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How countries cope with migrants arriving by boat

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

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

16 Pages Number 897th year

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

DPs 23 - 32WEATHER FORECAsT

Attorney Christopher Brown said he issued the statement to clarify comments the singer made during a concert over the weekend about his daughter’s condition. The statement goes on to say that “there has been improvement” in her condition.

However, it also adds that Bobbi Kristina Brown is just now begin-ning rehabilitation “and the quality of her life will not be known for years to come.”

Bobbi Kristina Brown is the only child of Bobby Brown and the late

Whitney Houston.Houston was found face-down and

unresponsive in about a foot of water in a bathtub in a Beverly Hills hotel room Feb. 11, 2012, just before the Grammys. She later died, and authori-ties concluded she had accidentally drowned. Investigators found a dozen prescription-drug bottles in the suite and listed heart disease and cocaine use as contributors to her death.

On Saturday night, an emotional Bobby Brown told concertgoers that Bobbi Kristina was “awake” and “she is watching me.”

Bobby Brown’s wife, Alicia Etheredge-Brown, added in the statement that during the concert, Brown “made an attempt to correct the negative comments he must endure on a daily basis from both family and the public regarding his daughter’s medical condition.”

“He is encouraged by the steps that Bobbi Kristina has made since her hospitalization on January 31, 2015,” Etheredge-Brown said. “She has made it out of ICU, opened her eyes, and started a rehabilitation that will be long and hard.” (ap)

TAURANGA, New Zealand - AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd on Tuesday made a surprise guilty plea on a charge of threatening to kill, with his lawyer describing the veteran rocker’s offence as “just an angry phone call”.

Rudd had previously denied all allegations against him, but changed his plea on the first day of his trial at Tauranga District Court in New Zealand, also admitting two minor drug possession charges.

As a result, judge Robert Woolff adjourned the matter after just 10 minutes and extended Rudd’s bail until a sentencing hearing on June 26.

While threatening to kill carries a potential jail term of seven years, Rudd’s solicitor Craig Tuck said the 60-year-old would apply for a discharge without conviction.

“What we can see now is that this matter was essentially just an angry phone call that resulted in police getting a search warrant... that was it,” Tuck told reporters outside the court.

Rudd was arrested in November

at his waterfront mansion in the North Island coastal town of Tau-ranga, with court documents reveal-ing he was accused of threatening to kill a former employee.

He was allegedly upset about poor organisation at a function to launch his solo album “Head Job” in August, calling an associate four weeks later to say he wanted the ex-employee “taken out”, then phoning the man and threatening his life.

He allegedly offered the as-sociate “NZ$200,000 ($153,000), a motorbike, one of his cars or a house”.

When police raided Rudd’s home, they found 0.478 grams (0.017 ounces) of methamphet-amine and 91 grams (3.21 ounces) of cannabis, the documents said.

Rudd initially faced another charge of “attempting to procure murder”, but it was dropped after prosecutors decided there was in-sufficient evidence.

A second charge of threatening to kill -- relating to the ex-employ-ee’s daughter -- was dropped on Tuesday. (afp)

Tommy Schaefer, 21, was found guilty of the premeditated murder of Sheila von Wiese Mack on the resort island and jailed for 18 years.

His girlfriend and the victim’s daughter, 19-year-old Heather Mack who was pregnant at the time of the crime, was found guilty of assisting in the murder and given a 10-year prison term.

Schaefer wept in the Bali court as judges recounted harrowing details of the case, in which he beat the 62-year-old victim to death with a fruit bowl during a blazing row in the five-star resort, before he and his girlfriend dumped the body in a taxi.

“The defendant’s actions dis-turbed the public and can be con-sidered sadistic,” said Judge Made Suweda as he sentenced Schaefer. The case sent shockwaves across the tropical holiday island that wel-comes millions of foreign visitors each year.

Schaefer’s jail term was the same as that recommended by prosecutors. He escaped a death sentence, the maximum term for premeditated murder in Indone-sia.

Heather Mack, who hid in the bathroom while Schaefer attacked her mother, was found guilty of the lesser charge of assisting in the murder. Prosecutors had rec-ommended a 15-year jail term but Suweda said judges decided to give her a lighter sentence as she needed to care for her baby daughter, who was born last month.

