Tuesday, January 21, 2014

16 Pages Number 26 6th year

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

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EntertainmentWEATHER FORECAsT

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Page 13Page 8

Malaysia’s God problem erupts, tarnishing moderate image

Protesters clash with police at large Ukraine rally

Barca, Atletico held to draws, cling to co-lead

Aside from travelers usually making a visit that seemed de-serted, the local tourism actors like tourist guides, traders and business owners such as restaurateurs also looked lethargic without many do-mestic and foreign tourists. Kadek Widiasa revealed on Sunday (Jan

19) that he had not handled guests almost for ten days where he usu-ally escorted guests to see dolphins in the open sea. “Almost for ten days I have not had a guest. A number of tourist guides and local fishermen on Lovina Beach are in the same boat,” he said.

Widiasa described that he could take around two to three guests a day. However, since the weather was adverse, it made the beach condition uncomfortable and dolphins as the iconic of Lovina Beach were reluctant to appear onto the surface. “To antici-pate the condition as we cannot go to sea and do not handle guests, we take odd jobs. In January and February, it tends to be quiet,” he explained.

High winds approaching Lovina Beach had caused the marine de-bris to litter along the shoreline. It certainly made the spectacle on

the beach become dirty and less un-sightly. “Rubbish scattered around the coast comes from rivers and the ocean. Such marine debris make the beach look dirty. We and other traders usually clean up the beach if there is marine debris,” he said.

Sluggish look due to lack of tourist arrivals was also perceived by cloth souvenir traders and trinkets around the Lovina Beach. Kadek Putri, one of the traders, said the visit was almost deserted this week since the weather condi-tion was poor. “Tourists visit at the

beginning of the New Year is quiet enough. It is also caused by the ev-er-changing weather condition such as strong winds and big waves,” he said. He hoped such condition would not last long and tourists could come to visit and bring in fortune for beach traders.

“Hopefully, the weather condi-tion could be getting better quickly, in order that we can clean up the beach by amassing the marine debris. Besides, we also hope the tourist visit will increase,” he added. (dgk)

Lovina Beach is very quiet in the las view days

Ever-changing weather causes Lovina Beach to lack of visitorsSingaraja (Bali Post)—

Big waves have virtually dropped in on Lovina Beach area Singaraja for a week. The coming of strong winds has caused the tourist visit to Lovina Beach increasingly lower within the past few days.

IBP/File

While an Oscar tie is unlikely, the rare PGA split keeps the Academy Awards race wide open in one of the tightest three-way battles in years. It may have been shut out by the producers, but David O. Russell’s con caper “American Hus-tle” is also still very much in the running following a week of big showings at the Golden Globes, Oscar nominations and

Screen Actors Guild Awards.With only the Directors Guild and

Writers Guild awards remaining in the next two weeks, the Oscar race is head-ing into the home stretch when several thousand academy voters make their choices prior to the March 2 ceremony.

Many PGA members belong to the producers branch of the motion picture

academy, hence the frequent alignment of the two groups’ top feature film picks, including “No Country for Old Men” (2007), “Slum Dog Millionaire” (2008), “The Hurt Locker” (2009), “The King’s Speech” (2010), “The Artist” (2011) and “Argo” (2012).

Other trophies presented Sunday night at the guild’s 25th annual awards ceremony in Beverly Hills, Calif., in-cluded “Frozen” for animated feature, (asterisk)We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks” for documentary film, “Behind the Candelabra” for television movie or miniseries, “Breaking Bad” for TV drama series and “Modern Family” for TV comedy series.

Associated Press Writer

PARK CITY, Utah — Kate Hudson is not only a co-star of Zach Braff in his sec-ond movie, “Wish I Was Here,” she’s also a good friend. So she feels a special con-nection to the film, which Braff financed through an appeal on the donation site Kickstarter. “I’ll never forget. We were sitting down having a couple drinks and he goes, ‘You know what? I’m tired of people telling me I can or can’t do things. I’m just gonna start doing what I want,’” recalled Hudson at the premiere of the movie. “And I was like, ‘You know, you do that.’ It sort of became your mantra.”

She also says the film’s script, co-written by Braff and his brother Adam, struck a chord. It made her emotional to explain it on the red carpet. “I loved it

and actually it hit me on a very personal level because the themes of this film are about family, and you know, finding yourself and where you belong, and let-ting go of certain dreams and realizing that your life is right in front of you and taking that in instead of being one step ahead of it,” she said. Tears welled up in her eyes as she added: “Just something about it just really resonated with me and made me quite emotional.”

“Wish I Was Here” is Braff’s second directorial effort. His first, “Garden State,” which he wrote, directed and co-starred in with Natalie Portman, was a critical success. It’s been 10 years since Braff re-turned to the director’s chair and he made it happen by funding the movie using the crowdsourcing site Kickstarter.

“The Kickstarter thing was born

out of... like, ‘God, this system is ex-hausting and there’s so many pitfalls it’s ridiculous. There has to be another way,’” explained Braff of the red tape and politics that can hinder filmmaking in Hollywood. Braff’s good friend Don-ald Faison, Mandy Patinkin, Joey King, Josh Gadd and Ashley Greene are also in the movie and were at the Saturday premiere. One Direction singer Harry Styles also showed up to support Braff, who has become a good friend.

Actress Kate Hudson and Director/Co-Writer Zach Braff pose at the pre-

miere of the film “Wish I Was Here” during the 2014 Sundance Film

Festival, on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014 in Park City, Utah.

Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP

Hudson has emotional connection to Braff movie

Producers pick ‘12 Years a Slave’ and ‘Gravity’Associated Press Writer

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — For the past six years, every feature film chosen by the Producers Guild of America for its top honor has gone on to win the best-picture prize at the Academy Awards. Sunday night, Steve McQueen’s historical epic “12 Years a Slave” and Alfonso Cuaron’s space odyssey “Gravity” tied for the guild’s highest honor.

Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP

Steve McQueen, right, Chiwetel Ejiofor, left, and Brad Pitt arrive at the 25th annual Producers Guild of America Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014.

International2 Tuesday, January 21, 2014 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

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

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

On Wednesday, December 4th, 2013, Grand Istana Rama Hotel together with the Australian Mr. John and his wife, Ms. Lenore Davis visited Dharma Jati II Orphanage on Jalan Trengguli Number 80, Penatih, Denpasar, Bali. Before that, the management staffs of Grand Istana Rama Hotel and the

Australian guests went to one of Shopping Malls on Sunset Road to buy nutritive snacks, biscuits, juices, jellies, oranges, and milk for the orphaned children. Furthermore, they bought T-Shirts with different colors and sizes. There were also lunch boxes, bottles, bed sheets, and towels as donation from Grand Istana Rama Hotel and from the man-agement staffs. A big chocolate birthday cake was also ready to be given to the orphaned children to celebrate any child in the Orphanage who had their birthday on November and December.

Grand Istana Rama sharing with orphanage

IBP/File Photo

IBP

KUTA - As human beings, people need to be aware of the children that need helps, care, and love, as the children left in an orphanage with no parents taking care of. There is a Donation Box in Grand Istana rama Hotel in order to attract the guests to be aware of the surroundings, especially to donate their money to help the children in the orphanage.

Tabanan (Bali Post)—Sai village in Pupuan and

Baru village in Marga, Tabanan, are considered ‘illegal villages’ because they have not received the recognition from central government (Ministry of Home Affairs). A village can be con-sidered legal if they have owned an area code from the Minister of Home Affairs that should passed first through regional bylaw (Perda).

In reality the two villages obtained the Regent Decree in 2009 and 2010 endorsing them as independent village but have not obtained the area code so they are assumed illegal because they must be approved through regional bylaw.

Chairman of the Special Committee IX of the Tabanan House, I Gede Purnawan, ex-

plained on Sunday (Jan 19) that pursuant to the rules of Ministry of Home Affairs a village was declared legal if it had been established through regional by-law. Then, it should be proposed to central government in order to get the area code. “It is very necessary that concerned vil-lages must be administratively recognized as villages that have been legally separated from the parent village,” he said.

Related to Sai village split from the Pajahan as its parent village and Baru village sepa-rated from Tua village, Marga, he admitted that both villages had owned a Regent Decree since 2009 and 2010, but had yet obtained the area code. “Under the existing rules, then to endorse the two villages into the legitimate ones, they must

be stipulated through a regional bylaw,” he explained.

His party would prioritize in order the regional bylaw draft stipulating Sai village and Baru village could be resolved and stipulated into a regional bylaw. “We will also ask for an explanation related to readiness of both villages to become an independent village. We do not want after the regional bylaw stipulated, in fact both villages are not ready to become an inde-pendent village,” he said.

He asked the apparatus of both villages assisted by the BPMD to thoroughly prepare themselves into an independent village. “Both villages should be prepared first along with all the requirements needed,” he asked.

Meanwhile, Assistant I of

Regional Secretary of Tabanan in charge of Government Af-fairs, Wayan Yatnanadi, in the working meeting with the Com-mission IX revealed that both villages were not recognized nationally because they had not been established through regional bylaw.

“After these two villages ob-tained a Regent Decree, we have submitted them to the Minister of Home Affairs. In fact, it must be stipulated through a regional bylaw as a requirement to get an area code related to the imple-mentation of general elections and so on,” he explained.

To that end, the former Head of Tabanan Revenue Service, his party in the executive had filed a draft of regional bylaw about Sai village and Baru vil-lage in Marga. (kmb28)

Quick Response Unit Head of the Badung Sanitation and Landscaping Agency (DKP), Made Gede Dwipayana, revealed on Thursday (Jan 16) that since the beginning of December the volume of marine debris in the three coastal areas tended to increase. Even, when entering January, the average increase reached two-fold. The highest volume of marine debris happened to Kuta Beach.

He said that at the beginning of the emergence of the marine debris, the daily rubbish transported reached around 10 tons. But, on entering January, the amount of rubbish transported was av-eragely 30 tons. As estimated, the matter of marine debris would continue until February or mid-March.

To overcome the issue of marine debris on the beach, his party expected the pub-lic participation. Without the help of the community, the DKP was overwhelmed and feared the rubbish problem could not be handled and would tarnished the image of regional tourism.

For the handling by government, a total of 21 personnel belonging to the Quick Response Unit of the DKP Badung were deployed to assist the janitors of Kuta and surrounding areas. As planned, the Quick Response Unit personnel would just be withdrawn when the beach condition had been back to normal. (kmb25)

IBP/File

The garabge is pilling up on Kuta Beach

Rubbish on Samigita Beach reaches 1,000 tonsPredicted to continue until mid-MarchlMangupura (Bali Post)—

The onslaught of marine debris in coastal areas of Samigita (Semi-nyak, Legian and Kuta) never ends. During the period of December 22, 2013 to January 15, 2014, the total rubbish collected in the coastal ar-eas of Samigita has reached more than 1,000 tons. The phenomenon of marine debris is predicted to last until mid-March.

Two villages have not owned area code

3Tuesday, January 21, 201414 InternationalInternational Bali NewsScience Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Nick Thorpe, head of the univer-sity’s archaeology department, said he and his colleagues are “extremely excited to have been able to plausi-bly link this human bone to one of these two crucial figures in English history.”

Alfred, a Saxon king who ruled from 871 to 899, is known for blocking repeated Viking incursions, reordering his nation’s finances and reforming its legal code. He’s also remembered as an educator, inviting scholars from across the continent to his court, directing young English freemen to learn to read and even translating several works on his own.

“He’s one of England’s most famous kings,” said Simon Keynes, a University of Cambridge historian who is an authority on the monarch. “He’s the only one that’s called ‘Great.’”

Alfred’s bones are known to have been moved after he died, eventually being deposited at Hyde Abbey in Winchester, about 65 miles (100 ki-lometers) southwest of London. But much uncertainty followed with the tumult of the Reformation; an 18th-century building project that turned the site into a jail; and the claims of a 19th-century antiquary named John Mellor who boasted of having unearthed the king’s bones.

Following a surge of interest with the discovery of the body of King

Richard III — another famous mon-arch whose skeleton was unearthed underneath a parking lot in Leicester in 2012 — researchers went to work hunting for Alfred.

They looked first in the place where Mellor claimed to have left them, in the churchyard of nearby St. Bartholomew’s Church, but tests on the remains found there showed the bones were from a number of different people who lived hundreds of years later than Alfred.

Researchers had better luck when they went through two boxes of bones excavated from the site of Hyde Ab-bey about two decades ago and kept at the Winchester Museum. One, a pelvis, was radiocarbon dated to roughly around the time Alfred had died. Researchers say that, given the historical record, bones that old could only have come from Alfred or his family.

That conclusion “is based on a valid chain of reasoning,” said Ox-ford University professor John Blair. Both he and Keynes, who weren’t involved in the discovery, said more data was needed before anyone could determine exactly whose pelvis was found in Winchester. But Keynes said he found it compelling that the bone was said to have been found under Hyde Abbey’s altar. “That’s where Alfred and his family were throughout the Middle Ages,” he said. “That’s where they lay.”

Associated Press Writer

BERLIN — Scientists at the European Space Agency are expecting an important call. Their comet-chasing probe Rosetta is due to wake from an almost three-year hibernation at 11 a.m. Monday (1000 GMT; 5 a.m. EST) and phone home to say all is well.

But because the spacecraft’s systems will take hours to power up and the signal has to travel more than 800 million kilometers (500 million miles) back to Earth, the first sign of life isn’t expected before early evening.

The agency is turning the tense wait into a social media event by encouraging space enthusiasts to “Wake up Rosetta” in case its internal alarm clock fails. The probe will rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyu-mov-Gerasimenko in the coming months and drop a space lander onto its icy surface in November.

AP Photo/PA, Steve Parsons

Dr Katie Tucker, researcher in human osteology at the University of Winchester attends a press conference in Winchester, Friday Jan. 17, 2014. Researchers said Friday they may have discovered remains of King Alfred the Great, the 9th-century royal remembered for protecting England from the Vikings and educating a largely illiterate nation.

Researchers may have found King Alfred’s pelvis

Associated Press Writer

LONDON — Researchers said Friday they may have discov-ered remains of King Alfred the Great, the 9th-century royal remembered for protecting England from the Vikings and edu-cating a largely illiterate nation. The University of Winchester said in a statement that a pelvis found in a box of bones in the city’s museum is likely to be either from the legendary leader or his son, King Edward the Elder.

Scientists hope comet-chaser spacecraft wakes up

AP Photo/ESA ATG medialab , Astrium E, Viktor, File

FILE - This undated image provided by the European Space Agency ESA shows an artist’s impression of the

Philae lander.

An economist from the Undiknas University, Prof. Gede Sri Darma, DBA, said the global competition in the year of the horse was increas-ingly tighter and more competitive in the future. Moreover, at the be-ginning of the year, the US dollar exchange rate reaching IDR 12,000 was seeking a new balanced point to foreign currency, especially against

the U.S. dollar. He estimated that rupiah would remain in the range of IDR 12,000.

“Currently, the business competi-tion is very high. Moreover, when reviewed, turmoil has been seen since the second semester of 2013. Marked with the increase in fuel price, the rise in commodity price and inflation never go down. It is

followed by a significant increase in minimum wage and the increase in the power tariff surely aggravating the burden that results in the weaken-ing of rupiah against the U.S. dollar at IDR 12,000,” said Sri Darma in Denpasar, Sunday (Jan 19).

Such condition was exacer-bated by the increase in the rate of Bank Indonesia (BI). The rate was increased so that customers did not shift to U.S. dollars. Obvi-ously, these conditions made up deposit rates and lending rates of consumption go up as well. This situation slightly slowed down their expenditure.

“An important note this year is ahead of the AEC 2015. AEC stays one year to go, but the preparations have not been visible. At the end of 2015, the AEC should continue to be socialized and prepared as good as possible, so do not again pro-voke to reject the AEC. If refusing the AEC, it means that Indonesian people will be excluded from the international association,” he ex-plained.

He admitted that political year 2014 would move the wheels of economy, especially the spending of campaign attributes. Politics in 2014 also had a business prospect,

probably for the industry of screen printing, t-shirts, banners and print-ing. All the businesses related to campaign would get a profit. “Po-litical instability will very easily af-fect domestic and foreign investors to channel their money in the real sector,” he predicted.

