Edisi 28 Januari 2011 | International Bali Post

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Friday, January 28, 2011

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Bali’s canned fish exports worth US$20.08 million PAGE 8

Oscar race a multimillion-dollar gamble for studios PAGE 12

AFP PHOTO/STR

Egyptian riot police gather near burning tires as a demonstrator throws an object towards them during a protest demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and calling for reforms on January 26, 2011 in Cairo.

Reuters CAIRO – Activists trying to oust Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak set fire to buildings in the eastern city of Suez overnight and played cat-and-mouse with police on a third day of protests against his 30-year rule. Prominent reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei said from Vienna shortly before his return to Egypt to join in demonstrations that it was time for Mubarak to step aside.

WEATHER FORECAST

“He has served the country for 30 years and it is about time for him to retire,” ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, told Reuters. “Tomorrow is going to be, I think, a major demonstration all over Egypt and I will be there with them.”

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JAKARTA

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YOGYAKARTA

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Agence France Presse

SURABAYA

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DAVOS, Switzerland – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Thursday that food security should be a key priority for the G20, warning that soaring food prices could lead to more unrest.

“Indonesia fully supports the prioritisation of food security in the G20 agenda,” the president told members of the world political and economic elite gathered at the

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Egyptians torched a police post in Suez early on Thursday in response to the killing of three demonstrators earlier in the week, a Reuters witness said. Police fled the post before the protesters burned it using petrol bombs.

On Wednesday evening, people in Suez had set a government build-

ing and another police post on fire and tried to burn down a local office of Egypt’s ruling party. Those fires were all put out before they engulfed the buildings but dozens more protesters gathered in front of the partially burned police post later on Thursday morning.

A Twitter entry called for a

march at 3 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Thursday in Giza, an area of Cairo.

ElBaradei’s arrival could spur protesters who have no figurehead, although many activists resent his absences in recent months. The anti-government protests, unprecedented during Mubarak’s rule of a state that is a key U.S. ally, have seen police fire rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators throwing rocks and petrol bombs.

One policeman has been killed in Cairo in the clashes, which erupted on Tuesday, inspired by a popular revolt in Tunisia.

Continued on page 6

Indonesia says food security must be G20 priority Swiss ski resort of Davos for the World Economic Forum.

Citing United Nations food agency data, Yudhoyono noted that food prices have reached 2008 prices and “could still go up.” “High food prices impact on inflation but also poverty and hunger which could lead to social and political unrest,” he said.

“In the medium and long term, we should be prepared for a growing world population,” he added.

Continued on page 6

AFP/Johannes Eisele

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

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International

Friday, January 28, 2011

Bali News

Bali’s economy estimated to grow by 6.3 percent in 2011 Denpasar (Bali Post)—

Economic growth of Bali is expected to reach 6.3 percent in 2011. The figure poses a projection of the macro economic growth in 2011 issued by Bank Indonesia of Denpasar Branch. The economic growth of Bali throughout 2010 showed satisfactory performance. In 2010, the Bali’s economy experienced a growth over six percent or exceeding the target set at 5.66 percent.

“The Bali’s economic growth is slightly above the forecast. It can actually grow higher, but it was corrected due to an increase in electricity basic tariff by 15 percent and grain price by 10 percent,” said the Head of Bank Indonesia (BI) of Denpasar Branch, Jeffrey Kairupan, in the Annual Meeting 2011 in Bank Indonesia of Denpasar Tuesday (Jan 25).

According to Jeffry, if compared to the economic condition of the Eastern Indonesia, the Bali’s economy stayed better. Overall, the region of Sulawesi, Maluku, and Papua grew by 5.96 percent, while the Kalimantan grew by 5.76 percent.

Jeffrey said that the economic growth was much sustained by Bali’s leading economic sectors such as trade, hotels and restaurants, agriculture, as well as transport and communication sector. The role of investment in the structure of the Bali’s economy also gave large enough contribution, namely reaching 25.35 percent.

“Contribution of investment in 2010 was higher than that in 2009 which was only 23.11 percent. Nevertheless, to achieve the quality economic growth, the role of investment should be improved in the future,” he continued.

Behind this success, Bank Indonesia of Denpasar projected that the Bali’s economic growth would reach 6.3 percent in 2011. It was the optimistic pro-

jection issued by Bank Indonesia of Denpasar.

Economic growth of 6.3 percent could be achieved if there was no effect of the rising fuel prices and without the increase in electricity tariff in accordance with the promise of government. Meanwhile, in terms of moderate assumption, these figures could also be achieved if government implemented the quota restrictions to subsidized fuel.

As for inflation, Jeffrey estimated that the rate of inflation of Bali until the end of 2011 would be in the range of 6.6 percent with one percent of error tolerance. The assumption was lower than inflation of Denpasar in 2010 reaching the figure of 8.10 percent.

“The assumption can be achieved if there is no removal of fuel subsidies in the mid of 2011 and no increase in electricity basic tariff during 2011 as well as the food prices do not go through hikes so that it will not trigger inflation,” he said.

In 2011, the credit growth in Bali was expected to increase compared to that of 2010, reaching 24 percent, said Jeffrey Kairupan in Denpasar. By relying on the credit growth in 2010, it was an impressive growth considering the current economy was still in the recovery phase.

Nevertheless, the credit of bank re-

mained to be dominated by consumer loans and working capital. The largest allocation was used for the purposes of house and car ownership. Therefore, in years to come, the courage and competence of bank was very necessary in order to encourage the investment credit for the higher quality development of Bali.

“Distribution of credit to the micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has continued to live through a growth with stable credit portion within the past five years, amounting to 85 percent,” he said.

Jeffrey also explained, in line with the growth of such credit, the quality of credit should be well maintained by banks so they managed to push the nonperforming loans (NPL) at the level of 2.5 percent. Based on the clarification of 19 business sectors, the highest NPL occurred in transportation, storage and communication with a ratio of 21 percent, and then followed by health and social sector services by 12 percent, construction by 11 percent and education services sector by 10 percent.

Meanwhile, the loan to deposit ratio (LDR) of banks in Bali, both commercial banks and rural banks, indicated an adequately significant increase. Within the past three years, the LDR of commercial banks increased from 56 percent in 2008 to 60 percent in 2009 and 64 percent in 2010. (par)

Legionnaire disease caused by poor sanitation Denpasar (Bali Post)—

Within the past few days, people had been hit by upheaval on the Legionnaire disease attacking Australian citizens. So, what is Legionnaire disease? Legionnaire disease poses an acute respiratory infection caused by the Legionella pneumophilia bacterium and other species of Legionella series. The diseases caused are such as cough, fever and pneumonia.

Habitat of the bacteria is in the water with temperatures between 35 degrees to 45 degrees. By and large, the bacteria can cause pneumonia when the immune system decreases. On that account, people who have water heaters and swimming pools should pay a great attention to the sanitation because the bac-

teria truly like living in those places.

Head of Bali Health Services, Nyoman Sutedja, when met on Wednesday (Jan 26) said his party had appealed the hotels and villas in Bali to pay attention to sanitation of water, especially to the tower of hot water storage and swimming pool. “The water must have chlorine with the content of about 0.2 ppm to 0.5 ppm, mainly on the flow of hot water and swimming pool,” said Sutedja. If the sanitary water was not handled properly, it would enable the bacteria to breed easily.

According to Sutedja, the pneumonia disease caused by Legionella bacterium was found in 1987. The case had gone and then was found again

on foreigners affected by Legionnaire disease in Kuta in October 2010.

“However, it was known that the tourists infected by the disease had been traveling everywhere. So, it is unable to ensure whether they were infected in Bali or elsewhere,” said Sutedja.

Nevertheless, the infection of pneumonia caused by Legionnaire bacterium was sporadic and unlike the bird flu. “The case is like any other pneumonia. Therefore, the potential of death is not as severe as bird flu and it can be cured,” said Sutedja.

In Indonesia, the pneumonia caused by Legionnaire bacterium was not specifically identified but it was categorized into pneumonia disease in general. (kmb24)

Rampant crimes, performance of police judged lackluster Denpasar (Bali Post)—

Increasing cases of crime that targeted villas in Bali recently received serious attention from the circle of tourism perpetrators.

They assessed that performance of police in dealing with crimes in Bali remained weak or lackluster.

“Seriousness of police in coping with the rampant crimes needs to be encouraged in order to regain the security sense of the community. Police cannot escape from this responsibility,” said the National Executive Board of the Indonesian Tour Guides Association (HPI), Nyoman Kandia, in Denpasar Wednesday (Jan 26).

According to him, the crime endangering people and foreign tourists in Bali was really a serious chore for the police to disclose.

Police were expected not only to pursuit the illegal Toto gambling and cockfight, but also to secure Bali from the irresponsible unscrupulous behavior.

“We strongly deplore the rising cases of recent crime. We do expect police officers could take quick action in dealing with crime cases involving foreign nationals that potentially can damage the image of Bali tourism,” he said.

Meanwhile, Director of Bali Tourism Development Corporation (BTDC), Made Mandra, stated that Bali was facing severe challenges related to public order, security, and convenience of tourists. Criminal cases frequently occurred certainly would affect the Bali tourism when police officers did not act quickly. “The rise of criminal cases can potentially harm the image of Bali tourism in the international eyes. Therefore, the cases must be addressed quickly. Similarly, we hope that police and other relevant parties need to have commitment to overcome this problem,” he said.

Mandra also recalled the importance of the role of the entire

community in maintaining the security of Bali. They should have proactive attitude because security was the necessity for all parties, not just for tourists.

“Unfocused development and disorganized demographic problems, I think will become the trigger of thuggery that ultimately may threaten the tourism itself,” he said. In addition, the tourism development in the region that did not pay attention to the surrounding community was very vulnerable to the acts of criminality. Participation of government in the regency as well as tourism perpetrators prior to developing a tourism destination or tourism infrastructure should pay attention to the zones and characteristics of the region.

“Most importantly, the arrangement of existing infrastructure and population in Badung should be handled seriously because the uncontrolled regional migrants, high unemployment and increasing demands can become the causes of crime lately,” he said.

