Friday, December 27, 201316Friday, December 27, 2013

16 Pages Number 116th year

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DPs 23 - 32

EntertainmentWEATHER FORECAsT

PAgE 6 PAgE 8

Japanese prime minister visits yasukuni war shrine

PAgE 3

Rainy season sanur Beach visited by a few tourists

Mari said the number of foreign tourist arrival this year exceeded the target of 8.6 million people. By referring to the number of visit, Mari said she hoped the tourist arrival next year could reach 9.2 million tourists, an increase of 7.5 percent of the total foreign tourist arrival this year.

Meanwhile, in 2013, she said that based on estimation by the end of 2013, the number of foreign tourists coming to Indonesia approximately reached 8,637,275 people, or a growth of 7.37 percent compared to the year 2012 where the

number of tourist arrival reached 8.04 million people.She explained the number was based on prediction of

foreign tourist arrival growth in November 2013 amounting to 5.52 percent and the assumption on the increase of foreign tourist arrival in December 2013 estimated at 0.53 percent. “Meanwhile, the number of travel by domestic tourists in 2013 is estimated to reach 248 trips with the average spend-ing on each trip reached IDR 711,000,” she said.

On that occasion, Mari also revealed the development

of creative economy sector also grew by 5.76 percent above the national economic growth reaching 5.74 percent. The growth of creative economy in 2013 was driven by subsectors such as advertising (8.01 percent), architecture (8.04 percent) as well as computer and software services (8.24 percent).

Nevertheless, of the 15 subsectors, the biggest con-tributor to national GDP was from culinary subsector that amounted to IDR 208.6 billion and fashion at IDR 181.6 billion.

The GDP and employment in tourism and creative economy indicated an ever-growing contribution each year. In 2013, the GDP reached IDR 347.35 trillion which increased from last year that amounted to IDR 326.33 tril-lion. As for the creative economy, the contribution to the GDP reached IDR 641.82 trillion, increasing from the year 2012 that reached IDR 578.76 trillion. (010)

IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

Tourists sunbathing at Nusa Dua Beach, Bali Island. Ministry of Tour-ism and Creative Economy revealed that tourism sector earned for-

eign exchange amounting to IDR 98 trillion. In other words, there was an increase of 8.17 percent compared to last year’s earnings worth

IDR 91 trillion.

Tourism earns foreign exchange worth IDR 98 trillion

Bali PostJAKARTA - Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy revealed that tourism sector earned foreign

exchange amounting to IDR 98 trillion. In other words, there was an increase of 8.17 percent compared to last year’s earnings worth IDR 91 trillion. “In terms of foreign exchange earnings, GDP and employment, the contribution of tourism and creative economy sector is increasing,” said Mari Elka Pangestu, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, at the yearend press conference in Jakarta.

The two longtime collaborators pushed the based-on-a-true-story tale to the limits of outrageousness, decency and MPAA ap-proval. With pinstripe suits instead of togas, it’s their “Satyricon,” their “Caligula”: a nearly three-hour-long orgy of money, sex and drugs.

The partnership between the 71-year-old Scorsese and DiCaprio, 39, has now stretched over five films and more than a dozen years. They’ve together been able to carve out a space for the kind of daring Hollywood typically shuns. “Anything goes” is far from the mantra of today’s movie business.

“I don’t think people really quite un-derstand how unique this movie is,” says DiCaprio, while Scorsese, sitting next to him, nods. “No matter what they think of the movie, you do not see films like this happening.”

Scorsese and DiCaprio recently sat down for a joint interview to discuss their latest film, which opens on Christmas Day. On the surface, they exude the dynamic of master and pupil. But they’re on more equal footing, bonded by a desire to make movies like those from the ‘70s that DiCaprio grew up admiring and Scorsese actually made. In the last 13 years, Scorsese has made only one fictional film (“Hugo”) that didn’t star DiCaprio.

“Over the years, it’s been about learn-ing more, fine-tuning the instruments together, so to speak, and discovering more from each other in the process,” says Scorsese. They co-produced “The Wolf of Wall Street,” which Warner Bros. turned down in 2008 before it was reborn with Paramount Pictures.

Ironically, Scorsese was tipped off to DiCaprio’s talent from the actor he’s most

associated with: Robert De Niro. After De Niro made 1993’s “This Boy’s Life,” he recommended an 18-year-old DiCaprio to Scorsese. That would spark a pairing that has grown to rival De Niro’s own with Scorsese (eight films).

DiCaprio was in his mid-20s when he sought out a part in Scorsese’s bloody New York tale, “Gangs of New York.” The Howard Hughes biopic, “The Aviator,” followed, a movie that DiCaprio (who landed his first lead actor Oscar nomination) suggested to Scorsese. Then came the Boston crime flick “The Departed” (earning Scorsese his first directing Academy Award) and the ‘50s noir “Shutter Island.”

Associated Press Writer

LONG BEACH, California — Studio drummer Ricky Lawson, a collaborator with musicians includ-ing Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Whitney Houston, has died at a suburban Los Angeles hospital following a brain aneurism. He was 59.

Lawson’s uncle, Paul Riser of Detroit, said Tues-day that Lawson was removed from life support 10 days after the aneurism diagnosis and died around 7 p.m. Monday.

Lawson was being treated at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in Long Beach, California, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Los Angeles.

The Detroit native learned to play drums at age 16 and jumped into the music business even before gradu-ating from Cooley High School, developing into one of the nation’s top studio musicians in the 1980s.

His work appears on Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You.” He also performed with Al Jar-reau, George Benson, Bette Midler, Quincy Jones and many others.

A founding member of the Yellowjackets, Lawson won a Grammy Award in 1986 for R&B instrumental performance for the jazz-fusion group’s hit “And You Know That.” He became disoriented during a performance on Dec. 13 and was diagnosed with an aneurism.

Drummer Questlove Jenkins of The Roots called Lawson “the master” on Twitter Dec. 18 in a message saying, “praying for his recovery.”

Marty and Leo team up again for ‘Wolf’Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK — “Anything goes” was the guiding ethos for Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio in making their extravagant dark comedy of Wall Street excess, “The Wolf of Wall Street.” “We would look at each other and ask, ‘Are we going too far?’” says DiCaprio. Rarely was the answer “yes.”

Drummer Ricky Lawson, 59, dies after aneurismRicky Law-son is pho-tographed in Kansas City, Mo. on Feb. 23, 1988. Studio drummer Lawson, a collaborator with musi-cians includ-ing Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Whitney Houston, died at a suburban Los Ange-les hospital following a brain an-eurism on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013.

AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Steven R. Nickerson

Tottenham appoints sherwood as head coach

International2 Friday, December 27, 2013 15International Activities

Bali News

Founder : K.Nadha, General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Diah Dewi Juniarti Editors: Gugiek Savindra,Alit Susrini, Alit Sumertha, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Sri Hartini, Suana, Sueca, Sugiartha, Yudi Winanto Denpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subrata, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Suasrina, Buleleng: Adnyana, Gianyar: Agung Dharmada, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Bagiarta. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto. Development: Alit Purnata, Mas Ruscitadewi. Office: Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, Facsimile: 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp.

(0370) 639543, Facsimile: (0370) 628257. Publisher: PT Bali Post

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

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

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

In front of important shrine one sees, besides these umbrellas soars, tridents and other weapons, the “umbul-umbul”, long flags, all these are prerogatives or attributes of Holiness. In front of the Temple gate put up “Penjor”, long bamboo poles, decorated beautifully ornaments of young coconut leaves, rice and other products of the land. Most beautiful to see are the girls in their colorful attire, carrying offerings, arrangements of all kinds fruits and colored cakes, to the Temple. Every visitor admires the grace with which the carry their load on their heads.

Balinese Temple Ceremony

Friday, December 27, 2013

Calendar Event for January 1 through February 26, 2014

1 Jan Buda Kliwon Matal, Kajeng Kliwon And Tilem Sasih Kenam Pura Desa Sukawati SukawatiPura Pasek Gelgel Gelgel BebetinPura Maspahit SesetanPura Padharman Arya Kanuruhan Besakih

11 Jan Tumpek Kandang Pura Desa GianyarPura Luhur Dalem Sagening Kediri TabananPura Sang Hyang Tegal Tegalalang

15 Jan Purnama Sasih Kapitu Pura Dalem Tarukan Cemenggaon SukawatiPura Penataran Dalem Ketut Pejeng Kaja GianyarPura Puseh Manakaji Peninjauan BangliPura Taman Limut Pengosekan Mas UbudPura Benua BesakihPura Gunung Rena Sidemen KarangasemPura Pasek Gelgel Abadi KarangasemPura Pucak Gunung Mangun Kubu Karangasem

16 Jan Kajeng Kliwon Uwudan 17 Jan Hari Bhatara Sri 21 Jan Anggara Kasih Prangbakat Pura Bukit Buluh Gunaksa KlungkungPura Tirtha Sidamala Bebalang BangliPura Gunung Pangsong LombokPura Dalem Benawah GianyarPura Dalem Bitra GianyarPura Pura Hyang Haluh/Jenggala Besakih

Pura Tengkulak Tulikup GianyarPura Taman Sari UbudPura Penataran Badung

29 Jan Hari Siwaratri

30 Jan Tilem Sasih Kepitu Pura Buana Kawan BesakihPura Ulun Kulkul Besakih

31 Jan Kajeng Kliwon Enyitan

5 Feb Buda Kliwon Ugu Pura Dalem Tarukan Peninjauan Tem-buku BangliPura Pemayun Banyuning Tengah Bule-lengPura Kayangan Tiga Seririt BulelengPura Agung Gunung Raung Taro Tegalalang

6 Feb Pura Dalem Puri Besakih

14 Feb Purnama Sasih Kawulu Pura Dalem Batur BangliPura Ida Ratu Pasek BesakihPura Dalem Suci Sidemen KarangasemPura Buana Kawan Besakih

15 Feb Tumpek Wayang & Kajeng Kliwon Uwudan Pura Majapahit JembranaPura Panti Gelgel Pengembungan SesetanPura Pedarman Dalem Sukawati BesakihPura Pedarman Mengwi BesakihPura Pedarman Kaba-kaba BesakihPura Pedarman Dalem Bakas BesakihPura Pedarman Dinasti Dalem Besakih

Pura Penataran Giri Purwo Tegal Delimo BanyuwangiPura jala Sidhi amerta Juanda Surabaya

19 Feb Buda Cemeng Kelawu Pura Penataran Agung Teluk Padang KarangasemPura Melanting Camenggaon SukawatiPura Penataran ped Nusa PenidaPura Gaduhan Jagat Singakerta UbudPura Masceti Sanding Tampak SiringPura Penataran Batu Lepang Kamasan KelungkungPura Paibon Pasek Gelgel Kedonganan KutaPura Guwa BesakihPura Basukian BesakihPura Jati UbudPura Melanting UbudPura Dalem Peed Nusa PenidaPura Sad Kayangan Nusa PenidaPura Penataran Agung Gunung Karangasem

21 Feb Hari Bhatara Sri 25 Feb Anggara Kasih Dukut Pura Dalem Batuyang BatubulanPura Pasek Gelgel Mengening Kediri TabananPura Pasek Undagi Krambitan TabananPura Pucak Taman bedulu GianyarPura Puser Jagat Nusa PenidaPura Dalem Purwa Kawan BangliPura Desa Ketewel Gianyar

26 Feb Pura Agung Pasek gelgel Sibang Kaja Abian SemalPura Dalem Samprangan Gianyar

The activity that invite media and involv-ing Hard Rock Staff started by make a wish activity a la Chinese. Then continued to taste food that will served on Chinese New Year. Those menu consists of Asian appetizer such as assorted vegetables salad, Gado Gado (vegetables served with roasted peanut sauce), potato and minced beef patties, Balinese shred-ded chicken salad and Keera Raita. There are also other western salads like caesar salad and condiments, Moroccan spiced chicken breast and Mango Salad with Enoki Mushroom and fresh salad.

After the appetizer, guests move on to taste hot dishes a la western dishes, like Pan Fried Salmon Fillet with Leek and Kaffir Lime Sause, Chinese dishes like Roast Chicken with Fra-grant Salt, Steawed Pork Knuckle with Mush-room, Braised Broccoli with Crabmeat sause and Steamed Fish Fillet with Ginger and Soya Sauce. There also Curry Hot Dishes like Sate Ayam, Kare Daging Sapi dan Kare Sayur.

In addition there are also B.B.Q Pork Ribs with Plum Sauce, Roast Reef Rib Eye with Wild Mushroom Sauce, noodle and special beverage. (ocha)

IBP/Ocha

Chinese New Year menu at Hard Rock Hotel BaliIBP

KUTA - To welcome the Chinese New year holiday, Hard rock Hotel Bali will present the Chinese New year menu on January 31, 2014. This special cuisines were announced in menu tasting at Starz Diner restaurant, Thursday (Dec 19).

As seen on Wednesday (Dec 25), domestic tourists continued to flood the area. They came from a number of major cities in Java such as Jakarta, Surabaya and Solo. It was evident from the license plate of vehicles parked.

Operations Manager of Tanah Lot tourist attraction, Ketut Toya Adnyana, predicted the surge of tourist visit would continue to happen until the New Year, especially ahead of the weekend.

It was estimated, the surge could penetrate over 30 percent. Under normal condition, tourist arrival could reach 7,000-8,000 people per day. “As prediction, the surge will continue. We already made a variety of preparations,” said Toya in a press release, Wednesday (Dec 25).

For security, his party had to coordinate with the Tabanan Police. Then, personnel of pecalang (customary security guard) of Beraban customary village were also involved in the security. The number was also added. “This security is to provide comfort for visitors, especially in the matter of traffic control,” he explained.

In front of the entrance was also built a post of the Candle Operation supported by joint personnel of the Indonesian Military and National Police. Not only that, said Toya, the security effort was also backed by CCTV camera. It was meant to supervise the activities of tourist visit as well as any undesirable incident. Parking space was also added to accommodate more vehicles of visitors.

The surge in tourist visit also occurred to other attractions such as Ulun Danu Beratan, Baturiti. At this lake tourist attraction, local tourists from various regions continued to flow from the morning. Their focus was to enjoy the spectacle of temple in the middle of the lake. As predicted, the surge of visitors would continue until the New Year. The increase in tourist arrival posed an annual tradition every Christmas and New Year holidays. (kmb30)

Bali Post

DENPASAR - Accident at workplace in the form of CO2 gas poisoning happening on Tuesday (Dec 24) claimed 20 victims. All the victims were employees of PT Inti Samudra located on Jalan Ikan Paus Benoa. When the inci-dent occurred around 5:00 p.m., the victims were working in the fish slaughter warehouse. Without being realized, one of the freezers leaked so it caused the CO2 gas

spread quickly and was inhaled by the workers. As a result, dozens of workers were fatigue and faint-ing. So, they were immediately rushed to Sanglah Hospital to get immediate help.

The victims were Olivia, 21, Heni, 17, Lesti, 19, Veni, 29, Lyd-ia, 28, Kadek Manis Erawati, 24, Maryana Mingu, 26, Jamludin, 17, Stanis, 22, Sari, 17, Mariana, 35, Ledi, 24 , Wayan Marjana, 43, Putu Irwan, 19, Yuli, 21, Komang Antini, 22, Carolina Ambukaka,

17, Gede Adi Darma, 19, and Elfi-yana, 19. They all came gradually and got immediate treatment in the Emergency Room.

The Emergency Room Head of Sanglah Hospital, Krisna Wibawa, described the 20 victims were hospitalized and up to Sunday (Dec 25) they were still undergo-ing an observation. He continued that all the victims showed the symptoms of CO2 poisoning such as nausea and vomiting, shortness of breath and headache.

There were also accompanied by convulsions and unconsciousness. “Patients are experiencing mild to severe symptoms of poisoning. The CO2 poisoning at excessive rate can cause death. However, this case does not belong to lethal dose,” said Krisna.

Of the 20 victims were treated, according to Krisna, five of which got hyperbaric treatment. “Hy-perbaric treatment is intended for patients with an indication of fainting, seizures and severe

headache,” he said.The action of hyperbaric treat-

ment, added Krisna, was given in order the victim’s body could be clean from the content of CO2 more quickly. “Hyperbaric is the therapy with very high content of O2. By that way, the content of CO2 in the patient’s body is expected to be removed more quickly,” he said. Overall, accord-ing to Krisna, the health condition of all patients had been getting better. (san)

CO2 poisoning victims remain under treatment

IBP/File

The crowded tourists are seen in Tanah Lot

Christmas holiday, Tanah Lot thronged by myriad travelersBali Post

TABANAN - Christmas holiday and ahead of New year become a blessing for Tanah Lot tourist attraction, Kediri. This coastal tourist attraction continued to harvest tourists, especially domestic tourists.

3Friday, December 27, 201314 InternationalInternational Bali NewsScience Friday, December 27, 2013

Putu Nastri, 40, a trader on Sanur Beach, from Nusa Penida, said the visit of domestic and foreign tourists these days tended to be quiet, Wednesday (Dec 25). “Due to rainy season, visitors tend to be quiet. Tourist visit is dominated by domestic tourist from outside Bali, while foreign tourists rarely come to the beach because of the rain,” she said.

