Headline : Australian travelers still visiting bali
16
Page 13 Remote home of leprosy patients could open door wider Wednesday, May 6, 2015 16 Pages Number 98 7 th Year e-mail: [email protected]online: http://www.internationalbalipost.com. http://epaper.internationalbalipost.com. Price: Rp 3.000,- I N T E R N A T I O N A L DPS 23 - 32 WEATHER FORECAST Page 8 Sanchez nets 2 as Arsenal beats Hull 3-1 in Premier League Page 6 Thailand’s 87- year-old king makes rare appearance A number of tourism companies say that tourists from kangaroo coun- try have shown little to no signs of begin affected by the issue. “Do far there is no apparent effect related to tourist demands” said Chairman of the Association of the Indonesia Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA Bali Chapter), Ketut Ardana on Tuesday. According to him, ASITA has not received any reports of Australian travellers cancelling their trip to Bali. This tiny island remains the main destination for Australians to spend their holidays. “So, I think that if there are any impacts, they are only temporary,” he said. Apart from the fact that Bali is geographically close to Australia, said Ardana, it is also a much cheaper place for people to spend their holi- day than in their own country. “The cost of holidays in Australia is much higher than in Bali and besides there are also many things here that they cannot find back home,” he said. Ardana explained that the average length of stay for Australian travelers is about 10 days, and the amount of money spent on food and accommo- dations is around USD 1,500 to USD 2,000. “Australian guests do not nec- essarily eat in luxury hotels, but can in fact eat anywhere like roadside stalls for example,” he said. Chairman of the Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI Badung Chapter), IGN Rai Suryawi- jaya, is also optimistic that the en- forcement of Indonesian law that led to the execution of two Australian citizens, will not have an impact on tourism. “Where else are Australians going to spend their holidays if not in Bali? It is cheaper for Australians to visit Bali than it is for them to visit other countries, including their own country,” he said. Suriawijaya added when pro- moting Bali tourism in Australia, citizens there responded positively to Indonesian promoters, and many claimed to not know anything about the execution of two of their country- men. “No long ago, we were promot- ing Indonesian tourism in Australia and were very much welcomed. I think that the only people boycotting Bali are the victims family members because we have seen little change in the number of Australians choosing Bali as a destination,” he said. Therefore, the PHRI is asking tourism players not to worry that the tension between Indonesia and Australia will have an impact on tourism in Bali. “We support the government of Indonesia’s stance (on the execution—Ed), we are a sovereign country. Bali continues to be a favourite tourist destination for travelers from many countries, including Australia,” he said. He argued that there are factors that bind Australia and Indonesia, one of which is trade. “If Australia forbids its citizens from visiting Indonesia, our government can also take action by not importing prod- ucts from Australia,” he advised. Chairman of the Bali Tourism Board (BTB), I.B. Ngurah Wijaya, agrees said that the execution of con- victs, Andrews Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, has not become a seri- ous concern for travelers from Aus- tralia. They are still choosing Bali as the main destination, even though their country’s authorities have is- sued a number of warnings. “The Australian government has repeatedly issued warnings to its citizens who are considering taking their holidays in Bali. However, the travel warnings and advisories are never obeyed by its citizens, who still visit Bali and still consider Bali as their second home,” said Wijaya - owner of the Segara Village. He argues that the Island of the Gods will remain a primary destina- tion for Australians to spend their holidays. Other than offering cheap prices and geographic proximity, Australian travelers also love the hospitality of Balinese people. “Tourism relies on the relationships between human beings. So, in addi- tion to being cheap, Balinese people are also friendly and sociable is an- other reason why Australians choose to visit Bali,” he concluded. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Bali also notes that be- tween January and March 2015 Australia accounted for 25.06 per- cent of tourists or 946,011 people, which puts Australian tourists in the top position for providing tourists to Bali. The second position was occupied by travelers from China( 20.31%), followed by those from Ja- pan (6.26%), Malaysia (4.76%) and South Korea (4.16% ). (kmb27) IBP/Yudi Karnaedi The execution of two of “Bali Nine” convicts has not had an impact on the number of Australian tourists visiting Bali. Australian travelers still visiting Bali MANGUPURA - The execution of two of “Bali Nine” convicts has not had an impact on the number of Australian tourists visiting Bali, even though Australia withdrew its ambassador and through social media has been urging its citizens to boycott Indonesia. News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2my- radio.com or live video streaming at http://radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.
Transcript
Page 13
Remote home of leprosy patients could open door wider
Sanchez nets 2 as Arsenal beats Hull 3-1 in Premier League
Page 6
Thailand’s 87-year-old king makes rare appearance
NEW YORK — Rihanna shut down the Met Gala’s red carpet in a regal yellow coat. And then came Bey. Dressed lavishly by Chinese de-signer Guo Pei, Rihanna clutched her fur-trim frock closed and dragged a mammoth train up the grand stair-case Monday during one of fashion’s biggest nights of the year.
She was a latecomer, but Beyonce was even later, wearing a peekaboo custom Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci adorned with multicolored crystals and stones. Her high ponytail and barely there ensemble were playful counterpoints to Rihanna’s swirls of royal gold and match-ing headpiece.
The evening, aimed at raising millions for the museum’s Anna Wintour Costume Center, was inspired by the Met’s new ex-hibit, “China: Through the Looking Glass.” While some in the parade of celebrity guests embraced the East-leaning theme, others looked more ready for the Waldorf than the highly anticipated Met Gala. (ap)
LOS ANGELES — “The Simp-sons” will keep the satire coming for at least two more seasons. Fox said Mon-day it has renewed the animated series for its 27th and 28th seasons, which will carry it to a total of 625 episodes.
The tale of Springfield and the Simpson family is TV’s longest-running scripted nighttime series. “The Simpsons” cast includes Dan Castellaneta as dad Homer — with his trademark “d’oh!” — and Julie
Kavner as mom Marge.The network’s announcement
included a boast from Homer that his doughnut addiction helped him outlast David Letterman, Jon Stewart and Dr. McDreamy from “Grey’s Anatomy.”
The award-winning comedy has proved a money machine, spawning merchandise, a big-screen movie, video games and a Universal Stu-dios Ride. (ap)
LOS ANGELES - French actress Juliette Binoche will play the role of Nobel literature laureate Pearl S. Buck in a film about her life, showbiz magazine Variety reported Monday.
The film, called “Pearl”, will be financed by China Film Group and directed by Roxanne Messina Captor.
Filming is scheduled to begin next year in the Chinese province of Zhejiang, in the city of Shanghai and in Prague, Variety said.
Buck won the Pulitzer prize in 1931 for her novel “The Good Earth” about the hard life of Chinese peasants, and garnered the Nobel in 1938.
Buck spent much of her life in China, first as a missionary and then as a writer. She returned to the United States in 1934.
Binoche won an Oscar for her role as a nurse in the 1996 film “The English Patient”. (afp)
Juliette Binoche to play Pearl Buck
NEW YORK - Britney Spears, whose career has been full of both commercial success and criticism, has recorded a song with a younger kindred spirit, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.
Entitled “Pretty Girls,” the single officially came out Monday and a video was promised in a week’s time after the audio file leaked over the weekend.
A flirtatious party anthem that appears designed for crowded bars, “Pretty Girls” is driven by a synthesized rhythm line -- a hallmark of producers The Invisible Men, who were behind Azalea’s hit “Fancy.”
“All around the world, pretty girls / Wipe the floor with all the boys / Pour the drink, bring the noise,” the two women sing in unison.
Spears, 33, said she had approached Azalea through their managers.
“I love her work and I had the idea to do a real ‘Girl Power,’ fun, Valley Girl video,” Spears told radio host Ryan Seacrest.
Spears became a sensation in the late 1990s, re-
viving the genre of teeny-bopper pop, but she also found herself a favorite target of the tabloid press and late-night comedians.
“Pretty Girls” is Spears’ first release since her 2013 album “Britney Jean,” which had mixed suc-cess. She has been performing a residency since 2013 in Las Vegas, where she recently injured her ankle in an onstage fall.
Azalea saw her career soar with her debut album “The New Classic” but she faced strong criticism over her style, notably the white Australian’s adoption of an accent that is identifiably African American.
Azalea, who has mostly taken a step back from Twitter after heated feuds, pleaded with her nearly five million followers over the weekend to wait for the official release of “Pretty Girls.”
The song is the latest high-profile work to be leaked, with albums by Madonna and Bjork recently finding their way online before the official release. (afp)
Britney Spears teams up with Iggy Azalea
Beyonce shuts down the Met Gala in peekaboo Givenchy
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Singers Jay-Z and Beyonce arrive at the Metropolitan Mu-seum of Art Costume Institute Gala 2015 celebrating the opening of “China: Through the Looking Glass,” in Manhat-tan, New York May 4, 2015.
Fox renews ‘The Simpsons’ for 2 more seasons
FOX via AP
This photo provided by Fox shows a scene from “The Simp-sons,” airing on Sundays. Fox said Monday, May 4, 2015, it has renewed the animated series for its 27th and 28th seasons, which will carry it to a total of 625 episodes.
A number of tourism companies say that tourists from kangaroo coun-try have shown little to no signs of begin affected by the issue. “Do far there is no apparent effect related to tourist demands” said Chairman of the Association of the Indonesia Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA Bali Chapter), Ketut Ardana on Tuesday.
According to him, ASITA has not received any reports of Australian travellers cancelling their trip to Bali. This tiny island remains the main destination for Australians to spend their holidays. “So, I think that if there are any impacts, they are only temporary,” he said.
Apart from the fact that Bali is geographically close to Australia, said Ardana, it is also a much cheaper place for people to spend their holi-day than in their own country. “The cost of holidays in Australia is much
higher than in Bali and besides there are also many things here that they cannot find back home,” he said.
Ardana explained that the average length of stay for Australian travelers is about 10 days, and the amount of money spent on food and accommo-dations is around USD 1,500 to USD 2,000. “Australian guests do not nec-essarily eat in luxury hotels, but can in fact eat anywhere like roadside stalls for example,” he said.
Chairman of the Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI Badung Chapter), IGN Rai Suryawi-jaya, is also optimistic that the en-forcement of Indonesian law that led to the execution of two Australian citizens, will not have an impact on tourism. “Where else are Australians going to spend their holidays if not in Bali? It is cheaper for Australians to visit Bali than it is for them to visit
other countries, including their own country,” he said.
Suriawijaya added when pro-moting Bali tourism in Australia, citizens there responded positively to Indonesian promoters, and many claimed to not know anything about the execution of two of their country-men. “No long ago, we were promot-ing Indonesian tourism in Australia and were very much welcomed. I think that the only people boycotting Bali are the victims family members because we have seen little change in the number of Australians choosing Bali as a destination,” he said.
Therefore, the PHRI is asking tourism players not to worry that the tension between Indonesia and Australia will have an impact on tourism in Bali. “We support the government of Indonesia’s stance (on the execution—Ed), we are a sovereign country. Bali continues to be a favourite tourist destination for travelers from many countries, including Australia,” he said.
He argued that there are factors that bind Australia and Indonesia,
one of which is trade. “If Australia forbids its citizens from visiting Indonesia, our government can also take action by not importing prod-ucts from Australia,” he advised.
Chairman of the Bali Tourism Board (BTB), I.B. Ngurah Wijaya, agrees said that the execution of con-victs, Andrews Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, has not become a seri-ous concern for travelers from Aus-tralia. They are still choosing Bali as the main destination, even though their country’s authorities have is-sued a number of warnings.
“The Australian government has repeatedly issued warnings to its citizens who are considering taking their holidays in Bali. However, the travel warnings and advisories are never obeyed by its citizens, who still visit Bali and still consider Bali as their second home,” said Wijaya - owner of the Segara Village.
He argues that the Island of the Gods will remain a primary destina-tion for Australians to spend their holidays. Other than offering cheap prices and geographic proximity,
Australian travelers also love the hospitality of Balinese people. “Tourism relies on the relationships between human beings. So, in addi-tion to being cheap, Balinese people are also friendly and sociable is an-other reason why Australians choose to visit Bali,” he concluded.
The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Bali also notes that be-tween January and March 2015 Australia accounted for 25.06 per-cent of tourists or 946,011 people, which puts Australian tourists in the top position for providing tourists to Bali. The second position was occupied by travelers from China( 20.31%), followed by those from Ja-pan (6.26%), Malaysia (4.76%) and South Korea (4.16% ). (kmb27)
IBP/Yudi Karnaedi
The execution of two of “Bali Nine” convicts has not had an impact on the number of Australian tourists visiting Bali.
Australian travelers still visiting BaliMANGUPURA - The execution of two of “Bali Nine” convicts
has not had an impact on the number of Australian tourists visiting Bali, even though Australia withdrew its ambassador and through social media has been urging its citizens to boycott Indonesia.
News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http://globalfmbali.listen2my-
radio.com or live video streaming at http://radioglobalfmbali.com and http://ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.
International2 Wednesday, May 6, 2015 15International Activities
Bali News
EvEry Temple and Shrine has a special date for it annual Ceremony, or “ Odalan “, every 210 days according to Balinese calendar, including the smaller ancestral shrine which each family possesses. Because of this practically every few days a ceremony of festival of some kind takes place in some Village in Bali. There are also times when the entire island celebrated the same Holiday, such as at Galungan, Kuningan, Nyepi day, Saraswati day, Tumpek Landep day, Pagerwesi day, Tumpek Wayang day etc.
The dedication or inauguration day of a Temple is con-sidered its birth day and celebration always takes place on the same day if the wuku or 210 day calendar is used. When new moon is used then the celebration always happens on new moon or full moon. The day of course can differ the religious celebration of a temple lasts at least one full day with some temple celebrating for three days while the celebration of Besakih temple, the Mother Temple, is never less than 7 days and most of the time it lasts for 11 days, depending on the importance of the occasion.
The celebration is very colorful. The shrine are dressed with pieces of cloths and sometimes with brocade, sailings, decorations of carved wood and sometimes painted with gold and Chinese coins, very beautifully arranged, are hung in the four corners of the shrine. In front of shrine are placed red, white or black umbrellas depending which Gods are worshipped in the shrines.
In front of important shrine one sees, besides these umbrellas soars, tridents and other weapons, the “umbul-umbul”, long flags, all these are prerogatives or attributes of Holiness. In front of the Temple gate put up “Penjor”, long bamboo poles, decorated beautifully ornaments of young coconut leaves, rice and other products of the land. Most beautiful to see are the girls in their colorful attire, carrying offerings, arrangements of all kinds fruits and colored cakes, to the Temple. Every visitor admires the grace with which the carry their load on their heads.
Balinese Temple Ceremony
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Founder : K.Nadha, General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Diah Dewi Juniarti Editors: Gugiek Savindra,Alit Susrini, Alit Sumertha, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Suana, Sueca, Sugiartha, Yudi Winanto Denpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subrata, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Suasrina, Buleleng: Dewa kusuma, Gianyar: Agung Dharmada, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Bagiarta. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto. Development: Alit Purnata, Mas Ruscitadewi. Office: Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, Facsimile: 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp.
(0370) 639543, Facsimile: (0370) 628257. Publisher: PT Bali Post
No need to worry about the kids being entertained – there will be host of Kid’s Activities throughout the day, a Photo Booth and Live Music! Plus Cubby House Kids Club (locat-ed opposite Canggu Club) is hosting
a Mother’s Day themed party. Kids can play in 2 outdoor areas, dress ups, LEGO, arts and crafts, choose from WII, MAC computers, a movie theatre and more.
The older kids can enjoy Splash
Water Park which is open all day and is complimentary with ticket purchase. Bounce Trampoline Cen-tre and Strike 10 Pin Bowling are located opposite Canggu Club but charged separately.
CANGGU - Always in search of the best possible experience for its guests, Body Temple Spa now announces a brand new partnership with one of Bali’s most respected cosmetic professional establishment, Cocoon Medical Spa.
Starting in May, Body Temple Spa will host Anti-Aging Mondays at their Canggu Club location. On offer will be an extensive menu of popular beauty treatments such as Injections, Fillers, Diamond Microdermabrasion, Vitamin Infusions, Dermapen, PRP and more. All treatments will be performed in the comfort of Canggu Club’s Body Temple Spa facilities with the expertise of an experienced doctor and nurse from Cocoon Medical Spa.
‘’This new partnership follows our efforts to better cater to the Bali residents and their needs. Since they are not currently available in the Canggu area, compli-menting our menu with the more medical side of spa offerings was just a natural extension of what we currently do. Partnering with Cocoon Medical Spa was and easy choice. Their professionalism and expertise has been well-established with the expat and tourism community already therefore we feel confident in aligning forces with them.’’
Anti-Aging Mondays are launching on May 4th, 2015 at Body Temple Spa Canggu Club, and will continue every 2nd Monday thereafter. Reservations are required.
A branch of well-known Bali hospitality group Semara Resorts, who also owns landmarks such as Canggu Club, Semara Luxury Villa Resort and Finn’s Beach Club, Body Temple Spa was created with one question in mind: What does your body need today? Each treatment on the menu was carefully designed to help you achieve a specific benefit for your body. Expert techniques, well-designed facials, massages, top quality nail services, waxing, body treatments and a fun kids menu are all delivered with unparalleled service and top quality products to create an experience that is unique to you and your needs on a given day.
IBP/Courtesy of Canggu Club
Anti-Aging Mondays At Body Temple Spa
Mother’s Day at Canggu Club on 10th May
CANGGU - It’s that time of the year to celebrate our mum’s and what better way to do that than spoil her with a day with the family. The Canggu Club is hosting a roast Lunch which includes a divine dessert selection. Mum’s will be spoilt with a complimentary glass of sangria as well as a rp100,000 voucher to Body Temple Spa. Choose from Sparkling Wine and Champagne specials all day and indulge in Happy Hour from 6pm.
