Edisi 07 Desember 2010 | International Bali Post

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President inaugurate shrimp, scallop production center

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Pakistanis help an injured tribal elder upon his arrival at a hospital in Peshawar on December 6, 2010, following a suicide blast.

A double suicide bombing killed 40 people in Pakistan’s tribal badlands on December 6, attacking pro-government elders and members of an antiTaliban militia in a key district on the Afghan border.

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Obama hosts Kennedy Center honorees PAGE 12

AFP PHOTO/Hasham AHMED

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Twin suicide attack kills 40 at Pakistan anti-Taliban meet Agence France Presse

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A double suicide bombing killed 40 people in Pakistan’s tribal badlands on Monday, attacking pro-government elders and members of an anti-Taliban militia in a key district on the Afghan border. The bombers on motorbikes targeted an administration compound in Ghalalnai, the main town in the tribal district of Mohmand, about 175 kilometres (110 miles) northwest of the federal capital Islamabad and near the Afghan border.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but suspicion fell on the Pakistani Taliban and other Islamist networks bitterly opposed to the government and 140,000 US-led NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan.

“There are 40 dead and up to 60 wounded,” Amjad Ali, a senior administration official in Mohmand district, told AFP by telephone.

About 25 seriously wounded people have been transferred for medical treatment in Peshawar, the

main city in northwestern Pakistan, he said. Washington considers Pakistan’s lawless northwestern tribal belt a global headquarters of AlQaeda and the area is the focus of a covert American drone war targeting senior Taliban militant commanders.

More than 100 people were believed to have been in the compound where government officials, allied tribal elders and members of local antiTaliban militia were meeting as the bombers struck Wednesday. Local official Maqsood Amin told AFP that the building was badly damaged. “At least two rooms and a verandah were demolished,” he said. Pakistan has long armed and supported tribesmen in a key strategy designed to protect local communities from Taliban encroachments across the northwest.

Continued on page 6

Birthday cake for Germany’s favorite polar bear Associated Press Writer

BERLIN – Knut, Germany’s favorite polar bear, has celebrated his 4th birthday with a lavish party at his zoo attended by about 250 people.

Fish and meat were served in the polar bear’s snow-covered, outdoor enclosure at the Berlin Zoo on Sunday, followed by a birthday cake shaped like the number 4. As Knut

gobbled up his cake, the spectators sang “Happy Birthday” to him, the German news agency DAPD reported.

The visitors also were given the rare opportunity to feed Knut, and

he seemed to enjoy the bread, fruit and fish they brought for him.

Knut has been a star in Germany since he was hand-raised by zoo keepers after his mother rejected him at birth.

The world’s most famous polar bear Knut eats his “birthday cake” on his fourth birthday in his snow-covered enclosure at the Tiergarten zoo in Berlin, on December 5, 2010 in Berlin.

AFP PHOTO JOHANNES EISELE

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International

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Bali News

Pemahayu Jagat and Nangluk Merana ritual in Buleleng Singaraja (Bali Post)—

Hindu devotees in Buleleng undertook a ritual named Pemahayu Jagat, Nangluk Merana and Pakelem at three different locations in Buleleng Regency on Sunday (Dec 5). In the eastern region of Buleleng, the ritual was centered in Kubutambahan subdistrict, in the central Buleleng was held at Labuhan Aji Temple, Temukus Village, Banjar subdistrict and in western Buleleng was at the T-junction of Mayong Village, Seririt subdistrict.

In Kubutambahan was organized the Pecaruan Panca Sata exorcism ritual, while at T-junction of Mayong Village the ritual consisted of Pemahayu Jagat and Pecaruan Panca Sata. In the meantime, in the Labuhan Aji Temple, Temukus Village, Banjar subdistrict, was performed the Pemahayu Jagat, Nangluk Merana and Pakelem by implementing Catur Niri, grandiose level of Tawur Balik

Sumpah and Pakelem.

The Pemahayu Jagat, Nangluk Merana and Pakelem employed buffalo, calf, goat, male suckling pig, bangbungkem (reddish-feathered and black-nosed) dog, geese, neck stripe-feathered duck, scaly-feathered duck, 9-colored chicken and was officiated by Trisadaka priest namely comprising Ida Pedanda Gede Putra Keliki from Griya

Tegalalang Bangli, Ida Pedanda Budha Wayan Sogata from Griya Tianyar and Ida Pedanda Rsi Bujangga Wisnaya Kemenuh from Griya Wangining Temukus. The ritual attended by the Regent of Buleleng Putu Bagiada was intended to invoke prosperity and safety as well as to be escaped from the natural disasters recently happened in Indonesia. (kmb15)

To welcome president’s arrival, road along 1 km sterilized Amlapura (Bali Post)—

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was scheduled to inaugurate the installation and development center of shrimp breeding (IP3U) belonging to whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaues vannamei) species at Bugbug Village, Karangasem, Monday (Dec 6). For that purpose, the road within the radius of 1 km from the location had been strictly secured from Sunday (Dec 5) by police and a number of Armed Forces personnel. Meanwhile, the cleanup and decoration along the route leading to the venue was undertaken on Sunday.

Cleanup against the garbage was performed by mutual assistance with the mobilization of several residents of Bugbug and students of the schools nearby. Similarly, the road had been decorated with the installation of penjor as far as 1 km, namely from the bridge of Tukad Buhu southward until reaching the venue located at seaside where ships often stranded. Related to the security, a number of local residents passing through the location claimed to remain comfortable, not to be complicated.

In ancient times, this location was a place of caring for the lep-

rous patients, so that local residents then called it Lepra Beach. Recently, this extensive beach having the spread of black sand has become the place where people amassed beach sand illegally. The beach sand was sifted where the refined sand was sold, while the coral was left behind.

Due to such intensive theft action, only the coarse sand was left on the beach.

The party of Karangasem public order officers (Satpol PP) once raided the location a few months ago for several times. However, the thieves of beach sand were only provided with coaching. By and large, they confessed to be poor people.

They collected the beach sand because they did not know if it was prohibited. Additionally, they claimed to so merely as a side job for the sake of survival. Some sand thieves were Bugbug residents or others from the village nearby such as Samuh. They admitted to only sift and amass the sand. They had collectors and the collectors then sold the sand to buyers bringing a truck.

Even, the sand was sold to Tabanan region used to create a sculpture or material for the making of concrete shrines.

Beach sand thieves captured in

the raid of public order officers were requested not to repeat their deeds again. Other than prohibited by the existing regulations, even when the sand ran out, it was feared to trigger the more severe coastal abrasion. So far, the abrasion was already raging, especially during the high tides. A number of coconut trees had collapsed as crushed by the marine abrasion. In addition, the flow of the sea water on the beach was known hazardous. In particular season like in the second half of January, the waves were also often high. Rigid ocean currents with ferocious waves resulted in severe coastal erosion. A number of fishermen were also often missing, where the fate of some of them was never known.

Meanwhile, Regional Secretary of Karangasem Regency, Nengah Sudarsa, when met on the sidelines of the preparation of meeting room and reception for SBY said that president was planned to arrive on site at 10:00 a.m. Local Time. In addition to the main agenda of inaugurating the IP3U called as the largest in the Southeast Asia, the president was scheduled to have face to face meeting with the public. The president would be in Karangasem until at 1:00 p.m. (013)

Tourism sold at cheap price Bali tourism needs to set standard price of tourism Denpasar (Bali Post)—

So far, there is an impression that Bali tourism is sold very cheaply.

Price wars up to the unlawful practices in drawing guests tending to benefit the tourism businesspeople with a great capital also denote a commonplace in the world of Bali tourism. To anticipate the practice, the Head of Commission I of Bali House, Made Arjaya, urged the provincial government to immediately impose a standard price for the Bali tourism.

“As one of the renowned tourist destinations in the world, indeed it is time for Bali to set a standard price of tourism both in terms of hotel rates, tour packages, transportation and other matters related to tourism.

In essence, the Bali tourism may no longer be sold cheaply,” said Arjaya to Bali Post on Sunday (Dec 6).

According to Arjaya, the standard price of Bali tourism should be set forth in legal rules in the form of regional regulation (Perda) prevailing throughout Bali. In drafting the regulations, the Bali Provincial government definitely had to examine the matters carefully with the involvement of all stakeholders in the tourism industry. No less important, the regulations should set forth the types of sanctions that could be imposed to the tourism perpetrators proved to have practiced unlawful acts like the acquisition of guests by paying per head and the like.

“In my opinion, the regional regulation on the standard price of tourism or whatever it is called will be very urgent to be realized considering the competition in the sector of Bali tourism is increasingly unhealthy. Hopefully, the relevant

agencies in the Bali Provincial government could prepare the draft of regulations to be further submitted to the House,” he appealed.

Arjaya reminded that Bali was no longer allowed to sell the tourism too cheaply. In years to come, he said, Bali tourism should put priority on the quality matter by targeting ‘quality tourists.’ To attract the quality tourists, of course it had to be accompanied by the serious efforts to increase the overall quality both in the field of services, accommodation, transportation and so forth. “To get quality tourists, one of the strategies that should be carried out is never selling Bali too cheaply. Currently, the rates of our hotels are too cheap and so are our transportation and food,” he said.

Furthermore, Arjaya hoped that in the future the Bali tourism development should pay more attention to the carrying capacity of Bali as a small island. According to this politician from Sanur, Bali was unnecessary to be too proud of a fantastic number of tourists visit but the quality of tourists traveling to Bali belonged to low quality. “We prefer the mediocre number of tourist visits but the tourists coming are really qualified,” he warned.

In relation to the insistence of the House asking the executive to promptly prepare the regulation on the standard price of Bali tourism, Bali Post was unable to ask for confirmation of the Head of Bali Government Tourism Office I.B. Subhiksu or Assistant II I Ketut Wija.

When contacted repeatedly, the mobile phone of both officials was not responded even though they were active. (kmb13)

HIV/AIDS Sufferers Increased Bangli (Bali Post) –

HIV/AIDS sufferers in Bangli kept increasing year to year. It is noted until now 47 people has positive HIV/AIDS when the year before was only 31 people. The increasing numbers were suspected to be the possibility of the public to have had free sex.

Sadly, where and who has the disease in Bangli is being secreted. It is strongly suspected that locations for free sex are starting to spread around in Bangli just like in Denpasar.

Head of Bangli Region AIDS Supervision Commission (KPA) dr. I

Gusti Ngurah Rai, not long ago stated that to break this spreading disease chain is to involve everyone as until now it still can’t be found what medicine can treat such disease and so it is better to be prevented rather than getting it.

His side also has asked all sides of the public to not see the HIV/ AIDS sufferers as something horrible as the virus only can spread through free sex or through blood and so do not excommunicate them, “Keeping to one partner is the only great way to avoid this disease spreading.” (kmb17)

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

Bali News

International

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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Thousands of Prayers Nangkluk at Lebih Beach Gianyar (Bali Post) –

Thousands of Hindu prayers joined the nangkluk merana (cleansing ceremony) procession last Sunday (5/12) at Lebih Beach, Gianyar. The ceremony was attended by Gianyar Regent Dr. Ir. Tjok Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, Vice Regent, Regional Secretary and other Gianyar Government officials. Nangkluk merana started by offering Banten Alit (small offering) to Jro Mangk Segara Lebih led by Ida Pedanda (priest) Istri Grya Sunia, Kesian, Lebih Village, Gianyar.