Nastri said that tourist visit during high season could reach 100,000-150,000 per day. She added that to main-tain the sanitation of Sanur Beach area, the local traders union regularly did cleanup action twice a week, namely every Monday and Friday, she added. Traders around the Sanur Beach hoped the adverse weather condition lately discouraged tourists to visit Sanur Beach. Other than spending holiday, their coming also provided windfall to surrounding traders.

Lukman Hakim, 21, a domestic tourist from Pasuruan, East Java, said he had been in Bali since four months ago and Sanur Beach was his favorite destination after Kuta and Nusa Dua. He said that he could do refreshing on Sanur Beach while fishing. He explained that Sanur Beach would be more crowded in the afternoon, especially on weekend like Saturdays and Sundays. Rainy season had made tourist visit declined and deserted. Domestic tourists usually saw waves, played canoe, swam and fished. (dgk)

AntaraSEMARAPURA - The police in the Klungkung

district, Bali province, have detained a 23-year old man on drug charges after he was found in possession of 4.5 grams of crystal methamphetamine.

The suspect, identified by initials MH, was ar-rested while he was riding a motorcycle on the Ida Bagus Mantra bypass in the district, spokesman of the Klungkung district police Adj. Comr. Made Sudanta stated here on Wednesday.

The meth was found in his trouser pocket, wrapped in a used pack of instant coffee, Made Sudanta re-marked.

“We are still interrogating the suspect,” he added.

The police also seized a cellular phone, a mo-torcycle, and a pair of trousers from the suspect, he said.

Bali Post

MANGUPURA - Services ex-tended at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport were complained again. Flight passengers protested due to lack of communication regarding the baggage claim area so that it resulted in clut-ter in the domestic arrival terminal. Not only that, the vile condition of the terminal was also criticized by passengers.

“We’re made confused in which conveyor to take my baggage. There is no clear information, where the of-ficers that should be able to provide information are also in confusion. As a result, the airport condition was crowded,” said Bagus Sudibya, one of the passengers.

Aside from the absence of signs, condition of the domestic arrival terminal being under renovation, ad-mitted Sudibya, also looked shabby. A number of ceilings collapsed as flushed by rain. Meanwhile, the wait-ing room provided was also narrow.

“Its toilet also smells the odor of

urine. We understand that the airport is still under renovation, but does it have to sacrifice the convenience of passengers?” questioned Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) of Bali.

According to him, the less convenient airport would have an impact on the tourism image of Bali. Moreover, it was amid the flooding tourist arrivals, both domestic and foreign tourists spending holidays to the Island of the Gods to cel-ebrate Christmas and New Year 2014.

“Do we give this (untidy—Ed) impression to visitors? Actually, we have promoted earnestly to attract tourists in order they want to visit Bali, but when arriving in Bali they are presented with such a spectacle,” he complained.

He said the airport management should take into account the carrying capacity of the airport to tourist ar-rivals. Thus, it would not disturb the comfort of tourists. “When going out of the airport, I myself experienced if it was crowded and took me for hours. Carrying capacity must become

a serious concern so when visiting Bali they will not be disappointed,” he affirmed.

Spokesperson of PT Angkasa Pura I, Alfasyah, when asked for his confir-mation justified that disruption of pas-senger services in the domestic arrival terminal occurred as the impact of the airport expansion project. “Yeah ... as a commonplace, the project surely results in a little discomfort. However, we have attempted to minimize the impact,” he said.

Nevertheless, Alfasyah denied if the absence of sign for baggage claim at the conveyor had caused a build-up of passengers. “Related to the absence of clear instruction on the conveyor where passenger must claim their baggage, I have to cross-check first to the airlines concerned. There was no problem with the information of conveyor displayed on monitor and no passengers were complaining about it,” he concluded while adding that he would follow up the complaints of passengers by checking it to every airline. (kmb27)

IBP/Dewa

When entering the rainy season, the tourist visit to Sanur Beach tends to be quieter. As observation at lo-cation, there was no increase in tourist visit. Weather factor became one of the causes of the decline.

Rainy season

Sanur Beach visited by a few touristsBali Post

DENPASAR - When entering the rainy season, the tourist visit to Sanur Beach tends to be quieter. As observation at location, there was no increase in tourist visit. Weather factor became one of the causes of the decline. Such condition is also perceived by traders around the beach.

Police arrest youth on charges of meth possesion

Services of Ngurah Rai Airport complained

Researchers published the case in the Journal of Infectious Diseases in October, but did not include the genetic sequence. The decision was made after consulting with the U.S. government, lead researcher Stephen Arnon told the Sacramento Bee.

There’s no treatment for the new botulism strain yet, and there are concerns that rogue groups could use information about the genetic code to develop a bioweapon.

“The recommendations from the federal government were clear on the potential risks of publishing the gene sequence,” Arnon told the newspa-per. “There was agreement among all involved in the discussions that it would be possible to publish this in-formation to achieve the scientific and public health benefits of sharing the finding while safeguarding national security.”

Botulism, a rare but serious illness that can lead to paralysis, is caused by a nerve toxin produced by bacte-

ria. About 145 cases of botulism are reported in the United States every year and about 65 percent are infant botulism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state Department of Public Health is among several agencies around the country responsible for developing treatments for botulism strains. It usually takes one to two years to develop an antitoxin.

David Relman, professor of medi-cine and microbiology at Stanford University, wrote an accompanying editorial supporting the decision to not publish the genetic sequence just yet.

“There is certainly more awareness of the possibility of doing harm — not only of the means and capability of doing harm — but also the fact that there seems to be more people who voice that kind of perspective and intention,” Relman told the Bee. Other scientists disagreed, saying it’s better to publish the data so that others can evaluate the work.

Associated Press Writer

PASADENA, California — A NASA space-craft has sent holiday greetings from the outer solar system. The space agency on Monday re-leased dazzling new images of the ringed planet Saturn and its moons. The Cassini spacecraft took the pictures earlier this year.

Saturn resembled an ornament in one image, with a jet stream swirling at its north pole along with a hurricane-like storm.

Cassini also peered through the hazy atmo-sphere of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, reveal-ing hydrocarbon lakes. The icy Saturn moon Enceladus appears as a white snowball.

Cassini, funded by NASA and the European and Italian space agencies, was launched in 1997. The spacecraft reached Saturn in 2004 and has been studying the planet and its many moons.

AP Photo/files

FILE - Rep. Michael Myers, second from left, holds an en-velope containing $50,000 which he just received from undercover FBI agent Anthony Amo-roso, left, in this videotape played at the first Abscam trial Oct. 14, 1980.

US researchers withhold data in botulism studyAssociated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO, California — American health researchers have discovered the first new strain of botulism in four decades, but decided to withhold publishing the genetic code because of bioterrorism concerns. An infant earlier this year fell ill with botulism, but survived, the California state Department of Public Health reported. No other details were made public.

AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

This July 29, 2013 image provided by NASA shows that Winter is approach-ing in the southern hemisphere of Saturn and with this cold season has come the familiar blue hue that was present in the northern winter hemisphere at the start of NASA’s Cassini mission.

Holiday lights: New views of Saturn and its moons

Bali News International4 Friday, December 27, 2013 Friday, December 27, 2013 13International RLDW

Bali PostAMLAPURA - Revetment of plotted land at the former hill dredged

in the area of Buitan hamlet, Manggis, Karangasem, avalanched on Monday night (Dec 23). The material of avalanche consisting of rock and soil covered most of the road body of Amlapura-Denpasar.

Until Wednesday (Dec 25), the workers employed by the plot owner were seen still working by means of heavy equipment. Rock and soil materials mixed with sand having covered the road had been removed and placed at the roadside.

Location of the land near the bend at Buitan was formerly a hill with dense forest. However, the land owner then sold the land. Afterward, the buyer dredged the hill and sold it for backfill. Having been dredged, the hill was shaped into terraces and sold.

Latest information from the surrounding residents told if the land had been cleared, dredged, terraced and sold to investor from Jakarta. When flushed by heavy rain from early morning, at night the wall of terrace having the steepest side in the eastern part collapsed. The collapse oc-curred along approximately 40 meters, while the remaining revetment made of stone was seen to have cracked. Formerly, when the hill with a height of about 500 meters above the sea was still overgrown by bush and wooded never avalanched or flooded. Later, after the hill and field were bald as the trees had been cleared and the land was dredged, though having been terraced and protected with revetment, it remained to collapse and avalanche.

Meanwhile, the rain still flushed Karangasem until Tuesday. The heavy rain was accompanied by wind causing it prone to avalanche. Meanwhile, the trees at roadside of Amlapura-Candidasa road section, such as at Sang Hyang Ambu hill seemed to topple transversely on the highway. (013)

Other than customary apparel, the church was also embellished with Balinese ornaments. A pair of penjor (bamboo pole embellished with festoon) was mounted at the entrance gates. There were also arched entrance ornaments made from young coconut leaf. Church room was decorated with fabric in Balinese atmosphere. This scene was visible at the entire churches at Mengesta village as in St. Michael Catholic Church, last Wednesday.

Just like in the other churches, when the morning came, people flocked to the church. All women put on kebaya dress, while men put on sarong wrapped in saput, completed with headdress. At first glance, they were similar to the Hindus that would go to temple. A few congregations put on the national apparel. Christmas cel-ebration was held at 08:00 a.m. led by Father Damianus Hayong from Tabanan Parish. The celebration had the theme “Come the King of Peace.” Solemnly, all the people prayed to the end of the service. Then, it was ended with mutual handshaking.

The tradition of putting on cus-tomary apparel during the service was tradition passed down from generation to generation. Catholics at the village first emerged in 1955. Despite being Christian, they did

not leave the local culture. “It has been handed down. On Christmas or when going to church, we always dressed in Balinese customary apparel,” said Chairman of the Piling Church Area, Patris Suka Wiratnaja. Total Catholics at the village reached 44 families or about 195 people. At the beginning, the growth of Catholics at the village was guided by a Dutch clergy, Blaska. At the village, it had been built a polyclinic for the treatment of residents. Up to 2010, three nuns were assigned at the village.

It was recounted that initially there were only 3 families who became Christians. Then, they were followed by 10 families and continued to grow until now. They spread across three hamlets, respec-tively the Piling Kawan, Tengah and Kangin. The church in use today was built in 1976 where the architecture totally applied Balinese carvings.

It was designed by Ida Bagus Sena from Mengwi, Badung. Previ-ously, in 1956 it was only an emer-gency building. With the increasing number of Christians, at the local village was then set up a social or-ganization. The members consisted of the Hindus, Muslims, Catholics and Protestants. “To maintain this harmony, we always ngejot or share foods on Christmas,” said

Wiratnaja.On average, each family slaugh-

tered a pig, and it was then distrib-uted to other people. This year, the tradition of slaughtering was shifted. Typically, this tradition was held before Christmas celebration. Then, the tradition was changed to after Christmas festivity. As planned, it was started on Thursday (Dec 26) up to next three days. It changed, he said, based on the rules of church. Sharing food tradition became a habit when Christians celebrated Christmas. Conversely, Galungan festivity was the turn for the Hindus to share foods to Christians. More-over, most Christians and Hindus at Piling still close relationships since long ago. But, they were only dif-ferent in faith.

Other than Catholics, similar tra-dition was also made by Protestants. The difference was that they celebrat-ed Christmas at Emmanuel Church. Their tradition of sharing food was still maintained. At church service, they averagely put on Balinese customary apparel. Similar unique-ness was also found in the church at Penganggahan hamlet, Tengkudak, Penebel. Meanwhile, Tabanan Police assisted by the ranks of Indonesian Military and municipal police were busy securing the service activity at every church in Tabanan. In whole, they could run safely. (udi)

Bali PostSEMARAPURA - Heavy rain flushing Klungkung caused the

Kulkul (wooden split drum) pavilion of Dharmajati Jati I Foun-dation, at Bakas village, Banjarangkan, Klungkung, to collapse, Tuesday (Dec 24). As a result, the Kulkul pavilion situated at the roadside blocked the road body so the road access of Klungkung-Bangli disconnected for five hours.

The incident occurred around 10:15 a.m. No casualties were reported in the incident. A number of related parties such as the Public Works Agency and police authority had trouble to get rid of the building debris on the road because a heavy equipment in use could not do much. Shortly after, the other heavy equipment in the form of excavator arrived. However, the equipment was dif-ficult to penetrate the location as it was blocked by truck trapped in the traffic lane. The heavy equipment could just move to location around 1:00 p.m.

Deputy Regent of Klungkung, Made Kasta, was seen at the loca-tion of the ruins. He highlighted that the building standing at the road side did not have safe construction.

As consequence, when raining heavily, it instantly collapsed and covered the road. Besides, he ensured if the building did not have a permit. Kasta asked the Head of Public Works to make coordina-tion with the building owner in order to check the strength of the structure. The building owner, Ketut Nika, admitted the building whose foundation collapsing was not strong, so it instantly col-lapsed when being hit by rain.

A number of road users who often crossed the path also claimed to fear. One of them was Gede Sarjana. He was anxious when passing through the building. Other than standing too close to road body, it was also considered too high and did not meet the provi-sions on the borderline. “Every time we pass nearby, the line is so scary because the building seems to collapse,” he said followed by other residents who crowded the location. This path could just be re-opened around 1:30 p.m. after the excavator got rid of the debris covering the road. (kmb31)

IBP/FileThe Christians at Mengesta village, Penebel subdistrict, Tabanan use Balinese traditional clothes to celebrate christmas

Christmas at Mengesta village, Penebel, Tabanan

Use customary apparel at church service

CHRISTIANS at Mengesta village, Penebel subdistrict, Tabanan, had a unique tradition when celebrat-ing Christmas, Wednesday (Dec 25). As other Balinese people did, they put on customary attires when attending church service. Likewise, local residents did not leave the tradition of slaughtering pig for party-ing. To maintain harmony with other people, they also shared food (ngejot). What is their uniqueness?

Avalanche, Bangli-Klungkung track disconnects for five hours

Hill dredged and divided into plots Revetment avalanches, materials cover road body

Four election commissioners left the stadium on a helicopter to escape the violence — some of the fiercest since a long-running dispute between Thailand’s bitterly divided political factions flared anew two months ago.

Protesters seeking to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra are demanding that the Feb. 2 elections be delayed until she leaves office and reforms are implemented, and have vowed to disrupt the polls if they go ahead. Yingluck has insisted that the elections should go ahead, in the knowledge that her party is likely win.

The election commission said in a statement that it was urging the government to consider “postpon-ing the elections,” citing the security situation. Commission head Somchai Srisutthiyakorn denied the body was “involving itself in politics” by urging

a delay in the polls. “We have good intentions and want to see peace in this country,” he told reporters. Gov-ernment officials did not immediately answer calls seeking a response.

In the past, the government has indicated that it does not have the authority to delay elections, which constitutionally must be held 45 to 60 days from the date that Parlia-ment is dissolved.

The anti-government protests began in late October, but Thurs-day’s violence was the first in nearly two weeks. At least 96 people were injured from both sides as protesters fought running battles with police close to the stadium.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the officer died, but authorities said earlier that an officer had sustained a bullet wound. He died after being airlifted to a hospital, said police Col. Anucha Romyanan. Later in the day,

protesters blocked a major road lead-ing to the smaller of Bangkok’s two airports.

Police have made no move to arrest the protest movement’s ringleader, Suthep Thaugsuban, who is demand-ing the country be led by an unelected council until reforms can be imple-mented. The authorities have to tread carefully, as a crackdown would likely provoke greater violence and chaos. That could give the military, which has staged 11 successful coups in the past, a pretext to intervene again.

Thailand has been wracked by political conflict since Yingluck’s brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was toppled by a 2006 military coup. The protesters accuse Yingluck of being a proxy for Thaksin, who lives in self-imposed exile to avoid jail time for a cor-ruption conviction but still wields influence in the country.

Agence France Presse

TACLoBAN - Survivors of the Philippines’ deadliest typhoon spent a gloomy Christmas Day surrounded by mud Wednesday as heavy rain drove many inside their flimsy shelters, dampening efforts at holiday cheer in the deeply devout nation.

Groups of children in plastic raincoats braved the incessant rain in the devastated central city of Tacloban, knocking on doors in trick-or-treat fashion and beseeching pedestrians for candies, coins and other Christmas presents.

But housewife Susan Scala sat glumly under a white tarpaulin in one of Tacloban’s many tent cities for those made homeless by Super Typhoon Haiyan. At a time when her family should be celebrating, all she could think of was her missing husband.

“Even if it’s not Christmas I don’t stop thinking about him,” the mother of five said of her husband Oscar, a telephone utility worker believed lost at sea when giant waves whipped up by the November 8 storm swept away homes in the city’s San Jose slum.

Like many of the city’s survivors, the miserable weather made Scala nervous. “This incessant rain is scary. It reminds me of what happened (during the typhoon),” the 53-year-old said. Haiyan left more than 6,100 people dead and nearly 2,000 others missing, many of them from Tacloban and nearby towns, in the storm-prone country’s deadliest typhoon disaster.