The Division Head of the Buleleng Police Operations Unit, I Ketut Gelgel, with per-mission from the Chief of Buleleng Police, Kurniadi, has appealed for cockfights not to be used as a venue for gambling. Unfortunately, people are stubborn so the Nawacita task force team, came right to the scene, wearing vests riding off road motorcycles. Residents who were absorbed in pitting their roosters against each other, were taken by surprised but quickly fled. the scene Some people even choose to let their roosters fall where they may, so that they could escape.
“We received information from the gambling task force team, intelligence, public service and our criminal investigation unit. Our personnel
rushed to the venue of the cockfight at Babakan hamlet, A police officer moved in and secured the roosters and their spurs. We will investigate the cockfighting organizer further,” said Gelgel at the Buleleng Police station accompanied by the Chief of Criminal Investigation Unit, Ketut Adnyana TJ.
In this raid, the authorities were able to se-cure evidence which consisted of the following: 19 live rooster, two dead roosters, 24 spurs, and a roll of spur thread. Cockfight organizer, Dewa Putu Wita, 45, from Babakan hamlet, Sambangan village, Sukasada Buleleng, will undergo further examination along with some of the other organizers, at the Buleleng Police station. (kmb34)
BANGLI - Some farmers at Subak Tembuku Bangli are starting to feel uneasy. In the midst of the government program to increase food production, hectares of paddy plants that are only 35 days old are beinbg attacked by tungro, threatening to greatly diminish crop yields.
Seeing such condition, the Bangli Agriculture, Plantation and Forestry Agency performed a massive pest con-trol operation and has asked farmers to undertake intensive disinfection. Chief of Subak Tembuku, I Wayan Budiasa, said on Monday (May 4) that such pest attack have frequently occurred over the last many planting seasons.
He said that the pests that tend to attack are tungro and green leafhop-pers. The attack started when the paddy plants were just 25 days and continues more than a week later. As a result, many farmers are worried that yields will not only drop, but that they might face crop failure. “When our paddy plants were about 3 weeks old, the tungro and pest attack started. It making many farmers very worries,” he said.
Budiasa added that the extensive farmland at his subak area cover 36 hectares, but the area being attacked by tungro and pests is only about two hectares. Nevertheless, many local farmers are discouraged, fearing the pests will spread. “The paddy plants which have already been attacked are only a few hectares worth, but we are worried that it will spread,” he explained.
In the meantime, Division Head of the Bangli Food and Horticulture,
I Wayan Tagel Sujana, said that al-though the tungro attack is relatively small, it still threatens to harrn sur-rounding agricultural land. To address this threat, local farmers and military personnel from Bangli are taking measures to stop the spread of tungro and kill the pests by removing the tungro infected plants and spraying the remaining ones to eradicate the green leafhoppers.
Sujana added that to speed up the eradication process, local farmers should routinely spray their plants and keep an eye out for tungro infection. “We ask farmers to immediately up-root the tungro-attacked plants. Like-wise, the rice earhead bug should also be routinely eradicated,” he added.
Similar suggestion was made by Section Head of the Protection of Food Crops and Horticulture, of the Bangli Agriculture Agency, Wayan Sentana. Young paddy plants are vulnerable to diseases, especially tungro. Without being intensively controlled, the at-tacks will have an impact on the yields, possibly cutting them in half.
Sentana also mentioned that before conducting mass pest control, his party made observations related to the extent and severity of the pest attack. He is also asking farmers to keep an eye on their plants so that action can be taken as early as possible if needed. “Previously, we made observations in the field to ascertain conditions, then we took mass action to handle the problems. But we didn’t stop there -along with farmers, we continue to monitor the situation,” he concluded. (kmb45)
IBP/Dewa Kusuma
The chicken which was confiscated by the police during a raid in Buleleng
cockfight bust, police secure more than a dozen rooster
SINGARAJA - Attempts to eradicate cockfight gambling through Operation Balak were conducted by the Nawacita task force who carried out the joint operation through a team made up of Buleleng Police Criminal Investigation and Public Services. Dozens of people were surprised and scrambled to escape from the cockfight arena, when they saw dozens of plainclothes intelligence officers coming to seize the fighting roosters. The location of the cockfight at Babakan hamlet, Sambangan village, Sukasada, was out of plain sight. But, police managed to find it and seized dozens of rooster as evidence, and investigated the cockfight organizers, on Monday afternoon (May 4).
IBP/Sosiawan
The farmers are fighting tungro
Tungro attack, paddy production threatened
3Wednesday, May 6, 2015 14 InternationalInternational Bali NewsTechnology Wednesday, May 6, 2015
There you’d find that you might control your smartphone with your tongue, skin or brain; you won’t just ‘ touch’ oth-ers through a smart Watch but through the air; and you’ll change how food tastes by tinkering with sound, weight and colour.
Much of today’s wearable technology has its roots in these academic papers, labs and clunky prototypes, and the boffins re-sponsible rarely get the credit some feel they deserve.
Any academic interested in wearable technology would look at today’s commercial products and say “we did that 20 years ago,” said Aaron Quigley, Chair of Human Interaction at Univer-sity of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Take mult i- touch - where you use more than one finger to interact with a screen: Apple popularized it with the iPhone in 2007, but Japanese academic Jun Rekimoto used something similar years before.
And the Apple Watch? Its Digital Touch feature allows you to send doodles, ‘touches’ or your heartbeat to other users. Over a decade ago, researcher Eric Paulos developed something very
similar, called Connexus, that allowed users to send messages via a wrist device using strokes, taps and touch.
“I guess when we say none of this is new, it’s not so much trash-ing the product,” says Paul Stro-hmeier, a researcher at Ontario’s Human Media Lab, “but more pointing out that this product has its origins in the research of sci-entists who most people will never hear of, and it’s a way of acknowl-edging their contributions.”
Those contributions aren’t all pie-in-the-sky.
Strohmeier and others are toy-ing with how to make devices easier to interact with. His solu-tion: DisplaySkin, a screen that wraps around the wrist like a vambrace, or armguard, adapting its display relative to the user’s eyeballs.
Other academics are more radical: finger gestures in the air, for example, or a ring that knows which device you’ve picked up and automatically activates it. Others use the surrounding skin - projecting buttons onto it or pinching and squeezing it. Another glues a tiny touchpad to a fingernail so you can scroll by
LOS ANGELES — Star Wars fans no longer have to search their feelings to discover the truth. They can just Google it.
The search engine and the Lucasfilm movie franchise said Monday they have put information from the Star Wars universe into Google’s Knowledge Graph, the first time for a fictional universe.
The Knowledge Graph answers direct questions, either typed on a computer or spoken into a mobile device. After typing, “Who is Luke’s father?” for example, Google now presents the answer, Darth Vader, in a box that offers a short summary with clickable links for more information.
The tie-up was announced on what is known to fans as Star Wars Day — May 4, as in May the Fourth Be With You — and is part of the build up to “Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens,” to be released in December. (ap)
REUTERS/Edgar Su/Files
A visitor puts on “Truth?”, a pair of goggles made by students from Keio University in Japan, that projects the “true emotions” of a person by monitoring the patterns of his or her heart-beat, during a design competition showcase of wearable technology at the Augmented Human International Conference in Singapore in this March 10, 2015 file photo.
AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File
The path to a wearable future lies in academia
For a glimpse of what is, what might have been and what may lie ahead in wearable devices, look beyond branded tech and Silicon Valley start-ups to the messy labs, dry papers and solemn conferences of academia.
running one finger over another.It’s hard to know just which of
these research projects might one
day appear in your smartphone, wearable, spoon or item of cloth-ing. Or whether any of them will.
But the gap is narrowing between the academic and the commercial. (rtr)
Google tractor-beams Star Wars universe into Knowledge Graph
The Head of the Gianyar Gov-ernment Tourism Office, A.A. Ari Brahmanta, said that Gianyar County always seeks to provide comfort for travelers visiting Gianyar and Ubud in particular. One of the important highlights in the comfort of travelers is sanitation such as the cleanliness of roads in Ubud. “Based on the market analysis study by the Tourism Office, the benchmark to be used by other agencies is the sanitation sector. This sector has always been one of the most important factors in the eyes of travel-ers,” he said.
Another important aspect is the environment. In order to maintain of the environment, the development of tourist accommodations needs to be controlled so that green zones -chiefly paddy fields, will not necessarily be converted into buildings. However, currently the number of tourist ac-commodations gong up, does not pay attention to the environmental carrying capacity of Ubud.
Data from the Gianyar Government Tourism Office indicates that nearly 80 percent of all the tourist accommoda-tions in Gianyar are located in Ubud. Of the 14 star hotels in Gianyar, 12 of them are located in the Ubud area, with 103 of the 109 budget hotels, also located Ubud area. Also, of the 593 cottages in Gianyar, Ubud area hosts 309 units. The number of restaurants is
GIANYAR - Bali tourism in general has shown no indication of any negative impact following the execution of two Australians, convicted of drug related crimes, and the Australian government’s withdrawal of their Ambassador. Tourism in Gianyar also appears to be unaffected.
About 35 percent of visitors to Ubud are from Australia which is about the normal amount. Since
the execution which took place last week, there have been no hotel cancellations by Australians in Ubud.
Ubud hotelier, Dewa Gede Arimbawa, former chairman of the Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) of Gianyar said that so far no fellow hoteliers have mentioned any room cancel-lations in the tourist area of Ubud. “As of yet, no direct effect has
emerged,” he said.Dewa Arimbawa hopes that
the Australian government and its citizens can judge objectively and wisely regarding the case of the two drug convicts who were recently executed.
Aside from hoteliers them-selves, the lack of influence that the execution has had on tourist arrivals from Australia, was also acknowledged by the Chairman
of the Association of Indonesia Tour and Travel Agency (ASITA Bali Chapter), Ketut Ardana, and Chairman of the Indonesia Tour Guides Association (HPI Bali Chapter), Sang Putu Subaya. The ASITA Bali that has 384 members that handle Australian travelers, is doing fine. “There have been no reports of booking cancellations from their members,” said Ardana. (kmb16)
IBP/File Photo
The growth of the tourism industry in Ubud has shown a significant increase from year to year. Since the development of Ubud tourism in 1930, the government of Gianyar’s latest data shows that there are now more than 1000 tourist accom-modations for rent in Ubud.
Post-execution of two Australians Direct impact on Gianyar tourism still not felt
Gianyar government commited to preserving UbudGIANYAR - The growth of
the tourism industry in Ubud has shown a significant in-crease from year to year. Since the development of Ubud tour-ism in 1930, the government of Gianyar’s latest data shows that there are now more than 1000 tourist accommodations for rent in Ubud. Currently the government of Gianyar is trying to maintain Ubud tourism based on cultural tourism.
concentrated in the area of Ubud, with 120 of Gianyar’s 130 restaurants lo-cated there. There are 269 food stalls in Gianyar and 193 of them are in Ubud as well. Similarly, of the 95 transporta-tion businesses located in Gianyar, 70 of them are based in Ubud.
Brahmanta, hopes that beaded on this data, there clearly needs to be restrictions put on investment in Ubud so that tourism does not destroy the area, but this is no easy task. Today, development is being done in an uncontrolled manner. Hotels are not suppose to have more than a 30 room capacity, and yet many now exceed this restriction with the concept of “city hotels”. “In the future, we hope
that any plan to create more tourist accommodations in Ubud area, will involve the Tourism Office,” he said.
Currently, the density of tourism in Ubud is causing traffic congestion and parking problems. The Public Works Agency have made major repairs, especially on sidewalks commonly used by travelers to stole around, enjoying the beauty of Ubud. “In addition to environmental sanitation, infrastructure is also very important, and has started to be addressed by the creation of sidewalks by the Public Works,” he said.
When some of the issues that the Tourism Office has brought to light,the comfort of travellers can be
guaranteed and tourism promotion can be done more easily. Ubud has cultural capital that is being global-ized. “We certainly do not forget that the regionally generated, revenue (PAD) of Gianyar is predominantly provided by the hotel and restaurant taxes from Ubud where 80 percent of Gianyar’s tourist facilities are located,” he said.
To boost Ubud as a tourist at-traction, the Tourism Office has designed a variety of events in col-laboration with foundations and the private sector. “For instance, for the spiritual tourism market segment we support the private sector that orga-nizes the Bali Spirit Festival. This
event is certainly expected to revive tourism in Ubud,” he said while adding that this year his party plans to hold the Ubud Coffee Festival in June 2015. (nik)
International4 Wednesday, May 6, 2015 Wednesday, May 6, 2015 13InternationalBali News
Once the last patient dies, the National Park Service would like to open the park to more visitors, including children, according to a draft of the agency’s long-term management plan. The patients at the site — who chose to continue living at Kalaupapa after the man-datory exile of leprosy patients there was lifted by the state in 1969 — range in age from 92 to 73.
“Visitor regulations would change, including allowing chil-dren to visit Kalaupapa with adult supervision, and removing the 100 person per day cap while continuing to limit the number of visitors per day through new mechanisms,” the park service said in a summary of its preferred alternative.
In 2011, when the public pro-cess for developing the long-range plan began, the public was given a chance to comment. Most who weighed in supported a limit on daily visitors, saying they didn’t want it turned into a tourist trap.
Some recommended giving Native Hawaiians less restricted access be-cause most of the 8,000 people who died at Kalaupapa were Hawaiian.
Alika Cullen, general admin-istrator at Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu, said he has visited Ka-laupapa about 40 times. He has mixed feelings about plans to open up Kalaupapa to more people, he said. “The world should know of the trials these people endured and how they overcame physical and mental roadblocks,” Cullen said in an email. “On the other hand, I do not wish to see a change so soon after the last patient dies. ... The settlement has kept the peninsula pretty sparse for the welfare of the patients and that is what makes the place special.”
A former leprosy patient who lives at the site said he would like see more visitors now. “Come when we alive,” Clarence “Boogie” Kahi-lihiwa, 74, the second-youngest pa-
tient, said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Monday. “No come when we all dead.”
He would especially like to see children there, Kahilihiwa said. “I’d like to see the children and if they like hear our story, I can tell them personally,” he said.
Kahilihiwa has lived at Kalau-papa since 1959 and has seen the disease’s stigma subside over the years. Leprosy, known as Hansen’s Disease, was once feared as a highly contagious and long-lasting infec-tion caused by bacteria. But it’s now very rare and easily treated. “Before it was shame, they didn’t want to talk to us,” Kahilihiwa said. “But now, everybody wants to reach out.”
The area also has strong con-nections to the Roman Catholic Church because Saints Damien and Marianne cared for leprosy patients there. Damien contracted the disease and died in 1889, while Marianne died in 1918 of natural causes. (ap)
KATHMANDU — Climbers who stayed in villages close to the Everest base camp are packing their gear and leaving the mountain because Sherpa guides have refused to rebuild a climbing route de-stroyed by the earthquake-triggered avalanche, mountaineering officials said Tuesday. A handful of climbers still wanted to go ahead with their climbs, but without the route fixed over the Khumbu Icefall it was not possible.
Gyanendra Shrestha, an official at Nepal’s Mountaineering Depart-ment, said some of the climbers had stayed in the mountain villages to help the Sherpas and their families who had their homes damaged by the April 25 earthquake.
The government has not for-mally canceled the climbing season and climbing permits are valid until the end of May, but the Sherpas have said they would not rebuild the climbing route because of safety and time reasons.
It would be the second consecu-
tive year that the climbing season has been called off because of deaths on the world’s highest peak. The season was canceled last year after an avalanche killed 16 Sherpa guides.
Mountaineering teams have until the end of this month to climb the peak, but the route must be fixed before it is possible to attempt the climb. The Sherpas bring the lad-ders, ropes and equipment needed to clear the trail, but they feel the area is too dangerous and too little time is left before warmer weather melts the ice and monsoon rains bring bad conditions.
Climbers and Sherpas attempt-ing to scale the mountain’s north-ern side in Tibet have left already after Chinese authorities closed all climbing for the spring season.
The April 25 earthquake has al-ready killed more than 7,500 people in Nepal, flattened mountain vil-lages and destroyed buildings and archaeological sites in the capital, Kathmandu. (ap)
PARIS — France’s parliament is to vote on a bill aimed at legalizing broad surveillance of terrorism sus-pects that has drawn an outcry from privacy advocates and others.
One of the most sensitive mea-sures of the bill would allow in-telligence services to vacuum up metadata, which would then be subject to analysis for potentially suspicious behavior. The metadata would be anonymous, but intelli-gence agents could follow up with
a request to the independent panel for deeper surveillance that could yield the identity of users.
The bill that goes to parliament Tuesday was proposed long be-fore January’s attacks by Islamic extremists. But the bill’s sponsors say it takes on added urgency with each person who is radicalized. Opponents say it legalizes highly intrusive surveillance methods without guarantees for individual freedom and privacy. (ap)
AP Photo/Nima Namgyal Sherpa
Mountain guides and climbers stand beside camping and climbing gear gathered together after an avalanche hit the area, at Everest Base Camp, Nepal, Tuesday, April 28, 2015. Saturday’s quake unleashed an avalanche that buried part of the base camp packed with foreign climbers preparing for summit attempts.
