Edisi 19 Januari 2011 | International Bali Post

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Cambodian court bails four Thais in border case

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

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Passengers of Merpati displaced at Ngurah Rai Airport PAGE 8

AFP PHOTO/AZHAR SHALAL

Iraqi troops stand guard in the western restive town of Ramadi at the scene where a suicide bomber blew up on January 17, 2011 his explosives-laden car in a convoy carrying the governor of Iraq’s western Anbar province, wounding three bodyguards and six policemen while the governor survived the attack unharmed, according to Iraqi officials.

‘King’s Speech’ gets 14 nominations for UK awards PAGE 12

Suicide bomber kills 42 police recruits in Iraq Reuters

TIKRIT, Iraq – A suicide bomber wearing a vest filled with explosives attacked Iraqi police recruits on Tuesday in former dictator Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, killing at least 42 and wounding over 100, officials said. Ahmed Abdul-Jabbar, deputy governor of Salahuddin province, said the attack took place outside a police recruiting center where Iraqi men were lining up hoping to get a job.

WEATHER FORECAST

“Who else would it be but al Qaeda, who keep on slaughtering us,” said Abdul-Jabbar. “They are the terrorists.” Abdul-Jabbar put the death toll at 42. Raed Ibrahim,

CITY

TEMPERATURE OC

DENPASAR

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JAKARTA

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BANDUNG

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Associated Press Writer

YOGYAKARTA

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SURABAYA

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ROME – Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi had sex with a significant number of prostitutes, Milan prosecutors alleged Monday in documents seeking authorization to search some of his properties.

The prosecutors are leading a probe aimed at determining if the 74-year-old media mogul paid for sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl nicknamed Ruby who attended parties at one of his villas last year.

Prostitution isn’t a crime in Italy,

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head of the health department in the province, said 45 were killed and more than 150 wounded, while Interior Ministry sources in Baghdad said 50 people had died.

A police source in the city, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, said the main hospital was overwhelmed. Mosques broadcast appeals for residents to donate blood.

“The hospital theater now is full of dead and wounded young people. Ambulances are still evacuating casualties,” the police source said at the hospital, asking not to be identified. A police spokesman said that, at the time of the attack, more than 300 people were standing in line with their documents, hoping to get a $500-a-month job as a police trainee.

Continued on page 6

Prosecutors: Berlusconi had many prostitutes but exploiting or aiding prostitution with minors is.

The prosecutors alleged in documents examined by a parliamentary committee Monday that Berlusconi had sex with a “significant” number of young female prostitutes and used apartments to compensate the women, along with cash payments. Berlusconi has denied wrongdoing and Ruby has said she never had sex with him.

The scandal, which exploded Friday with word that Berlusconi was under investigation, gained momen-

tum Monday with the arrival in parliament of a nearly 400-page dossier from prosecutors on the case. And it was having political implications, with one of Berlusconi’s party leaders, Fabrizio Cicchitto, raising the prospect of early elections if the already weakened government can’t muster more parliamentary support. The prosecutors asked the Chamber of Deputies to authorize a search of offices in a residential complex near Milan that belong to Berlusconi, who is both a member of the Chamber and premier.

Continued on page 6

AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito

Silvio Berlusconi

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International

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Bali News A biker is cruising on one of the street in Denpasar.

IBP/File

Car-Free Day in Kuta waits for proceeds of study Mangupura (Bali Post)—

Sustainability of the halted car-free day on account of the funding obstacle after running for seven weeks is now waiting for the results of a study. The study regarding to the obstacles faced and others needing amendment is scheduled to be completed within these two weeks.

Subdistrict Head of Kuta, I Nyoman Suendi, explained the carfree day pilot project was not discontinued or even fail, but the trial period had indeed come to an end. His party together with police department considered that seven trials were enough and his party did not have authority to extend the activity.

“At the moment, we execute a study and evaluation against the trial periods both in terms of the constraints faced and any aspects needing to be perfected. We require about two weeks for conducting the study,” said Suendi, Monday (Jan 17).

According to him, the constraints experienced in the field related to facilities or infrastructure. For instance, it required gates as latch so that no incoming vehicles passed through the closed roads. Additionally, it was necessary to provide identification card for residents living within the area as well as the entrepreneurs.

“It includes the different understanding about the car-free day among the tourists, local residents and businessmen. Therefore, many aspects should be studied and perfected.

Surely, we will describe in details later on,” said the Subdistrict Head of Kuta from Kedonganan Village.

Proceeds of the study, according to Suendi, would be submitted to relevant authorities in the Badung Regency, in this case the Badung Trans-

portation Services and Highways Construction and Maintenance whether the program would be continued or not.

Later on, the decision would lie in those relevant agencies of the Badung Regency. In addition, the proceeds of the study would also be submitted to the Customary Villages and Community Empowerment Agency (LPM) to be a consideration.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the LPM Kuta, I Nyoman Graha Wicaksana, considered the car-free day program was a great breakthrough issued by Kuta Police and government. However, he judged the importance of evaluation so that all interests of tourists, businessmen and local residents could be accommodated together wisely.

Graha Wicaksana described that in accordance with the Strategic Plan of Kuta (SPK) prepared by the Samigita Forum, the Jalan Legian was proposed to be pedestrian area or passageway. In reality, on Jalan Legian there were not only tourists and businessmen but also residential and hamlet hall. So far, there were objections primarily related to traffic congestion, so that it was programed the parking-free area. Even, the traffic signs had been installed, but the implementation lacking of maximum supervision by relevant agencies made the program be unable to run optimally. Afterward, it appeared a good breakthrough in the form of car-free day program.

“To make this program a success, it indeed requires a synchronization of all components of the society, including the government, local tourism stakeholders and local residents,” he said.

He acknowledged that complaints would appear, but on the other hand, it would also have positive impact such as the decline in crime rates. Therefore, in years to come it would be required a study to evaluate in order all interests existing within the area could come together and go hand in hand.

“It is required something like a mutual agreement among all components to perform decentralization system of special city management. If Kuta and Legian are not managed properly, sooner or later it will eventually have an unfavorable impact on the region itself,” he said.

He also stated there was a need of Kuta Grand Design for the future of Kuta, so any inconveniences could be anticipated earlier. In years to come, his party would carry out discussions and seminars to talk about the upcoming Blue Print of Kuta. So far, the development of Kuta seemed without a clear direction and all parties fussed after a problem came into view.

“Supposedly, it could be anticipated as early as possible by making a comprehensive Blue Print of the future development of Kuta as a foundation for establishing and bringing Kuta to a clear direction,” he added. (par)

Badung concentrates on developing tourism village Mangupura (Bali Post)—

The Badung Regency Government is concentrating on developing the tourism village. It is considered as one of the alternative tourisms. A number of infrastructures have been established, especially in North Badung Region. At the same time, the efforts to promote the village tourism through the Internet will be more intensified in 2011.

Thus, the Badung Regent AA Gde Agung disclosed his plan accompanied by the Head of the Badung Government Tourism Office (Kadisparda), Tjok Raka Darmawan, when received the visit of General Manager of Bali Travel News, Gde Palgunadi, in the meeting room of the Badung Regent, Sempidi, Monday (Jan 17).

Gde Agung said, aside from potentially boosting the tourist arrivals, the tourism village also had a positive impact on the community. Environmental and cultural sustainability would remain intact because the village tourism was indeed ‘selling’ such a product. So inevitably, the environment and local culture should be well maintained. Additionally, local people would also directly enjoy the proceeds of tourism.

Potential of tourism village in the eyes of Gde Agung was huge enough.

So far, the tourists, especially foreign

tourists, were very interested in tourist attraction having something to do with nature such as rafting adventure and bicycling. “We want them (tourists— Ed) to have capability of doing something more than that. Likewise, we want them to stay at the home of local residents and to learn more about food, architecture and culture,” he said.

In the near future, the Badung Regency Government through the Government Tourism Office would make coordination with other stakeholders, especially the community, to develop the tourism village. To promote it, Gde Agung assessed that promotion via the Internet would be more effective.

Within this year 2011, the promotion of tourism village in Badung would soon be launched.

Apart from the measures of the government, Gde Agung also asked the role of the press, particularly the Bali Travel News to actively participate in promoting the tourism village. Moreover, Bali Travel News was one of the effective media to promote the Bali tourism.

In response to this challenge, Gde Palgunadi also stated that Bali Travel News was ready to make coordination and participate in promoting the tourism sector, particularly the tourism village. (kmb25)

The Long and Winding Road to South Bali DENPASAR - The ever-changing scenario to build new highways in Bali to overcome traffic congestion has entered yet another chapter.

DenPost and Bali Post report that plans to build a toll road from Serangan island to Tanjung Benoa are being put aside in favor of an overpass constructed atop environmentally sensitive mangrove forests connecting south Denpasar (Pedungan) and Nusa Dua. A Bali provincial spokesperson confirmed this to the press on Wednesday, January 12, 2011, reporting that the central government has approved the new plan after considering all the alternatives, including toll ways, undersea tunnels and flyovers. In the end, a decision has been made to provide support for a 11.5 kilometer elevated highway constructed over the mangrove forests in Bali’s south.

Endeavoring to minimize the impact of the new road on the environmentally critical mangrove forest, the highways will be suspended on 1,000 supporting columns with an

access point included near the airport access road. The new highway will also be designed to accommodate motorcycles as well as cars and trucks.

To fast-track the program the government will immediately embark on a two-month survey prior to granting work contracts to build the road which, by presidential instruction, must be completed in time for a major APEC conference set for Bali in 2013. A toll road, the project will be financed and managed by four State-owned enterprises: PT Jasa Marga, PT Pelindo III, PT Angkasa Pura and the Bali Tourism Development Corporation (BTDC).

Separately, the vice-chairman of the Bali House of Representatives (DPRD-Bali), Ketut Suwandhi, told the press that earlier plans to build a toll-way and bridge connecting Serangan Island (Turtle Island) with Tanjung Benoa have been prevented from moving ahead due to uncertain land titles on Serangan island, complicated further by the reported bankruptcy of the Turtle Island Development Corporation (BTID).