In the future, he considered that population data collection was essential. “We realize that the population data collection is still far from perfect. On that account, it should be corrected, so that we know clearly about the desire and purposes of regional migrants,” he said.

Mandra recognized that Bali remained a major magnet for new arrivals to try their fortune. The backflow phenomenon like going home occurred every year. This ought to become a lesson so that the population explosion in the big cities could be anticipated.

Local government was required to optimize the economic potential existing in the region so the economic activities and business really paid attention to the interests of the residents. (par)

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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Friday, January 28, 2011

Increasing, Pollution in Gianyar Gianyar (Bali Post) –

Pollution in Gianyar these past few years have increased significantly as public have complained to Police Civil Service due to the ignorance on preserving environment.

Last Wednesday (26/1), five complains has been received such as Galian C (Digging Area C) which is the digging in Banjar Perangsada,Blahbatuh, which have disturbed and polluted the area surrounding it. And when it was being raided it couldn’t show its permit connecting to Galian C or the name Sunarto. The same activity took place in Banjar Banda, Blahbatuh. This one is done by Wayan Jengki who also have polluted surrounding area and did not have any permit from connecting agency.

In Banjar Rangkan, Ketewel, a wood chopping and molding concrete

factory also got a warning from the Police Civil Service. Then a housing project that has been built and still being constructed also did not have its permits from connecting agency.

Head of Police Civil Service, Wayan Kujus Parwita, stated the raid that has been done based on complains received. The connected companies have been given first warning letters.

Their activities clearly have violated the regulations of the Bali Province No. 12 year 1992 on cleanliness and public disciplinary and for housing project have been violating regional regulation No. 13 year 1998 about building permit (IMB). (kmb16)

Australian Robbed

Police Have Found Out Perpetrators Denpasar (Bali Post) –

The robbery that took Australian Christine Cheryl (57) valuables totaled up IDR 180 million has made Head of Bali Police Inspector General Drs. Hadiatmoko furious. Post to the event, the number one Bali police officer came to Badung Police and did investigation in crime scene together.

Hadiatmoko received the report from Head of Badung Police AKBP Dwi Suseno and Head of Criminal Research Section AKP Soma Adnyana. The case is now being investigated and it’s suspected the robbers are known.

Police admitted there are difficulties in revealing the robbery that took place in a house (not villa, red). Even though the robber is known, but evidences are minim. “The evidence found on location is very minim so investigators are having difficulties in revealing this case,” Head of Public Relation for Bali Police Great Commissioner Gde Sugianyar explained last Wednesday (26/1).

Hadiatmoko directed Dwi Suseno and officers to investigate victim as witness. Badung Police will be backed up by Bali Police Criminal Research Directorate which means what Badung Police needs to do the investigation like cyber crime will be given by the Directorate, “Badung Police and Bali Police Criminal Research Directorate will always coordinate.”

Hadiatmoko thinks the robbers are four people who have crossed area by meaning after succeeding in robbing one area they would escape to another, “If they succeed, they would escape

and of course far from their robbing location. They could go out of province or still in the same island. They will finish off the items they robbed and will rob again after that.”

So is there any target? Hadiatmoko answered there are none and will only focus on investigators to work hard on it as in revealing a case it has to be supported with valid law facts also witnesses’ statements and evidences on location.

Hadiatmoko also asked the officers to keep investigating and make sure nothing similar will happen again. He also asked to gather villa managers, village heads and foreign consulates in Bali, “There are around 28 consulates here. They will be gathered as well.”

Is there a shoot at place command?

Sugianyar explained Hadiatmoko did not command it so. The officers will do what’s regulated and if the robbers are found and tried to escape there will be regulations for shooting. If three times shot is ignored, then police will shoot the robbers just to make them give up.

As told before, the four robbers managed to hold hostage victim Christine Cheryl (57) that has lived in Banjar Tiying Tutul, Pererenan, Mengwi Village, Badung last Tuesday (25/1). Victim was tied up on her hands and feet and valuables such as two gold necklaces, two bracelets, ring, earrings, laptop, two iPods, Nokia cell phone, motorcycle license, AUD 100, and IDR 1 million. Victim loss IDR 180 million in total and the case was reported to Badung Police. (kmb21)

IBP/ist

Ngurah Rai International Airport. Bali Government will build another international airport in Buleleng Regency.

Buleleng International Airport Project Regent Has Signed MoU Singaraja (Bali Post) –

Silently Regent Bagiada has signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the international airport project at Gerokgak, Buleleng. The signing took place at Taj Palaja Hotel, New Delhi, India last Tuesday (25/1).

As he came from India on Wednesday (26/1), Bagiada stated the MoU signing was between Indonesia and India. He was there as the Buleleng Regent and it was also attended by 33 officials such as Governor, General Directors from

involved Ministries, also First Directors and President Directors from companies in Indonesia.

According to the Regent, besides for the airport the MoU is also for the planning in building a high way to connect Buleleng Region with other regions in Bali. Before it was signed, investors have given presentations to Bali Governor accompanied by Bali Province Regional Development Board and Transportation Agency.

Bagiada stated, now suitability study will be started then followed

by work contract process, “So it’s not easy to build an airport, it needs process, step by step. For that, public has to be patient, don’t clash, protect unity also togetherness for Buleleng to be better and brings prosperity to its people.”

Bagiada thinks Buleleng Government’s commitment to develop the region is not only sayings and needs hard work. For that it needs a huge fund while the Regional’s Budget and Expenses (APBD) is not enough and so investors are needed. (kmb15)

Kubu Abrasion

Six Cemeteries Drawn to Sea, Three Bodies Appeared at Darma Winangun The abrasion hit Kubu, Karangasem, and a number of cemeteries on the beach shores have been victims including those on the beach shore Tianyar Village including Banjar Pilihan, Darma Winangun, Tianyar, Kubu.

One of the public figures of Bukit Mangun, Kubu, Karangasem, I Gede Mangku Surata, last Wednesday (26/1) showed it to the reporters. In the cemetery with surrounded walls were all dragged for 20 meters since three years ago. Besides that, three bodies appeared the other day and so it was saved so it won’t be dragged by the waves then buried in a safer place.

Surata hoped government could help residents in handling this

abrasion to make sure other cemeteries won’t be damaged. House of Representatives member who’s also Second Commission Head for the House from Kubu, Nyoman Oka Antara, looked over the location. During it, a part of the cemetery was under water already. He hoped before government do anything, residents have to be aware not to bury near the beach shore, “This is to prevent being dragged by abrasion, if there’s still space in land it’s better there.”

He stated there has been effort to save the cemeteries but until now there haven’t been executive attentions as fund is limited, “Yet we will not stop fight this right as besides road fixing in increasing people’s economy here, nature di-

saster has to be handled especially those who got affected or threaten to be.”

Due to the abrasion the past few years, ten to hundreds of meters land have gone and so those who lives at Seraya Barat has to move.

Jasri village cemetery also have gone and their Pura Dalem have been moved several years ago.

So far, central government only has been placing huge rocks around Jasri beach, Candidasa and Ujung since abrasion hit eight years ago.

Even though it has been completed two years ago, many of them have been falling off as waves kept hitting it. From the 87 km long beach in Karangasem, most of them have been hit serious abrasion yet only 300 m just been handled. (bud)

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News

Friday, January 28, 2011

International

Colombia coal mine blast kills 20, regulator says Reuters

BOGOTA – An explosion at a small underground coal mine in northeast Colombia killed 20 workers on Wednesday, officials said, in the latest accident to hit Latin America’s mining industry.

Colombia is the world’s No. 5 coal exporter, with an industry dominated by major players with openpit mines. But some smaller mines in the Andean nation are dug underground where methane gas buildups can cause accidents.

The mining regulator Ingeominas said the latest blast, in Norte de Santander province, was probably caused by methane gas and preliminary figures showed 20 fatalities. “They’ve just told me there are 20 dead and six wounded,” Marisa Fernandez of Ingeominas told Reuters by telephone.

Colombia’s Red Cross said that eight bodies had been recovered so far along with six injured, adding that there was little chance of the remaining 12 or so miners being alive. “I hope (God) favors me with another type of job to support my family, not this kind of mining in a murderous mine,” an unnamed miner told a local television station.

Other miners, one on the verge of tears, said they feared all their colleagues were dead. Local media reported there had been other deadly blasts at the same mine in the past. Rescuers continued searching for survivors.

The explosion was the latest in a series of mine accidents in South America, including a collapse in Chile in August that buried 33 workers until they were rescued to international jubilation after two months underground. Colombia said that Chile was going to send a group of rescuers to help, while the government said it had shut the La Preciosa mine.

In June, a blast killed 70 miners in Colombia and, in November, nine people died at two small coal mines in the central Colombian province of Cundinamarca.

Despite the recent run of accidents, conditions for workers in Latin America’s mines have improved radically in recent decades from the nightmarish conditions of past centuries after Spanish conquistadors began a hunt for gold.

The modern-day industry has helped fuel an economic boom in some nations, including Colombia, where mining is one of the main generators of foreign exchange.

AP Photo/Efrain Patino

The bodies of four miners wrapped in plastic bags lay in front of the La Preciosa mine in Sardinata, northeastern Colombia, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011. According to the Colombian Red Cross at least 21 miners died when an explosion believed caused by a methane gas buildup rocked the underground coal mine early Wednesday.

President Barack Obama walks down the stairs of Air Force One in the snow at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011.

AP Photo/Cliff Owen

Social Security fund now seen to be empty by 2037 Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – Sick and getting sicker, Social Security will run at a deficit this year and keep on running in the red until its trust funds are drained by about 2037, congressional budget experts said Wednesday in bleaker-than-previous estimates.

The massive retirement program has been suffering from the effects of the struggling economy for several years. It first went into deficit last year but had been projected to post surpluses for a few more years before permanently slipping into the red in 2016 This year alone, Social Security will pay out $45 billion more in retirement, disability and survivors’ benefits than it collects in payroll taxes, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said.

That figure nearly triples — to $130 billion — when the new one-year cut in payroll taxes is included.

Congress has promised to replenish any lost revenue from the tax cut, but that’s hardly good news, either, adding to the federal budget deficit. In another sobering estimate, the congressional office said govern-

ment red ink this year will increase to $1.5 trillion, the most in U.S. history. More than 54 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, averaging $1,076 per month.