The procession held in the beach shore has been a tradition since hundred years ago. The ceremony was filled with Geblongan wayang dance and Sidakarya mask dance.

All the activities involved the village’s residents. The purpose to the procession is to hope Bali will be safe and far from negative events such as nature disasters that has been happening in the country.

In this Nangkluk, there was also

mapekelem ritual to the mid ocean where Vice Regent Dewa Made Sutanaya SH with Regional Secretary Cokorda Gde Putra Nindia, SH, MH joined it.

A Gianyar public figure, Anak Agung Gde Mulyawan stated, this ritual has been done for generations and needs to be done with good thinking, conversations and behavior. This Procession has been done since Rsi Markandya where

it’s meaning and function are clear, to bring about the safety of the external and internal and all is mentioned on the literature “Lontar Purwaka Bumi”. Moreover the ritual was also to hope for fertilization and also in this changing sasih (month) should be seen positively, pray and give offerings, hoping for safety so there’s a neutral balance as studied and on Lontar Cuda Mani. (kmb16)

Total Traffic Jam, Flood Hit Tembles Negara, DenPost

Heavy rain with strong winds hit Jembrana early morning Sunday (5/12) causing flood hitting Tembles, Penyaringan, Mendoyo and two albesia trees at DenpasarGilimanuk street fell down resulting total traffic jam for about one and a half hours.

The two trees causing Mendoyo Police furious and cut it trunks that have closed the two way route long

queues. The incident hit a travel owned car yet there were no casualties.

The flood over Tembles Village apparently was not the first time.

The tens of houses were under water due to an overflowed irrigation creeping over the roads and went into those houses that were lower placed. It is noted Tembles have experienced flood five times now and this flood shocked the resi-

dents as they were asleep. Putu Suarsa, a resident, admitted was forced to corner his valuables so the waters coming in won’t damage it.

Residents think that the irrigation was too narrow so it won’t be able to adapt during heavy rain especially with the rubbishes and broken branches brought by the flood were blocked by the blocked irrigation. (120)

Miracle to legendary Hindu Temple SEVERE destruction on account of rains or volcanic ashes broken out by Mount Merapi turned a number of tourist areas within certain radius in the Special Region of Yogyakarta into a ghost town. To restore the tourism condition affected by the eruption of Mount Merapi, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism invited local and foreign journalists to visit Yogyakarta. Here is the report prepared by journalist of Bali Post joining the Familiarization Trip conducted on December 3-5, 2010.

On arriving at the airport of Adi Sutjipto Yogyakarta, the participants of familiarization trip consisting of domestic and foreign reporters went directly to the area of tourist attraction of Prambanan Temple. To reach the region of the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, it only took us a dozen of minutes.

However, as soon as arriving at the tourist object claimed by two provinces, a miracle was revealed. Just imagine that location was, geographically and if drawn a straight line, closer to the Mount Merapi than the area of Borobudur Temple seemed to have not been bothered by the clumps of hot clouds.

Though it was once touched by thin ashes of Mount Merapi, but the area of

Prambanan Temple could be said safe and undisturbed. “Miraculously, only Prambanan Village that was not affected by the eruption of Merapi,” said Djunanto Hoetomo, one of the officers of PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko.

Although not affected, the tourism sector in the region also suffered. A few stalls hawking various needs of tourists in the Prambanan Temple area, although opened as usual, they were not guarded by the owner. Seemingly the owners left the stalls unguarded because only few buyers or tourists paid a visit. “It was not so bad, sir, because tourists have started coming,” said Djunanto.

Suffering of the circle of tourism industry in the region was originated from the closure of Adi Sutjipto Airport for several days. Although there was an alternative for tourists to come to Yogyakarta namely by car or train, for example, the number of foreign tourist visits in particular had fallen dramatically.

The image of Yogyakarta affected by the eruption of Merapi once echoed throughout the country up to foreign countries. In reality, the city of Yogyakarta is quite far from the center of the eruption and it is safe to visit.

Such an image made the tourism drop to the bottom of a ravine. “Tourism is just like the fast coming down of hot clouds killing many people,” said Djunanto.

Various endeavors to restore the image of tourism continued to be undertaken by the government of Yogyakarta Special Region. Tazbir, the Head of Yogyakarta Government Tourism Office said the matter a few days ago when his party performed a road show to Bali. The purpose was to inform the world that Yogyakarta tourism was safe to visit. “We are just like picking up the ball from the nest of tourists,” he said.

While in Bali, said Tazbir, the tourism components of Yogyakarta made dialogue and organized a meeting with media. This was carried out to provide information that the tourism magnets of Yogyakarta remained very strong, so the eruption of Merapi covered by international media would kindle them to think and make the Mount Merapi as a new tourist attraction. “We will make the Mount Merapi as a tourist attraction for domestic and foreign tourists by establishing a number of buildings that will support the tourism even though they are not permanent buildings,” Tazbir added.

IBP/doc

The Batik Sutra cloth is seen on a market.

Galungan Approaching, Great Price Batik Sutra Sells Well Denpasar (BisnisBali) –

Coming Galungan day, the demand of accessories, traditional clothing even textiles are increasing.

“It’s normal to have demand such as with coming Galungan day,” as stated by Atika Textile Shop owner, Muhammad Bakir, at Gajah Mada Street last Sunday (5/12).

Bakir continued, the batik sutra dominates the selling this time as 25 pieces sold per day. This was caused due to the price quite reachable from IDR 200.000 to 300.000 per piece.

Besides that it’s a very comfortable product as sutra is a better absorbing material and great to use in a hot and tropical weather place, “Sutra is a very strong material. Sutra’s strength is the same as a soft wire made from steel. Besides that, sutra is also soft when touching the skin and comfortable.”

According to Bakir, sutra can protect us from having skin disease, so this product is still very liked by the public. One of the batik sutra comes from Pekalongan, Central Java, “Every sutra users will feel cooler and much drier even in hotter weather.”

Besides batik sutra, bordir (bordered) motif kebaya (woman traditional blouse) and safari (man traditional shirt) clothing were most bought this time as well.

The bordir kebaya looks amazing and trending with the price also reachable around IDR 100.000 to 250.000 per pieces and it can be combined by brokat, cotton, sutra, endek, or batik textiles. Also there are lots of bordir motifs to choose from.

The similar case happened at India Textiles as stated by its owner, Nazar, “Almost everyday there’s a consumer that wants batik sutra with Galungan approaching.” It is said this is because it is comfortable as the material can absorb humidity and liquid due to the amino acids in the sutra.

Nazar explained that sutra has a

unique value which is shining like pearls. This is caused by the fibroin layers which is a protein produced by the sutra worms which forms as micro structures of prism, “These prism structures were the causer to have lights reflected and causing these shining effect which became the unique interest to the users and those who sees it.”

Besides that, sutra has a good strength over hot weather and not easily burnt. One of the great things about it is to protect skin from ultraviolet which damages skin.

Bordir kebaya are also very demanded lately, “Bordir kebaya now keeps being a trend to the public especially for the women in using it for religious ceremonies.” Consumers who chose this motif came from many kinds of classes, “The consumers demand over bordir kebaya usually increase during Kartini Day compared to French brokat, semi French brokat, also other brokat, which’s sold 30 pieces per day while others only 10 pieces sold per day.”

This was caused due to the materials used for bordered kebaya, sutra and cotton, were felt comfortable when used by the consumers. This time, the bordir kebaya depends on the materials, design and creation, “At this time what’s favorite would be a kebaya with lots of modification or creation, as the design is flexible and can be suited with the needs and wants of the consumers.”

Nazar reminded, the developing bordir kebaya is not far from the public’s enthusiast in wearing it in every opportunity and a high appreciation to one of the traditional clothing and national clothing. For kebaya, it is sure that all consumers always want to follow the newest model, “Every year even every month there’s always a new innovation towards the clothing mode or fashion so the up to dated accessorize are more of a trend for the younger generation.” (aya)

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News

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

International

France, India sign nuclear deal as Sarkozy visits Delhi Agence France Presse

NEW DELHI – France firmed up a 9.3-billion-dollar deal to sell two nuclear reactors to India on Monday following talks between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. India signed a “framework agreement” with France’s state-run nuclear group Areva for the purchase of two reactors for a new plant in Jaitapur in the western state of Maharashtra.

“Negotiations (with Areva) have reached an advanced stage to pave the way for the launching of nuclear power reactors in Jaitapur in partnership with Indian industry,” Singh told a joint press conference. The deal is short of a final sale agreement, but it means Arena has moved ahead of competitors from the United States and Japan in the race to sell reactors to India, which is investing heavily in atomic energy.

Russia is already constructing two nuclear power units in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Maharashtra plant is set to ultimately have six reactors, but the first two are worth 7.0 billion euros (9.3 billion dollars), according to the French presidency.

Sarkozy is on a four-day trip to India, where he is seeking deeper trade ties while acknowledging his hosts’ increased role on the world stage. British Prime Minister David

Cameron and US President Barack Obama have both swept through India with similar messages recently, as Western nations look for export opportunities in a fast-growing country seen as a natural ally in Asia.

Sarkozy heads a delegation of six ministers and around 70 chief executives, including the bosses of aircraft and defence groups Dassault Aviation and EADS. France recently took over the presidency of the G20 group of developed and major developing economic powers and Sarkozy sought support for his agenda, while also strongly backing a more influential role for India in world affairs.

He reiterated his support for India to have a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council — a key foreign policy objective for New Delhi — and suggested it might simply transform its current temporary seat in 2012.

According to the French presi-

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

dency, Singh has pledged his “support” for Sarkozy’s G20 programme, which includes overhauling the global monetary system and combating commodity price volatility. France is also seeking a slice of the billions of dollars earmarked by India for a military upgrade, but competition is fierce among foreign arms manufacturers and no contracts were signed on Monday.

The president and his wife Carla Bruni, a singer and former model, went sight-seeing at the ancient city of Fatehpur Sikri on Sunday after a romantic sunset visit to the Taj Mahal on Saturday.

The French leader last visited India in 2008, just before he married Bruni, and he vowed then to return with her to see the Taj Mahal, located in the city of Agra 200 kilometres (120 miles) from Delhi.

“It was Bruni’s first visit to the Taj and she seemed completely floored by what she saw,” the Times of India reported on Sunday.

Bruni, who is a goodwill ambassador for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, is expected to visit an AIDS project on Monday. Sarkozy began his trip in the southern city of Bangalore, a major technology centre.

President Barack Obama, together with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, left, and Deputy National Security Adviser Michael Froman, right, makes a statement about the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010, in Washington

Obama urges China to rein in ally NKorea Associated Press Writer

BEIJING – President Barack Obama urged China’s leader in a phone call Monday to send Beijing ally North Korea a message that “its provocations are unacceptable,” while the Chinese leader urged restraint. Chinese President Hu Jintao said during the conversation that China was “greatly concerned” about the current tension on the peninsula and called for “calm and rational response” from all sides, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said.