Climbers leave Everest after Sherpas refuse
to rebuild route
Controversial surveillance bill comes
to vote in France
AP Photo/Hugh E. Gentry, File
FILE -This Aug. 12, 2008, file photo, shows an aerial view of Kalaupapa Peninsula on Molokai, Hawaii. A handful of people with leprosy are still living full time on the isolated peninsula, but the National Park Service is already making plans to overhaul buildings and allow more visi-tors to the area when the last of the patients dies.
Remote home of leprosy patients could
open door widerHONOLULU — A remote peninsula that has been the home of leprosy patients since the 19th
century could be opened more fully to the public as the last remaining residents near the end of their lives. Now called Kalaupapa National Historical Park, the site is now only open to 100 adults per day. No children are allowed to visit. The park on the island of Molokai is accessible exclusively by plane or mule.
BANGLI - The existence of public facilities such as stadium as the assistance of the Ministry of Youth and Sport at Tembuku village, Bangli, so far can never be utilized by the public. Since the past few years, the stadium located in front of the Tembuku health center is left idle and unused. It is kindled by the unresolved swap of land having been processed since a few years ago.
The presence of a stadium in Tembuku seems poorly maintained. Courtyard of the stadium building
seems to have been overgrown by lots of rising elephant grass. Be-sides, the door facing north is also seen to be locked.
The subdistrict head of Tem-buku, Dewa Agung Purnama, when met at his office on Monday morning confirmed that the stadi-um built around in 2010 has never been used again since the past few years. It was only used by the public shortly after the construc-tion was completed. “Formerly, people used to exercise, but since the past few years it is no longer
used. It happens because the land swap process has not been accom-plished,” he explained.
Agung Purnama explained that the multifunctional stadium is built on the financing of the Ministry of Youth and Sport. Originally the stadium was built on a certified land owned by the government, the former official residence of Tembuku subdistrict head. But ahead of the construction process, a request was proposed by the owner of adjacent land on behalf of Sutama in order that it could be
exchanged for reasons that his land is considered negenin or flanking. By development committee, the request was approved so that the construction of the stadium was removed to the current location on the land owned by the family of Sutama. The process of land swap cannot be completed so far. As a result, the stadium standing in the south of the highway cannot be utilized.
The subdistrict head from Kayu-bihi village said that his party has attempted to mediate the issues
by involving the regent of Ban-gli, headman and landowners. The meeting has been conducted twice. Essentially the meeting decided that the stadium can be utilized again. “All parties, landowners, construc-tion committee and government equally want that the problem can be quickly resolved. All parties expected that the stadium can be used by the community,” he said. After the meeting he added that the land swap is now handled by the Regional Secretariat of Bangli. (kmb40)
SEMARAPURA - The high number of tourist arrivals in Nusa Penida has caused the Regent of Klungkung, Nyoman Suwir-ta to ask the Klungkung Police to increase its personnel in this subdistrict. Many unresolved cases of illegal motorcycles and drug trafficking have started to have a major impact on the image of tourism for the islands in the Klungkung region. The county government has provided an area of 13 hectares in Lembongan for the establishment of a Klungkung Police sub-sector and their addition of personnel.
Regent Suwirta asked that the case of, as many as 10,000 illegal motorcycles in Nusa Penida be resolved by the Klungkung Police. So far, the mat-ter of illegal motorcycle has not been resolved and could lead to negative rumours about Nusa Penida. According to Suwirta, to maximize the efficiency of the police, his party is ready to cooperate in addressing the violations in Nusa Penida.
However, he asks that the problem of the il-legal motorcycles not ignored or treated in an offhand manner. Police are expected to act, so as to ensure that paperwork is in order regarding these motorcycles. “We hope this problem can be addressed by providing roving vehicle registra-tion services,” he explained.
More seriously, drug cases that are currently emerging in Nusa Penida are also expected to be addressed immediately. Regent Suwirta asserted that his party is ready to participate in cooperation twith the police in communicating with the pub-lic, disseminating information and publications for the sake of helping police in their efforts to eliminate drug trafficking on the island.
Moreover, in line with the increasing number of tourist visits to Nusa Penida, there needs to be more police on the island. In order to be able to support the number of police personnel, Regent Suwirta says that he has given 13 hectares of land that can be utilized for the establishment of a police subsector in Nusa Lembongan. “It should be tai-lored to their needs. We’ve cooperated by provid-ing 13 hectares of land in Lembongan so that the information in the community can be immediately followed up on,” he concluded. (dwa)
Stadium in Tembuku remains dormant for years
Nusa Penida
Prone to illegal motorcycles and illicit drugs, more police needed
IBP/File
Nusa Penida Island
Indonesia Today Wednesday, May 6, 2015 5InternationalWednesday, May 6, 201512 International
BUSINESS
The economy expanded a lower-than-expected 4.71 percent year-on-year in the three months to the end of March, according to the statistics agency.
That was the slowest pace of growth since early 2009, and economists said it would now be hard for Indonesia to achieve its growth target of 5.7 percent for this year. The rupiah was down 0.5 percent against the dollar after the data announcement.
Widodo, who took office in October, has pledged to lift growth to seven percent annu-ally in the coming years by attracting foreign investment and overhauling infrastructure, but analysts said the latest data highlighted the challenges ahead.
“Although we doubt growth will slow much further in the coming quarters, we are not likely to see a strong rebound either,” said Daniel Martin from Capital Econom-ics, adding further rate cuts could be on the horizon following a 25-basis point reduction in February.
Statistics agency head, Suryamin, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said that a slowdown in China was having a major impact. China, the world’s second-biggest economy, has long been a major market for Indonesia’s key commodity exports.
A contraction in oil and coal production was also affecting growth, he said.
Growth contracted 0.18 in the first quarter from the previous three months. The economy also contracted on a quarterly basis in the final three months of 2014.
Economic growth in Indonesia, which is a member of the G20 group of leading econo-mies, has been slowing in recent years due to slipping prices of its abundant commodities, such as coal and precious metals.
The economy expanded at its slowest pace in five years in 2014, at five percent.
Strong domestic consumption has helped underpin growth although the weakening rupiah is now affecting con-sumers. (afp)
The wealthy monarchies, how-ever, should “not react in a knee-jerk way to lower oil prices”, the IMF Middle East and Central Asia chief Masood Ahmed told AFP in an interview Monday.
They would be better off to “adjust gradually” using the large financial reserves they have ac-cumulated during several years of bumper oil receipts, he said in Dubai.
But as oil prices have dropped
lower than budgeted breakeven levels, “it is important that they gradually, but in a determined way, progressively reduce their spending (and) consolidate their fiscal posi-tion,” Ahmed said.
Oil prices have shed half of their value since June 2014, and are expected to be lower than the breakeven point for Gulf countries in the next three to four years.
The Gulf Cooperation Council includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- economies all heavily dependent on energy rev-enues.
A combined budget surplus for 2014 of $76 billion is expected to turn into deficit of $113 billion this year, the IMF said in its latest regional report.
The forecast did not account for fallout from the conflict in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coali-tion launched in March an air campaign against Iran-backed Shiite rebels in support of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
“They need to act to reinforce
their efforts to diversify their econo-mies to become less dependent on oil,” said Ahmed, pointing out that many have already taken such measures.
“The UAE is more advanced in terms of diversification. The others also are in varying degrees trying to encourage private sector activity outside the oil area.”
GCC countries were also urged to cut energy subsidies in a bid to minimise public spending and trigger a change in consumer be-haviour.
“Most GCC countries still have the domestic sale price for energy products below the international
prices... We think that over time it is important to tackle the issue of energy subsidies to reduce them,” Ahmed said.
Gulf countries should also con-tain salary growth in the public sector, which usually employs nationals as opposed to the private sector that depends on millions of foreigners.
In addition, GCC countries would need to prioritise investment projects that “most advance the de-velopment agenda,” said Ahmed.
Oil-export revenues for GCC countries are forecast to be $280 billion lower this year than a year ago. (afp)
REUTERS/Amit Dave
A salesman walks past the Chevrolet cars of General Motors, kept on display inside a showroom in Ahmedabad, India, April 30, 2015.
BEIJING/NEW DELHI - General Motors aims to grab at least 5 percent market share in India within the next decade, as it sees that market overtak-ing Japan as the world’s third biggest with projected annual sales of 8 million vehicles by 2025.
The Detroit carmaker, which is los-ing money in India even after 18 years there, will unleash a product blitz aimed at reviving sagging sales, and will make India a new global manufacturing and export hub, taking some of the strain off South Korea, where labour costs have ballooned in recent years.
As part of a strategic plan due to be announced later this year, GM will launch newly designed subcompact cars into India, where buyers are shifting from no-frills econo-cars to models offering more room and functionality.
“India may be the last big white sheet of paper in the automotive industry,” Stefan Jacoby, GM’s chief of interna-tional operations, told Reuters in a recent interview.
India’s autos market has been steady for the past few years, with annual sales of just above 3 million vehicles, but Jacoby sees that changing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took office last year, vowing to reboot Asia’s third-largest economy.
“India has gained back confidence,” especially after Modi’s election, said the 57-year-old, who joined GM from Volvo Cars in 2013. “We’re pretty optimistic. We see growth potential in India, and believe there’s a good opportunity for the Chevrolet brand to take share in this market. There’s more prosperity and buying power. Vehicles selling for
$5,000-$8,000 will more and more disap-pear in India.”
The gradual pivot to India mirrors moves by Ford Motor and Nissan Motor to modify their strategies to give them the ability to ramp up exports from India.
Under Jacoby, GM has been realign-ing its global manufacturing operations to squeeze out better profits. It has shuttered plants in Australia and Indo-nesia and is to scale down operations in Thailand.
“India’s going to become a key global production and export hub for GM,” said James Chao, Shanghai-based Asia-Pacific managing director at industry consultant IHS Automotive, noting India will partially replace South Korea as GM’s key Asian export base.
South Korea has for years been a low-cost export hub for GM, producing close to a fifth of its global output. But labour costs have risen by nearly half in just five years, pushing it into a high-cost bracket along with Japan.
“We have no concrete plans to close factories (in South Korea),” Jacoby said, but, to remain competitive, GM Korea must find ways to “drive efficiencies over time.”
GM’s Korean factories last year produced about 630,000 vehicles, but a capacity utilisation rate of around 75 percent is too low to be profitable, analysts say.
GM began rationalizing its Korean op-erations a few years ago, but the company “needs to face reality in Korea,” Jacoby said, noting that the power of the labour unions is a “huge challenge” for GM and, more broadly, an issue for South Korea’s competitiveness. (rtr)
Gulf oil exporters should cut spending, diversify: IMF
DUBAI - Gulf oil exporters must reduce spending, includ-ing subsidies, and diversify their economies to cope with lower revenues caused by the sharp drop in crude prices, the Inter-national Monetary Fund said.
GM set to storm India as Korea costs climb
BANDA ACEH - A district in Indone-sia’s Aceh has passed legislation banning unmarried men and women from riding together on motorbikes, a lawmaker said Monday, the latest new Islamic regulation in the conservative province.
Members of parliament in North Aceh district last week approved the regulation, which will come into effect in a year, said lawmaker Fauzan Hamzah, adding that authorities were making “efforts to imple-ment sharia law fully”.
“Unmarried people sitting closely to-gether on a motorcycle is clearly against Islamic sharia as it could lead to sinful acts,” Hamzah told AFP.
Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, is the only province in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country that is allowed to implement Islamic law, and gay sex, gambling and drinking alco-hol are already punishable by caning.
The province began implementing sharia law after being granted special au-tonomy in 2001, an effort by the central government in Jakarta to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
The latest move to ban shared motor-
bike rides, which will affect more than 500,000 people on North Aceh, came after one city in Aceh in 2013 prohibited women from straddling male drivers on motorbikes, requiring that they ride side-saddle instead.
The new regulation was the most eye-catching in a series of Islamic bylaws approved in North Aceh on Thursday, which also included a ban on live music performances and the separation of male and female students in school. The new rules will take effect in May 2016 after a one-year grace period.
Hamzah did not say what punishments would be meted out to unmarried couples caught together on a motorbike.
He did list several punishments that could be implemented for all the new Islamic laws, which ranged from a for-mal reprimand to fines and people being expelled from their villages.
“We will make efforts so that deeds which can lead to sin are eliminated gradu-ally in North Aceh district,” he added.
The provincial parliament in Aceh, as well as district parliaments, can pass their own Islamic bylaws. (afp)
JAKARTA - Indonesia will stop send-ing new domestic workers to 21 Middle Eastern countries, reports said Tuesday, after the recent execution of two Indo-nesian women in Saudi Arabia angered Jakarta.
The ban affects countries including Saudi Arabia -- a major destination for Indonesian maids -- United Arab Emir-ates, Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt, and will come into effect in three months’ time, Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri was cited as saying in local media.
Jakarta, which has long complained about the treatment of Indonesian maids in the Middle East, had already placed a moratorium on sending new helpers to Saudi Arabia in 2011 following the be-heading of a worker.
The new move is meant to be perma-nent. Maids already working in the af-fected countries will be allowed to stay and continue in their positions.
Indonesia’s anger at the executions of its citizens abroad comes despite the fact that Jakarta last week executed seven foreign drug convicts, drawing a storm of international protest.
“According to the law, the government has the right to stop the placement of migrant workers in particular countries if it is believed that their employment degrades human values and the dignity of the nation,” Dhakiri was quoted as saying by state-run news agency Antara.
He said there were “many problems” with Indonesians working abroad related
to “labour norms and human rights viola-tions”.
Dhakiri cited the execution of Indonesian domestic workers Siti Zainab and Karni binti Medi Tarsim, who were both put to death for murder just days apart in April.
The foreign ministry summoned the Saudi ambassador to Indonesia after both executions, complaining Jakarta had not been informed beforehand.
Drug trafficking, rape, murder, apostasy and armed robbery are all punishable by death under the kingdom’s strict version of Islamic sharia law.
Dhakiri also said Indonesia will tighten placement of helpers to countries in the Asia-Pacific through measures such as auditing training centres and blacklisting rogue agencies.
President Joko Widodo, who took office last year, vowed in February that maids would no longer be sent abroad in future, although he did not mention a date. Previ-ous Indonesian governments have made similar pledges.
As well as the Middle East, Indonesia also sends domestic workers to many parts of Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia, and has often complained about the treatment of its workers in those countries.
A Hong Kong woman was jailed for six years in February for beating and starv-ing her Indonesian maid and keeping her prisoner, in a high-profile case that drew attention to the abuse of domestic helpers in the financial hub. (ant/afp)
Indonesia to stop sending domestic workers to Mideast
District in Aceh bans unmarried couples from
motorbike rides
REUTERS/Nyimas Laula
A shopkeeper at a traditional market waits for customers in Jakarta, Indonesia May 4, 2015. Indonesian growth slipped to its slowest pace since 2009 in the first quarter, official data showed Tuesday, signalling a tough road ahead for President Joko Widodo to revive Southeast Asia’s top economy.
Indonesia’s quarterly growth
slowest since 2009JAKARTA - Indonesian growth slipped to its slowest pace since 2009 in the
first quarter, official data showed Tuesday, signalling a tough road ahead for President Joko Widodo to revive Southeast Asia’s top economy.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 6 International
W RLD 11International Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Buddhist monks led prayers as the king watched, before an audience of government and royal officials. Thais lined the roads along the route, chanting “Long Live the King!” The palace had not announced if Bhumibol (poo-MEE-pohn) would appear for the ceremony, but crowds had gath-ered in anticipation of seeing the monarch. Tuesday was a national holiday.
Bhumibol has been hospital-ized since last October when he had his gallbladder removed. It was the latest ailment and hospi-talization for the king, who has
faded from public life over the past several years and on rare out-ings looks visibly frail and does not speak publicly.
Thais hold great affection for Bhumibol, the world’s lon-gest-reigning monarch. He was crowned on May 5, 1950, after coming to the throne in 1946 following the death of his elder brother.
While he is constitutional monarch with no formal political role, Bhumibol is widely revered and regarded as the country’s sole unifying figure. Many regard his as a father figure, and his Decem-
ber birthday is also designated as Father’s Day in Thailand.
Bhumibol’s near-disappearance from public life has coincided with a decade of political instabil-ity in Thailand. Worries about the king’s health and succession have contributed to the instability. The heir apparent, Crown Prince Va-jiralongkorn, does not command the same respect and affection as the king.
Open discussion of the monar-chy is constrained by a strict lese majeste law that makes criticism punishable by up to 15 years in prison. (ap)
MOGADISHU — Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced trip to Somalia Tuesday in a show of solidarity with a government trying to defeat al-Qaida-allied militants and end decades of war in the African country. He is first top U.S. diplomat ever to visit Somalia. Kerry arrived at Mogadishu’s airport shortly before noon local time, greeted by Somalia’s president and prime minister on the tarmac. He im-mediately entered a series of planned meetings that include both of them along with regional leaders and civil society groups.
“I’m glad to be here,” Kerry said. “This is a great moment for us. Thank you for the time to be with us,” Presi-dent Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said as they sat down together.
The trip was made under tight secu-rity conditions. Somalia’s government only found out a day ago that Kerry would join the State Department’s top Africa official, Linda Greenfield-Thomas, on the voyage. And the fact that he was only dipping his toe in Somalia, and not venturing past the airport, highlighted just how dangerous and instable the country remains. “The next time I come, we have to be able to just walk downtown,” Kerry told Somalia’s president. Mohamud replied, downtown “is very different now.”
Top of the agenda is the fight against al-Shabab. African forces and U.S. drone strikes have crippled the orga-nization’s leadership in recent years and left the extremists without much of the territory they once controlled or the cash flows needed to reverse their losses.