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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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Unfortunate, Rabies Patient From Denpasar Denpasar (Bali Post)-

The death of a Denpasar resident living at Akasia Street due to rabies last Saturday (15/1) was unfortunate according to Head of Health Agency for Denpasar City, dr. Luh Putu Sri Armini, M.Kes. Moreover the victim, Ketut Sarga, who got bitten 6 months ago neither got an anti rabies vaccination (VAR) nor a wound treatment when the Agency itself has provided it.

When met at her office, Sri Armini stated after rabies spread uncontrollably, the agency have given socialization of it to sub district leaders, health community centers, banjar and even through advertisements. Even so, there seem to be many residents not aware of rabies’ danger, “It is more likely that this victim did not know well about rabies or was not really aware of a dog bite.”

The bite that Sarga got was not big and deep on his right foot middle toe and from a puppy which then died hit by a motorcycle three days after biting Sarga. The mother to the puppy has also been killed before it’s known positive rabies or not.

For that Armini clarified that residents should always be aware even

though the wound is small. The wound has to be cleaned with soap and flowing water also given antiseptic, “Then you should go to the nearest health center to get a VAR. VAR has to be completed on the 1st day, 7th, and the 21st.” Besides at Wangaya Hospital, Rabies Center Denpasar are also at South Denpasar Health Community Center I located in Gurita Street and at Sanglah Hospital.

It was explained that VAR supplies during 2010 reached 12 thousand vials, “Now there are 2 thousand left and predicted to finish on February 2011.” The next supply is on process. The number of victims died due to rabies in Denpasar has reached 10 people from year 2009 to 2011 with 3 on 2009, 6 on 2010 and 1 on 2011.(kmb24)

Complained, Project Digging Waters Flown to DSDP Denpasar (Bali Post) –

After so many complains on the former digging part of Denpasar Sewerage Development Project (DSDP) being uneven with the existing roads, now its managers are complaining. It was due to the a villa construction project in Sanur suspected throwing off used digging waters through the DSDP drain by opening its main hole located at Cemara Street, Sanur, just in front of the construction.

This incident was known by the DSDP manager of the area yet until now the project workers are still not being nice. “We knew it all along and have told them not to do it,” DSDP First Water Pump Technician Coordinator, Nyoman Darmajaya, stated last Monday (17/1) when met at Denpasar House of Representatives.

It was explained those used digging waters were damaging the pump machine and so DSDP then brought the problem to the House of Representatives to be considered at least by holding a raid around the area.

At the beginning, these villa construction workers threw their used digging waters to a drain nearby yet

because the water debit was huge, the drains got overflowed, “Residents then forbade them to throw it to the drains.”

Because of that these waters was then thrown to the DSDP’s main hole, “In the day we warned them, in the afternoon they would open it again. This causes annoyance to us.”

It is suspected these waters had sands and mud towards the main hole pump machine reaching up to 150 cubic per day, “And so if the pump machine usually works two times in two hours, now its two times in four hours as the many waters coming in the pipe, not yet with the rain coming down. Plus the mud and the sands are staying inside the pipes and disturbing the pump machine.”

Meanwhile, Denpasar House of Representatives Commission B Member, Wayan Mariana Wandira, accompanied by his colleague Ketut Arya Saputra stated that this act done by the constructors is a violation, “Don’t think wastes, rain waters can’t even go into the pump. How come used digging waters with sands and mud get in?

This is clearly disturbing government facilities and also the people’s interest.” (kmb12)

IBP/ole

The flood which happened in Celukan Bawang, Buleleng.

Again, Celukan Bawang Flooded Singaraja (Bali Post)-

Due to heavy rain, SingarajaGilimanuk Raya Street specifically at Celukan Bawang and Tinga-Tinga Villages, Gerokgak were hit by flood again last Monday (17/1). Besides floating waters on the road causing traffic jam, the one meter height water also caused some residents houses at Dusun Bubunan, Tinga-

Tinga underwater.

An information from location stated, the rain caused the waters from the hills running down to Celukan Bawang and Tinga-Tinga.

Moreover the only river in the area is narrow so it couldn’t keep all the waters from the hills.

Local residents explained, this flood comes every year. There was

some repairing on the area’s drainage but it can’t accommodate the waters from the heavy rain. The overflowing water that keeps happening can no longer be taken care neither by the Buleleng Public Works Agency nor the Province’s, “This flood always comes every year. We hope that the people will get the best solution so it can be taken care of.” (kmb15)

Has a Share in Causing Robbery Control Cafes, Governor Requests Renon, DenPost

Bali Governor, Made Mangku Pastika, suggests that cafes have a share in the robberies happening lately in Bali. For that, Governor asked government to control illegal cafes, “A person kills a cashier (Galian C cashier-red) because of a café girl. The robbery in Buleleng (Pegadaian woekerred) was also like that. So they weren’t that poor due to the café girls. And so these cafes need control.” Governor stated these after a general assembly at Bali House of Representatives last Monday (17/1).

Connecting to the robberies, Governor asked police to be more aggres-

sive, “We want police to be more aggressive in dealing with these cases. I will talk to the Head of Bali Police about it.”

According to Governor, economy factor becomes the reason, “At first it was because of economy is getting harder to go through.” But besides that, it was also the population control. There are so many people coming into Bali, “And for that they’re out of control with the unimaginable 300 thousand people increasing every year.”

During a meeting in Bangli on Saturday (8/1), Governor has asked regional/city government of whole Bali

to close illegal cafes that keeps spreading around Bali as these cafes became a criminality and HIV/AIDS spreading source, “The cafes are worrying the people. If we let it happen, the Island of God image will be seen badly by the tourists.”

Pastika added the many fights, robberies and domestic violences happening lately was due to the illegal cafes, “Because of drinking alcohols in cafes, it is causing one person to be drunk and fight with other who comes there. Also with having debt with cafes or having a café girl they tend to rob as what happened in Karangasem.” (106)

Legal Challenge to Bali’s New Zoning Law Fails Bali -

Bali’s governor Made Mangku Pastika has announced that legal challenges before the Indonesian Constitutional Court to his island-wide zoning regulation (RTRW) have been rejected.

As reported by Bali Post, the governor, although certain of the defeat of those community members opposing the new zoning law, has yet to receive a formal copy of the Court’s decision affirming his victory. “We are bold enough to confirm that the suit (against the RTRW) has been rejected. With this development, one phase in the implementation of the RTRW has been completed,” explained Pastika at a meeting with religious leaders in his office on Wednesday, January 12, 2011.

Now seeing the road as clear for the implementation of the sometime con-

troversial zoning regulation, the governor is now preparing to move ahead with the implementation of the RTRW. “We have written to the bupatis (regents) and mayors across Bali cautioning them not to issue any new building permits that do not conform with the RTRW,” said Pastika.

The governor has called on regional chiefs to prepare to enforce the law as it applies to those who have opposed the new zoning law or those who have built projects that do not conform with the provisions of the law. “The next step will be enforcement,” warned the governor.

Admitting that enforcing the law will present challenges, especially when that enforcement affects the interests of those deriving profit from illegal buildings, Pastika called for Bali’s

religious leaders to support enforcement efforts during the challenging days ahead.

The governor also underlined the need for consistency in application of the new zoning law, if the RTRW is to be successfully implemented.

At the same meeting, the chairman of the founders group of the Bhisama Kawasan Suci, front-liners in preserving the sanctity of Bali’s religious sites, Drs. I Ketut Wiana, said his organization was thankful that legal challenges to the RTRW had failed.

He said the new zoning laws reflects the aspirations of the Balinese people who wish to save the island’s spirituality and natural assets. He added that he hoped every part of the new zoning law would be firmly and consistently implemented.

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News

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

International

Prosecutor files Hariri indictment in Lebanon crisis Reuters

BEIRUT – The prosecutor of the U.N.-backed tribunal issued a draft indictment on Monday over the 2005 killing of statesman Rafik al-Hariri, a long-anticipated move that has touched off a Lebanese political crisis. Last week, the militant Shi’ite Hezbollah and its allies toppled the government of Saad al-Hariri, the slain man’s son, and the group said it would not back Hariri for another term.

The escalation in political tension has alarmed regional leaders, who met in Syria on Monday in efforts to try to overcome the deadlock and prevent it from turning violent. Deep divisions among Lebanese parties and their powerful regional backers reflect violent religious, ethnic and political rivalries running through the Middle East and beyond, giving leaders from Washington to Tehran a role in Beirut’s crisis.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday he welcomed the filing of an indictment over the killing and that the U.N.-backed tribunal for Lebanon must be allowed to continue its work.

“This action represents an important step toward ending the era

of impunity for murder in Lebanon, and achieving justice for the Lebanese people,” Obama said in a written statement. The contents of the draft indictment, which will now be reviewed by pretrial judge Daniel Fransen, were not revealed.

Details of the charge sheet may not emerge for another six to 10 weeks, when Fransen is expected to decide whether there is enough evidence to proceed with a trial.

But Lebanese officials and Western diplomats have said they expected the court to accuse members of Hezbollah of involvement in the assassination. Hezbollah denies any such role and has described the tribunal as an “Israeli tool.” Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said last year he will not allow the arrest of any of the group’s members. The group had asked Hariri to renounce the tribunal, withdraw the Lebanese judges and freeze Lebanon’s funding of it. Hariri’s rejection of the demands triggered the resignation of 11 ministers from Hezbollah and its allies last week.

“The prosecutor of the tribunal has submitted an indictment and supporting materials to the pretrial judge,” the U.N.-backed tribunal said in a statement.

AFP PHOTO / MARTIN BUREAU

A soldier stands guard as people demonstrate during a protest in central Tunis on January 17, 2011. Tunisian protesters called for the abolition of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s ruling party on January 17 amid a chaotic power vacuum as politicians prepared a government of national unity.

Violence-scarred Tunisia announces new government Associated Press Writer

TUNIS, Tunisia – Tunisia took a step toward democracy and reconciliation Monday, promising to free political prisoners and opening its government to opposition forces long shut out of power — but the old guard held onto the key posts, angering protesters.

(AP Photo)

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri, left, and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for cameras before a meeting in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, Jan. 14, 2011.

Demonstrators carrying signs reading “GET OUT!” demanded that the former ruling party be banished altogether — a sign more troubles lie ahead for the new unity government as security forces struggle to contain violent reprisals, shootings and looting three days after the country’s longtime president fled under pressure from the streets.