“The fragile security situation on the Korean Peninsula, if not properly handled, could lead to further escalation of tension, or even run out of control, which is not in the common interests of all parties concerned,” Xinhua quoted Hu as saying.

In Washington, the White House said the leaders talked about their common interest in

peace and stability in Asia and the importance of keeping the Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons.

Obama condemned North Korea’s pursuit of a uranium enrichment program as well as the shelling of the South Korean island in which four people were killed, it said.

Obama “urged China to work with us and others to send a clear message to North Korea that its provocations are unacceptable,” a White House statement added.

China is North Korea’s most important ally and has been pressured by the U.S. and others to use its influence to rein in Pyongyang following its shelling of the South Korean island on Nov. 23. Beijing has been reluctant to take forceful action that risks angering or destabilizing the Pyongyang regime, preferring to call for a resumption of six-nation North Korean nuclear disarmament talks.

AFP PHOTO/POOL/LIONEL BONAVENTURE

French President Nicolas Sarkozy (R) and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (L) converse as they walk on the grounds of Hyderabad House in New Delhi on December 6, 2010.

At least 50 missing in Colombian landslide Reuters

BOGOTA – At least 50 people were missing in Colombia on Sunday after heavy rains caused a landslide in the northwest of the Andean nation, relief organizations said. Colombia is experiencing torrential downpours due to the La Nina weather phenomenon. The rains and floods have killed around 170 people so far this year, mostly in recent months, and affected 1.5 million more.

“It’s believed that there could be between 50 and 60 people trapped, maybe more,” said disaster official John Freddy Rendon in the city of Medellin near where the landslide occurred. Rendon said more than 50 homes were covered in Bello municipality in Antioquia province.

The Colombian Red Cross said in a statement that at least 150 people were “affected” with an unknown number missing.

It said one body had been recovered.

Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos said on Sunday the number of homeless from the rains could reach 2 million.

“The tragedy the country is going through has no precedents in our history,” Santos said, after flying over the coastal region of Atlantico to see the situation first hand. The rains have hindered coffee and coal sectors too. In neighboring Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez blamed “criminal” capitalism for global climate phenomena including the region’s rains that have also killed more than 30 and left tens of thousands homeless in his country.

AFP PHOTO/Raul ARBOLEDA

A youngster looks on as people remove rubble to find survivors following a landslide in La Gabriela neighborhood, north of Medellin, department of Antioquia, Colombia, on December 5, 2010, after heavy storms.

Activities

International

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

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Aston International brings Quest brand to Surabaya IBP

DENPASAR - After recently having opened a 2 star favehotel in Surabaya’s MEX Building, Aston International announced a new Surabaya hotel project for its 3 star lifestyle Quest hotel brand.

The new Quest Hotel will be developed by the Maspion Group, who also is behind the Aston managed favehotel MEX Building, and is scheduled to be open by late 2012.

Located on Jalan Rangga Lawe in Surabaya’s Central Business District the new Quest will offer 150 stylish guest rooms and facilities correspondent to international 3 star standards and aims to attract business and leisure travelers that are looking for good value and appreciate contemporary design and a stimulating environment.

Quest Hotels is a new hotel brand conceptualized by Aston International. Quest Hotels offer stylish but uncomplicated and flexible hotels that are dedicated to providing service from the heart, uncompromising standard for safety and cleanliness and good value for individual travelers on the go. Since its launch less than two years ago Quest has opened in Central Java’s Semarang and is in process to develop several hotels in Bali as well as a 400 rooms plus hotel in Cebu, Philippines.

Aston International’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Mr. Norbert Vas, said:” Maspion is one of the most reputable conglomerates in Indonesia and we are very proud and grateful that Maspion has yet again chosen one of our hotel brands.

The new Quest will be a perfect fit for Surabaya and bring a dash of style and cheerfulness to Surabaya’s otherwise rather predictable 3 star hotel offerings.”

Temple Ceremony Calendar Event for December 1st through December 13th 2010 December 1st

Temple anniversary celebrations and full moon ceremony at : - Pura Bhatara Kawitan Pura Agung Bangli, downtown of Bangli - Pura Pasek Gelgel, Pedungan village, south of Denpasar - Pura Kertha, Banyuning village, downtown of Singaraja ( north Bali) - Pura Taman, Bubunan village, district of Seririt, Buleleng regency ( north Bali) December 2nd

Temple anniversary celebrations and full moon ceremony at : - Pura Puseh and Desa Silakarang village district of Sukawati village, Gianyar regency - Pura Dalem Pulasari Samprangan village, district of Blahbatuh, Gianyar regency - Pura Natih, banjar kaloh batuan village - Pura Dalem petitenget, Kerobokan village, district of Kuta, Badung regency December 3rd

Temple anniversary celebrations and full moon ceremony at : - Pura Dalem Puri, Besakih village, Karangasem regency - Pura Dalem Puri, Batuan village, Gianyar regency - Pura Dalem, Singakertha village, district of Ubud, Gianyar regency - Pura Dalem Agung, downtown of Bangli - Pura Dalem, Ketewel village, district of Sukawati, Gianyar regency - Pura Desa, Downtown of Denpasar - Pura Puncak Payogan, Kedewatan village, district of Ubud, Gianyar regency December 8th

Temple anniversary celebrations and full moon ceremony at : - Pura Merajan Agung, Batuyang village, district of

Sukawati, Gianyar regency - Pura Tanjungsari, Padangbai village, Karangasem regency.

December 8th Galungan

This is the most important holiday symbolizing the victory of Virtue (Dharma) upon Evil (Adharma). The holiday is specialized by the fitting of ‘penjor’, a tall bamboo pole splendidly decorated with woven young coconut leaves, fruit, cakes and flowers, on the right side of every house entrance. People are attired in their finest clothes and jewels this day.

December 11th

Temple ceremony on this day: - Segara Temple, Jembrana Regency - Dalem Gede Temple, Losan – Klungkung Regency December 12th

- Redite Wage Kuningan, Ulihan. Balinese do believe, this day is the return of all mighty spirit back to heaven after leaved a prosperity and longevity to the worshipers.

Temple ceremony on this day:

- Dalem Tegal Tamu Temple, Sekarmukti, Batubulan - Gianyar Regency - Kubayan Umagunung Temple, Sempidi – Badung Regency December 13th

Temple ceremony on this day: - Dasar Gelgel Temple, Gelgel – Klungkung Regency - Pasek Tohjiwa Temple, Sawah, Selemadeg – Tabanan Regency - Pemerajan Agung Temple, Benawah Kangin – Gianyar Regency - Panti Pasek Gelgel Temple, Pelapuhan, Busungbiu - Buleleng Regency - Kahyangan Tulus Temple, Apuan – Tabanan Regency

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

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

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

In front of important shrine one sees, besides these umbrellas soars, tridents and other weapons, the “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.

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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

News

Protected seals clubbed to death in New Zealand Agence France Presse

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Attackers wielding bats or clubs slaughtered two dozen fur seals, including newborn pups, over several days at one of New Zealand’s most popular sanctuaries for watching the animals, officials said Monday. Government officials condemned the attacks on the protected species as brutal and senseless and vowed to fully prosecute anyone involved.

The Department of Conservation said the bludgeoned bodies of 23 fur seals had been found at the Ohau Point colony, a rocky stretch of coastline near a highway that is a breeding ground for the animals.

Officials said eight pups — some just days old — were among those killed, and there were likely more juveniles that had died or would soon because their mothers were among those slaughtered. The condition of the carcasses and the wounds indicated the attackers had returned several times to the scene, possibly for as long as two weeks. The site is at the bottom of a steep, 100-foot (30-meter) cliff with no easy access, and the bodies were only just discovered.

“To go around and club 23 seals to death over a number of days is very deliberate and you have to question the state of mind of someone who can carry out such a cruel and abhorrent attack,” Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson said in a statement.

She appealed for assistance from the public to help track down the attackers. The colony on northern South Island is a popular tourism spot north of the town of Kaikoura, which is an international whale-watching center. It was re-established as a breeding colony two decades ago after the species was nearly wiped out by hunting.

Numbering about 2 million before the arrival of settlers in New Zealand, fur seals were clubbed to death by hunters in the 1800s for their meat and pelts, but the hunts ended because of the drastic drop in their numbers. The midsize seals are also found in Australia and some Antarctic islands.

Oahu Point was only reoccupied for breeding in 1990, and about 600 fur seal pups were born

Pirates hijack cargo ship with 25 people off India Agence France Presse

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DHAKA, Bangladesh – Suspected Somali pirates hijacked a Bangladeshi ship carrying nickel ore in the Arabian Sea and appear headed to the lawless East African nation, officials said Monday.

The Bangladesh-flagged M.V. Jahan Moni appears to have been hijacked Sunday off the Indian coast as it was heading from Singapore to Europe, said Rear Adm. Bazlur Rahman, chief of the Bangladesh Shipping Department.

He said authorities were in touch with several agencies and governments to rescue the ship. They have not been in touch with the suspected pirates, and there has been no demand for ransom, he said.

“This is a difficult situation. We are trying to do whatever we can,” Rahman told The Associated Press by phone. The 25 Bangladeshis on

the cargo ship include the wife of one crewman, said Capt. Habibur Rahman, principal officer of the government’s Mercantile Marine department.

Satellite images showed the ship heading toward Somalia, he said. It had loaded 41,000 tons of nickel ore from Indonesia to reach Greece via Singapore, he said.

Somali pirates currently hold 22 ships and 521 crew, according to the European Union Naval Force. Hostages and ships have been held for months and released only for multimillion-dollar ransoms.

Somalia has been mired in anarchy since 1991, enabling piracy to thrive off its Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden coasts. A multinational force patrols the seas, but the vast distances and pirates’ ability to attack further offshore mean hijackings have continued.

Israeli forest fire extinguished, 42 dead Reuters

AP Photo/New Zealand Department of Conservation

In this Dec. 2, 2010 photo provided by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, DOC officer Phil Bradfield stands next to several dead seals near Kaikoura on New Zealand’s South Island. there in 2004, said Bruce Robertson, a seal specialist and senior lecturer in zoology at Otago University. He said the long-term losses for the population could be dire. The attacks killed 13 breeding females, which meant 13 pups dependent on their milk would die and fewer pups will be born next year, Robertson said.

“Given this colony is increasing in size, this loss of life is a small setback,” he said Monday.

“However, large mammal populations cannot sustain the repeated loss of breeding females (and) any external influences can be detrimental.”

Other live seals at the colony had been seen with injuries for the attacks, Department of Conservation area manager Dave Hayes said.

“This is a callous and cowardly attack on seals, especially newborn pups, unable to defend themselves against someone striking them with a bat or similar clublike object,” Hayes said. The

skulls of some of the dead animals had been smashed, indicating whoever carried out the attacks was considerably strong.