Von Wiese Mack’s badly beaten body was discovered in a taxi out-side an upmarket resort on Bali last August. After her killing, the couple -- from the Chicago area -- fled to another part of Bali where police arrested them.

Schaefer confessed to the kill-ing during his trial but claimed he

was defending himself during an argument with von Wiese Mack, who was unhappy that her daughter was pregnant.

P rosecu to r s a l l eged tha t Schaefer “blindly hit” von Wiese Mack with the fruit bowl in a fit of rage after she directed a racial slur at him. Schaefer is black.

While her mother was being murdered, Mack hid in the bath-room and the couple then stuffed

the body into the suitcase together, according to her indictment.

The pair were tried separately. Handing down the verdict in

Schaefer’s case, Suweda said he was “legally and convincingly” guilty of premeditated murder.

Mack’s baby girl Stella is staying with her in Bali’s notorious Ker-obokan jail, where prisoners live in cramped, insanitary conditions and drug abuse is widespread.

In an interview with the Chica-go Tribune newspaper in February, Mack said she was “petrified” and revealed that she was sharing a cell with 10 other women.

“I loved my mom with all my heart and miss her every day,” she said.

The case involved a lengthy investigation, with assistance from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Locals and foreigners alike were horrified at the rare murder on Bali, a pocket of Hinduism in Muslim-majority Indonesia famed for its

palm-fringed, pristine beaches.Foreign visitors sometimes run

into trouble on the tropical island, although they normally fall foul of Indonesia’s tough anti-drugs laws, which include the death penalty for smuggling narcotics. (afp)

Bali suitcase murder

US couple given long jail terms

REUTERS/Darren Whiteside

Tommy Schaefer of the U.S., cries inside a Denpasar court on the Indonesian resort island of Bali April 21, 2015. An Indonesian court on Tuesday sentenced Schaefer to 18 years in prison for the murder an American woman whose body was found stuffed into a suitcase on the resort island of Bali.

DENPASAR - A US couple were given long jail terms Tuesday for the “sadistic” murder of the woman’s mother, whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase outside a luxury hotel on In-donesia’s Bali island.

News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http://globalfmbali.listen2my-

radio.com or live video streaming at http://radioglobalfmbali.com and http://ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.

Christine Cornege/New Zealand Herald via AP

AC/DC drummer’s kill threat just an ‘angry call’

ARLINGTON, Texas - Taylor Swift returned to her country roots at the American Country Music (ACM) Awards and celebrated with her mother and father. A video package highlighting her career and success played before Swift was awarded the 50th Anniversary Milestone Award, also given to Lambert, Strait, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire and Kenny Chesney.

Swift’s mother, who recently announced she is battling cancer, presented the award to her 25-year-old daughter with emotional words.

“I am a very proud mom,” said Andrea Swift, who also called Swift “brave enough to explore her musical curiosity.”

Taylor Swift thanked the country world for showing grace when she announced the release her first full-blown pop album, the top-selling “1989,” last year.

“I am so happy I learned how to write songs in a town like Nashville,” said Swift, who sat in the audience with her father, Scott Swift. (ap)

Bobbi Kristina Brown has opened eyes

ATLANTA — Bobby Brown’s lawyer issued a statement Monday saying the singer’s daughter has “opened her eyes” nearly three months after being found unresponsive in a bathtub in her Georgia home.

Swift awarded milestone award at ACM

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Taylor Swift accepts the milestone award at the 50th annual Academy of Country Music Awards at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, April 19, 2015, in Arlington, Texas.

Page 6

Japan’s leader sends offerings to controversial war shrine

Page 8

Real’s Rodriguez may hold key amid injury crisis

International2 Wednesday, April 22, 2015 15International Activities

Bali News

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

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

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

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

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In the matter of employment, the figure of a man named Gede Nik Sukarta is always energetic. He never discriminates the quality of employment where he earns livelihood. It also applies in the Kayu Raja Villa Seminyak where he leads the eco-friendly accommodation. “I always show hard work, discipline, bravery and honesty in leading our men,” said the General Manager calmly.

The friendly man who working in the Kayu Raja Villa said he always put emphasis to staff in order they could focus on the employment, discipline, honesty and responsibility. All the times, he reminds the division head and supervisor of the importance as a trainer. By doing so, they could always ensure to provide training on the spot to the staff.