“We’re afraid that the president has left, but the powers-that-be remain,” said Hylel Belhassen, a 51-year-old insurance salesman. Even before the

new government was announced Monday, security forces fired tear gas to repel demonstrators who see the change of power as Tunisia’s first real chance at democracy.

President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled Friday to Saudi Arabia after a month of protests over unemployment and corruption led to his downfall after 23 years in power. The government announced Monday that 78 civilians have died in the month of unrest — an announcement that underlined the depth of the violence in the usually placid Mediterranean

tourist destination.

Under autocratic Ben Ali, Tunisia was effectively under one-party rule. The new government named Monday includes three ministers from the opposition — a first in Tunisia — but members of Ben Ali’s RCD party held on to most of the jobs, including the most important posts.

Security forces have gotten an image makeover in the public mind.

The once-feared police have been fighting snipers and armed groups widely believed to be Ben Ali loyalists. Nearby nations, meanwhile, faced a wave of self-immolation attempts Monday, apparently influenced by the desperate Tunisian man who set himself on fire a month ago, sparking the protests that brought his president down.

UK presses for India envoy to face charges Agence France Presse

LONDON – Britain has asked India to waive diplomatic immunity for a senior diplomat following reports that he assaulted his wife at their London home, the Foreign Office said Tuesday. Police were called to the home of the envoy, named by media as Anil Verma, last month following reports of a dispute.

His wife suffered facial injuries

but the envoy claimed diplomatic immunity after police questioned him and he was not arrested, reports said. Britain’s Foreign Office said it would not tolerate diplomats working in the country breaking the law.

“We can confirm we have formally requested the waiver of diplomatic immunity for a diplomat posted at the Indian High Commission in London,” a spokesman told

AFP. “In addition, foreign office officials met staff at the Indian High Commission in London to discuss the matter and to emphasise the serious nature of the allegations.

“British High Commission staff in Delhi also met officials of the ministry of external affairs.” The diplomat allegedly attacked his wife on December 11 in an argument at their home in an upmarket area of northwest London, Britain’s Mail

on Sunday newspaper reported.

Police were called after neighbours heard his wife, Paromita Verma, scream and saw her run out into the street with blood streaming from her nose, the paper said. The diplomat reportedly became angry by the fact there was a Christmas tree in the house which had been given to the family by one of his wife’s relatives.

Paromita Verma has now gone

into hiding with the couple’s fiveyear-old son and applied to remain in Britain on humanitarian grounds, added the Mail. Police in London confirmed they were called to an address in the northwest of the city following reports of an assault.

“A woman suffered a minor facial injury. A man in his 40s was spoken to by officers at the address.

There was no arrest,” said a police spokesman.

Activities

International

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

5

Aston International opens Aston Soll Marina IBP

JAKARTA - Aston International announced the opening of the Aston Soll Marina Hotel & Conference Center, Bangka – The group’s first hotel in BangkaBelitung.

The Aston Soll Marina Hotel & Conference Center is an International standard 3 star plus hotel offering 115 modern and functional guest rooms and suites, class leading meeting and banquet facilities which can accommodate functions for up to 600 guests and various recreational facilities including Bangka’s largest outdoor pool, a full service spa and various food and beverage outlets.

The Hotel is conveniently located in the heart of Central Bangka’s newly developed commercial district on Jl. Koba and only 5 minutes from the airport and Pangkal Pinang. While the hotel’s central location and concept make it ideal for business travelers and conference planners it sits in the midst’s of lush tropical greenery

and surprises with an almost resort like character.

Aston International’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Mr. Norbert Vas, said:” Bangka –

Belitung lays just in between Jakarta and Singapore making it an interesting alternative for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions and ideal for regional tour-

ism. The Aston Soll Marina fits perfectly into our strategy of developing class leading mid market hotels with well conceptualized conference centers throughout the Indo-

nesian archipelago and compliments our more recent Hotel and Conference Center openings in Ambon, Bandung, Bogor, Jayapura, Pontianak and Samarinda.“

Temple Ceremony Calendar Event forJanuary 3 through January 26, 2011 04 January Special Event at Tenganan Pegringsingan Usaba Sadha Main ritual of twelfth month commanced with temple annyversary celebration of Pura Accompanied by Gambang orchestra at 18.00 pm.

Temple anniversary celebration at Pura Dalem Puri,Pura Ulun Kulkul, Pura Kiduling Kreteg, Pura Benua Kawan,Besakih complex,districk of Rendang,Karangasem regency 05 January Special Event at Tenganan Pegringsingan Usaba Sadha Main Ceremony held at Pura Jero when the whole temple adherents go praying to the temple in their finest traditional dress while Gambang orchestra cheeras the atmosphere at 17.00 pm.

06 January Special Event at Tenganan Pegringsingan Usaba Sadha Last ritual held at Pura Jero ended with procession of Deities back to Subak Pemaksan (the agricultural temple) at 18.00 pm. Followed by special event held for the elderly people of the village.

12 January Temple anniversary celebration at: * Pura Luhur Pucak Padang Dawa, Bangli village,distict of Baturiti, Tabanan Regency * Pura Silayukti,Padangbai village, district of manggis,Karangasem Regency * Pura Air Jeruk,South Beach of Sukawati Village,Gianyar Regency * Pura Dangin Pasar,Batuan Village, District of Sukawati.Gianyar regensy

* Pura Desa Lembeng,Ketewel village, District of Sukawati.Gianyar regency * Pura Penataran,Batuyang Village, District of Sukawati.Gianyar regency * Pura Budha Kliwon,Penatih Village, east of denpasar 19 January Temple anniversary celebrations at: * Pura Ratu Pasek Besakih (the mother temple) complex,distric of Rendang, Karangasem Regency * Pura Dalem Batur Village, distric of kintamani,Bangli regency 22 January Temple anniversary celebrations at: * Pura Dalem Tarukan,Bebalang village, South oe the town of bangli. * Pura Benua Kangin,Besakih (the mother temple complex)Karngasem Regensy * Pura Dalem,Pemuteran,Jelantik tojan Village,Klungkung regensy * Pura Pucak Sari,Gunung Sari Village,district of Penebel,Tabanan Regency.

26 January Temple anniversary celebrations at: * Pura Bandesa Mas Kepisah,Pedungan village, south of denpasar * Pura Pasar agung,Kaba-kaba village, district of kediri,Tabanan regency * Pura Dalem Petinget, Kerobokan village, district of kuta,Badung regency * Pura Dalem Pulasari,samprangan village, district of blahbatuh,Gianyar regency * Pura Natih,Banjar kalan,Batuan Village, District of Sukawati,Gianyar 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.

6

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

News Philippines faces more rain as flood deaths mount Agence France Presse

MANILA – Hundreds of thousands of people already reeling from floods across the Philippines have been told to expect further heavy rains until March, authorities said Tuesday, as the disaster death toll rose to 53. “There will be more rains in areas which should already be experiencing the dry season,” the national weather bureau’s spokeswoman Venus Valdemoro told AFP. La Nina, the weather pattern whereby cooler sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean cause high rainfall, was partly responsible for the unseasonal downpours, she said.

Heavier than normal rainfall is

forecast for most of the country over the next three months, increasing the risk of flooding and landslides, especially in the eastern parts of the country, Valdemoro said.

Heavy rains have swamped much of the country since late December, with floods affecting nearly 1.6 million people including more than 93,000 who fled their homes, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. More than half a million people have received government aid, it added.

The council on Tuesday raised the death toll from the heavy rains to 53, with 16 others listed as missing. Most of the victims drowned or were killed in landslides, it said.

AFP PHOTO / TANG CHHIN SOTHY

Thai ‘Yellow Shirt’ activist Veera Somkwamkid (C) is escorted by Cambodian police at the Appeals Court in Phnom Penh on January 18, 2011. Four Thais charged with illegally entering Cambodia were released on bail on January 18 but a fifth — a high-profile nationalist activist — was ordered to remain in jail, a prosecutor said.

Cambodian court bails four Thais in border case Agence France Presse

PHNOM PENH – Four Thais charged with illegally entering Cambodia were released on bail Tuesday but a fifth — a high-profile nationalist activist — was ordered to remain in detention, a prosecutor said. The five were among seven Thais arrested in Cambodia on December 29 for illegal entry and trespassing on a military area, charges that carry a maximum combined sentence of 18 months in prison.

Two of the group — including lawmaker Panich Vikitsreth of the ruling Democrat Party — were already bailed last Thursday for health reasons. Panich has said that he and his entourage crossed the disputed border by accident while inspecting contested territory.

Veera Somkwamkid — a former leader of the “Yellow Shirt” movement — faces an additional espionage charge for attempting to gather information that could affect national defence,

an offence punishable by up to 10 years in jail. “Only Veera Somkwamkid is kept in jail. The four others are released on bail,” Ngeth Sarath, a prosecutor at the Appeal Court, told AFP after a closed-door hearing in which the five Thais appealed their earlier bail denial.

The four were released on bail of one million riel ($250) each. It is believed that the six Thais who have been bailed will stay at the Thai embassy compound in Phnom

Penh as they await trial, for which a date has yet to be set.

The neighbouring countries, long at odds over their border, have both said they would not let the border case strain diplomatic ties.

Thai officials have acknowledged that the seven were on Cambodian territory when arrested.

The Thailand-Cambodia border has never been fully demarcated, partly because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.

Prosecutors...

Suicide...

From page 1 “There were many killed and wounded. The place was full of dead and wounded guys,” he said. Overall violence in Iraq has fallen sharply since the peak in 2006/07 of the sectarian slaughter triggered after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. But shootings and bombings remain a daily occurrence.

Salahuddin province, home to Saddam’s family, continues to suffer frequent attacks by suspected Sunni Islamist insurgents opposed to the Shi’ite-led authorities in Baghdad.

Tikrit is primarily Sunni.

DRIPPING BLOOD

From page 1 Members of the Chamber enjoy parliamentary immunity, including from arrest or searches in criminal probes, unless a Chamber committee decides otherwise on a case-

AFP/File/Charism Sayat

Residents watch as a vehicle traverses a flooded road in the town of Sto. Domingo, Albay province, southeast of Manila. The death toll from nearly three weeks of torrential rains that caused flooding and landslides across large parts of the Philippines rose to 51 on Monday, officials said.

by-case basis. The Chamber posted the prosecutors’ request on its website Monday.