“It defies me as to what would motivate somebody to do that,” he said. Under New Zealand law, killing or harming fur seals or other marine mammals incurs up to six months in prison or a fine of up to 250,000 New Zealand dollars (US$191,000).

A further fine of up to $7,600 for each marine mammal killed or harmed can also be imposed by the court.

The laws have been used several times in recent years, usually against people who have attacked seals in the belief they were depleting fish stocks for amateur anglers.

A South Island man was sentenced to four months in prison earlier this year and two accomplices were fined $3,800 and $5,400 (New Zealand dollars 5,000 and NZ$7,000) respectively for attacking a leopard seal.

JERUSALEM – A forest fire that killed 42 people in northern Israel’s Carmel region and triggered a broad international aid effort has been extinguished, Israeli police said on Monday. Efforts to beat down the blaze, which erupted on Thursday, were helped by overnight rains, rare in a parched winter for Israel. Most of those killed were prison guards sent to help evacuate a jail in the Carmel mountains, south of Haifa port.

Haifa police chief Ahuva Tomer, who suffered serious injuries in that mission, died on Monday, her family said.

Israeli media, which assessed the cost of the damage at around 2 billion shekels ($550 million), said most of the foreign

Twin...

From page 1 Doctor Jahangir Khan at the local hospital in Ghalalnai said 31 corpses had been brought in after the attacks and confirmed that 60 were wounded.

It was the second suicide attack in five months targeting Mohmand tribal elders allied to the government. On July 9, a suicide car bomb attack killed 105 people in the town of Yakaghund, also in the region. Around 4,000 people have been killed in suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan since government forces raided an extremist mosque in Islamabad in 2007. The attacks have been blamed on Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked networks.

But Mohmand official Shamsul Islam dismissed suggestions that security had been too lax to stop the suicide bombers who travelled by mo-

firefighters who had answered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appeal for help would depart later in the day. “All of the fires were officially extinguished as of midnight,” police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said.

He said eight people had been arrested on suspicion of setting the fire either deliberately or through negligence. The disaster prompted recrimination within Netanyahu’s coalition government and public calls for the resignation of Interior Minister Eli Yishai, one of its most powerful partners.

The Israeli fire brigade said it would take several days to confirm evacuated areas of the Carmel mountain range were safe.

The blaze was stopped before it could threaten Haifa. torbike.

“Routine security arrangements were in place. It is difficult to stop suicide bombers, they can go anywhere,” he told Pakistan’s Geo television.

“There was a meeting underway between the local administration chief and tribal elders, members of the peace committee (anti-Taliban militia) when the blast took place,” local official Maqsood Amin told AFP. The first suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance and the second inside the compound, he added.

Pakistan flatly denies US suggestions it is not doing enough to tackle Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants who have carved out strongholds in the northwest and last year inched closer to the capital Islamabad.

According to Pakistani military statistics, 2,421 army and paramilitary soldiers were killed in fighting from 2002 until April this year.

International

Indonesia Today

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

7

BI to launch new banking architecture Antara

PURWAKARTA - Bank Indonesia plans to issue a new Indonesian Banking Architecture (API) this month which is the continuation of the earlier API, in line with new challenges and economic developments.

AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD

In this photograph taken on December 2, 2010 a Komodo dragon prowls the shore of Komodo island, the natural habitat of the world’s largest lizard. Indonesia has declared the islands a national park in 1980 to protect the the Komodo dragons. The islands of Komodo and Rinca and surrounding smaller islands comprises Komodo National Park that is located in East Nusa Tenggara province. Park authorities estimate about 2,700 Komodo dragons live in the nature reserve that has been declared UNESCO “World Heritage Site.”

Bengkulu‘s Fort renovation continues Antara

BENGKULU - Bengkulu‘s provincial administration is continuing the renovation of ancient Fort Marlborough which was halted some time ago.

Governor Agusrin Najamudin said here on Monday that a tunnel under the fort was being rehabilitated to connect it with a view tower which is under construction.

“The rehabilitation of Fort Marlborough and the construction of the view tower will be completed before the end of this year,” Governor Agusrin said.

According to the governor, the quality of tourism potential in Bengkulu should continue to be

developed and improved in a bid to attract as many domestic and foreign tourists as possible.

Agusrin said the renovation of Fort Marlborough was halted some time ago because the permission to do so should be issued by the culture and tourism minister.

The governor said Bengkulu‘s cultural heritage of Fort Marlborough could not be renovated arbitrarily without a permission from culture and tourism minister because it was feared to change its historical value.

“The tunnel connecting the fort with its external environment has already been there all along but we want to renovate it and connect it with the view tower and to make it a tourism package in the province,”

Governor Agusrin said.

Besides renovating the fort with a total fund of Rp7.5 billion and the arrangement of Panjang Beach tourism resort, Bengkulu provincial government is also building of Rp30 billion worth of accommodation near Paderi Beach.

Agusrin expressed hope that the management of Bengkulu tourism potential would be able to attract domestic and foreign tourists, as well as investors to do business in tourism sector in the province.

Fort Marlborough was built by East Indian Company from 17131719 during the reign of Governor Joseph Callet. It is the strongest British fort in Bengkulu after Fort St. George in Madras, India.

Twenty-eight Afghan immigrants escape from detention house Antara

PEKANBARU - Twenty eight Afghan immigrants managed to escape from an Immigration Detention House in Pekanbaru, Riau Province, by digging under it, and off they go.

“The 27 Afghan immigrants managed dig a hole, but only one of them failed to got away,” the head of the detention center Yanizur said here Sunday.

They got away on Saturday (Dec 4) at 10 p.m. local time.

A guard caught one of them, Muhammad Jalile, while hiding in the thick bushes near the detention house. The escapees dug a hole under cell IE on the ground floor of the detention house. They bored the 10 centimeter concrete floor under their beds and built an oval-shaped tunnel that is only fit for one person.

“We don’t know how they dug

the tunnel. We only found some steel nails around the tunnel,” Yanizur said. The tunnel is about 1.5 meters deep and its bottom soaked in water.

The tunnel is 10 meters long.

Only two guards patrolled and made the final checking at 9.30 p.m, Yanizur said, adding that the mouth of the tunnel covered under mattresses.

Yanizur said regulations at the detention house were not so tight, enabling the prisoners to wonder around quite freely. The immigrants usually got together in the hall and the cell was not locked until midnight, he said.

The detention house management had coordinated with the police and the customs of Sultan Syarif Kasim Airport of Pekanbaru in taking precautions to prevent the escapees from leaving the region, Yanizur said.

The escapees were Khalid, Abdul K, Tanveer G, Abdul R, Wahab Al Abdul Husni, Muhammad Alsif,

Hasatullah, Aisan, Muhammad, Muhammad Anwar, Muhammad Rezai, Muhammad Reza, Hassan Ahmadi, Muhammad Hussain, Syed Hussain, Rahmatullah, Muhammad Hussain, Ghulam Hussain, Muhammad Ali S, Muhammad Husin Mirzal, Ghulam Abdul, Muhammad Arif Ahmadi, Muhammad Yusuf, Mustofa, and Juna Khan.

Yanizur said there were five escape attempts in the 2009-2010 periods.

Some 37 immigrants escaped in June 2009 by climbing the prison wall using a long sarong cloth, and 11 others got way in September 2009, he said.

Thirty immigrants also escaped on September 25 last year on the eve of Idul Fitri. Another escape was also carried out by three illegal immigrants on October 31 2010, a day after Dharma Karyadhika Day commemoration.

“I hoped the revised edition of the API could be immediately made known to the public before the end of this year,” BI deputy governor Muliaman D Hadad said at a journalist training event here on Saturday.

He said the new API would have a time frame until 2020 following the start of the ASEAN Economic Community period so that the national banking community by the time will have been ready to compete with other banks in the Southeast Asian region.

“In 2020 the Indonesian economy is growing bigger so that it must be supported by strong banking and therefore as of now preparations towards 2020 have to be made,” he said.

The new API is the results of evaluation of the old API with additions such as on new initiatives aimed to push banks to grow with stronger capital.

In the new API the roles of stateowned banks and regional banks would be strengthened with regard to their strategy and capital so that they could become a market leader

in their respective region.

“The role of smallholder banks (BPR) would also be made clear so that they are not inferior compared to general banks,” he said.

He said the new API would also direct banks to ease public access to them so that more people would be involved in banking services and so that they would be useful in reducing poverty.

“The banking access improvement and financial worthiness are the two main topics related to boosting of banking credits,” he said.

Muliaman said the target of 2020 was also in line with the Basel III decision that states that all provisions in the Basel III could be implemented fully in 2019 such as with regard to requirements for an eight to 10 percent capital adequacy ratio.

BNI‘s international and treasury director Adi Setianto on the occasion said that he also viewed that the revised API would have a consequence on national banks with regard to supervision, capitalization and competence.

Liverpool plans Indonesian football academy Agence France-Presse

JAKARTA - English football club Liverpool FC is planning to set up its first Southeast Asian academy for young players in Indonesia next year, its coordinator said Monday.

The proposal will be pushed this week when the Reds’ legendary former striker Ian Rush on Thursday visits the country of 240 million people, where football is hugely popular.

Rush, 49, will “give impetus and assess developments”, said Chris Wren, executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, which acts as a bridge to the club.

“This is the first formal academy pilot in Southeast Asia. It does not necessarily follow that a full

academy will materialise,” he told AFP. “However, if this pilot is successful, as we believe it will be, then it makes the establishment of a permanent academy more likely” in 2011, he added.

The academy is likely to be set up in Jakarta, with its Football Association-accredited coaches coming from England, The Jakarta Globe newspaper reported on Monday.

Ranked a lowly 131 in the FIFA world rankings, Indonesia nonetheless comes to a virtual standstill for events such as the World Cup. English clubs, among them Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal, enjoy very strong support, complete with fan clubs, in the world’s fourth most-populated country.

8

Internationa

Tuesday, December 7 , 2010

Bali Today Dasa Nama:

A simple thesaurus with huge benefits

FOTO ANTARA/Nyoman Budhiana

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (middle) accompanied by Minister of Fisheries and Marine Affairs Fadel Muhammad (2 left) during the inauguration of prime shrimp and scallop production center at Bugbug village, Karangasem District, Bali Province on Monday.

President inaugurate shrimp, scallop production center Antara

AMPLAPURA - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was scheduled to inaugurate a prime shrimp and scallop production center at Bugbug village, Karangasem District, Bali Province on Monday.

The head of state would also symbolically begin Vaname Nusantara-1 shrimp harvesting on the occasion, according to the Presidential Palace’s Media and Press Bureau in Jakarta, Monday.

The shrimp and scallop production center is run under the auspices of the marine and fishery affairs ministry.

To be witnessed by the president, Marine and Fishery Affairs Minister Fadel Muhammad would present emergency response assistance to several heads of districts which had earlier been hit by natural disasters.