However, he said that for the market and industry players, the political year adequately got seri-ous attention. Those who generally made investment would hold off by seeing the situation until turning calm to determine whether there would be chaos and who would be the elected president. (kmb27)

2014, entrepreneurs must be creativeDenpasar (Bali Post)—

Facing the increasingly fierce competition in 2014, employers are expected to yield more creative and innovative products. Moreover, before the Asian Economic Community (AEC), the level of competition and job opportunities at the moment will be getting more difficult.

IBP/Siswarina

Children playing at Batur Lake recently.

Lake Batur keeps on experiencing siltationBangli (Bali Post)—

The depth of Lake Batur in Kin-tamani continues to experiencing siltation. Based on the latest data owned by the Bangli Environment Agency (BLH) in 2010, the depth of the lake posing the pride of Bangli community currently only reaches 80 meters. The figure decreased from the measurement made in the 1960s which reached a depth of 200 meters. It was revealed by the Head of the BLH Bangli, Gusti Laksana, Sunday (Jan 19).

He said the data were obtained by the research of environmental-ists from the universities across Indonesia. “Recent data in 2009 were gained when the experts from throughout Indonesia had a meeting and discussed about the existing condition of the lake, one of them was the Lake Batur,” he revealed.

Laksana said the siltation of Lake Batur was caused by the amount of material settling at the bottom of the lake for years. The materials sourced from the avalanches of sand

and soil brought in the flow of water leading to the middle of the lake. Tangible evidence of the siltation was currently visible from hectares of plantation acreage located at the verge of the lake that disappeared in the water. “The precipitate causes the depth of the lake increasingly to diminish. Moreover, there is no real water sewer in the lake,” he added.

Thus, according to him, the only way to recover the depth of the lake was by dredging the sludge on the

bottom of the lake. However, the financial condition of the local government did not enable to do the dredging as spending not a few cost. Then, Laksana was looking forward to the arrival of investors who wanted to invest in the sur-rounding area. One of them was the investor planning to build a golf course in the area of Batur.

“If the investor really comes, like the investors wishing to build a golf course which indirectly utilizes the lake water, yes we expect they will

also help us do the dredging to the lake, so the condition will not be getting shallower,” he hoped.

According to him, by the dredg-ing, the small holes on the wall of the lake that had been clogged would be open again. So, the water of Lake Batur which had been the reserve of water in Bali could still be absorbed smoothly to other ar-eas. “So far, the existence of Lake Batur is not only beneficial for the people of Bangli, but also for other Balinese people,” he added. (ina)

Bali News International4 Tuesday, January 21, 2014 Tuesday, January 21, 2014 13International RLDW

Regional Secretary of Klung-kung, Ketut Janapria, said on Sunday (Jan 19) that of the 18 existing rooms, only four rooms could be occupied. Though having been losing, the county government even placed three contracted work-ers. As consequence, every month, other than generating less revenue, local government should also issue a salary valued at IDR 3 million

for the three contracted workers. Abandonment of the asset was recognized to have been caused by chaotic management though located quite strategically in the urban area of Nusa Penida. “I have planned to close it since long time ago. But, we then plan to fix it. Even, we are planning to transform it into a hotel,” said Janapria.

One of the solutions was by mak-

ing collaboration with third par-ties, so later on the building could be managed maximally. Besides, there was also a new plan, where the repairs were carried out by a consortium involving local govern-ment, regional enterprises (Perusda) and third parties. The effort to trans-forms the face of bungalow would be followed up because it was very urgent. “When having such an asset, do not let suffer a loss without prof-its,” said the Regent of Klungkung, Nyoman Suwirta.

Previously, the surrounding residents were concerned about the condition of the assets claimed as the property of local government. Residents wondered why the local

government let the asset be dor-mant. Actually, it was often used by the officials of Bali Province and Klungkung County in every government agenda in Nusa Penida. Klungkung Culture and Tourism as the management also admitted the bungalows never brought in a profit. The county assets would be voided to build a new and more representa-tive building.

“As a rule, it must be voided from any obligation. After which, the plan will be in cooperation with third parties. In order words, after voided any other more rep-resentative similar development can be done by investors,” he said. Sujana also explained that since

long time ago there were a number of investors getting interested in investing in Nusa Penida. After meeting with him, the investor said he would be reviewing the location of the bungalow which would be voided.

At the moment, the Tourism and Culture Agency was waiting for the Regent Decree (SK) regarding the void from Klungkung government, in this case the Regional Secretary of Klungkung. If the decree on the void was issued, the previous investors would also ultimately be interested in investing their capital. The next step was to flatten the bungalow and to make cooperation with third parties. (kmb31)

Bangli (Bali Post)—

Proliferation of illegal buildings standing on the preci-pice of Kintamani seems to become a classic problem that can never be resolved completely. In reality, the existence of illegal buildings is regarded as one of the triggers to the decrease in the image of Kintamani as a tourist destination offering a beautiful view of Mount Batur and Lake Batur in the distance. Related to that matter, Chairman of the Indo-nesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) of Bangli Chapter, Ketut Putranata, hoped the government could stop the illegal buildings getting rampant in Kintamani.

According to Putranata, the existence of the PHRI in this case could only appeal because it did not have the authority to regulate and crack down on the rampant illegal or unlicensed development at the borderline of ravine. The authority to regulate it actually lay in the hands of local government. However, all this time the government still seemed to abandon and had not taken meaningful action.

Actually, continued Putranata, when compared to other counties, the Bangli tourism had not showed off its optimal development. The Bangli tourism being famous so far was caused by the scenic beauty of Kintamani re-lying only on the mountain and lake. “Travelers visiting Kintamani are actually not just looking for delicious meal, but also wanted to see natural scenery that is not avail-able elsewhere. But with the presence of illegal buildings at the borderline of the abyss even hampers the existing landscape,” he said.

Besides, another impact caused by the decrease in the quality of tourism was competition to get tourists. Not a few hoteliers and restaurateurs struggled bitterly for getting travelers. To that end, his party hoped there would be no more additional restaurants in Kintamani region including the illegal ones. If later on the reform effort made by the gov-ernment had been successful, it would be resumed with the thinking about refurbishment of the accommodation such as inn, hotel and restaurant. “Yes, the unlicensed development should now be stopped,” pleased Putranata.

All this time, the beauty of Mount Batur and Lake Batur in Kintamani was much hindered by the presence of illegal buildings in the borderline of the ravine. Condition of the Kintamani tourism was no longer recognized by many parties as beautiful as ever before. It was recognized as one of the triggers causing the drop of Kintamani image in the eyes of travelers. (ina)

Bungalow owned by county govt suffers a loss for whole yearSemarapura (Bali Post)—

Bungalow at Batununggul village, Nusa Penida, has long been neglected. This asset of Klungkung County almost collapses because it is slipshod. Apparently, this bungalow keeps on suffering a loss throughout the year. More apprehensively, for instance, its monthly income is not adequate to pay water bills.

PHRI Bangli expects to stop illegal buildings in Kintamani

IBP/FileThe illegal buldings in Kintamani

But it takes only a few minutes for the worshippers to utter the Malay and Arabic word for God that has become a festering source of contention in the Muslim-majority country, deepening ethnic divisions and tarnishing its moderate im-age. “We believe in Allah, the father almighty, creator of heaven and earth,” the 300 or so faithful chant.

A long tussle over who can say “Allah” in Malaysia has flared anew, as Islamization that many see as driven by political forces threat-ens to erode the secular constitution and minority rights in the ethnically diverse country following a divisive election last year.

A court ruling last October in favor of the government’s case that Allah is exclusive to Mus-lims was followed this month

by the seizure of more than 300 Malay-language Bibles by Islamic authorities using a little-known state law. Lawyers say the row now threatens to become a constitutional crisis as the federal charter’s guarantee of religious freedom is challenged by more assertive enforcement of little-used state laws and decrees by Malaysia’s royal sultans - who have the authority to appoint cler-ics and instruct religious police.

The crisis appeared to deepen on Sunday when Malaysia’s king, regarded as the defender of the Is-lamic faith, gave his backing to the October court ruling, the first time the largely ceremonial head of state has weighed in on the issue.

Malaysian police have recom-mended prominent Catholic priest Lawrence Andrew be charged with

sedition for saying churches would keep saying Allah in Selangor, Ma-laysia’s most populous and richest state which neighbors the capital Kuala Lumpur. The tussle over the right to use the word is uniquely Malaysian, bemusing many reli-gious scholars even in countries with a reputation for much stricter Islam.

“When I go through Facebook you can see people are saying Ma-laysia is being such a funny country, we have become the laughter of the world,” said Richenda Raphael, a 25-year-old worshipper at the Catholic Mass.

“In Saudi Arabia all people can use the Allah word, but here we can’t. We should stop this,” said Raphael, who moved to Kuala Lumpur from the Borneo state of Sabah five years ago.

The latest bout of tension, and confusion, over the word was trig-gered by a court ruling in October that Andrew’s Catholic newspaper could not use Allah because it was not “an integral part of the faith in Christianity”. A federal court will hear an appeal by the Catholic Church in March.

Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran — Ahead of the start of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, an official in the Islamic Republic called limiting uranium enrichment and diluting its stockpile the country’s “most important commitments,” state radio reported Sunday. The comments by Behrouz Kama-lvandi, a spokesman of Iran’s atomic department, show how the government of moderate Presi-dent Hassan Rouhani welcomes the deal, which begins Monday. International inspectors also already have arrived in Tehran, preparing for the government opening its facilities to them.

“Implementation of mutual commitments in the framework of the Geneva deal will begin from tomorrow,” Kamalvandi said. “Under the agreement, suspension of 20-percent en-richment of uranium — and the diluting of the current stockpile of enriched uranium — are the most important commitments of our country.”

Iran struck the deal in Novem-ber with the so-called P5+1 coun-tries — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. Negotiators agreed to final terms of the deal Jan. 13.

Under the agreement, Iran will limit its uranium enrichment to 5 percent — the grade commonly used to power reactors. The deal also commits Iran to stop produc-ing 20 percent enriched uranium — which is only a technical step away from weapons-grade material — and to neutralize its 20 percent stockpile over the six months.

In exchange, economic sanc-tions Iran faces would be eased for six months. Senior officials in U.S. President Barack Obama’s

administration have put the total relief figure at some $7 billion. During the six months, negotia-tions between Iran and the world powers would continue in hopes of reaching a permanent deal.

The West fears Iran’s nuclear program could allow it to build an atomic weapon. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, like power generation and medical research.

On Saturday a team of interna-tional inspectors arrived in Teh-ran in preparation of beginning their inspections. They will visit Fordo, where Iran enriches its 20 percent uranium, as well as its Natanz facility, which produces 5 percent enriched uranium, to ensure the country complies with the deal.

Kamalvandi said Sunday that Iran will use centrifuges now producing 20 percent enriched uranium to instead produce 5 per-cent enriched uranium to comply with the agreement.

But suspicions remain high in both Tehran and Washington after decades of hostility dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran that ousted the U.S.-backed shah dynasty. Rouhani, Iran’s new reformist president, has reached out to the West, but must depend on support from Iran’s top decision-maker, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for his initiatives amid criticism from hard-line factions.

Hard-liners in Iran have al-ready called the deal a “poison chalice” and are threatening legislation to increase uranium enrichment. Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers have threatened to pass new sanctions legislation against Iran that would take ef-fect if Tehran violates the interim nuclear deal or lets it expire with-out a follow-up accord.

Iran prepares for start of landmark nuclear deal

AP Photo/Mehr News Agency, Majid Asgaripour, FileFILE -- This Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010 file photo, shows the reactor building of the Bushehr nuclear power plant just outside the southern city of Bushehr, Iran.

Malaysia’s God problem erupts, tarnishing moderate image

To march Feature RELGION-MALAYSIA/ REUTERS/Samsul Said A woman prays inside the church of Our Lady of Lourdes at Klang, outside Kuala Lumpur January 12, 2014. The Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church seems like a model for the multicultural, tolerant Malaysia that its government likes to present to the outside world.

Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR - The Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church seems like a model for the multicultural, tolerant Malaysia that its government likes to present to the outside world. An ethnic Chinese priest conducts the service in the Malay language to a congregation made up of migrants from the country’s eastern Borneo island states along with a handful of Vietnamese immigrants.

Based on a story of word to mouth, the Sengawang Temple or also known as Dalem Sengawang Temple poses a temple standing in the middle of an area called Sengawang hamlet formerly in-habited just by nine people.

It is said that once upon a time there was an internal conflict in the royal family of Perean Kingdom so the king left the palace with a pregnant wife. They did not know where to go. At dawn, they heard the sound of roosters. Afterward, the king was attempting to look for the source of sound. In fact, it was from the Sengawang hamlet. At that hamlet, the king asked for a political asylum or protection. The hamlet then established a kingdom at Marga, where previ-ously it was a forest. Residents of Sengawang hamlet were then appointed the guards and subject of the kingdom. Allegedly, it hap-pened during the era of Udayana Kingdom.

A local leader doubling as former chief of Ole Hamlet, Wayan Gerda, told that due to a fight between the local residents and those from the surrounding villages that looked for help to Mengwi, the Sengawan residents moved northwardly. Later, the areas were known as the hamlet of Bun, Samuan, Adeng, and Ole. Having been left by all residents, the Sengawang Temple did not have supporting devotees. Never-theless, the temple was constantly believed to have sacredness and uniqueness. It was considered to nurture the subak existing in the surrounding area. Even, the

temple was always considered to have given a blessing of fertility to rice fields in the vicinity.

A farmer of Subak Sengawang, Wayan Sumajaya, once heard about various myths at issue related to the temple. Once upon a time, almost all the subak ter-ritories in Marga and Tunjuk area were attacked by rats. Paddy plants at Subak Sengawang were not attacked by those rats. So since then, all residents at Ole customary village believed that they may not sell their land within the subak territory because the land area was considered special.

Another uniqueness of the Subak Sengawang was that no one might perform evil deeds or say rude. Venerated deity in the Sengawang Temple did not like people who did so. For example, one day there was a person say-ing rude and he was suddenly attacked by bees.

In reality, there were no bee nests at the surrounding area. Blessings of the Sengawang Temple had also been known by people beyond the Ole customary village, whereas the temple was not known. For some times, there were some people from outside the customary village coming to invoke herbal medicine and paid for it. The people claimed to know the temple from his dreams. “Many people from outside the village suddenly would like to present offering to the temple because they know the temple from a dream,” said Sumajaya. (kmb)

Bali News Tuesday, January 21, 2014 5InternationalTuesday, January 21, 201412 International

ACCORDING to Javanese chron-icle and a Dutch writer, François Valentyn, in the 17th century Blam-bangan was the subordinate of Sura-baya. However, people still call the statement into doubt. Obviously, Sul-tan Agung from Mataram Kingdom (1613-1646) attacked Blambangan in 1633 but he was never able to conquer it. Blambangan was conquered by I Gusti Anglurah Panji Sakti, the king

of Buleleng in North Bali. Possibly, with the help of Surapati, the king of Blambangan Tawang Alun could be defeated. Temporarily, Ki Gusti Ngurah Panji Sakti appointed his representative to govern Blamban-gan. He handed over the authority of Blambangan Kingdom to Cokorda Agung Mengwi after he married to the daughter of King of Mengwi.

After Blambangan was under

control of Mengwi, Badung, it was appointed the descendant of King Tawang Alun to rule the Blambangan, namely Prince Danuningrat. To bind the loyalty, he was married to the daughter of Cokorda Agung Mengwi. Before becoming an independent kingdom, Blambangan belonged to the dominion of Bali. Mengwi King-dom once ruled this region.

Meanwhile, the endeavor of Mat-aram Sultanate to conquest the Blam-bangan was never successful. That’s why the Blambangan (and Banyu-wangi in general) never belonged to the Central Javanese culture. So far, the region has quite different variety of language from the standard Java-nese language. The influence of Bali can also be seen in various kinds of dancing arts originating from the Blambangan area. (BTN)

Sengawang Temple:

A sanctum to invoke fertility blessing

Relation between Blambangan to Mengwi Kingdom

Is there any relationship of Blambangan Kingdom to Mengwi King-dom in Badung, Bali? According to Wikipedia, the Blambangan King-dom is a kingdom located on the easternmost region of Java Island. It

is considered as the last Hindu kingdom in Java in the 16th century, where the only significant Muslim kingdom in East Java at that time was Pasuruan. Other regions were still under control of Hindu ruler.

Allegedly, a war had exploded between Pasuruan and Blambangan in 1540s, 1580s and 1590s. In the meantime, the capital of Blambangan

seemed to have been conquered in 1600 or 1601.