The teen, now 18, has said she was among a bevy of young women

invited to parties at Berlusconi’s Arcore villa near Milan. She has said in a TV interview that the premier last year gave her euro7,000 ($9,000) to help her financially.

Insurgents have stepped up their assaults on Iraqi police and troops since U.S. forces formally ended combat operations last August ahead of a full withdrawal this year. The assault in Tikrit was the bloodiest since Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki secured backing to form his second

government in December. It includes the Sunni-backed Iraqiya alliance, which won the most parliamentary seats in an election last March.

Excluding Iraqiya would have angered the Sunni voters and could have led to a surge in violence. A Salahuddin provincial council worker, Muhanad Abdulrahman, said he rushed out to a balcony when he heard there had been a bomb in the city center.

“I saw a police pick-up truck rush by piled high with wounded people,” he said. “Blood was dripping down the sides of the vehicle and the people in the back were covered in blood.”

Police recruit Murtadha Ahmed said he was standing in line, hoping to get a job, when the attack took place.

“Suddenly I heard a severe explosion. I don’t know what happened after that,” he said. “When I opened my eyes I found myself in the hospital and (nurses) were dressing my wounds.”

International

Indonesia Today

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

7

Tourism minister again promotes ‘’Asean for Asean” Antara

JAKARTA - Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik again promoted his idea to boost inter-ASAN tourist arrivals during the ASEAN Tourism Forum being held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, starting Monday (Jan 17).

AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD

Gregory Wade, (R), Research in Motion (RIM) Southeast Asia managing director, the company behind the smartphone Blackberry, emerges from a meeting with top Indonesian officials of the Ministry Communications and Information Technology in Jakarta on January 17, 2011.

Blackberry manufacturer to follow regulations Antara

JAKARTA - BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM) has promised to comply with regulations in its operations in Indonesia by filtering access to pornographic websites on its device’s browser, setting up a server and providing after sales services.

“They met (RIM executives) us at the ministry office before we have a working meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR). They promised to follow regulations in force in Indonesia,” Communication and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring said on Monday.

The Indonesian government has since last year repeatedly called on the Canadian firm to set up in Indonesia a server which would enable it to monitor communications by suspected criminals via their BlackBerry smart phones. Based on Law No. 11 / 2008 on Information and Electronics Transactions, each telecommunication operator in Indonesia is required to set up a data center.

In the meeting on Monday, RIM agreed to meet the requirements set by the government that they should establish a server and after sales services in Indonesia.

“RIM agreed to build a network aggregator for Southeast Asian region in Indonesia. Indonesia is their biggest market base in Southeast Asia and we would like them to set it up here so that it will reduce the BlackBerry tariff here,” the minister said.

He said that during the meeting the RIM leaders informed they had opened 40 counters in Indonesia to meet the

need for after sales services. “This is their claim and we still need to check it in the field,” Tifatul said.

On the occasion, the minister said that so far RIM had not yet paid taxes for its operations in Indonesia.

Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said he would probe allegations that RIM did not pay tax to the Indonesian government. “To see if there are indeed royalty components or other tax obligations that have not been paid, I will check. If they have indeed not paid we will ask for its collection,” he said after a coordinating meeting at his office.

The minister however said he had not received yet official reports about it and all possibilities for imposing a fine or a penalty which may be done for the Blackberry producer are still being studied.

“I have not received the report. If there are indeed (unpaid taxes) they will be collected including the fines and penalties,” he said. The ministry of communications and information estimates the net revenue of Research in Motion in Indonesia reaches Rp2.268 trillion a year.

“With collection reaching an average of US$7 per person per month RIM is able to book a net income of Rp189 billion a month or Rp2.268 trillion a

year,” the ministry’s expert staff for communications and mass media, Henry Subiakto, said.

As regard to porn contents, Minister Tifatul said that the Indonesian government gave them a five day deadline until January 21, 2011.

“If RIM does not comply with our law, we will block Blackberry’s internet browsing facility,” spokesperson to the ministry Gatot S Dewa Broto said meanwhile. Gatot argued the ultimatum was made due to consideration that the browsing facility in Blackberry had not yet adopt an anti-porn content filtering system. He said the ministry had since August 10, 2010, started to filter all porn sites in 180 Internet Service Provider operating in Indonesia. “We cannot let Blackberry operating in Indonesia without proper filtering system.

We are only implementing regulation in this country and does not rely on other interest,” Gatot said.

The spokesman added if Blackberry’s browsing facility was blocked, the government would offer a substitution for the gadget’s user to access the internet by activating the GPRS handset system. However, the user must pay an extra charge to access it.

According to telecommunication and information expert Roy Suryo, the number of BlackBerry users in Indonesia is about 1.3 million. But the ministry of communications and information noted that there are around three million people in Indonesia that subscribe to RIM, including two million official subscribers and one million “black-market” subscribers.

He revealed his “ASEAN for ASEAN” idea for the first time in an ASEAN meeting in Vietnam in 2009, according to a press statement of the culture and tourism ministry here Tuesday.

During the ASEAN Tourism Forum in Cambodia, he would once again try to convince his fellow ASEAN ministers to encourage their peoples to visit ASEAN member countries, rather than to Europe, for instance.

“I personally has asked the Vietnam government to encourage its people to visit Indonesia. On the other hand, we have also convinced our people to visit Vietnam,” Minister Jero Wacik was quoted as saying by Kompas.com.

Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN Pushpanathan Sundran said an integrated inter-ASEAN transportation infrastructures was needed to facilitate mobility of inter-ASEAN tourists.

“It should be discussed further,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian

government recently announced its target of attracting 7.7 million foreign tourists into the country in 2011, up about 10 percent from 7,000,571 arrivals in 2010.

“Indonesia has a positive aura in 2011 so that we set an optimistic target of 7.7 million foreign tourist arrivals in the country,” Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said in his year-end press conference in Jakarta recently.

The number of foreign tourists arriving in Indonesia in 2010 was recorded at 7,000,571, or an increase by 8.5 percent compared with that in 2009 which stood at 6,452,259 arrivals.

“The figure of 7,000,571 exceeds the pessimistic target of 6.75 percent which was the performance contract with the President and the optimistic target of seven million,” the minister said.

According to the minister, with the number of 7,00,571 foreign tourists arriving in 2010, Indonesia was able to collect a foreign exchange of US$7.6 billion.

BPK to synergize data with ministers Antara

JAKARTA - The State Audit Agency (BPK) is to substantiate audit effectiveness by establishing synergy with all ministries and state agencies and institutions in accessing data, BPK head Hadi Purnomo said on Tuesday.

The new measure for accessing data from the ministries and state agencies and institutions was revealed by Hadi Purnomo after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between BPK and some ministries.

The MoU signed were for information system handling on data access in the framework of state finance audit and responsibilities.

Purnomo added that BPK will support a drive for creating the maximum management and responsibility of a transparent and accountable state finance.

At the same event, Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Agung Laksono said the government expected the signing of the MoU to help expedite the work of BPK because of the information technology approach.

The ministries which signed the MoU were the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for People’s welfare, and the ministries of Transportation, Religious Affairs and State Research and Technology. In addition, state agencies and institutions which signed the memorandum were National Planning Development Agency (Bappenas), national SAR agency, general elections commission, and upstream oil and gas regulating agency.

Previously, BPK has signed a similar MoU with ministries of energy and natural resources, agriculture, forestry, marine affairs and fisheries, public works, health and national agency for narcotics.

8

International

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Bali Today A Tradition to Sustain the Living Environment

http://images3.jetphotos.net

Passengers of Merpati Nusantara for the route of Denpasar-Surabaya-Bandung were displaced on Sunday (Jan 16) night for several hours at Ngurah Rai Airport. Based on the information gathered, the flight was originally scheduled at 6:00 p.m. Local Time.

Passengers of Merpati displaced at Ngurah Rai Airport Bali Post

MANGUPURA — Passengers of Merpati Nusantara for the route of Denpasar-Surabaya-Bandung were displaced on Sunday (Jan 16) night for several hours at Ngurah Rai Airport. Based on the information gathered, the flight was originally scheduled at 6:00 p.m. Local Time.

Suddenly the flight was cancelled due to damage in the engine number two. Only few scheduled passengers took back the same flight at 9:00 p.m. and departed to Surabaya at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday night. Meanwhile, passengers to Bandung refused to use the same flight and asked to be diverted to other flight.

General Affairs and Personnel Manager of PT. Angkasa Pura I (Persero), Torry Risman, when contacted for his confirmation on Monday (Jan 17) justified the postponement request from

the Merpati Nusantara air carrier. “It is true that Merpati Nusantara with flight number QZ617 asked the airport authorities to postpone the flight,” he said.

Unfortunately, Risman Torry was not willing to answer the question related to the cause of delay of the stateowned airline company. “We are awfully sorry it is not our authority to answer it. Simply ask the information directly to the airline company. Here, we just handle the matters of taking-off and landing activities,” he said.

Meanwhile, one of the passengers

said that passengers just received the notice that the aircraft suffered from damage in the cooling engine. However, only passengers to Surabaya were conveyed by the same flight.

One of the officers of Merpati Airlines pleaded the he really did not know for sure about the problems occurring in the aircraft heading for Surabaya and Bandung. “I do not know exactly about the problem. But, in our computer system, all flights on January 16 have been on schedule,” said the officer who was unwilling to mention his name. (par)

Japanese students perform Balinese dances Antara

DENPASAR – Students from Japan took part in a ritual which was held in Maksan Salak temple in Tista Village, Karangasem. The two foreign students performed margepati dance along with the students and lecturers of Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) Denpasar.

The Rector of ISI Denpasar, I Wayan Rai S, said “both students were already study in the campus fro sometime now.

The performance is also a part of the gold of ISI Denpasar which is giving service to the society.”

He said that in addition to dance, the students also performed tabuh Bali or Balinese traditional music. Some of the musics were tabuh Gesuri and Goak Macok, to accompany the Selat Segara and Wiranjaya dances.

The performance of the foreign students was highly appreciated by the locals because they didn’t think that foreigners can perform such difficult dances.

Eeven tough there was slight rain during the ritual but the locals still watched the performances by ISI students.

I Nyoman Sarjana, the temple com-

mittee in Tista Village in Karangasem, said that he and all of the people in the village are very grateful because the students and lectures of ISI Denpasar wanted to perform in the ceremony.