Additionally, spiritual motivation is always implanted to his staff. “I believe in the service excellence and the golden rules of marketing lay in the service excellence of operation. As evidence, it has made the hotel or villa survive forever,” said the man who has the Virgo zodiac.

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Gede Nik Sukarta:Always showing hard work, discipline

Similarly remnants of food left by the pilgrims could be seen scat-tered all over the outermost court-yard in front of Basukihan Temple. After saying prayers and having lunch with their families or friends, most people just left their offerings and plastic incense wrappers in the courtyard and tossed their rubbish haphazardly,

Apparently the pilgrim lack awareness depite the fact that the ritual committee had asked people to do the devotional work of placing their offerings in special trash bins by hanging a banner with instruc-tions above oblations platform. The temple priests also made frequent announcements asking people to pick up after themselves.

Chairman of the ritual commit-tee, I Wayan Gunatra, admitted that the awareness of pilgrims regard-ing sanitation at Besakih temple, remains low. Gunatra who is also chief of Besakih customary village said that if only everyone was aware and disciplined in picking up their own offerings when they were done with them, the sanitation attendants would not be overwhelmed.

A total of 80 sanitation attendants

are employed at Besakih, including 35 janitors under the coordination of the Karangasem Sanitation and Landscaping Agency. However, when there is an abundance of pil-grims, rubbish ends up scattered all over the grounds.

The problem is that the janitors do not have a chance to sweep because as soon as one groups of pilgrims is down praying, another group immediately takes a seat to pray, having queued for a long time.

Gunatra added that: “every-one must realize that maintaining temple sanitation and sanctity is also very important, just as im-portant as the prayers themselves. For this reason, both pilgrims and merchants would remain diligent in their responsibility to maintain the sanctity and sanitation of the temple”.

Before being sent to the landfill at Palak hamlet, the rubbish is stockpiled in four seperate locations and sometimes due to traffic jams, waste transportation is delayed. Ap-parently, the rubbish is also dumped into the river under the Kiduling Kreteg. (013)

SEMARAPURA - After suc-cessfully organizing the Festival Nusa Penida 2014, the government of Klungkung will hold the Semara-pura Festival 2015.

As planned, the Semarapura Fes-tival will be held on April 25-28 in the town of Semarapura. The event is held in the 107th celebration of the Puputan Klungkung and the 23rd anniversary of Semarapura town. Besides, it will also be re-

sumed with the Archipelagic Regal Hospitality.

Spokesperson of the govern-ment of Klungkung County, Wayan Parna, revealed that the Semarapura Festival 2015 will take the theme Atita, Wartamana,

Nagata—this name is taken be-cause it implies the glories of the past inspiring the current struggle for future brightness. “The theme of the Semarapura Festival 2015

would like to interpret the past glories of Klungkung kingdom for today’s spirit, so that it can be successful in the future that makes Klungkung County superior and prosperous,” he said on Tuesday.

The Festival Semarapura 2015 aiming to promote tourism and preserve culture will hold various events. Among others, the event will include cultural carnival, SME exhibitions, Dharma Gita,

fun bike, blood donation, exhibi-tion of painting Kamasan puppet for regeneration, trekking the path of Puputan Klungkung struggle, drama gong, and commemoration of Puputan Klungkung, marching band, semar pagulingan gamelan music, marching band, Pendet Dance en masse, fashion show and musical entertainment.

To provide information for the public, various intersections and

public places have been installed with banners and billboards re-lated to the implementation of the festival.

The regent of Klungkung, I Nyoman Suwirta, hoped that this event can reach a success and has an impact on the tourist visit and the cultural preservation. “Hope-fully, this festival can increase the next tourist arrivals,” he ex-plained. (dwa)

IBP/File

The garbage is pilling up in Besakih Temple during the ceremony.

Festival Semarapura jazzes up the celebration of Puputan Klungkung

Keeping temples clean: lack of awareness and discipline

AMLAPUrA - Local pilgrims worshipping in temples, ap-parently still lack awareness about the importance of keeping these holy places free of garbage and disposing of offerings in a suitable manner. This was clearly witnessed by the rub-bish scattered around the outer most courtyard of Penataran Besakih Temple during the Ida Batara Turun Kabeh (IBTK) ritual, last weekend.