IBP/File Photo

IBP

TABANAN - Aside from having trinity temples, the Ole Customary Village, Marga Dauh Puri, Marga Subdistrict, Tabanan, also has an old temple standing amidst the local rice fields. Since many decades ago, the temple ever did not have supporting devotees because it was left by residents in the vicinity. However, this year the temple is restored where the inauguration along with the anniversary ritual was held on Buda Wage Klawu.

IBP/File Photo

Associated Press

BEIJING \ China’s economic growth decelerated in the final quarter of 2013 and appears set to slow fur-ther, adding to pressure on its leaders to shore up an expansion as they try to implement sweeping reforms.

The world’s second-largest econ-omy grew by 7.7 percent over a year earlier, down from previous quarter’s 7.8 percent, data showed Monday. Growth for the full year was 7.7 percent, tying 2012 for the weakest annual performance since 1999.

Those figures appeared to mask a much sharper deterioration during the three months ending in December.

Factory output, exports and invest-ment all weakened. Growth in factory output in the final three months of 2013 dropped to 1.8 percent from the previous period’s 2.2 percent rate.

“The economy is slowing quite rapidly. The slowdown has acceler-ated during the quarter,” said econo-mist Dariusz Kowalczyk of Credit Agricole CIB.

That weakness might force Bei-jing to resort to state-led investment to support an expansion. That would boost debt levels that already have prompted unease about the health of China’s financial system and could hamper efforts to shift to more self-sustaining growth based on domestic

consumption.China’s growth still is far stronger

than the United States, Japan or Eu-rope. But an unexpectedly abrupt de-cline from the blistering double-digit rates of the previous decade has raised the risk of politically dangerous job losses and increases the challenges faced by the ruling Communist Party as it tries to rebalance the economy away from reliance on trade and investment.

“A long-term accumulation of problems has yet to ease and the foun-dation for economic stabilization and recovery is still consolidating,” said the commissioner of the government statistics bureau, Ma Jiantang, at a

news conference.A plunge in global demand for

Chinese exports prompted Beijing to launch a mini-stimulus in mid-2013 based on higher spending on railway construction and other public works. Growth accelerated from 7.5 percent in the three months ending in June to 7.8 percent the next quarter but settled back as the effect of Beijing’s spending faded.

Since then, Chinese leaders have said there is little that additional stimulus can do to spur growth and improvements will have to come from longer-term reforms.

The International Monetary Fund has forecast this year’s growth at 7.6 percent but private sector forecasts are as low as 7.2 percent. That would be China’s weakest performance since 1990, when the economy grew by just 3.8 percent. A development blueprint issued by the party leader-ship in November promises to open state-dominated industries wider to private and foreign competition and to give entrepreneurs who generate most of China’s growth and jobs a bigger economic role. However, it stressed that state ownership would remain a pillar of the economy.

The plan promises to allow foreign companies into industries such as e-commerce, accounting and logistics and to give Chinese entrepreneurs more opportunities. Regulators an-nounced this month they will allow the creation of five privately financed banks this year. But such changes could take years to show an impact on China’s economic output.

More reliance on investment financed by government borrowing might add to strains on a financial system some analysts say could al-

ready be carrying dangerously high debt levels.

Heavy spending by Chinese cities and other local governments as part of Beijing’s stimulus in response to the 2008 global crisis and on social programs since then left them heavily indebted. An official audit released at the end of December showed the amount owed by cities and other local governments soared 70 percent over the past three years to 17.7 trillion yuan ($2.9 trillion) as of mid-2013.

The central bank has said the debt level is manageable but private sector analysts warn the rapid pace of in-crease is dangerous. Growth for 2013 came in above the government’s 7.5 percent official target but data showed many areas of the economy slowing toward the end of the year. Growth in factory output slowed to 9.7 percent in December from 10.3 percent in October, the first month of the quarter. Investment in factories, real estate and other fixed assets decelerated to 17.1 percent from 19.4 percent over the same period.

Growth in retail sales was steady but full-year retail sales growth of 13.1 percent was well below the 19.6 percent growth of investment, highlighting China’s reliance on spending on factories, highways and other assets.

“There is no rebalancing yet. Basi-cally investment continues to be the key driver,” said Kowalczyk.

Analysts also noted that household income growth, though relatively strong at 9.7 percent last year, was lower than in previous years. That, coupled with an impending contrac-tion of China’s workforce as the population ages, will hamper efforts to promote consumer spending.

China set up the FTZ in the com-mercial hub in September last year, promising to make the zone a show-case for financial reforms, which have slowed over the last decade.

“We will make all-out efforts to build the FTZ,” mayor Yang Xiong told lawmakers at the annual meeting

of the city’s legislature.“To intensify opening up and in-

novation in the financial sector... we will seek substantive progress with pilot reforms,” he said in a speech.

He said these reforms included convertibility of the yuan currency under the capital account, cross-

border settlement of the yuan and interest rate liberalisation.

China keeps a tight grip on its capital account -- investment and financial transactions, rather than those related to trade -- on worries that unpredictable inflows or outflows could harm the economy and reduce its control over it. Convertibility of the yuan -- allowing the currency to be freely bought and sold, and with it the movement of funds into and out of China -- is the main obstacle preventing Shanghai from competing

with global financial centres such as New York and London.

China currently sets deposit rates by administrative order, but the cen-tral bank began allowing banks to decide their own lending rates last year, in a long-awaited move.

Yang said the government would also revise a “negative list” of what is barred in the FTZ in a timely way. The list was sharply criticised for being too long and restrictive and officials say a new one will be announced for this year. Shanghai would also work

towards the launch of crude oil futures, Yang said, but gave no launch date.

Officials have previously said the futures product would be offered through the FTZ. Shanghai also planned to “gear up” for the start of operations of a new Disney theme park in the city, Yang said.

City officials earlier this month reaffirmed a deadline for the opening of the park to visitors in 2015. The park will be the second in China after another in its special administrative region of Hong Kong.

In Shanghai FTZ

China pledges progress on currency reforms Agence France-Presse

SHANGHAI - Shanghai’s mayor on Sunday pledged to make major progress this year on key financial reforms in the city’s new free-trade zone (FTZ) including full convertibility of China’s currency.

In 2013

China’s economy grows 7.7 percent

AP PhotoIn this Dec. 10, 2013 photo, trucks carry containers that were unloaded from a ship at a port in Qingdao, in eastern China’s Shandong.

BUSINESS

Tuesday, January 21, 2014 Tuesday, January 21, 20146 11International International

INDONESIAW RLD

Despite appeals from opposition leaders not to resort to violence, and a personal intervention from boxer-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko, protesters continued to throw smoke bombs and hurl fireworks and other objects at police. The police appeared to show restraint during that fracas. The Interior Ministry said 30 police were hurt, including more than 10 admitted to hospital and four in serious condition.

A spokeswoman for Klitschko tweeted that President Viktor Yanukovich had agreed to meet Klitschko immediately at the presi-dential residence outside Kiev, although there was no confirmation from Yanukovich’s side. Klitschko later tweeted that the president had agreed to set up a committee on Monday to settle the political crisis.

As tensions continued into the night, police used water cannon against demonstrators gathered near the parliament building and the heavily protected government headquarters, eyewitnesses said. Earlier, some distance away from the clashes, up to 100,000 Ukraini-ans massed on Kiev’s Independence Square in defiance of the sweep-ing new laws, which ban rallies and which Washington and other Western capitals have denounced as undemocratic.

In Washington, the White House said it was “deeply concerned” about the violence on Sunday in Kiev and urged both sides to “de-escalate the situation.” “The increasing tension in Ukraine is a direct consequence of the govern-ment failing to acknowledge the legitimate grievances of its people,” National Security Council spokes-woman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement. “Instead, it has moved to weaken the foundations of Ukraine’s democracy by criminal-izing peaceful protest and stripping civil society and political opponents of key democratic protections under the law.”

Urging the Ukraine government to repeal the “anti-democratic leg-islation,” withdraw riot police from downtown Kiev and begin a dia-logue with the opposition, Hayden added, “The U.S. will continue to consider additional steps - includ-ing sanctions - in response to the use of violence.”

The rally, the biggest of the new year, was the latest in a cycle of public protests in the former Soviet republic since Yanukovich made a policy U-turn in November away from the European Union towards Russia, Ukraine’s former Soviet overlord. Several big protests in December attracted hundreds of thousands of people, while thou-sands maintained a vigil in a Kiev

square demanding Yanukovich resign. Since the new year demon-strations have become smaller, but hundreds of people are still camp-ing in the square and 50,000 turned out a week ago.

COURT BAN

The court ban on protests published on Wednesday, and last Thursday’s legislation aimed at prohibiting all form of public protests, have inflamed tensions again. The laws ban any unauthor-ised installation of tents, stages or use of loudspeakers in public.

Heavy jail sentences were im-posed for participation in “mass disorder” and the wearing of face-masks or protective helmets. Dissemination of “extremist” or libellous information about the country’s leaders was outlawed. In a gesture of scorn for the hel-met ban, many protesters on Sun-day wore saucepans and colanders on their heads.

The crisis has highlighted a divide in the country of 46 million people between those, particularly in Russian-speaking eastern areas, who identify more closely with a shared past with Russia, and those, especially in the Ukrainian-speaking parts of western and central Ukraine, who look westwards.

Agence France Presse

Washington - A new threat to the upcoming Winter Olympics surfaced Sunday as US lawmakers worried about attacks at the Games to be hosted by Russia. In a video posted on a well-known jihadi forum, two men believed to have been suicide bombers in last month’s deadly bombings in Volgograd speak of them -- and warned of more.

“We’ve prepared a present for you and all tourists who’ll come over,” the video says in part. “If you hold the Olympics, you’ll get a present from us for the Muslim blood that’s been spilled.” The US-based SITE Monitoring Service identified the men as “purported Volgograd bomb-ers Suleiman and Abdul Rahman.”

December suicide bombings at a railway station and on a trolley-bus in the southern Russian city -- which investigators have linked to suspects from the mostly Muslim republic of Dagestan -- killed 34 and injured dozens.

Islamist insurgents based in North Caucasus republics such as Dag-estan who are seeking their own independent state have vowed to disrupt the Sochi Games in order to undermine Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The threats are real. They are basically calling for attacks on the Olympics. I think you’re going to see attempts to do that,” said Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

The Republican, in an interview from Moscow with ABC’s “This Week,” said Russian authorities were taking the threats seriously, deploying 100,000 security officials to erect a “ring of steel” to secure the Sochi airport, mountain trains and the Games themselves. If there were attacks, he said, they would more likely be directed at soft targets like transportation.

The congressman added that the diplomatic security corps said it was getting good cooperation from the Russians, and noted that two dozen FBI agents were assigned to the massive sports event.

But “it could be a lot better. I want to press that while here,” he added, saying he wanted to know more about emergency evacuation planning. Another key congressman, House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers, said Russian authorities were clearly concerned about security.

Reuters

BEIJING - A Chinese court sentenced a man to life in prison on Monday for poisoning frozen dumplings more than six years ago at the plant where he worked, making ill four Chinese and nine Japanese consumers and further straining ties between the two countries. The court in the northern city of Shijiazhuang found Lu Yueting, 39, guilty of adding dangerous substances to food, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Lu, who worked at the Tianyang Food Plant, hoped he could “attract the attention of his managers in order to boost his salary” by injecting insecticide into the frozen dumplings with syringes, Xinhua reported, based on court proceedings. He sneaked into the factory’s refrigerated storehouse three times between October and December 2007 to carry out the deed.

After reports of the poisoning surfaced, Chinese security and quality wathdogs initially blamed Japanese “sabotage” for contaminating the dump-lings. The sentence coincides with worsening ties between Asia’s two largest economies. Tensions have focused on a row over a group of islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries as well as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit last month to a controversial shrine for war dead.

Chinese police detained Lu in March 2010, Xinhua reported. Lu confessed to the crime during his July 2013 trial, saying he felt sorry for the people he had made ill.

Food safety scandals, from chemical-laced dairy products to recycled “gutter oil” used in cooking, have plagued Chinese companies and weighed on consumer confidence in China and abroad. The verdict was delivered with officials from the Japanese embassy in Beijing in atten-dance, Xinhua reported.

Protesters throw stones during clashes with police,

in central Kiev, Ukraine, early Monday, Jan. 20, 2014.

Protesters clash with police at large Ukraine rally

Reuters

KiEV - Protesters clashed with riot police in the Ukrainian capital on sunday after tough anti-protest legislation, which the political opposition says paves the way for a police state, was rushed through parliament last week. a group of young masked demonstrators attacked a cordon of police with sticks and tried to overturn a bus blocking their way to the parliament building after opposition politicians called on people to disregard the new legislation.

AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

Chinese factory worker sentenced to life for poisoning dumplings

Threat surfaces as US lawmakers fret over Olympics security

Agence France-PresseHONG KONG - Thousands of

domestic helpers took to the streets of Hong Kong Sunday to demand justice for an Indonesian maid al-legedly tortured by her employers, the second such rally in a week.

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 22, was reportedly left unable to walk following eight months of abuse in the southern Chinese city and was admitted to an Indonesian hospital in critical condition last week after returning home.

Protesters including maids, rights activists and migrant group members marched through the commercial area of Wanchai, many brandishing the Indonesian national flag and chanting slogans including

“Justice for Erwiana”.They handed a petition to Hong

Kong Police Commissioner Tsang Wai-hun urging faster progress in the case before marching to the city’s government headquarters.

“We want the investigation to speed up and we demand the Hong Kong government to stop abuses on domestic helpers in Hong Kong,” Eni Lestari, chairwoman of the International Migrants Alliance and rally spokeswoman, told reporters at the protest.

The allegations have renewed concern about the treatment of do-mestic helpers in the former British colony following a spate of similar abuse cases and recent criticism by rights groups.

Hong Kong police had at first categorised the alleged torture as a miscellaneous case but last week launched a criminal investigation after an outcry by domestic helpers in the city.

On Friday authorities said in-vestigators will travel to Indonesia to speak to Sulistyaningsih, who remains in hospital in Sragen on the main island of Java.

“Without this kind of protest the case of Erwiana will never go to the public or go to the court. There will be no justice,” Lestari said, adding that two other maids have since come forward alleging abuse at the hands of the same employer.

The agency that employed Erwi-ana has said they were unaware of

her injuries until they were notified by their corresponding agency in Indonesia.

Organisers claimed around 5,000 people participated in the rally, a sharp increase in numbers from a similar march on Thursday which drew several dozen protesters.

Hong Kong police were not im-mediately available for comment on Sunday.

The semi-autonomous Chinese city is home to nearly 300,000 maids from mainly Southeast Asian countries -- predominantly Indone-sia and the Philippines -- and criti-cism from rights groups over their treatment is growing.

A Hong Kong couple were jailed in September for attacks on their

Indonesian domestic helper, which included burning her with an iron and beatings with a bike chain.

Amnesty International in No-vember condemned the “slavery-like” conditions faced by thousands of Indonesian women who work in the Asian financial hub as domestic staff and accused authorities of “inexcusable” inaction.

It found that Indonesians were exploited by recruitment and place-ment agencies who seize their docu-ments and charge them excessive fees, with false promises of high salaries and good working condi-tions.

Domestic helpers in Hong Kong are paid about HK$4,000 ($515) a month.

The Piper Seneca turboprop was flying from the eastern region of Papua to Tual city in the Maluku Islands when it was caught in a storm around midday.

Witness Akib Hanubun told AFP the aircraft was pounded by fierce

winds and rain before being hit by lightning and crashing near a vil-lage.

“The plane’s left wing broke after it was struck by lightning,” the 47-year-old told AFP.

“Then the plane appeared to tilt to

one side before crashing to the ground loudly and bursting into flames.”

He added that rescuers pulled out “four completely charred bodies from the wreckage. It was the most frightening sight”.

Transport ministry spokesman

Bambang Ervan confirmed that all four people on board the aircraft were killed instantly.

“They were the pilot, two engi-neers and a ground handler,” he said, adding he had no further details about the crash at this stage.

The Piper Seneca is produced by US-based Piper Aircraft. The jet that crashed was operated by Intan Angkasa Air Service, according to Ervan.

The company’s website says it

supports “the oil and gas, mining, survey, forestry and many other in-dustries” across Indonesia.

Indonesia, a sprawling archi-pelago, relies heavily on air transport but has one of Asia’s poorest aviation safety records.