The outlook for the program has grown more sour as the nation has struggled to recover from the worst economic crisis since Social Security was enacted, during the Great Depression. In the short term, Social Security is suffering from the weak economy that has payroll taxes lagging and applications for benefits rising. In the long term, Social Security will be strained by the growing number of baby boomers retiring and applying for benefits.

The projected deficits add a sense of urgency to efforts to improve Social Security’s finances. For much of the past 30 years, the program has

run big surpluses, which the government has borrowed to spend on other programs. Now that Social Security is running deficits, the federal government will have to find money elsewhere to help pay for benefits.

“So long as Social Security was running surpluses, policymakers could put off the need to fix the program,” said Andrew Biggs, a former deputy commissioner at the Social Security Administration who is now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. “Now that the system is running deficits, it simply becomes clear that we need to act on Social Security reform.” President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address Tuesday night that he wanted “a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations.”

The president however has not embraced recommendations from a debt commission he appointed last year, including one that would gradually increase the full retirement age, from 67 to 69, over the next 65 years. But Obama did lay down some markers for making Social Security closer to solvent.

‘Second under-age girl’ at Berlusconi parties: report Agence France Presse

ROME – A second under-age girl attended parties thrown by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, according to prosecutors who say they have proof he paid for sex, ANSA news agency said Thursday. The new allegations were contained in documents submitted to a parliamentary committee on Wednesday by prosecutors investigating allegations that the prime minister handpicked prostitutes for wild parties.

Iris Berardi, described by prosecutors as a “well-known prosti-

tute”, was under-age when she visited at least two of Berlusconi’s residences in November and December 2009. She was born in December 1991. Berlusconi threw parties in Milan and Sardinia, the documents said, according to ANSA. Prosecutors have already alleged that the prime minister paid to have sex with an under-age girl known as Ruby. Using the services of prostitutes is not a crime in Italy, but paying for sex with an under-age girl is illegal.

Berlusconi has denied ever buying sex and Ruby — whose real name is Karima El Mahroug — says they never had an affair.

The documents were submitted by

Milan magistrates to bolster their demand for a special warrant to search various offices linked to Berlusconi. Magistrates need approval from parliament to launch their searches because his offices are considered part of Berlusconi’s domain as a member of parliament.

The parliamentary committee was meeting Thursday to consider the magistrates’ request.

In their initial 389-page document submitted on January 17, magistrates said they had proof of payments made by Berlusconi to escorts who were also put up in luxury apartments in exchange for sex.

AFP/File/Filippo Monteforte

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gestures during a press conference on January 26. A second under-age girl attended parties thrown

by Berlusconi, according to Italian prosecutors who have already linked him to another minor, ANSA news agency has said.

Activities

International

Friday, January 28, 2011

5

Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Slated to Open 70-80 Hotels in 2011 IBP

SAN DIEGO - From the American Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in San Diego, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced that it expects to open another 70-80 high quality newbuild and conversion hotels in 2011, coming off of the 72 opened and 96 new deals signed in 2010.

Propelled by unprecedented demand for hotels in the world’s fastest growing markets, Starwood, the world’s most global hotel company, will open nearly 70% of its new hotels outside North America, with the majority in Asia Pacific.

Starwood is also widening its lead as the largest operator of luxury and upper upscale hotels in the world. Of the new hotels Starwood is opening this year, 60% will be in the luxury and upper upscale segment, including six St. Regis hotels and two Luxury Collection properties. This year, Starwood will also open its 100th hotel under its St. Regis and Luxury Collection brands.

“Starwood is well positioned to meet the resurgence in demand for luxury lodging and now offers more luxury in more destinations than any hotel company,” said Frits van Paasschen, President and CEO of Starwood. “At the same time, we are also leveraging our global advantage in key international

markets where building hotels is critical to developing infrastructure. The world’s rising economic powers are expected to surpass established markets by 2050, and our footprint is growing accordingly.”

Robust demand in Asia Pacific remains a key driver of Starwood’s growth, accounting for more than half of all Starwood hotel openings in 2011.

Starwood will open 40 new hotels in Asia Pacific this year, resulting in a portfolio of over 220 hotels in the region by year end.

Over half of the new Starwood hotels opening in Asia Pacific are slated for Greater China, where Starwood expects to increase its current portfolio from 70 to over 115 hotels by 2012. Openings will include 19 Sheraton hotels, ten Westin hotels, and two St. Regis hotels.

“As China prepares to dominate the global tourism market with one million outbound travelers by 2015, we expect their loyalty to our brands to have an ever increasing impact on our business worldwide,” said Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood. “Starwood’s first mover advantage has positioned us well to increase our portfolio across China and throughout Asia Pacific, as we continue to leverage the expertise of our seasoned local teams and our longstanding relationships with owners and developers in the region.”

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.

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Friday, January 28, 2011

News Indonesia...

From page 1 Cereal prices reached a record high in 2008, sparking a food crisis and rioting in a number of African countries, as well as in Haiti and in the Philippines. Violent demonstrations over recent weeks in several countries — including Tunisia and Algeria — have been provoked in part by escalating food prices.

Noting that the world population is already approaching seven billion this year and expected to reach nine billion by twenty-forty-five, he warned that a failure to manage resources including food could spark the next conflict. “The next economic war or conflict can be over the scarce resources if we do not manage it together,” Yudhoyono said.

The Indonesian president also pointed out that Asia is undergoing a resurgence which would “redefine global affairs.” “I let the pundits de-

bate if we are on the threshold of an Asian century,” he said. “One thing is indisputable, Asia is undergoing rapid and strong, economic, social cultural and strategic resurgence, the sums of which is certain to redefine global affairs.”

Yudhoyono, whose country is chairing the Association of South-east Asian Nations this year, said that Asia is “more than China, Japan and India.” “If you think of Asia, also think of Indonesia and ASEAN,” he insisted, stressing that Indonesia would “feature prominently in Asia’s renaissance.”

But with Asia’s rise, countries in the region should also be allowed to deal with their own problems through regional groupings, as the European Union is taking the lead on the debt crisis, he said.

The World Economic Forum opened Wednesday with executives highlighting a power shift from the advanced world to emerging markets.

Egypt...

From page 1

AP Photo/Eyad Baba

Palestinian Hamas activists burn effigies with Israeli flags of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, former Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, during a rally against Abbas, following a recent broadcast by Al-Jazeera reportedly linking him to making broad concessions to Israel in peace talks, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011.

Palestinian official seeks foreign help in TV leak Associated Press Writer

RAMALLAH, West Bank – A senior Palestinian official said Thursday he has asked the U.S., Britain and France to help bring three of their nationals for questioning about the massive leak of confidential Palestinian documents.

Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said the three include a former British intelligence officer, an American employee of Al-Jazeera TV and a French citizen. He said he is not accusing them of wrongdoing, but would like them to appear before an investigative committee.

Al-Jazeera, an Arab satellite station, this week published excerpts from what it said is a cache of hundreds of documents covering a decade of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The station, widely watched in the Arab world, alleges that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas secretly made major concessions to Israel.

Abbas and his aides say they are victims of a smear campaign.

Erekat, who frequently meets with Israeli and U.S. officials, features in many of the docu-

ments. Palestinian officials have said they believe the documents were leaked by someone in a department he heads, the Negotiations Support Unit. Erekat told The Associated Press on Thursday that the investigation into the leaks is still continuing.

He said he has asked the United States, Britain and France for help bringing three people for questioning about the leaks. “We want them to appear before an investigation committee,” he said. Erekat said he has tried to contact the American citizen, but to no avail.

“I am not accusing him of anything. We want to investigate him.

I called (the State Department) to see ... how this man will be brought to be investigated,” Erekat said of the American.

Al-Jazeera officials have been unavailable for comment through-

out the week. The French national declined comment when contacted

by The AP, and efforts to reach the former British intelligence officer were unsuccessful.

Many of the leaked documents detail 2008 negotiations between Abbas and Israel’s leader at the time, Ehud Olmert. Those talks were cut short by Israel’s threeweek war on Hamas-ruled Gaza, launched in late 2008, and mounting corruption allegations against Olmert that eventually forced him out of office.

U.S. efforts to revive talks between Abbas and Olmert’s hardline successor, Benjamin Netanyahu, quickly ran aground over Israeli settlement expansion.

Abbas says he will not return to talks without a full settlement freeze, a demand Netanyahu has rejected.

Thousands of protesters also took to the streets in Yemen on Thursday to demand a change of government there. Protesters in all three countries complain about surging prices, a lack of jobs and authoritarian rule that has relied on heavy-handed security to keep dissenting voices quiet. AlArabiya television said on Thursday Egypt’s general prosecutor had charged 40 protesters with trying to “overthrow the regime”.

A page on Facebook announcing Friday’s protest gained 55,000 supporters in less than 24 hours. “Egypt’s Muslims and Christians will go out to fight against corruption, unemployment and oppression and absence of freedom,” wrote an activist on Facebook, which alongside sites like Twitter have been key tools to rally people onto the streets.

In central Cairo, demonstrators have burned tyres and hurled stones at police. And in the early hours of Thursday, small groups of protesters were still assembling in both Cairo and Suez and being chased off by police. In Suez, burned car tyres, broken wood and torn down sign posts cluttered the streets. Windows at local fast food chains were smashed.

Egypt’s stock exchange halted trading on Thursday morning after the benchmark index slid more than 6 percent for a second day.

DRAGGED AWAY

Interior Minister Habib al-Adli, whose resignation is being demanded by the protesters, has dismissed the demonstrations. “Egypt’s system is not marginal or frail. We are a big state, with an administration with popular support. The millions will decide the future of this nation, not demonstrations even if numbered in the thousands,” he told Kuwait’s alRai newspaper, according to the newspaper’s website. “Our country is stable and not shaken by such actions.”

Witnesses say demonstrators have been dragged away, beaten and shoved into police vans. The Interior Ministry said on Wednesday that 500

had been arrested. An independent coalition of lawyers said at least 1,200 were detained.