3Wednesday, April 22, 2015 14 InternationalInternational Bali NewsTechnology Wednesday, April 22, 2015

“My name is ChihiraAico. How do you do?” she says in Japanese, blinking and nodding to customers in the foyer of Mitsukoshi, Japan’s oldest department store chain.

Clad in an elegant traditional kimono, ChihiraAico -- a name that sounds similar to a regular Japanese woman’s name -- breaks into a rosy-lipped smile as would-be shoppers approach.

Unlike her real-life counterparts -- almost always young women -- who welcome cus-tomers to shops like this, ChihiraAico cannot answer questions, but simply runs through her pre-recorded spiel.

The android, with lifelike skin and almost (but not quite) natural-looking movements, was developed by microwaves-to-power sta-tions conglomerate Toshiba, and unveiled at

a tech fair in Japan last year.“We are aiming to develop a robot that can

gradually do what a human does,” said Hitoshi Tokuda, chief specialist at Toshiba.

“The standard of customer service in this Mitsukoshi flagship store is top quality and this is a great opportunity to see what role our humanoid can play in this kind of envi-ronment.”

ChihiraAico will receive customers at the store until Tuesday, before taking part in a series of promotional events over the upcom-ing Golden Week holidays.

The humanoid is not the first robot to begin customer service in Japan -- the wisecracking Pepper, a four-foot (120 centimetre) machine with a plastic body perched on rollers, flogs coffee machines and mobile phones. (afp)

PARIS - The French mother of an autistic child has created what is believed to be the world’s first smartphone application allow-ing people speaking different languages -- or those incapable of speech at all -- to communicate together, French company Sogeti said Monday.

Marie Spitz developed the “Talk Dif-ferent” app that uses 700 images, colours, icons and sounds to create messages based on alternative communication techniques she practised to interact with her daughter Pauline, whose autism severely limits her speech capacity.

The key to “Talk Different,” Spitz says, is the ease and accessibility that allows lost travellers, the vocally- or hearing-impaired or other verbally isolated users to construct messages on smartphones or pads that virtu-ally anyone else will understand.

It was introduced for purchase and down-loading on Google Play and Apple Store in nine international languages on Monday by Sogeti, an affiliate of French computing service giant Capgemini.

Spitz says the 99 cent “Talk Different” app’s picture book simplicity is an inten-tional contrast to the more complex and confounding tools she used in communicat-ing with her daughter.

“The cost, required training and excessive specificity of aids for handicapped people

make them difficult to access, and wind up isolating the handicapped,” Spitz says.

“I have worked for over three years on this project with the goal that Talk Different would be accessible to all, for less than a euro on smartphones, while being very easy to use. The application requires no special training,” she adds

After working around her daughter’s speech disability for over a decade, Spitz founded her MPSLS software company to develop and perfect an application using her insights for medical, educational and tourism communication use.

Users select drawings and photos of various figures, situations, emotions or ideas, and combine them with colour, sound, text and other evocative content to construct what become easily identifiable messages or questions.

“Talk Different makes everyday com-munication easier via an intuitive and fun application. With her exceptional vision and drive, Marie Spitz has invented a new way of communicating for people who may not speak the same language or who suffer from a range of disabilities,” says Patrick Marquet, project manager at Sogeti.

With “Talk Different” now available for general public use, Spitz says she is develop-ing a version of the app specifically for health workers and the handicapped. (afp)

NEW YORK - Twitter said Monday it was making it easier to take direct messages private, carving out a bigger space for tar-geted exchanges on the popular microblog-ging service.

Previously, direct messaging could only occur between two Twitter users “following” each other, which basically allowed both par-ties to see whatever they posted publicly.

As of Monday, a user can change the settings on his accounts to allow receipt of a direct message from anyone, including those who do not follow the user. In turn, the user can reply with a direct message to

the sender, regardless of whether the sender follows the user, Twitter announced in a blog on its website.

Users who opt in can still take steps to block unwanted direct messages from a specific sender.

“We hope these changes help you connect more easily -- and directly -- on Twitter with the people, causes and businesses you care about most,” Twitter said.

At the end of 2014, Twitter had 288 million monthly active users, sending 500 million tweets per day, according to the San Francisco-based company. (afp)

AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi

Customers watch android robot “Aiko Chihira” at the reception of Mitsukoshi depart-ment store in Tokyo, Monday, April 20, 2015. The lifelike android robot, which was developed by Japanese electronics manufacturer Toshiba, marked her first day at work as a receptionist at the department store on Monday, greetings customers as they walked in.