In April last year a Lion Air passenger jet carrying 108 people crashed into the sea after missing the runway as it came in to land on the resort island of Bali. No one died but dozens were injured.

Plane crashes in Papua, 4 deadAgence France-Presse

JAKARTA - A light aircraft crashed and burst into flames on a beach in eastern Indonesia Sunday after being hit by lightning, killing all four people on board, an official and eyewit-ness said.

Indonesian maid allegedly tortured Thousands of Hong Kong domestic helpers rally

AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara

A woman covers her nose and mouth from volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Sinabung in Sibintun, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014. The volcano has been erupting since September, forcing more

than 20,000 people who live around it slopes to flee their homes to several temporary shelters.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014 7SportsTuesday, January 21, 201410 InternationalInternationalDestination

IBP

MANGUPURA - Plaga is a village located in Bali, exactly in the region of North Badung. The village is rich in natural resources and the potential of tourism is also promising. Many things can be explored there. Besides several tourist attractions such as Puncak Mangu and Tukad Bangkung Bridge which called the highest in all of Asia, in this area there is also an area that can be used for tracking which of course will be very interesting for tourists who love adventure and outdoor sports activities.

The trekking path to be followed is through the plantation where there are many different kinds of plants and crops that we can meet. In detail, the trekking activity be-gins at Banjar Kiadan pavilion to do breakfast or lunch depending on the time set to start the trekking itself. Then proceed to the inn as a place to stay for the tourists. Not far from the inn, there is a building that is used to store coffee beans. If we go farther we will find the planta-tion that stretched wide variety of plants contained in them.

When we are entering the plan-tation, we will be greeted by some herbal plants arranged neatly, then

passed to the area of chayote which grows fertile. Farther then we will arrive in an area with a majority of bamboo plants that are embedded. Then spin a little bit we will find garden full of oranges and papa-yas. From that place, we will have two options, continue the trekking or back to the inn. If we want to continue then there are many more interesting things that we can find.

With such a vast plantation areas, beautiful scenery, beautiful sur-roundings and all natural resources within it then this is a good and very interesting tracking area which can be served as another option of tour-ism in North Badung region.

IBP/Net

Trekking in Plaga

Hindered by a hip niggle, the 2008 champion admitted that the year’s first grand slam had probably come a little early after she missed the U.S. Open and back end of last season with a shoulder injury. “I certainly would have loved to play a little bit more before playing a grand slam, but this is the chance that I was given,” the Russian said.

“It’s tough. I will be genuine about it. It’s never easy (but) it’s moments like this that ultimately shape you and make you who you are, and that’s how you bounce back.” Men’s top seed Rafa Nadal knows plenty about coming back from injury and he was in action later on Monday against Japan’s Kei Nishikori. The Spaniard’s fellow members of the “Big Four”, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, will also

be out to seal their places in the quarter-finals. The final member of the quartet, Novak Djokovic, secured his last eight-berth on Sunday.

As the only surviving top three seed left in the women’s draw, Azarenka looks to be running out of serious challengers as she charts her course towards a third succes-sive title.

Her 6-3 6-2 victory over Sloane Stephens had none of the edge of last year’s semi-final, when the Belarusian took a medical timeout after blowing five match points, and she sealed a comfortable win in 91 minutes.

CHIPS AND SALSADespite taking a ball at full force

in the groin - “I thought she was going to move and she didn’t,” said

Stephens - the second seed said she could not have felt more at home on Rod Laver Arena. “I just love playing here. It feels so cosy. It feels like I’m in my living room, on my couch,” she said. “I can have some chips and salsa - that’s how it feels.”

The second seed denied that the departure of Williams and Sharapova left her and last year’s losing finalist Li Na as favourites for the title. “I don’t consider any-body as the favourite, I just go out there and play my best,” she said. “We’ve seen over the last couple of days that somebody can bring their best game on any given day. You have to stay alert.”

Defeat for Stephens ended all American interest in the singles before the quarter-final for the sec-ond time in four years in Melbourne but the 20-year-old said she would be back.

“You just go out and do your best,” she said. “Unfortunately I didn’t win today, but there will be others.” Next up for Azarenka is the winner of the final match of the day between fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska and rising Spanish tal-ent Garbine Muguruza.

Associated Press Writer

ORLANDO, Florida — Ar-ron Afflalo had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Tobias Harris added 18 points as the Orlando Magic ended a season-high 10-game losing streak with a 93-91 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. After several ties in the fourth quarter, Harris hit a pair of free throws with 10.1 seconds remaining to give Orlando the victory.

The win also ends 10-game regular-season losing streak to the Celtics. Boston has lost nine straight on the road and 11 of 12 overall. Jeff Green led the Celtics with 22 points.

At Phoenix, Channing Frye scored a season-high 30 points be-fore sitting out the final 9½ min-utes to watch the Suns wrap up their 117-103 romp over the Den-ver Nuggets. Frye, who missed all of last season for treatment of an enlarged heart, made 12 of 16 shots, 5 of 7 3-pointers, to fall three points shy of his career high.

Markieff Morris scored 16 and

Goran Dragic 15 for the Suns, who never trailed and improved to 3-0 against Denver this season with one game to play. Anthony Randolph scored a season-best 19 for the Nuggets, who have lost four of five and were without guard Randy Foye because of a stomach virus.

Oklahoma City’s Kevin Du-rant scored 30 points to lead the Thunder past the Sacramento Kings 108-93. Durant, coming off a career-high 54 points Friday against Golden State, shot 10 for 15 from the field and had nine as-sists. He scored at least 30 points for the seventh straight game.

Serge Ibaka added 20 points and Reggie Jackson had 16 for the Thunder, who won their third straight. Isaiah Thomas scored a career-high 38 points for the Kings, but he slowed in the second half as the Thunder pulled away.

The Los Angeles Lakers downed the Toronto Raptors 112-106 for just its third win in 15 games after Nick Young returned from suspension to score 29 points and Pau Gasol had 22.

REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic Maria Sharapova of Russia reacts during her women’s singles match against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia at the Australian Open 2014 tennis tournament in Melbourne January 20, 2014.

Azarenka advances, Sharapova exits in MelbourneReuters

MELBOURNE - Maria Sharapova joined Serena Williams in mak-ing an early exit from the Australian Open on Monday but defending champion Victoria Azarenka swept into the quarter-finals with an 18th straight victory at Melbourne Park. A day after Ana Ivanovic’s stunning upset of Williams blew open the top half of the draw, third seed Sharapova was also scratched from the title race with a 3-6 6-4 6-1 loss to Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova.

Magic down Celtics 93-91 to end 10-game slide

AP Photo/John RaouxBoston Celtics’ Jeff Green, right, takes a shot over Orlando Magic’s Arron Afflalo (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014.

98 InternationalTuesday, January 21, 2014 International Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Sp rt

But Atletico conceded a second-half penalty at home against Sevilla to also finish 1-1 and squander its chance to rise to the sole lead in the standings for the first time since September 2010. “We had a good opportunity, but this is a long race,” said Atletico defender Filipe Luis. “It’s very difficult to compete with Real Madrid and Barcelona.”

Madrid trailed the co-leaders by five points two rounds ago, but while it has kept on winning— most re-cently with a 5-0 rout of bottom-side Real Betis on Saturday— Barcelona and Atletico drew with one another last round and have slipped again just past the season’s midway mark.

Levante went ahead through Loukas Vyntra’s 10th-minute header, and its staunch defense did enough to take a measure of vengeance for the 7-0 thrashing Barcelona dealt the team in the season opener.

Gerard Pique leveled for Bar-celona in the 19th, but Levante defender Juanfran Garcia saved the visitors’ two best chances in the sec-ond half. “We were unlucky because we created scoring chances,” Messi said. “We did everything possible to win.”

Elsewhere, striker Ikechukwu Uche scored his sixth goal in his last three league games to help Villarreal beat Almeria 2-0, while

Getafe erased a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw at home with Real Sociedad. Far from the side that Barcelona humiliated in August, Levante lived up to its reputation as one of the league’s best defenses by packing its area and largely limiting the visitors to long strikes that either crashed into bodies or sailed harm-lessly wide.

Joaquin Caparros’ side claimed the early lead when Vyntra rose up over Pique to head Andreas Ivanschitz’s corner kick down and beyond the diving goalkeeper Vic-tor Valdes. Pique made up for his slack marking by scoring an almost exact replica of the opener, jumping

higher than a pair of defenders to redirect Xavi Hernandez’s corner inside the far post.

Messi, in his fourth game back after a long injury layoff, worked a one-two passing combination in close quarters with Cesc Fabregas to manufacture Barcelona’s best chance in the 59th, but goalkeeper Keylor Navas saved Messi’s shot. Garcia was well positioned to block Xavi’s follow-up attempt, and three minutes later the center back used his foot to turn away Messi’s goal-bound strike.

Barcelona’s frustrating night was summed up when Fabregas violently struck the dugout cover after coach Gerardo Martino re-placed him with Sergio Roberto in the 73rd. With Neymar and Andres Iniesta both unavailable due to injury, Martino turned to Cristian Tello and B-team forward Jean Dongou as late substitutes. But Navas palmed Tello’s late attempt

wide to protect the point.“In our first meeting (with Bar-

celona) it felt like a tribute game to Neymar in his debut,” Caparros said. “My team has changed a lot because you can’t make a team in a day, not even in two or four months.” Atletico started brightly when David Villa rifled in a clear-ance by Sevilla goalkeeper Antonio “Beto” Bastos in the 18th at Vicente Calderon Stadium.

But Atletico didn’t seriously threaten to extend its advantage and it was undone when defender Juanfran Torres pulled Sevilla striker Carlos Bacca down by his shirt in the area.

Ivan Rakitic fired the spot kick into the corner of the net, just out of the reach of goalie Thibaut Courtois for the 73rd-minute equalizer. Sevilla finished with 10 men when Alberto Moreno was sent off with a straight red card for a

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi from Argen-tina duels for the ball with Levante’s El Zhar from France during their La Liga soc-cer match at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valen-cia, Spain, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014.

Associated Press Writer

PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain continued its relentless march toward a second straight French title after thrashing Nantes 5-0 with a superb display of attacking football on Sunday, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic once again in irrepressible form as he scored twice and turned provider for Edinson Cavani. Ibrahimovic drilled in a first-half penalty, then set up Cavani before grabbing his second of the night to take his league tally to 17 in 20 games season.

PSG never let up and could even have added further goals against a dispir- ited Nantes side. They will meet again next month in the semifinals of the League Cup and Nantes will hardly be looking forward to that contest. Center half Thiago Silva and midfielder Thiago Motta got PSG’s other goals.

“The lads did a lot of good things and I think if we carry on like this we can win the Champions League as well,” Silva

said. “I feel re- ally good here with everyone, the coach, the president and I think I will stay here until the end of my con- tract. Ibra is a great player with a big person- ality, and I think he will stay as well.”

Meanwhile, Monaco won 2-0 away to Toulouse and Lyon made it 10 games

unbeaten in all competitions with a 2-0 win at Reims. But Monaco’s win did little

to unsettle PSG as former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was among the appreciative

fans at Parc des Princes.“I think the players enjoyed it more than anyone,”

PSG coach Laurent Blanc said. “We could have eased up at 3-0 but the players wanted to score more, and that’s good.”

PSG took the lead from a corner in 10th minute when goalkeeper Remy Riou saved Cavani’s header and the rebound fell perfectly for Silva, giving him an easy finish from close range. PSG doubled its lead in the 36th when Ibrahimovic sent Riou the wrong way from the spot after defender Issa Cissokho had tripped Marco Verratti just inside the penalty area. The Sweden forward has scored six penalties this season.

Brazilian winger Lucas came on for Argentina’s Ezequiel Lavezzi at the start of the second half and within minutes he was involved in PSG’s third goal in the 51st. His deep, floating cross from the right was headed back by Blaise Matuidi and Motta reacted quickly to slide the ball in from close range.

Ibrahimovic found himself in space on the right wing and curled in a perfect pass to give Cavani his

13th goal of the season in the 58th, and Ibrahimovic slammed the ball past Riou after Matuidi and substitute

Javier Pastore combined to set him up in the 64th.“We didn’t do anything out there — in defense, midfield

or up front. They just did what they wanted. We just sat back and waited,” said Nantes winger Fabrice Pancrate, who used to play for PSG. “If you don’t play properly against a team like this, you get a result like that. We seemed to be terrified. I didn’t recognize my teammates out there.” Cavani missed two chances to make it 6-0 when he swiped a shot wide and then hit his shot straight at Riou after going clean through in the 87th.

Reuters

New coach Clarence Seedorf thanked AC Milan for having the courage to appoint him after watch-ing his side beat Hellas Verona 1-0 with a late Mario Balotelli penalty on his debut on Sunday. “The focus has been to rediscover the joy of playing, to do training sessions with the ball,” the Dutchman, who had no previous coaching experience and only took charge of his first practice on Thursday, told reporters.

“The club has had courage to ap-point me just as they did with Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello,” he added. “I’m happy for the team as there is a lot of work to do and winning makes it easier.” Despite the win, it was another unconvincing performance from Milan who struggled to create chances and always looked vulnerable in defence.

Balotelli side-footed home in the 82nd minute after Verona defender Alejandro Gonzalez had needlessly fouled Kaka, tripping the Brazilian with a clumsy tackle even though the ball was already heading out of play. Milan remained 11th with 25 points after only their sixth league win in 20 attempts this season.

Seedorf, who left Milan 18 months ago after spending ten years of his playing career there, was playing for Brazilian side Botafogo until Tuesday, when he received the invitation to take charge of Milan. The 37-year-old im-mediately cut short his playing career to accept the challenge and replace Massimiliano Allegri, who was fired last Monday after three-and-a-half years in charge. “Our rapport over 10 years helped the club understand a lot about me, as it was a long and intense time together on and off the field,” said Seedorf.

“The club hierarchy got an idea of who I am, what I’m like and my com-petence in the world of football.” The disappointingly small San Siro crowd had to wait 38 minutes for the first real chance when Balotelli cut inside and fired in a powerful low shot which was well saved by Verona goalkeeper Rafael, who denied Balotelli again one minute later when he blocked a free kick.

Associated Press Writer

LISBON, Portugal — Rodrigo Moreno scored two goals to help give Sporting Lisbon a 2-0 win at home over Maritimo and reclaim the lead of the Portuguese league on Sunday. Rodrigo opened in the 18th

minute and sealed the victory in the 35th on the break after receiving a pass by Lazar Markovic. Also, FC Porto stayed in touch with the top of the table by downing Setubal 3-0 at home.

Striker Jackson Martinez scored his 50th goal in a Porto shirt to get

the hosts rolling in the 11th. Silves-tre Varela added a second goal in the 35th before Carlos Eduardo capped the win three minutes from time. Benfica moved two points ahead of overnight leader Sporting Lisbon following its win on Saturday. Porto is a further point back.

Barca, Atletico held to draws, cling to co-leadAssociated Press Writer

BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both stumbled to draws on Sun-day, tightening the Spanish league title race with Real Madrid now only one point behind the co-leaders. Barcelona’s potent attack led by Lionel Messi was held 1-1 at Levante, leaving the door open for Atletico to later claim sole possession of the league lead.

Late Balotelli penalty gives Seedorf winning Milan start

AP Photo/Luca Bruno

AC Milan forward Mario Balotelli, left, celebrates after scoring with his teammate midfielder Riccardo Montolivo during a Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Hellas Verona, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014.

The first half ended with Riccardo Montolivo’s drive flying narrowly wide of Rafael’s goal. The second half followed a similar pattern as Milan struggled to put together moves and produced their chances in quick flurries.

Robinho hit the post with a de-flected shot in the 68th and in the following minute Balotelli threatened with a shot on the turn which was scooped up by Rafael.

Verona nearly went ahead when Martinho broke down the left and his shot was turned away by Christian Ab-biati, who shortly afterwards was nearly caught napping by Romulo’s dipping long-range effort from 30 metres. Seedorf paid tribute to the maverick Balotelli. “He’s a nice guy and a great talent who will be good for Milan and Italy. I hope I am able to help him im-prove, he has shown great willingness to be part of this change.”

Rodrigo’s brace restores Benfica’s league lead

Ibrahimovic scores twice as PSG routs Nantes 5-0

AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere

Paris Saint Germain’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Sweden celebrates after scoring the second goal, during the League One soc-cer match between Paris Saint Germain and Nantes at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Sunday Jan. 19, 2014.