Sometimes police have scrambled to find the means to respond to the protests. In one spot in Cairo, angry police rammed sticks into pavements to break up concrete to use as projectiles to hurl at protesters. But protesters have repeatedly regrouped.

ElBaradei launched a campaign for change last year, raising hopes his international stature could galvanize the opposition. But many activists have since complained that he should have spent more time on the street than abroad. “I am going back to Cairo and back onto the streets, because, really, there is no choice. You go out there with this massive number of people and you hope things will not turn ugly, but so far, the regime does not seem to have gotten that message,” he said in remarks on U.S. website The Daily Beast.

He said many Egyptians would no longer tolerate Mubarak’s government even for a transitional period, and dismissed as “obviously bogus” the suggestion that authoritarian Arab leaders like Mubarak were the only bulwark against Islamic extremism.

‘NO RELIGIOUS DIRECTION’

“If we are talking about Egypt, there is a whole rainbow variety of people who are secular, liberal, market oriented, and if you give them a chance they will organize to elect a government that is modern and moderate,” he said.Web activists seem to have acted largely independently of more organized opposition movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, widely seen as having Egypt’s biggest grassroots network with its social and charity projects. “Participation has no religious direction, it is an Egyptian movement,” wrote an activist about Friday’s planned protest.

Washington, which views Mubarak as a vital ally and bulwark of Middle Eastern peace, has called for calm and, increasingly, urged Egypt to make reforms to meet the protesters demands.

International

Indonesia Today

Friday, January 28, 2011

7

Government to sell Garuda shares at Rp750 per share Antara

AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY

An Indonesian man prays ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year at the the Jin De Yuan temple, locally known as Kelenteng Petak Sembilan, in Jakarta on January 26, 2010. Many Indonesian people prepare for the Chinese Lunar New Year by shopping for ornaments to decorate their houses, shopping malls and business establishments, and also visit temples ahead of the festival locally called ‘imlek’ which falls on February 3.

Government total debts amount to Rp1,676 trillion Antara

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Finance recorded that the government’s total debts up to December 31, 2010 reached Rp1,676 trillion, according to a report by the ministry’s debt management directorate general here on Thursday.

The Directorate General of Debt Management said in its report, January 11, 2011 edition, that the figure was still provisional using the exchange rate of Rp8,991 per US dollar.

It said that the central government’s debts totaled Rp1,676 trillion consisting of US$68.04 billion (36.5 percent) in external loans and US$118.39 billion or Rp1,064 trillion (68.04 percent) in the form

of securities.

The external loans of US$68.04 billion (Rp612 trillion) consisted of bilateral loans valued at US$41.83 billion, multilateral loans US$23.13 billion, commercial ones worth US$3.02 billion and supplier debts accounting for US$0.06 billion.

In the meantime, securities consisted of state bonds in the foreign currency denomination worth US$18.02 billion and in the rupiah

denomination valued at US$100.37 billion.

If the debts are broken down based on their creditor countries/institutions, some 30.49 billion or (44.8 percent) of the 68.04 billion dollar debts came from Japan, 11.15 billion dollar (16.4 percent) from the Asian Development Bank, 11.37 billion dollars (16.7 percent) from the World Bank and 15.05 billion others (22.1 percent) came from other sources.

Compared with that in 2009, the government’s debts in 2010 showed an increase. The total debts of the central government in 2009 stood at Rp1,590.66 trillion or US$169.22 billion dollars with an exchange currency rate of Rp9,400 per US dollar.

RI tourism needs to be more competitive: UN-WTO Antara

JAKARTA - The UN-World Tourism Organization (UN-WTO) is of the opinion that Indonesian tourism should be more competitive than other countries in the Asian region.

“Indonesian tourism is very good but it should be more competitive,” Coordinator Consulting Unit on Tourism and Biodiversity UN-WTO, Jurgen Nauber, told ANTARA News

here on Wednesday.

Nauber said all countries, especially in Asian and African region, wanted their tourism sector more advanced because it was proven to have a lion-share contribution in a country‘s economy.

“It is the reason why many countries are vying to develop their tourism sector to make it more advanced,” he said.

Therefore, Nauber called on In-

donesia to compete with other countries in making its tourism sector more attractive.

“Indonesia has everything for the tourism sector to be much better, because it is predicted to attract more than 7.7 million foreign tourists set this year.

A good and strong structure according to Nauber could become the key to success in building the tourism sector.

JAKARTA - The government has decided to sell 26.67 percent of PT Garuda Indonesia shares or 6.355 billion shares at a price of Rp750 per share through a public offering soon, a spokesman said.

“So the proceeds from the Garuda initial public offering will reach Rp4.751 trillion,” State Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar said at his office here on Wednesday.

The minister said the decision to set the price at Rp750 per share was made following intensive discussion and consideration of various aspects including macro-economic, regional and local share market conditions and investors’ interest.

Of the total shares to be released 4.4 billions belong to the airline company while the other 1.935 billion to Bank Mandiri.

Based on that Garuda would later receive Rp3.3 trillion while Bank Mandiri Rp1.451 trillion of the total proceeds.

Mustafa said the funds would be enough to meet Garuda’s financial needs.

Following the initial public offering Bank Mandiri’s shares in Garuda will all be diluted in line with the agreement that the shares

had to be sold at the first opportunity.

So based upon the initial plan to release 30 percent shares, Garuda would still have four percent shares left which could be sold at anytime through a secondary public offering.

Mustafa said 80 percent of total shares to be allocated for local investors including institutional or retail investors while the rest 30 percent for foreign investors.

“We will prioritize domestic investors because the government wishes Garuda’s share ownership will spread across the community,” he said.

The minister’s deputy for restructuring and privatization, Pandu Achiran Djajanto, admitted 10 foreign institutional investors had expressed their strong interest in the aviation company.

“Garuda’s IPO plan has drawn strong response from foreign institutional investors because Garuda’s business prospects are bright while it is also the only airline company to be listed in the capital market,” he said.

According to the schedule Garuda’s IPO would be carried out on February 11, 2011, with the offering to be done on February 2, 4 and 7 while the distribution on February 9.

Film festival ‘’Australia on screen” 2011 being held in Jakarta Antara

JAKARTA - Celebrated Indonesian actress and producer Christine Hakim and Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty launched the latest Australian Embassy Film Festival Australia on Screen 2011 in Jakarta on Wednesday.

A media release from Australian Embassy on its official website said Moriarty was delighted they were able to celebrate Australia Day with the launch of such an exciting line-up of Australian films, demonstrating Australia’s cultural and artistic innovation and talent.

“It is a great honor to also acknowledge Christine Hakim being recently awarded the APSA 2010 FIAPF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film at the recent Asia Pacific Screen Awards Ceremony in Australia. The award was a fitting reminder of the exceptional work and progress she has achieved over the years in Indonesian film,” Moriarty said.

Held at Blitzmegaplex, Grand Indonesia from January 26-28, 2011, the Festival features awardwinning Australian films that present film reflecting the country’s unique blend of established Indigenous traditions and

new influences.

Opening with the internationally acclaimed Bran Nue Dae, loosely based on the musical with the same name and directed by prominent Australian director Rachel Perkins and producers Robyn Kershaw and Graeme Isaac, the star studded cast includes among others, renowned singer Jessica Mauboy, Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush and Indigenous Australian actor Rocky McKenzie.

Robyn Kershaw and Rocky McKenzie have both been hosted by the Australian Embassy and the West Australian Government to come to Indonesia to promote Bran Nue Dae and the film festival.

During their visit they will participate in a number of workshops with Indonesian film professionals and film students and be exposed to Indonesia’s rich cultural heritage and how different cultures are reflected through film.

The festival will also feature the films Jindabyne, Radiance, Lantana, Mary and Max, Looking for Alibrandi and Ned Kelly.

Australia on Screen 2011 is sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in cooperation with the Australia International Cultural Council and Screen Australia with support from the Government of Western Australia.

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Internationa

Friday, January 28, 2011

Bali Today Bali’s canned fish exports worth US$20.08 million Antara

DENPASAR - The Indonesian tourist resort island of Bali exported 8,488.8 tons of canned fish worth US$20.08 million in the January - November 2010, Head of Bali’s Maritime and Fisheries Service I Gusti Putu Nuriatha said.

Nuriatha said that the canned fish exports in the seven month period in 2010 increased 5.38 percent compared with that in the same period a year earlier which were US$19.06 million.

“However, if it was seen from the volume aspect, the exports declined 2.49 percent because Bali’s exports of the same commodity in 2009 stood at 8,705.9 tons,” he said.

He said that the canned fish which was exported to Japan, the United States and Europe, was produced by the Pengambengan canned fish factory in Jembrana district.

“The canned fish is one of the 12 kinds of fishery products that are able to penetrate the world market,” Gusti Putu Nuriaha said.

In the meantime, Bali province’s ornamental fish exports in the January-November 2010 period rose 9.99 percent to US$1.02 million from the same period the year before.

“The ornamental fish exports fell 0.22 percent by volume compared to the same period in the previous year when 785,202 heads of ornamental

fish were shipped,” Gusti Putu Nuriatha said.

The drop in the volume of ornamental fish exports was among others the result of unfavorable climate that caused difficulties to fishermen to catch ornamental fish, he said.

After all, the province still had a chance to increase ornamental fish exports in 2011 and the upcoming years, he said.

The ornamental fish was exported to Japan, the United States, Australia and Europe.

Ornamental fish is one of Bali’s 11 aquatic products which have so far penetrated the international market. The province earned US$107.15 million from aquatic product exports in the January-November 2010 period, a 13.28 percent increase compared to the same period the year before when the figure was US$94.59 million.

Gusti Nuriatha said the Bali waters were rich in a wide variety of ornamental fish. Fishermen catch the fish of high economic value near the province’s beaches using very simple instrument.

http://matanews.com

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Fadel Muhammad (middle) checking the factory of canned fish. The Indonesian tourist resort island of Bali exported 8,488.8 tons of canned fish worth US$20.08 million in the January - November 2010, Head of Bali’s Maritime and Fisheries Service I Gusti Putu Nuriatha said.