Japan robot receptionist welcomes shoppers

TOKYO - She can smile, she can sing and this robot receptionist who started work in Tokyo on Monday never gets bored of welcoming customers to her upmarket shop.

Mother of austistic child develops ‘universal language’ app

AP Photo/Richard Drew, File

Twitter expands privacy on direct messages

The request from six Chinese cities came after Garuda Indonesia operated chartered flights from 10 Chinese cities to the world-renowned tourist island during the 2015 Chinese New Year celebrations.

The national flag carrier operated the chartered flights from January 29 to March 29 using Boeing 747-400 aircraft comprising 20 business-class seats and 435 economy-class seats.

“The flights occupancy had reached almost 95 percent,” he pointed out.

Garuda Indonesia is planning to serve chartered flights from the Chinese cities to Bali during the summer holidays from June to August this year.

“If we open chartered flights for six more cities, we must profoundly consider the availability of aircraft and crew members,” he noted.

Subagia stated that the request for chartered flights served as inputs for Garuda Indonesia to formulate a plan to operate new regular flights from China to Indonesia.

“We do not rule out the possibility that if one of the char-tered flight routes shows promising prospects, we will turn it into a regular flight route,” he remarked.

Garuda Indonesia has so far served regular flights from Jakarta to Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, as well as from Denpasar (Bali) to Beijing.

In mid-2015, Garuda Indonesia is expected to operate non-stop regular flights from Guangzhou to Denpasar. Simi-lar flights will also be operated on the Shanghai-Denpasar route.

Bali is one of the favorite destinations for Chinese tour-ists. (ant)

DENPASAR - Indonesia should not worry about the Asean Eco-nomic Community (AEC) 2015 as it has huge human resource potential, according to Chairperson of the Indonesia Businesspersons Asso-ciation (Apindo) for Bali province Panudiana Kuhn. “In terms of hu-man resource potential, Indonesia has gained prominence as compared to other Asean member countries,” he stated on Tuesday.

In addition to the human resource potential, Indonesia’s small and domestic industrial products have penetrated Thailand’s markets.

Meanwhile, Bali’s tourism and education sectors are ready to face the AEC, he added.

According to Kuhn, the tour-ism sector is well developed since it is supported by skilled human resources, star-class hotels coupled with natural beauty and unique cultures.

“The uniqueness and diversity of Balinese cultures inherited from

generation to generation continue to lure tourists to the island,” Kuhn remarked.

During 2014, Bali attracted 3.76 million tourists, an increase of 14.89 percent as compared to 3.27 million tourists recorded in the previous year.

During the period between January and February 2015, for-eign tourists visiting Bali reached 604,739, an increase of 15.44 percent as compared to 555,052 tourists recorded in the same pe-riod last year.

Kuhn emphasized that the tour-ism sector in Indonesia, especially in Bali, will be superior in the framework of the AEC.

In the field of education, higher education institutions in Bali are accepting foreign students.

Most of the foreign students have enrolled in medical courses at the Udayana University, besides other majors such as Balinese traditional cultures, Kuhn added. (ant)

ANTARA FOTO/Andika Wahyu

Six Chinese cities have made an official request to Garuda Indonesia to operate chartered flights to the resort island of Bali.

Six chinese cities request Garuda chartered flights to Bali

BEIJING - Six Chinese cities have made an official request to Garuda Indonesia to operate chartered flights to the resort island of Bali. “We are conduct-ing an in-depth study regarding the request as we also have to consider the availability of aircraft and crew members,” Vice President of Garuda Indonesia for China I. Wayan Subagia stated on Tuesday.

Indonesia should not worry about AEC

ANTARA FOTO/Fikri Yusuf

A man crafted a watermelon during a fruit and vegetable craft-ing competition held at Denpasar, recently. Indonesia should not worry about the Asean Economic Community (AEC) 2015 as it has huge human resource potential, according to Chairper-son of the Indonesia Businesspersons Association (Apindo) for Bali province Panudiana Kuhn.