The assistance includes 50 packages of aquaculture business development assistance (BPUPB) worth Rp5 billion and 2 backhoes for Sleman District (Yogyakarta), 30 BPUPB packages worth Rp3 billion and a backhoe for Magelang District (Central Java Province), 40 BPUPB pack-

ages worth Rp4 billion and one backhoe for Klaten District (Central Java), 50 BPUPB packages worth Rp5 billion and a backhoe for Boyolali District (Central Java), 10 BPUPB packages worth Rp1 billion for Teluk Wondama District (Papua Province), and 10 BPUPB packages worth Rp1 billion and 1 backhoes for Mentawai District (West Sumatra Province).

The head of state, accompanied by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, would conclude his activity in Karangasem by planting rain trees.

In Bali, President Yodhoyono would also attend the Bali Democracy Forum from December 8 to 10, 2010, which would be participated in by 36 member countries and 28 observer nations.

Praise football team

During the inauguration, SBY also praised the national football

team’s performance at the ASEAN Football Championship.

“This is a good start. It proves that Indonesia can be successful in football,” the president said.

But he also cautioned the Indonesian football team not remains content with its victory at the ASEAN championship where it had beaten Malaysia 5-1 and Laos 6-1.

The president asked the team members to make its win a spur to further improve its performance in the days ahead.

The President recalled the moment when he last watched a friendly match between Indonesian and Uruguay. At the time, Indonesia was beaten 1-7 by the World Cup 2010 finalist.

“I felt sad at the time. But the national team has since continued to develop its capability and we can see the result now,” said Yudhoyono.

People reading Balinese manuscripts known as lontar occasionally find slight difficulties especially in the matter of lexicons.

This happens because the manuscripts often use synonyms and they do not belong to common words. Nevertheless, such difficulty may not become a hindrance to learn the ancient heritages being rich in knowledge.

There is always a solution to resolve the problem. As other languages, Balinese language also has thesaurus known as Dasa Nama.

One of the books carrying about it is a simple 67-page book written

by I Made Gambar who deeply involves in Balinese ancient manuscripts. Based on lexicons obtained from several lontars he successfully classified the field into six categories such as name of birds, name of trees, things or animals, homograph, Old Javanese and ingredients of ritual.

As a matter of fact, the book resembles to a thesaurus, though not arranged alphabetically. It is a Balinese-Balinese word equivalence that does not give the meaning with explanation. Uniquely, it tends to provide equivalent meaning belonging to uncommon vocabularies usually found in vernacular language.

For readers who would like to learn more about Balinese herbal, this thesaurus will be very helpful.

In addition, it can enrich the Balinese vocabulary. For instance, in Balinese herbal manuscript, there is a word lenge (red rice). It is not common to daily Balinese language that usually uses baas barak.

Secondly, equivalences of hibiscus

(pucuk—common word) are wirakusuma, landa para, sumara, jakusuma, tundapala, raktajuma, warangbang, waribang, wangewarih and jaya kesuma.

Other than thesaurus, it also carries homograph. For example, the word antara can have English equivalence to the words (1) leak, (2) good, (3) smart, (4) sky, (5) soul, and (6) intermediate. The word antara is often found used as word formation in making Balinese individual names like Budiantara and Sujaantara.

Hopefully, this book could help young generation or whoever wishing to learn more about Balinese ancient manuscripts. They actually cover many aspects of life ranging from herbal healing (Taru Pramana, Rukmini Tattwa etc.), architecture (Asta Kosala Kosali), agriculture (Shri Tattwa/ Darmaning Pemaculan), astrology (Wariga Dewasa), afterlife (Atma Prasangsa), medical code of ethic (Usada Kalimosada) and many more.

As the treasure of indigenous wisdom, the lontar manuscripts have provided rich inspirations to spa treatment especially in terms of boreh ingredients, Balinese massage as well as elegant design to villa and hotel properties. By learning more ancient manuscripts, it will be obtained more and more inspirations and if combined with modern science and technique will engender unique and elegant products. Last but not least, let’s preserve and learn them. Do not let them be obsolete in keeping with the times without an opportunity to learn them! (BTN/punia)

Bali is facing social conflicts Antara

DENPASAR – Bali as one of the favorite tourism destination in Bali is framed by the noble value of Hindu. This should make Bali free from all social conflicts. The statement was said by the spokesman of Bali Police Department, Gede Sugianyar Dwi Putra.

“However, every year the social conflicts keep happening and until now, there is no proper solution for the problem,” he added. When Sugianyar speak in front of Bali’s Cross Religion Forum, he explained the experiences of the police officers in handling the conflict.

From the data of the police department, this year there are

30 religious or cultural conflicts handled by the police.

Among the cases are heritage land, changing caste and names and also religious problems. Besides handled by the police, the cases were also handled by the local officers such as the head of the village and the elder.

Sugianyar said “the action done the police officers is not very effective in handling the problem. The conflict is only can be solved by the nation law but only can be solved by the local law.” Sugianyar also gave the message from the head of Bali Police Department, Irjen Hadiatmoko that the Cross Religious Forum must be able to create a method to solve the social conflicts which occur in Bali.

al

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Balinese Culture

Neka Museum to publish book about ”keris” Antara

DENPASAR – Neka Art Museum which is located in Ubud, Gianyar will launch a book about “keris”, traditional Balinese weapon, entitled “Kris Bali Bersejarah”. The launching will be done on December 12th 2010.

Pande Wayan Sutedja Neka, the owner of the museum, said “the book is 321 pages and will be launched by the Secretary General of Indonesian Keris Association, Wiwoho Basuki Tjokrohadiningrat.”

He said that the book is very interesting and it will attract people

to read it. The book is written by Basuki Teguh Yuwono, a lecturer in Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) Solo.

For the first phase, the book is printed only 1,000 exemplars.

“Basuki has been studying and analyzing about keris for 13 years and he has been traveling throughout Indonesia to study about it,” Sutedja Neka added. He explained that the book reveal the development of keris in Bali and also in other area in Indonesia. “There is great hope that the book will give the proper information on keris especially those stored in Neka Museum,” Sutedja Neka said.

Neka Museum launches a book

every year and currently, the museum has publish 23 books.

Among those books are “Kembali ke Kawitan, Impian Jadi Kenyataan”, and “Neka art Museum in modern Balinese HistoryArt and of time”.

There are also book about the development of tourism in Bali, one of them was written by Prof Dr Neil Leiper, a lecturer in The School of Tourism and Hospitality Management Southern Cross University in Australia.

The books are the token of appreciation and the effort of Neka Museum in preserving and developing art and culture in Bali.

The front entrance of Museum Neka. Neka Art Museum which is located in Ubud, Gianyar will launch a book about “keris”, traditional Balinese weapon, entitled “Kris Bali Bersejarah”. The launching will be done on December

Wajik

(Rice Flour Cake with Palm Sugar) Overview: There are a couple of variations on this popular cake, which can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.

It is normally served at room temperature, but can also be served warm topped with coconut milk. Another variations are to add ripe diced jackfruits (or substitute with sultanas) after the rice is partially cooked.

Ingredients: 1 cup glutinous white rice 1 cup water 1 pandan leaf ½ cup palm sugar syrup ¼ cup thick coconut milk Pinch of salt Preparation: Rinse rice very well under running water for 2 minutes and soak for 4 hours. Rinse again until water becomes clear. Place rice, 1 cup of water and pandan leaf in rice cooker or steamer and cook for approx 20 minutes, or until liquid has evaporated.

Add palm sugar syrup, coconut milk and salt, and steam for 15 minutes. Spread rice evenly 2.5 cm thick on tray and allow to cool to room temperature. Wet a sharp knife with warm and cut into even squares to serve.

Helpful hint: to speed up the soaking process, pour boiling water over the rice and let stand for 1 hour. Drain, then add another lot of boiling water and soak for another 30 minutes. If you are using a steamer to cook the rice, line the bottom with a wet cloth to prevent the rice grains from falling through. (www.baliguide.com/balifood)

Sate Lilit

(Minced Seafood Satay)

12th 2010.

Overview: This probably the most delicious satay you will ever encounter. The delicate flavors of the shrimp and fish are greatly improved if you can find spears of fresh lemongrass to use as skewers, and if you can cook them over a fire of coconut husks rather than charcoal.

Nonetheless, even with wooden skewers and a standard charcoal grill, you will have people coming back more.

http://lh3.ggpht.com

Ingredients: 600 gr skinned boneless snapper fillet 1 cup freshly grated coconut or 1½ cups moistened desiccated coconut ½ cup seafood spice paste 5 fragrant lime leaves, chopped 1 tsp black peppercorns, finely crushed 1 tsp salt 3-5 bird’s eye chilies, very finely chopped 2 tbsp palm sugar Lemon grass or satay skewers Preparation: 1. Mince fish fillet very finely in a food processor or with a chopper.

2. Add all other ingredients & mix well.

3. Mould a heaped tablespoon full of this mixture around a wooden skewer or over trimmed stalks of lemon grass and grill over charcoal until golden brown.

Note: This recipe won’t work with frozen fish. (www.baliguide.com/balifood) C.045 ibp

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10

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Destinations

International

Gunung Kawi IBP

http://1.bp.blogspot.com

Gunung Kawi is a Hindu Temple complex with old omission from the stone era located in Gianyar regency. Based on the inscription of Tengkulak A on 945 saka (Balinese calendar) which is released by Marakata King, the ancient omission complex is located at the Pekerisan River then it is called Katyangan Amarawati. Pekerisan River is also named by Jalu which is according to the inscription chiseled on the above of the biggest temple door sound ‘Haji Lumahing Jalu’. The name of Gunung Kawi is the name given on the omission which is related to the complex of temples because the temple on this area is like the symbol from the mount. There are 3 temples which so called the name as Gunung Kawi in Bali those are Gunung Kawi in Sebatu countryside, Gunung Kawi Temple in Keliki countryside and Gunung Kawi Temple in Babitra countryside. The ancient omission complex of Gunung Kawi is founded on 10 century.

It is founded in the era of Udayana about 989 M. At the period of Marakata governance on 1023, the omission which is called Katyagan Amarawati is developed and continued by the governance of Anak Wungsu which is guess lead between the years of 1049 - 1077 M.

International Bali Post Classifieds BALI CENTRAL CANOPY

Mengerjakan : Atap Canopy Polycarbonat & Jual Bahan Spesial merk atap: Solarlate dan Crystal-late

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Temple complex is consisted of 2 consecutions. The consecution in eastside Pekerisan River is consisted of 5 units and the consecution at west side of river is 5 units, in the north is 4 units and 1 unit is located far in south side separate from the others.

On the above of the temple consecution in particular to the Eastside River, there is an article of Kediri word type sounding ‘Haji Lumahing Jalu’. Haji means a king, the Lumah means a temple or Sidha Dewata means to return to the nature of deity and Ing Jalu means in Pekerisan. The Jalu mean the Keris literal. The entire words mean that king is made in temple form at Pekerisan.

From this article is assumed that this temple is dedicated to Udayana King which is also called Marakata and Anak Wungsu.

The temple which is located in the west side of river related to all king concubines. The temples are located far in the south side is attributed to prime minister because in these temple areas existing an article Rakyan which is namely perform for high functionary of empire.