About 4.4 million others were left homeless across the central islands and now live in tents provided by aid agencies or rough shacks fashioned by survivors from the wreckage of destroyed homes and fallen trees.

At the city’s ruined Sagkahan fish port, 67-year-old widow Emiliana Aranza pulled sweets and shortbread from jars at her makeshift store out-side her shanty to give to the children who knocked on her counter.

“It’s a sad Christmas Day. We have lost our home and the govern-ment will not allow us to rebuild here as it’s too close to the shore,” she told AFP. But she said sharing what was left of her possessions had an uplifting effect.

“There are still a lot of reasons that we should be thankful to God,” Aranza said, including the fact that her two adult children and their 13 sons and daughters, who now have to live together in the cramped shanty, survived the disaster. “Because of the typhoon, members of my family are now tightly knit. Gone are the petty quarrels,” she added.

AP Photo/Wason WanichakornA Thai anti-government protester throws back tear gas canister at riot policemen during a clash at a sport stadium in Bangkok, Thailand Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013. Rock-throwing protesters trying to halt preparations for elections fought police in the Thai capital on Thursday, escalating their campaign to topple the country’s beleaguered government.

Thai election body urges delay in polls amid clashAssociated Press Writer

BANGKoK — Thailand’s election commission on Thursday urged the government to delay upcoming polls as clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters killed a police officer and injured nearly 100 people, adding to political turmoil threatening to tear apart the country. The hours-long unrest took place outside a Bangkok sports stadium where election candidates were gathering to draw lots for their positions on the ballot. Protesters threw rocks as they tried to break into the building to halt the process, while police fired tear gas and rubber bullets.

Christmas in mud as rain pelts Philippine disaster zone

AP Photo/Achmad IbrahimChildren line up to receive a Christmas gift from volunteers near a giant lantern with the colors of the Philippine flag, in Tacloban, Philippines, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013.

Bali News Friday, December 27, 2013 5InternationalFriday, December 27, 201312 International

Associated Press

BEIJING — China’s Cabinet estimates this year’s economic growth edged down to 7.6 percent and warned it faces pressure to decline further, a state news agency said Thursday.

The forecast, reported by the Xinhua News Agency, is below the 2012 rate of 7.7 percent but above the government’s 7.5 percent target.

Communist leaders are trying to steer China to slower, more sus-tainable growth but an unexpectedly sharp decline in 2012 and this year prompted concern about politically dangerous job losses. Beijing temporarily reversed course and shored up growth in mid-2013 with a mini-stimulus of higher spending on building railways and other public works.

China has the strongest economic growth of any major country but this year’s forecast rate is barely half of 2009’s 14.2 percent.

In a report to China’s ceremonial legislature, the Cabinet warned that growth faces challenges including rising labor costs, environmental problems, weak global demand and excess production capacity in some industries, according to Xinhua.

“We cannot deny a downward pressure on economic growth,” the minister in charge of the Cabinet’s planning agency, Xu Shaoshi, was quoted as saying.

The report cited potential problems including slow economic re-structuring, worsening pollution and “social conflicts among interest groups,” Xinhua said.

The government will continue to reduce excess production capacity in industries including steel, cement, aluminum and glass in which supply exceeds demand, Xinhua said. The glut of supply in those fields has led to price-cutting wars that threaten the financial health of companies.

Chinese leaders are under pressure to replace a growth model based on exports and investment that delivered three decades of rapid expan-sion but has run out of steam.

A development blueprint issued last month by the ruling party prom-ises to revive economic growth by giving the free market a bigger role and opening more areas to private business. It promises to inject more competition into some industries dominated by state companies but says government ownership will remain the core of the economy.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for Feb-ruary delivery, was up 27 cents at $99.49 in mid-morning trade while Brent North Sea crude for February gained 20 cents to $112.10.

Sanjeev Gupta, head of the

Asia-Pacific oil and gas practice at consultancy firm EY, said oil prices were being supported by “fears of disruptions in supply from South Sudan”.

But “markets are likely to re-main range-bound till the release of new economic data during the

first of week of 2014”, he said.Violence in South Sudan, a

fledgling oil producer, escalated Wednesday as its army battled rebel forces in a key oil-producing state, as the United Nations moved to double its peacekeeping force to stave off civil war.

Thousands are believed to have been killed in more than a week of violence pitting troops loyal to President Salva Kiir against those backing his rival Riek Machar, a former vice president who was sacked in July.

Oil production, which accounts for more than 95 percent of South Sudan’s economy, has been dented by the violence, with oil workers evacuated last week.

The escalating violence has added to concerns about a disrup-

tion in global supply, following the continued curtailment of out-put from OPEC member Libya due to a months-long blockade of crucial terminals in the eastern part of the country.

Investors are also awaiting the weekly US oil inventories report to be released Friday for clues about US demand.

Analysts project US supplies fell 2.2 million barrels, accord-ing to a survey by the Wall Street Journal.

Oil prices up on escalating South Sudan violenceAgence France-Presse

SINGAPORE - Crude edged higher in Asian trade Thursday on supply concerns following escalating violence in oil-producer South Sudan, but gains were capped as dealers sat on the sidelines awaiting fresh leads after the festive season.

AP PhotoAn investor gestures in front of the stock price monitor at a private

securities company Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013, in Shanghai, China. China’s Cabinet estimates this year’s economic growth edged

down to 7.6 percent and warned it faces pressure to decline fur-ther, a state news agency said Thursday.

China estimates 2013 growth slowed to 7.6 percent

RESULTS of the Agricultural Census in December 2013 indicate the number of farming family (RTP) in Bali reached 404,507 families or a decline of 55,930 families (17.85 percent) compared to the year 2003 amounting to 460,437 families. “The decline happened due to farmland conversion to residential area,” said the Head of Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Bali, Suarsa. Of that amount, 63.58 percent (257,181 families) are small farmers who cul-tivated farmland less than 50 ares.

Food crop subsector experienced the greatest decline over the past ten years namely 78.42 percent. Plantation sector underwent 12.34 percent decline. Suarsa said that 27.40 percent of main farmers in Bali belonged to the age group of 45-54 years. The lack of youth group involvement became the threat of food security in Bali.

According to a lecturer of Udaya-na University, Prof. Dr. I Wayan Win-dia, the decline in farming families happened because the agricultural sector was considered unprofitable. The development of agricultural sec-tor in Bali tended to stagnate because its contribution to gross regional domestic product (GRDP) was very low. Farmland conversion in Bali av-

eragely reached 1,000 hectares each year. Contribution of the agriculture to the economy of Bali all this time was only 18.5 percent, the smallest compared to other sectors.

He recognized that many irriga-tion channels of subak in Bali were contaminated by pollution case. Irrigation channel of Subak Lod-tunduh in Gianyar, for instance, was drained by household plastic waste. The more severe condition occurred in urban areas like Denpasar and Badung. Many watersheds and ir-rigation channels were filled with plastic waste and sewage.

Another threat was the skyrocket-ing land and property tax (PBB) rate. This encouraged farmers to sell their rice fields. Data of the BPS in 2010 showed that during the period of five years (2004-2009), the average annual rice field converted was more than 1,000 hectares. It was very dan-gerous to food security in Bali.

Pursuant to Law No.7/2004 on Water Resources, the irrigation net-work covering an area of less than 1,000 hectares should be maintained by county/municipal government; irrigation network covering an area of 1,000-3,000 hectares should be maintained by provincial govern-ment; and for the area of more than

3,000 hectares should be maintained by central government. In Bali, there is virtually no irrigation network exceeding 3,000 hectares, except for that of Kedewatan that irrigates the subak area in Badung, Denpasar and Gianyar. On that account, it becomes the responsibility of local govern-ment in Bali to maintain the subak irrigation network. It then faces a problem whether there is an allo-cated fund in the regional budget.

A legislator of the Bali House, IGP Budiarta, admitted there was not much that could be done to improve the welfare of farmers with such a small budget. According to him, the agricultural budget should at least 10 percent of the regional budget, so there was a real concern to farmers.

An agricultural expert from the Udayana University, Prof. Made Merta, deeply regretted the lack of budget in the agricultural sector. The budget drafting team for the agricultural sector was considered less observant in addressing the needs of farmers. They mentioned that Bali tourism had synergy with the agriculture and other sector, but there was no concrete measure to make it happen.

He considered there was an

attempt of omission against the di-minishing farmland, disturbance to irrigation facilities and other issues. “Many lands are taken to the edges of waterways and they are ignored. Then, no attention is given to such distracted irrigation facilities. Neces-sarily, the government inventories what to need and what to do,” he said.

According to him, in the future there should be a priority and a pro-found understanding that Balinese farming had different significance from that of elsewhere. “We have been subverted by the loss of the two components of the Tri Hita Karana becoming the philosophical components, but there is no concrete measure to overcome it,” he hoped.

Meanwhile, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture of Mahasara-swati University Denpasar, I Ketut Arnawa, worried that Bali would be threatened by food crisis in the next 10-20 years as the rate of population growth was accompanied by a sharp decline in the agricultural produc-tion. Additionally, the fragility of food security happened due to the depletion of farmland and sluggish-ness of public interest in farming because they considered it unprofit-able. He hoped the food security program could actually work, unlike the current one that was very fragile and just touching the surface.

Food crisis

The Head of Bali Agriculture

Agency, Ida Bagus Wisnu Ardana, admitted that he had attempted to achieve the food security and pre-vent Bali from food crisis. “Food se-curity is closely related to our staple food, namely rice. Meanwhile, the rice product of more than 800,000 tons is sufficient to meet the need of local residents. The data of Bali Agriculture Agency indicate the acreage of rice cultivation within the past three years shows an area of 152,545 hectares in 2011; 153,938 hectares (2012) and 151,162 hect-ares (2013). Meanwhile, the rice harvest area in the past three years reached 151,585 hectares, 149,000 hectares and 148,847 hectares. Then, rice production in the past three years reached 858,316 tons; 865,554 tons; and 859,289 tons.

Another effort to ensure the food security was closely related to food diversification. For ex-ample, it substituted the rice with sweet potatoes, fruits, vegetables, fish and others. Improvement of the agricultural infrastructure should also be pursued. In 2013, the irrigation improvement cov-ered an area of 8,321 hectares or 10.2 percent of the rice field area in Bali Province. His party attempted to boost the rice pro-duction by providing a wide range of seed choices. Fertilizer and tractors were also available. The marketing aspect was also fixed so the price would not drop in the massive harvest. (bit/wid)

IBP/File PhotoA rice field at Tabanan Regency, Bali Island, has

a “Sale” signed. Supporter of the food security is increasingly helpless. Farmland conversion reach-

ing an average of around 1,000 hectares per year cannot be dammed. Similarly, the number of farming

household also continues to decline.

Yearender

Bali’s food security increasingly fragileSupporter of the food security is increasingly helpless. Farmland conversion reaching an average of

around 1,000 hectares per year cannot be dammed. Similarly, the number of farming household also con-tinues to decline. Irrigation channel of subak is polluted by sewage and garbage. Government protection is very weak. Besides, the agricultural budget is minimal. A hope to get attractive grain price has failed as it drops during harvest season. Will Bali face food crisis in the future?

BUSINESS

Friday, December 27, 2013 Friday, December 27, 20136 11International International

INDONESIAW RLD

“At 2.30 p.m. local time, a mob vandalized the Sentani police post. The mob, armed with stones and beams of wood, smashed the glass windows and doors of the police post located at

AntaraJAKARTA - Indonesia de-

veloped more dynamic relations with the Republic of Belarus in 2013, Indonesian Ambassador to the Federation of Russia and the Republic of Belarus Djauhari Oratmangun stated.

“Besides celebrating the 20th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, both nations also sig-nificantly increased their ties in 2013,” Oratmangun emphasized in an electronic message to Antara here on Wednesday.

He noted that one of the key indicators of the improved dy-namic relationship between the two countries was marked by Be-lorussian President Aleksandr Lu-kashenko’s visit to Indonesia last March. The Belorussian President was accompanied by a delegation of high state officials.

Indonesian House Speaker Marzuki Ali, along with his en-tourage, was one of the prominent Indonesian figures who visited Belarus this year, the envoy re-marked.

The two states also recorded a significant increase in coopera-tion in the field of economy and trade. But, the figure has yet to reflect the real potential of their cooperation.

According to the ambassador, Indonesia is the biggest trade partner of Belarus in the Associa-tion of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The two states recorded two-way trade of US$84.3 million in 2013, which is up 68 percent from US$50.2 million in 2012.

In the meantime, Belorussian Deputy Foreign Minister Valentin Rybkov agreed that during this year, the relations between the two countries have significantly improved.

“The two nations agree to fur-ther strengthen their relations and existing cooperation, including realization of their commitment by signing several bilateral agree-ments during President Lukashen-ko’s visit to Indonesia,” Rybakov added. Besides government rela-tions, the relations of both nations

also gained significant progress in the economic sector.

“During 2013, Belorussian Potsh Company supplied some 250 thousand tons of fertilizers to Indonesia,” he noted.

Both nations’ cooperation in the field of research also increased, particularly in the metallurgy sec-tor. A cooperation agreement was signed between the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and the National Academy of Science of Belarus during the later part of 2012.

Agence France-Presse

JAKARTA - Hundreds of Indonesian Christians held a Christmas service Wednesday in front of the presidential palace in Jakarta to protest at the closure of their churches due to pressure by Muslim hardliners.

Some 200 people from two churches near the capital sang hymns, recited prayers and lit candles by a busy road along-side three “Christmas trees” constructed out of plywood and bamboo.

The service, involving people of all ages from toddlers to the elderly, began under the scorch-ing sun and continued for hours even after the weather changed abruptly and heavy rain fell.

Christians are coming under increasing pressure from extrem-ists in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been criticised for failing to tackle the growing intolerance.

“We want to remind our presi-dent once again that he has not yet resolved the issue of religious intolerance in this country,” Bona Sigalingging, a spokesman for one of the churches, told AFP.

The churches, in the cities of Bekasi and Bogor, were closed in 2010 by local authorities who had come under pressure from Muslim hardliners.

Authorities said it was be-cause the buildings lacked proper building permits, although rights groups say local governments are simply bowing to extremist pres-sure and using the permit issue as an excuse.

As well as Christians, hardlin-ers in Sunni-majority Indonesia have targeted Muslim minorities. Ahmadis have seen their places of worship closed and Shiites have been subjected to violent attacks.

Ninety percent of Indonesia’s 250 million people identify them-selves as Muslim although the constitution guarantees freedom of religion.

AP Photo/Heri Juanda

Acehnese people sprinkle flowers on a mass grave during a prayer commemorating the 9th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013. The tsunami triggered by a magnitude-9.1 earthquake on Dec. 26, 2004 killed 230,000 people in several countries, more than half of them in Indonesia.

RI, Belarus develop most dynamic relations in 2013

Christians stage Christmas protest at palace

Mob torches police post in PapuaAntara

SENTANI - A group of unidentified people torched a police post in Sentani, Jayapura district, on Wednesday, to protest against the death of a local resident.

Hawai Street, in front of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Sentani,” a local resident said on grounds of anonymity.

The mob also set fire to the police post. However, the personnel of the

Jayapura Military District Command and local residents managed to extin-guish the blaze.

The incident occurred when some 300 people escorted the ambulance

carrying the body of Simon Sokoy for burial at a local cemetery. Simon was the son of Second Sergeant Richardo Sokoy, who works for the Jayapura military district command.

At around 4.10 p.m. local time, the personnel of the 751/1 Battalion arrived at the scene to clear up the shattered glass windows and doors and guard the police post against any

anticipated future attack.No fatalities or injuries were re-

ported in the attack.Chief of the Jayapura police resort

Adj. Snr. Comr Roycke Harry Langie was unavailable for comment on the incident.

Earlier, the local residents clashed with police personnel at the Sentani Sub-District Military Command.

Visits to Yasukuni by Japanese politicians have long been a point of friction with China and South Korea, because the 2.5 million war dead enshrined there include 14 class A war criminals from World War II — national leaders who were either executed or died in prison or during their trials. Japan colonized Korea and occupied parts of China, often brutally, before and during World War II.

Abe, a nationalist who advocates revising Japan’s pacifist constitution, has always wanted to visit Yasukuni as prime minister, but his visit still surprised some analysts, who thought he might take a pragmatic approach to leadership that focused on reviving the economy and trying to avoid alienat-ing neighbors. It was the first visit to Yasukuni by a sitting Japanese prime minister since Junichiro Koizumi went to mark the end of World War II in 2006.

Abe, wearing a formal black jacket with tails and striped, gray pants, spent about 15 minutes at the Shinto shrine in central Tokyo. TV cam-eras followed him inside the shrine property, but were not allowed in the inner shrine. “I prayed to pay respect for the war dead who sacrificed their precious lives and hoped that they rest in peace,” he told waiting reporters afterward.