International4 Wednesday, April 22, 2015 Wednesday, April 22, 2015 13InternationalBali News

Two recent shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea be-

lieved to have taken the lives of as many as 1,300 asylum seekers and migrants has highlighted the escalating flow of people fleeing per-

secution, war and economic difficulties in their home-

lands. Over the years, thou-sands of people in Asia have

also used boats to escape. Here’s a look at where many go, and how they are treated

once they arrive.

AUSTRALIA

COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN: Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, China, Somalia, Sudan, Myanmar and Vietnam.

DESTINATIONS: Most of the boats leave Indonesian ports for Christmas Island, an Australian territory 345 kilometers (215 miles) south of the Indonesian island of Java, or Ashmore Reef, a collec-tion of Australian islands east of Christmas Island. They often arrive without passports, which makes repatriating them more difficult.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Since July 2013, Australia has re-fused to allow refugees who arrive by boat to settle on the mainland, and it has been turning back boats since the current government was elected in September 2013.

It has a detention camp for asy-lum seekers on Christmas Island and pays Papua New Guinea and the Pacific island nation of Nauru to run similar camps where asylum seekers wait while their applications for refugee status are processed.

Australia has an agreement to pay Cambodia to take refugees detained on Nauru, and with Pap-ua New Guinea to resettle those camped out in there. So far none have gone to Cambodia, while some have been resettled in Papua New Guinea.

Australia is much more welcom-ing of asylum seekers who arrive by plane, although it still requires an initial period of detention. Once out of detention, some are allowed to work while others rely on welfare, including free medical care, but they are not eligible for government housing and must find accommoda-tion in the private rental market.

INDONESIA

COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN: Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Middle Eastern coun-

tries.DESTINATION: AustraliaG O V E R N M E N T ’ S R E -

SPONSE: Indonesia, with its thou-sands of islands and long stretches of unpatrolled coastlines, is a key transit country for asylum seek-ers and migrants wanting to get to Australia.

The country hasn’t signed the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention and doesn’t legally recognize asylum seekers or refugees. But it does operate 13 detention centers around the country that temporarily house them while the U.N. High Commis-sioner for Refugees office processes their applications for refugee status and eventual resettlement in a third country such as the U.S. or Canada. Thousands more live on their own outside the detention centers.

MALAYSIA

COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN: Mostly Myanmar, but also from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen and Sudan.

DESTINATIONS: Most register with the UNHCR for resettlement in a third country while others travel through Malaysia to Indonesia in a bid to reach Australia.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: As in Indonesia and Thailand, asylum seekers and refugees have no legal status in Malaysia, putting

them at risk of arrest and deten-tion.

There are no refugee camps in Malaysia, and more than 100,000 of these “urban refugees” live in overcrowded, low-cost apartments or houses across the country. Their children do not have access to for-mal education. Barred legally from working, many earn money doing dirty or dangerous jobs that locals shun, while they wait for possible resettlement through the UNHCR — typically a process that lasts several years.

EUROPE

COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN: Mainly Syria, Iraq, Eritrea and Somalia. Palestinians also have at-tempted to flee to Europe.

DESTINATION: Closest point of landfall, which usually means Italy, Greece or Malta. Many travel overland to Bulgaria and Hungary, favoring destinations like Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and other Nordic countries.

EUROPEAN UNION’S RE-SPONSE: Asylum seekers and migrants arriving in Europe without visas are interviewed and finger-printed by authorities. EU nations have “reception centers” to house migrants where they are fed and given health care while their ap-plications for asylum are being assessed.

Some migrants are given tempo-rary permits allowing them to stay while their cases are studied. The country where they land is respon-sible for handling this, including providing free legal assistance. The process should not exceed 11 months. Those who do not qualify for residency of some kind are in some cases invited to leave Europe voluntarily, with some incentives. Others are expelled, sometimes put on a plane and flown to their home nation.

INDIA

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Sri Lanka

DESTINATION: IndiaGOVERNMENT RESPONSE:

After Sri Lanka’s civil war erupted in 1983, hundreds of thousands from the ethnic Tamil minority fled the fighting between the majority Sinhalese government and Tamil rebels demanding an independent homeland. The refugees arrived in waves — many aboard crowded, rickety wooden boats that crossed the narrow bay between Sri Lanka their island nation and India — and landed on the beaches of Tamil Nadu state.