But as al-Shabab has decentralized, the militants in some ways have become even more dangerous, expanding their activities in Kenya and other neighbor-ing countries. Last month’s massacre at Kenya’s Garissa University College killed 148 people, mostly students, and underscored the group’s capacity to carry out relatively unsophisticated but extremely deadly terrorist attacks far from its bases of operations.
Kerry’s trip is designed “to reinforce the United States’ commitment to sup-porting Somalia’s ongoing transition to a peaceful democracy,” spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement. “He
will discuss security cooperation and Somalia’s progress towards meeting its reform and development benchmarks,” she said. “He will also meet with civil society leaders to discuss the impor-tance of a vibrant NGO sector and thank African Union troops for their role in stabilizing Somalia.”
Somalia has been without a truly functioning, nationwide government for two-and-a-half decades. After war-lords ousted dictator Siad Barre from power in 1991, they quickly turned on one another and plunged the country into anarchy. Militias, Islamist extrem-ist groups and Somalia’s nominally national military all vied for power before the tide turned against al-Shabab earlier this decade. Piracy also has been a major problem. Yet even as a rela-tive calm has settled over parts of the country, including Mogadishu, Somalia remains fraught with a painful history for the United States.
American troops were sent there in 1992 on a peacekeeping mission to help stave off a national famine. They left two years later in humiliation after the “Black Hawk Down” debacle when Somali militiamen shot down two U.S. helicopters. Eighteen servicemen were killed in the crash and subsequent rescue attempt, the indelible memory being the images of American bodies dragged through Somalia’s streets.
The Obama administration is bank-ing on Mohamud’s government to turn a new page toward democracy and economic development. The U.S. has provided hundreds of millions in military support to build up and profes-sionalize the army, and is working with Mohamud to try to usher in a broader, more representative government over the next 18 months.
If that effort is successful and stabil-ity expands, officials say the U.S. could re-establish an American embassy in the capital before President Barack Obama leaves office. For now, the president has nominated a career dip-lomat, Katherine Dhanani, to serve as the first U.S. ambassador to the country since 1991, with the idea that she would operate out of Nairobi and make regular trips into Somalia. Britain, Italy and several other countries already have embassies in Mogadishu. (ap)
AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File
FILE - In this Dec. 5, 2012 file photo, Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej appears to address a crowd from the balcony at the Anantha Samakhom Throne Hall in Bangkok, Thailand, during his 85th birthday celebration. Thailand’s 87-year-old monarch made a rare public appearance Tuesday, May 5, 2015 to mark the 65th anniversary celebrating his coronation.
Thailand’s 87-year-old king makes rare appearance
BANGKOK — Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej made a rare public appear-ance Tuesday to mark the 65th anniversary of his coronation. All television stations carried the event live, as the 87-year-old monarch emerged in a wheelchair from a Bangkok hospital, where he has taken up residence, and was driven through the capital’s historic district to the Grand Palace.
FILE - In this Mon-day, May 4, 2015 file photo, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives to speak at a news conference at the Nairobi Sankara Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. Kerry is in Somalia on an unannounced visit, a show of solidarity with a government trying to defeat al-Qaida-allied militants and end decades of war in the African country.
Kerry visits Somalia; 1st such trip for a secretary of state
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 7SportsWednesday, May 6, 201510 InternationalInternationalDestination
Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has no doubt Nico Ros-berg will find his feet and form this season and give team-mate Lewis Hamilton a run for his money, in the battle for the Formula 1 world title. Rosberg has been distinctly second best to the reigning world champion so far this campaign, losing out in all four qualifying sessions and grands prix to the 30-year-old Briton.
Ahead of this weekend’s fifth round of the championship in Spain, Hamilton has already built a 27-point cushion over Rosberg, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel a further point adrift. Rosberg high-lighted last season what can be achieved, because after his opening victory in Australia Hamilton reeled off four wins in a row, only for the German to take a stranglehold on the middle part of the year.
Wolff sees no reason why Ros-berg cannot stem the currently relentless Hamilton tide as he told AUTOSPORT: “When you look at their performance in qualify-ing in China, for example, there were just four hundredths between them. “That is not someone who is clearly beaten. “That is a tiny little edge which was enough for Lewis
to make it on pole and control the race.
“It could have been completely different if Nico had been on pole. “Nico wouldn’t be in Formula 1 as a multiple race winner and a chal-lenger for the championship if he allowed himself to be destabilised after a few races. “I fully expect him to come bouncing back. I don’t know when it will happen, but he’s always going to be there, no doubt.” As last year, Wolff is also anticipating a battle for the crown through to the final race of the year in Abu Dhabi.
The controversial double-points system of last season has been scrapped, but Wolff sees no reason why Hamilton, Rosberg, and even the Ferraris of Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will not be fighting it out to the bitter end. Wolff added: “I think it could go to the wire with Ferrari.
“Even if we continue to do one and two, and they do three and four, it could go very long into the season, and then it becomes clear as to who stays in contention for the championship. “Anyway, between Lewis and Nico, I expect it to con-tinue like it’s done, and then Ferrari is not part of the equation.” (net)
Houston scored five straight points to cut the lead to one with about 7 1/2 minutes left. Matt Barnes then made two 3-pointers in a 12-0 run to give the Clippers a comfortable 101-88 lead and they coasted to the victory. Paul, who has a strained left hamstring, missed his first game of the season. But Jamal Crawford had 21 points and Barnes added 20 for the Clippers.
“Without Chris, everybody has to step up,” Griffin said. “But it’s not one person’s job, it’s everybody’s job. And if you look at the stat sheet tonight, it was everybody.” Griffin has had three triple-doubles so far this postseason.
Houston was well-rested after
having six days off after beating Dallas in five games. The Clippers showed no signs of fatigue despite having only about 48 hours to get ready for this series after eliminat-ing defending champion San Anto-nio in Game 7 on Saturday. Dwight Howard led Houston with 22 points and James Harden added 20.
In Cleveland, Rose helped the Bulls swipe home-court advantage from the Cavaliers, who were miss-ing starters Kevin Love and J.R. Smith. Finally fully healthy after dealing with injuries all season, the Bulls are peaking at the perfect time. Coming off a 54-point win over Milwaukee to wrap up its
opening-round series, Chicago took control from the start and withstood a late Cleveland comeback to hand the Cavaliers just their second loss in 24 home games.
Jimmy Butler added 20 points and banked in a contested jumper with 30 seconds left as the Bulls closed it out. Rose has missed more than 180 games because of injuries over the past four seasons and is savoring ev-ery moment back in the postseason.
“I just appreciate everything,” he said, “getting back on the floor, my fans, every aspect of basketball. It’s allowed me to change my life and my family’s life. I owe so much to this sport.” (ap)
AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, left, and Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany spray rose water on each other after Hamilton wins the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Formula One Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Sunday, April 19, 2015. Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen of Finland.
Wolff: Hamilton’s edge over Rosberg tiny in F1
Mercedes battle
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin (32) scores against the Houston Rockets during the first half of Game 1 in a second-round NBA basketball playoff series Monday, May 4, 2015, in Houston.
Griffin scores 26 to lead Clippers to win without Paul
HOUSTON — Blake Griffin had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists for his second straight triple-double to lift the Chris Paul-less Los Angeles Clippers to a 117-101 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. In the East, Derrick Rose scored 25 points and Pau Gasol added 21 as the Chicago Bulls beat the undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers 99-92 in the first game of their semifinal series.
MANGUPURA - Keraban Langit Temple is located in the Village Sading, Mengwi District, Badung regency, Bali. Distance to the temple is about 13 km from Denpasar, Bali and about 35 minutes away by a motor vehicle from Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport. Keraban Langit Temple located at the area at the edge of rice fields precisely the riverbank.
This temple is Dang Khayangan Tem-ple. When the day of the offering or the birthday of the god (pujawali), village communities in the area constantly do cleansing in this temple. In this temple there is a spring of holy water that is believed to bring blessings. Besides, the temple is often used as a place for medita-tion. God worshiped in this temple is Lord Vishnu, Queen Gede Lingsir, Queen Ayu and Queen Made.
On certain days like Saraswati day and Siwalatri day, many tourists who visit here to worship and meditate wish that their expectations and desires can be achieved. Keraban Langit Temple are in a cave. Upon entering the temple area, we will reach the middle of the cave where it is cool, fresh and peaceful.
This is due at the top of the cave there is a hole so as to make fresh air and sun can enter inside and make a prayer or medita-tion to feel comfortable and at home. This temple called Pura Keraban Langit, where Kerep means tedung (roof) and the Langit means the sky so if you have the sense described temple open to the sky. Keraban Langit Temple was built in ancient times, the temple has existed since the time of Udayana Kingdom. This is explained in the inscription on the Pura Puseh Desa Adat Sading. (kmb)IBP/File Photo
Kereban Langit
Temple
98 InternationalWednesday, May 6, 2015 International Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Sp rt
Arsenal put the game away during a 20-minute span in the first half as Sanchez scored with a deflected free kick in the 28th min-ute and Aaron Ramsey doubled the lead when he ran onto Santi Cazorla’s long pass to score with another deflected shot in the 33rd. Ramsey then played Sanchez clear just before halftime and the Chile striker rounded goalkeeper Steve Harper to score into an open net. Stephen Quinn pulled one back for Hull with a header in the 57th but Steve Bruce’s team remained just one point above the relega-tion zone.
Arsenal is tied on points with second-place Manchester City with a game in hand as it looks to finish in the top two for the first
time in 10 years, behind already crowned champion Chelsea. “We created many chances,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “Overall you could see a good dynamic in the team.”
Arsenal dominated the midfield in the first half with aggressive pressing and a fluid passing game, and the visitors took the lead af-ter Sanchez was fouled by Jake Livermore outside the area. The Chilean’s free kick deflected off Michael Dawson’s head to wrong-foot Harper and fly into the net.
Five minutes later, Cazorla’s perfectly lofted pass picked out Ramsey, who turned and fired past Harper with the aid of a heavy deflection off Robbie Brady’s leg. The impressive Cazorla played in
Sanchez again shortly afterward, but he failed in his attempt to lift the ball over Harper.
Sanchez was not to be denied a second, however, as Ramsey played in the striker, who took the ball around 40-year-old Harper before slotting in a calm finish.
Bruce’s response was to send on Irish midfielder David Meyler in the second half, and he played a significant part as Hull pulled one back. He clattered into Fran-cis Coquelin and while Arsenal protested, Ahmed Elmohamady played in a superb cross that Quinn met with a stooping header than bounced past David Ospina.
Hull could really have been back in the game when McShane sent a bullet header over the
crossbar but rarely threatened again. The Gunners received a further boost when Jack Wilshere made his first return to action since an ankle operation in November, coming on for Ramsey. (ap)
ALMERIA, Spain — Forward Thievy Bifouma scored one goal and forced a sending off as Almeria erased a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 against Celta Vigo on Monday in a Spanish league match both sides finished with 10 men. Almeria inched two points away from the relegation zone with three rounds remaining, while Celta remained in ninth place.
Celta dominated the first half, con-ceding no chances and going ahead 2-0 by halftime on goals from forward Manuel “Nolito” Agudo and striker Santi Mina. Nolito extended his scoring streak to four straight games when he volleyed a deflected ball before it fell to the ground just inside the post in the 17th minute.
Mina doubled Celta’s lead in the 39th when he poached Jose Casado’s back pass and slotted the ball beyond goalkeeper Ruben Martinez. But two minutes into the second half Bifouma converted the rebound of a shot Celta goalie Sergio Alvarez spilled in front of this net.
Bifouma continued to cause Celta trouble with his speed and defender Gustavo Cabral was given a straight red card in the 54th when he fouled Bifouma from behind with only Alvarez to beat.
Jonathan Zongo finished off Alme-ria’s best buildup of the night to level in the 68th when substitute Tomer Hemed knocked down Sebastian Dubarbier’s cross for the forward to sweep in. But Mauro Dos Santos’ second yellow card
in the 74th derailed Almeria’s push for another goal, and Celta midfielder Augusto Fernandez almost grabbed a stoppage-time winner when his header hit the post.
“After their sending off we were conformable and had chances to win,” said Almeria defender Joaquin Na-varro. “We had complete control, but then our sending off let them come forward and we suffered at the end.” Barcelona leads Real Madrid by two points at the top of the standings as the two rivals vie to dethrone Atletico Madrid, which sits in a distant third place. (ap)
LONDON — There was a time when Newcastle owner Mike Ash-ley gave the impression, in public at least, that he cared about the team and that it was more than just a profit-making offshoot of his sports retail empire. It wasn’t just the way Ashley would squeeze into a tightly-fitting Newcastle jersey and down pints of beers with supporters, or the crowd-pleasing manage-rial appointments of club legends Kevin Keegan and Alan Shear-er.
E v e n when the “for
sale” sign was put up at St. James’ Park in
2008, after the relationship with fans soured, the billionaire owner of Sports Direct let it be known that criticism of his owner-ship was biting.
“I hope that the fans get what they want and that the next owner is someone who can lavish the amount of money on the club that the fans want,” Ashley said in rare public comments. Back then, the tycoon was blunt in a statement: “I am not stupid and have listened to the fans ... you want me out.”
Seven years on and the fans are still stuck Ashley, only this time the owner isn’t listening to them. Takeover talks collapsed long ago,
and so did any sense of ambition at the northeast club, which Ashley bought in 2007 for
134 million pounds (then $270 million). Now amid fan boycotts of matches, the team is in freefall and could be relegated from the Premier League for the second time in six
years unless an alarming decline can be halted.
John Carver’s control of the dressing room has been gradually eroding since he took temporary charge of the team in January. It reached a nadir on Saturday after an eighth successive loss when
he accused one of his own players — Mike William-
son — of getting sent off on purpose in the 3-0 surrender at Leicester.
There are few more seri-ous accusations that could be
leveled against a player by his own manager, and Williamson wasn’t happy. In a statement that didn’t name the manager, Wil-liamson said: “I would never do anything intentionally to hurt the team or its supporters.” Many fans, however, are accusing Ash-ley of hurting the club, for failing to reinvest the profit from transfer deals into the team and bring in an experienced manager.
Fans did successfully force Alan Pardew out of Newcastle in Janu-ary, with the SackPardew.com web-site trumpeting how the “goal has been achieved” after “an alarming nosedive in form and results.”
But it was Pardew who decided to defect to Crystal Palace and he is having the last laugh as the south London club has raced up the stand-ings away from the relegation zone while Newcastle has plummeted in the opposite direction. Only two points separate Newcastle from the drop zone with nine points to play for. Carver, who has never had a permanent managerial job in England, has presided over just two wins in 17 games and is unlikely to have a future in the dugout from June.
Newcastle disclosed in a state-
CAGLIARI, Sardinia — Cagliari cruised past already relegated Parma 4-0 in Serie A on Monday, offering hope
that the Sardinian club can climb out of the drop zone. For its first win at home in more than three months, Cagliari quickly
took control with a goal from Sweden international Albin Ekdal three minutes in. Brazilian Diego Farias added another in the 14th
and winger Paul-Jose M’Poku made it 3-0 before halftime.M’Poku also set up a goal for Croatian forward Duje Cop in
the 64th. Cagliari is third from bottom, six points from safety and 17th-place Atalanta with four matches remaining. Crisis-hit Parma is last. (ap)
GENEVA — A move to consider suspending Israel from world football will be put to FIFA’s 209 member feder-
ations just before they elect their
president t h i s
m o n t h . FIFA published an agenda Monday for i t s election congress on May 29, includ-ing a late proposal by Palestinian football officials to suspend Israel.
It is unlikely to succeed after
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said last month he opposed the move, which needs three-quarters of votes to pass if a ballot is allowed. Pales-tinian officials insist Israel’s football federation should be punished for re-strictions imposed by security forces which limit movement of players, opposing teams and equipment.
Earlier in the meeting in Zurich, Blatter — who met several times in recent weeks with Palestinian football leader Jibril Rajoub — is scheduled to update on his mediation between the two federations. Talks began in 2013. Blatter said ahead of meeting Rajoub in Cairo last month that suspending a member “is always something which harms the whole
organization.”FIFA suspensions prevent a
member’s national and club teams taking part in international matches and meetings, and block FIFA funding. The FIFA election is the final main item of business on the annual congress agenda. Blatter is strongly favored to win and extend his 17-year presidential reign at the age of 79.
In a note to the agenda, Blatter wrote “there is always much work to do in maintaining and further raising the level of the game: the ball never stops rolling and there is always new ground to cover.” “I am looking forward to meeting these future challenges,” the Swiss
official wrote.The other candidates, all sup-
ported by European governing body UEFA, are: FIFA Vice President Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, Netherlands federation head Michael van Praag and Luis Figo, the former Portugal, Barcelona and Real Ma-drid playmaker. FIFA election rules allow each candidate to “speak for 15 minutes to present their program to the congress.”
Other congress business includes approving the 2014 financial report. FIFA made a $140.7 million surplus last year and added $91 million to its reserves, which now stand at $1.523 billion. FIFA member federations each got $1.05 million
in bonus payments from better than expected financial results tied to the 2014 World Cup. They will also elect replacement officials for FIFA judicial bodies.
After former United States federal prosecutor Michael Garcia resigned in protest last December as head of FIFA ethics investigations, his Swiss deputy Cornel Borbely should for-mally be elected into a position he has held on an interim basis.