Bali created as a turnaround port Bali Post

IBP/File

Tourists enjoy water sports in Banoa Harbor

JAKARTA - Bali will be made into a turnaround port in an effort to increase the arrivals of foreign tourists and cruise ships. “We expect in the near future synergy of Benoa Harbor development could be realized,” said the Team Leader of Cruise Ship Development of PT Pelindo III, Broto, in the seminar held in Jakarta on Wednesday.

According to Broto, his party had prepared strategic measures for the development of Benoa Harbor as turnaround port following the increase in the cruise ship visits to Bali. He revealed that in 2010 Benoa Harbor was visited by 28 cruises with 13,683 passengers, whereas in the previous year there were only 16 transit ships.

Broto added that pursuant to the master plan the development phases of Benoa Harbor along with various tourism supporting facilities would begin in 2012. He hoped two years later, the integrated harbor could have been operated normally, including the attempt to resolve the harbor entrance.

Meanwhile, Director of Overseas Promotion, Ministry of Culture and

Tourism, Noviendi Makalam, highly supported the measures. Bali as one of today’s leading cruise destinations, said Noviendi, was in need of adequate infrastructure for cruise ships so they could berth properly on the pier. Therefore, tourists would not be disturbed during the embarkation and debarkation. “Bali has no problem with the destination. However, the problem is how the harbor is integrated with the airport to make easier for tourists to come and go,” he said.

In the meantime, the Regent of Karangasem, I Wayan Geredeg, hoped all parties paid attention to desire of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for prioritizing the completion of the construction of the Tanah Ampo cruise harbor at Labuhan Amuk, Manggis, Karangasem.

In the presence of the mayors and regents, Geredeg revealed that Tanah Ampo had a long history as a cruise harbor where in 1968 for the first time a cruise ship dropped by in Bali at Tanah Ampo. “I am determined that Tanah Ampo could be completed in the effort to meet the market demand,” he said.

He questioned the intention of PT Pelindo encouraging the development of Benoa Harbor. According to him, if the budget was forced to build the Benoa Harbor, how expensive the budget would be. Unlike the Tanah Ampo, it had been geographically ready to be stopped in by cruise ships with a length of 300 meters.

So far, said Geredeg, the Tanah Ampo Harbor development had spent around IDR 104 billion and still required additional funding in order it could be operated in 2012. Commitment to the establishment of the cruise port was commenced in 2006 by distribution plan of financing involving the central government, Bali Provincial Government and the Regency of Karangasem.

However, Geredeg argued that the construction was discontinued in 2008 due to funding constraints when it just completed 25 percent. It did not include the development on land side. “It still requires additional funding of about IDR 200 billion more. Among others, it is intended to increase the width of the pier up to about 20 meters and length of 250 meters,” he said. (010)

al

Friday, January 28, 2011

Balinese Culture

A Hotel Project Stuck in the Gutter DENPASAR - Complaints have been filed by the developer of the Denpasar Sewerage Project (DSDP) with the Denpasar House of Representatives (DPRDDenpasar) against the company building a hotel in Sanur. According to the DSDP, the hotel project has been dumping excavation water into manholes installed over the new sewerage system, effectively clogging drainage pipes and playing havoc with pumping stations.

Responding to the complaints, a team of city legislators visited the hotel project site to discover the hotel lacked any of the required permits and licenses needed to build a hotel project. When confronted by the lawmakers, the hotel project team was unable to present a local community agreement (HO), a building permit (IMB) or a local operating license

(SITU).

During the inspection visit the errant project had apparently ceased s pouring excavation water into the sewerage manhole, an act specifically forbidden under regulations.

According to the Bali Post, the legislators were concerned that the hotel project on Jalan Cemara in Sanur being built by PT Tatamulia Nusantara Indah Balilacked any of the necessary permits and licenses.

When the developer and two owner ’s representatives were quizzed by the inspection team, they claimed the permits were “still being processed.” Kadek Marhenu and Wayan Subiantara representing the owners and Dian Damayanti who is the site manager told legislators they hoped the permits would soon be issued.

When quizzed further regarding

the projects illegal pumping of excavated water into the new sewerage system, Damayanti excused the act, claiming it took place only during the construction of the basement for the hotel and that the project workers had now stopped using this system.Wayan Mariyana Wandhira who represents the Golkar faction in the DPRD-Denpasar said the Hotel Sudamala project should not be under construction before an IMB has been issued. “Not only is that, “added Wandhira,” but directly discharging water into the sewerage manhole forbidden and we are very disappointed that this project is throwing their excavation water into the system.”

The DSDP project team claims the illegal discharge by the unauthorized hotel project has clogged the system and caused damage to pumping stations.

Be Sampi Mesitsit (Dry Spiced Beef)

OVERVIEW: Don’t be misled by the rather uninteresting appearance and name of this beef dish. It is wonderfully flavored and generally so popular that it’s worth making a large amount. Cook as directed below, then if you have leftovers after a meal, deep fry the beef until very crisp. Drain thoroughly and store in an airtight container.

This crisp beef is excellent as a finger food with cocktails, and also makes a tasty accompaniment to rice-based meals.

INGREDIENTS: 1 kg beef topside, cut in 4 steaks 250g each 8 cloves garlic, peeled 2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed 1 tbsp chopped palm sugar 2 large red chilies, seeded 2 tbsp laos peeled and sliced 2 tsp dried shrimp paste 2 cloves ground 1 tsp salt 1 tsp black peppercorns, coarsely ground 2 tbsp oil 2 tsp freshly squeezed limejuice PREPARATION: Bring 5 liters (20 cups) of lightly salted water to the boil in stockpot. Add beef and boil for approximately 1 hour, until very tender. Remove from stock. Meat must be so tender that its fibers separate very easily. Keep stock. Pound meat until flat and shred by hand into fine fibers.

Place garlic, coriander, palm sugar, red chilies, Laos, dried shrimp paste, cloves, salt and peppercorns in food processor and puree coarsely, or grind in a stone mortar. Heat oil heavy saucepan and sauté the marinade for 2 minutes over medium heat.

Add shredded beef, mix well and sauté until dry.

Season with limejuice.

Remove from heat and allow cooling. Serve at room temperature with steamed rice.

Helpful hint: Do not tempted to use a food processor to shred the meat; you will obtain the correct texture only by shredding the meat with your fingers or a fork.

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Friday, January 28, 2011

Destinations

International

Tanah Lot IBP

Tanah Lot is a famous destination in Bali Island. It is located on coastal side of Beraban village, Tabanan Regency. Besides being famous for its beautiful scenery, Tanah Lot also famous with its temple. The temple located on the rock with 3 acre size and reachable in a few minute by walk, because it is just 20 meters from the coastal lip.

This temple is very famous among tourist destinations in Bali with spectacular view of sunset. At some nooks of coral reef around Tanah Lot Temple there are holy tame snake in black and white color where according to the local society believe that it as a deity property and as the guard of the temple from the bad influence.

The word of Tanah Lot is consisted of two words that are Tanah word interpreted as a reef looking like gili or isle. Lot or Lod word has meaning the sea. So Tanah Lot is meaning the small island floating on the sea. The location is now called as Tanah Lot has been used at a

Megalithic period as a place that looked into holy, proven from the existence of menhir. Pursuant to environmental condition, hence the structure of Tanah Lot Temple is built at irregular reef plain of its angle which is only consisted of one plain yard as Jeroan.

The function of this temple can be realized from the function of the main temple building which is located in the temple main area. In this place, there is a main temple to worship the god in form of Dewa Baruna or Bhatara Segara, the sea power.

The media of worship to this god is the temple building with 5 storied meanwhile the 3 storied temple building in north part of this area is purposing to worship to Dang Hyang Nirartha.

In order to know the status of Tanah Lot Temple can be realized from the temple history, function and also incoming devotee existence pray when temple ceremony is held.

In this case can be realized as follows: Tanah Lot Temple as dang Kahyangan (the big Holy Temples in Bali), because the history and the

http://ksupointer.com

Penyiwi (The people taking care of the temple) are from the local people from Tabanan regency and surrounding area Tanah Lot temple as Segara Temple, because its function as sanc-

International Bali Post Classifieds BALI CENTRAL CANOPY

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tum to worship the Bhatara Segara, the God with manifestation as the ocean Power Deity The unique animal can be seen in this temple area is the snake which are generally can be met in the coast.

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

Friday, January 28, 2011

11

BUSINESS US Fed stands firm on stimulus deal Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON – Top Federal Reserve policymakers unanimously agreed to keep crisis measures in place when they met, batting away fears their policies risked stoking US inflation.

A revamped Federal Open Market Committee — the Fed’s interest-rate setting panel — ended a two-day meeting with a pledge to continue a $600billion stimulus plan designed to jolt the US economy out of its slumber.

Despite signs of a “continuing” recovery, the Fed kept its foot on the accelerator, continuing emergency bond purchases that prime the economy and keeping interest rates at the ultra-low rate of zero to 0.25 percent.

“The economic recovery is continuing, though at a rate that has been insufficient to bring about a significant improvement in labor market conditions,” members said in a statement.

Since the last Fed policy meeting in December, unemployment has dropped to 9.4 percent and most economists see a diminishing risk of a downward spiral of wages and prices.

The brighter economic picture has given voice to the central bank’s detractors, who argue it must ready itself for a return to more sustainable policies or else risk stoking inflation.

But the Fed brushed aside those criticisms, saying price increases for some items were not representative of a larger

trend.

“Although commodity prices have risen, longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable, and measures of underlying inflation have been trending downward.”

The statement was given extra weight by the absence of dissent, particularly from two new members of the panel who had voiced concerns about the Fed’s policies before joining its top policy panel.

Josh Feinman, global chief economist for DB Advisors — a part of Deutsche Bank — said the statement showed the Fed is sticking to its guns despite the risks.

“Nothing in there would suggest that they have changed their basic view, which is that the recovery is proceeding, but that unemployment is too high, inflation is too low and it is going to take too long to get them back to where they want them to be.”

But the statement contained few clues about what actions the Fed may take after the current bond purchasing program expires at the end of June.

“They are leaving that open, it is going to be dictated very much by what

happens in the economy between now and then,” said Feinman.

“They want to give themselves the flexibility to respond.”

Michael Gapen, an economist with Barclays Capital, said the Fed’s language left the door open for further spending.