The Indian government erected hundreds of refugee camps, where authorities questioned people to make sure they were not linked to the rebels. Once cleared, they were

given living quarters, monthly ra-tions and the chance to find work in the community.

With ethnic, cultural and lin-guistic ties to India’s Tamils in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, many refugees from Sri Lanka assimilated and took Indian citizenship. Others opted for repatriation offered at various times. The arrivals ceased when the Sri Lankan government crushed the rebels with months of heavy bombings and ended the war in 2009.

BANGLADESH

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Myan-mar

DESTINATION: BangladeshTHE GOVERNMENT’S RE-

SPONSE: Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, a long-persecuted Muslim minority group in Myan-mar, have fled to Bangladesh in re-cent years to escape persecution in the predominantly Buddhist nation. Roughly 400,000 Rohingya are be-lieved to have gone to Bangladesh, where many of their ancestors came from, but only about 30,000 are of-ficially recognized as refugees. The luckiest live in designated refugee camps, which include schools and clinics, but most either live in squalid informal camps or in poor, crowded neighborhoods.

In 2012, when waves of Roh-ingya sought shelter in Bangladesh, border authorities reportedly forced more than 1,300 back into the sea in their creaky vessels. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina denied the refugees had been driven away, but made clear she didn’t want them, saying the country, already densely popu-lated, “cannot bear this burden.”

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

DESTINATION: United States, Canada, Australia

FLIGHT AND RESPONSE: The mass exodus of Vietnamese “boat people” began in 1978, a few years after the end of the Vietnam War, with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing to escape persecution by the victorious Communist gov-ernment. Another wave followed in the late 1980s. The United Na-tions refugee agency says at least 840,000 left by sea.

The majority initially landed in Hong Kong and several Southeast Asian nations that established refu-gee camps and threatened to push them back, but most eventually settled in the United States, Canada and Australia. (ap)

How countries cope with migrants arriving by boat

Over the last ten years, thou-sands of people in the area have come to rely on arrack production for their livelihood.

Head of the Karangasem In-dustry and Trade Agency, Gusti Ngurah Suarta, said on Tuesday that traditional arrack has be-come one of the main home in-dustries for approximately 7,600 people in Karangasem’s four subdiscticts;. Manggis, Sidemen, Abang and Kubu. This thriv-ing home industry provides a is able to produce 220,000 bottles a month or 2.65 million bottles a year. Although thousands of people make arrack, only a few businesses such as UD Putrajaya, Dukuh Lestari and Bali Saka, have a permit.

Suarta said that the Ministry of Trades Regulation No.6/2015 on the Control and Supervision of Liquor Procurement, Distribution, and Sale, is like a nightmare for arrack makers, so the Karangasem Industry and Trade Agency is making efforts to help resolve their problem, including provid-ing guidance to arrack makers about how to become palm sugar producers instead. The attempt to guide arrack makers -in Tianyar hamlet, Kubu village, has been quite successful. The KI.T.A. has provided the arrack producers of Tianyar with the equipment

required to produce palm sugar and people are willing to gradu-ally switch professions, given the pressure to do so by the local government. However, unlike the arrack makers Kubu subdistricts, thousands of arrack makers in other areas refuse to switch to palm sugar production Ngurah Suarta said that they are refusing to make the switch because the income that they earn from pro-ducing arrack has allowed them to support their families and pay for their children’s school tuition.

They argue that producing ar-rack is more practical and sells more quickly than palm sugar. In response to their refusal switch professions, Ngurah Suarta is looking into other options that might be more suitable for them. It is worth noting that Karan-gasem’s arrack industry has been a source of employment for many people in all four subdistricts, to be precise: Manggis has a total of 800 arrack makers who produce about 250,000 bottles per year, Sidemen has 3,700 arrack pro-ducers that pump out 1,250,000 bottles per year, Abang produces 980,000 bottles a year, made by 2,500 people and Kubu has 600 people producing 240,000 bottles per year. Suarta therefor hopes to resolve this problem as soon as possible. (kmb31)

DENPASAR - After report-ing the incident of a man named NIM’s Facebook insult of Nyepi a month ago, representatives of the Balinese Hindu went to the Bali Police, Monday (Apr. 20) to question the seriousness of the Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation Unit’ regarding follow-up on this case. Repre-sentatives of the Cakrawayu, the Alliance of the Public Welfare Observer (Apisemar) and Institute for Monitoring and Executive Agency of the Republic of Indo-

nesia (LPPNRI) showed up to get some answers form the Police.