FIFA also proposes extending the co-opted terms of two women members of the Blatter-led executive committee. Moya Dodd of Australia and Sonia Bien-Aime of Turks and Caicos Islands have been given yearly mandates since 2013. (ap)
FIFA to study Israel-Palestinians dispute on election dayCagliari cruises
past already relegated
Parma 4-0
AP Photo/Scott Heppell
A Newcastle United’s supporter poses as he holds a message on a poster ahead of the Eng-lish Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur at St James’ Park, Newcastle, England, Sunday, April, 19, 2015. Many Newcastle soccer club fans are campaigning against the club owner, Mike Ashley, and the running of the club.
With no ambition and a revolt by fans, Newcastle in freefall
ment on Monday that there has been “two days of frank dialogue with John Carver and senior players” and that “all parties accept respon-sibility for the current situation.” Offering no sense of a plan for the future, Newcastle only stated that the “focus at this time” is staying in the topflight.
Which top-level manager is going to risk his reputation by tak-ing on the Newcastle job? Steve McClaren is the favorite but could
decide that leaving Derby for Tyneside is just too risky when his managerial standing is only now recovering from a dismal spell with the England national team. When Ashley issued that rare public statement in 2008, he expressed a desire that the club would be able to “compete at the top table of Eu-ropean football.”
Now, when it comes to players, Newcastle dines out on scraps with the best cuts sold off to the highest
bidders. Just staying in the world’s richest league has appeared to be the target, in order to protect the lu-crative television revenue stream.
A first major trophy since the 1955 FA Cup looks unlikely in the immediate future, a first league title since 1927 even more fanciful while Ashley remains at the helm. Seven years after Ashley said he would heed the fans’ demands and sell up, he is going nowhere. Much like the team itself. (ap)Almeria fights back for 2-2
draw with Celta in Spain
Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez celebrates
scoring against Hull City during the
English Premier League soccer
match at the KC Stadium, Hull,
England, Monday May 4, 2015.
Sanchez nets 2 as Arsenal beats
Hull 3-1 in Premier League
HULL, England — Alexis Sanchez scored twice as Arsenal effectively secured Champions League football for an 18th straight year by beating Hull 3-1 Monday in the Premier League. The win means Arsenal is nine points ahead of fifth-place Liverpool, which has three games left to play. Third-place Arsenal also has a game in hand and a better goal difference.
Lynne Cam
eron/PA via PA
98 InternationalWednesday, May 6, 2015 International Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Sp rt
Arsenal put the game away during a 20-minute span in the first half as Sanchez scored with a deflected free kick in the 28th min-ute and Aaron Ramsey doubled the lead when he ran onto Santi Cazorla’s long pass to score with another deflected shot in the 33rd. Ramsey then played Sanchez clear just before halftime and the Chile striker rounded goalkeeper Steve Harper to score into an open net. Stephen Quinn pulled one back for Hull with a header in the 57th but Steve Bruce’s team remained just one point above the relega-tion zone.
Arsenal is tied on points with second-place Manchester City with a game in hand as it looks to finish in the top two for the first
time in 10 years, behind already crowned champion Chelsea. “We created many chances,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “Overall you could see a good dynamic in the team.”
Arsenal dominated the midfield in the first half with aggressive pressing and a fluid passing game, and the visitors took the lead af-ter Sanchez was fouled by Jake Livermore outside the area. The Chilean’s free kick deflected off Michael Dawson’s head to wrong-foot Harper and fly into the net.
Five minutes later, Cazorla’s perfectly lofted pass picked out Ramsey, who turned and fired past Harper with the aid of a heavy deflection off Robbie Brady’s leg. The impressive Cazorla played in
Sanchez again shortly afterward, but he failed in his attempt to lift the ball over Harper.
Sanchez was not to be denied a second, however, as Ramsey played in the striker, who took the ball around 40-year-old Harper before slotting in a calm finish.
Bruce’s response was to send on Irish midfielder David Meyler in the second half, and he played a significant part as Hull pulled one back. He clattered into Fran-cis Coquelin and while Arsenal protested, Ahmed Elmohamady played in a superb cross that Quinn met with a stooping header than bounced past David Ospina.
Hull could really have been back in the game when McShane sent a bullet header over the
crossbar but rarely threatened again. The Gunners received a further boost when Jack Wilshere made his first return to action since an ankle operation in November, coming on for Ramsey. (ap)
ALMERIA, Spain — Forward Thievy Bifouma scored one goal and forced a sending off as Almeria erased a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 against Celta Vigo on Monday in a Spanish league match both sides finished with 10 men. Almeria inched two points away from the relegation zone with three rounds remaining, while Celta remained in ninth place.
Celta dominated the first half, con-ceding no chances and going ahead 2-0 by halftime on goals from forward Manuel “Nolito” Agudo and striker Santi Mina. Nolito extended his scoring streak to four straight games when he volleyed a deflected ball before it fell to the ground just inside the post in the 17th minute.
Mina doubled Celta’s lead in the 39th when he poached Jose Casado’s back pass and slotted the ball beyond goalkeeper Ruben Martinez. But two minutes into the second half Bifouma converted the rebound of a shot Celta goalie Sergio Alvarez spilled in front of this net.
Bifouma continued to cause Celta trouble with his speed and defender Gustavo Cabral was given a straight red card in the 54th when he fouled Bifouma from behind with only Alvarez to beat.
Jonathan Zongo finished off Alme-ria’s best buildup of the night to level in the 68th when substitute Tomer Hemed knocked down Sebastian Dubarbier’s cross for the forward to sweep in. But Mauro Dos Santos’ second yellow card
in the 74th derailed Almeria’s push for another goal, and Celta midfielder Augusto Fernandez almost grabbed a stoppage-time winner when his header hit the post.
“After their sending off we were conformable and had chances to win,” said Almeria defender Joaquin Na-varro. “We had complete control, but then our sending off let them come forward and we suffered at the end.” Barcelona leads Real Madrid by two points at the top of the standings as the two rivals vie to dethrone Atletico Madrid, which sits in a distant third place. (ap)
LONDON — There was a time when Newcastle owner Mike Ash-ley gave the impression, in public at least, that he cared about the team and that it was more than just a profit-making offshoot of his sports retail empire. It wasn’t just the way Ashley would squeeze into a tightly-fitting Newcastle jersey and down pints of beers with supporters, or the crowd-pleasing manage-rial appointments of club legends Kevin Keegan and Alan Shear-er.
E v e n when the “for
sale” sign was put up at St. James’ Park in
2008, after the relationship with fans soured, the billionaire owner of Sports Direct let it be known that criticism of his owner-ship was biting.
“I hope that the fans get what they want and that the next owner is someone who can lavish the amount of money on the club that the fans want,” Ashley said in rare public comments. Back then, the tycoon was blunt in a statement: “I am not stupid and have listened to the fans ... you want me out.”
Seven years on and the fans are still stuck Ashley, only this time the owner isn’t listening to them. Takeover talks collapsed long ago,
and so did any sense of ambition at the northeast club, which Ashley bought in 2007 for
134 million pounds (then $270 million). Now amid fan boycotts of matches, the team is in freefall and could be relegated from the Premier League for the second time in six
years unless an alarming decline can be halted.
John Carver’s control of the dressing room has been gradually eroding since he took temporary charge of the team in January. It reached a nadir on Saturday after an eighth successive loss when
he accused one of his own players — Mike William-
son — of getting sent off on purpose in the 3-0 surrender at Leicester.
There are few more seri-ous accusations that could be
leveled against a player by his own manager, and Williamson wasn’t happy. In a statement that didn’t name the manager, Wil-liamson said: “I would never do anything intentionally to hurt the team or its supporters.” Many fans, however, are accusing Ash-ley of hurting the club, for failing to reinvest the profit from transfer deals into the team and bring in an experienced manager.
Fans did successfully force Alan Pardew out of Newcastle in Janu-ary, with the SackPardew.com web-site trumpeting how the “goal has been achieved” after “an alarming nosedive in form and results.”
But it was Pardew who decided to defect to Crystal Palace and he is having the last laugh as the south London club has raced up the stand-ings away from the relegation zone while Newcastle has plummeted in the opposite direction. Only two points separate Newcastle from the drop zone with nine points to play for. Carver, who has never had a permanent managerial job in England, has presided over just two wins in 17 games and is unlikely to have a future in the dugout from June.
Newcastle disclosed in a state-
CAGLIARI, Sardinia — Cagliari cruised past already relegated Parma 4-0 in Serie A on Monday, offering hope
that the Sardinian club can climb out of the drop zone. For its first win at home in more than three months, Cagliari quickly
took control with a goal from Sweden international Albin Ekdal three minutes in. Brazilian Diego Farias added another in the 14th
and winger Paul-Jose M’Poku made it 3-0 before halftime.M’Poku also set up a goal for Croatian forward Duje Cop in
the 64th. Cagliari is third from bottom, six points from safety and 17th-place Atalanta with four matches remaining. Crisis-hit Parma is last. (ap)
GENEVA — A move to consider suspending Israel from world football will be put to FIFA’s 209 member feder-
ations just before they elect their
president t h i s
m o n t h . FIFA published an agenda Monday for i t s election congress on May 29, includ-ing a late proposal by Palestinian football officials to suspend Israel.
It is unlikely to succeed after
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said last month he opposed the move, which needs three-quarters of votes to pass if a ballot is allowed. Pales-tinian officials insist Israel’s football federation should be punished for re-strictions imposed by security forces which limit movement of players, opposing teams and equipment.
Earlier in the meeting in Zurich, Blatter — who met several times in recent weeks with Palestinian football leader Jibril Rajoub — is scheduled to update on his mediation between the two federations. Talks began in 2013. Blatter said ahead of meeting Rajoub in Cairo last month that suspending a member “is always something which harms the whole
organization.”FIFA suspensions prevent a
member’s national and club teams taking part in international matches and meetings, and block FIFA funding. The FIFA election is the final main item of business on the annual congress agenda. Blatter is strongly favored to win and extend his 17-year presidential reign at the age of 79.
In a note to the agenda, Blatter wrote “there is always much work to do in maintaining and further raising the level of the game: the ball never stops rolling and there is always new ground to cover.” “I am looking forward to meeting these future challenges,” the Swiss
official wrote.The other candidates, all sup-
ported by European governing body UEFA, are: FIFA Vice President Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, Netherlands federation head Michael van Praag and Luis Figo, the former Portugal, Barcelona and Real Ma-drid playmaker. FIFA election rules allow each candidate to “speak for 15 minutes to present their program to the congress.”
Other congress business includes approving the 2014 financial report. FIFA made a $140.7 million surplus last year and added $91 million to its reserves, which now stand at $1.523 billion. FIFA member federations each got $1.05 million
in bonus payments from better than expected financial results tied to the 2014 World Cup. They will also elect replacement officials for FIFA judicial bodies.
After former United States federal prosecutor Michael Garcia resigned in protest last December as head of FIFA ethics investigations, his Swiss deputy Cornel Borbely should for-mally be elected into a position he has held on an interim basis.
FIFA also proposes extending the co-opted terms of two women members of the Blatter-led executive committee. Moya Dodd of Australia and Sonia Bien-Aime of Turks and Caicos Islands have been given yearly mandates since 2013. (ap)
FIFA to study Israel-Palestinians dispute on election dayCagliari cruises
past already relegated
Parma 4-0
AP Photo/Scott Heppell
A Newcastle United’s supporter poses as he holds a message on a poster ahead of the Eng-lish Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur at St James’ Park, Newcastle, England, Sunday, April, 19, 2015. Many Newcastle soccer club fans are campaigning against the club owner, Mike Ashley, and the running of the club.
With no ambition and a revolt by fans, Newcastle in freefall
ment on Monday that there has been “two days of frank dialogue with John Carver and senior players” and that “all parties accept respon-sibility for the current situation.” Offering no sense of a plan for the future, Newcastle only stated that the “focus at this time” is staying in the topflight.
Which top-level manager is going to risk his reputation by tak-ing on the Newcastle job? Steve McClaren is the favorite but could
decide that leaving Derby for Tyneside is just too risky when his managerial standing is only now recovering from a dismal spell with the England national team. When Ashley issued that rare public statement in 2008, he expressed a desire that the club would be able to “compete at the top table of Eu-ropean football.”
Now, when it comes to players, Newcastle dines out on scraps with the best cuts sold off to the highest
bidders. Just staying in the world’s richest league has appeared to be the target, in order to protect the lu-crative television revenue stream.
A first major trophy since the 1955 FA Cup looks unlikely in the immediate future, a first league title since 1927 even more fanciful while Ashley remains at the helm. Seven years after Ashley said he would heed the fans’ demands and sell up, he is going nowhere. Much like the team itself. (ap)Almeria fights back for 2-2
draw with Celta in Spain
Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez celebrates
scoring against Hull City during the
English Premier League soccer
match at the KC Stadium, Hull,
England, Monday May 4, 2015.
Sanchez nets 2 as Arsenal beats
Hull 3-1 in Premier League
HULL, England — Alexis Sanchez scored twice as Arsenal effectively secured Champions League football for an 18th straight year by beating Hull 3-1 Monday in the Premier League. The win means Arsenal is nine points ahead of fifth-place Liverpool, which has three games left to play. Third-place Arsenal also has a game in hand and a better goal difference.
Lynne Cam
eron/PA via PA
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 7SportsWednesday, May 6, 201510 InternationalInternationalDestination
Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has no doubt Nico Ros-berg will find his feet and form this season and give team-mate Lewis Hamilton a run for his money, in the battle for the Formula 1 world title. Rosberg has been distinctly second best to the reigning world champion so far this campaign, losing out in all four qualifying sessions and grands prix to the 30-year-old Briton.
Ahead of this weekend’s fifth round of the championship in Spain, Hamilton has already built a 27-point cushion over Rosberg, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel a further point adrift. Rosberg high-lighted last season what can be achieved, because after his opening victory in Australia Hamilton reeled off four wins in a row, only for the German to take a stranglehold on the middle part of the year.
Wolff sees no reason why Ros-berg cannot stem the currently relentless Hamilton tide as he told AUTOSPORT: “When you look at their performance in qualify-ing in China, for example, there were just four hundredths between them. “That is not someone who is clearly beaten. “That is a tiny little edge which was enough for Lewis
to make it on pole and control the race.
“It could have been completely different if Nico had been on pole. “Nico wouldn’t be in Formula 1 as a multiple race winner and a chal-lenger for the championship if he allowed himself to be destabilised after a few races. “I fully expect him to come bouncing back. I don’t know when it will happen, but he’s always going to be there, no doubt.” As last year, Wolff is also anticipating a battle for the crown through to the final race of the year in Abu Dhabi.
The controversial double-points system of last season has been scrapped, but Wolff sees no reason why Hamilton, Rosberg, and even the Ferraris of Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will not be fighting it out to the bitter end. Wolff added: “I think it could go to the wire with Ferrari.
“Even if we continue to do one and two, and they do three and four, it could go very long into the season, and then it becomes clear as to who stays in contention for the championship. “Anyway, between Lewis and Nico, I expect it to con-tinue like it’s done, and then Ferrari is not part of the equation.” (net)
Houston scored five straight points to cut the lead to one with about 7 1/2 minutes left. Matt Barnes then made two 3-pointers in a 12-0 run to give the Clippers a comfortable 101-88 lead and they coasted to the victory. Paul, who has a strained left hamstring, missed his first game of the season. But Jamal Crawford had 21 points and Barnes added 20 for the Clippers.
“Without Chris, everybody has to step up,” Griffin said. “But it’s not one person’s job, it’s everybody’s job. And if you look at the stat sheet tonight, it was everybody.” Griffin has had three triple-doubles so far this postseason.
Houston was well-rested after
having six days off after beating Dallas in five games. The Clippers showed no signs of fatigue despite having only about 48 hours to get ready for this series after eliminat-ing defending champion San Anto-nio in Game 7 on Saturday. Dwight Howard led Houston with 22 points and James Harden added 20.
In Cleveland, Rose helped the Bulls swipe home-court advantage from the Cavaliers, who were miss-ing starters Kevin Love and J.R. Smith. Finally fully healthy after dealing with injuries all season, the Bulls are peaking at the perfect time. Coming off a 54-point win over Milwaukee to wrap up its
opening-round series, Chicago took control from the start and withstood a late Cleveland comeback to hand the Cavaliers just their second loss in 24 home games.
Jimmy Butler added 20 points and banked in a contested jumper with 30 seconds left as the Bulls closed it out. Rose has missed more than 180 games because of injuries over the past four seasons and is savoring ev-ery moment back in the postseason.
“I just appreciate everything,” he said, “getting back on the floor, my fans, every aspect of basketball. It’s allowed me to change my life and my family’s life. I owe so much to this sport.” (ap)
AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, left, and Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany spray rose water on each other after Hamilton wins the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Formula One Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Sunday, April 19, 2015. Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen of Finland.
Wolff: Hamilton’s edge over Rosberg tiny in F1
Mercedes battle
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin (32) scores against the Houston Rockets during the first half of Game 1 in a second-round NBA basketball playoff series Monday, May 4, 2015, in Houston.
Griffin scores 26 to lead Clippers to win without Paul
HOUSTON — Blake Griffin had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists for his second straight triple-double to lift the Chris Paul-less Los Angeles Clippers to a 117-101 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. In the East, Derrick Rose scored 25 points and Pau Gasol added 21 as the Chicago Bulls beat the undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers 99-92 in the first game of their semifinal series.
MANGUPURA - Keraban Langit Temple is located in the Village Sading, Mengwi District, Badung regency, Bali. Distance to the temple is about 13 km from Denpasar, Bali and about 35 minutes away by a motor vehicle from Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport. Keraban Langit Temple located at the area at the edge of rice fields precisely the riverbank.