Abe said criticism that visits to Yasukuni are an act of worshipping war criminals is based on a misunder-standing. “Unfortunately, a Yasukuni visit has largely turned into a political and diplomatic issue,” he said. “It is not my intention to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people.” He said he believes Japan must never wage war again: “This is my conviction, based on the severe remorse for the past.”

His statements failed to assuage China and South Korea. Chinese For-

eign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang, in a statement posted on the ministry’s website, said “we strongly protest and seriously condemn the Japanese leader’s acts.” He called visits to Yasu-kuni “an effort to glorify the Japanese militaristic history of external invasion and colonial rule ... and to challenge the outcome of World War II.”

He added that “the effort to go against the historical trend is sure to cause great vigilance and strong worries among Asian neighbors and the international community over the direction of Japan’s future develop-ment.”

South Korea’s minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Yoo Jinryong, labeled the visit “an anachronistic act” that “hurts not only the ties between South Korea and Japan but also fun-damentally damages the stability and cooperation in Northeast Asia.” His briefing was broadcast live on TV.

Agence France Presse

Juba - Heavy fighting between government forces and rebels was rag-ing Thursday in South Sudan’s key oil-producing north, officials said, as neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia stepped up efforts to broker an end to the civil war. Army spokesman Philip Aguer said troops loyal to President Salva Kiir were battling forces allied to former vice president Riek Machar inside the town of Malakal, capital of Upper Nile state.

He also said troops were preparing an offensive against Bentiu, the main town in oil-rich Unity State, to follow on from their recapture of Bor, another state capital that had fallen into rebel hands during the nearly two weeks of clashes in the world’ youngest nation. “There is fighting in Malakal. Our forces are in the northern part of Malakal and the rebels are on the southern part. We will flush them out of Malakal,” Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) spokesman Aguer told AFP. “The rebels are still controling Bentiu but SPLA is planning to retake Bentiu soon,” he added.

The violence in South Sudan, a fledgling oil producer which won inde-pendence from Sudan just two years ago, has left thousands dead, according to the United Nations.

Tens of thousands of civilians have also sought protection at UN bases amid a wave of ethnic violence pitting members of Kiir’s Dinka tribe against Machar’s Nuer.

The UN Security Council voted Tuesday to send nearly 6,000 extra soldiers and police to South Sudan, nearly doubling the UNMISS force to 12,500 troops and 1,323 civilian police.

Amid reports of bodies piled in mass graves and witness testimonies of massacres and summary executions and rapes, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has promised those responsible would be “held accountable”.

Crude prices have also edged higher because of the fighting as oil produc-tion, which accounts for more than 95 percent of South Sudan’s fledgling economy, dented by the violence and oil workers evacuated.

Agence France Presse

Moscow - Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky is set to reunite with his wife Inna and their three children in Berlin on Christmas Eve after spending 10 years in a Russian jail, his spokeswoman said on Tuesday. “The family is coming today,” spokeswoman Olga Pispanen told AFP. “They have not been together for 10 years.”

They will meet up in Berlin where Khodorkovsky went after walk-ing free from a prison in northwestern Russia following a pardon from President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Khodorkovsky, who has said he would stay out of Russia, is mulling a move to Switzerland where his twin sons go to school and would like to discuss that plan with his fam-ily, the spokeswoman said. The Swiss foreign ministry said he applied on Tuesday for a three-month Schengen visa to travel to Switzerland.

Khodorkovsky’s wife Inna and their three children, who are believed to have been in Moscow when Khodorkovsky flew to Berlin, have had to sort out their travel documents before going to Germany.

“My family is my main treasure and we are together despite the years, kilometres and barbed wire,” Russia’s one-time richest man said in one interview from prison.

He said he had seen lots of lonely people in prison and felt “ashamed” because he had a great family. “In the lottery of fate I won big time,” he said, stressing his wife was waiting for him. “I would not be able to exist without her. She is one half of my heart.” On Saturday, Khodor-kovsky, 50, reunited with his elderly parents, Marina and Boris, and his eldest son Pavel, s child from his first marriage.

Putin shocked Russia on Thursday by announcing he would pardon Khodorkovsky, who was jailed for financial crimes in separate convic-tions in 2005 and 2010. He had served time in Siberia and the region of Karelia close to the Finnish border and had been due for release in August 2014.

Russian investigators had earlier raised the prospect of a third criminal case against the Kremlin critic. Khodorkovsky asked for a pardon on humanitarian grounds because his 79-year-old mother suf-fers from cancer.

AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, third from right, follows a Shinto priest, right, to pay respect for the war dead at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013. Abe visited Yasukuni war shrine in a move sure to infuriate China and South Korea.

Japanese prime minister visits Yasukuni war shrineAssociated Press Writer

TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid his respects Thursday at a shrine honoring Ja-pan’s war dead in a move that drew sharp rebukes from China and South Korea, who warned that the visit celebrates his country’s militaristic past and threatens to further sour already bad relations. The United States expressed disappointment “that Japan’s leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan’s neighbors.”

Fighting rages in South Sudan oil regions

Khodorkovsky to reunite in Berlin with wife, children

Friday, December 27, 2013 7SportsFriday, December 27, 201310 InternationalInternationalDestinations

IBP

Puncak Mangu Temple belongs to Kahyangan Jagat Temple with 2 function as Catur Loka Pala Temple and Padma Bhuwana Temple. Puncak Mangu has 2 penataran temples; Penataran Temple at Ulun Danu Beratan at Tabanan Regency and Penataran at Tinggan Village, Badung Regency. Penataran Tinggan Temple is located at Tinggan Village, Petang subdistrict, Badung Regency was built in saka 1752 or 1830 by Cokorda Nyoman Mayun.Annual ritual ceremony is “Ngebekin” ceremony.

This ceremony has the aim to worship God in his manifestation as God Sangkara to ask for His blessing for good crops especially rice.Tukad Bangkung Bridge Tukad Bangkung Bridge located on Petang village in Badung district. This bridge is the longest bridge in Bali and connect 2 district such as Badung and Bangli. In this bridge we can see beautiful mountain view and very fresh air. On Galungan and Kuningan day, this bridge usually crowded by people who want to make a picnic with their family or see the view.

Puncak Mangu Temple

IBP/File Photo

Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade each scored 23 points, and James added 19 points in the Heat’s sixth straight win. Bosh grabbed 11 re-bounds and Ray Allen made four 3-pointers for 12 points, helping Miami improve to 5-0 against the Lakers on the holiday.

“I knew we would get a good game out of them, and I think the NBA wanted a good game,” James said, noting the blowout results of the first two games on the league’s holiday schedule.

Bryant was relegated to the sideline with his fractured left knee, leaving him unable to extend his NBA record for Christmas

Day appearances to 16. “It’s not as special when Kobe’s not out there,” said James, who shared a post-game hug with Bryant.

Streaky reserve Nick Young scored 20 points for the Lakers, who were level four times in the fourth quarter. Jodie Meeks added 17 points, Xavier Henry had 14 and Pau Gasol added 13 points and 13 rebounds. Bosh scored 13 of his 23 points in the first half, when Miami trailed 27-21 after the first quarter.

Jordan Farmar returned from a left hamstring tear after miss-ing 10 games, giving the Lakers a true point guard to run the of-

fense. But he was ineffective, with three points and two assists in 32 minutes.

The Lakers played a competi-tive game against the loaded Heat despite their poor shooting and the absence of Bryant, Steve Nash (nerve root irritation) and Steve Blake (right elbow). They led by 10 points and never trailed by more than that.

“I thought we attacked them the way we wanted to,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We can step it up a bit and be a little bit tougher, especially on the boards and places like that. Those things are irritat-ing, but the effort is good.”

AP Photo/Chris CarlsonLos Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol, left, drives around Miami Heat center Chris Bosh during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013.

Heat beats Lakers 101-95 for 6th straight victoryAssociated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers missed having Kobe Bryant out on the court on Christ-mas Day. Same for LeBron James. Playing without its biggest star, Los Angeles stayed right with the Miami Heat for most of the game before slipping to a 101-95 loss against the defending NBA champions on Wednesday.

Lewis Hamilton believes Formula 1’s new regulations provide the best opportu-nity to end Red Bull’s run of success. Se-bastian Vettel thinks the big teams will still come out on top when the new engine and aero regulations come in, but Hamilton is hopeful the changes give teams like his Mercedes squad an opportunity to topple the Red Bull driver.

“If it was evolution of this year’s car then it would be very hard to beat the Red Bulls as they are so far ahead,” said the 2008 world champion.

“I am happy that it is all resetting again otherwise it would be five, six, seven world championships [to Red Bull].”

Hamilton is also not concerned that the changes, which are likely to put a premium on fuel-saving, will make the driver’s job more difficult.

“I’m not worried about it because I was doing the same thing this year,” he added. “It is going to be very similar next year and you are still going to have to look after tyres. “Maybe there will be more fuel saving, but that’s stuff we do anyway. We will experience things on the simulator and there will new things we have to adapt to.”

Hamilton pointed to the big change in F1’s rules for 2009 as an example of how quickly teams and drivers can get on top of new ways of working.

“The change with KERS and every-thing was really easy,” he said. “Again, we did it on the simulator and we [McLaren] arrived at the first race with the best KERS package and we were ahead of people, but the car wasn’t good. “But I’m hoping we have both sides next year.”

Hamilton hopes new rules will topple Red Bull

IBP/istLewis Hamilton

98 InternationalFriday, December 27, 2013 International Friday, December 27, 2013

Sp rt

It has been a mixed week for Sherwood, whose first match saw Tottenham beaten in the League Cup by West Ham on Wednesday before he oversaw a 3-2 victory at Southampton in the Premier League.

The win took Tottenham just six points behind leader Liverpool with the best away record in the Premier League, showing the potential in a team that has been reconstructed following the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid in the summer transfer window.

Sherwood was uncertain on Sunday if he would even remain in charge for Thursday’s match against West Bromwich Albion, although a short-term deal until the end of the season seemed most likely. But after several leading managers ruled themselves out of taking the job, chairman Daniel Levy has gambled by entrusting the club’s top

coaching job to a novice.“We were extremely reluctant to make a change

mid-season, but felt we had to do so in the club’s best interests,” Levy said. “We have a great squad and we owe them a head coach who will bring out the best in them and allow them to flourish and enjoy a strong, exciting finish to the season.”

Sherwood, who played for Tottenham between 1999 and 2003, returned to White Hart Lane in a part-time capacity in Oct. 2008 to work with then-manager Harry Redknapp. Until then, Sherwood had spent his time since retiring from playing in 2005 working in the media.

“We are in the fortunate position of having within our club a talented coach in Tim Sherwood,” Levy said. “We believe Tim has both the knowledge and the drive to take the squad forward.”

Sherwood’s highlight as a player was captaining Blackburn when it won the Premier League in 1995.

Reuters STOCKHOLM - Players in

the men’s soccer team deserve to get more recognition than their female counterparts in Sweden and people should stop whipping up a gender storm about it, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic said. The Sweden captain spoke out after his country’s FA was slammed for presenting midfielder Anders

Svensson with a new Volvo for breaking Thomas Ravelli’s record

of 143 international caps.However, when women’s mid-

fielder Therese Sjogran failed to get similar recognition at the same soccer gala despite earning a record 187 caps, the move was widely criticised.

“With all respect for what the ladies have done, and they’ve done it fantasti-cally well, you can’t compare men’s and women’s football. Give it up, it’s not even funny,” the Paris Saint Ger-main striker said in an interview with the Expressen newspaper published on Wednesday.

“When I come out in Europe they compare me to (Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo. When I come home they compare me to a female player.

“With all respect for the ladies, they should be rewarded in relation to what they generate (financially). “I was asked (by Swedish media) in the summer who was the better player, me or (Sweden striker) Lotta Schelin.

“You’re joking with me, right? When I’ve broken all these records, this goal record, the goals in the na-tional team, who shall I compare it to? Shall I compare it to whoever has the record, or the ladies?”

Reuters Zenit St Petersburg mid-

fielder Roman Shirokov was named Russia’s Footballer of the Year for a second successive time on Thursday. The 32-year-old, capped 40 times by Russia, topped the annual poll of sports journalists, conducted by Foot-ball Weekly, to add to the award he won in 2012.

“It was real-ly unexpected to win last y e a r b u t I’m not so s u r p r i s e d this year,” s a i d t h e p l a y e r k n o w n f o r h i s aggressive manner on the pitch and frequent argu-

ments with fans and referees.In May, he was sent off for

making an obscene gesture at Zenit fans after scoring in their 3-1 win over FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod and then made an-other gesture when leaving the pitch.

Shirokov was handed a sus-pended six-month ban after calling the referee “a clown” following Zenit’s 1-1 draw against Amkar

Perm in November. He was also fined 150,000 roubles

($4,600) by the Russian Football Union.

Brazilian striker Hulk, who was in-strumental in help-ing Zeni t qual i fy for the Champions League knockout stage, was second in the vote while Dy-

namo Moscow striker Alexander Kokorin

came third.

Reuters

BUENOS AIRES - Ricardo Gareca, the longest serving coach at one team in the Argentine top flight, has decided to leave Velez Sarsfield after winning four trophies during five years in charge. Gareca, 55, told sporting manager Christian Bassedas, the former Velez, Newcastle United and Argentina midfielder, of his decision in a three-hour meeting late on Monday.

“...Ricardo Gareca communi-cated his decision not to continue as coach of... Velez Sarsfield after five years of maximum success and despite the board’s

offer to renew his contract,” the club said on their website (www.velezsarsfield.com.ar).

The ex-Argentina striker, who took charge in January 2009, won three league crowns and the grand final between the 2012/13 season’s two champions - his ‘Inicial’-winning Velez and Newell’s Old Boys, who won the ‘Final’ title. Gareca, whose side finished joint second to San Lorenzo in the 2013/14 sea-son’s Inicial championship that ended on Dec. 15, had hinted last month he wanted to try new pastures.

His successor looks likely to come from reserve team coach

Hector Almandoz or former Velez striker Omar Asad, who has coached San Lorenzo and Mexico’s Atlas.

San Lorenzo also face the rest of the season under a new coach after Juan Antonio Pizzi decided to accept an offer from Valencia. Sports daily Ole has reported that he has signed a pre-contract agreement and is travelling to Spain on Thursday.

LIBERTADORES OBSESSION

The Saints, whose obsession is to win the Libertadores Cup in 2014, have all but completed the capture of Edgardo Bauza as

his successor, to take charge on Jan. 2.

Bauza, like Pizzi a former Rosario Central player, has the pedigree having turned LDU Quito into the first Ecuadorean side to win South America’s elite club trophy in 2008. They lost that year’s Club World Cup final 1-0 to Manchester United.

San Lorenzo, who lifted their 11th league crown, are the only one of Argentina’s so-called Big Five clubs never to have won the Libertadores. “Paton” (Bigfoot) Bauza, 55, has won league titles in Peru with Sporting Cristal and Ecuador with LDU as a coach and in Argentina as a player for

Central.He is the fourth highest scor-

ing defender in world football with 108 goals in 499 matches, behind Ronald Koeman, Daniel Passarella and Fernando Hierro, according to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

Pizzi stunned the Saints by deciding to break his contract and take up an offer from Valencia, where he was a striker.

He spent the better part of his playing days in Spain, his adopt-ed country who he represented at international level, having also had spells with Tenerife and Barcelona.

Male players deserve mor recognition than women, says Ibrahimovic

Paris St Ger-main’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates after scoring against FC Sochaux during their French Ligue 1 soccer match at the Parc des Princes Sta-dium in Paris

December 7, 2013.

Bad boy Shirokov wins second successive Russian award

Roman Shirokov

BPM

/ist

REU

TERS/G

onzalo Fuentes

Tottenham appoints Sherwood as

head coachAssociated Press Writer

LONDON — Tottenham appointed the inexperienced Tim Sherwood as head coach on Monday until the end of next season in a surprise move by the north London club, a week after Andre Villas-Boas was fired. The 44-year-old Englishman had not previ- ously managed a team until being moved from his technical coordinator job at Tottenham to become interim manager last Monday.

T o t -tenham Hotspur’s c a r e t a k e r manager Tim Sherwood calls out to his players during their English Premier League soc-cer match against Southampton a t St Mary’s stadium, Southampton, Eng-land, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013.

AP Photo/Sang Tan

Top Argentine teams face rest of season under new coaches

Reuters LONDON - The abusive hand gesture Jack Wilshere directed at Manchester City fans this

month was a reaction to jibes about his children, the Arsenal and England midfielder explained on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old said he regretted his reaction, which resulted in a two-game suspension, and he would have to learn his lesson.

“Suppose I will just have to take the abuse about my kids in future,” Wilshere said on his Twitter account. “Anyway, one more game to go! Can’t wait to be back.”

Having missed second-placed Arsenal’s goalless draw with Chelsea on Monday, Wilshere will complete his ban by sitting out Thursday’s Premier League visit to West Ham United.