Buddhist Temple Complex is used as a residence and as place for meditation. It is consisted of some nooks and it is located in the cross east of Pakerisan River. Other nooks are located spread out and near the temple bunch.

Jl. Kepundung 67 A, e-mail: info_ibp@balipost.co.id Jl. Palmerah Barat 21 F

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

11

BUSINESS ‘Possible’ Fed will do more on joblessness Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON - Further Federal Reserve action to combat unemployment is “certainly possible,” Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said in an interview Sunday.

Bernanke was asked on CBS television if the Fed might inject more than the 600 billion dollars planned for the November-to-June time frame.

“It’s certainly possible,” he said.

“It depends on the efficacy of the program. It depends, on inflation.

And finally it depends on how the economy looks,” Bernanke added.

The interview was done Tuesday, three days ahead of the release of monthly unemployment figures showing that US unemployment rose in November to 9.8 percent after holding steady at 9.6 percent the three previous months.

“Unemployment is just about the same as it was in mid 2009, when the economy started growing. So, that’s a major concern. And it looks that at current rates, that it may take some years before the unemployment rate is back down to more normal levels,” he stressed.

Asked about inequalities, Bernanke stressed there was a yawning unemployment gap based on educational achievement levels.

“If you’re a college graduate, unemployment is five percent. If you’re a high school graduate, it’s ten percent or more. It’s a very big difference,” Bernanke said.

“It leads to an unequal society and a society which doesn’t have the cohesion that we’d like to see.”

The statement on possible ad-

ditional action is consistent with the Fed’s earlier pledge November 3 when it rolled out a controversial 600 billion dollar spending plan to boost the US recovery. It said at the time it would revisit its action regularly and possibly broaden or reduce its scope.

Bernanke also had some tough words for critics of his strategy.

“What they are doing is they’re looking at some of the risks and uncertainties with doing this policy action, but what I think they’re not doing is looking at the risk of not acting,” he said.

“I think a very high unemployment rate for a protracted period of time, which makes consumers, households less confident, more worried about the future — I think that’s the primary source of risk that we might have another slowdown in the economy.”

He said it was critical that the US economy not start losing ground now.

“We need to play close attention to the fact that we are recovering now. We don’t want to take actions this year that will affect this year’s spending and this year’s taxes in a way that will hurt the recovery,” Bernanke said.

“That’s important. But that doesn’t stop us from thinking now about the long term structural budget deficit.”

Spain will not seek international financial aid Agence France-Presse

PARIS - Spain’s troubled economy will not follow Greece and Ireland in seeking international financial aid, Finance Minister Elena Salgado said in a newspaper interview published Monday.

Following weeks of market turbulence triggered by fears that Spain could be next in line for a financial debacle, Salgado emphatically ruled out Madrid taking a bailout.

“No”, she told Les Echos business newspaper, “because our (economic) fundamentals do not justify it.”

Greece fell to major imbalances in its public accounts not only due to the crisis while Ireland’s troubles “were caused by its banks,” she added.

She said that the Spanish fund to help restructure insolvent banks would be sufficient in case of large losses.

In the wake of the Ireland rescue, driven by Dublin bailing out its insolvent banks, investors have begun to get more anxious about Spain’s heavily indebted banks which were wounded by the bursting of the country’s property bubble.

Investors were not reassured by Spanish government statements that the country will be able to master its fiscal difficulties and relaunch growth, and drove up interest rates the state must pay to borrow to record highs.

Even the European Commission expressed doubts last week about the Spanish government’s ability to reduce its public deficit to 6.0 percent of gross domestic product next year from this year’s target of 9.3 percent.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero then announced on Wednesday his government would sell 30 percent of the state-owned lottery, 49 percent of airport management company AENA, scrap a jobs subsidy and lower taxes on small- and medium-sized businesses.

AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD / FILES

Photo taken on October 30, 2007 shows Filipino call center personnel attending to their US clients at a new business process outsourcing office in Manila. The Philippines has become the call centre capital of the world, overtaking India as the number one player in the global business outsourcing market, according to industry and government.

Philippines overtakes India as call centre capital Agence France-Presse

MANILA - The Philippines has become the call centre capital of the world, overtaking India as the number one player in the global business outsourcing market, according to industry data and the government.

President Benigno Aquino has led celebrations in recent weeks as it has become increasingly clear that the Southeast Asian nation has become the world’s dominant player in the outsourced back-office operations industry.

“In the past decade, the (growth in the) industry in the country has been nothing short of exceptional.

From a virtual non-entity in 2001, your sector has earned sunshine industry status,” Aquino said.

At an opening of an IBM outsourcing centre in Manila last week, Aquino forecast that the industry’s revenues would hit 1213 billion dollars next year, rising to 100 billion dollars by 2020 for a fifth of global market share.

A report from IBM released in October said the Philippines had this year passed India as the global leader in business process outsourcing in terms of the number of people each country employed in the sector.

“For business support functions... the Philippines has taken over the lead in the global ranking from India, after having challenged the top position for several years,” the report said.

The IBM report did not present exact figures on how many people each country employed in the outsourcing industry.

But the head of the government’s information technology commission, Ivan Uy, said

the Philippines had definitely bypassed India in call centre revenues with 5.5 billion dollars last year compared with India’s 5.3 billion dollars.

The president of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines, Benedict Hernandez, also said the Philippines had more than half a million people working in call centres and related services compared with 330,000 in India.

Hernandez said the Philippines, a former US colony, had an advantage due to its workforce being made up of English speakers who had accents and a culture that is closer to those of many Western callers.

“The market over the years has generated a preference for the Philippines, especially the US market.

There is more cultural affinity and the language is more attuned to the US,” Hernandez told AFP. Uy said even Indian companies were setting up call centres in the Philippines to take advantage of the Filipinos’ cultural links to the West.

“Many of these Indian companies do outsourcing work for US companies and their US clients say they prefer doing business with Filipinos so rather than lose those clients, they to move to the Philippines,” Uy said.

Tata Consultancy Services, one of the Indian giants in the industry, announced Monday it had launched a business process outsourcing operation in Manila, its first in Southeast Asia.

While business process outsourcing has been dominated by call centres — where hundreds of workers handle phone calls from customers abroad — the sector now covers a wide area of services.

These include logistics, finance, accounting and software research and programming, computer-aided

design, animation and graphic design.

Local industry groups conceded that India still had a huge lead in the more complex outsourced services such as engineering, software design and programming.

But the Philippines is not standing still in that area either.

“Foreign companies come here for voice work and then they realise the people they are hiring are capable of doing other work as well,” said Gillian Virata, research director at the Business Processing Association of the Philippines.

Any services that can be done in the back room of an office are being outsourced to the Philippines, she told AFP. These range from finance and accounting services, human resource management, marketing analysis, legal processes and research, medical and legal transcription, case writing and preparation of legal briefs, Virata said.

The country’s surplus of nurses and other medical professionals can also be harnessed for the outsourcing of health care services such as hospital billing, management of medical health records and “aftercare” of patients, Virata said.

The industry is especially important to the Philippines as there are so few other sectors in an economy that has for decades underperformed, capable of employing qualified people.

Nearly nine million Filipinos — about one tenth of the population — work overseas. They sent home last year 17.3 billion dollars, more than 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

12

Entertainment

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

International

Obama hosts Kennedy Center honorees Agence France Presse

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, late Sunday hosted Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney and other Kennedy Center honorees in a star-studded White House reception.

Country singer Merle Haggard, composer Jerry Herman, dancer-choreographer Bill Jones also were being honored for lifetime achievement in the performing arts, and welcomed by the president before the awards ceremony at the Kennedy Center.

Obama remarked it was the second time this year McCartney had visited the White House — in July the former Beatles legend was awarded the Gershwin Prize for popular song, and sang “Michelle” to the First Lady. “It was a thrill,” said Obama. “Although apparently Paul joked afterward that he was worried he might become the first guy ever to get punched out by the president.”

In the audience, McCartney pointed to his lower lip in reference to Obama’s own busted lip, suffered earlier this week during a basketball game. The president’s injury came up again a little later in his speech when he stumbled on the word “superfluous” while reading from a teleprompter about the importance of the humanities.

“It’s hard to say. You try it when you’ve had 12 stitches,” Obama said to laughs. During the pre-dinner reception, McCartney talked about how he was becoming a regular in Washing-

ton, according to local media reports.

This year he also received the George Gershwin Prize from the Library of Congress. “I’m getting my own personal parking lot,” McCartney joked, according to The Washington Post. “Things come in bundles. I’m honored to be with people you admire. I really admire President Obama and I admire Hillary, too.”

Perhaps Obama’s most heartfelt praise went to Winfrey, saying he and his wife “personally love this woman.” “The more you know Oprah, the more spectacular you realize her character and her soul are, and the more you appreciate what a wonderful, gifted person she is.”

“It’s easy to forget sometimes that Oprah was once a girl with a funny name in a little town down South,” he said. “Nobody would have ever dreamed that she would become someone who moves an entire nation each and every day,” he added.

AP Photo/Joe Tabacca

AFP PHOTO/Nicholas KAMM

US singer Gwen Stefani (3L) and No Doubt band members pose on the red carpet of the Kennedy Center Honors gala performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington on December 5, 2010.

Comedian Chris Rock entertained those present, telling jokes one of which targeted Oprah, who was one of Obama’s most fervent supporters during the 2008 presidential campaign. Talking about Oprah and the president, Rock said: “He didn’t get

FILE — In a May 23, 1993 file photo, Johnny Cash performs at a benefit concert in Central Park in New York, Cash who was raised on gospel music and turned to religion and Christian music midway through his career, will be inducted into the GMA Gospel Hall of Fame in January, 2011.

Johnny Cash jumpsuit fetches $50,000 at auction Reuters

LOS ANGELES – A jumpsuit worn by Johnny Cash set off a bidding war before selling for $50,000, soaring past original estimates, during an auction on Sunday of memorabilia owned by the Man in Black.

The blue denim jumpsuit was worn by Cash for a rehearsal at San Quentin prison and shown in the infamous Jim Marshall photograph that depicts him wagging his middle finger into the camera lens.

The final price surged past the sales estimate of $3,000 to $5,000 after bidders made offers over phone and from the gallery, said Julien’s Auctions.

“Johnny Cash is a true legend and his collectibility spans all continents,” said

Darren Julien, President and CEO of Julien’s Auctions. “Bidders from around the world participated in the auction, proving that the Man in Black’s legacy will forever live on.”

More than $700,000 was raised in total for the 321 lots offered. Among other items for sale was a Martin acoustic guitar on which Cash wrote the first four lines of his early hit “I Walk the Line” and signed his name. It also went for $50,000, topping estimates of $20,000-$30,000.

Other memorabilia included handwritten lyrics to dozens of obscure or unrecorded songs. Among them was a confessional love song called “I Draw the Line” with the couplet “I have often fallen to the lure of smoldering (cq) eyes and I’ve given in to the wilder side of me.”

her a job. She got him a job!”

Numerous celebrities were at the reception — singer Diana Ross, actors Julia Roberts, Sydney Poitier and Alex Baldwin, former secretary of state Colin Powell and outgoing House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi,

television news host Barbara Walters and former tennis champion John McEnroe among them.