This temple is Dang Khayangan Tem-ple. When the day of the offering or the birthday of the god (pujawali), village communities in the area constantly do cleansing in this temple. In this temple there is a spring of holy water that is believed to bring blessings. Besides, the temple is often used as a place for medita-tion. God worshiped in this temple is Lord Vishnu, Queen Gede Lingsir, Queen Ayu and Queen Made.
On certain days like Saraswati day and Siwalatri day, many tourists who visit here to worship and meditate wish that their expectations and desires can be achieved. Keraban Langit Temple are in a cave. Upon entering the temple area, we will reach the middle of the cave where it is cool, fresh and peaceful.
This is due at the top of the cave there is a hole so as to make fresh air and sun can enter inside and make a prayer or medita-tion to feel comfortable and at home. This temple called Pura Keraban Langit, where Kerep means tedung (roof) and the Langit means the sky so if you have the sense described temple open to the sky. Keraban Langit Temple was built in ancient times, the temple has existed since the time of Udayana Kingdom. This is explained in the inscription on the Pura Puseh Desa Adat Sading. (kmb)IBP/File Photo
Kereban Langit
Temple
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 6 International
W RLD 11International Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Buddhist monks led prayers as the king watched, before an audience of government and royal officials. Thais lined the roads along the route, chanting “Long Live the King!” The palace had not announced if Bhumibol (poo-MEE-pohn) would appear for the ceremony, but crowds had gath-ered in anticipation of seeing the monarch. Tuesday was a national holiday.
Bhumibol has been hospital-ized since last October when he had his gallbladder removed. It was the latest ailment and hospi-talization for the king, who has
faded from public life over the past several years and on rare out-ings looks visibly frail and does not speak publicly.
Thais hold great affection for Bhumibol, the world’s lon-gest-reigning monarch. He was crowned on May 5, 1950, after coming to the throne in 1946 following the death of his elder brother.
While he is constitutional monarch with no formal political role, Bhumibol is widely revered and regarded as the country’s sole unifying figure. Many regard his as a father figure, and his Decem-
ber birthday is also designated as Father’s Day in Thailand.
Bhumibol’s near-disappearance from public life has coincided with a decade of political instabil-ity in Thailand. Worries about the king’s health and succession have contributed to the instability. The heir apparent, Crown Prince Va-jiralongkorn, does not command the same respect and affection as the king.
Open discussion of the monar-chy is constrained by a strict lese majeste law that makes criticism punishable by up to 15 years in prison. (ap)
MOGADISHU — Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced trip to Somalia Tuesday in a show of solidarity with a government trying to defeat al-Qaida-allied militants and end decades of war in the African country. He is first top U.S. diplomat ever to visit Somalia. Kerry arrived at Mogadishu’s airport shortly before noon local time, greeted by Somalia’s president and prime minister on the tarmac. He im-mediately entered a series of planned meetings that include both of them along with regional leaders and civil society groups.
“I’m glad to be here,” Kerry said. “This is a great moment for us. Thank you for the time to be with us,” Presi-dent Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said as they sat down together.
The trip was made under tight secu-rity conditions. Somalia’s government only found out a day ago that Kerry would join the State Department’s top Africa official, Linda Greenfield-Thomas, on the voyage. And the fact that he was only dipping his toe in Somalia, and not venturing past the airport, highlighted just how dangerous and instable the country remains. “The next time I come, we have to be able to just walk downtown,” Kerry told Somalia’s president. Mohamud replied, downtown “is very different now.”
Top of the agenda is the fight against al-Shabab. African forces and U.S. drone strikes have crippled the orga-nization’s leadership in recent years and left the extremists without much of the territory they once controlled or the cash flows needed to reverse their losses.
But as al-Shabab has decentralized, the militants in some ways have become even more dangerous, expanding their activities in Kenya and other neighbor-ing countries. Last month’s massacre at Kenya’s Garissa University College killed 148 people, mostly students, and underscored the group’s capacity to carry out relatively unsophisticated but extremely deadly terrorist attacks far from its bases of operations.
Kerry’s trip is designed “to reinforce the United States’ commitment to sup-porting Somalia’s ongoing transition to a peaceful democracy,” spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement. “He
will discuss security cooperation and Somalia’s progress towards meeting its reform and development benchmarks,” she said. “He will also meet with civil society leaders to discuss the impor-tance of a vibrant NGO sector and thank African Union troops for their role in stabilizing Somalia.”
Somalia has been without a truly functioning, nationwide government for two-and-a-half decades. After war-lords ousted dictator Siad Barre from power in 1991, they quickly turned on one another and plunged the country into anarchy. Militias, Islamist extrem-ist groups and Somalia’s nominally national military all vied for power before the tide turned against al-Shabab earlier this decade. Piracy also has been a major problem. Yet even as a rela-tive calm has settled over parts of the country, including Mogadishu, Somalia remains fraught with a painful history for the United States.
American troops were sent there in 1992 on a peacekeeping mission to help stave off a national famine. They left two years later in humiliation after the “Black Hawk Down” debacle when Somali militiamen shot down two U.S. helicopters. Eighteen servicemen were killed in the crash and subsequent rescue attempt, the indelible memory being the images of American bodies dragged through Somalia’s streets.
The Obama administration is bank-ing on Mohamud’s government to turn a new page toward democracy and economic development. The U.S. has provided hundreds of millions in military support to build up and profes-sionalize the army, and is working with Mohamud to try to usher in a broader, more representative government over the next 18 months.
If that effort is successful and stabil-ity expands, officials say the U.S. could re-establish an American embassy in the capital before President Barack Obama leaves office. For now, the president has nominated a career dip-lomat, Katherine Dhanani, to serve as the first U.S. ambassador to the country since 1991, with the idea that she would operate out of Nairobi and make regular trips into Somalia. Britain, Italy and several other countries already have embassies in Mogadishu. (ap)
AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File
FILE - In this Dec. 5, 2012 file photo, Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej appears to address a crowd from the balcony at the Anantha Samakhom Throne Hall in Bangkok, Thailand, during his 85th birthday celebration. Thailand’s 87-year-old monarch made a rare public appearance Tuesday, May 5, 2015 to mark the 65th anniversary celebrating his coronation.
Thailand’s 87-year-old king makes rare appearance
BANGKOK — Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej made a rare public appear-ance Tuesday to mark the 65th anniversary of his coronation. All television stations carried the event live, as the 87-year-old monarch emerged in a wheelchair from a Bangkok hospital, where he has taken up residence, and was driven through the capital’s historic district to the Grand Palace.
FILE - In this Mon-day, May 4, 2015 file photo, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives to speak at a news conference at the Nairobi Sankara Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. Kerry is in Somalia on an unannounced visit, a show of solidarity with a government trying to defeat al-Qaida-allied militants and end decades of war in the African country.
Kerry visits Somalia; 1st such trip for a secretary of state
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File
Indonesia Today Wednesday, May 6, 2015 5InternationalWednesday, May 6, 201512 International
BUSINESS
The economy expanded a lower-than-expected 4.71 percent year-on-year in the three months to the end of March, according to the statistics agency.
That was the slowest pace of growth since early 2009, and economists said it would now be hard for Indonesia to achieve its growth target of 5.7 percent for this year. The rupiah was down 0.5 percent against the dollar after the data announcement.
Widodo, who took office in October, has pledged to lift growth to seven percent annu-ally in the coming years by attracting foreign investment and overhauling infrastructure, but analysts said the latest data highlighted the challenges ahead.
“Although we doubt growth will slow much further in the coming quarters, we are not likely to see a strong rebound either,” said Daniel Martin from Capital Econom-ics, adding further rate cuts could be on the horizon following a 25-basis point reduction in February.
Statistics agency head, Suryamin, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said that a slowdown in China was having a major impact. China, the world’s second-biggest economy, has long been a major market for Indonesia’s key commodity exports.
A contraction in oil and coal production was also affecting growth, he said.
Growth contracted 0.18 in the first quarter from the previous three months. The economy also contracted on a quarterly basis in the final three months of 2014.
Economic growth in Indonesia, which is a member of the G20 group of leading econo-mies, has been slowing in recent years due to slipping prices of its abundant commodities, such as coal and precious metals.
The economy expanded at its slowest pace in five years in 2014, at five percent.
Strong domestic consumption has helped underpin growth although the weakening rupiah is now affecting con-sumers. (afp)
The wealthy monarchies, how-ever, should “not react in a knee-jerk way to lower oil prices”, the IMF Middle East and Central Asia chief Masood Ahmed told AFP in an interview Monday.
They would be better off to “adjust gradually” using the large financial reserves they have ac-cumulated during several years of bumper oil receipts, he said in Dubai.
But as oil prices have dropped
lower than budgeted breakeven levels, “it is important that they gradually, but in a determined way, progressively reduce their spending (and) consolidate their fiscal posi-tion,” Ahmed said.
Oil prices have shed half of their value since June 2014, and are expected to be lower than the breakeven point for Gulf countries in the next three to four years.
The Gulf Cooperation Council includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- economies all heavily dependent on energy rev-enues.
A combined budget surplus for 2014 of $76 billion is expected to turn into deficit of $113 billion this year, the IMF said in its latest regional report.
The forecast did not account for fallout from the conflict in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coali-tion launched in March an air campaign against Iran-backed Shiite rebels in support of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
“They need to act to reinforce
their efforts to diversify their econo-mies to become less dependent on oil,” said Ahmed, pointing out that many have already taken such measures.
“The UAE is more advanced in terms of diversification. The others also are in varying degrees trying to encourage private sector activity outside the oil area.”
GCC countries were also urged to cut energy subsidies in a bid to minimise public spending and trigger a change in consumer be-haviour.
“Most GCC countries still have the domestic sale price for energy products below the international
prices... We think that over time it is important to tackle the issue of energy subsidies to reduce them,” Ahmed said.
Gulf countries should also con-tain salary growth in the public sector, which usually employs nationals as opposed to the private sector that depends on millions of foreigners.
In addition, GCC countries would need to prioritise investment projects that “most advance the de-velopment agenda,” said Ahmed.
Oil-export revenues for GCC countries are forecast to be $280 billion lower this year than a year ago. (afp)
REUTERS/Amit Dave
A salesman walks past the Chevrolet cars of General Motors, kept on display inside a showroom in Ahmedabad, India, April 30, 2015.
BEIJING/NEW DELHI - General Motors aims to grab at least 5 percent market share in India within the next decade, as it sees that market overtak-ing Japan as the world’s third biggest with projected annual sales of 8 million vehicles by 2025.
The Detroit carmaker, which is los-ing money in India even after 18 years there, will unleash a product blitz aimed at reviving sagging sales, and will make India a new global manufacturing and export hub, taking some of the strain off South Korea, where labour costs have ballooned in recent years.
As part of a strategic plan due to be announced later this year, GM will launch newly designed subcompact cars into India, where buyers are shifting from no-frills econo-cars to models offering more room and functionality.
“India may be the last big white sheet of paper in the automotive industry,” Stefan Jacoby, GM’s chief of interna-tional operations, told Reuters in a recent interview.
India’s autos market has been steady for the past few years, with annual sales of just above 3 million vehicles, but Jacoby sees that changing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took office last year, vowing to reboot Asia’s third-largest economy.
“India has gained back confidence,” especially after Modi’s election, said the 57-year-old, who joined GM from Volvo Cars in 2013. “We’re pretty optimistic. We see growth potential in India, and believe there’s a good opportunity for the Chevrolet brand to take share in this market. There’s more prosperity and buying power. Vehicles selling for
$5,000-$8,000 will more and more disap-pear in India.”
The gradual pivot to India mirrors moves by Ford Motor and Nissan Motor to modify their strategies to give them the ability to ramp up exports from India.
Under Jacoby, GM has been realign-ing its global manufacturing operations to squeeze out better profits. It has shuttered plants in Australia and Indo-nesia and is to scale down operations in Thailand.
“India’s going to become a key global production and export hub for GM,” said James Chao, Shanghai-based Asia-Pacific managing director at industry consultant IHS Automotive, noting India will partially replace South Korea as GM’s key Asian export base.
South Korea has for years been a low-cost export hub for GM, producing close to a fifth of its global output. But labour costs have risen by nearly half in just five years, pushing it into a high-cost bracket along with Japan.
“We have no concrete plans to close factories (in South Korea),” Jacoby said, but, to remain competitive, GM Korea must find ways to “drive efficiencies over time.”
GM’s Korean factories last year produced about 630,000 vehicles, but a capacity utilisation rate of around 75 percent is too low to be profitable, analysts say.
GM began rationalizing its Korean op-erations a few years ago, but the company “needs to face reality in Korea,” Jacoby said, noting that the power of the labour unions is a “huge challenge” for GM and, more broadly, an issue for South Korea’s competitiveness. (rtr)
Gulf oil exporters should cut spending, diversify: IMF
DUBAI - Gulf oil exporters must reduce spending, includ-ing subsidies, and diversify their economies to cope with lower revenues caused by the sharp drop in crude prices, the Inter-national Monetary Fund said.
GM set to storm India as Korea costs climb
BANDA ACEH - A district in Indone-sia’s Aceh has passed legislation banning unmarried men and women from riding together on motorbikes, a lawmaker said Monday, the latest new Islamic regulation in the conservative province.
Members of parliament in North Aceh district last week approved the regulation, which will come into effect in a year, said lawmaker Fauzan Hamzah, adding that authorities were making “efforts to imple-ment sharia law fully”.
“Unmarried people sitting closely to-gether on a motorcycle is clearly against Islamic sharia as it could lead to sinful acts,” Hamzah told AFP.
Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, is the only province in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country that is allowed to implement Islamic law, and gay sex, gambling and drinking alco-hol are already punishable by caning.
The province began implementing sharia law after being granted special au-tonomy in 2001, an effort by the central government in Jakarta to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
The latest move to ban shared motor-
bike rides, which will affect more than 500,000 people on North Aceh, came after one city in Aceh in 2013 prohibited women from straddling male drivers on motorbikes, requiring that they ride side-saddle instead.
The new regulation was the most eye-catching in a series of Islamic bylaws approved in North Aceh on Thursday, which also included a ban on live music performances and the separation of male and female students in school. The new rules will take effect in May 2016 after a one-year grace period.
Hamzah did not say what punishments would be meted out to unmarried couples caught together on a motorbike.
He did list several punishments that could be implemented for all the new Islamic laws, which ranged from a for-mal reprimand to fines and people being expelled from their villages.
“We will make efforts so that deeds which can lead to sin are eliminated gradu-ally in North Aceh district,” he added.
The provincial parliament in Aceh, as well as district parliaments, can pass their own Islamic bylaws. (afp)
JAKARTA - Indonesia will stop send-ing new domestic workers to 21 Middle Eastern countries, reports said Tuesday, after the recent execution of two Indo-nesian women in Saudi Arabia angered Jakarta.
The ban affects countries including Saudi Arabia -- a major destination for Indonesian maids -- United Arab Emir-ates, Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt, and will come into effect in three months’ time, Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri was cited as saying in local media.
Jakarta, which has long complained about the treatment of Indonesian maids in the Middle East, had already placed a moratorium on sending new helpers to Saudi Arabia in 2011 following the be-heading of a worker.
The new move is meant to be perma-nent. Maids already working in the af-fected countries will be allowed to stay and continue in their positions.
Indonesia’s anger at the executions of its citizens abroad comes despite the fact that Jakarta last week executed seven foreign drug convicts, drawing a storm of international protest.
“According to the law, the government has the right to stop the placement of migrant workers in particular countries if it is believed that their employment degrades human values and the dignity of the nation,” Dhakiri was quoted as saying by state-run news agency Antara.
He said there were “many problems” with Indonesians working abroad related
to “labour norms and human rights viola-tions”.
Dhakiri cited the execution of Indonesian domestic workers Siti Zainab and Karni binti Medi Tarsim, who were both put to death for murder just days apart in April.
The foreign ministry summoned the Saudi ambassador to Indonesia after both executions, complaining Jakarta had not been informed beforehand.
Drug trafficking, rape, murder, apostasy and armed robbery are all punishable by death under the kingdom’s strict version of Islamic sharia law.
Dhakiri also said Indonesia will tighten placement of helpers to countries in the Asia-Pacific through measures such as auditing training centres and blacklisting rogue agencies.
President Joko Widodo, who took office last year, vowed in February that maids would no longer be sent abroad in future, although he did not mention a date. Previ-ous Indonesian governments have made similar pledges.
As well as the Middle East, Indonesia also sends domestic workers to many parts of Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia, and has often complained about the treatment of its workers in those countries.
A Hong Kong woman was jailed for six years in February for beating and starv-ing her Indonesian maid and keeping her prisoner, in a high-profile case that drew attention to the abuse of domestic helpers in the financial hub. (ant/afp)
Indonesia to stop sending domestic workers to Mideast
District in Aceh bans unmarried couples from
motorbike rides
REUTERS/Nyimas Laula
A shopkeeper at a traditional market waits for customers in Jakarta, Indonesia May 4, 2015. Indonesian growth slipped to its slowest pace since 2009 in the first quarter, official data showed Tuesday, signalling a tough road ahead for President Joko Widodo to revive Southeast Asia’s top economy.
Indonesia’s quarterly growth
slowest since 2009JAKARTA - Indonesian growth slipped to its slowest pace since 2009 in the
first quarter, official data showed Tuesday, signalling a tough road ahead for President Joko Widodo to revive Southeast Asia’s top economy.