The player will be back for the match at Newcastle United on Sunday. Arsenal were beaten 6-3 by City at the Etihad Stadium on Dec. 14

Arsenal playmaker Wilshere reacted to children jibes

98 InternationalFriday, December 27, 2013 International Friday, December 27, 2013

Sp rt

It has been a mixed week for Sherwood, whose first match saw Tottenham beaten in the League Cup by West Ham on Wednesday before he oversaw a 3-2 victory at Southampton in the Premier League.

The win took Tottenham just six points behind leader Liverpool with the best away record in the Premier League, showing the potential in a team that has been reconstructed following the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid in the summer transfer window.

Sherwood was uncertain on Sunday if he would even remain in charge for Thursday’s match against West Bromwich Albion, although a short-term deal until the end of the season seemed most likely. But after several leading managers ruled themselves out of taking the job, chairman Daniel Levy has gambled by entrusting the club’s top

coaching job to a novice.“We were extremely reluctant to make a change

mid-season, but felt we had to do so in the club’s best interests,” Levy said. “We have a great squad and we owe them a head coach who will bring out the best in them and allow them to flourish and enjoy a strong, exciting finish to the season.”

Sherwood, who played for Tottenham between 1999 and 2003, returned to White Hart Lane in a part-time capacity in Oct. 2008 to work with then-manager Harry Redknapp. Until then, Sherwood had spent his time since retiring from playing in 2005 working in the media.

“We are in the fortunate position of having within our club a talented coach in Tim Sherwood,” Levy said. “We believe Tim has both the knowledge and the drive to take the squad forward.”

Sherwood’s highlight as a player was captaining Blackburn when it won the Premier League in 1995.

Reuters STOCKHOLM - Players in

the men’s soccer team deserve to get more recognition than their female counterparts in Sweden and people should stop whipping up a gender storm about it, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic said. The Sweden captain spoke out after his country’s FA was slammed for presenting midfielder Anders

Svensson with a new Volvo for breaking Thomas Ravelli’s record

of 143 international caps.However, when women’s mid-

fielder Therese Sjogran failed to get similar recognition at the same soccer gala despite earning a record 187 caps, the move was widely criticised.

“With all respect for what the ladies have done, and they’ve done it fantasti-cally well, you can’t compare men’s and women’s football. Give it up, it’s not even funny,” the Paris Saint Ger-main striker said in an interview with the Expressen newspaper published on Wednesday.

“When I come out in Europe they compare me to (Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo. When I come home they compare me to a female player.

“With all respect for the ladies, they should be rewarded in relation to what they generate (financially). “I was asked (by Swedish media) in the summer who was the better player, me or (Sweden striker) Lotta Schelin.

“You’re joking with me, right? When I’ve broken all these records, this goal record, the goals in the na-tional team, who shall I compare it to? Shall I compare it to whoever has the record, or the ladies?”

Reuters Zenit St Petersburg mid-

fielder Roman Shirokov was named Russia’s Footballer of the Year for a second successive time on Thursday. The 32-year-old, capped 40 times by Russia, topped the annual poll of sports journalists, conducted by Foot-ball Weekly, to add to the award he won in 2012.

“It was real-ly unexpected to win last y e a r b u t I’m not so s u r p r i s e d this year,” s a i d t h e p l a y e r k n o w n f o r h i s aggressive manner on the pitch and frequent argu-

ments with fans and referees.In May, he was sent off for

making an obscene gesture at Zenit fans after scoring in their 3-1 win over FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod and then made an-other gesture when leaving the pitch.

Shirokov was handed a sus-pended six-month ban after calling the referee “a clown” following Zenit’s 1-1 draw against Amkar

Perm in November. He was also fined 150,000 roubles

($4,600) by the Russian Football Union.

Brazilian striker Hulk, who was in-strumental in help-ing Zeni t qual i fy for the Champions League knockout stage, was second in the vote while Dy-

namo Moscow striker Alexander Kokorin

came third.

Reuters

BUENOS AIRES - Ricardo Gareca, the longest serving coach at one team in the Argentine top flight, has decided to leave Velez Sarsfield after winning four trophies during five years in charge. Gareca, 55, told sporting manager Christian Bassedas, the former Velez, Newcastle United and Argentina midfielder, of his decision in a three-hour meeting late on Monday.

“...Ricardo Gareca communi-cated his decision not to continue as coach of... Velez Sarsfield after five years of maximum success and despite the board’s

offer to renew his contract,” the club said on their website (www.velezsarsfield.com.ar).

The ex-Argentina striker, who took charge in January 2009, won three league crowns and the grand final between the 2012/13 season’s two champions - his ‘Inicial’-winning Velez and Newell’s Old Boys, who won the ‘Final’ title. Gareca, whose side finished joint second to San Lorenzo in the 2013/14 sea-son’s Inicial championship that ended on Dec. 15, had hinted last month he wanted to try new pastures.

His successor looks likely to come from reserve team coach

Hector Almandoz or former Velez striker Omar Asad, who has coached San Lorenzo and Mexico’s Atlas.

San Lorenzo also face the rest of the season under a new coach after Juan Antonio Pizzi decided to accept an offer from Valencia. Sports daily Ole has reported that he has signed a pre-contract agreement and is travelling to Spain on Thursday.

LIBERTADORES OBSESSION

The Saints, whose obsession is to win the Libertadores Cup in 2014, have all but completed the capture of Edgardo Bauza as

his successor, to take charge on Jan. 2.

Bauza, like Pizzi a former Rosario Central player, has the pedigree having turned LDU Quito into the first Ecuadorean side to win South America’s elite club trophy in 2008. They lost that year’s Club World Cup final 1-0 to Manchester United.

San Lorenzo, who lifted their 11th league crown, are the only one of Argentina’s so-called Big Five clubs never to have won the Libertadores. “Paton” (Bigfoot) Bauza, 55, has won league titles in Peru with Sporting Cristal and Ecuador with LDU as a coach and in Argentina as a player for

Central.He is the fourth highest scor-

ing defender in world football with 108 goals in 499 matches, behind Ronald Koeman, Daniel Passarella and Fernando Hierro, according to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

Pizzi stunned the Saints by deciding to break his contract and take up an offer from Valencia, where he was a striker.

He spent the better part of his playing days in Spain, his adopt-ed country who he represented at international level, having also had spells with Tenerife and Barcelona.

Male players deserve mor recognition than women, says Ibrahimovic

Paris St Ger-main’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates after scoring against FC Sochaux during their French Ligue 1 soccer match at the Parc des Princes Sta-dium in Paris

December 7, 2013.

Bad boy Shirokov wins second successive Russian award

Roman Shirokov

BPM

/ist

REU

TERS/G

onzalo Fuentes

Tottenham appoints Sherwood as

head coachAssociated Press Writer

LONDON — Tottenham appointed the inexperienced Tim Sherwood as head coach on Monday until the end of next season in a surprise move by the north London club, a week after Andre Villas-Boas was fired. The 44-year-old Englishman had not previ- ously managed a team until being moved from his technical coordinator job at Tottenham to become interim manager last Monday.

T o t -tenham Hotspur’s c a r e t a k e r manager Tim Sherwood calls out to his players during their English Premier League soc-cer match against Southampton a t St Mary’s stadium, Southampton, Eng-land, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013.

AP Photo/Sang Tan

Top Argentine teams face rest of season under new coaches

Reuters LONDON - The abusive hand gesture Jack Wilshere directed at Manchester City fans this

month was a reaction to jibes about his children, the Arsenal and England midfielder explained on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old said he regretted his reaction, which resulted in a two-game suspension, and he would have to learn his lesson.

“Suppose I will just have to take the abuse about my kids in future,” Wilshere said on his Twitter account. “Anyway, one more game to go! Can’t wait to be back.”

Having missed second-placed Arsenal’s goalless draw with Chelsea on Monday, Wilshere will complete his ban by sitting out Thursday’s Premier League visit to West Ham United.

The player will be back for the match at Newcastle United on Sunday. Arsenal were beaten 6-3 by City at the Etihad Stadium on Dec. 14

Arsenal playmaker Wilshere reacted to children jibes

Friday, December 27, 2013 7SportsFriday, December 27, 201310 InternationalInternationalDestinations

IBP

Puncak Mangu Temple belongs to Kahyangan Jagat Temple with 2 function as Catur Loka Pala Temple and Padma Bhuwana Temple. Puncak Mangu has 2 penataran temples; Penataran Temple at Ulun Danu Beratan at Tabanan Regency and Penataran at Tinggan Village, Badung Regency. Penataran Tinggan Temple is located at Tinggan Village, Petang subdistrict, Badung Regency was built in saka 1752 or 1830 by Cokorda Nyoman Mayun.Annual ritual ceremony is “Ngebekin” ceremony.

This ceremony has the aim to worship God in his manifestation as God Sangkara to ask for His blessing for good crops especially rice.Tukad Bangkung Bridge Tukad Bangkung Bridge located on Petang village in Badung district. This bridge is the longest bridge in Bali and connect 2 district such as Badung and Bangli. In this bridge we can see beautiful mountain view and very fresh air. On Galungan and Kuningan day, this bridge usually crowded by people who want to make a picnic with their family or see the view.

Puncak Mangu Temple

IBP/File Photo

Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade each scored 23 points, and James added 19 points in the Heat’s sixth straight win. Bosh grabbed 11 re-bounds and Ray Allen made four 3-pointers for 12 points, helping Miami improve to 5-0 against the Lakers on the holiday.

“I knew we would get a good game out of them, and I think the NBA wanted a good game,” James said, noting the blowout results of the first two games on the league’s holiday schedule.

Bryant was relegated to the sideline with his fractured left knee, leaving him unable to extend his NBA record for Christmas

Day appearances to 16. “It’s not as special when Kobe’s not out there,” said James, who shared a post-game hug with Bryant.

Streaky reserve Nick Young scored 20 points for the Lakers, who were level four times in the fourth quarter. Jodie Meeks added 17 points, Xavier Henry had 14 and Pau Gasol added 13 points and 13 rebounds. Bosh scored 13 of his 23 points in the first half, when Miami trailed 27-21 after the first quarter.

Jordan Farmar returned from a left hamstring tear after miss-ing 10 games, giving the Lakers a true point guard to run the of-

fense. But he was ineffective, with three points and two assists in 32 minutes.

The Lakers played a competi-tive game against the loaded Heat despite their poor shooting and the absence of Bryant, Steve Nash (nerve root irritation) and Steve Blake (right elbow). They led by 10 points and never trailed by more than that.

“I thought we attacked them the way we wanted to,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We can step it up a bit and be a little bit tougher, especially on the boards and places like that. Those things are irritat-ing, but the effort is good.”

AP Photo/Chris CarlsonLos Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol, left, drives around Miami Heat center Chris Bosh during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013.

Heat beats Lakers 101-95 for 6th straight victoryAssociated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers missed having Kobe Bryant out on the court on Christ-mas Day. Same for LeBron James. Playing without its biggest star, Los Angeles stayed right with the Miami Heat for most of the game before slipping to a 101-95 loss against the defending NBA champions on Wednesday.

Lewis Hamilton believes Formula 1’s new regulations provide the best opportu-nity to end Red Bull’s run of success. Se-bastian Vettel thinks the big teams will still come out on top when the new engine and aero regulations come in, but Hamilton is hopeful the changes give teams like his Mercedes squad an opportunity to topple the Red Bull driver.

“If it was evolution of this year’s car then it would be very hard to beat the Red Bulls as they are so far ahead,” said the 2008 world champion.

“I am happy that it is all resetting again otherwise it would be five, six, seven world championships [to Red Bull].”

Hamilton is also not concerned that the changes, which are likely to put a premium on fuel-saving, will make the driver’s job more difficult.

“I’m not worried about it because I was doing the same thing this year,” he added. “It is going to be very similar next year and you are still going to have to look after tyres. “Maybe there will be more fuel saving, but that’s stuff we do anyway. We will experience things on the simulator and there will new things we have to adapt to.”

Hamilton pointed to the big change in F1’s rules for 2009 as an example of how quickly teams and drivers can get on top of new ways of working.

“The change with KERS and every-thing was really easy,” he said. “Again, we did it on the simulator and we [McLaren] arrived at the first race with the best KERS package and we were ahead of people, but the car wasn’t good. “But I’m hoping we have both sides next year.”

Hamilton hopes new rules will topple Red Bull

IBP/istLewis Hamilton

Friday, December 27, 2013 Friday, December 27, 20136 11International International

INDONESIAW RLD

“At 2.30 p.m. local time, a mob vandalized the Sentani police post. The mob, armed with stones and beams of wood, smashed the glass windows and doors of the police post located at

AntaraJAKARTA - Indonesia de-

veloped more dynamic relations with the Republic of Belarus in 2013, Indonesian Ambassador to the Federation of Russia and the Republic of Belarus Djauhari Oratmangun stated.

“Besides celebrating the 20th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, both nations also sig-nificantly increased their ties in 2013,” Oratmangun emphasized in an electronic message to Antara here on Wednesday.

He noted that one of the key indicators of the improved dy-namic relationship between the two countries was marked by Be-lorussian President Aleksandr Lu-kashenko’s visit to Indonesia last March. The Belorussian President was accompanied by a delegation of high state officials.

Indonesian House Speaker Marzuki Ali, along with his en-tourage, was one of the prominent Indonesian figures who visited Belarus this year, the envoy re-marked.

The two states also recorded a significant increase in coopera-tion in the field of economy and trade. But, the figure has yet to reflect the real potential of their cooperation.

According to the ambassador, Indonesia is the biggest trade partner of Belarus in the Associa-tion of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The two states recorded two-way trade of US$84.3 million in 2013, which is up 68 percent from US$50.2 million in 2012.

In the meantime, Belorussian Deputy Foreign Minister Valentin Rybkov agreed that during this year, the relations between the two countries have significantly improved.

“The two nations agree to fur-ther strengthen their relations and existing cooperation, including realization of their commitment by signing several bilateral agree-ments during President Lukashen-ko’s visit to Indonesia,” Rybakov added. Besides government rela-tions, the relations of both nations

also gained significant progress in the economic sector.

“During 2013, Belorussian Potsh Company supplied some 250 thousand tons of fertilizers to Indonesia,” he noted.

Both nations’ cooperation in the field of research also increased, particularly in the metallurgy sec-tor. A cooperation agreement was signed between the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and the National Academy of Science of Belarus during the later part of 2012.

Agence France-Presse

JAKARTA - Hundreds of Indonesian Christians held a Christmas service Wednesday in front of the presidential palace in Jakarta to protest at the closure of their churches due to pressure by Muslim hardliners.

Some 200 people from two churches near the capital sang hymns, recited prayers and lit candles by a busy road along-side three “Christmas trees” constructed out of plywood and bamboo.

The service, involving people of all ages from toddlers to the elderly, began under the scorch-ing sun and continued for hours even after the weather changed abruptly and heavy rain fell.

Christians are coming under increasing pressure from extrem-ists in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been criticised for failing to tackle the growing intolerance.

“We want to remind our presi-dent once again that he has not yet resolved the issue of religious intolerance in this country,” Bona Sigalingging, a spokesman for one of the churches, told AFP.

The churches, in the cities of Bekasi and Bogor, were closed in 2010 by local authorities who had come under pressure from Muslim hardliners.

Authorities said it was be-cause the buildings lacked proper building permits, although rights groups say local governments are simply bowing to extremist pres-sure and using the permit issue as an excuse.

As well as Christians, hardlin-ers in Sunni-majority Indonesia have targeted Muslim minorities. Ahmadis have seen their places of worship closed and Shiites have been subjected to violent attacks.

Ninety percent of Indonesia’s 250 million people identify them-selves as Muslim although the constitution guarantees freedom of religion.

AP Photo/Heri Juanda

Acehnese people sprinkle flowers on a mass grave during a prayer commemorating the 9th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013. The tsunami triggered by a magnitude-9.1 earthquake on Dec. 26, 2004 killed 230,000 people in several countries, more than half of them in Indonesia.

RI, Belarus develop most dynamic relations in 2013

Christians stage Christmas protest at palace

Mob torches police post in PapuaAntara

SENTANI - A group of unidentified people torched a police post in Sentani, Jayapura district, on Wednesday, to protest against the death of a local resident.

Hawai Street, in front of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Sentani,” a local resident said on grounds of anonymity.

The mob also set fire to the police post. However, the personnel of the

Jayapura Military District Command and local residents managed to extin-guish the blaze.

The incident occurred when some 300 people escorted the ambulance

carrying the body of Simon Sokoy for burial at a local cemetery. Simon was the son of Second Sergeant Richardo Sokoy, who works for the Jayapura military district command.

At around 4.10 p.m. local time, the personnel of the 751/1 Battalion arrived at the scene to clear up the shattered glass windows and doors and guard the police post against any

anticipated future attack.No fatalities or injuries were re-

ported in the attack.Chief of the Jayapura police resort

Adj. Snr. Comr Roycke Harry Langie was unavailable for comment on the incident.

Earlier, the local residents clashed with police personnel at the Sentani Sub-District Military Command.