AP Photo/Alberto Saiz

98 InternationalTuesday, January 21, 2014 International Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Sp rt

But Atletico conceded a second-half penalty at home against Sevilla to also finish 1-1 and squander its chance to rise to the sole lead in the standings for the first time since September 2010. “We had a good opportunity, but this is a long race,” said Atletico defender Filipe Luis. “It’s very difficult to compete with Real Madrid and Barcelona.”

Madrid trailed the co-leaders by five points two rounds ago, but while it has kept on winning— most re-cently with a 5-0 rout of bottom-side Real Betis on Saturday— Barcelona and Atletico drew with one another last round and have slipped again just past the season’s midway mark.

Levante went ahead through Loukas Vyntra’s 10th-minute header, and its staunch defense did enough to take a measure of vengeance for the 7-0 thrashing Barcelona dealt the team in the season opener.

Gerard Pique leveled for Bar-celona in the 19th, but Levante defender Juanfran Garcia saved the visitors’ two best chances in the sec-ond half. “We were unlucky because we created scoring chances,” Messi said. “We did everything possible to win.”

Elsewhere, striker Ikechukwu Uche scored his sixth goal in his last three league games to help Villarreal beat Almeria 2-0, while

Getafe erased a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw at home with Real Sociedad. Far from the side that Barcelona humiliated in August, Levante lived up to its reputation as one of the league’s best defenses by packing its area and largely limiting the visitors to long strikes that either crashed into bodies or sailed harm-lessly wide.

Joaquin Caparros’ side claimed the early lead when Vyntra rose up over Pique to head Andreas Ivanschitz’s corner kick down and beyond the diving goalkeeper Vic-tor Valdes. Pique made up for his slack marking by scoring an almost exact replica of the opener, jumping

higher than a pair of defenders to redirect Xavi Hernandez’s corner inside the far post.

Messi, in his fourth game back after a long injury layoff, worked a one-two passing combination in close quarters with Cesc Fabregas to manufacture Barcelona’s best chance in the 59th, but goalkeeper Keylor Navas saved Messi’s shot. Garcia was well positioned to block Xavi’s follow-up attempt, and three minutes later the center back used his foot to turn away Messi’s goal-bound strike.

Barcelona’s frustrating night was summed up when Fabregas violently struck the dugout cover after coach Gerardo Martino re-placed him with Sergio Roberto in the 73rd. With Neymar and Andres Iniesta both unavailable due to injury, Martino turned to Cristian Tello and B-team forward Jean Dongou as late substitutes. But Navas palmed Tello’s late attempt

wide to protect the point.“In our first meeting (with Bar-

celona) it felt like a tribute game to Neymar in his debut,” Caparros said. “My team has changed a lot because you can’t make a team in a day, not even in two or four months.” Atletico started brightly when David Villa rifled in a clear-ance by Sevilla goalkeeper Antonio “Beto” Bastos in the 18th at Vicente Calderon Stadium.

But Atletico didn’t seriously threaten to extend its advantage and it was undone when defender Juanfran Torres pulled Sevilla striker Carlos Bacca down by his shirt in the area.

Ivan Rakitic fired the spot kick into the corner of the net, just out of the reach of goalie Thibaut Courtois for the 73rd-minute equalizer. Sevilla finished with 10 men when Alberto Moreno was sent off with a straight red card for a

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi from Argen-tina duels for the ball with Levante’s El Zhar from France during their La Liga soc-cer match at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valen-cia, Spain, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014.

Associated Press Writer

PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain continued its relentless march toward a second straight French title after thrashing Nantes 5-0 with a superb display of attacking football on Sunday, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic once again in irrepressible form as he scored twice and turned provider for Edinson Cavani. Ibrahimovic drilled in a first-half penalty, then set up Cavani before grabbing his second of the night to take his league tally to 17 in 20 games season.

PSG never let up and could even have added further goals against a dispir- ited Nantes side. They will meet again next month in the semifinals of the League Cup and Nantes will hardly be looking forward to that contest. Center half Thiago Silva and midfielder Thiago Motta got PSG’s other goals.

“The lads did a lot of good things and I think if we carry on like this we can win the Champions League as well,” Silva

said. “I feel re- ally good here with everyone, the coach, the president and I think I will stay here until the end of my con- tract. Ibra is a great player with a big person- ality, and I think he will stay as well.”

Meanwhile, Monaco won 2-0 away to Toulouse and Lyon made it 10 games

unbeaten in all competitions with a 2-0 win at Reims. But Monaco’s win did little

to unsettle PSG as former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was among the appreciative

fans at Parc des Princes.“I think the players enjoyed it more than anyone,”

PSG coach Laurent Blanc said. “We could have eased up at 3-0 but the players wanted to score more, and that’s good.”

PSG took the lead from a corner in 10th minute when goalkeeper Remy Riou saved Cavani’s header and the rebound fell perfectly for Silva, giving him an easy finish from close range. PSG doubled its lead in the 36th when Ibrahimovic sent Riou the wrong way from the spot after defender Issa Cissokho had tripped Marco Verratti just inside the penalty area. The Sweden forward has scored six penalties this season.

Brazilian winger Lucas came on for Argentina’s Ezequiel Lavezzi at the start of the second half and within minutes he was involved in PSG’s third goal in the 51st. His deep, floating cross from the right was headed back by Blaise Matuidi and Motta reacted quickly to slide the ball in from close range.

Ibrahimovic found himself in space on the right wing and curled in a perfect pass to give Cavani his

13th goal of the season in the 58th, and Ibrahimovic slammed the ball past Riou after Matuidi and substitute

Javier Pastore combined to set him up in the 64th.“We didn’t do anything out there — in defense, midfield

or up front. They just did what they wanted. We just sat back and waited,” said Nantes winger Fabrice Pancrate, who used to play for PSG. “If you don’t play properly against a team like this, you get a result like that. We seemed to be terrified. I didn’t recognize my teammates out there.” Cavani missed two chances to make it 6-0 when he swiped a shot wide and then hit his shot straight at Riou after going clean through in the 87th.

Reuters

New coach Clarence Seedorf thanked AC Milan for having the courage to appoint him after watch-ing his side beat Hellas Verona 1-0 with a late Mario Balotelli penalty on his debut on Sunday. “The focus has been to rediscover the joy of playing, to do training sessions with the ball,” the Dutchman, who had no previous coaching experience and only took charge of his first practice on Thursday, told reporters.

“The club has had courage to ap-point me just as they did with Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello,” he added. “I’m happy for the team as there is a lot of work to do and winning makes it easier.” Despite the win, it was another unconvincing performance from Milan who struggled to create chances and always looked vulnerable in defence.

Balotelli side-footed home in the 82nd minute after Verona defender Alejandro Gonzalez had needlessly fouled Kaka, tripping the Brazilian with a clumsy tackle even though the ball was already heading out of play. Milan remained 11th with 25 points after only their sixth league win in 20 attempts this season.

Seedorf, who left Milan 18 months ago after spending ten years of his playing career there, was playing for Brazilian side Botafogo until Tuesday, when he received the invitation to take charge of Milan. The 37-year-old im-mediately cut short his playing career to accept the challenge and replace Massimiliano Allegri, who was fired last Monday after three-and-a-half years in charge. “Our rapport over 10 years helped the club understand a lot about me, as it was a long and intense time together on and off the field,” said Seedorf.

“The club hierarchy got an idea of who I am, what I’m like and my com-petence in the world of football.” The disappointingly small San Siro crowd had to wait 38 minutes for the first real chance when Balotelli cut inside and fired in a powerful low shot which was well saved by Verona goalkeeper Rafael, who denied Balotelli again one minute later when he blocked a free kick.

Associated Press Writer

LISBON, Portugal — Rodrigo Moreno scored two goals to help give Sporting Lisbon a 2-0 win at home over Maritimo and reclaim the lead of the Portuguese league on Sunday. Rodrigo opened in the 18th

minute and sealed the victory in the 35th on the break after receiving a pass by Lazar Markovic. Also, FC Porto stayed in touch with the top of the table by downing Setubal 3-0 at home.

Striker Jackson Martinez scored his 50th goal in a Porto shirt to get

the hosts rolling in the 11th. Silves-tre Varela added a second goal in the 35th before Carlos Eduardo capped the win three minutes from time. Benfica moved two points ahead of overnight leader Sporting Lisbon following its win on Saturday. Porto is a further point back.

Barca, Atletico held to draws, cling to co-leadAssociated Press Writer

BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both stumbled to draws on Sun-day, tightening the Spanish league title race with Real Madrid now only one point behind the co-leaders. Barcelona’s potent attack led by Lionel Messi was held 1-1 at Levante, leaving the door open for Atletico to later claim sole possession of the league lead.

Late Balotelli penalty gives Seedorf winning Milan start

AP Photo/Luca Bruno

AC Milan forward Mario Balotelli, left, celebrates after scoring with his teammate midfielder Riccardo Montolivo during a Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Hellas Verona, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014.

The first half ended with Riccardo Montolivo’s drive flying narrowly wide of Rafael’s goal. The second half followed a similar pattern as Milan struggled to put together moves and produced their chances in quick flurries.

Robinho hit the post with a de-flected shot in the 68th and in the following minute Balotelli threatened with a shot on the turn which was scooped up by Rafael.

Verona nearly went ahead when Martinho broke down the left and his shot was turned away by Christian Ab-biati, who shortly afterwards was nearly caught napping by Romulo’s dipping long-range effort from 30 metres. Seedorf paid tribute to the maverick Balotelli. “He’s a nice guy and a great talent who will be good for Milan and Italy. I hope I am able to help him im-prove, he has shown great willingness to be part of this change.”

Rodrigo’s brace restores Benfica’s league lead

Ibrahimovic scores twice as PSG routs Nantes 5-0

AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere

Paris Saint Germain’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Sweden celebrates after scoring the second goal, during the League One soc-cer match between Paris Saint Germain and Nantes at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Sunday Jan. 19, 2014.

AP Photo/Alberto Saiz

Tuesday, January 21, 2014 7SportsTuesday, January 21, 201410 InternationalInternationalDestination

IBP

MANGUPURA - Plaga is a village located in Bali, exactly in the region of North Badung. The village is rich in natural resources and the potential of tourism is also promising. Many things can be explored there. Besides several tourist attractions such as Puncak Mangu and Tukad Bangkung Bridge which called the highest in all of Asia, in this area there is also an area that can be used for tracking which of course will be very interesting for tourists who love adventure and outdoor sports activities.

The trekking path to be followed is through the plantation where there are many different kinds of plants and crops that we can meet. In detail, the trekking activity be-gins at Banjar Kiadan pavilion to do breakfast or lunch depending on the time set to start the trekking itself. Then proceed to the inn as a place to stay for the tourists. Not far from the inn, there is a building that is used to store coffee beans. If we go farther we will find the planta-tion that stretched wide variety of plants contained in them.

When we are entering the plan-tation, we will be greeted by some herbal plants arranged neatly, then

passed to the area of chayote which grows fertile. Farther then we will arrive in an area with a majority of bamboo plants that are embedded. Then spin a little bit we will find garden full of oranges and papa-yas. From that place, we will have two options, continue the trekking or back to the inn. If we want to continue then there are many more interesting things that we can find.

With such a vast plantation areas, beautiful scenery, beautiful sur-roundings and all natural resources within it then this is a good and very interesting tracking area which can be served as another option of tour-ism in North Badung region.

IBP/Net

Trekking in Plaga

Hindered by a hip niggle, the 2008 champion admitted that the year’s first grand slam had probably come a little early after she missed the U.S. Open and back end of last season with a shoulder injury. “I certainly would have loved to play a little bit more before playing a grand slam, but this is the chance that I was given,” the Russian said.

“It’s tough. I will be genuine about it. It’s never easy (but) it’s moments like this that ultimately shape you and make you who you are, and that’s how you bounce back.” Men’s top seed Rafa Nadal knows plenty about coming back from injury and he was in action later on Monday against Japan’s Kei Nishikori. The Spaniard’s fellow members of the “Big Four”, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, will also

be out to seal their places in the quarter-finals. The final member of the quartet, Novak Djokovic, secured his last eight-berth on Sunday.

As the only surviving top three seed left in the women’s draw, Azarenka looks to be running out of serious challengers as she charts her course towards a third succes-sive title.

Her 6-3 6-2 victory over Sloane Stephens had none of the edge of last year’s semi-final, when the Belarusian took a medical timeout after blowing five match points, and she sealed a comfortable win in 91 minutes.

CHIPS AND SALSADespite taking a ball at full force

in the groin - “I thought she was going to move and she didn’t,” said

Stephens - the second seed said she could not have felt more at home on Rod Laver Arena. “I just love playing here. It feels so cosy. It feels like I’m in my living room, on my couch,” she said. “I can have some chips and salsa - that’s how it feels.”

The second seed denied that the departure of Williams and Sharapova left her and last year’s losing finalist Li Na as favourites for the title. “I don’t consider any-body as the favourite, I just go out there and play my best,” she said. “We’ve seen over the last couple of days that somebody can bring their best game on any given day. You have to stay alert.”

Defeat for Stephens ended all American interest in the singles before the quarter-final for the sec-ond time in four years in Melbourne but the 20-year-old said she would be back.

“You just go out and do your best,” she said. “Unfortunately I didn’t win today, but there will be others.” Next up for Azarenka is the winner of the final match of the day between fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska and rising Spanish tal-ent Garbine Muguruza.

Associated Press Writer

ORLANDO, Florida — Ar-ron Afflalo had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Tobias Harris added 18 points as the Orlando Magic ended a season-high 10-game losing streak with a 93-91 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. After several ties in the fourth quarter, Harris hit a pair of free throws with 10.1 seconds remaining to give Orlando the victory.

The win also ends 10-game regular-season losing streak to the Celtics. Boston has lost nine straight on the road and 11 of 12 overall. Jeff Green led the Celtics with 22 points.

At Phoenix, Channing Frye scored a season-high 30 points be-fore sitting out the final 9½ min-utes to watch the Suns wrap up their 117-103 romp over the Den-ver Nuggets. Frye, who missed all of last season for treatment of an enlarged heart, made 12 of 16 shots, 5 of 7 3-pointers, to fall three points shy of his career high.

Markieff Morris scored 16 and

Goran Dragic 15 for the Suns, who never trailed and improved to 3-0 against Denver this season with one game to play. Anthony Randolph scored a season-best 19 for the Nuggets, who have lost four of five and were without guard Randy Foye because of a stomach virus.

Oklahoma City’s Kevin Du-rant scored 30 points to lead the Thunder past the Sacramento Kings 108-93. Durant, coming off a career-high 54 points Friday against Golden State, shot 10 for 15 from the field and had nine as-sists. He scored at least 30 points for the seventh straight game.

Serge Ibaka added 20 points and Reggie Jackson had 16 for the Thunder, who won their third straight. Isaiah Thomas scored a career-high 38 points for the Kings, but he slowed in the second half as the Thunder pulled away.

The Los Angeles Lakers downed the Toronto Raptors 112-106 for just its third win in 15 games after Nick Young returned from suspension to score 29 points and Pau Gasol had 22.

REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic Maria Sharapova of Russia reacts during her women’s singles match against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia at the Australian Open 2014 tennis tournament in Melbourne January 20, 2014.

Azarenka advances, Sharapova exits in MelbourneReuters

MELBOURNE - Maria Sharapova joined Serena Williams in mak-ing an early exit from the Australian Open on Monday but defending champion Victoria Azarenka swept into the quarter-finals with an 18th straight victory at Melbourne Park. A day after Ana Ivanovic’s stunning upset of Williams blew open the top half of the draw, third seed Sharapova was also scratched from the title race with a 3-6 6-4 6-1 loss to Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova.

Magic down Celtics 93-91 to end 10-game slide

AP Photo/John RaouxBoston Celtics’ Jeff Green, right, takes a shot over Orlando Magic’s Arron Afflalo (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014 Tuesday, January 21, 20146 11International International

INDONESIAW RLD

Despite appeals from opposition leaders not to resort to violence, and a personal intervention from boxer-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko, protesters continued to throw smoke bombs and hurl fireworks and other objects at police. The police appeared to show restraint during that fracas. The Interior Ministry said 30 police were hurt, including more than 10 admitted to hospital and four in serious condition.

A spokeswoman for Klitschko tweeted that President Viktor Yanukovich had agreed to meet Klitschko immediately at the presi-dential residence outside Kiev, although there was no confirmation from Yanukovich’s side. Klitschko later tweeted that the president had agreed to set up a committee on Monday to settle the political crisis.