It gave certain meaning because there were never any dance and musical performances done during a ceremony in the village.

He hoped that the similar activities will be done again in the future because it could attract the youngster in Bali to learn the traditional Balinese dances. It is essential in preserving Balinese art and culture.

The ritual of Tumpek Uduh or Tumpek Bubuh performed by the Balinese bring human beings from all over the world to preserve the environment well so that humans do not lose their food, clothing and housing resources that constitute their primary needs. If you coincidentally spend a holiday in Bali you will see Balinese people present offerings on the trees, ritual procession in the midst of vast estate and various socio-religious activities from the early morning to late night. The function and meaning of this Tumpek Bubuh is an awareness milestone to sustain the environmental preservation for the sake of survival of all living creatures.

For Balinese people sustaining the environmental preservation comprises divine duty in implementing the Hindu teaching. Hence, human and living environment are inseparable and always in interdependency.

In the concept of Tat Tvam Asi (That art thou) human is an element of this living environment, to make the Balinese aware sustaining the harmonious relation to its environment. In the kekawin (long poem) of Nitisastra, the interdependency relationship of human and living environment just likes a tiger in the woods.

The tiger sincerely guards the woods again wicked people, and on the contrary, the dense woods are glad to protect the habitat of tiger and provide it with the abundant food.

In endeavor to preserve the environment, apart from doing real action in the field they also perform the ritual procession called Tumpek Bubuh or Tumpek Pengarah, Tumpek Pengatag, Tumpek Wariga. This rite is performed in the morning, when the sun rises on the eastern horizon the Balinese rush to bring the offering to their estates behind their home or the places that is full of trees. In the midst of vast estate area, the offerings put on asagan (bamboo altar).

Such was Hindu devotes in Bali carrying out the rites of Tumpek Uduh or Tumpek Bubuh that fall on Saturday Kliwon Wariga, once in six months (210 days).

Ingredients of offerings presented on that day predominated by the form to porridge. But if devotees has vast estate along with productive plats, like coconut, coffee, clove, and so on, the offering is usually completed with roasted sucking pig.

Tumpek Bubuh is constitutes the preliminary celebration for the preparation of welcoming for the Galungan holiday a festival for the universe (commemorative day for the earth). In the Balinese calendar system, the range of Tumpek Bubuh with Galungan counts 35 days or a month in the system. Their for Tumpek Bubuh apart from conveying thanksgiving to the Almighty God as the supreme authority of sarwa tumbuh (useful plats for human life) also signifies the expectation that God in His manifestation as the Lord Sangkara at all time extends boon for fertility, so all plants grow and bear fruit flourishingly as the prayer recited on presenting the offerings.

If you travel to Bali you would better go to the village corner to see the performance of Tumpek Bubuh rites. The sacredness vibration of this rite will help you to attain an awareness to behave wisely in preserving the environment. When you succeed in sustaining yours well, actually you have made a saving for your retirement age that is immensely beneficial for your future generations. (BTN/doc)

International

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Balinese Culture

Bali tuna export increase 14% Antara

DENPASAR – Bali’s tuna exports during January through November 2010 period was 19,301 tons worth $88.4 million. The number of exports increased 14% in the similar period in 2009 which was $77 million.

I Gusti Putu Nuriartha, the head of Bali Marine and Fishery Department, said “the volume of export was also increasing from 18,312 tons in 2009.” He said that the fresh

and frozen tuna was mostly exported to Japan and the rest to US, Europe, and Australia.

“The tuna catch by fishermen then gathered in Benoa Harbor before exported to the designated country through Ngrah Rai Airport,” Nuriartha said.

He added that tuna is one of the main export commodities which gain much revenue. The total marine product export in 2010 was $107 million. The number increased 13% compared to 2009 which was

$94 million.

In total, marine export donated 22% of the total Bali’s exports in 2010 which was $469 million.

In addition to tuna, Bali also exported ornamented fish, crabs, snappers, and others. Bali was also exporting sea weeds which worth $2,080 but it decreased slightly compared to 2009 which was $2,917.

Nuriartha said that in the future, the marine and fishery sector must be able to give better support in Bali’s non oil and gas export.

Teep Beans:

Lazing while Enjoying Slow Snack Among the delicacy of Balinese food with hot spices, in fact, Balinese community also retains easy-peasy snack but sometimes a bit harder. One of them is the bean of teep. Its tree resembles to that of breadfruit.

However, its beans are far smaller compared to that of breadfruit. When its fruits have turned ripe, they usually attract the presence of civet. Actually, this nocturnal cat is only interested to eat the flesh of fruit. Similar thing also happens to coffee beans. Since the skin of beans is hard it cannot digest them so civet could only enjoy the flesh. On the next day, those seeds could be found at the feces of civet. All seeds remain intact. However, if people see the ripe fruits first, they will not need to wait the coming of civet to pick them.

To process the beans, they are first cleansed thoroughly and dry under the sun. Afterward, they should be fried without oil but sand. When they have been finely cooked they can be enjoyed while relaxing or lazing. As the shell and beans are slightly hard, it may take a bit long time to open and chew them.

However, if they are indeed dry enough and cooked well they must be easy to open and crispy. They are good to consume as slow snack while chatting or watching TV. (BTN/punia) http://1.bp.blogspot.com

Special Mussels:

Dissolved in Tenderness of Coconut Milk While boring with the ordinary servings, simply try a delightful flavor of seafood. For instance, with a combination of mussel ingredient and Balinese tuber spices, it could pamper the appetite of foodies or culinary adventurers. Tender coconut milk will enhance the flavor of mussel.

Ingredient: 250g mussel, a cup of coconut milk Spices: 6 cloves shallot, 4 cloves garlic, 1 large chili, 2 small chilies, 1 slice turmeric, 1 slice kencur (aromatic ginger), 1 slice ginger, 1 pc salam leaf, 2 pcs kaffir lime leaf, ½ tsp coriander, ½ tsp pepper, ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp of lime juice and 2 tbsp palm oil Method: · Cleanse the mussels and drain. Give lime juice to remove its odor. · All spices are ground finely, except for kaffir lime leaf, salam leaf, pepper, salt and coriander. · Stir fry the ground spices until smelling fragrant. Pour the mussel into the spices on the frying pan and stir for a while. Add coconut milk while pouring salt, pepper, coriander. Wait for a while until the coconut milk turns a little dry. Take out and it is ready to serve. (BTN/punia) C.045 ibp

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10

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Destinations

International

Enjoy the uniqueness of Nusa Lembongan LIKE the water flows, myriad of foreign tourists throng the island of Nusa Lem bongan. So, it is not mistaken if this bijou island becomes one of the most popular marine tourist attractions. Every day, they come to the tiny island located in the Klungkung Regency. Even, during peak season the number of tourists coming can reach 1,500 people.

Sweetness of honey belongs to Nusa Lembongan makes a number of cruise companies selling holiday package over there. One of them is Bounty Cruise based at Benoa Harbor. In the morning at around 9:30 am Local Time, Bounty Cruise has started its voyage to Nusa Lembongan. Passengers are just like a king because they are served by the crews amicably. Like the facility on a luxury cruise, breakfast is available aboard.

In order to enjoy the facility, tourists must purchase a ticket at IDR 700,000 for foreign tourists and IDR 500,000 for domestic tourists. Interestingly, there is a holiday package specially intended for local residents of Bali at very cheap and affordable price, namely IDR

300,000 per person.

With such budget, we are able to enjoy many games and facilities.

Eating as you like, can take advantage of the games like banana boat, snorkeling, enjoying the beautiful streets of Nusa Lembongan Island up to playing water slide. However, if you want to try diving or jet skiing additional cost will be charged.

Owner of the Bounty Cruise, Gede Wiratha, said it was time for the people of Bali to know more. “Foreign tourists come to Bali for a holiday. Why do not we vacation in our own home?

Therefore, we give special price to the local community. They also need to enjoy the beauty of Bali,� he said with a distinctive style.

The voyage from Benoa to Nusa Lembongan Island takes approximately one hour by speed at 20-25 knots or 45 kilometers per hour.

During the voyage, we get to enjoy some entertainment, ranging from watching films to sing along on the boat deck. Songs played by the bands are adjusted to the tourist market. On Monday, for example, is specifically serving tourists from China, so the song played is a Man-

darin song.

At around 10:30 am, the voyage of Bounty Cruise has reached the pontoon. Pontoon boats are used for berthing because Nusa Lembongan does not have a quay yet. The pontoon is like a small island equipped with a number of facilities, ranging from restaurants to a variety of games. This place is also used as a transit point to the island of Nusa Lembongan by using a boat with a distance of about one kilometer.

Nusa Lembongan

Nusa Lembongan is a small island of calcareous land. The life of local people seems to give isolated impression considering there has no adequate transportation service. A number of villas and hotels have been established on steep hills and the beach. Even, on the narrow roadside measuring 2.5 meters has already existed a number of art shops and Internet cafes.

To go to a number of objects on the island, we use tarpaulin-roofed pickups. After driving about five miles, we arrive at the center of seaweed village. At this place, we will

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Gala-Gala house was made in 1961 until 1976 by a village resident named Made Byasa who worked as a puppeteer. Such a unique work of Byasa was inspired by the life story of the Pandavas during their living in the forest. For 17 years Byasa had worked day and night to realize such monumental work. Since the age of 75 years, his old body kept on digging and when he was 93 years old he stopped, then he died at the age of 96 years. (BTN/015)

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find farmers who are cleaning the seaweed and also process it.

An attractive place to visit here is the unique underground house located in the cave known as GalaGala house. To enter this house, we have to go down the stairs, because this house is located 10 meters under ground of limestone. The height of the cave varies from about 1 to 1.75 meters. Sometimes, we have to duck and crouch to reach the existing rooms.

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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

11

BUSINESS China unveils $600M of US deals ahead of Hu visit Associated Press Writer

BEIJING – A Chinese trade mission has signed $600 million in deals with U.S. companies ahead of President Hu Jintao’s visit to Washington this week and a separate delegation will look into other opportunities, the government said Tuesday.

China frequently announces such deals in connection with high-profile foreign trips by its leaders in hopes of creating a positive atmosphere for the visit. Hu is due to meet this week with U.S. President Barack Obama amid an array of strains over trade and Chinese currency controls.

