cenotaph reminiscent of an event that once took place on April 28, 1908. It is well known as ‘Puputan’, a counter-defence of The Great King of Klungkung against the Dutch soldiers. Moving south of Semarapura town along the main road, one will

arrive at the ‘under construction’ area of Tourism Villages, home of traditional Painting, Kamasan Village and Bali’s original capital, Gelgel.

Moving east of Semarapura Town along the main road, one will cross the Unda River. A rapid wading (rafting) recreation is now available along the river. One should come and enjoy it. Passing through the river, there are a number of interesting villages including Paksabali, famous for the Pasraman Dewa festival. Further to the east, one will arrive at the fishing village of Kusamba, with its dramatic black sand beaches. Beyond Kusamba but not too far is the famous Goa Lawah bat cave temple, one of the state temples of Klungkung.

Driving to the west of the town of Semarapura is the village of Tiingan, most famous as the village of Gamelan Smiths. Not far from Tiingan, there is a Museum of classical painting ‘I Nyoman Gunarsa’, collecting diverse kinds of classical Balinese paintings. (BTN/*)

DENPASAR – Several rivers in Bali categorized in polluted type because the water is contaminated with E Coli bacteria and heavy metals which can destroy the quality of the water.

Gede Wardhana, the head of Bali Environmental Department (BLH), said that the pollution caused by the wastes from industries. “At least eleven rivers in Bali are heavily polluted. The water can not be consumed anymore. Generally, the pollution is because the waste and the activities around the rivers area,” he added.

Based on the measurements by BLH which was done twice a year, the most contamination happened in the downstream area while the most polluted river in Bali is Badung and Ayung rivers. Both of them flow through several cities and regencies in Bali.

The data of BLH showed that Bali has 401 rivers but only 162 rivers still contain sufficient number of water. 22 of those rivers flow through several cities and regencies and 11 categorized as polluted rivers. .

The contamination of river in Bali is also shown by the data from Environment Education Center (PPLH) Bali. The research by PPLH Bali is using the biology

http://bali4u.files.wordpress.com

Tourists rafting in Telaga Waja River, Bali Island. At least eleven rivers in Bali are contaminated with E.Coli bactery and metal that ruin quality standard for drinking water.

indicator and the quality of water in Denpasar is in D Category. It means that the water can not be used as drinking water and only can be used to water the plant or mining.

Catur Yudha, the Director of PPLH Bali, said that the water categorized in D type because there was no water biota that can live in the water. “If there are no animals or plants that can survive in the water then we can say that the water is polluted. The simplest example is there was no dragonfly around the rivers,” he added. Meanwhile, the research done by Udayana University on the water flow area in Bali showed that from 162 rivers, 34 of them categorized in critical condition. Erosion and flood often happened in the water flow area.

I Wayan Sandhi Adnyana, a river researcher in Udayana University, said that the rivers in Bali have lost it function. The river can not contain the water from the rain so floods tend to occur during rainy season.

Mr. Adnyana said that many thing can caused the problem in the water flow area, one of them is because the building in the river area. The government should inform the people to concern more on the condition of river in Bali. There is great hope that the people in Bali will understand the importance of rivers for them.

development will be established Antara

DENPASAR – The head of Bali Tourism Board, Ngurah Wijaya, said that he wanted to establish Bali-Dili tourism development because it can increase the accessibility of tourism in the two countries.

“It is very interesting. We can exchange tourist sites which can be combined in one tourism package. Dili as the main tourism destination in East Timor is well known in Bali and many foreign people who stay in Dili went to Bali to spend their holiday,” he added.

The number of tourists from Dilli to Bali decreased in the past few years.

Since Eat Timor became an indepen-

dent country, United Nation and other international organization placed thousand of their personnel in the country.

However, the number is decreasing from time to time. Regularly, they spend their holiday in Bali. Mr. Wijaya said that the development in the cities must be done simultaneously with careful planning. Bali has good resources in tourism and that could help in developing tourism in those cities.

Previously, there was a talk between Indonesian officers with Timor Timur Ambassador for Indonesia, Manuel Cerrano, regarding the tourism development between Denpasar and Dili.

The cooperation will increase the income in both countries.

BTN/Doc

Tourist getting a foot message from local vendor near Sanur beach area.

The chairman of Bali’s tourism board express his interest in combining Denpasar - Dili area to give more chance for both area expanding their tourism source.

(Ox Tongue in Sweet Nutmeg Sauce) Overview: Although native to Indonesia, the nutmeg is not often used in cooking. One exception is the braised meat dish known as Semur, which is generally made with beef.

This Balinese version uses ox tongue and partners the inimitable fragrance of nutmeg with sweet soy sauce.

Ingredients : 2.5 lt (10 cups) water 600 gr (1 ¼ lb) ox tongue, washed well 1 cup beef stock 4 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) 2 tbsp thin soy sauce ¾ tsp ground black pepper ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg 4 ea salam leaves 3 fragrant lime leaves 3 tbsp fried shallots 3 medium size potatoes, peeled and cut in 2 cm (3/4 in dice) Fried shallots to garnish

PREPARATION: 1. Bring water to boil in a heavy stockpot, add beef spice paste and salam leaves, whole ox tongue and bring back to boil.

2. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 3 hours or until tongue is cooked and very tender.

3. Plunge ox tongue into ice water and cool for 5 minutes. Peel skin off with a sharp knife.

4. Slice ox tongue in thin even slices and place in saucepan.

5. Fill up with beef stock and add all remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Add potatoes and continue to simmer until potatoes are cooked.

7. Garnish with fried shallots. (http:// www.baliguide.com/balifood)

Rivers in Bali had been poluted Bali-Dili tourism Antara

Semur lidah

Museum Subak

Bp/Bali Putra

The picture show the fire which burn most of the Penataran Agung Temple in Klungkung regency of Thursday, July 30th 2009.

Rice cultivation has been a part of Balinese life since well before the 9th century AD. The island has been developed by an organization called the subak, which controls watercourses. The subak and the Goddess of Rice, Dewi Sri are part and parcel of daily life in Bali, with every sawah, or rice field having a shrine to Dewi Sri. The original type of rice that grew in Bali (nasi Bali) has slowly been replaced by newer brands from overseas, which ripen quicker. These newer brands have other characteristic too. The rice tends to fall off of the ripened stalks easily, so rather than taking bundles of ripened rice to the village for threshing, the rice must be threshed on site. Men are always responsible for rice planting, but women and men help with threshing. Many of the songs and rituals that were shared during the village threshing are disappearing. As Norm from Eco Lodge pointed out, people look for the easy route - fast growing rice, easy threshing and not returning the stalks to the field, but burning them instead.

Here in Bali rice has 3 names: padi is growing rice, beras is harvested uncooked rice and nasi is cooked rice. (BTN)

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