As tensions continued into the night, police used water cannon against demonstrators gathered near the parliament building and the heavily protected government headquarters, eyewitnesses said. Earlier, some distance away from the clashes, up to 100,000 Ukraini-ans massed on Kiev’s Independence Square in defiance of the sweep-ing new laws, which ban rallies and which Washington and other Western capitals have denounced as undemocratic.

In Washington, the White House said it was “deeply concerned” about the violence on Sunday in Kiev and urged both sides to “de-escalate the situation.” “The increasing tension in Ukraine is a direct consequence of the govern-ment failing to acknowledge the legitimate grievances of its people,” National Security Council spokes-woman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement. “Instead, it has moved to weaken the foundations of Ukraine’s democracy by criminal-izing peaceful protest and stripping civil society and political opponents of key democratic protections under the law.”

Urging the Ukraine government to repeal the “anti-democratic leg-islation,” withdraw riot police from downtown Kiev and begin a dia-logue with the opposition, Hayden added, “The U.S. will continue to consider additional steps - includ-ing sanctions - in response to the use of violence.”

The rally, the biggest of the new year, was the latest in a cycle of public protests in the former Soviet republic since Yanukovich made a policy U-turn in November away from the European Union towards Russia, Ukraine’s former Soviet overlord. Several big protests in December attracted hundreds of thousands of people, while thou-sands maintained a vigil in a Kiev

square demanding Yanukovich resign. Since the new year demon-strations have become smaller, but hundreds of people are still camp-ing in the square and 50,000 turned out a week ago.

COURT BAN

The court ban on protests published on Wednesday, and last Thursday’s legislation aimed at prohibiting all form of public protests, have inflamed tensions again. The laws ban any unauthor-ised installation of tents, stages or use of loudspeakers in public.

Heavy jail sentences were im-posed for participation in “mass disorder” and the wearing of face-masks or protective helmets. Dissemination of “extremist” or libellous information about the country’s leaders was outlawed. In a gesture of scorn for the hel-met ban, many protesters on Sun-day wore saucepans and colanders on their heads.

The crisis has highlighted a divide in the country of 46 million people between those, particularly in Russian-speaking eastern areas, who identify more closely with a shared past with Russia, and those, especially in the Ukrainian-speaking parts of western and central Ukraine, who look westwards.

Agence France Presse

Washington - A new threat to the upcoming Winter Olympics surfaced Sunday as US lawmakers worried about attacks at the Games to be hosted by Russia. In a video posted on a well-known jihadi forum, two men believed to have been suicide bombers in last month’s deadly bombings in Volgograd speak of them -- and warned of more.

“We’ve prepared a present for you and all tourists who’ll come over,” the video says in part. “If you hold the Olympics, you’ll get a present from us for the Muslim blood that’s been spilled.” The US-based SITE Monitoring Service identified the men as “purported Volgograd bomb-ers Suleiman and Abdul Rahman.”

December suicide bombings at a railway station and on a trolley-bus in the southern Russian city -- which investigators have linked to suspects from the mostly Muslim republic of Dagestan -- killed 34 and injured dozens.

Islamist insurgents based in North Caucasus republics such as Dag-estan who are seeking their own independent state have vowed to disrupt the Sochi Games in order to undermine Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The threats are real. They are basically calling for attacks on the Olympics. I think you’re going to see attempts to do that,” said Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

The Republican, in an interview from Moscow with ABC’s “This Week,” said Russian authorities were taking the threats seriously, deploying 100,000 security officials to erect a “ring of steel” to secure the Sochi airport, mountain trains and the Games themselves. If there were attacks, he said, they would more likely be directed at soft targets like transportation.

The congressman added that the diplomatic security corps said it was getting good cooperation from the Russians, and noted that two dozen FBI agents were assigned to the massive sports event.

But “it could be a lot better. I want to press that while here,” he added, saying he wanted to know more about emergency evacuation planning. Another key congressman, House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers, said Russian authorities were clearly concerned about security.

Reuters

BEIJING - A Chinese court sentenced a man to life in prison on Monday for poisoning frozen dumplings more than six years ago at the plant where he worked, making ill four Chinese and nine Japanese consumers and further straining ties between the two countries. The court in the northern city of Shijiazhuang found Lu Yueting, 39, guilty of adding dangerous substances to food, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Lu, who worked at the Tianyang Food Plant, hoped he could “attract the attention of his managers in order to boost his salary” by injecting insecticide into the frozen dumplings with syringes, Xinhua reported, based on court proceedings. He sneaked into the factory’s refrigerated storehouse three times between October and December 2007 to carry out the deed.

After reports of the poisoning surfaced, Chinese security and quality wathdogs initially blamed Japanese “sabotage” for contaminating the dump-lings. The sentence coincides with worsening ties between Asia’s two largest economies. Tensions have focused on a row over a group of islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries as well as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit last month to a controversial shrine for war dead.

Chinese police detained Lu in March 2010, Xinhua reported. Lu confessed to the crime during his July 2013 trial, saying he felt sorry for the people he had made ill.

Food safety scandals, from chemical-laced dairy products to recycled “gutter oil” used in cooking, have plagued Chinese companies and weighed on consumer confidence in China and abroad. The verdict was delivered with officials from the Japanese embassy in Beijing in atten-dance, Xinhua reported.

Protesters throw stones during clashes with police,

in central Kiev, Ukraine, early Monday, Jan. 20, 2014.

Protesters clash with police at large Ukraine rally

Reuters

KiEV - Protesters clashed with riot police in the Ukrainian capital on sunday after tough anti-protest legislation, which the political opposition says paves the way for a police state, was rushed through parliament last week. a group of young masked demonstrators attacked a cordon of police with sticks and tried to overturn a bus blocking their way to the parliament building after opposition politicians called on people to disregard the new legislation.

AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

Chinese factory worker sentenced to life for poisoning dumplings

Threat surfaces as US lawmakers fret over Olympics security

Agence France-PresseHONG KONG - Thousands of

domestic helpers took to the streets of Hong Kong Sunday to demand justice for an Indonesian maid al-legedly tortured by her employers, the second such rally in a week.

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 22, was reportedly left unable to walk following eight months of abuse in the southern Chinese city and was admitted to an Indonesian hospital in critical condition last week after returning home.

Protesters including maids, rights activists and migrant group members marched through the commercial area of Wanchai, many brandishing the Indonesian national flag and chanting slogans including

“Justice for Erwiana”.They handed a petition to Hong

Kong Police Commissioner Tsang Wai-hun urging faster progress in the case before marching to the city’s government headquarters.

“We want the investigation to speed up and we demand the Hong Kong government to stop abuses on domestic helpers in Hong Kong,” Eni Lestari, chairwoman of the International Migrants Alliance and rally spokeswoman, told reporters at the protest.

The allegations have renewed concern about the treatment of do-mestic helpers in the former British colony following a spate of similar abuse cases and recent criticism by rights groups.

Hong Kong police had at first categorised the alleged torture as a miscellaneous case but last week launched a criminal investigation after an outcry by domestic helpers in the city.

On Friday authorities said in-vestigators will travel to Indonesia to speak to Sulistyaningsih, who remains in hospital in Sragen on the main island of Java.

“Without this kind of protest the case of Erwiana will never go to the public or go to the court. There will be no justice,” Lestari said, adding that two other maids have since come forward alleging abuse at the hands of the same employer.

The agency that employed Erwi-ana has said they were unaware of

her injuries until they were notified by their corresponding agency in Indonesia.

Organisers claimed around 5,000 people participated in the rally, a sharp increase in numbers from a similar march on Thursday which drew several dozen protesters.

Hong Kong police were not im-mediately available for comment on Sunday.

The semi-autonomous Chinese city is home to nearly 300,000 maids from mainly Southeast Asian countries -- predominantly Indone-sia and the Philippines -- and criti-cism from rights groups over their treatment is growing.

A Hong Kong couple were jailed in September for attacks on their

Indonesian domestic helper, which included burning her with an iron and beatings with a bike chain.

Amnesty International in No-vember condemned the “slavery-like” conditions faced by thousands of Indonesian women who work in the Asian financial hub as domestic staff and accused authorities of “inexcusable” inaction.

It found that Indonesians were exploited by recruitment and place-ment agencies who seize their docu-ments and charge them excessive fees, with false promises of high salaries and good working condi-tions.

Domestic helpers in Hong Kong are paid about HK$4,000 ($515) a month.

The Piper Seneca turboprop was flying from the eastern region of Papua to Tual city in the Maluku Islands when it was caught in a storm around midday.

Witness Akib Hanubun told AFP the aircraft was pounded by fierce

winds and rain before being hit by lightning and crashing near a vil-lage.

“The plane’s left wing broke after it was struck by lightning,” the 47-year-old told AFP.

“Then the plane appeared to tilt to

one side before crashing to the ground loudly and bursting into flames.”

He added that rescuers pulled out “four completely charred bodies from the wreckage. It was the most frightening sight”.

Transport ministry spokesman

Bambang Ervan confirmed that all four people on board the aircraft were killed instantly.

“They were the pilot, two engi-neers and a ground handler,” he said, adding he had no further details about the crash at this stage.

The Piper Seneca is produced by US-based Piper Aircraft. The jet that crashed was operated by Intan Angkasa Air Service, according to Ervan.

The company’s website says it

supports “the oil and gas, mining, survey, forestry and many other in-dustries” across Indonesia.

Indonesia, a sprawling archi-pelago, relies heavily on air transport but has one of Asia’s poorest aviation safety records.

In April last year a Lion Air passenger jet carrying 108 people crashed into the sea after missing the runway as it came in to land on the resort island of Bali. No one died but dozens were injured.

Plane crashes in Papua, 4 deadAgence France-Presse

JAKARTA - A light aircraft crashed and burst into flames on a beach in eastern Indonesia Sunday after being hit by lightning, killing all four people on board, an official and eyewit-ness said.

Indonesian maid allegedly tortured Thousands of Hong Kong domestic helpers rally

AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara

A woman covers her nose and mouth from volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Sinabung in Sibintun, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014. The volcano has been erupting since September, forcing more

than 20,000 people who live around it slopes to flee their homes to several temporary shelters.

Based on a story of word to mouth, the Sengawang Temple or also known as Dalem Sengawang Temple poses a temple standing in the middle of an area called Sengawang hamlet formerly in-habited just by nine people.

It is said that once upon a time there was an internal conflict in the royal family of Perean Kingdom so the king left the palace with a pregnant wife. They did not know where to go. At dawn, they heard the sound of roosters. Afterward, the king was attempting to look for the source of sound. In fact, it was from the Sengawang hamlet. At that hamlet, the king asked for a political asylum or protection. The hamlet then established a kingdom at Marga, where previ-ously it was a forest. Residents of Sengawang hamlet were then appointed the guards and subject of the kingdom. Allegedly, it hap-pened during the era of Udayana Kingdom.

A local leader doubling as former chief of Ole Hamlet, Wayan Gerda, told that due to a fight between the local residents and those from the surrounding villages that looked for help to Mengwi, the Sengawan residents moved northwardly. Later, the areas were known as the hamlet of Bun, Samuan, Adeng, and Ole. Having been left by all residents, the Sengawang Temple did not have supporting devotees. Never-theless, the temple was constantly believed to have sacredness and uniqueness. It was considered to nurture the subak existing in the surrounding area. Even, the

temple was always considered to have given a blessing of fertility to rice fields in the vicinity.

A farmer of Subak Sengawang, Wayan Sumajaya, once heard about various myths at issue related to the temple. Once upon a time, almost all the subak ter-ritories in Marga and Tunjuk area were attacked by rats. Paddy plants at Subak Sengawang were not attacked by those rats. So since then, all residents at Ole customary village believed that they may not sell their land within the subak territory because the land area was considered special.

Another uniqueness of the Subak Sengawang was that no one might perform evil deeds or say rude. Venerated deity in the Sengawang Temple did not like people who did so. For example, one day there was a person say-ing rude and he was suddenly attacked by bees.

In reality, there were no bee nests at the surrounding area. Blessings of the Sengawang Temple had also been known by people beyond the Ole customary village, whereas the temple was not known. For some times, there were some people from outside the customary village coming to invoke herbal medicine and paid for it. The people claimed to know the temple from his dreams. “Many people from outside the village suddenly would like to present offering to the temple because they know the temple from a dream,” said Sumajaya. (kmb)

Bali News Tuesday, January 21, 2014 5InternationalTuesday, January 21, 201412 International

ACCORDING to Javanese chron-icle and a Dutch writer, François Valentyn, in the 17th century Blam-bangan was the subordinate of Sura-baya. However, people still call the statement into doubt. Obviously, Sul-tan Agung from Mataram Kingdom (1613-1646) attacked Blambangan in 1633 but he was never able to conquer it. Blambangan was conquered by I Gusti Anglurah Panji Sakti, the king

of Buleleng in North Bali. Possibly, with the help of Surapati, the king of Blambangan Tawang Alun could be defeated. Temporarily, Ki Gusti Ngurah Panji Sakti appointed his representative to govern Blamban-gan. He handed over the authority of Blambangan Kingdom to Cokorda Agung Mengwi after he married to the daughter of King of Mengwi.

After Blambangan was under

control of Mengwi, Badung, it was appointed the descendant of King Tawang Alun to rule the Blambangan, namely Prince Danuningrat. To bind the loyalty, he was married to the daughter of Cokorda Agung Mengwi. Before becoming an independent kingdom, Blambangan belonged to the dominion of Bali. Mengwi King-dom once ruled this region.

Meanwhile, the endeavor of Mat-aram Sultanate to conquest the Blam-bangan was never successful. That’s why the Blambangan (and Banyu-wangi in general) never belonged to the Central Javanese culture. So far, the region has quite different variety of language from the standard Java-nese language. The influence of Bali can also be seen in various kinds of dancing arts originating from the Blambangan area. (BTN)

Sengawang Temple:

A sanctum to invoke fertility blessing

Relation between Blambangan to Mengwi Kingdom

Is there any relationship of Blambangan Kingdom to Mengwi King-dom in Badung, Bali? According to Wikipedia, the Blambangan King-dom is a kingdom located on the easternmost region of Java Island. It

is considered as the last Hindu kingdom in Java in the 16th century, where the only significant Muslim kingdom in East Java at that time was Pasuruan. Other regions were still under control of Hindu ruler.

Allegedly, a war had exploded between Pasuruan and Blambangan in 1540s, 1580s and 1590s. In the meantime, the capital of Blambangan

seemed to have been conquered in 1600 or 1601.

IBP/File Photo

IBP

TABANAN - Aside from having trinity temples, the Ole Customary Village, Marga Dauh Puri, Marga Subdistrict, Tabanan, also has an old temple standing amidst the local rice fields. Since many decades ago, the temple ever did not have supporting devotees because it was left by residents in the vicinity. However, this year the temple is restored where the inauguration along with the anniversary ritual was held on Buda Wage Klawu.

IBP/File Photo

Associated Press

BEIJING \ China’s economic growth decelerated in the final quarter of 2013 and appears set to slow fur-ther, adding to pressure on its leaders to shore up an expansion as they try to implement sweeping reforms.

The world’s second-largest econ-omy grew by 7.7 percent over a year earlier, down from previous quarter’s 7.8 percent, data showed Monday. Growth for the full year was 7.7 percent, tying 2012 for the weakest annual performance since 1999.

Those figures appeared to mask a much sharper deterioration during the three months ending in December.

Factory output, exports and invest-ment all weakened. Growth in factory output in the final three months of 2013 dropped to 1.8 percent from the previous period’s 2.2 percent rate.

“The economy is slowing quite rapidly. The slowdown has acceler-ated during the quarter,” said econo-mist Dariusz Kowalczyk of Credit Agricole CIB.

That weakness might force Bei-jing to resort to state-led investment to support an expansion. That would boost debt levels that already have prompted unease about the health of China’s financial system and could hamper efforts to shift to more self-sustaining growth based on domestic

consumption.China’s growth still is far stronger

than the United States, Japan or Eu-rope. But an unexpectedly abrupt de-cline from the blistering double-digit rates of the previous decade has raised the risk of politically dangerous job losses and increases the challenges faced by the ruling Communist Party as it tries to rebalance the economy away from reliance on trade and investment.