The 33rd annual Kennedy Center Honors are bestowed for exemplary lifetime achievement in the performing arts.

‘Tangled’ shines at North American box office Agence France Presse

LOS ANGELES - Disney’s animated hit “Tangled” took the top spot in a low-earning weekend at the North American box office, outpacing a gentleman by the name of Harry Potter, preliminary data showed Sunday. The long-haired Disney fable netted 21.5 million dollars, pushing past “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One.” The latest Potter instalment took in an estimated 16.7 million dollars from Friday to Sunday, Exhibitor Relations said, taking the film’s total US earnings to 244 million dollars as it continues to set records around the world. Taking it off in third place was “Burlesque.” The musical extravaganza with Cher and Christina Aguilera brought in 6.1 million dollars.

“Unstoppable,” starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine as two daring, blue-collar

heroes trying to prevent a head-on collision with a runaway train full of hazardous materials, took fourth place with 6.1 million dollars in ticket sales.

In fifth place, the romantic comedy “Love and Other Drugs,” starring Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal, netted 5.7 million dollars.

Meanwhile, Will Ferrell’s super-villain comedy “Megamind” earned the sixth spot, netting 5.03 million dollars for the three-day stretch. Roadtrip comedy “Due Date,” featuring oddball travel companions Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis, came in seventh with 4.2 million dollars. It was trailed by another strong premiere-week showing from “Faster,” in eighth place with 3.8 million dollars.

“The Warrior’s Way,” a fantasy action tale with South Korea’s Jang Dong-gun, Kate Bosworth and Geoffrey Rush, in its first weekend out, hit ninth place with 3.05 million dollars.

AP Photo/Disney Enterprises, Inc.

In this film publicity image released by Disney, Rapunzel, voiced by Mandy Moore, right, and Flynn, voiced by Zachary Levi are shown in a scene from the animated feature, “Tangled.”

Life Style

International

In a picture taken on December 4, 2010 people shop for Christmas in Vrijthof square in Maastricht, southern Netherlands. While Americans are tucking into the last Thanksgiving leftovers and European towns are getting Christmas decorations out of storage, the Dutch claim the title for the early-bird Christmas. The holiday spirit has been in full swing since midNovember.

AFP PHOTO / MARCEL VAN HOORN

Early-bird Christmas?

Head to the Netherlands Agence France Presse

THE HAGUE - While Americans are tucking into the last Thanksgiving leftovers and European towns are getting Christmas decorations out of storage, the Dutch claim the title for the early-bird Christmas. The holiday spirit has been in full swing since mid-November, kicking off a three-week shopping and sugar spree up to the big day this weekend, December 5, the feast of Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaus, as he’s known here.

Sinterklaus officially “arrives” in the country in mid-November, on a gift-filled boat from Spain accompanied by some 40 helpers.

It’s a fantasy event that keeps this nation of otherwise logical, lowkey, no-nonsense pragmatists fixated on their televisions where the “arrival” is transmitted live.

“Every town has its Saint Nicholas, except one or two spots that are largely Protestant,” said John Helsloot, a researcher at the

Meertens Institute on Dutch culture in Amsterdam, explaining the phenomenon. And if a town isn’t close to one of the country’s many waterways or canals, he comes by train or car, said Helsloot.

Two-thirds of Dutch families offer their children their Christmas gifts during this period, according to a study by the GFK market research firm, which showed less than half the nation got Christmas gifts at the time they’re generally offered

elsewhere in Europe— on December 24 or 25.

And for a people who tend to be thrifty and shun flaunting any wealth, the Dutch open their pocket books wide in the final week before December 5.

Yvonne Fernhout, spokeswoman for the Dutch Retailers Federation, said sales in the last week are expected to total 470 million euros (629 million dollars) more than the average weekly retail sales, which generally total 1.5 billion euros.

For three weeks up to December 5, children leave their slippers in front of the chimney — if there is one — each evening. In the Dutch twist on the Christmas ritual, Sinterklaus’ helper, Black Peter or Zwarte Piet, comes down the chimney to fill them with candies while Saint Nicholas waits on the rooftop with his white horse.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

13

Mayan village in Mexico impacted by climate change Associated Press Writer

TABI, Mexico – The first time Araceli Bastida Be heard the phrase “climate change” was on TV two years ago. Then she began to understand why strange things had been happening in her village. Tabi was in its second year of drought, and the corn that sustains the village was left stunted on the stalks. Farmers couldn’t bear the midday heat anymore, and were in their fields at dawn in order to finish before noon.

After a half-mile (1-kilometer) walk from school, Bastida Be’s son would return home with headaches. Summer nights were too hot to sleep until after midnight. And winters were so cold the villagers had to buy blankets.

A year earlier, Hurricane Dean reached deep into Mexico’s rain forest, destroying Tabi’s beehives and blowing down several thatched-roof homes. “We don’t know what’s going on. All we

know is that something has changed,” says Bastida Be, 31, who tends her own corn crop while her husband is away working in construction jobs on the coast.

In Cancun, a resort 155 miles (250 kilometers) to the north, world governments are grappling with Tabi’s problems. A 193-nation climate conference is debating measures to restrain emissions of carbon and other gases that are causing the Earth’s temperatures to rise. They also are discussing how to help people like Tabi’s 400 residents adjust their lives to new conditions.

But the subsistence farmers of Tabi can’t wait. Their traditional haphazard practices, rooted in 2,500 years of Mayan culture, can no longer produce enough to feed them.

The rainfall at the start of planting season, which once could be predicted almost to the day, is now unreliable. If the rain doesn’t come within four days of planting, the farmers have to start all over, as they did last year, losing an entire season’s worth of seed.

AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo

A farmer works the land while showing a group of journalists how to grow corn in the Mayan community of Tabi, in the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. According to the UN weather agency, 2010 is ‘almost certain’ to rank among the three hottest years on record, and the 2001-2010 decade is undoubtedly the warmest period since the beginning of weather records in 1850.

Programming error caused Russian satellite failure: report Agence France Presse

Graphic locating the area where a Russian rocket crashed into the sea near Hawaii on Sunday after failing to make orbit from its lift-off in Kazakhstan.

MOSCOW - A programming error may have caused a rocket carrying three Russian navigation satellites to fail to reach orbit, a Russian space agency source told the RIA Novosti news agency on Monday. “A number of specialists think that mistakes in the programming of the onboard computer system of the Proton rocket led to the engines sending the rocket too high and onto a faulty trajectory,” the source said.

The rocket carrying satellites for the Russian government navigation system Glonass, failed to reach the correct orbit Sunday after blasting off from Baikonur cosmodrome, the Russian space agency said.

The satellites crashed into the Pa-

cific Ocean near Hawaii, the spacecraft corporation RKK Energiya said in a statement, confirming earlier reports. “The Proton launch rocket functioned abnormally, sending the three Glonass satellites and the upper-stage booster rocket on the wrong trajectory and they fell into the Pacific Ocean 1,500 kilometers northwest of Honolulu,” the statement said.

Once separated from the Proton launch rocket, the upper-stage booster rocket with the three satellites aboard should have put them in orbit about 20 kilometres (12 miles) above the earth. A space agency source told RIA Novosti that the upper-stage rocket and the satellites immediately disappeared from radio coverage, making it impossible to correct the trajectory.

President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the Prosecutor General Yury Chaika to investigate the loss of the satellites and name the people responsible, the Kremlin said in a statement on its website late Sunday. The terse statement said the president had also demanded an audit of spending on the entire Glonass programme.

The failure was an embarrassing setback for Russia’s attempt to put a satellite navigation system in place to rival the United States’s GPS (Global Positioning System) and steal a march on Europe’s fledgling Galileo system.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has underscored the strategic significance of developing the Glonass system to ensure Russia’s technological independence.

14

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Sport

International

Fergie to field strong side as he eyes top spot Agence France Presse

AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi from Argentina, third left no. 10, is congratulated by teammates after scoring against Osasuna during their Spanish La Liga soccer match at Reyno de Navarra stadium in Pamplona northern, Spain, Saturday Dec. 4, 2010.

Strikes, snow no problem for Arsenal, Barca, Lille

MANCHESTER - Sir Alex Ferguson does not intend to rest his big guns for Valencia’s Champions League visit to Old Trafford on Tuesday even though Manchester United have booked their ticket into the last 16 phase. Four wins from five Group C games have guaranteed United a place in the knockout stages with one game to spare.

Valencia’s visit comes just six days before United entertain Arsenal in a top-of-the-table Premier League showdown which is swiftly followed by another huge game for Ferguson’s men at reigning champions Chelsea on December 19.

But the United manager has no intention of resting his key players ahead of those two key fixtures when his men take on Valencia, who are also through to the next stage.

Although the match is effectivey a dead rubber, Ferguson wants to make sure United to finish top of the group so they avoid the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona until the latter stages of the competition. As it stands, Valencia have to win at Old Trafford to finish above United.

“We will be playing a strong side because we want to top the group,” said Ferguson. “Real Madrid are top of their group, Barcelona are top, Bayern (Munich) are top.

“It’s not that you’re afraid of them but you want to keep them out of the road until later. “Valencia will want to be top of the group too, so it should be an interesting game. They changed their system for the first time I can remember when they played Villarreal a few weeks ago.

“They went five at the back, which is unusual for them. They’ve always had a back four with one sitting in front.”

United lost their position at the top of the Premier League at the weekend after their scheduled game away to Blackpool on Saturday was postponded due to a frozen pitch.

That allowed Arsenal to open up a narrow one point lead at the summit. The postponement also denied United the chance to return to winning ways after a team featuring the likes of Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher, John O’Shea and Wes Brown was hammered 4-0 at West Ham in the League Cup last Tuesday.

Agence France Presse

PARIS - Snow and strike action disrupted the European football programme over the weekend, but Arsenal, Barcelona and Lille were among the sides to take advantage by pulling clear in their respective leagues. Manchester United’s game at Blackpool on Saturday fell victim to the snow, allowing Arsenal to take over at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 victory at home to Fulham on Saturday.

In-form France international midfielder Samir Nasri was the Gunners’ match-winner at the Emirates, scoring two delightfully taken individual goals either side of an opportunist strike by Diomansy Kamara. Chelsea could not capitalise on United’s weekend off, as a late Jermaine Beckford header saw Everton emerge from their game at the defending champions with a 1-1 draw.

Barcelona overcame the inconvenience of the Spanish air controllers’ strike to win 3-0 at Osasuna on Saturday and maintain their two-point lead at the top of La Liga. Pep Guardiola’s side were forced to travel by train and coach to reach Pamplona, where they prevailed through a Pedro Rodriguez goal and a second-half brace from Lionel Messi.

Real Madrid, smarting from their 5-0 humiliation at Barcelona on Monday, returned to winning ways as Cristiano Ronaldo’s

double — his 15th and 16th league goals of the season — saw them to a 2-0 home victory over Valencia.