“Overall, the FOMC continues to give a cautious read on the state of the recovery and we see little to suggest that the Fed will stop short of its intent to purchase $600 billion by the end of the second quarter, or to prevent the FOMC from going further if it felt conditions warranted.”

A crunch decision to extend purchases or scale them back would raise the possibility of members dissenting from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s loose monetary policy gambit.

“I think later in the year there is the potential, if the recovery does strengthen... then it may become a little bit more contentious,” Feinman said.

US stock markets rose moderately after the announcement with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending the day within striking distance of the symbolic 12,000 point mark. The dollar fell.

Japan export growth signals recovery Agence France-Presse

TOKYO – Japan’s trade surplus more than doubled in 2010 and exports to key trade partner China hit a record high, data showed Thursday, as robust overseas demand indicated gathering momentum for a fragile recovery.

Analysts said that the second consecutive monthly acceleration in Japan’s exports in December, which grew 13 percent year-onyear, also showed that the country’s economy was starting to move forward after a lull.

The 2010 surplus was more than 2.5 times higher than the previous year at 6.77 trillion yen ($82 billion), the finance ministry said, reflecting an overall pick-up in trade from the depths of the financial crisis.

Exports rose for the first time in three years, growing 24.4 percent in 2010 from the previous year to 67.41 trillion yen.

The data also illustrated Japan’s reliance on key trade partner China, whose double-digit growth last year

put it on track to eclipse the island nation as the world’s second-biggest economy in nominal terms.

China’s strong demand for cars and semiconductors boosted exports from Japan nearly 28 percent to a record 13.09 trillion yen in 2010.

“We can expect the pace of an economic recovery will accelerate further in the first half of this year,” said Taro Saito, senior economist at NLI Research Institute. “I’d say the Japanese economy, which has been in standstill for some time, will start moving forward.”

He said strong demand from emerging economies, namely in Asia, have contributed to Japan’s brisk exports.

“When you look at the Japanese economy, its export growth in December is significant,” Saito said.

“This is a good sign for a recovery, also thanks to emerging Asian economies and a recovery in the United States.”

On Tuesday Japan’s central bank raised its forecast for the nation’s growth in the current fiscal year to

April to 3.3 percent from 2.1 percent and said the rate of inflation would be faster than initially thought next year.

The trade surplus grew 34 percent to 727.7 billion yen in December, larger than the market forecast of 474.8 billion yen.

Japan’s export-reliant economy has been buffeted by the rapid appreciation of the yen against major currencies, making Japanese products more expensive overseas and eroding repatriated corporate profits.

However, the currency has eased back from 15-year highs against the dollar hit in November, giving some respite.

For many Japanese firms, the yen’s surge against the dollar and the euro has mitigated a post-financial crisis revival in demand and undermined the benefits of earlier cost cuts and restructuring.

More companies are considering moving production overseas to stay competitive against rivals benefiting from weaker currencies in their home countries.

AP survey: Outlook for 2011 economy is brightening WASHINGTON – Employers will hire more workers this year, and the economy will grow faster than envisioned three months ago, according to an Associated Press survey that found growing optimism among leading economists.

But unemployment will stay chronically high — nearly 9 percent by year’s end, the latest quarterly AP Economy Survey shows. A majority of economists say it will be 2016 or later before unemployment drops to a historically normal rate of around 5 percent.

Economists have become more confident 19 months after the worst recession since the Great Depression ended. Lower Social Security taxes and higher stock prices will embolden Americans to spend more and help power the economy, they say.

“People will finally recognize that an economic recovery is under way,” said Lynn Reaser, a board member of the National Association for Business Economics. “This won’t be a recovery seen only by economists.”

The gains this year will be enough to withstand the threats still clouding the economy, the AP survey found. A majority of the economists doubt, for example, that falling home prices and higher mortgage rates will pose a major risk to the economy in 2011.

Among the reasons for the economists’ growing optimism: an extension of income-tax cuts, a cut in Social Security taxes for workers, easier access to loans, higher stock prices and a government that seems more sympathetic to the priorities of businesses.

The brighter outlook is also evident among people responsible for hiring.

Jerry Huddleston, human resources manager of the Ozark Natural Foods grocery store in Fayetteville, Ark., said he plans to hire for busy weekend shifts because sales are improving.

The store is generally slow to add jobs. But Huddleston said business is picking up. Customers seem more willing to pay more for organic milk, vitamin supplements and pre-made vegetarian meals.

“I think people are starting to be more confident that the job they have is the job they will

have tomorrow,” he said.

As the economy gradually strengthens, the economists expect interest rates will tick up, as they already have begun to do.

They think the yield on the 10year Treasury note, now at 3.4 percent, will reach 3.6 percent by midyear and 3.9 percent by year’s end. Those higher rates would force up mortgage rates, which tend to track the 10-year Treasury yield.

Yet when asked about a range of threats — from falling home prices and rising energy prices to state budget woes and Europe’s debt crisis — the economists called each a minor risk rather than a major risk to the economy.

In the spring and summer, many analysts had feared the economy might slide back into a “double-dip” recession.

“Consumers and businesses are in a better mood,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. “They are spending a little more freely.

Not a lot more freely, but a little more freely.”

That helps explain why Behravesh has lifted his forecast for economic growth in 2011 to 3.2 percent, from 2.2 percent in October.

Still, the Fed said Wednesday that the economy isn’t growing fast enough to lower unemployment and still needs help from the Fed’s $600 billion Treasury bondpurchase program. The bond purchases are intended to lower rates on loans and boost stock prices, spurring more spending and invigorating the economy.

President Barack Obama still faces risks from voters skeptical of his economic stewardship, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. More than half disapprove of how he’s handled the economy. Just 35 percent say it’s improved on his watch; 40 percent had said so a year ago.

Yet public sentiment may brighten if the economists prove correct in their forecasts. Rajeev Dhawan, director of Georgia State University’s Economic Forecasting Center, has raised his estimate for growth this year to 2.7 percent, from 1.8 percent three months ago.

This year “will be better than 2010 in terms of hiring, spending and economic growth,” Dhawan said. “Yet unemployment will decline only slowly. At least we’re not going backward.”

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Friday, January 28, 2011

Entertainment

International

Oscar race a multimillion-dollar gamble for studios Reuters

LOS ANGELES – What’s an Oscar worth? For Sony, which recently released “The Social Network” on DVD and will no doubt benefit from a huge boost in sales following Tuesday’s nominations, the answer is millions.

For Fox Searchlight, which cleverly waited until January 20 before releasing “Black Swan” internationally, it’s $100 million or more at the foreign box office — maybe even $150 million if the movie wins Natalie Portman a statuette during the February 27 Oscar ceremony.

For Portman, a best actress victory could propel her into the Reese Witherspoon stratosphere of $10 million-plus a picture, a lot more than the high-six figures she made on the $13 million-budgeted “Swan” — just as Halle Berry’s asking price shot up to more than $10 million after her win for “Monster’s Ball.”

Nominees and winners are the obvious beneficiaries. But there’s also a whole food chain gobbling Oscar money — up this year from the recent past, thanks to having 10 slots for best picture instead of five as well as a genuinely competitive race. One report suggests trade ad pages alone have increased 20 percent.

The Oscar race has created a financial ecosystem whose tentacles reach far beyond the contenders and even beyond the Academy — which will reap $65 million-plus from ABC for this year’s telecast. The network is re-

portedly asking $1.7 million for a 30second ad spot, up from the $1.3 million-$1.5 million it charged last year.

This ecosystem, on the smallest level, includes owners of screening rooms like Los Angeles’ Harmony Gold, which regularly charge $1,000 to $3,500 a showing (renting big spaces like the Academy or the Writers Guild’s theater can cost a whopping $6,000 a shot); newspapers like The New York Times, which gets almost $100,000 for a full-page color ad (though only $9,000 for black-andwhite pages in its Southern California “walnut” edition); and, oh yes, awards consultants, those guys deemed indispensable for any genuine contenders.

Awards specialists such as PR powerhouse 42West can make $10,000 to $15,000 a month for each movie campaign; this year, they’re handling everything from “Social Network” to “The Ghost Writer” to the Italian-language “I Am Love.”

Even smaller PR companies handling art house and foreign-language films can do OK, especially if they’re successful and earn bonuses for a nomination or win, ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 — “though the fees are lower than they used to be,”

laments publicist Fredell Pogodin of Fredell Pogodin & Associates.

Awards campaigners who handle a studio’s entire slate might earn a $100,000 bonus if their films get multiple nominations. “At the top end of the PR spectrum, they can make anywhere from $5,000 to

$350,000 in bonuses, depending on how many wins and nominations there are,” says awards veteran Tony Angellotti, who handles Universal live action and Disney animation.

“But this is a drop in the bucket compared to other arenas.”

Those other arenas include work

by advertising agencies that design for print and TV. Their fees reach into the hundreds of thousands. For a movie like “Social Network,” relaunched to give it an Oscar boost, cutting a new TV spot can cost $10,000 to $40,000, according to one insider.

Farce about divorce in 1906 Kristen Stewart courted is ‘The New York Idea’ for “Snow White” Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK – As a satire about marital foibles among the privileged class in 1906 New York, Atlantic Theater Company’s new adaptation of “The New York Idea” is sprightly good fun, with complex characters, witty dialogue and some very funny, often farcical scenes.

Adapted by Pulitzer- and Tony

Award-winning playwright David Auburn from Langdon Mitchell’s 1906 play, the appealing period production opened Wednesday night off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.

While it may lack the sparkling relevance of the original turn-of-thecentury production, which gently skewered the then-shocking trend among the rich favoring casual di-

AP Photo/Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Ari Mintz

In this theater publicity image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown, from left, Patricia Conolly, Jaime Ray Newman, Michael Countryman and Joey Slotnick are shown in a scene from Atlantic Theater Company’s ‘The New York Idea,’ performing off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York.

vorce, this adaptation provides a window into a historical time when American freedoms and values often clashed. Two divorced society couples are thrown together again, as one of the men is about to marry the other man’s ex-wife.