The six deals signed Monday in Houston by a group of Chinese com-

panies cover imports of porcelain and cotton and an agreement to collaborate on development of solar power equipment, the Cabinet said on its website. It gave no details of individual contracts.

The delegation was led by a deputy commerce minister, Wang Chao, the statement said.

“These six deals are just the start of further strengthening Chinese-

U.S. economic cooperation,” Wang was quoted as saying. He said the agreements were aimed at increasing Chinese imports of U.S. goods and investment in the United States.

Separately, the Ministry of Commerce announced that Wang also will lead a 500-member mission of Chinese businesspeople and trade officials to Chicago on Friday to look into other possible business deals.

Debt worries pressure euro, Asia tech shares rally Reuters

SINGAPORE – The euro rose slightly against the dollar on Tuesday but lingering concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis limited its gains, while Asian tech shares rallied on hopes for a recovery in battered memory chip prices.

News that Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs is taking medical leave for the third time since 2004 also prompted the view that its Asian rivals may slow the runaway success of the iPhone and iPad maker. But investors wanted to see Wall Street’s reaction later in the day.

Hopes for improvement in the euro zone debt crisis after relatively smooth bond auctions in Portugal and Spain were being tested by Germany, which saw no urgency to beef up the currency bloc’s bailout fund.

“What indications we have heard from European officials over the past several days is that they just don’t feel the same sense of urgency that the market does,” said Todd Elmer, currency strategist with Citi in Singapore.

“I think for the time being that means the euro is likely to trade lower,” Elmer said, adding that the euro could dip back toward $1.30 in coming weeks.

Speaking after a monthly meeting of the euro zone finance ministers on Monday, the group’s chairman, Jean-Claude Juncker, was careful not to commit to being ready

for a new package of measure to end the debt crisis in time for the February 4 or March 24-25 European Union leaders’ summits.

The euro inched higher to $1.3312 as of 11:01 a.m. EST, after having slid to a low of around $1.3243 overnight, well off a onemonth high near $1.3460 set last Friday.

Europe set up the safety net fund, which can borrow on the markets with euro zone government guarantees of up to 440 billion euros, in response the debt crisis that forced Greece and Ireland to take bailouts last year.

As worries over the euro zone’s debt crisis linger, Greece’s deputy prime minister said on Monday extending the repayment of the nation’s debt could help the overborrowed country emerge from its debt crisis.

Some traders said signs of stability in China’s stock market (.SSEC), after a 3 percent slide on Monday, may also have helped underpin the euro.

Stock market players awaited Wall Street’s reaction to Apple’s announcement, which knocked U.S. stock futures sharply lower on Monday when U.S. markets were closed for a public holiday.

Apple’s market capitalization is about as big as Japan’s 11 biggest tech firms combined. The impact of its news could be mixed for Asian technology rivals.

Some could benefit if Apple’s success slows, boosting the popularity of their own products, but others in the supply chain rely on its orders for displays, chips, phone cases and other accessories associated with its popular gadgets.

Japan’s Nikkei average closed up 0.15 percent, while the MSCI index of Asia and Pacific shares excluding Japan rose 0.5 percent.

Tech shares outperformed, however, with the MSCI Asian IT index outside of Japan up 1.3 percent.

Shares of Samsung Electronics Co, a rival to Apple in some business areas and the world’s top memory chipmaker, jumped as much as 3.3 percent to record highs after a newspaper report that Japan’s Elpida planned to raise chip prices by about 10 percent.

Elpida ended 1.1 percent higher on the report.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.2 percent after slumping a day earlier in reaction to China’s decision on Friday to raise lenders’ reserve requirements. The decline weighed on bourses across Asia which have drawn considerable support from China’s robust economic growth.

But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index managed to avoid the downdraft and rose 0.6 percent on hopes for stronger corporate earnings.

Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP

GM’s North America President Mark Reuss introduces the new 2012 Chevrolet Sonic at the North American International Auto Show on January 10, 2011 in Detroit, Michigan.

GM expands recall of 2011 trucks Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON – US automaker General Motors has expanded a recall of certain 2011 trucks and SUVs to nearly 27,000 vehicles over potential problems with the rear axle cross pin.

The original December recall of 1,262 US vehicles now includes 26,751 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Cadillac EXT; Chevrolet’s Avalanche, Colorado, Silverado, Suburban and Tahoe; as well as GMC’s Canyon, Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL, GM said Saturday.

Rear axle cross pins on the vehicles “may have been improperly heat-treated and could fracture, causing the axle to lock while driving,” GM said in a statement.

“Owners of the vehicles are being contacted and urged against driving the trucks until the axle pin is replaced.”

The automaker said it had so far only learned of one incident in which a driver lost power to the axle, though there was no crash.

Drivers may hear a banging noise from the rear axle if the pin fractures and becomes displaced, according to GM. It said the rear axle could lock if the pin shifts out of position and interferes with other vehicle functions.

The driver could also lose directional control.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said dealers would begin installing new rear axle cross pins free of charge by January 25.

Citigroup set to post fourth quarterly profit Reuters

NEW YORK – Citigroup Inc, the bank that took $45 billion in U.S. bailout funds during the financial crisis, is widely expected to report its fourth consecutive quarterly profit on Tuesday, signaling to investors that it has largely completed its recovery.

Analysts on average expect the third-largest U.S. bank by assets to post a profit of 8 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2010, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. That would compare with a yearago loss of 33 cents per share.

Citigroup has largely recovered from the losses that drove it into the government’s arms during the financial crisis and has shed most of the resulting government ownership.

The U.S. Treasury finished selling off its common share stake in Citigroup in December. The Treasury said on Friday it would unwind its final investment in the bank by auctioning off remaining warrants.

Shares of Citigroup closed at $5.13 on Friday — their highest point since August 2009. The bank’s shares have

surged 55 percent since the beginning of 2010, and gained additional momentum last month after the U.S. government sold the last of its stake.

The bank’s fourth-quarter profit is expected to lag that of larger rival JPMorgan Chase & Co, which beat analyst expectations on Friday and boosted investor sentiment about the outlook for the banking industry.

JPMorgan “set the bar very high,” said Michael Holland, who oversees $4 billion of assets as chairman of Holland & Co. “I think Citi is probably going to do very well but ... (Chief Executive) Vikram Pandit has a tall order to fill here when it comes to doing the same thing,” he added.

Citigroup, like other banks, has seen its losses from bad loans shrink over 2010. But its revenues faltered in the face of weak loan demand and a slump in trading volumes over the second half of the year. JPMorgan Chase said on Friday that it was starting to overcome both conditions, giving bank investors hope that other banks could start to see an increase in loan demand and trading profit this year.

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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Entertainment

International

‘King’s Speech’ gets 14 nominations for UK awards Associated Press

LONDON – Made-in-England favorite “The King’s Speech” leads the race for the British Academy Film Awards, Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars, with 14 nominations announced Tuesday, including best picture.

Colin Firth is the best-actor frontrunner for his performance as stuttering monarch King George VI, with Geoffrey Rush nominated for best supporting actor as the unconventional speech therapist who treated him. Helena Bonham Carter is up for best supporting actress for playing the king’s wife, the Queen Mother Elizabeth.

The film faces strong competition from psychosexual ballet thriller “Black Swan,” which has 12 nominations, and mind-bending saga “Inception,” with nine. Endurance story “127 Hours” and Coen brothers Western “True Grit” have eight nominations each.

“The King’s Speech,” which shows the monarch struggling to find his voice as his nation faces its greatest test during World War II, has struck a popular chord with its humanizing depiction of the British royal family, drawing ovations from audiences at some screenings.

The modestly budgeted production, which has already earned more than $50 million at the box office in the U.S. and Britain, was partly

funded by the U.K. Film Council, a government body that has been abolished by Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative-led coalition.

Firth, 50, won a best-actor trophy at Sunday’s Golden Globes in Los Angeles, and the latest nomination gives him extra momentum going into the Oscars. A win would be Firth’s second BAFTA in a row — he took the acting prize last year for “A Single Man.” “The Social Network,” the story of the founding of Facebook, has six nominations including best picture; Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay; and David Fincher’s direction. Jesse Eisenberg received a best actor nomination for his turn as Facebook’s college-student founder Mark Zuckerberg.

As well as “The King’s Speech” and “The Social Network,” the bestpicture nominees are “Black Swan,” “Inception” and “True Grit.” The separate category of best British film pits “The King’s Speech” against “127 Hours,” “Another Year,” “Four Lions” and “Made in Dagenham.”

AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck

British actor Colin Firth is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California January 13, 2011. Firth is currently starring in the feature film “The King’s Speech,” for which he has received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.

Aniston: The Rachel was ‘the ugliest haircut’ Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK – There was a time in the mid 1990s when women barraged their hair salons with photos of Jennifer Aniston to copy her haircut.

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello/file

FILE — A Sept. 10, 1995 file photo shows Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry, co-stars in the comedy series ‘Friends,’ arriving at the 47th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony in Pasadena, Calif.

The layered cut was given the name “The Rachel” for Aniston’s character on the “Friends” television series named Rachel Green. She wore the style on the show’s first and second season.

One person who was not a fan of “The Rachel,” however, was Aniston herself. Aniston describes it as “the ugliest haircut” she’s ever seen in the February issue of Allure magazine. In fact, she can’t understand how the look caught on. Aniston’s longtime hairstylist Chris McMillan came up with cut.

He still works with Aniston today.

‘Twilight’ star talks privacy, money in Vogue Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK – Kristen Stewart is living an atypical life for a 20year-old. Ever since she took on the role of Bella Swan in the “Twilight” films, she’s crossed over into youth-idol status where emotions run high and she has zero privacy.

The actress says in the February issue of Vogue magazine that she can’t go to a shopping mall and that it bothers her she can’t be outside often.

Stewart is working on the final two films in the saga and says her

wish is for the fans to be happy with the outcome.

Now that “Twilight” has made her a star, Stewart tells the magazine, she’s trying to figure out what to do with the money she’s made from her work.

Stewart says it would be “amazing” to help fund halfway houses for people who need their kind of support.

In this magazine cover image taken

by Mario Testino for Vogue, actress Kristen Stewart is shown on the February 2011 issue of ‘Vogue.’

AP Photo/Vogue, Mario Testino

Playboy TV network inviting women Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES – For generations, Playboy’s image has been “Entertainment for Men.” Now, it’s TV network wants these men to watch their movies and shows with their wives and women friends.