International4 Wednesday, May 6, 2015 Wednesday, May 6, 2015 13InternationalBali News
Once the last patient dies, the National Park Service would like to open the park to more visitors, including children, according to a draft of the agency’s long-term management plan. The patients at the site — who chose to continue living at Kalaupapa after the man-datory exile of leprosy patients there was lifted by the state in 1969 — range in age from 92 to 73.
“Visitor regulations would change, including allowing chil-dren to visit Kalaupapa with adult supervision, and removing the 100 person per day cap while continuing to limit the number of visitors per day through new mechanisms,” the park service said in a summary of its preferred alternative.
In 2011, when the public pro-cess for developing the long-range plan began, the public was given a chance to comment. Most who weighed in supported a limit on daily visitors, saying they didn’t want it turned into a tourist trap.
Some recommended giving Native Hawaiians less restricted access be-cause most of the 8,000 people who died at Kalaupapa were Hawaiian.
Alika Cullen, general admin-istrator at Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu, said he has visited Ka-laupapa about 40 times. He has mixed feelings about plans to open up Kalaupapa to more people, he said. “The world should know of the trials these people endured and how they overcame physical and mental roadblocks,” Cullen said in an email. “On the other hand, I do not wish to see a change so soon after the last patient dies. ... The settlement has kept the peninsula pretty sparse for the welfare of the patients and that is what makes the place special.”
A former leprosy patient who lives at the site said he would like see more visitors now. “Come when we alive,” Clarence “Boogie” Kahi-lihiwa, 74, the second-youngest pa-
tient, said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Monday. “No come when we all dead.”
He would especially like to see children there, Kahilihiwa said. “I’d like to see the children and if they like hear our story, I can tell them personally,” he said.
Kahilihiwa has lived at Kalau-papa since 1959 and has seen the disease’s stigma subside over the years. Leprosy, known as Hansen’s Disease, was once feared as a highly contagious and long-lasting infec-tion caused by bacteria. But it’s now very rare and easily treated. “Before it was shame, they didn’t want to talk to us,” Kahilihiwa said. “But now, everybody wants to reach out.”
The area also has strong con-nections to the Roman Catholic Church because Saints Damien and Marianne cared for leprosy patients there. Damien contracted the disease and died in 1889, while Marianne died in 1918 of natural causes. (ap)
KATHMANDU — Climbers who stayed in villages close to the Everest base camp are packing their gear and leaving the mountain because Sherpa guides have refused to rebuild a climbing route de-stroyed by the earthquake-triggered avalanche, mountaineering officials said Tuesday. A handful of climbers still wanted to go ahead with their climbs, but without the route fixed over the Khumbu Icefall it was not possible.
Gyanendra Shrestha, an official at Nepal’s Mountaineering Depart-ment, said some of the climbers had stayed in the mountain villages to help the Sherpas and their families who had their homes damaged by the April 25 earthquake.
The government has not for-mally canceled the climbing season and climbing permits are valid until the end of May, but the Sherpas have said they would not rebuild the climbing route because of safety and time reasons.
It would be the second consecu-
tive year that the climbing season has been called off because of deaths on the world’s highest peak. The season was canceled last year after an avalanche killed 16 Sherpa guides.
Mountaineering teams have until the end of this month to climb the peak, but the route must be fixed before it is possible to attempt the climb. The Sherpas bring the lad-ders, ropes and equipment needed to clear the trail, but they feel the area is too dangerous and too little time is left before warmer weather melts the ice and monsoon rains bring bad conditions.
Climbers and Sherpas attempt-ing to scale the mountain’s north-ern side in Tibet have left already after Chinese authorities closed all climbing for the spring season.
The April 25 earthquake has al-ready killed more than 7,500 people in Nepal, flattened mountain vil-lages and destroyed buildings and archaeological sites in the capital, Kathmandu. (ap)
PARIS — France’s parliament is to vote on a bill aimed at legalizing broad surveillance of terrorism sus-pects that has drawn an outcry from privacy advocates and others.
One of the most sensitive mea-sures of the bill would allow in-telligence services to vacuum up metadata, which would then be subject to analysis for potentially suspicious behavior. The metadata would be anonymous, but intelli-gence agents could follow up with
a request to the independent panel for deeper surveillance that could yield the identity of users.
The bill that goes to parliament Tuesday was proposed long be-fore January’s attacks by Islamic extremists. But the bill’s sponsors say it takes on added urgency with each person who is radicalized. Opponents say it legalizes highly intrusive surveillance methods without guarantees for individual freedom and privacy. (ap)
AP Photo/Nima Namgyal Sherpa
Mountain guides and climbers stand beside camping and climbing gear gathered together after an avalanche hit the area, at Everest Base Camp, Nepal, Tuesday, April 28, 2015. Saturday’s quake unleashed an avalanche that buried part of the base camp packed with foreign climbers preparing for summit attempts.
Climbers leave Everest after Sherpas refuse
to rebuild route
Controversial surveillance bill comes
to vote in France
AP Photo/Hugh E. Gentry, File
FILE -This Aug. 12, 2008, file photo, shows an aerial view of Kalaupapa Peninsula on Molokai, Hawaii. A handful of people with leprosy are still living full time on the isolated peninsula, but the National Park Service is already making plans to overhaul buildings and allow more visi-tors to the area when the last of the patients dies.
Remote home of leprosy patients could
open door widerHONOLULU — A remote peninsula that has been the home of leprosy patients since the 19th
century could be opened more fully to the public as the last remaining residents near the end of their lives. Now called Kalaupapa National Historical Park, the site is now only open to 100 adults per day. No children are allowed to visit. The park on the island of Molokai is accessible exclusively by plane or mule.
BANGLI - The existence of public facilities such as stadium as the assistance of the Ministry of Youth and Sport at Tembuku village, Bangli, so far can never be utilized by the public. Since the past few years, the stadium located in front of the Tembuku health center is left idle and unused. It is kindled by the unresolved swap of land having been processed since a few years ago.
The presence of a stadium in Tembuku seems poorly maintained. Courtyard of the stadium building
seems to have been overgrown by lots of rising elephant grass. Be-sides, the door facing north is also seen to be locked.
The subdistrict head of Tem-buku, Dewa Agung Purnama, when met at his office on Monday morning confirmed that the stadi-um built around in 2010 has never been used again since the past few years. It was only used by the public shortly after the construc-tion was completed. “Formerly, people used to exercise, but since the past few years it is no longer
used. It happens because the land swap process has not been accom-plished,” he explained.
Agung Purnama explained that the multifunctional stadium is built on the financing of the Ministry of Youth and Sport. Originally the stadium was built on a certified land owned by the government, the former official residence of Tembuku subdistrict head. But ahead of the construction process, a request was proposed by the owner of adjacent land on behalf of Sutama in order that it could be
exchanged for reasons that his land is considered negenin or flanking. By development committee, the request was approved so that the construction of the stadium was removed to the current location on the land owned by the family of Sutama. The process of land swap cannot be completed so far. As a result, the stadium standing in the south of the highway cannot be utilized.
The subdistrict head from Kayu-bihi village said that his party has attempted to mediate the issues
by involving the regent of Ban-gli, headman and landowners. The meeting has been conducted twice. Essentially the meeting decided that the stadium can be utilized again. “All parties, landowners, construc-tion committee and government equally want that the problem can be quickly resolved. All parties expected that the stadium can be used by the community,” he said. After the meeting he added that the land swap is now handled by the Regional Secretariat of Bangli. (kmb40)
SEMARAPURA - The high number of tourist arrivals in Nusa Penida has caused the Regent of Klungkung, Nyoman Suwir-ta to ask the Klungkung Police to increase its personnel in this subdistrict. Many unresolved cases of illegal motorcycles and drug trafficking have started to have a major impact on the image of tourism for the islands in the Klungkung region. The county government has provided an area of 13 hectares in Lembongan for the establishment of a Klungkung Police sub-sector and their addition of personnel.
Regent Suwirta asked that the case of, as many as 10,000 illegal motorcycles in Nusa Penida be resolved by the Klungkung Police. So far, the mat-ter of illegal motorcycle has not been resolved and could lead to negative rumours about Nusa Penida. According to Suwirta, to maximize the efficiency of the police, his party is ready to cooperate in addressing the violations in Nusa Penida.
However, he asks that the problem of the il-legal motorcycles not ignored or treated in an offhand manner. Police are expected to act, so as to ensure that paperwork is in order regarding these motorcycles. “We hope this problem can be addressed by providing roving vehicle registra-tion services,” he explained.
More seriously, drug cases that are currently emerging in Nusa Penida are also expected to be addressed immediately. Regent Suwirta asserted that his party is ready to participate in cooperation twith the police in communicating with the pub-lic, disseminating information and publications for the sake of helping police in their efforts to eliminate drug trafficking on the island.
Moreover, in line with the increasing number of tourist visits to Nusa Penida, there needs to be more police on the island. In order to be able to support the number of police personnel, Regent Suwirta says that he has given 13 hectares of land that can be utilized for the establishment of a police subsector in Nusa Lembongan. “It should be tai-lored to their needs. We’ve cooperated by provid-ing 13 hectares of land in Lembongan so that the information in the community can be immediately followed up on,” he concluded. (dwa)
Stadium in Tembuku remains dormant for years
Nusa Penida
Prone to illegal motorcycles and illicit drugs, more police needed
IBP/File
Nusa Penida Island
3Wednesday, May 6, 2015 14 InternationalInternational Bali NewsTechnology Wednesday, May 6, 2015
There you’d find that you might control your smartphone with your tongue, skin or brain; you won’t just ‘ touch’ oth-ers through a smart Watch but through the air; and you’ll change how food tastes by tinkering with sound, weight and colour.
Much of today’s wearable technology has its roots in these academic papers, labs and clunky prototypes, and the boffins re-sponsible rarely get the credit some feel they deserve.
Any academic interested in wearable technology would look at today’s commercial products and say “we did that 20 years ago,” said Aaron Quigley, Chair of Human Interaction at Univer-sity of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Take mult i- touch - where you use more than one finger to interact with a screen: Apple popularized it with the iPhone in 2007, but Japanese academic Jun Rekimoto used something similar years before.
And the Apple Watch? Its Digital Touch feature allows you to send doodles, ‘touches’ or your heartbeat to other users. Over a decade ago, researcher Eric Paulos developed something very
similar, called Connexus, that allowed users to send messages via a wrist device using strokes, taps and touch.
“I guess when we say none of this is new, it’s not so much trash-ing the product,” says Paul Stro-hmeier, a researcher at Ontario’s Human Media Lab, “but more pointing out that this product has its origins in the research of sci-entists who most people will never hear of, and it’s a way of acknowl-edging their contributions.”
Those contributions aren’t all pie-in-the-sky.
Strohmeier and others are toy-ing with how to make devices easier to interact with. His solu-tion: DisplaySkin, a screen that wraps around the wrist like a vambrace, or armguard, adapting its display relative to the user’s eyeballs.
Other academics are more radical: finger gestures in the air, for example, or a ring that knows which device you’ve picked up and automatically activates it. Others use the surrounding skin - projecting buttons onto it or pinching and squeezing it. Another glues a tiny touchpad to a fingernail so you can scroll by
LOS ANGELES — Star Wars fans no longer have to search their feelings to discover the truth. They can just Google it.
The search engine and the Lucasfilm movie franchise said Monday they have put information from the Star Wars universe into Google’s Knowledge Graph, the first time for a fictional universe.
The Knowledge Graph answers direct questions, either typed on a computer or spoken into a mobile device. After typing, “Who is Luke’s father?” for example, Google now presents the answer, Darth Vader, in a box that offers a short summary with clickable links for more information.
The tie-up was announced on what is known to fans as Star Wars Day — May 4, as in May the Fourth Be With You — and is part of the build up to “Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens,” to be released in December. (ap)
REUTERS/Edgar Su/Files
A visitor puts on “Truth?”, a pair of goggles made by students from Keio University in Japan, that projects the “true emotions” of a person by monitoring the patterns of his or her heart-beat, during a design competition showcase of wearable technology at the Augmented Human International Conference in Singapore in this March 10, 2015 file photo.
AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File
The path to a wearable future lies in academia
For a glimpse of what is, what might have been and what may lie ahead in wearable devices, look beyond branded tech and Silicon Valley start-ups to the messy labs, dry papers and solemn conferences of academia.
running one finger over another.It’s hard to know just which of
these research projects might one
day appear in your smartphone, wearable, spoon or item of cloth-ing. Or whether any of them will.
But the gap is narrowing between the academic and the commercial. (rtr)
Google tractor-beams Star Wars universe into Knowledge Graph
The Head of the Gianyar Gov-ernment Tourism Office, A.A. Ari Brahmanta, said that Gianyar County always seeks to provide comfort for travelers visiting Gianyar and Ubud in particular. One of the important highlights in the comfort of travelers is sanitation such as the cleanliness of roads in Ubud. “Based on the market analysis study by the Tourism Office, the benchmark to be used by other agencies is the sanitation sector. This sector has always been one of the most important factors in the eyes of travel-ers,” he said.
Another important aspect is the environment. In order to maintain of the environment, the development of tourist accommodations needs to be controlled so that green zones -chiefly paddy fields, will not necessarily be converted into buildings. However, currently the number of tourist ac-commodations gong up, does not pay attention to the environmental carrying capacity of Ubud.
Data from the Gianyar Government Tourism Office indicates that nearly 80 percent of all the tourist accommoda-tions in Gianyar are located in Ubud. Of the 14 star hotels in Gianyar, 12 of them are located in the Ubud area, with 103 of the 109 budget hotels, also located Ubud area. Also, of the 593 cottages in Gianyar, Ubud area hosts 309 units. The number of restaurants is
GIANYAR - Bali tourism in general has shown no indication of any negative impact following the execution of two Australians, convicted of drug related crimes, and the Australian government’s withdrawal of their Ambassador. Tourism in Gianyar also appears to be unaffected.
About 35 percent of visitors to Ubud are from Australia which is about the normal amount. Since
the execution which took place last week, there have been no hotel cancellations by Australians in Ubud.
Ubud hotelier, Dewa Gede Arimbawa, former chairman of the Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) of Gianyar said that so far no fellow hoteliers have mentioned any room cancel-lations in the tourist area of Ubud. “As of yet, no direct effect has
emerged,” he said.Dewa Arimbawa hopes that
the Australian government and its citizens can judge objectively and wisely regarding the case of the two drug convicts who were recently executed.
Aside from hoteliers them-selves, the lack of influence that the execution has had on tourist arrivals from Australia, was also acknowledged by the Chairman
of the Association of Indonesia Tour and Travel Agency (ASITA Bali Chapter), Ketut Ardana, and Chairman of the Indonesia Tour Guides Association (HPI Bali Chapter), Sang Putu Subaya. The ASITA Bali that has 384 members that handle Australian travelers, is doing fine. “There have been no reports of booking cancellations from their members,” said Ardana. (kmb16)
IBP/File Photo
The growth of the tourism industry in Ubud has shown a significant increase from year to year. Since the development of Ubud tourism in 1930, the government of Gianyar’s latest data shows that there are now more than 1000 tourist accom-modations for rent in Ubud.
Post-execution of two Australians Direct impact on Gianyar tourism still not felt
Gianyar government commited to preserving UbudGIANYAR - The growth of
the tourism industry in Ubud has shown a significant in-crease from year to year. Since the development of Ubud tour-ism in 1930, the government of Gianyar’s latest data shows that there are now more than 1000 tourist accommodations for rent in Ubud. Currently the government of Gianyar is trying to maintain Ubud tourism based on cultural tourism.
concentrated in the area of Ubud, with 120 of Gianyar’s 130 restaurants lo-cated there. There are 269 food stalls in Gianyar and 193 of them are in Ubud as well. Similarly, of the 95 transporta-tion businesses located in Gianyar, 70 of them are based in Ubud.
Brahmanta, hopes that beaded on this data, there clearly needs to be restrictions put on investment in Ubud so that tourism does not destroy the area, but this is no easy task. Today, development is being done in an uncontrolled manner. Hotels are not suppose to have more than a 30 room capacity, and yet many now exceed this restriction with the concept of “city hotels”. “In the future, we hope
that any plan to create more tourist accommodations in Ubud area, will involve the Tourism Office,” he said.
Currently, the density of tourism in Ubud is causing traffic congestion and parking problems. The Public Works Agency have made major repairs, especially on sidewalks commonly used by travelers to stole around, enjoying the beauty of Ubud. “In addition to environmental sanitation, infrastructure is also very important, and has started to be addressed by the creation of sidewalks by the Public Works,” he said.
When some of the issues that the Tourism Office has brought to light,the comfort of travellers can be
guaranteed and tourism promotion can be done more easily. Ubud has cultural capital that is being global-ized. “We certainly do not forget that the regionally generated, revenue (PAD) of Gianyar is predominantly provided by the hotel and restaurant taxes from Ubud where 80 percent of Gianyar’s tourist facilities are located,” he said.
To boost Ubud as a tourist at-traction, the Tourism Office has designed a variety of events in col-laboration with foundations and the private sector. “For instance, for the spiritual tourism market segment we support the private sector that orga-nizes the Bali Spirit Festival. This
event is certainly expected to revive tourism in Ubud,” he said while adding that this year his party plans to hold the Ubud Coffee Festival in June 2015. (nik)
International2 Wednesday, May 6, 2015 15International Activities
Bali News
EvEry Temple and Shrine has a special date for it annual Ceremony, or “ Odalan “, every 210 days according to Balinese calendar, including the smaller ancestral shrine which each family possesses. Because of this practically every few days a ceremony of festival of some kind takes place in some Village in Bali. There are also times when the entire island celebrated the same Holiday, such as at Galungan, Kuningan, Nyepi day, Saraswati day, Tumpek Landep day, Pagerwesi day, Tumpek Wayang day etc.