Youthful, impetuous Cynthia Karslake, (Jaime Ray Newman), a racehorse owner who divorced her first husband after a tantrum, is about to marry stodgy Judge Philip Philimore (Michael Countryman).

Meanwhile her ex-husband, John, (Jeremy Shamos) and Philimore’s bohemian ex-wife, Vida, (Francesca Faridany) have suddenly converged on the judge’s household, each with a secret agenda about the pending wedding.

Needless to say, comical misunderstandings ensue. Director Mark Brokaw creates an often-farcical pace, with characters frequently barging in on one another at inconvenient times. Handsome, detailed costumes and sets enhance the turnof-the-century atmosphere.

Complicating matters is the presence of a dashing, wealthy English bachelor, played with rakish appeal

by Rick Holmes, who makes a cheerfully immoral, last-minute attempt upon the affections of both women.

Reuters

LOS ANGELES – Is Kristen Stewart the fairest of them all? The “Twilight” star is on the list for the role of Snow White in Universal’s “Snow White and the Huntsman.”

The movie, being directed by Rupert Sanders, is in deep casting mode, with Viggo Mortensen entering negotiations to play the Huntsman earlier Wednesday. Charlize Theron is in negotiations to play the evil queen.

Stewart’s is a name that Universal has kept coming back to since acquiring the project even as it went through a series of screen tests with actresses such as Riley Keough, Felicity Jones and Alicia Vikander. Emily Browning tested this past weekend.

Stewart has reached a point in her career where testing isn’t required.

She has focused on indie projects in between the vampire romancers, and this could become her first studio project since becoming a big name.

It also would put her in the shoes of an iconic character.

She is currently shooting the “Breaking Dawn” movies, but the Snow White team has been making repeated overtures even as late as last week. The retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale plays up the character of the Huntsman, a sec-

ondary character in the centuries-old tale, who becomes Snow White’s protector and mentor.

Another Snow White project is in development at indie financier Relativity Media, which has Tarsem Singh (“The Cell”) on board to direct its untitled movie. The action begins with the evil stepmother killing Snow White’s father and destroying the kingdom. The heroine then bands together with a gang of seven quarrelsome dwarves to reclaim what is rightly hers.

Science

International

Friday, January 28, 2011

13

Sony to release new PlayStation Portable this year Associated Press Writer

Telescope spots oldest galaxy ever seen Reuters

WASHINGTON – U.S. and European researchers trying to peer back to the beginnings of the universe said on Wednesday they have spotted what they think is the most ancient galaxy ever seen — 13.2 billion years old. The aging Hubble Space Telescope collected light from the dim object, which would have formed when the universe was just 480 million years old, the researchers report in the journal Nature.

“We’re peering into an era where big changes are afoot,” said Garth Illingworth of the University of California at Santa Cruz, one of the researchers working on the study.

“The rapid rate at which the star birth is changing tells us if we go a little further back in time we’re going to see even more dramatic changes, closer to when the first galaxies were just starting to form.”

Light travels at a speed of 186,000

miles a second, or about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion km) a year. Astronomers can use light-speed as a kind of time machine, and seeing light emitted from objects very far away shows them as they were in the past.

In this case, the galaxy’s light started traveling 13.2 billion years ago, right after the Big Bang that created the universe.

The distance is measured using what is called red shift, a kind of

Doppler effect of light. Just as a train’s whistle seems to change in pitch as the train approaches and passes, light’s color also shifts. This galaxy has a red shift of 10, making it the farthest and oldest ever seen.

The previous record, set in October, was a galaxy with a red shift of 8.5.

Just 200 million years later, stars began forming at a much faster rate, the researchers said. “However, only when the James Webb Space Telescope is launched will these first phases of galaxy build-up between (red shifts of 15 and red shifts of 10) be revealed,” they wrote. Hubble, launched in 1990, can see the faint light from these ancient galaxies because it orbits outside the Earth’s atmosphere. The more powerful Webb telescope is scheduled for launch in 2015.

TOKYO – Sony said Thursday the successor to its PlayStation Portable machine will go on sale late this year, offering the quality of a home console in an on-the-go machine boasting a screen double the size of smart phones.

The NGP, short for “next generation portable,” has a touch panel in the front and touch pads in the back to allow players to tap on the machine to move images, in addition to the usual buttons and switches.

It also offers a third-generation wireless connection plus the already available WiFi, allowing for more social networking and downloads. Its five-inch screen is OLED — a different technology from liquid-crystal display — for good color and image quality about four times better than the current PSP. Sony said gamers will be able to play games they had been playing on the PlayStation 3 home console without feeling any drop in quality. Kazuo Hirai, who heads Sony Corp.’s gaming section, proudly held the shiny black machine to cameras, declaring: “This

is the NGP.” He did not give a price, regional release plans or other details. “We will pursue the ultimate in entertainment,” said Hirai, President and Chief Executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Tokyobased Sony’s gaming unit. “We want to create a revolution in your hands.”

His comments underline an effort at the Japanese electronics and entertainment company to ward off the formidable threat of Apple Inc. which is delivering hit after hit such as the iPhone and iPad. The popularity of smart phones such as the iPhone is a potential threat to game machine makers as more people play games, as well as watch video, do e-mail and chat on cell phones. People are also using other portable devices such as the iPod and iPad to play games.

Hirai said Sony was working on what he called PlayStation Suite, for enjoying some PlayStation Portable games on smart phones and tablet PCs. Sony will start providing support and starting a licensing program for devices running Google’s Android software systems starting this year, he said.

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Sony Corp’s new handheld gaming device codenamed “NGP” for Next Generation Portable is displayed at the company’s strategy briefing event in Tokyo January 27, 2011.

LA aquarium weans Ollie the orphan otter Agence France Presse

LOS ANGELES – A California aquarium has taken in an orphaned sea otter, but is having to nurture her until she is strong enough to live with her bigger and rougher cousins at the marine center.

Ollie, the four-month-old sea otter, weighed only 10 pounds (4.5 kilos) when she was rescued off Santa

AFP/File/Yoshikazu Tsuno

Cruz aged only a few weeks, and had still not learnt any survival skills because her mother was missing.

After being cared for temporarily at the Sea Otter Research and Conservation Center in northern California, she was offered a home at the Aquarium of the Pacific on Long Beach, south of Los Angeles.

She now lives in a separate tank at the back of the non-profit aquarium,

A Russian sea otter holds her baby in a Tokyo Aquarium in 2007. A California aquarium has taken in an orphaned sea otter, but is having to nurture her until she is strong enough to live with her bigger and rougher cousins at the marine center.

and will likely be there until later this year when she joins the center’s other sea otters, Brooke and Charlie, said senior mammal expert Michele Sousa.

“Because male otters can be very, very aggressive, we actually have to wait until Ollie gets large enough that she can actually hold her own against the big boys,” she said.

Ollie still clings to Sousa’s rubber galloshes like a nervous toddler.

After initially being bottle fed, she has now moved on to a diet of choice sea food including shrimps, which cost about 25,000 dollars a year.

14

Sport

Friday, January 28, 2011

International

Dalglish eyes Euro challenge after Fulham win Agence France Presse

LIVERPOOL – Kenny Dalglish set his sights on winning a place in Europe after John Pantsil’s own goal gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Fulham which continued their revival under the Anfield legend. Dalglish was able to celebrate a second successive victory following Saturday’s 3-0 win at Wolves thanks to the blunder by Pantsil in the second half at Anfield.

Wednesday’s result lifted Liverpool up to seventh in the Premier League and gave the Reds their first back-to-back victories since beating Bolton and Chelsea almost three months ago.

On another day, Fulham could easily have won as Mark Hughes?s side squandered several glorious chances and left Merseyside wondering how they had not managed to earn even a point.

But Dalglish is confident Liverpool, who are nine points behind fourth placed Chelsea, can climb higher and challenge for a

Europa League place or possibly even a Champions League spot. “I think we are better than seventh,” he said. “We will not get carried away - we want to be further up there than that. We want to win more games and we will try and do that.

“We are delighted to be up to seventh in the Premiership because we have been through four of five hard games, so the lads can be very happy.” Liverpool had an early Fernando Torres goal incorrectly ruled out for offside and looked the better side in the first half but they failed to make the most of their possession.

However, they made the most of Pantsil’s error shortly after the break when he tried to clear off his own goal line but sliced into his own net. Liverpool were expected to then dominate but the opposite happened as Fulham looked the more offensive and disciplined side.

Brede Hangeland’s header was cleared off the line by the impressive Raul Meireles and Mousa Dembele missed a glorious late opportunity, to go with the sitter he also squandered in the first half. “I think to be perfectly honest Fulham will be feeling hard done by,” Dalglish said.

AFP PHOTO/ ANDREW YATES

Liverpool’s Spanish forward Fernando Torres (C) wins a header from Fulham’s Ghana defender John Pantsil (L) and Fulham’s Irish midfielder Damien Duff during their English Premier League football match at Anfield, in Liverpool, northwest England, on January 26, 2011.

Barcelona eye final spot after Almeria rout Injured Japan star Kagawa out of Asian Cup final Agence France Presse

MADRID – Barcelona put one foot in the Kings Cup final with a brace from Lionel Messi sealing a thumping 5-0 semi-final first leg win over Almeria at Camp Nou on Wednesday. Three goals in the opening quarter hour put Barcelona in total command and now Barcelona, who have won the Kings Cup a record 25 times, appear a shoe-in for the final, barring a remarkable second leg comeback from Almeria.

Real Madrid hope to meet their arch rivals in the final and hold the upper hand in the other semi-final with Karim Benzema’s goal sealing a 1-0 first leg win at Sevilla on Wednesday. Barcelona took the lead after just nine minutes with goalkeeper Esteban Suarez at fault as Argentine Messi’s tame shot sneaked in.

Just 60 seconds later David Villa came in from the left flank and opened up his body to bend a right-footed shot past second choice goalkeeper Suarez.

On the quarter hour mark Messi netted again curling a left-footed shot into the bottom corner and Almeria must have sensed a repeat of their 8-0 league mauling by Barcelona in late October.

Spanish international Pedro Rodriguez headed in a corner on the half hour mark to make it 4-0 and Almeria just wanted the half-time whistle to come.