The premium cable network, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year, is starting “TV for 2,” slightly steamy programming designed for women and men to experience together. The idea was unwrapped over the weekend with the premiere of “Brooklyn Kinda Love,” a reality series made by the producers of HBO’s “Taxicab Confessions.”

Playboy will soon surround “Brooklyn Kinda Love” with other shows in Friday and Saturday night blocks and, if things go really well, hopes to spin “TV for 2” into its own network, said Gary Rosenson, senior vice president and general manager of domestic TV for Playboy.

The success of “Sex and the City” was one development that made Playboy realize women could be attracted to sexy pro-

gramming, as long as it was made with them in mind, he said.

Playboy’s programming is generally a mix of shows that have some nudity, such as Playmate profiles, the “Shootout” competition of photographers and models vying to be in movies, “Naughty Amateur Home Videos” and the type of movies also commonly available on outlets such as Cinemax. For more graphic or hard-core pornography, showing explicit sexual acts, the Internet has become the playground.

“Everyone has a triple-XXX theater in their homes, if they want to turn it on,” said Sharon Lee, a culture trend analyst who did research for Playboy.

She conducted target groups of men, most of whom had stories of being caught checking out Internet porn by their wives or girlfriends.

What they really wanted, she said, was more intimacy with their partners. Lee said she tested some of Playboy’s new programming with couples, and 72 percent said watching the programs together was a catalyst for revving up their sex lives.

Most said it promoted more openness and communication about sex.

Science

International

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

13

New hope for hepatitis C, an often hidden disease Associated Press Writer

Researchers aim to resurrect mammoth in five years Agence France Presse

TOKYO – Japanese researchers will launch a project this year to resurrect the long-extinct mammoth by using cloning technology to bring the ancient pachyderm back to life in around five years time.

The researchers will try to revive the species by obtaining tissue this summer from the carcass of a mammoth preserved in a Russian research laboratory, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

“Preparations to realise this goal have been made,” Akira Iritani, leader of the team and a professor emeritus of Kyoto University, told the mass-circulation daily. Under the plan, the nuclei of mammoth cells will be inserted into an elephant’s egg cell from which the nuclei have been removed, to create an embryo containing mammoth genes, the report said.

The embryo will then be inserted into an elephant’s uterus in the hope that the animal will eventually give birth to a baby mammoth.

The elephant is the closest modern relative of the mammoth, a huge woolly mammal believed to have died out with the last Ice Age. Some mammoth remains still retain usable tissue samples, making it possible to recover cells for cloning, unlike dinosaurs, which disappeared around 65 million years ago and whose remains exist only as fossils Researchers hope to achieve their aim within five to six years, the Yomiuri said. The team, which has invited a Russian mammoth researcher and two US elephant ex-

perts to join the project, has established a technique to extract DNA from frozen cells, previously an obstacle to cloning attempts because of the damage cells sustained in the freezing process.

Another Japanese researcher, Teruhiko Wakayama of the Riken Centre for Developmental Biology, succeeded in 2008 in cloning a mouse from the cells of another that had been kept in temperatures similar to frozen ground for 16 years.

The scientists extracted a cell nucleus from an organ of a dead mouse and planted it into the egg of another mouse which was alive, leading to the birth of the cloned mouse.

Based on Wakayama’s techniques, Iritani’s team devised a method to extract the nuclei of mammoth eggs without damaging them. But a successful cloning will also pose challenges for the team, Iritani warned.

WASHINGTON – There’s new hope for an overlooked epidemic: Two powerful drugs are nearing the market that promise to help cure many more people of liverattacking hepatitis C — even though most who have the simmering infection don’t know it yet.

Surprisingly, two-thirds of hepatitis C sufferers are thought to be baby boomers who’ve harbored since their younger, perhaps wilder, years a virus that can take two or three decades to do its damage.

What could be a treatment revolution is spurring the government to consider if it’s time to start screening aging baby boomers for hepatitis C, just like they get various cancer checks.

“We’re entering a whole new era of therapy,” says Dr. John Ward, hepatitis chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We really want to begin that clarion call for action for this population who’s at risk.”

Today’s two-drug treatment for hepatitis C cures only about 40 percent of people with the most common variety of the virus, and causes some grueling side effects. Now

major studies show that adding a new drug _either Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ telaprevir or Merck & Co.’s boceprevir — can boost those cure rates as high as 75 percent. And they allow some people to cut treatment time in half, to six months, thus lessening how long they must deal with those side effects.

If the Food and Drug Administration approves the drugs — a decision widely expected this summer — they would be the first that work by directly targeting the hepatitis C virus. Specialists draw comparisons to the early 1990s when potent combination therapies emerged to treat AIDS. Many recently diagnosed patients are postponing therapy to await these new drug cocktails in hopes of a better chance at a faster cure, says Dr. Paul Pockros, hepatology chief at the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, Calif., who helped test telaprevir.

However, the bigger impact could come if more people get tested for hepatitis C, a bloodborne virus. It’s often stigmatized as a risk only to people who inject illegal drugs. But the virus could have begun festering from a blood transfusion before 1992, when testing of the blood supply began.

AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi

Dr. Paul J. Pockros, head, Division of Gastroenterology/ Hepatology and director, Liver Disease Center, talks with patient Loretta Roberts as they view her information on a computer screen in his exam room at Scripps Green Hospital in San Diego, in this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011.

US author stirs ‘Chinese’ values debate Agence France Presse

AFP/File

Young Chinese student, seen here playing flute during a test to gain entry to a music school.

BEIJING – A book by a ChineseAmerican woman about her no-nonsense child-rearing has sparked an online flurry of criticism and debate over strict “Chinese” parenting methods versus more relaxed Western ways. In “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” Yale University law professor Amy Chua recounts the ultra-strict regime of piano lessons and homework favoured by some Asian immigrant families in the United States as the key to future success.

Links to an excerpt published this month in the Wall Street Journal have been shared countless times on Facebook and Twitter, triggering a

debate over cultural values at a time of concern in the West about falling behind China.

Chua, who says she has received death threats via email, has defended herself in subsequent media interviews, saying the excerpt did not include later passages on how she learned to strike a softer balance in her parenting. “There are death threats.

And, ‘Go back to China, you abusive monster.’ It’s much more overwhelming than I thought it would be,” Chua told Newsweek magazine.

In the book, Chua, who was born and raised in the United States to ethnic Chinese parents who emigrated from the Philippines, tells how she and her husband elected to raise their two

daughters the “Chinese” way. That meant heavy pressure for nothing less than top school marks, no sleep-overs or watching television, and mandatory piano or violin study.

In one incident, she makes one of her daughters stand out in the cold for falling short on piano practice, while in another she tells guests at a dinner party how she once called her daughter “garbage” — shocking the room.

In the book excerpt published by the Wall Street Journal, Chua says for “Chinese” parents, “the solution to substandard performance is always to excoriate, punish and shame the child”.

14

Sport

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Japan’s forward Shinji Kagawa (top) jumps over Saudi Arabia’s defender Abdullah Shuhail during their 2011 Asian Cup group B football match at Al-Rayyan Stadium in the Qatari capital Doha on January 17, 2011. Japan won 5-0.

International

Tiago calls time on international career Agence France Presse

LISBON – Atletico Madrid’s Portuguese midfielder Tiago announced on Monday that he is retiring from international football.

“The time has come to call time on this fantastic experience,” Tiago wrote in a letter made public by the Portuguese football federation.

The 29-year-old said that he

Atletico coach given lifeline with win over Mallorca Agence France Presse

AFP PHOTO / MANAN VATSYAYANA

Japan getting better and better, says coach Agence France Presse

DOHA – Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni has warned the Blue Samurai are growing in confidence and getting better by the day after overcoming a shaky start to reach the Asian Cup quarter-finals. They cut down fellow three-time champions Saudi Arabia 5-0 on Monday to finish on top of Group B with two straight wins following a cliff-hanging 1-1 draw with dark horses Jordan, who also made the knockout stage.

Super-sub Shinji Okazaki scored a hat-trick and fellow forward Ryoichi Maeda struck twice on Monday evening as Japan crushed the Saudis without suspended goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima and injured World Cup hero Keisuke Honda. “We have lagged behind other teams in preparation. To catch up with them, I hope to help the team develop themselves at this tournament,” the former AC Milan boss said.

“We did better in the second match than in the opener and we did better in the third than in the second. I’m glad to see the team growing like that.” After the Jordan draw, Japan came back to life with a thrilling 2-1 win over Syria, in which Kawashima was sent off.

It has taken them time to gel in Doha with Zaccheroni unable to have a proper training camp ahead of the tournament with 10 of the team plying their trade in Europe. Several players, including Okazaki, could join them only after New Year ’s Day when the prestigious Emperor’s

Cup tournament in Japan ended.

“The team is reacting well to what I tell them,” the coach said.

“I’m very satisfied as they have delighted me with great football at times. “The only issue I might as well mention is that they have rooom to grow in the area of personality,” the 57-year-old Italian added without elaborating.

“As far as I can see, there are no easy games at this tournament.

I feel it is a very great tournament which has convinced me that Asian football is in the process of growing further.”

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia axed coach Nasser Al Johar after just two games on Tuesday and vowed to replace him with a high-profile international name as the fallout from their dismal Asian Cup intensified. The country also accepted the resignation of team manager Fahd Al-Misaibeeh and his staff, the Saudi state news agency SPA, monitored here, said.

It followed the former regional powerhouse’s humiliating 5-0 defeat by Japan on Monday, which

left them bottom of their group with three straight defeats and out of the tournament. It was only the second time in Asian Cup history that Saudi Arabia have not made it to the knockout stages. They had been expected to compete for the title alongside the likes of Japan, Australia and South Korea.

The recriminations had already started with their Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro — a former assistant to Carlos Queiroz at Real Madrid — fired after their opening match loss to Syria. When they crashed 1-0 to Jordan in their second game, King Abdullah removed Prince Sultan Bin Fahd as president of the Saudi Football Federation. His deputy, Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal, replaced him.

“The Saudi Soccer Federation has accepted the resignation of Fahd Al-Misaibeeh, manager of the Saudi national team, and his crew, and relieved Nasser Al-Johar of his post as the current team’s coach,” SPA said, citing a statement from Prince Nawaf. “We vow to immediately replace them by a highlyqualified international crew and domestic aides.”

was making the decision “for personal reasons” and to allow “new Portuguese footballing values to find their place.”