Visits to Yasukuni by Japanese politicians have long been a point of friction with China and South Korea, because the 2.5 million war dead enshrined there include 14 class A war criminals from World War II — national leaders who were either executed or died in prison or during their trials. Japan colonized Korea and occupied parts of China, often brutally, before and during World War II.

Abe, a nationalist who advocates revising Japan’s pacifist constitution, has always wanted to visit Yasukuni as prime minister, but his visit still surprised some analysts, who thought he might take a pragmatic approach to leadership that focused on reviving the economy and trying to avoid alienat-ing neighbors. It was the first visit to Yasukuni by a sitting Japanese prime minister since Junichiro Koizumi went to mark the end of World War II in 2006.

Abe, wearing a formal black jacket with tails and striped, gray pants, spent about 15 minutes at the Shinto shrine in central Tokyo. TV cam-eras followed him inside the shrine property, but were not allowed in the inner shrine. “I prayed to pay respect for the war dead who sacrificed their precious lives and hoped that they rest in peace,” he told waiting reporters afterward.

Abe said criticism that visits to Yasukuni are an act of worshipping war criminals is based on a misunder-standing. “Unfortunately, a Yasukuni visit has largely turned into a political and diplomatic issue,” he said. “It is not my intention to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people.” He said he believes Japan must never wage war again: “This is my conviction, based on the severe remorse for the past.”

His statements failed to assuage China and South Korea. Chinese For-

eign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang, in a statement posted on the ministry’s website, said “we strongly protest and seriously condemn the Japanese leader’s acts.” He called visits to Yasu-kuni “an effort to glorify the Japanese militaristic history of external invasion and colonial rule ... and to challenge the outcome of World War II.”

He added that “the effort to go against the historical trend is sure to cause great vigilance and strong worries among Asian neighbors and the international community over the direction of Japan’s future develop-ment.”

South Korea’s minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Yoo Jinryong, labeled the visit “an anachronistic act” that “hurts not only the ties between South Korea and Japan but also fun-damentally damages the stability and cooperation in Northeast Asia.” His briefing was broadcast live on TV.

Agence France Presse

Juba - Heavy fighting between government forces and rebels was rag-ing Thursday in South Sudan’s key oil-producing north, officials said, as neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia stepped up efforts to broker an end to the civil war. Army spokesman Philip Aguer said troops loyal to President Salva Kiir were battling forces allied to former vice president Riek Machar inside the town of Malakal, capital of Upper Nile state.

He also said troops were preparing an offensive against Bentiu, the main town in oil-rich Unity State, to follow on from their recapture of Bor, another state capital that had fallen into rebel hands during the nearly two weeks of clashes in the world’ youngest nation. “There is fighting in Malakal. Our forces are in the northern part of Malakal and the rebels are on the southern part. We will flush them out of Malakal,” Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) spokesman Aguer told AFP. “The rebels are still controling Bentiu but SPLA is planning to retake Bentiu soon,” he added.

The violence in South Sudan, a fledgling oil producer which won inde-pendence from Sudan just two years ago, has left thousands dead, according to the United Nations.

Tens of thousands of civilians have also sought protection at UN bases amid a wave of ethnic violence pitting members of Kiir’s Dinka tribe against Machar’s Nuer.

The UN Security Council voted Tuesday to send nearly 6,000 extra soldiers and police to South Sudan, nearly doubling the UNMISS force to 12,500 troops and 1,323 civilian police.

Amid reports of bodies piled in mass graves and witness testimonies of massacres and summary executions and rapes, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has promised those responsible would be “held accountable”.

Crude prices have also edged higher because of the fighting as oil produc-tion, which accounts for more than 95 percent of South Sudan’s fledgling economy, dented by the violence and oil workers evacuated.

Agence France Presse

Moscow - Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky is set to reunite with his wife Inna and their three children in Berlin on Christmas Eve after spending 10 years in a Russian jail, his spokeswoman said on Tuesday. “The family is coming today,” spokeswoman Olga Pispanen told AFP. “They have not been together for 10 years.”

They will meet up in Berlin where Khodorkovsky went after walk-ing free from a prison in northwestern Russia following a pardon from President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Khodorkovsky, who has said he would stay out of Russia, is mulling a move to Switzerland where his twin sons go to school and would like to discuss that plan with his fam-ily, the spokeswoman said. The Swiss foreign ministry said he applied on Tuesday for a three-month Schengen visa to travel to Switzerland.

Khodorkovsky’s wife Inna and their three children, who are believed to have been in Moscow when Khodorkovsky flew to Berlin, have had to sort out their travel documents before going to Germany.

“My family is my main treasure and we are together despite the years, kilometres and barbed wire,” Russia’s one-time richest man said in one interview from prison.

He said he had seen lots of lonely people in prison and felt “ashamed” because he had a great family. “In the lottery of fate I won big time,” he said, stressing his wife was waiting for him. “I would not be able to exist without her. She is one half of my heart.” On Saturday, Khodor-kovsky, 50, reunited with his elderly parents, Marina and Boris, and his eldest son Pavel, s child from his first marriage.

Putin shocked Russia on Thursday by announcing he would pardon Khodorkovsky, who was jailed for financial crimes in separate convic-tions in 2005 and 2010. He had served time in Siberia and the region of Karelia close to the Finnish border and had been due for release in August 2014.

Russian investigators had earlier raised the prospect of a third criminal case against the Kremlin critic. Khodorkovsky asked for a pardon on humanitarian grounds because his 79-year-old mother suf-fers from cancer.

AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, third from right, follows a Shinto priest, right, to pay respect for the war dead at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013. Abe visited Yasukuni war shrine in a move sure to infuriate China and South Korea.

Japanese prime minister visits Yasukuni war shrineAssociated Press Writer

TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid his respects Thursday at a shrine honoring Ja-pan’s war dead in a move that drew sharp rebukes from China and South Korea, who warned that the visit celebrates his country’s militaristic past and threatens to further sour already bad relations. The United States expressed disappointment “that Japan’s leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan’s neighbors.”

Fighting rages in South Sudan oil regions

Khodorkovsky to reunite in Berlin with wife, children

Bali News Friday, December 27, 2013 5InternationalFriday, December 27, 201312 International

Associated Press

BEIJING — China’s Cabinet estimates this year’s economic growth edged down to 7.6 percent and warned it faces pressure to decline further, a state news agency said Thursday.

The forecast, reported by the Xinhua News Agency, is below the 2012 rate of 7.7 percent but above the government’s 7.5 percent target.

Communist leaders are trying to steer China to slower, more sus-tainable growth but an unexpectedly sharp decline in 2012 and this year prompted concern about politically dangerous job losses. Beijing temporarily reversed course and shored up growth in mid-2013 with a mini-stimulus of higher spending on building railways and other public works.

China has the strongest economic growth of any major country but this year’s forecast rate is barely half of 2009’s 14.2 percent.

In a report to China’s ceremonial legislature, the Cabinet warned that growth faces challenges including rising labor costs, environmental problems, weak global demand and excess production capacity in some industries, according to Xinhua.

“We cannot deny a downward pressure on economic growth,” the minister in charge of the Cabinet’s planning agency, Xu Shaoshi, was quoted as saying.

The report cited potential problems including slow economic re-structuring, worsening pollution and “social conflicts among interest groups,” Xinhua said.

The government will continue to reduce excess production capacity in industries including steel, cement, aluminum and glass in which supply exceeds demand, Xinhua said. The glut of supply in those fields has led to price-cutting wars that threaten the financial health of companies.

Chinese leaders are under pressure to replace a growth model based on exports and investment that delivered three decades of rapid expan-sion but has run out of steam.

A development blueprint issued last month by the ruling party prom-ises to revive economic growth by giving the free market a bigger role and opening more areas to private business. It promises to inject more competition into some industries dominated by state companies but says government ownership will remain the core of the economy.

New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for Feb-ruary delivery, was up 27 cents at $99.49 in mid-morning trade while Brent North Sea crude for February gained 20 cents to $112.10.

Sanjeev Gupta, head of the

Asia-Pacific oil and gas practice at consultancy firm EY, said oil prices were being supported by “fears of disruptions in supply from South Sudan”.

But “markets are likely to re-main range-bound till the release of new economic data during the

first of week of 2014”, he said.Violence in South Sudan, a

fledgling oil producer, escalated Wednesday as its army battled rebel forces in a key oil-producing state, as the United Nations moved to double its peacekeeping force to stave off civil war.

Thousands are believed to have been killed in more than a week of violence pitting troops loyal to President Salva Kiir against those backing his rival Riek Machar, a former vice president who was sacked in July.

Oil production, which accounts for more than 95 percent of South Sudan’s economy, has been dented by the violence, with oil workers evacuated last week.

The escalating violence has added to concerns about a disrup-

tion in global supply, following the continued curtailment of out-put from OPEC member Libya due to a months-long blockade of crucial terminals in the eastern part of the country.

Investors are also awaiting the weekly US oil inventories report to be released Friday for clues about US demand.

Analysts project US supplies fell 2.2 million barrels, accord-ing to a survey by the Wall Street Journal.

Oil prices up on escalating South Sudan violenceAgence France-Presse

SINGAPORE - Crude edged higher in Asian trade Thursday on supply concerns following escalating violence in oil-producer South Sudan, but gains were capped as dealers sat on the sidelines awaiting fresh leads after the festive season.

AP PhotoAn investor gestures in front of the stock price monitor at a private

securities company Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013, in Shanghai, China. China’s Cabinet estimates this year’s economic growth edged

down to 7.6 percent and warned it faces pressure to decline fur-ther, a state news agency said Thursday.

China estimates 2013 growth slowed to 7.6 percent

RESULTS of the Agricultural Census in December 2013 indicate the number of farming family (RTP) in Bali reached 404,507 families or a decline of 55,930 families (17.85 percent) compared to the year 2003 amounting to 460,437 families. “The decline happened due to farmland conversion to residential area,” said the Head of Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Bali, Suarsa. Of that amount, 63.58 percent (257,181 families) are small farmers who cul-tivated farmland less than 50 ares.

Food crop subsector experienced the greatest decline over the past ten years namely 78.42 percent. Plantation sector underwent 12.34 percent decline. Suarsa said that 27.40 percent of main farmers in Bali belonged to the age group of 45-54 years. The lack of youth group involvement became the threat of food security in Bali.

According to a lecturer of Udaya-na University, Prof. Dr. I Wayan Win-dia, the decline in farming families happened because the agricultural sector was considered unprofitable. The development of agricultural sec-tor in Bali tended to stagnate because its contribution to gross regional domestic product (GRDP) was very low. Farmland conversion in Bali av-

eragely reached 1,000 hectares each year. Contribution of the agriculture to the economy of Bali all this time was only 18.5 percent, the smallest compared to other sectors.

He recognized that many irriga-tion channels of subak in Bali were contaminated by pollution case. Irrigation channel of Subak Lod-tunduh in Gianyar, for instance, was drained by household plastic waste. The more severe condition occurred in urban areas like Denpasar and Badung. Many watersheds and ir-rigation channels were filled with plastic waste and sewage.

Another threat was the skyrocket-ing land and property tax (PBB) rate. This encouraged farmers to sell their rice fields. Data of the BPS in 2010 showed that during the period of five years (2004-2009), the average annual rice field converted was more than 1,000 hectares. It was very dan-gerous to food security in Bali.

Pursuant to Law No.7/2004 on Water Resources, the irrigation net-work covering an area of less than 1,000 hectares should be maintained by county/municipal government; irrigation network covering an area of 1,000-3,000 hectares should be maintained by provincial govern-ment; and for the area of more than

3,000 hectares should be maintained by central government. In Bali, there is virtually no irrigation network exceeding 3,000 hectares, except for that of Kedewatan that irrigates the subak area in Badung, Denpasar and Gianyar. On that account, it becomes the responsibility of local govern-ment in Bali to maintain the subak irrigation network. It then faces a problem whether there is an allo-cated fund in the regional budget.

A legislator of the Bali House, IGP Budiarta, admitted there was not much that could be done to improve the welfare of farmers with such a small budget. According to him, the agricultural budget should at least 10 percent of the regional budget, so there was a real concern to farmers.

An agricultural expert from the Udayana University, Prof. Made Merta, deeply regretted the lack of budget in the agricultural sector. The budget drafting team for the agricultural sector was considered less observant in addressing the needs of farmers. They mentioned that Bali tourism had synergy with the agriculture and other sector, but there was no concrete measure to make it happen.

He considered there was an

attempt of omission against the di-minishing farmland, disturbance to irrigation facilities and other issues. “Many lands are taken to the edges of waterways and they are ignored. Then, no attention is given to such distracted irrigation facilities. Neces-sarily, the government inventories what to need and what to do,” he said.

According to him, in the future there should be a priority and a pro-found understanding that Balinese farming had different significance from that of elsewhere. “We have been subverted by the loss of the two components of the Tri Hita Karana becoming the philosophical components, but there is no concrete measure to overcome it,” he hoped.

Meanwhile, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture of Mahasara-swati University Denpasar, I Ketut Arnawa, worried that Bali would be threatened by food crisis in the next 10-20 years as the rate of population growth was accompanied by a sharp decline in the agricultural produc-tion. Additionally, the fragility of food security happened due to the depletion of farmland and sluggish-ness of public interest in farming because they considered it unprofit-able. He hoped the food security program could actually work, unlike the current one that was very fragile and just touching the surface.

Food crisis

The Head of Bali Agriculture

Agency, Ida Bagus Wisnu Ardana, admitted that he had attempted to achieve the food security and pre-vent Bali from food crisis. “Food se-curity is closely related to our staple food, namely rice. Meanwhile, the rice product of more than 800,000 tons is sufficient to meet the need of local residents. The data of Bali Agriculture Agency indicate the acreage of rice cultivation within the past three years shows an area of 152,545 hectares in 2011; 153,938 hectares (2012) and 151,162 hect-ares (2013). Meanwhile, the rice harvest area in the past three years reached 151,585 hectares, 149,000 hectares and 148,847 hectares. Then, rice production in the past three years reached 858,316 tons; 865,554 tons; and 859,289 tons.

Another effort to ensure the food security was closely related to food diversification. For ex-ample, it substituted the rice with sweet potatoes, fruits, vegetables, fish and others. Improvement of the agricultural infrastructure should also be pursued. In 2013, the irrigation improvement cov-ered an area of 8,321 hectares or 10.2 percent of the rice field area in Bali Province. His party attempted to boost the rice pro-duction by providing a wide range of seed choices. Fertilizer and tractors were also available. The marketing aspect was also fixed so the price would not drop in the massive harvest. (bit/wid)

IBP/File PhotoA rice field at Tabanan Regency, Bali Island, has

a “Sale” signed. Supporter of the food security is increasingly helpless. Farmland conversion reach-

ing an average of around 1,000 hectares per year cannot be dammed. Similarly, the number of farming

household also continues to decline.

Yearender

Bali’s food security increasingly fragileSupporter of the food security is increasingly helpless. Farmland conversion reaching an average of

around 1,000 hectares per year cannot be dammed. Similarly, the number of farming household also con-tinues to decline. Irrigation channel of subak is polluted by sewage and garbage. Government protection is very weak. Besides, the agricultural budget is minimal. A hope to get attractive grain price has failed as it drops during harvest season. Will Bali face food crisis in the future?

BUSINESS

Bali News International4 Friday, December 27, 2013 Friday, December 27, 2013 13International RLDW

Bali PostAMLAPURA - Revetment of plotted land at the former hill dredged

in the area of Buitan hamlet, Manggis, Karangasem, avalanched on Monday night (Dec 23). The material of avalanche consisting of rock and soil covered most of the road body of Amlapura-Denpasar.

Until Wednesday (Dec 25), the workers employed by the plot owner were seen still working by means of heavy equipment. Rock and soil materials mixed with sand having covered the road had been removed and placed at the roadside.

Location of the land near the bend at Buitan was formerly a hill with dense forest. However, the land owner then sold the land. Afterward, the buyer dredged the hill and sold it for backfill. Having been dredged, the hill was shaped into terraces and sold.

Latest information from the surrounding residents told if the land had been cleared, dredged, terraced and sold to investor from Jakarta. When flushed by heavy rain from early morning, at night the wall of terrace having the steepest side in the eastern part collapsed. The collapse oc-curred along approximately 40 meters, while the remaining revetment made of stone was seen to have cracked. Formerly, when the hill with a height of about 500 meters above the sea was still overgrown by bush and wooded never avalanched or flooded. Later, after the hill and field were bald as the trees had been cleared and the land was dredged, though having been terraced and protected with revetment, it remained to collapse and avalanche.

Meanwhile, the rain still flushed Karangasem until Tuesday. The heavy rain was accompanied by wind causing it prone to avalanche. Meanwhile, the trees at roadside of Amlapura-Candidasa road section, such as at Sang Hyang Ambu hill seemed to topple transversely on the highway. (013)

Other than customary apparel, the church was also embellished with Balinese ornaments. A pair of penjor (bamboo pole embellished with festoon) was mounted at the entrance gates. There were also arched entrance ornaments made from young coconut leaf. Church room was decorated with fabric in Balinese atmosphere. This scene was visible at the entire churches at Mengesta village as in St. Michael Catholic Church, last Wednesday.