AC Milan kept hold of top spot in Serie A by beating Brescia 3-0, with Kevin-Prince Boateng claiming his first goal for the club and Zlatan Ibrahimovic netting his eighth league goal this term. All is not well, however, for defending champions Inter Milan, who fell 10 points behind their city rivals after losing 3-1 at second-placed Lazio on Friday night.

Third-placed Juventus closed the gap on Milan to six points with a 31 win at Catania, while fourth-placed Napoli tackle fifth-placed Palermo on Monday.

Borussia Dortmund took another step towards their first Bundesliga title in nine years with a 2-0 win over Nuremberg that stretched their lead at the summit to 10 points. Secondplaced Mainz suffered a 2-1 reverse against Eintracht Frankfurt — their fourth defeat in six matches.

Champions Bayern Munich lost 2-0 at struggling Schalke, leaving

them 17 points off the lead and prompting coach Louis van Gaal to declare that Dortmund are “too far ahead” to be caught. Lille soared to the top of the French top flight on Sunday as a Moussa Sow hat-trick inspired them to an extraordinary 63 win at home to Lorient, a day after the match had been postponed due to heavy snow in northern France.

Paris Saint-Germain moved into second place with a 3-1 win at home to Brest, but champions Marseille slipped to fourth after Emerse Fae’s stoppage-time strike earned Nice a 1-0 win at Stade du Ray. PSV Eindhoven and FC Twente remain neck-and-neck on 37 points at the top of the Dutch standings, after PSV thrashed Heracles Almelo 5-2 and their title rivals won 2-0 at home to De Graafschap.

In Portugal, With unbeaten leaders Porto not tackling Vitoria Setubal until Monday, second-placed Benfica closed the gap on their title rivals to five points with a 2-0 win against Olhanense.

AP Photo/Jon Super

Manchester United’s manager Sir Alex Ferguson smiles as he arrives in Manchester, England, Monday Dec. 6, 2010, to watch a training session at Carrington training ground the day before his team’s Champion’s League soccer match against Valencia.

Sport

International

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

15

Trail Blazers snap 6-game losing streak Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

Members of the Serbian national tennis team hold the Davis Cup trophy and jubilate after they have won the Davis Cup finals against France in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010.

Djokovic, Troicki give Serbia first Davis Cup title

PORTLAND, Ore. – Wesley Matthews had 26 points and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a sixgame losing streak with a 100-91 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night after nearly blowing a 22-point lead.

Brandon Roy added 14 points, Nicolas Batum had 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, and Marcus Camby added 12 points and a season-high 19 rebounds for the Blazers. The six-game losing streak was Portland’s longest since it dropped the final eight games of the 2005-06 season.

Matthews, signed as a free agent from Utah in the offseason, started in place of Batum at small forward for the fourth straight game and has scored 23 or more in four of the last five games.

Eric Gordon led the Clippers, 010 on the road, with 24 points. Blake Griffin had 21 points and 15 rebounds, his eighth straight doubledouble. The rookie forward also stifled LaMarcus Aldridge, who had just four points and five rebounds before fouling out. Baron Davis had 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

The Clippers trailed by 22 points at halftime but came back to cut the

lead to three in the fourth. Rasual Butler hit two 3-pointers to cut it to 92-89 with 1:29 left. With under a minute, the Clippers had a fast break with the chance to cut into the lead or tie, but Andre Miller ripped the ball away from Ryan Gomes.

After a foul, Miller made two free throws and the Blazers led 96-91 with 30 seconds left. Gordon turned the ball over and Batum hit two free throws on the other end to put the game away.

As the game got closer, it became chippy. At the end of third, Brian Cook picked up a flagrant-2 foul and was ejected after shoving Joel Przybilla in the chest as Przybilla went up for a layup. That led to a brief skirmish in which Davis, Przybilla, Batum and Craig Smith picked up technical fouls Smith was kicked out with 8:17 left in the game after picking up another technical when he tried to go after Rudy Fernandez and had to be restrained by former Clippers teammate Camby. Less then a minute later, Camby shoved Griffin to the floor, sending the former Oklahoma star skidding out of bounds, but apparently out of the sight of the officials. The next play, Camby went after Griffin again, picking up a flagrant-1 for a hard foul as Griffin went up to the rim.

Agence France Presse

BELGRADE - World number three Novak Djokovic and the unheralded Viktor Troicki swept Serbia to an historic first Davis Cup title on Sunday, overturning an overnight deficit to beat nine-time winners France 3-2. Troicki, the world number 30, eased past Michael Llodra 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, after Djokovic had crushed Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 to pull his country level with his sixth win in six Davis Cup singles rubbers this season.

“It’s the best moment of my life,” said Troicki, who had lost Saturday’s doubles alongside Nenad Zimonjic to Llodra and Arnaud Clement, forcing his team to face a nailbiting last day. Djokovic marked the historic moment by having his head shaved courtside by his teammates.

“It’s history. It’s our biggest success as individuals, as a team, as a country,” said Djokovic, who had defeated Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 on Friday after Monfils had given France the advantage with a 6-1, 76 (7/4), 6-0 win over Janko Tipsarevic.

On Sunday, Troicki had been called in to replace Tipsarevic in the crucial singles and the 24-year-old delivered in style, hitting 58 winners to Llodra’s 32 in the 2hr 13min encounter. Only briefly did he look like expectation might get the better of him when, at 4-1 ahead in the third set, he lost two quick games.

But he held his nerve to seal victory when his 30-year-old opponent was left flat-footed by a cross-court backhand winner. Llodra was dev-

astated by his defeat. “I was crying because I was unable to win the last point for my team and because things didn’t happen the way that I wanted them to,” he said.

Sunday’s triumph will rank alongside Serbia’s previous best global performances of the Olympic volleyball gold medal in 2000 and the 2001 European basketball title.

It also betters the former Yugoslavia’s record in the Davis Cup with three semi-final spots in 1988, 1989 and 1991 being the best outings.

France captain Guy Forget defended his decision to select Llodra despite the left-hander having played for four and a half hours in Saturday’s draining doubles. “We are in the final thanks to ‘Mika’ and Gael, let’s not forget that,” said Forget.

“I have never seen a guy return the ball like Troicki did today. Gael was outclassed by a stronger player.

It’s so frustrating to have been so close to our goal but to lose.”

Djokovic comfortably sealed a sixth career win in six meetings with Monfils to set the stage for Troicki’s

fireworks inside a packed Belgrade Arena.

“It’s one of the best matches of my career, in the circumstances,” said Djokovic. “I have a lot of respect for the French team, especially Gael, who is a good friend.” In the first set, Djokovic broke Monfils twice as he surged to a quick 6-2 advantage.

The Serb broke Monfils again in the sixth game of the second set, and then in the final game, spreading his arms in mock triumph towards the increasingly vociferous partisan crowd as he surged to a 2-0 lead. To his credit, Monfils upped his game in the third set, the world number 12 breaking Djokovic twice — only to cancel that advantage by losing his own service game due to a series of unforced errors.

“I’m very disappointed, I expected to play a lot better,” said Monfils. “I gave it everything I had.

After talking to Guy (Forget, team captain) I tried to change tactics a few times because Novak was so strong. He was by far the better player today.”

AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

Portland Trail Blazers Wesley Matthews (2) drives to the basket as Los Angeles Clippers shooting guard Eric Gordon (10) looks on during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010, in Portland, Ore. The Trail Blazers defeated the Clippers 100-91.

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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

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

Sport

Chris John retains featherweight title Associated Press Writer

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s Chris John has retained his WBA featherweight title for the 13th time after defeating Fernando David Saucedo of Argentine.

The unbeaten longtime world champion dominated the final rounds to win a unanimous decision over Saucedo (38-5-2) on

Sunday at Tennis Indoor Senayan in Jakarta. John improved to 440-2.

John became the interim WBA

champion in 2003 by defeating Oscar Leon in Bali, then became super champion after fighting to a draw against American contender Rocky Juarez in March last year. Six months later, the 31year-old Indonesian outpointed Juarez in Las Vegas.

Those have been his only two fights in the United States.

F1 bosses vote Alonso the best of 2010 FERNANDO Alonso has been voted as the best driver of 2010 in AUTOSPORT’s exclusive team principals’ top 10 poll. In a now endof-season tradition, AUTOSPORT asked each of the current 12 team principals for their top 10 driver rankings of the 2010 campaign.

Their individual results, which are kept secret, were then converted into the new points system (25-1815-12-10-8-6-4-2-1) and the final scores added up to discover which driver the team bosses believed had done the best job throughout the campaign.

Although Alonso missed out on

the world championship following a troubled Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Spaniard managed to beat title winner Sebastian Vettel in the team principals’ eyes.

Alonso beat Vettel by nine points overall after the votes of all the team principals were added up - moving him up from fourth place overall where he was voted last season.

Although just missing out on the world title, Alonso has said that his 2010 campaign for Ferrari was the best of his career - as he delivered five victories in his maiden campaign for the Maranello outfit.

“I am very pleased to learn that the

majority of team principals chose me as their best driver of the year, even if it goes without saying that I would have preferred to receive that accolade in the guise of world champion,” said Alonso. “It is yet another reason to claim this has been an amazing season, despite the disappointment at the final hurdle.

“The team and I fought all the way to the very end, without ever giving up, even when it all seemed like a lost cause: we staged a remarkable comeback. Next year, we will be looking to do better, but I will still remember 2010 as a wonderful year.”

Solberg enters Monte with Peugeot FORMER World Rally champion Petter Solberg will contest the Monte Carlo Rally in a Peugeot 207. The outing will be Solberg’s first appearance in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, which kicks off with the famous January event.

“I was very surprised when Olivier Quesnel, director of Citroen

Racing and Peugeot Sport, contacted me and asked if I would be a guest driver for the 2011 IRC Rallye Monte Carlo in January,” said Solberg.

“Of course I had to accept! The manufacturer team will run the car, and they wanted to hire me for this event to secure a good result for the

team. “As for me, this means more competitive kilometres in a rally car and a new experience, as I have not entered an IRC event before. There is also live coverage of some of the stages, which will be exciting.”

Solberg never managed to win the Monte when it was still a round of the WRC. A privateer Citroen driver for the past two years since Subaru’s exit from the WRC, he has yet to announce his plans for the full 2011 season, but emphasised that his Peugeot run was a one-off deal for the Monte and he was not planning a full-time IRC switch.

“This is a one-time arrangement, and I have no plans for a future in the IRC,” said Solberg. “My plan is still to be in the WRC, and fight for the championship, in 2011.”

Peugeot will also enter a car for ex-grand prix driver and Le Mans star Stephane Sarrazin once again, but at present 2009 Monte winner Sebastien Ogier is not on the list for the ’11 event.

Other leading drivers in Peugeots in Monte Carlo include new Peugeot UK signing Guy Wilks, plus series regulars Thierry Neuville, Bruno Magalhaes and Bryan Bouffier.

AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyah

In this Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010 photo, referee Rafael Ramos raises the hand of WBA champion boxer Chris John of Indonesia after defeating his challenger Fernando Saucedo of Argentina in their featherweight boxing title bout in Jakarta, Indonesia. John retained his title for the 13th time by beating Saucedo in a unanimous decision.