The dedication or inauguration day of a Temple is con-sidered its birth day and celebration always takes place on the same day if the wuku or 210 day calendar is used. When new moon is used then the celebration always happens on new moon or full moon. The day of course can differ the religious celebration of a temple lasts at least one full day with some temple celebrating for three days while the celebration of Besakih temple, the Mother Temple, is never less than 7 days and most of the time it lasts for 11 days, depending on the importance of the occasion.
The celebration is very colorful. The shrine are dressed with pieces of cloths and sometimes with brocade, sailings, decorations of carved wood and sometimes painted with gold and Chinese coins, very beautifully arranged, are hung in the four corners of the shrine. In front of shrine are placed red, white or black umbrellas depending which Gods are worshipped in the shrines.
In front of important shrine one sees, besides these umbrellas soars, tridents and other weapons, the “umbul-umbul”, long flags, all these are prerogatives or attributes of Holiness. In front of the Temple gate put up “Penjor”, long bamboo poles, decorated beautifully ornaments of young coconut leaves, rice and other products of the land. Most beautiful to see are the girls in their colorful attire, carrying offerings, arrangements of all kinds fruits and colored cakes, to the Temple. Every visitor admires the grace with which the carry their load on their heads.
Balinese Temple Ceremony
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Founder : K.Nadha, General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Diah Dewi Juniarti Editors: Gugiek Savindra,Alit Susrini, Alit Sumertha, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Suana, Sueca, Sugiartha, Yudi Winanto Denpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subrata, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Suasrina, Buleleng: Dewa kusuma, Gianyar: Agung Dharmada, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Bagiarta. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto. Development: Alit Purnata, Mas Ruscitadewi. Office: Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, Facsimile: 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp.
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No need to worry about the kids being entertained – there will be host of Kid’s Activities throughout the day, a Photo Booth and Live Music! Plus Cubby House Kids Club (locat-ed opposite Canggu Club) is hosting
a Mother’s Day themed party. Kids can play in 2 outdoor areas, dress ups, LEGO, arts and crafts, choose from WII, MAC computers, a movie theatre and more.
The older kids can enjoy Splash
Water Park which is open all day and is complimentary with ticket purchase. Bounce Trampoline Cen-tre and Strike 10 Pin Bowling are located opposite Canggu Club but charged separately.
CANGGU - Always in search of the best possible experience for its guests, Body Temple Spa now announces a brand new partnership with one of Bali’s most respected cosmetic professional establishment, Cocoon Medical Spa.
Starting in May, Body Temple Spa will host Anti-Aging Mondays at their Canggu Club location. On offer will be an extensive menu of popular beauty treatments such as Injections, Fillers, Diamond Microdermabrasion, Vitamin Infusions, Dermapen, PRP and more. All treatments will be performed in the comfort of Canggu Club’s Body Temple Spa facilities with the expertise of an experienced doctor and nurse from Cocoon Medical Spa.
‘’This new partnership follows our efforts to better cater to the Bali residents and their needs. Since they are not currently available in the Canggu area, compli-menting our menu with the more medical side of spa offerings was just a natural extension of what we currently do. Partnering with Cocoon Medical Spa was and easy choice. Their professionalism and expertise has been well-established with the expat and tourism community already therefore we feel confident in aligning forces with them.’’
Anti-Aging Mondays are launching on May 4th, 2015 at Body Temple Spa Canggu Club, and will continue every 2nd Monday thereafter. Reservations are required.
A branch of well-known Bali hospitality group Semara Resorts, who also owns landmarks such as Canggu Club, Semara Luxury Villa Resort and Finn’s Beach Club, Body Temple Spa was created with one question in mind: What does your body need today? Each treatment on the menu was carefully designed to help you achieve a specific benefit for your body. Expert techniques, well-designed facials, massages, top quality nail services, waxing, body treatments and a fun kids menu are all delivered with unparalleled service and top quality products to create an experience that is unique to you and your needs on a given day.
IBP/Courtesy of Canggu Club
Anti-Aging Mondays At Body Temple Spa
Mother’s Day at Canggu Club on 10th May
CANGGU - It’s that time of the year to celebrate our mum’s and what better way to do that than spoil her with a day with the family. The Canggu Club is hosting a roast Lunch which includes a divine dessert selection. Mum’s will be spoilt with a complimentary glass of sangria as well as a rp100,000 voucher to Body Temple Spa. Choose from Sparkling Wine and Champagne specials all day and indulge in Happy Hour from 6pm.
The Division Head of the Buleleng Police Operations Unit, I Ketut Gelgel, with per-mission from the Chief of Buleleng Police, Kurniadi, has appealed for cockfights not to be used as a venue for gambling. Unfortunately, people are stubborn so the Nawacita task force team, came right to the scene, wearing vests riding off road motorcycles. Residents who were absorbed in pitting their roosters against each other, were taken by surprised but quickly fled. the scene Some people even choose to let their roosters fall where they may, so that they could escape.
“We received information from the gambling task force team, intelligence, public service and our criminal investigation unit. Our personnel
rushed to the venue of the cockfight at Babakan hamlet, A police officer moved in and secured the roosters and their spurs. We will investigate the cockfighting organizer further,” said Gelgel at the Buleleng Police station accompanied by the Chief of Criminal Investigation Unit, Ketut Adnyana TJ.
In this raid, the authorities were able to se-cure evidence which consisted of the following: 19 live rooster, two dead roosters, 24 spurs, and a roll of spur thread. Cockfight organizer, Dewa Putu Wita, 45, from Babakan hamlet, Sambangan village, Sukasada Buleleng, will undergo further examination along with some of the other organizers, at the Buleleng Police station. (kmb34)
BANGLI - Some farmers at Subak Tembuku Bangli are starting to feel uneasy. In the midst of the government program to increase food production, hectares of paddy plants that are only 35 days old are beinbg attacked by tungro, threatening to greatly diminish crop yields.
Seeing such condition, the Bangli Agriculture, Plantation and Forestry Agency performed a massive pest con-trol operation and has asked farmers to undertake intensive disinfection. Chief of Subak Tembuku, I Wayan Budiasa, said on Monday (May 4) that such pest attack have frequently occurred over the last many planting seasons.
He said that the pests that tend to attack are tungro and green leafhop-pers. The attack started when the paddy plants were just 25 days and continues more than a week later. As a result, many farmers are worried that yields will not only drop, but that they might face crop failure. “When our paddy plants were about 3 weeks old, the tungro and pest attack started. It making many farmers very worries,” he said.
Budiasa added that the extensive farmland at his subak area cover 36 hectares, but the area being attacked by tungro and pests is only about two hectares. Nevertheless, many local farmers are discouraged, fearing the pests will spread. “The paddy plants which have already been attacked are only a few hectares worth, but we are worried that it will spread,” he explained.
In the meantime, Division Head of the Bangli Food and Horticulture,
I Wayan Tagel Sujana, said that al-though the tungro attack is relatively small, it still threatens to harrn sur-rounding agricultural land. To address this threat, local farmers and military personnel from Bangli are taking measures to stop the spread of tungro and kill the pests by removing the tungro infected plants and spraying the remaining ones to eradicate the green leafhoppers.
Sujana added that to speed up the eradication process, local farmers should routinely spray their plants and keep an eye out for tungro infection. “We ask farmers to immediately up-root the tungro-attacked plants. Like-wise, the rice earhead bug should also be routinely eradicated,” he added.
Similar suggestion was made by Section Head of the Protection of Food Crops and Horticulture, of the Bangli Agriculture Agency, Wayan Sentana. Young paddy plants are vulnerable to diseases, especially tungro. Without being intensively controlled, the at-tacks will have an impact on the yields, possibly cutting them in half.
Sentana also mentioned that before conducting mass pest control, his party made observations related to the extent and severity of the pest attack. He is also asking farmers to keep an eye on their plants so that action can be taken as early as possible if needed. “Previously, we made observations in the field to ascertain conditions, then we took mass action to handle the problems. But we didn’t stop there -along with farmers, we continue to monitor the situation,” he concluded. (kmb45)
IBP/Dewa Kusuma
The chicken which was confiscated by the police during a raid in Buleleng
cockfight bust, police secure more than a dozen rooster
SINGARAJA - Attempts to eradicate cockfight gambling through Operation Balak were conducted by the Nawacita task force who carried out the joint operation through a team made up of Buleleng Police Criminal Investigation and Public Services. Dozens of people were surprised and scrambled to escape from the cockfight arena, when they saw dozens of plainclothes intelligence officers coming to seize the fighting roosters. The location of the cockfight at Babakan hamlet, Sambangan village, Sukasada, was out of plain sight. But, police managed to find it and seized dozens of rooster as evidence, and investigated the cockfight organizers, on Monday afternoon (May 4).
IBP/Sosiawan
The farmers are fighting tungro
Tungro attack, paddy production threatened
Page 13
Remote home of leprosy patients could open door wider
Sanchez nets 2 as Arsenal beats Hull 3-1 in Premier League
Page 6
Thailand’s 87-year-old king makes rare appearance
NEW YORK — Rihanna shut down the Met Gala’s red carpet in a regal yellow coat. And then came Bey. Dressed lavishly by Chinese de-signer Guo Pei, Rihanna clutched her fur-trim frock closed and dragged a mammoth train up the grand stair-case Monday during one of fashion’s biggest nights of the year.
She was a latecomer, but Beyonce was even later, wearing a peekaboo custom Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci adorned with multicolored crystals and stones. Her high ponytail and barely there ensemble were playful counterpoints to Rihanna’s swirls of royal gold and match-ing headpiece.
The evening, aimed at raising millions for the museum’s Anna Wintour Costume Center, was inspired by the Met’s new ex-hibit, “China: Through the Looking Glass.” While some in the parade of celebrity guests embraced the East-leaning theme, others looked more ready for the Waldorf than the highly anticipated Met Gala. (ap)
LOS ANGELES — “The Simp-sons” will keep the satire coming for at least two more seasons. Fox said Mon-day it has renewed the animated series for its 27th and 28th seasons, which will carry it to a total of 625 episodes.
The tale of Springfield and the Simpson family is TV’s longest-running scripted nighttime series. “The Simpsons” cast includes Dan Castellaneta as dad Homer — with his trademark “d’oh!” — and Julie
Kavner as mom Marge.The network’s announcement
included a boast from Homer that his doughnut addiction helped him outlast David Letterman, Jon Stewart and Dr. McDreamy from “Grey’s Anatomy.”
The award-winning comedy has proved a money machine, spawning merchandise, a big-screen movie, video games and a Universal Stu-dios Ride. (ap)
LOS ANGELES - French actress Juliette Binoche will play the role of Nobel literature laureate Pearl S. Buck in a film about her life, showbiz magazine Variety reported Monday.
The film, called “Pearl”, will be financed by China Film Group and directed by Roxanne Messina Captor.
Filming is scheduled to begin next year in the Chinese province of Zhejiang, in the city of Shanghai and in Prague, Variety said.
Buck won the Pulitzer prize in 1931 for her novel “The Good Earth” about the hard life of Chinese peasants, and garnered the Nobel in 1938.
Buck spent much of her life in China, first as a missionary and then as a writer. She returned to the United States in 1934.
Binoche won an Oscar for her role as a nurse in the 1996 film “The English Patient”. (afp)
Juliette Binoche to play Pearl Buck
NEW YORK - Britney Spears, whose career has been full of both commercial success and criticism, has recorded a song with a younger kindred spirit, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.
Entitled “Pretty Girls,” the single officially came out Monday and a video was promised in a week’s time after the audio file leaked over the weekend.
A flirtatious party anthem that appears designed for crowded bars, “Pretty Girls” is driven by a synthesized rhythm line -- a hallmark of producers The Invisible Men, who were behind Azalea’s hit “Fancy.”
“All around the world, pretty girls / Wipe the floor with all the boys / Pour the drink, bring the noise,” the two women sing in unison.
Spears, 33, said she had approached Azalea through their managers.
“I love her work and I had the idea to do a real ‘Girl Power,’ fun, Valley Girl video,” Spears told radio host Ryan Seacrest.
Spears became a sensation in the late 1990s, re-
viving the genre of teeny-bopper pop, but she also found herself a favorite target of the tabloid press and late-night comedians.
“Pretty Girls” is Spears’ first release since her 2013 album “Britney Jean,” which had mixed suc-cess. She has been performing a residency since 2013 in Las Vegas, where she recently injured her ankle in an onstage fall.
Azalea saw her career soar with her debut album “The New Classic” but she faced strong criticism over her style, notably the white Australian’s adoption of an accent that is identifiably African American.
Azalea, who has mostly taken a step back from Twitter after heated feuds, pleaded with her nearly five million followers over the weekend to wait for the official release of “Pretty Girls.”
The song is the latest high-profile work to be leaked, with albums by Madonna and Bjork recently finding their way online before the official release. (afp)
Britney Spears teams up with Iggy Azalea
Beyonce shuts down the Met Gala in peekaboo Givenchy
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Singers Jay-Z and Beyonce arrive at the Metropolitan Mu-seum of Art Costume Institute Gala 2015 celebrating the opening of “China: Through the Looking Glass,” in Manhat-tan, New York May 4, 2015.
Fox renews ‘The Simpsons’ for 2 more seasons
FOX via AP
This photo provided by Fox shows a scene from “The Simp-sons,” airing on Sundays. Fox said Monday, May 4, 2015, it has renewed the animated series for its 27th and 28th seasons, which will carry it to a total of 625 episodes.
A number of tourism companies say that tourists from kangaroo coun-try have shown little to no signs of begin affected by the issue. “Do far there is no apparent effect related to tourist demands” said Chairman of the Association of the Indonesia Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA Bali Chapter), Ketut Ardana on Tuesday.
According to him, ASITA has not received any reports of Australian travellers cancelling their trip to Bali. This tiny island remains the main destination for Australians to spend their holidays. “So, I think that if there are any impacts, they are only temporary,” he said.
Apart from the fact that Bali is geographically close to Australia, said Ardana, it is also a much cheaper place for people to spend their holi-day than in their own country. “The cost of holidays in Australia is much
higher than in Bali and besides there are also many things here that they cannot find back home,” he said.
Ardana explained that the average length of stay for Australian travelers is about 10 days, and the amount of money spent on food and accommo-dations is around USD 1,500 to USD 2,000. “Australian guests do not nec-essarily eat in luxury hotels, but can in fact eat anywhere like roadside stalls for example,” he said.
Chairman of the Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI Badung Chapter), IGN Rai Suryawi-jaya, is also optimistic that the en-forcement of Indonesian law that led to the execution of two Australian citizens, will not have an impact on tourism. “Where else are Australians going to spend their holidays if not in Bali? It is cheaper for Australians to visit Bali than it is for them to visit
other countries, including their own country,” he said.
Suriawijaya added when pro-moting Bali tourism in Australia, citizens there responded positively to Indonesian promoters, and many claimed to not know anything about the execution of two of their country-men. “No long ago, we were promot-ing Indonesian tourism in Australia and were very much welcomed. I think that the only people boycotting Bali are the victims family members because we have seen little change in the number of Australians choosing Bali as a destination,” he said.
Therefore, the PHRI is asking tourism players not to worry that the tension between Indonesia and Australia will have an impact on tourism in Bali. “We support the government of Indonesia’s stance (on the execution—Ed), we are a sovereign country. Bali continues to be a favourite tourist destination for travelers from many countries, including Australia,” he said.
He argued that there are factors that bind Australia and Indonesia,
one of which is trade. “If Australia forbids its citizens from visiting Indonesia, our government can also take action by not importing prod-ucts from Australia,” he advised.
Chairman of the Bali Tourism Board (BTB), I.B. Ngurah Wijaya, agrees said that the execution of con-victs, Andrews Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, has not become a seri-ous concern for travelers from Aus-tralia. They are still choosing Bali as the main destination, even though their country’s authorities have is-sued a number of warnings.
“The Australian government has repeatedly issued warnings to its citizens who are considering taking their holidays in Bali. However, the travel warnings and advisories are never obeyed by its citizens, who still visit Bali and still consider Bali as their second home,” said Wijaya - owner of the Segara Village.
He argues that the Island of the Gods will remain a primary destina-tion for Australians to spend their holidays. Other than offering cheap prices and geographic proximity,
Australian travelers also love the hospitality of Balinese people. “Tourism relies on the relationships between human beings. So, in addi-tion to being cheap, Balinese people are also friendly and sociable is an-other reason why Australians choose to visit Bali,” he concluded.
The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Bali also notes that be-tween January and March 2015 Australia accounted for 25.06 per-cent of tourists or 946,011 people, which puts Australian tourists in the top position for providing tourists to Bali. The second position was occupied by travelers from China( 20.31%), followed by those from Ja-pan (6.26%), Malaysia (4.76%) and South Korea (4.16% ). (kmb27)
IBP/Yudi Karnaedi
The execution of two of “Bali Nine” convicts has not had an impact on the number of Australian tourists visiting Bali.
Australian travelers still visiting BaliMANGUPURA - The execution of two of “Bali Nine” convicts
has not had an impact on the number of Australian tourists visiting Bali, even though Australia withdrew its ambassador and through social media has been urging its citizens to boycott Indonesia.
News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http://globalfmbali.listen2my-
radio.com or live video streaming at http://radioglobalfmbali.com and http://ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.