“A long-term accumulation of problems has yet to ease and the foun-dation for economic stabilization and recovery is still consolidating,” said the commissioner of the government statistics bureau, Ma Jiantang, at a

news conference.A plunge in global demand for

Chinese exports prompted Beijing to launch a mini-stimulus in mid-2013 based on higher spending on railway construction and other public works. Growth accelerated from 7.5 percent in the three months ending in June to 7.8 percent the next quarter but settled back as the effect of Beijing’s spending faded.

Since then, Chinese leaders have said there is little that additional stimulus can do to spur growth and improvements will have to come from longer-term reforms.

The International Monetary Fund has forecast this year’s growth at 7.6 percent but private sector forecasts are as low as 7.2 percent. That would be China’s weakest performance since 1990, when the economy grew by just 3.8 percent. A development blueprint issued by the party leader-ship in November promises to open state-dominated industries wider to private and foreign competition and to give entrepreneurs who generate most of China’s growth and jobs a bigger economic role. However, it stressed that state ownership would remain a pillar of the economy.

The plan promises to allow foreign companies into industries such as e-commerce, accounting and logistics and to give Chinese entrepreneurs more opportunities. Regulators an-nounced this month they will allow the creation of five privately financed banks this year. But such changes could take years to show an impact on China’s economic output.

More reliance on investment financed by government borrowing might add to strains on a financial system some analysts say could al-

ready be carrying dangerously high debt levels.

Heavy spending by Chinese cities and other local governments as part of Beijing’s stimulus in response to the 2008 global crisis and on social programs since then left them heavily indebted. An official audit released at the end of December showed the amount owed by cities and other local governments soared 70 percent over the past three years to 17.7 trillion yuan ($2.9 trillion) as of mid-2013.

The central bank has said the debt level is manageable but private sector analysts warn the rapid pace of in-crease is dangerous. Growth for 2013 came in above the government’s 7.5 percent official target but data showed many areas of the economy slowing toward the end of the year. Growth in factory output slowed to 9.7 percent in December from 10.3 percent in October, the first month of the quarter. Investment in factories, real estate and other fixed assets decelerated to 17.1 percent from 19.4 percent over the same period.

Growth in retail sales was steady but full-year retail sales growth of 13.1 percent was well below the 19.6 percent growth of investment, highlighting China’s reliance on spending on factories, highways and other assets.

“There is no rebalancing yet. Basi-cally investment continues to be the key driver,” said Kowalczyk.

Analysts also noted that household income growth, though relatively strong at 9.7 percent last year, was lower than in previous years. That, coupled with an impending contrac-tion of China’s workforce as the population ages, will hamper efforts to promote consumer spending.

China set up the FTZ in the com-mercial hub in September last year, promising to make the zone a show-case for financial reforms, which have slowed over the last decade.

“We will make all-out efforts to build the FTZ,” mayor Yang Xiong told lawmakers at the annual meeting

of the city’s legislature.“To intensify opening up and in-

novation in the financial sector... we will seek substantive progress with pilot reforms,” he said in a speech.

He said these reforms included convertibility of the yuan currency under the capital account, cross-

border settlement of the yuan and interest rate liberalisation.

China keeps a tight grip on its capital account -- investment and financial transactions, rather than those related to trade -- on worries that unpredictable inflows or outflows could harm the economy and reduce its control over it. Convertibility of the yuan -- allowing the currency to be freely bought and sold, and with it the movement of funds into and out of China -- is the main obstacle preventing Shanghai from competing

with global financial centres such as New York and London.

China currently sets deposit rates by administrative order, but the cen-tral bank began allowing banks to decide their own lending rates last year, in a long-awaited move.

Yang said the government would also revise a “negative list” of what is barred in the FTZ in a timely way. The list was sharply criticised for being too long and restrictive and officials say a new one will be announced for this year. Shanghai would also work

towards the launch of crude oil futures, Yang said, but gave no launch date.

Officials have previously said the futures product would be offered through the FTZ. Shanghai also planned to “gear up” for the start of operations of a new Disney theme park in the city, Yang said.

City officials earlier this month reaffirmed a deadline for the opening of the park to visitors in 2015. The park will be the second in China after another in its special administrative region of Hong Kong.

In Shanghai FTZ

China pledges progress on currency reforms Agence France-Presse

SHANGHAI - Shanghai’s mayor on Sunday pledged to make major progress this year on key financial reforms in the city’s new free-trade zone (FTZ) including full convertibility of China’s currency.

In 2013

China’s economy grows 7.7 percent

AP PhotoIn this Dec. 10, 2013 photo, trucks carry containers that were unloaded from a ship at a port in Qingdao, in eastern China’s Shandong.

BUSINESS

Bali News International4 Tuesday, January 21, 2014 Tuesday, January 21, 2014 13International RLDW

Regional Secretary of Klung-kung, Ketut Janapria, said on Sunday (Jan 19) that of the 18 existing rooms, only four rooms could be occupied. Though having been losing, the county government even placed three contracted work-ers. As consequence, every month, other than generating less revenue, local government should also issue a salary valued at IDR 3 million

for the three contracted workers. Abandonment of the asset was recognized to have been caused by chaotic management though located quite strategically in the urban area of Nusa Penida. “I have planned to close it since long time ago. But, we then plan to fix it. Even, we are planning to transform it into a hotel,” said Janapria.

One of the solutions was by mak-

ing collaboration with third par-ties, so later on the building could be managed maximally. Besides, there was also a new plan, where the repairs were carried out by a consortium involving local govern-ment, regional enterprises (Perusda) and third parties. The effort to trans-forms the face of bungalow would be followed up because it was very urgent. “When having such an asset, do not let suffer a loss without prof-its,” said the Regent of Klungkung, Nyoman Suwirta.

Previously, the surrounding residents were concerned about the condition of the assets claimed as the property of local government. Residents wondered why the local

government let the asset be dor-mant. Actually, it was often used by the officials of Bali Province and Klungkung County in every government agenda in Nusa Penida. Klungkung Culture and Tourism as the management also admitted the bungalows never brought in a profit. The county assets would be voided to build a new and more representa-tive building.

“As a rule, it must be voided from any obligation. After which, the plan will be in cooperation with third parties. In order words, after voided any other more rep-resentative similar development can be done by investors,” he said. Sujana also explained that since

long time ago there were a number of investors getting interested in investing in Nusa Penida. After meeting with him, the investor said he would be reviewing the location of the bungalow which would be voided.

At the moment, the Tourism and Culture Agency was waiting for the Regent Decree (SK) regarding the void from Klungkung government, in this case the Regional Secretary of Klungkung. If the decree on the void was issued, the previous investors would also ultimately be interested in investing their capital. The next step was to flatten the bungalow and to make cooperation with third parties. (kmb31)

Bangli (Bali Post)—

Proliferation of illegal buildings standing on the preci-pice of Kintamani seems to become a classic problem that can never be resolved completely. In reality, the existence of illegal buildings is regarded as one of the triggers to the decrease in the image of Kintamani as a tourist destination offering a beautiful view of Mount Batur and Lake Batur in the distance. Related to that matter, Chairman of the Indo-nesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) of Bangli Chapter, Ketut Putranata, hoped the government could stop the illegal buildings getting rampant in Kintamani.

According to Putranata, the existence of the PHRI in this case could only appeal because it did not have the authority to regulate and crack down on the rampant illegal or unlicensed development at the borderline of ravine. The authority to regulate it actually lay in the hands of local government. However, all this time the government still seemed to abandon and had not taken meaningful action.

Actually, continued Putranata, when compared to other counties, the Bangli tourism had not showed off its optimal development. The Bangli tourism being famous so far was caused by the scenic beauty of Kintamani re-lying only on the mountain and lake. “Travelers visiting Kintamani are actually not just looking for delicious meal, but also wanted to see natural scenery that is not avail-able elsewhere. But with the presence of illegal buildings at the borderline of the abyss even hampers the existing landscape,” he said.

Besides, another impact caused by the decrease in the quality of tourism was competition to get tourists. Not a few hoteliers and restaurateurs struggled bitterly for getting travelers. To that end, his party hoped there would be no more additional restaurants in Kintamani region including the illegal ones. If later on the reform effort made by the gov-ernment had been successful, it would be resumed with the thinking about refurbishment of the accommodation such as inn, hotel and restaurant. “Yes, the unlicensed development should now be stopped,” pleased Putranata.

All this time, the beauty of Mount Batur and Lake Batur in Kintamani was much hindered by the presence of illegal buildings in the borderline of the ravine. Condition of the Kintamani tourism was no longer recognized by many parties as beautiful as ever before. It was recognized as one of the triggers causing the drop of Kintamani image in the eyes of travelers. (ina)

Bungalow owned by county govt suffers a loss for whole yearSemarapura (Bali Post)—

Bungalow at Batununggul village, Nusa Penida, has long been neglected. This asset of Klungkung County almost collapses because it is slipshod. Apparently, this bungalow keeps on suffering a loss throughout the year. More apprehensively, for instance, its monthly income is not adequate to pay water bills.

PHRI Bangli expects to stop illegal buildings in Kintamani

IBP/FileThe illegal buldings in Kintamani

But it takes only a few minutes for the worshippers to utter the Malay and Arabic word for God that has become a festering source of contention in the Muslim-majority country, deepening ethnic divisions and tarnishing its moderate im-age. “We believe in Allah, the father almighty, creator of heaven and earth,” the 300 or so faithful chant.

A long tussle over who can say “Allah” in Malaysia has flared anew, as Islamization that many see as driven by political forces threat-ens to erode the secular constitution and minority rights in the ethnically diverse country following a divisive election last year.

A court ruling last October in favor of the government’s case that Allah is exclusive to Mus-lims was followed this month

by the seizure of more than 300 Malay-language Bibles by Islamic authorities using a little-known state law. Lawyers say the row now threatens to become a constitutional crisis as the federal charter’s guarantee of religious freedom is challenged by more assertive enforcement of little-used state laws and decrees by Malaysia’s royal sultans - who have the authority to appoint cler-ics and instruct religious police.

The crisis appeared to deepen on Sunday when Malaysia’s king, regarded as the defender of the Is-lamic faith, gave his backing to the October court ruling, the first time the largely ceremonial head of state has weighed in on the issue.

Malaysian police have recom-mended prominent Catholic priest Lawrence Andrew be charged with

sedition for saying churches would keep saying Allah in Selangor, Ma-laysia’s most populous and richest state which neighbors the capital Kuala Lumpur. The tussle over the right to use the word is uniquely Malaysian, bemusing many reli-gious scholars even in countries with a reputation for much stricter Islam.

“When I go through Facebook you can see people are saying Ma-laysia is being such a funny country, we have become the laughter of the world,” said Richenda Raphael, a 25-year-old worshipper at the Catholic Mass.

“In Saudi Arabia all people can use the Allah word, but here we can’t. We should stop this,” said Raphael, who moved to Kuala Lumpur from the Borneo state of Sabah five years ago.

The latest bout of tension, and confusion, over the word was trig-gered by a court ruling in October that Andrew’s Catholic newspaper could not use Allah because it was not “an integral part of the faith in Christianity”. A federal court will hear an appeal by the Catholic Church in March.

Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran — Ahead of the start of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, an official in the Islamic Republic called limiting uranium enrichment and diluting its stockpile the country’s “most important commitments,” state radio reported Sunday. The comments by Behrouz Kama-lvandi, a spokesman of Iran’s atomic department, show how the government of moderate Presi-dent Hassan Rouhani welcomes the deal, which begins Monday. International inspectors also already have arrived in Tehran, preparing for the government opening its facilities to them.

“Implementation of mutual commitments in the framework of the Geneva deal will begin from tomorrow,” Kamalvandi said. “Under the agreement, suspension of 20-percent en-richment of uranium — and the diluting of the current stockpile of enriched uranium — are the most important commitments of our country.”

Iran struck the deal in Novem-ber with the so-called P5+1 coun-tries — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. Negotiators agreed to final terms of the deal Jan. 13.

Under the agreement, Iran will limit its uranium enrichment to 5 percent — the grade commonly used to power reactors. The deal also commits Iran to stop produc-ing 20 percent enriched uranium — which is only a technical step away from weapons-grade material — and to neutralize its 20 percent stockpile over the six months.

In exchange, economic sanc-tions Iran faces would be eased for six months. Senior officials in U.S. President Barack Obama’s

administration have put the total relief figure at some $7 billion. During the six months, negotia-tions between Iran and the world powers would continue in hopes of reaching a permanent deal.

The West fears Iran’s nuclear program could allow it to build an atomic weapon. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, like power generation and medical research.

On Saturday a team of interna-tional inspectors arrived in Teh-ran in preparation of beginning their inspections. They will visit Fordo, where Iran enriches its 20 percent uranium, as well as its Natanz facility, which produces 5 percent enriched uranium, to ensure the country complies with the deal.

Kamalvandi said Sunday that Iran will use centrifuges now producing 20 percent enriched uranium to instead produce 5 per-cent enriched uranium to comply with the agreement.

But suspicions remain high in both Tehran and Washington after decades of hostility dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran that ousted the U.S.-backed shah dynasty. Rouhani, Iran’s new reformist president, has reached out to the West, but must depend on support from Iran’s top decision-maker, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for his initiatives amid criticism from hard-line factions.

Hard-liners in Iran have al-ready called the deal a “poison chalice” and are threatening legislation to increase uranium enrichment. Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers have threatened to pass new sanctions legislation against Iran that would take ef-fect if Tehran violates the interim nuclear deal or lets it expire with-out a follow-up accord.

Iran prepares for start of landmark nuclear deal

AP Photo/Mehr News Agency, Majid Asgaripour, FileFILE -- This Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010 file photo, shows the reactor building of the Bushehr nuclear power plant just outside the southern city of Bushehr, Iran.

Malaysia’s God problem erupts, tarnishing moderate image

To march Feature RELGION-MALAYSIA/ REUTERS/Samsul Said A woman prays inside the church of Our Lady of Lourdes at Klang, outside Kuala Lumpur January 12, 2014. The Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church seems like a model for the multicultural, tolerant Malaysia that its government likes to present to the outside world.

Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR - The Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church seems like a model for the multicultural, tolerant Malaysia that its government likes to present to the outside world. An ethnic Chinese priest conducts the service in the Malay language to a congregation made up of migrants from the country’s eastern Borneo island states along with a handful of Vietnamese immigrants.

3Tuesday, January 21, 201414 InternationalInternational Bali NewsScience Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Nick Thorpe, head of the univer-sity’s archaeology department, said he and his colleagues are “extremely excited to have been able to plausi-bly link this human bone to one of these two crucial figures in English history.”

Alfred, a Saxon king who ruled from 871 to 899, is known for blocking repeated Viking incursions, reordering his nation’s finances and reforming its legal code. He’s also remembered as an educator, inviting scholars from across the continent to his court, directing young English freemen to learn to read and even translating several works on his own.

“He’s one of England’s most famous kings,” said Simon Keynes, a University of Cambridge historian who is an authority on the monarch. “He’s the only one that’s called ‘Great.’”

Alfred’s bones are known to have been moved after he died, eventually being deposited at Hyde Abbey in Winchester, about 65 miles (100 ki-lometers) southwest of London. But much uncertainty followed with the tumult of the Reformation; an 18th-century building project that turned the site into a jail; and the claims of a 19th-century antiquary named John Mellor who boasted of having unearthed the king’s bones.

Following a surge of interest with the discovery of the body of King

Richard III — another famous mon-arch whose skeleton was unearthed underneath a parking lot in Leicester in 2012 — researchers went to work hunting for Alfred.

They looked first in the place where Mellor claimed to have left them, in the churchyard of nearby St. Bartholomew’s Church, but tests on the remains found there showed the bones were from a number of different people who lived hundreds of years later than Alfred.

Researchers had better luck when they went through two boxes of bones excavated from the site of Hyde Ab-bey about two decades ago and kept at the Winchester Museum. One, a pelvis, was radiocarbon dated to roughly around the time Alfred had died. Researchers say that, given the historical record, bones that old could only have come from Alfred or his family.

That conclusion “is based on a valid chain of reasoning,” said Ox-ford University professor John Blair. Both he and Keynes, who weren’t involved in the discovery, said more data was needed before anyone could determine exactly whose pelvis was found in Winchester. But Keynes said he found it compelling that the bone was said to have been found under Hyde Abbey’s altar. “That’s where Alfred and his family were throughout the Middle Ages,” he said. “That’s where they lay.”