Tiago, who has 58 caps for the national side, made his international debut against Scotland in 2002 and has scored three goals.

The former Chelsea, Benfica and Lyon player is currently on loan with Primeral Liga club Atletico from Serie A side Juventus.

BARCELONA – Atletico Madrid beat Real Mallorca 3-0 on Monday to maintain their hunt for a European place and ease the pressure on coach Quique Sanchez Flores. Recent poor form including a 4-1 thumping by Hercules put Sanchez Flores in the firing line and there were rumours that if they lost to Mallorca and city rivals Real Madrid in their second leg cup-tie, he would be sacked.

However, Atletico responded to some good early possession from Mallorca with Juan Valera heading home a Jose Antonio Reyes corner. Cameroon hitman Pierre Webo had a shot blocked by Atletico keeper David De Gea before Diego Forlan extended Atletico’s lead.

The key moment of the secondhalf came when Antonio Lopez conceded a penalty for pushing over Emilio Nsue and was dismissed.

Webo stepped up to take the penalty but De Gea guessed right and blocked well. Mallorca also finished

with ten men after Jonathan De Guzman was sent off for a tackle from behind on Juanfran Torres and in the final minute Reyes wrapped up the scoring on the counter-attack.

On Sunday Barcelona had moved four points clear at the top of the table with a 4-1 win over Malaga. It was another master class of attacking football from the Catalan side with Andres Iniesta opening the scoring after just seven minutes and there was no coming back for the visitors.

David Villa claimed a double and Pedro Rodriguez slotted home the other with Sergio Duda scoring the only goal in reply for Malaga. Earlier an Esteban Granero strike rescued a point for misfiring Real Madrid who drew 1-1 against strugglers Almeria.

Real were struggling to break down a battling Almeria team who took the lead against the run of play through Jose Ulloa.

The game appeared to be going away from Real until Granero - nicknamed ‘Il Pirata’ - found the back of the net with 13 minutes to go.

AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano

Atletico de Madrid’s coach Quique Sanchez gives instructions to the players during their Copa del Rey quarterfinal first leg match against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011.

Sport

International

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

15

Clijsters humiliates Safina in Melbourne Agence France Presse

Harry How/Getty Images

Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers hangs on to the rim after his dunk in front of Serge Ibaka #9,Thabo Sefolosha #2 and Jeff Green #22 of the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Staples Center on January 17, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.

Kobe and Lakers hold off Westbrook, Thunder 101-94

MELBOURNE – Belgium’s Kim Clijsters humiliated former world number one Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-0 Tuesday to head an trio of impressive winners at the Australian Open. Tournament favourite Clijsters sent Russia’s Safina packing in only 44 minutes to send a stark warning to the rest of the field, following easy victories by Russia’s Vera Zvonareva and local hero Samantha Stosur.

Second seed Zvonareva disposed of Austria’s Sybille Bammer 6-2, 6-1 in 59 minutes, while fifth seed Stosur took 53 minutes to thrash American wildcard Lauren Davis 6-1, 6-1. But 2008 runnerup and ex-number one Ana Ivanovic became another firstround casualty when she was shocked by 49th-ranked Russian Ekaterina Makarova 3-6, 6-4, 108.

It was a miserable result for Ivanovic, who finished 2010 strongly, winning two of her last three tournaments on the back of her improved fitness and who believed she was set for a climb back up the rankings from her current 21st. Clijsters’ emphatic win came a day after some fancied players struggled to overcome modest opponents in their first matches.

The two-time US Open champion was in complete control throughout the lopsided encounter, barely raising a sweat as she swept the distraught Safina from the Rod Laver Arena. Safina was a runnerup at the Australian Open just two years ago but looked a shadow of her former self as Clijsters dominated every aspect of the game.

The first set was over in a lightning 20 minutes and the second flashed by in 24 as Clijsters underlined why she is many people’s pick the title. “I knew I had to be really focused and play the best I can,” Clijsters said.

“I know Dinara didn’t play at her best, but I just focused on my side of the net and didn’t worry about what she was doing.” World number two Zvonareva declared she was ready to win her first Grand Slam title after her straightforward win over Bammer.

The 26-year-old from Moscow reached the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open in 2010 and said she always felt comfortable playing in Australia.

Stosur, hoping to become the first Australian to win the women’s title since Chris O’Neil in 1978, was ruthless as she took advantage of Davis’s early nerves, rushing to a 5-0 lead before the American was on the scoreboard.

Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder have earned the Los Angeles Lakers’ respect and attention as a prime contender for their NBA title. If Durant and Westbrook had managed to hit even a few late 3-pointers Monday night, they finally might have earned their first road win over the Lakers since before their franchise left Seattle.

Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant scored 21 points apiece, and the Lakers held off the Thunder 10194 for their eighth win in nine games.

Although Bryant missed three free throws in the final minute, the Lakers hung on for their 11th straight win over Oklahoma City at Staples Center, including three wins during last season’s highly competitive first-round playoff series. Lamar Odom had 16 points and Derek Fisher scored a season-high 15 for the Lakers in the clubs’ first meeting since Los Angeles sent home the eighthseeded Thunder in six games.

“We don’t look at them as kids any more,” Odom said. “This team pushed us last year. We have to play them hard, or else they can stick it to you when it counts.

They’re still one of the best teams in the league. We respect them.”

Westbrook had 32 points and 12 assists, and he led a late run aided by those three straight

misses by Bryant. But Westbrook missed two free throws of his own with 21.4 seconds left before airballing a 3-point attempt.

Durant had 24 points on 8-of24 shooting for the Thunder, whose four-game winning streak ended. The Thunder were undone by 2-for-22 shooting from the 3point line, including a 1-for-8 effort by Durant, who missed 14 of 18 shots in the final three quarters.

“It’s very tough, because we work on that a lot,” Durant said.

“We got some good looks, but we just couldn’t make them. That’s the name of the game. We’ve got to continue to work at it, and we can’t get down on ourselves.

We’ve got to keep our heads up and learn from our mistakes.

We’re maturing and growing up as a team, and we know what it takes to win.”

One day after the Lakers wilted in the fourth quarter of a streaksnapping loss to the Clippers, Los

Angeles persevered through the tense final minutes of its third game in four nights. Bryant and Gasol hit more big shots down the stretch than Oklahoma City, which had won 13 of 18 and had the previous three days off.

“We didn’t play well offensively, but a lot of that had to do with the Lakers,” Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. “We were playing too much isolation basketball, and that hurt us. But the Lakers make you do things that you don’t want to do, and that’s what makes them a good team.”

Although Oklahoma City’s outstanding season makes another first-round playoff series highly unlikely, the teams easily could meet for bigger stakes. They have the makings of a lively rivalry, with Bryant and Durant trading artistic baskets while the Lakers’ half-court offense clashes intriguingly with the Thunder’s uptempo attack.

AP Photo/John Donegan

Kim Clijsters of Belgium waves to the spectators after winning over Dinara Safina of Russia during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011.

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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

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

Sport

Night stage for Acropolis Rally THIS year’s Acropolis Rally will run with a night stage after the organisers revised the route for the event following its year out of the World Rally Championship. The classic Greek event wasn’t included last year due to the FIA’s rotation policy of WRC rounds, but it will run in its traditional June date in 2011.

The inclusion of the 12-mile Nea Politia test on Saturday night (starting at 2133) means competitors will run in the dark on this event for the first time in the WRC’s recent history.

The opening day of the event

has the most changes, with a return to the stages north-west of Athens, meaning the Elatia, Eleftherohori and Rengini stages are included for the first time since 2005.

The rest of the event remains largely unchanged. Sunday afternoon’s ‘power stage’, which will run live on television, will be the day’s second run through the seven-mile New Pissia stage.

The Acropolis Rally, which will be the seventh round of the WRC running from June 16-19 will again be based in Loutraki, close to the Corinth canal.

IBP/ist

Sebastian Vettel during a pitstop in Canada

Pirelli on course with two-stop plan PIRELLI reckons it is still on course to achieve its ambition of helping make Formula 1 races more exciting by aiming for every grand prix to be a two-stopper this year. There have been widespread calls for F1’s new tyre supplier to ensure its rubber is less durable than the Bridgestone tyres of last season - which allowed drivers to run extremely long stints - so as to spice up the action.

The Italian firm’s motorsport director Paul Hembery has said it is willing to reduce the durability of the compounds to achieve those aims, but thinks it too early to guarantee that the plan will come off at every event.

“We hope to have at least two tyre changes in every race,” he said at Monday’s wet weather night test in Abu Dhabi. “We want to try to create more of a show.

“We will try to play our part to create as much interest in the sport as possible. But we have to be realistic. This is our first year and some of the tracks we can’t possibly test at - like the street circuits, or the new circuits.”

Hembery added that Pirelli is looking into the possibility of testing new tyre types at grand prix weekends during the year, if all sides

in F1 agree to it.

“We have asked the sport to consider testing new compounds during the season and they have suggested, verbally at least, that it could be possible in Friday first practices to try different compounds,” he said.

Pirelli is running two nights of wet weather night testing at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi on Monday and Tuesday.

Lotus naming case to begin next week THE legal battle over the use of the Lotus name in Formula 1 is to hit the courts much earlier than originally anticipated - with the car company’s bid for a summary judgement to be heard next week. It had been expected that the legal row between Group Lotus and Team Lotus would not be in court until the early summer.

But Group Lotus is seeking a summary judgement on the main legal issues – that its early termina-

tion of its licencing deal with Lotus Racing was a breach of contract and over whether Team Lotus is allowed to use the name in Formula 1 this year. The matter is set to be heard in the London courts on January 24.

A summary judgement is applied for by parties involved in legal disputes as a way of trying to avoid a full-blown trial and all the legal costs associated with it.

In a separate development, the

Renault team’s plans to run a blackand-gold livery for title sponsor Lotus has come under the spotlight of anti-tobacco campaigners.

With the colour scheme synonymous with the John Player Special sponsorship of the 1970’s and 1980’s, concerns have been voiced in Canada about whether the team will be allowed to run it there because of the country’s strict anti-tobacco advertising legislation.

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Peter Solberg during Acropolis Rally.