Barcelona were hungry for more goals, hitting the post and forcing several saves from the overworked Suarez before Seydou Keita scored a fifth in the final minute after a great pass from Messi.

Agence France Presse

AFP PHOTO/ LLUIS GENE

Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a goal during their Spanish King’s Cup (Copa del Rey) semifinal first leg football match Barcelona FC vs UD Almeria on January 26, 2011 at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona.

DOHA – Japanese starl Shinji Kagawa said he feared the worst on Thursday, as he headed back to Germany after sustaining a foot injury that has ruled him out of the Asian Cup final against Australia. The 21year-old Borussia Dortmund forward was substituted in the 87th minute of Japan’s penalty shoot-out victory over South Korea in the semi-finals on Tuesday.

He missed training on Wednesday and subsequent scans revealed that he had broken a metatarsal bone in his right foot, which will potentially keep him out of action for the rest of the German league season.

“I’m really worried that I’m facing the worst case,” Kagawa told reporters at Doha airport, after arriving on crutches.

“But I’m convinced that the team will win (against Australia).”

Kagawa revealed that he felt an “awful impact” after embarking on a dribble in the second half of the game against South Korea, which Japan won 3-0 on penalties after the game finished 2-2 following extratime.

He played on until near the end

of normal time but said: “I was feeling it was a bit risky.” Kagawa will now consult the medical staff at Dortmund before a decision is made on whether or not he will require surgery. “I haven’t done enough,” said the crestfallen Kagawa on his performances at the Asian Cup. “I will work hard and want to return (to the national team) because I want to improve myself in many ways.”

Kagawa will travel back to Germany via Switzerland and is expected to arrive on Thursday afternoon.

The skilful, right-footed attacker has been one of the stand-out players of the tournament in Qatar, having scored twice and created the winning goal in Japan’s 3-2 defeat of the hosts in the quarter-finals.

He has become a star in the Bundesliga since arriving from JLeague club Cerezo Osaka last year, after failing to make the Japan squad that reached the last 16 at the World Cup in South Africa. Kagawa has scored eight goals in 17 Bundesliga matches for runaway leaders Dortmund, making him the club’s current joint-top scorer. Three-time champions Japan face Australia in the Asian Cup final on Saturday.

Sport

International

Friday, January 28, 2011

15

Li Na, Kim Clijsters into Australian Open final Associated Press Writer

MELBOURNE, Australia – Li Na’s bubbly personality off-court and her steady play on it at the Australian Open have won her legions of new fans, particularly in her native China. It might even earn her a Grand Slam singles title. Li, the first Chinese woman to advance to a singles final at a major, will take on U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters in Saturday night’s final at Rod Laver Arena.

Li fought off a match point in the second set Thursday and rebounded for a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, while Clijsters, advancing to her eighth major final, beat Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-3. “This is good experience for my whole life, because many players, they play a long time, but they never play the final for a Grand Slam,” Li said.

Clijsters says she’ll use her previous appearances in finals — she’s won three U.S. Opens, including two since she returned from a retirement after getting married and having a child — to her advantage. “I guess I’ve been on tour for a while and I’ve played big matches and not always won them,” Clijsters said. “Although I’ve lost them sometimes, they really do teach you a lot of things.”

Defending champion Roger Federer played Novak Djokovic in a men’s semifinal later Thursday.

Andy Murray takes on David Ferrer

on Friday to decide the other men’s finalist. For the past 10 days, Li has regaled the crowds and television audiences with her wit, joking about credit card spending, her mother’s reluctance to watch any of her matches, and the snoring of her husband and coach’s, Jiang Shan.

A mark of her respect for other players was evident Thursday when she was asked about Clijsters. “She’s a nice person,” Li replied, preferring to not initially comment on the Belgian’s court prowess. “A good player, tough player, another challenge.”

Her win was big news in China, where television commentator Xu Chang said Li had raised the profile of Chinese tennis, which has long struggled for recognition next to badminton and table tennis. “Li has realized the dreams of all those promoting Chinese tennis,” Xu said. The official Xinhua News Agency said a

Grand Slam win by Li “would also inspire a rush of new tennis players in China.”

Li beat Clijsters in the final of the tuneup event at Sydney, where she came back from 5-0 down in the first set to win it in straight sets.

Wozniacki, playing at a major for the first time with the No. 1 ranking, had match point at 5-4 and 40-30 in the second set before Li rallied. Another 66 minutes later, Li served and won on her first match point.

Li lost to Serena Williams in two tiebreak sets in the semifinals here last year in her previous best run at a major. Her trip to the final is just another first for Li, who was the first Chinese player to win a tour-level title and the first to enter the top 10. She is also the first player from Asia to reach a Grand Slam singles final.

“I’m so happy I can be the first Chinese player to come to a final — I always do the first one!” she said.

AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama

China’s Li Na celebrates a point win over Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki during their women’s semifinal at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011.

Durant overcomes Love in overtime thriller Associated Press Writer

MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Timberwolves threw everything they had at Kevin Durant. They put hands in his face. They bodied him on the block. They knocked him down in the paint. It was almost enough.

Almost. Durant had career highs of 47 points and 18 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a 31-point, 21-rebound night from Kevin Love to beat the

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant, left, drives

by Minnesota Timberwolves’ Wesley Johnson in the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011 in Minneapolis. The Thunder won 118-117 in overtime. Durant led the Thunder with 47 points and 18 rebounds.

AP Photo/Jim Mone

Timberwolves, 118-117, in overtime on Wednesday night.

Jeff Green had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder, who beat Minnesota for the eighth straight time. But it was Durant who carried the load, scoring 16 straight points for the Thunder in the fourth quarter of a thrilling back-and-forth game. “All I can say is Durant is incredible,” Love said, a glazed look in his eye.

“He’s incredible.”

Durant’s 47 points tied Clippers star Blake Griffin for the highest total in the NBA this season and came from every spot on the floor.

He hit four 3-pointers, 13-of-14 free throws and drilled a 15-foot, step-back jumper over Corey Brewer with 28 seconds left in overtime that held up as the game winner.

“I hope I don’t ever take it for granted because that’s pretty impressive,” Thunder center Nick Collison said. “To be able to kind of carry us like that, we needed every one of those.”

Michael Beasley had 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Timberwolves, who had a chance to win the game in the final 7 seconds. But Luke Ridnour rushed a 3-pointer after a missed

free throw by Brewer and the Thunder tracked down the loose ball to seal it.

The Northwest Division-leading Thunder had to work for this one against a team that has lost 18 straight division games. The game featured eight lead changes in the final 3 1/2 minutes of regulation, then was tied twice more in overtime. It was another tough loss for Love and the Timberwolves, who had a chance to win it in regulation. But Love’s short hook shot went halfway down before rattling out, sending the game to overtime.

“When it left my hand, I said, ‘That thing’s in,’” Love said. “I was about to run back to the locker room right away. That thing went in and out.”

Durant got off to a bit of a slow start while being pestered by Brewer, Minnesota’s best perimeter defender. He missed nine of his first 14 shots, but offset that by getting to the free throw line 10 times.

When Brewer picked up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter, Durant flourished with the extra space. He scored eight points in the final 53 seconds of the period, including a 3pointer at the buzzer.

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Friday, January 28, 2011

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

Sport

Rossi still in pain in return to action Valentino Rossi made his return to action on Wednesday when he tested a Ducati 1198 Superbike at the Misano circuit in Italy. Seventy-three days after an operation to his right shoulder, the Italian was back in action to complete his first test to check the status of his injury.

The test was not as positive as expected, however, and Rossi was in quite some pain just a few days before the first official test of the MotoGP season at Sepang. “The track more or less confirmed what we expected: the shoulder is painful — especially under braking, when the front area hurts, where they stitched the tendon,” said Rossi.

“Movement is stable enough, and we’re also doing not so bad with endurance, but apart from that, it hurts a lot and isn’t very strong.

“Let’s hope it gets a little better in these next few days before the test in Malaysia. Once we’re there, we’ll work with the riding position in an effort to make the most of the situation and collect important information with the Desmosedici, even though I’m not in top form.” Team manager Vittoriano Guareschi admitted the whole team was expecting Rossi to be in better shape, and claimed the Italian will be far from his best when the season kicks off.

“We had all expected him to go better, especially he expected that,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. “Valentino will arrive in Malaysia with only 50% of his strength. Each time he begins to turn right, the pain makes his arm fail.

“In the first test he will be able to do just a few laps, but it would be great if on the third day he could do two or three runs of consecutive laps, in order to at least understand if we have taken the right path with the modifications done after the Valencia test.

“Meanwhile, we have seen that, by modifying the riding position on the saddle and by moving the handlebars a bit, the strain on the shoulder gets a bit better.” The Sepang test kicks off on 1 February.

Lowe becomes McLaren’s tech director MCLAREN has undertaken a staffing reshuffle ahead of the 2011 season, as former engineering director Paddy Lowe becomes its new technical director. With the team eager to lift its game as it bids to return to world championship glory, the Woking-based outfit has redefined the roles of its senior technical personnel in a bid to boost its cause.

Lowe’s promotion means that Tim Goss, who was the chief engineer on last year’s MP4-25, will become director of engineering to help play a larger role in car development. The pair will continue to work in close co-operation with McLaren stalwart Neil Oatley, who will continue in his position as director of design and development programmes.

Speaking about his new role, Lowe said: “It’s great for Neil and me to be joined by Tim as another director on the technical side.

“With the three of us, we’ll not only be able to more efficiently spread our workload, but, through Tim & me, we’ll also share race attendance. It’s very important to have senior technical management at the racetrack, because that’s where you score the points, but, equally, if you

spend all your time away then you risk overlooking some of the hard work that happens back at the factory.”

Goss’s new position came after his duties at the team expanded last year following the departure of Pat Fry - who moved to Ferrari.

“I used to be jointly responsible for the direction of our cars with Pat

Fry,” said Goss. “Now I’ve taken on both roles – but there’s obviously been some shifting of responsibilities within the team as, clearly, I can’t do the work of two people.

“As director of engineering, my role will be to co-ordinate a small team of project engineers who are responsible for the specification, design and development of our cars.”

IBP/ist

Paddy Lowe.