Associated Press Writer

BERLIN — Scientists at the European Space Agency are expecting an important call. Their comet-chasing probe Rosetta is due to wake from an almost three-year hibernation at 11 a.m. Monday (1000 GMT; 5 a.m. EST) and phone home to say all is well.

But because the spacecraft’s systems will take hours to power up and the signal has to travel more than 800 million kilometers (500 million miles) back to Earth, the first sign of life isn’t expected before early evening.

The agency is turning the tense wait into a social media event by encouraging space enthusiasts to “Wake up Rosetta” in case its internal alarm clock fails. The probe will rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyu-mov-Gerasimenko in the coming months and drop a space lander onto its icy surface in November.

AP Photo/PA, Steve Parsons

Dr Katie Tucker, researcher in human osteology at the University of Winchester attends a press conference in Winchester, Friday Jan. 17, 2014. Researchers said Friday they may have discovered remains of King Alfred the Great, the 9th-century royal remembered for protecting England from the Vikings and educating a largely illiterate nation.

Researchers may have found King Alfred’s pelvis

Associated Press Writer

LONDON — Researchers said Friday they may have discov-ered remains of King Alfred the Great, the 9th-century royal remembered for protecting England from the Vikings and edu-cating a largely illiterate nation. The University of Winchester said in a statement that a pelvis found in a box of bones in the city’s museum is likely to be either from the legendary leader or his son, King Edward the Elder.

Scientists hope comet-chaser spacecraft wakes up

AP Photo/ESA ATG medialab , Astrium E, Viktor, File

FILE - This undated image provided by the European Space Agency ESA shows an artist’s impression of the

Philae lander.

An economist from the Undiknas University, Prof. Gede Sri Darma, DBA, said the global competition in the year of the horse was increas-ingly tighter and more competitive in the future. Moreover, at the be-ginning of the year, the US dollar exchange rate reaching IDR 12,000 was seeking a new balanced point to foreign currency, especially against

the U.S. dollar. He estimated that rupiah would remain in the range of IDR 12,000.

“Currently, the business competi-tion is very high. Moreover, when reviewed, turmoil has been seen since the second semester of 2013. Marked with the increase in fuel price, the rise in commodity price and inflation never go down. It is

followed by a significant increase in minimum wage and the increase in the power tariff surely aggravating the burden that results in the weaken-ing of rupiah against the U.S. dollar at IDR 12,000,” said Sri Darma in Denpasar, Sunday (Jan 19).

Such condition was exacer-bated by the increase in the rate of Bank Indonesia (BI). The rate was increased so that customers did not shift to U.S. dollars. Obvi-ously, these conditions made up deposit rates and lending rates of consumption go up as well. This situation slightly slowed down their expenditure.

“An important note this year is ahead of the AEC 2015. AEC stays one year to go, but the preparations have not been visible. At the end of 2015, the AEC should continue to be socialized and prepared as good as possible, so do not again pro-voke to reject the AEC. If refusing the AEC, it means that Indonesian people will be excluded from the international association,” he ex-plained.

He admitted that political year 2014 would move the wheels of economy, especially the spending of campaign attributes. Politics in 2014 also had a business prospect,

probably for the industry of screen printing, t-shirts, banners and print-ing. All the businesses related to campaign would get a profit. “Po-litical instability will very easily af-fect domestic and foreign investors to channel their money in the real sector,” he predicted.

However, he said that for the market and industry players, the political year adequately got seri-ous attention. Those who generally made investment would hold off by seeing the situation until turning calm to determine whether there would be chaos and who would be the elected president. (kmb27)

2014, entrepreneurs must be creativeDenpasar (Bali Post)—

Facing the increasingly fierce competition in 2014, employers are expected to yield more creative and innovative products. Moreover, before the Asian Economic Community (AEC), the level of competition and job opportunities at the moment will be getting more difficult.

IBP/Siswarina

Children playing at Batur Lake recently.

Lake Batur keeps on experiencing siltationBangli (Bali Post)—

The depth of Lake Batur in Kin-tamani continues to experiencing siltation. Based on the latest data owned by the Bangli Environment Agency (BLH) in 2010, the depth of the lake posing the pride of Bangli community currently only reaches 80 meters. The figure decreased from the measurement made in the 1960s which reached a depth of 200 meters. It was revealed by the Head of the BLH Bangli, Gusti Laksana, Sunday (Jan 19).

He said the data were obtained by the research of environmental-ists from the universities across Indonesia. “Recent data in 2009 were gained when the experts from throughout Indonesia had a meeting and discussed about the existing condition of the lake, one of them was the Lake Batur,” he revealed.

Laksana said the siltation of Lake Batur was caused by the amount of material settling at the bottom of the lake for years. The materials sourced from the avalanches of sand

and soil brought in the flow of water leading to the middle of the lake. Tangible evidence of the siltation was currently visible from hectares of plantation acreage located at the verge of the lake that disappeared in the water. “The precipitate causes the depth of the lake increasingly to diminish. Moreover, there is no real water sewer in the lake,” he added.

Thus, according to him, the only way to recover the depth of the lake was by dredging the sludge on the

bottom of the lake. However, the financial condition of the local government did not enable to do the dredging as spending not a few cost. Then, Laksana was looking forward to the arrival of investors who wanted to invest in the sur-rounding area. One of them was the investor planning to build a golf course in the area of Batur.

“If the investor really comes, like the investors wishing to build a golf course which indirectly utilizes the lake water, yes we expect they will

also help us do the dredging to the lake, so the condition will not be getting shallower,” he hoped.

According to him, by the dredg-ing, the small holes on the wall of the lake that had been clogged would be open again. So, the water of Lake Batur which had been the reserve of water in Bali could still be absorbed smoothly to other ar-eas. “So far, the existence of Lake Batur is not only beneficial for the people of Bangli, but also for other Balinese people,” he added. (ina)

International2 Tuesday, January 21, 2014 15International Activities

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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

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

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

On Wednesday, December 4th, 2013, Grand Istana Rama Hotel together with the Australian Mr. John and his wife, Ms. Lenore Davis visited Dharma Jati II Orphanage on Jalan Trengguli Number 80, Penatih, Denpasar, Bali. Before that, the management staffs of Grand Istana Rama Hotel and the

Australian guests went to one of Shopping Malls on Sunset Road to buy nutritive snacks, biscuits, juices, jellies, oranges, and milk for the orphaned children. Furthermore, they bought T-Shirts with different colors and sizes. There were also lunch boxes, bottles, bed sheets, and towels as donation from Grand Istana Rama Hotel and from the man-agement staffs. A big chocolate birthday cake was also ready to be given to the orphaned children to celebrate any child in the Orphanage who had their birthday on November and December.

Grand Istana Rama sharing with orphanage

IBP/File Photo

IBP

KUTA - As human beings, people need to be aware of the children that need helps, care, and love, as the children left in an orphanage with no parents taking care of. There is a Donation Box in Grand Istana rama Hotel in order to attract the guests to be aware of the surroundings, especially to donate their money to help the children in the orphanage.

Tabanan (Bali Post)—Sai village in Pupuan and

Baru village in Marga, Tabanan, are considered ‘illegal villages’ because they have not received the recognition from central government (Ministry of Home Affairs). A village can be con-sidered legal if they have owned an area code from the Minister of Home Affairs that should passed first through regional bylaw (Perda).

In reality the two villages obtained the Regent Decree in 2009 and 2010 endorsing them as independent village but have not obtained the area code so they are assumed illegal because they must be approved through regional bylaw.

Chairman of the Special Committee IX of the Tabanan House, I Gede Purnawan, ex-

plained on Sunday (Jan 19) that pursuant to the rules of Ministry of Home Affairs a village was declared legal if it had been established through regional by-law. Then, it should be proposed to central government in order to get the area code. “It is very necessary that concerned vil-lages must be administratively recognized as villages that have been legally separated from the parent village,” he said.

Related to Sai village split from the Pajahan as its parent village and Baru village sepa-rated from Tua village, Marga, he admitted that both villages had owned a Regent Decree since 2009 and 2010, but had yet obtained the area code. “Under the existing rules, then to endorse the two villages into the legitimate ones, they must

be stipulated through a regional bylaw,” he explained.

His party would prioritize in order the regional bylaw draft stipulating Sai village and Baru village could be resolved and stipulated into a regional bylaw. “We will also ask for an explanation related to readiness of both villages to become an independent village. We do not want after the regional bylaw stipulated, in fact both villages are not ready to become an inde-pendent village,” he said.

He asked the apparatus of both villages assisted by the BPMD to thoroughly prepare themselves into an independent village. “Both villages should be prepared first along with all the requirements needed,” he asked.

Meanwhile, Assistant I of

Regional Secretary of Tabanan in charge of Government Af-fairs, Wayan Yatnanadi, in the working meeting with the Com-mission IX revealed that both villages were not recognized nationally because they had not been established through regional bylaw.

“After these two villages ob-tained a Regent Decree, we have submitted them to the Minister of Home Affairs. In fact, it must be stipulated through a regional bylaw as a requirement to get an area code related to the imple-mentation of general elections and so on,” he explained.

To that end, the former Head of Tabanan Revenue Service, his party in the executive had filed a draft of regional bylaw about Sai village and Baru vil-lage in Marga. (kmb28)

Quick Response Unit Head of the Badung Sanitation and Landscaping Agency (DKP), Made Gede Dwipayana, revealed on Thursday (Jan 16) that since the beginning of December the volume of marine debris in the three coastal areas tended to increase. Even, when entering January, the average increase reached two-fold. The highest volume of marine debris happened to Kuta Beach.

He said that at the beginning of the emergence of the marine debris, the daily rubbish transported reached around 10 tons. But, on entering January, the amount of rubbish transported was av-eragely 30 tons. As estimated, the matter of marine debris would continue until February or mid-March.

To overcome the issue of marine debris on the beach, his party expected the pub-lic participation. Without the help of the community, the DKP was overwhelmed and feared the rubbish problem could not be handled and would tarnished the image of regional tourism.

For the handling by government, a total of 21 personnel belonging to the Quick Response Unit of the DKP Badung were deployed to assist the janitors of Kuta and surrounding areas. As planned, the Quick Response Unit personnel would just be withdrawn when the beach condition had been back to normal. (kmb25)

IBP/File

The garabge is pilling up on Kuta Beach

Rubbish on Samigita Beach reaches 1,000 tonsPredicted to continue until mid-MarchlMangupura (Bali Post)—

The onslaught of marine debris in coastal areas of Samigita (Semi-nyak, Legian and Kuta) never ends. During the period of December 22, 2013 to January 15, 2014, the total rubbish collected in the coastal ar-eas of Samigita has reached more than 1,000 tons. The phenomenon of marine debris is predicted to last until mid-March.

Two villages have not owned area code

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

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EntertainmentWEATHER FORECAsT

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

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Malaysia’s God problem erupts, tarnishing moderate image

Protesters clash with police at large Ukraine rally

Barca, Atletico held to draws, cling to co-lead

Aside from travelers usually making a visit that seemed de-serted, the local tourism actors like tourist guides, traders and business owners such as restaurateurs also looked lethargic without many do-mestic and foreign tourists. Kadek Widiasa revealed on Sunday (Jan

19) that he had not handled guests almost for ten days where he usu-ally escorted guests to see dolphins in the open sea. “Almost for ten days I have not had a guest. A number of tourist guides and local fishermen on Lovina Beach are in the same boat,” he said.

Widiasa described that he could take around two to three guests a day. However, since the weather was adverse, it made the beach condition uncomfortable and dolphins as the iconic of Lovina Beach were reluctant to appear onto the surface. “To antici-pate the condition as we cannot go to sea and do not handle guests, we take odd jobs. In January and February, it tends to be quiet,” he explained.

High winds approaching Lovina Beach had caused the marine de-bris to litter along the shoreline. It certainly made the spectacle on

the beach become dirty and less un-sightly. “Rubbish scattered around the coast comes from rivers and the ocean. Such marine debris make the beach look dirty. We and other traders usually clean up the beach if there is marine debris,” he said.

Sluggish look due to lack of tourist arrivals was also perceived by cloth souvenir traders and trinkets around the Lovina Beach. Kadek Putri, one of the traders, said the visit was almost deserted this week since the weather condi-tion was poor. “Tourists visit at the

beginning of the New Year is quiet enough. It is also caused by the ev-er-changing weather condition such as strong winds and big waves,” he said. He hoped such condition would not last long and tourists could come to visit and bring in fortune for beach traders.

“Hopefully, the weather condi-tion could be getting better quickly, in order that we can clean up the beach by amassing the marine debris. Besides, we also hope the tourist visit will increase,” he added. (dgk)

Lovina Beach is very quiet in the las view days

Ever-changing weather causes Lovina Beach to lack of visitorsSingaraja (Bali Post)—

Big waves have virtually dropped in on Lovina Beach area Singaraja for a week. The coming of strong winds has caused the tourist visit to Lovina Beach increasingly lower within the past few days.

IBP/File

While an Oscar tie is unlikely, the rare PGA split keeps the Academy Awards race wide open in one of the tightest three-way battles in years. It may have been shut out by the producers, but David O. Russell’s con caper “American Hus-tle” is also still very much in the running following a week of big showings at the Golden Globes, Oscar nominations and

Screen Actors Guild Awards.With only the Directors Guild and

Writers Guild awards remaining in the next two weeks, the Oscar race is head-ing into the home stretch when several thousand academy voters make their choices prior to the March 2 ceremony.

Many PGA members belong to the producers branch of the motion picture

academy, hence the frequent alignment of the two groups’ top feature film picks, including “No Country for Old Men” (2007), “Slum Dog Millionaire” (2008), “The Hurt Locker” (2009), “The King’s Speech” (2010), “The Artist” (2011) and “Argo” (2012).

Other trophies presented Sunday night at the guild’s 25th annual awards ceremony in Beverly Hills, Calif., in-cluded “Frozen” for animated feature, (asterisk)We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks” for documentary film, “Behind the Candelabra” for television movie or miniseries, “Breaking Bad” for TV drama series and “Modern Family” for TV comedy series.

Associated Press Writer

PARK CITY, Utah — Kate Hudson is not only a co-star of Zach Braff in his sec-ond movie, “Wish I Was Here,” she’s also a good friend. So she feels a special con-nection to the film, which Braff financed through an appeal on the donation site Kickstarter. “I’ll never forget. We were sitting down having a couple drinks and he goes, ‘You know what? I’m tired of people telling me I can or can’t do things. I’m just gonna start doing what I want,’” recalled Hudson at the premiere of the movie. “And I was like, ‘You know, you do that.’ It sort of became your mantra.”

She also says the film’s script, co-written by Braff and his brother Adam, struck a chord. It made her emotional to explain it on the red carpet. “I loved it

and actually it hit me on a very personal level because the themes of this film are about family, and you know, finding yourself and where you belong, and let-ting go of certain dreams and realizing that your life is right in front of you and taking that in instead of being one step ahead of it,” she said. Tears welled up in her eyes as she added: “Just something about it just really resonated with me and made me quite emotional.”

“Wish I Was Here” is Braff’s second directorial effort. His first, “Garden State,” which he wrote, directed and co-starred in with Natalie Portman, was a critical success. It’s been 10 years since Braff re-turned to the director’s chair and he made it happen by funding the movie using the crowdsourcing site Kickstarter.

“The Kickstarter thing was born

out of... like, ‘God, this system is ex-hausting and there’s so many pitfalls it’s ridiculous. There has to be another way,’” explained Braff of the red tape and politics that can hinder filmmaking in Hollywood. Braff’s good friend Don-ald Faison, Mandy Patinkin, Joey King, Josh Gadd and Ashley Greene are also in the movie and were at the Saturday premiere. One Direction singer Harry Styles also showed up to support Braff, who has become a good friend.

Actress Kate Hudson and Director/Co-Writer Zach Braff pose at the pre-

miere of the film “Wish I Was Here” during the 2014 Sundance Film

Festival, on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014 in Park City, Utah.

Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP

Hudson has emotional connection to Braff movie

Producers pick ‘12 Years a Slave’ and ‘Gravity’Associated Press Writer

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — For the past six years, every feature film chosen by the Producers Guild of America for its top honor has gone on to win the best-picture prize at the Academy Awards. Sunday night, Steve McQueen’s historical epic “12 Years a Slave” and Alfonso Cuaron’s space odyssey “Gravity” tied for the guild’s highest honor.

Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP

Steve McQueen, right, Chiwetel Ejiofor, left, and Brad Pitt arrive at the 25th annual Producers Guild of America Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014.