Just like in the other churches, when the morning came, people flocked to the church. All women put on kebaya dress, while men put on sarong wrapped in saput, completed with headdress. At first glance, they were similar to the Hindus that would go to temple. A few congregations put on the national apparel. Christmas cel-ebration was held at 08:00 a.m. led by Father Damianus Hayong from Tabanan Parish. The celebration had the theme “Come the King of Peace.” Solemnly, all the people prayed to the end of the service. Then, it was ended with mutual handshaking.

The tradition of putting on cus-tomary apparel during the service was tradition passed down from generation to generation. Catholics at the village first emerged in 1955. Despite being Christian, they did

not leave the local culture. “It has been handed down. On Christmas or when going to church, we always dressed in Balinese customary apparel,” said Chairman of the Piling Church Area, Patris Suka Wiratnaja. Total Catholics at the village reached 44 families or about 195 people. At the beginning, the growth of Catholics at the village was guided by a Dutch clergy, Blaska. At the village, it had been built a polyclinic for the treatment of residents. Up to 2010, three nuns were assigned at the village.

It was recounted that initially there were only 3 families who became Christians. Then, they were followed by 10 families and continued to grow until now. They spread across three hamlets, respec-tively the Piling Kawan, Tengah and Kangin. The church in use today was built in 1976 where the architecture totally applied Balinese carvings.

It was designed by Ida Bagus Sena from Mengwi, Badung. Previ-ously, in 1956 it was only an emer-gency building. With the increasing number of Christians, at the local village was then set up a social or-ganization. The members consisted of the Hindus, Muslims, Catholics and Protestants. “To maintain this harmony, we always ngejot or share foods on Christmas,” said

Wiratnaja.On average, each family slaugh-

tered a pig, and it was then distrib-uted to other people. This year, the tradition of slaughtering was shifted. Typically, this tradition was held before Christmas celebration. Then, the tradition was changed to after Christmas festivity. As planned, it was started on Thursday (Dec 26) up to next three days. It changed, he said, based on the rules of church. Sharing food tradition became a habit when Christians celebrated Christmas. Conversely, Galungan festivity was the turn for the Hindus to share foods to Christians. More-over, most Christians and Hindus at Piling still close relationships since long ago. But, they were only dif-ferent in faith.

Other than Catholics, similar tra-dition was also made by Protestants. The difference was that they celebrat-ed Christmas at Emmanuel Church. Their tradition of sharing food was still maintained. At church service, they averagely put on Balinese customary apparel. Similar unique-ness was also found in the church at Penganggahan hamlet, Tengkudak, Penebel. Meanwhile, Tabanan Police assisted by the ranks of Indonesian Military and municipal police were busy securing the service activity at every church in Tabanan. In whole, they could run safely. (udi)

Bali PostSEMARAPURA - Heavy rain flushing Klungkung caused the

Kulkul (wooden split drum) pavilion of Dharmajati Jati I Foun-dation, at Bakas village, Banjarangkan, Klungkung, to collapse, Tuesday (Dec 24). As a result, the Kulkul pavilion situated at the roadside blocked the road body so the road access of Klungkung-Bangli disconnected for five hours.

The incident occurred around 10:15 a.m. No casualties were reported in the incident. A number of related parties such as the Public Works Agency and police authority had trouble to get rid of the building debris on the road because a heavy equipment in use could not do much. Shortly after, the other heavy equipment in the form of excavator arrived. However, the equipment was dif-ficult to penetrate the location as it was blocked by truck trapped in the traffic lane. The heavy equipment could just move to location around 1:00 p.m.

Deputy Regent of Klungkung, Made Kasta, was seen at the loca-tion of the ruins. He highlighted that the building standing at the road side did not have safe construction.

As consequence, when raining heavily, it instantly collapsed and covered the road. Besides, he ensured if the building did not have a permit. Kasta asked the Head of Public Works to make coordina-tion with the building owner in order to check the strength of the structure. The building owner, Ketut Nika, admitted the building whose foundation collapsing was not strong, so it instantly col-lapsed when being hit by rain.

A number of road users who often crossed the path also claimed to fear. One of them was Gede Sarjana. He was anxious when passing through the building. Other than standing too close to road body, it was also considered too high and did not meet the provi-sions on the borderline. “Every time we pass nearby, the line is so scary because the building seems to collapse,” he said followed by other residents who crowded the location. This path could just be re-opened around 1:30 p.m. after the excavator got rid of the debris covering the road. (kmb31)

IBP/FileThe Christians at Mengesta village, Penebel subdistrict, Tabanan use Balinese traditional clothes to celebrate christmas

Christmas at Mengesta village, Penebel, Tabanan

Use customary apparel at church service

CHRISTIANS at Mengesta village, Penebel subdistrict, Tabanan, had a unique tradition when celebrat-ing Christmas, Wednesday (Dec 25). As other Balinese people did, they put on customary attires when attending church service. Likewise, local residents did not leave the tradition of slaughtering pig for party-ing. To maintain harmony with other people, they also shared food (ngejot). What is their uniqueness?

Avalanche, Bangli-Klungkung track disconnects for five hours

Hill dredged and divided into plots Revetment avalanches, materials cover road body

Four election commissioners left the stadium on a helicopter to escape the violence — some of the fiercest since a long-running dispute between Thailand’s bitterly divided political factions flared anew two months ago.

Protesters seeking to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra are demanding that the Feb. 2 elections be delayed until she leaves office and reforms are implemented, and have vowed to disrupt the polls if they go ahead. Yingluck has insisted that the elections should go ahead, in the knowledge that her party is likely win.

The election commission said in a statement that it was urging the government to consider “postpon-ing the elections,” citing the security situation. Commission head Somchai Srisutthiyakorn denied the body was “involving itself in politics” by urging

a delay in the polls. “We have good intentions and want to see peace in this country,” he told reporters. Gov-ernment officials did not immediately answer calls seeking a response.

In the past, the government has indicated that it does not have the authority to delay elections, which constitutionally must be held 45 to 60 days from the date that Parlia-ment is dissolved.

The anti-government protests began in late October, but Thurs-day’s violence was the first in nearly two weeks. At least 96 people were injured from both sides as protesters fought running battles with police close to the stadium.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the officer died, but authorities said earlier that an officer had sustained a bullet wound. He died after being airlifted to a hospital, said police Col. Anucha Romyanan. Later in the day,

protesters blocked a major road lead-ing to the smaller of Bangkok’s two airports.

Police have made no move to arrest the protest movement’s ringleader, Suthep Thaugsuban, who is demand-ing the country be led by an unelected council until reforms can be imple-mented. The authorities have to tread carefully, as a crackdown would likely provoke greater violence and chaos. That could give the military, which has staged 11 successful coups in the past, a pretext to intervene again.

Thailand has been wracked by political conflict since Yingluck’s brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was toppled by a 2006 military coup. The protesters accuse Yingluck of being a proxy for Thaksin, who lives in self-imposed exile to avoid jail time for a cor-ruption conviction but still wields influence in the country.

Agence France Presse

TACLoBAN - Survivors of the Philippines’ deadliest typhoon spent a gloomy Christmas Day surrounded by mud Wednesday as heavy rain drove many inside their flimsy shelters, dampening efforts at holiday cheer in the deeply devout nation.

Groups of children in plastic raincoats braved the incessant rain in the devastated central city of Tacloban, knocking on doors in trick-or-treat fashion and beseeching pedestrians for candies, coins and other Christmas presents.

But housewife Susan Scala sat glumly under a white tarpaulin in one of Tacloban’s many tent cities for those made homeless by Super Typhoon Haiyan. At a time when her family should be celebrating, all she could think of was her missing husband.

“Even if it’s not Christmas I don’t stop thinking about him,” the mother of five said of her husband Oscar, a telephone utility worker believed lost at sea when giant waves whipped up by the November 8 storm swept away homes in the city’s San Jose slum.

Like many of the city’s survivors, the miserable weather made Scala nervous. “This incessant rain is scary. It reminds me of what happened (during the typhoon),” the 53-year-old said. Haiyan left more than 6,100 people dead and nearly 2,000 others missing, many of them from Tacloban and nearby towns, in the storm-prone country’s deadliest typhoon disaster.

About 4.4 million others were left homeless across the central islands and now live in tents provided by aid agencies or rough shacks fashioned by survivors from the wreckage of destroyed homes and fallen trees.

At the city’s ruined Sagkahan fish port, 67-year-old widow Emiliana Aranza pulled sweets and shortbread from jars at her makeshift store out-side her shanty to give to the children who knocked on her counter.

“It’s a sad Christmas Day. We have lost our home and the govern-ment will not allow us to rebuild here as it’s too close to the shore,” she told AFP. But she said sharing what was left of her possessions had an uplifting effect.

“There are still a lot of reasons that we should be thankful to God,” Aranza said, including the fact that her two adult children and their 13 sons and daughters, who now have to live together in the cramped shanty, survived the disaster. “Because of the typhoon, members of my family are now tightly knit. Gone are the petty quarrels,” she added.

AP Photo/Wason WanichakornA Thai anti-government protester throws back tear gas canister at riot policemen during a clash at a sport stadium in Bangkok, Thailand Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013. Rock-throwing protesters trying to halt preparations for elections fought police in the Thai capital on Thursday, escalating their campaign to topple the country’s beleaguered government.

Thai election body urges delay in polls amid clashAssociated Press Writer

BANGKoK — Thailand’s election commission on Thursday urged the government to delay upcoming polls as clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters killed a police officer and injured nearly 100 people, adding to political turmoil threatening to tear apart the country. The hours-long unrest took place outside a Bangkok sports stadium where election candidates were gathering to draw lots for their positions on the ballot. Protesters threw rocks as they tried to break into the building to halt the process, while police fired tear gas and rubber bullets.

Christmas in mud as rain pelts Philippine disaster zone

AP Photo/Achmad IbrahimChildren line up to receive a Christmas gift from volunteers near a giant lantern with the colors of the Philippine flag, in Tacloban, Philippines, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013.

3Friday, December 27, 201314 InternationalInternational Bali NewsScience Friday, December 27, 2013

Putu Nastri, 40, a trader on Sanur Beach, from Nusa Penida, said the visit of domestic and foreign tourists these days tended to be quiet, Wednesday (Dec 25). “Due to rainy season, visitors tend to be quiet. Tourist visit is dominated by domestic tourist from outside Bali, while foreign tourists rarely come to the beach because of the rain,” she said.

Nastri said that tourist visit during high season could reach 100,000-150,000 per day. She added that to main-tain the sanitation of Sanur Beach area, the local traders union regularly did cleanup action twice a week, namely every Monday and Friday, she added. Traders around the Sanur Beach hoped the adverse weather condition lately discouraged tourists to visit Sanur Beach. Other than spending holiday, their coming also provided windfall to surrounding traders.

Lukman Hakim, 21, a domestic tourist from Pasuruan, East Java, said he had been in Bali since four months ago and Sanur Beach was his favorite destination after Kuta and Nusa Dua. He said that he could do refreshing on Sanur Beach while fishing. He explained that Sanur Beach would be more crowded in the afternoon, especially on weekend like Saturdays and Sundays. Rainy season had made tourist visit declined and deserted. Domestic tourists usually saw waves, played canoe, swam and fished. (dgk)

AntaraSEMARAPURA - The police in the Klungkung

district, Bali province, have detained a 23-year old man on drug charges after he was found in possession of 4.5 grams of crystal methamphetamine.

The suspect, identified by initials MH, was ar-rested while he was riding a motorcycle on the Ida Bagus Mantra bypass in the district, spokesman of the Klungkung district police Adj. Comr. Made Sudanta stated here on Wednesday.

The meth was found in his trouser pocket, wrapped in a used pack of instant coffee, Made Sudanta re-marked.

“We are still interrogating the suspect,” he added.

The police also seized a cellular phone, a mo-torcycle, and a pair of trousers from the suspect, he said.

Bali Post

MANGUPURA - Services ex-tended at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport were complained again. Flight passengers protested due to lack of communication regarding the baggage claim area so that it resulted in clut-ter in the domestic arrival terminal. Not only that, the vile condition of the terminal was also criticized by passengers.

“We’re made confused in which conveyor to take my baggage. There is no clear information, where the of-ficers that should be able to provide information are also in confusion. As a result, the airport condition was crowded,” said Bagus Sudibya, one of the passengers.

Aside from the absence of signs, condition of the domestic arrival terminal being under renovation, ad-mitted Sudibya, also looked shabby. A number of ceilings collapsed as flushed by rain. Meanwhile, the wait-ing room provided was also narrow.

“Its toilet also smells the odor of

urine. We understand that the airport is still under renovation, but does it have to sacrifice the convenience of passengers?” questioned Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) of Bali.

According to him, the less convenient airport would have an impact on the tourism image of Bali. Moreover, it was amid the flooding tourist arrivals, both domestic and foreign tourists spending holidays to the Island of the Gods to cel-ebrate Christmas and New Year 2014.

“Do we give this (untidy—Ed) impression to visitors? Actually, we have promoted earnestly to attract tourists in order they want to visit Bali, but when arriving in Bali they are presented with such a spectacle,” he complained.

He said the airport management should take into account the carrying capacity of the airport to tourist ar-rivals. Thus, it would not disturb the comfort of tourists. “When going out of the airport, I myself experienced if it was crowded and took me for hours. Carrying capacity must become

a serious concern so when visiting Bali they will not be disappointed,” he affirmed.

Spokesperson of PT Angkasa Pura I, Alfasyah, when asked for his confir-mation justified that disruption of pas-senger services in the domestic arrival terminal occurred as the impact of the airport expansion project. “Yeah ... as a commonplace, the project surely results in a little discomfort. However, we have attempted to minimize the impact,” he said.

Nevertheless, Alfasyah denied if the absence of sign for baggage claim at the conveyor had caused a build-up of passengers. “Related to the absence of clear instruction on the conveyor where passenger must claim their baggage, I have to cross-check first to the airlines concerned. There was no problem with the information of conveyor displayed on monitor and no passengers were complaining about it,” he concluded while adding that he would follow up the complaints of passengers by checking it to every airline. (kmb27)

IBP/Dewa

When entering the rainy season, the tourist visit to Sanur Beach tends to be quieter. As observation at lo-cation, there was no increase in tourist visit. Weather factor became one of the causes of the decline.

Rainy season

Sanur Beach visited by a few touristsBali Post

DENPASAR - When entering the rainy season, the tourist visit to Sanur Beach tends to be quieter. As observation at location, there was no increase in tourist visit. Weather factor became one of the causes of the decline. Such condition is also perceived by traders around the beach.

Police arrest youth on charges of meth possesion

Services of Ngurah Rai Airport complained

Researchers published the case in the Journal of Infectious Diseases in October, but did not include the genetic sequence. The decision was made after consulting with the U.S. government, lead researcher Stephen Arnon told the Sacramento Bee.

There’s no treatment for the new botulism strain yet, and there are concerns that rogue groups could use information about the genetic code to develop a bioweapon.

“The recommendations from the federal government were clear on the potential risks of publishing the gene sequence,” Arnon told the newspa-per. “There was agreement among all involved in the discussions that it would be possible to publish this in-formation to achieve the scientific and public health benefits of sharing the finding while safeguarding national security.”

Botulism, a rare but serious illness that can lead to paralysis, is caused by a nerve toxin produced by bacte-

ria. About 145 cases of botulism are reported in the United States every year and about 65 percent are infant botulism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state Department of Public Health is among several agencies around the country responsible for developing treatments for botulism strains. It usually takes one to two years to develop an antitoxin.

David Relman, professor of medi-cine and microbiology at Stanford University, wrote an accompanying editorial supporting the decision to not publish the genetic sequence just yet.

“There is certainly more awareness of the possibility of doing harm — not only of the means and capability of doing harm — but also the fact that there seems to be more people who voice that kind of perspective and intention,” Relman told the Bee. Other scientists disagreed, saying it’s better to publish the data so that others can evaluate the work.

Associated Press Writer

PASADENA, California — A NASA space-craft has sent holiday greetings from the outer solar system. The space agency on Monday re-leased dazzling new images of the ringed planet Saturn and its moons. The Cassini spacecraft took the pictures earlier this year.

Saturn resembled an ornament in one image, with a jet stream swirling at its north pole along with a hurricane-like storm.

Cassini also peered through the hazy atmo-sphere of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, reveal-ing hydrocarbon lakes. The icy Saturn moon Enceladus appears as a white snowball.

Cassini, funded by NASA and the European and Italian space agencies, was launched in 1997. The spacecraft reached Saturn in 2004 and has been studying the planet and its many moons.

AP Photo/files

FILE - Rep. Michael Myers, second from left, holds an en-velope containing $50,000 which he just received from undercover FBI agent Anthony Amo-roso, left, in this videotape played at the first Abscam trial Oct. 14, 1980.

US researchers withhold data in botulism studyAssociated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO, California — American health researchers have discovered the first new strain of botulism in four decades, but decided to withhold publishing the genetic code because of bioterrorism concerns. An infant earlier this year fell ill with botulism, but survived, the California state Department of Public Health reported. No other details were made public.

AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

This July 29, 2013 image provided by NASA shows that Winter is approach-ing in the southern hemisphere of Saturn and with this cold season has come the familiar blue hue that was present in the northern winter hemisphere at the start of NASA’s Cassini mission.

Holiday lights: New views of Saturn and its moons

International2 Friday, December 27, 2013 15International Activities

Bali News

Founder : K.Nadha, General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Diah Dewi Juniarti Editors: Gugiek Savindra,Alit Susrini, Alit Sumertha, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Sri Hartini, Suana, Sueca, Sugiartha, Yudi Winanto Denpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subrata, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Suasrina, Buleleng: Adnyana, Gianyar: Agung Dharmada, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Bagiarta. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto. Development: Alit Purnata, Mas Ruscitadewi. Office: Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, Facsimile: 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp.

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

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

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

In front of important shrine one sees, besides these umbrellas soars, tridents and other weapons, the “umbul-umbul”, long flags, all these are prerogatives or attributes of Holiness. In front of the Temple gate put up “Penjor”, long bamboo poles, decorated beautifully ornaments of young coconut leaves, rice and other products of the land. Most beautiful to see are the girls in their colorful attire, carrying offerings, arrangements of all kinds fruits and colored cakes, to the Temple. Every visitor admires the grace with which the carry their load on their heads.

Balinese Temple Ceremony

Friday, December 27, 2013

Calendar Event for January 1 through February 26, 2014

1 Jan Buda Kliwon Matal, Kajeng Kliwon And Tilem Sasih Kenam Pura Desa Sukawati SukawatiPura Pasek Gelgel Gelgel BebetinPura Maspahit SesetanPura Padharman Arya Kanuruhan Besakih

11 Jan Tumpek Kandang Pura Desa GianyarPura Luhur Dalem Sagening Kediri TabananPura Sang Hyang Tegal Tegalalang

15 Jan Purnama Sasih Kapitu Pura Dalem Tarukan Cemenggaon SukawatiPura Penataran Dalem Ketut Pejeng Kaja GianyarPura Puseh Manakaji Peninjauan BangliPura Taman Limut Pengosekan Mas UbudPura Benua BesakihPura Gunung Rena Sidemen KarangasemPura Pasek Gelgel Abadi KarangasemPura Pucak Gunung Mangun Kubu Karangasem

16 Jan Kajeng Kliwon Uwudan 17 Jan Hari Bhatara Sri 21 Jan Anggara Kasih Prangbakat Pura Bukit Buluh Gunaksa KlungkungPura Tirtha Sidamala Bebalang BangliPura Gunung Pangsong LombokPura Dalem Benawah GianyarPura Dalem Bitra GianyarPura Pura Hyang Haluh/Jenggala Besakih

Pura Tengkulak Tulikup GianyarPura Taman Sari UbudPura Penataran Badung

29 Jan Hari Siwaratri

30 Jan Tilem Sasih Kepitu Pura Buana Kawan BesakihPura Ulun Kulkul Besakih

31 Jan Kajeng Kliwon Enyitan

5 Feb Buda Kliwon Ugu Pura Dalem Tarukan Peninjauan Tem-buku BangliPura Pemayun Banyuning Tengah Bule-lengPura Kayangan Tiga Seririt BulelengPura Agung Gunung Raung Taro Tegalalang

6 Feb Pura Dalem Puri Besakih

14 Feb Purnama Sasih Kawulu Pura Dalem Batur BangliPura Ida Ratu Pasek BesakihPura Dalem Suci Sidemen KarangasemPura Buana Kawan Besakih

15 Feb Tumpek Wayang & Kajeng Kliwon Uwudan Pura Majapahit JembranaPura Panti Gelgel Pengembungan SesetanPura Pedarman Dalem Sukawati BesakihPura Pedarman Mengwi BesakihPura Pedarman Kaba-kaba BesakihPura Pedarman Dalem Bakas BesakihPura Pedarman Dinasti Dalem Besakih

Pura Penataran Giri Purwo Tegal Delimo BanyuwangiPura jala Sidhi amerta Juanda Surabaya

19 Feb Buda Cemeng Kelawu Pura Penataran Agung Teluk Padang KarangasemPura Melanting Camenggaon SukawatiPura Penataran ped Nusa PenidaPura Gaduhan Jagat Singakerta UbudPura Masceti Sanding Tampak SiringPura Penataran Batu Lepang Kamasan KelungkungPura Paibon Pasek Gelgel Kedonganan KutaPura Guwa BesakihPura Basukian BesakihPura Jati UbudPura Melanting UbudPura Dalem Peed Nusa PenidaPura Sad Kayangan Nusa PenidaPura Penataran Agung Gunung Karangasem

21 Feb Hari Bhatara Sri 25 Feb Anggara Kasih Dukut Pura Dalem Batuyang BatubulanPura Pasek Gelgel Mengening Kediri TabananPura Pasek Undagi Krambitan TabananPura Pucak Taman bedulu GianyarPura Puser Jagat Nusa PenidaPura Dalem Purwa Kawan BangliPura Desa Ketewel Gianyar

26 Feb Pura Agung Pasek gelgel Sibang Kaja Abian SemalPura Dalem Samprangan Gianyar

The activity that invite media and involv-ing Hard Rock Staff started by make a wish activity a la Chinese. Then continued to taste food that will served on Chinese New Year. Those menu consists of Asian appetizer such as assorted vegetables salad, Gado Gado (vegetables served with roasted peanut sauce), potato and minced beef patties, Balinese shred-ded chicken salad and Keera Raita. There are also other western salads like caesar salad and condiments, Moroccan spiced chicken breast and Mango Salad with Enoki Mushroom and fresh salad.

After the appetizer, guests move on to taste hot dishes a la western dishes, like Pan Fried Salmon Fillet with Leek and Kaffir Lime Sause, Chinese dishes like Roast Chicken with Fra-grant Salt, Steawed Pork Knuckle with Mush-room, Braised Broccoli with Crabmeat sause and Steamed Fish Fillet with Ginger and Soya Sauce. There also Curry Hot Dishes like Sate Ayam, Kare Daging Sapi dan Kare Sayur.

In addition there are also B.B.Q Pork Ribs with Plum Sauce, Roast Reef Rib Eye with Wild Mushroom Sauce, noodle and special beverage. (ocha)

IBP/Ocha

Chinese New Year menu at Hard Rock Hotel BaliIBP

KUTA - To welcome the Chinese New year holiday, Hard rock Hotel Bali will present the Chinese New year menu on January 31, 2014. This special cuisines were announced in menu tasting at Starz Diner restaurant, Thursday (Dec 19).

As seen on Wednesday (Dec 25), domestic tourists continued to flood the area. They came from a number of major cities in Java such as Jakarta, Surabaya and Solo. It was evident from the license plate of vehicles parked.

Operations Manager of Tanah Lot tourist attraction, Ketut Toya Adnyana, predicted the surge of tourist visit would continue to happen until the New Year, especially ahead of the weekend.

It was estimated, the surge could penetrate over 30 percent. Under normal condition, tourist arrival could reach 7,000-8,000 people per day. “As prediction, the surge will continue. We already made a variety of preparations,” said Toya in a press release, Wednesday (Dec 25).

For security, his party had to coordinate with the Tabanan Police. Then, personnel of pecalang (customary security guard) of Beraban customary village were also involved in the security. The number was also added. “This security is to provide comfort for visitors, especially in the matter of traffic control,” he explained.

In front of the entrance was also built a post of the Candle Operation supported by joint personnel of the Indonesian Military and National Police. Not only that, said Toya, the security effort was also backed by CCTV camera. It was meant to supervise the activities of tourist visit as well as any undesirable incident. Parking space was also added to accommodate more vehicles of visitors.

The surge in tourist visit also occurred to other attractions such as Ulun Danu Beratan, Baturiti. At this lake tourist attraction, local tourists from various regions continued to flow from the morning. Their focus was to enjoy the spectacle of temple in the middle of the lake. As predicted, the surge of visitors would continue until the New Year. The increase in tourist arrival posed an annual tradition every Christmas and New Year holidays. (kmb30)

Bali Post

DENPASAR - Accident at workplace in the form of CO2 gas poisoning happening on Tuesday (Dec 24) claimed 20 victims. All the victims were employees of PT Inti Samudra located on Jalan Ikan Paus Benoa. When the inci-dent occurred around 5:00 p.m., the victims were working in the fish slaughter warehouse. Without being realized, one of the freezers leaked so it caused the CO2 gas

spread quickly and was inhaled by the workers. As a result, dozens of workers were fatigue and faint-ing. So, they were immediately rushed to Sanglah Hospital to get immediate help.

The victims were Olivia, 21, Heni, 17, Lesti, 19, Veni, 29, Lyd-ia, 28, Kadek Manis Erawati, 24, Maryana Mingu, 26, Jamludin, 17, Stanis, 22, Sari, 17, Mariana, 35, Ledi, 24 , Wayan Marjana, 43, Putu Irwan, 19, Yuli, 21, Komang Antini, 22, Carolina Ambukaka,

17, Gede Adi Darma, 19, and Elfi-yana, 19. They all came gradually and got immediate treatment in the Emergency Room.

The Emergency Room Head of Sanglah Hospital, Krisna Wibawa, described the 20 victims were hospitalized and up to Sunday (Dec 25) they were still undergo-ing an observation. He continued that all the victims showed the symptoms of CO2 poisoning such as nausea and vomiting, shortness of breath and headache.

There were also accompanied by convulsions and unconsciousness. “Patients are experiencing mild to severe symptoms of poisoning. The CO2 poisoning at excessive rate can cause death. However, this case does not belong to lethal dose,” said Krisna.

Of the 20 victims were treated, according to Krisna, five of which got hyperbaric treatment. “Hy-perbaric treatment is intended for patients with an indication of fainting, seizures and severe

headache,” he said.The action of hyperbaric treat-

ment, added Krisna, was given in order the victim’s body could be clean from the content of CO2 more quickly. “Hyperbaric is the therapy with very high content of O2. By that way, the content of CO2 in the patient’s body is expected to be removed more quickly,” he said. Overall, accord-ing to Krisna, the health condition of all patients had been getting better. (san)

CO2 poisoning victims remain under treatment

IBP/File

The crowded tourists are seen in Tanah Lot

Christmas holiday, Tanah Lot thronged by myriad travelersBali Post

TABANAN - Christmas holiday and ahead of New year become a blessing for Tanah Lot tourist attraction, Kediri. This coastal tourist attraction continued to harvest tourists, especially domestic tourists.

Friday, December 27, 201316Friday, December 27, 2013

16 Pages Number 116th year

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

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EntertainmentWEATHER FORECAsT

PAgE 6 PAgE 8

Japanese prime minister visits yasukuni war shrine

PAgE 3

Rainy season sanur Beach visited by a few tourists

Mari said the number of foreign tourist arrival this year exceeded the target of 8.6 million people. By referring to the number of visit, Mari said she hoped the tourist arrival next year could reach 9.2 million tourists, an increase of 7.5 percent of the total foreign tourist arrival this year.

Meanwhile, in 2013, she said that based on estimation by the end of 2013, the number of foreign tourists coming to Indonesia approximately reached 8,637,275 people, or a growth of 7.37 percent compared to the year 2012 where the

number of tourist arrival reached 8.04 million people.She explained the number was based on prediction of

foreign tourist arrival growth in November 2013 amounting to 5.52 percent and the assumption on the increase of foreign tourist arrival in December 2013 estimated at 0.53 percent. “Meanwhile, the number of travel by domestic tourists in 2013 is estimated to reach 248 trips with the average spend-ing on each trip reached IDR 711,000,” she said.

On that occasion, Mari also revealed the development

of creative economy sector also grew by 5.76 percent above the national economic growth reaching 5.74 percent. The growth of creative economy in 2013 was driven by subsectors such as advertising (8.01 percent), architecture (8.04 percent) as well as computer and software services (8.24 percent).

Nevertheless, of the 15 subsectors, the biggest con-tributor to national GDP was from culinary subsector that amounted to IDR 208.6 billion and fashion at IDR 181.6 billion.

The GDP and employment in tourism and creative economy indicated an ever-growing contribution each year. In 2013, the GDP reached IDR 347.35 trillion which increased from last year that amounted to IDR 326.33 tril-lion. As for the creative economy, the contribution to the GDP reached IDR 641.82 trillion, increasing from the year 2012 that reached IDR 578.76 trillion. (010)

IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

Tourists sunbathing at Nusa Dua Beach, Bali Island. Ministry of Tour-ism and Creative Economy revealed that tourism sector earned for-

eign exchange amounting to IDR 98 trillion. In other words, there was an increase of 8.17 percent compared to last year’s earnings worth

IDR 91 trillion.

Tourism earns foreign exchange worth IDR 98 trillion

Bali PostJAKARTA - Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy revealed that tourism sector earned foreign

exchange amounting to IDR 98 trillion. In other words, there was an increase of 8.17 percent compared to last year’s earnings worth IDR 91 trillion. “In terms of foreign exchange earnings, GDP and employment, the contribution of tourism and creative economy sector is increasing,” said Mari Elka Pangestu, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, at the yearend press conference in Jakarta.

The two longtime collaborators pushed the based-on-a-true-story tale to the limits of outrageousness, decency and MPAA ap-proval. With pinstripe suits instead of togas, it’s their “Satyricon,” their “Caligula”: a nearly three-hour-long orgy of money, sex and drugs.

The partnership between the 71-year-old Scorsese and DiCaprio, 39, has now stretched over five films and more than a dozen years. They’ve together been able to carve out a space for the kind of daring Hollywood typically shuns. “Anything goes” is far from the mantra of today’s movie business.

“I don’t think people really quite un-derstand how unique this movie is,” says DiCaprio, while Scorsese, sitting next to him, nods. “No matter what they think of the movie, you do not see films like this happening.”

Scorsese and DiCaprio recently sat down for a joint interview to discuss their latest film, which opens on Christmas Day. On the surface, they exude the dynamic of master and pupil. But they’re on more equal footing, bonded by a desire to make movies like those from the ‘70s that DiCaprio grew up admiring and Scorsese actually made. In the last 13 years, Scorsese has made only one fictional film (“Hugo”) that didn’t star DiCaprio.

“Over the years, it’s been about learn-ing more, fine-tuning the instruments together, so to speak, and discovering more from each other in the process,” says Scorsese. They co-produced “The Wolf of Wall Street,” which Warner Bros. turned down in 2008 before it was reborn with Paramount Pictures.

Ironically, Scorsese was tipped off to DiCaprio’s talent from the actor he’s most

associated with: Robert De Niro. After De Niro made 1993’s “This Boy’s Life,” he recommended an 18-year-old DiCaprio to Scorsese. That would spark a pairing that has grown to rival De Niro’s own with Scorsese (eight films).

DiCaprio was in his mid-20s when he sought out a part in Scorsese’s bloody New York tale, “Gangs of New York.” The Howard Hughes biopic, “The Aviator,” followed, a movie that DiCaprio (who landed his first lead actor Oscar nomination) suggested to Scorsese. Then came the Boston crime flick “The Departed” (earning Scorsese his first directing Academy Award) and the ‘50s noir “Shutter Island.”

Associated Press Writer

LONG BEACH, California — Studio drummer Ricky Lawson, a collaborator with musicians includ-ing Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Whitney Houston, has died at a suburban Los Angeles hospital following a brain aneurism. He was 59.

Lawson’s uncle, Paul Riser of Detroit, said Tues-day that Lawson was removed from life support 10 days after the aneurism diagnosis and died around 7 p.m. Monday.

Lawson was being treated at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in Long Beach, California, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Los Angeles.

The Detroit native learned to play drums at age 16 and jumped into the music business even before gradu-ating from Cooley High School, developing into one of the nation’s top studio musicians in the 1980s.

His work appears on Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You.” He also performed with Al Jar-reau, George Benson, Bette Midler, Quincy Jones and many others.

A founding member of the Yellowjackets, Lawson won a Grammy Award in 1986 for R&B instrumental performance for the jazz-fusion group’s hit “And You Know That.” He became disoriented during a performance on Dec. 13 and was diagnosed with an aneurism.

Drummer Questlove Jenkins of The Roots called Lawson “the master” on Twitter Dec. 18 in a message saying, “praying for his recovery.”

Marty and Leo team up again for ‘Wolf’Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK — “Anything goes” was the guiding ethos for Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio in making their extravagant dark comedy of Wall Street excess, “The Wolf of Wall Street.” “We would look at each other and ask, ‘Are we going too far?’” says DiCaprio. Rarely was the answer “yes.”

Drummer Ricky Lawson, 59, dies after aneurismRicky Law-son is pho-tographed in Kansas City, Mo. on Feb. 23, 1988. Studio drummer Lawson, a collaborator with musi-cians includ-ing Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Whitney Houston, died at a suburban Los Ange-les hospital following a brain an-eurism on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013.

AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Steven R. Nickerson

Tottenham appoints sherwood as head coach