“We want confirmation that there has been follow-up on the reported case. It was reported a month ago, but we have yet to be provided any information about what is going on,” said Chairman of the LPPNRI, Made Ardika.

According to Ardika, and Chairman of the Apisemar, Nyo-man Pasek, there is fear that ff there are omissions in this case, it could affect the development of public opinion and lead to nega-

tive things. During their meeting with the Deputy Director of the Special Criminal Investigation Unit of Bali Police, T Widodo Ra-hino, the concerned citizens were assured that police have in fact followed up on the case. Several obstacles however have caused a delay in the handling of the report. Nevertheless, police promised to continue the investigation and track down NIM. “If there are omissions in procedure on the part of the Police, it could be very dan-gerous. We state that the reported

incident involves discrimination or “SARA”. If this is allowed to continue it will threaten the unity of society,” he said.

Ardika hopes that this case will not result in people assuming that there is indifference regarding the rights of minorities. “Do not let things like this happen, it could lead to the development of radical opinions,” he said.

As reported previously, the alliance of Hindu community or-ganizations and representatives of the Balinese community reported

the owner of a Facebook account (Fb) with the initial NIM to Bali Police, for having insulted Bali-nese Hindus. They reported the case, asserting that NIM’s com-ments in the social media qualify as harassment and humiliation of the Hindu community and are also words of provocation. The reported case is an infringement of Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE). Therefore, the Bali Police has been asked again to immediately arrest NIM. (kmb36)

Local community asks about progress on Nyepi insult caseIBP/Budana

Lontar tress, the source of arak in Karangasem

Arak makers invited to switch to palm sugar production

AMLAPURA - The central government’s prohibition of the sale of alcohol, is impacting the lives of arrack producers in Karangasem who have been invited to change there profession and become palm sugar producers. Some Karangasem arrack produces have however, rejected the offer.

Indonesia Today Wednesday, April 22, 2015 5InternationalWednesday, April 22, 201512 International

BUSINESS

Assistant Secretary of State Danny Russel was speaking just days before Japanese Prime Minis-ter Shinzo Abe is due to arrive on a historic visit to Washington, where he will hold talks with US President Barack Obama and become the first Japanese premier to address a joint session of Congress.

One of the issues at the top of the agenda in his talks with US officials from April 26 to May 3 will be the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), an ambitious 12-nation free-trade

agreement including Australia, Ja-pan, Singapore and Vietnam.

The trade deal would encompass 40 percent of the global economy and has been the subject of pro-tracted negotiations. But it does not include China -- the world’s second largest economy.

“TPP is making steady headway. We are within what I would call grabbing distance of an agreement with the Japanese and that’s really the lynchpin to closing” the whole deal, Russel told a New York think-

tank.“Every leader and every trade

minister within the 12 is determined to close on this deal this year, and it’s really a very impressive deal, not only in trade terms but in en-vironment and labor as well,” he added in his talk at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Abe told The Wall Street Journal he also believed that a deal was within reach.

“We think that an agreement between Japan and the US is close,

but we’re hoping that even more progress will be made,” Abe told the business daily.

US and Japanese negotiators have been holding a marathon session in Tokyo as they bid to close the gaps, which have bogged down on issues including Japanese tariffs on agricultural imports and US access to Japan’s auto market.

“It would be good if I could reach an agreement during my meeting with the president, but when you climb a mountain, the last step is always the hardest,” Abe told the Journal.

“Ultimately, what needs to hap-

pen is for both countries to make a political decision” to resolve the differences, he added.

Last week, senior US lawmakers reached a deal to make it easier for Obama to negotiate the massive trade pact.

If Congress as a whole approves the bill, it would grant Obama “fast-track” authority, and give lawmak-ers the ability to vote to approve or reject the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership.

But it would prevent them from introducing changes to the accord -- described as the largest since the North American Free Trade Agree-ment. (afp)

“Please come and invest in Indonesia -- if you have any prob-lem, call me,” he told business chiefs and government leaders at the World Economic Forum’s Asia edition, who burst into laughter and applause.

Widodo, who has won huge popularity thanks to his humble background and down-to-earth image, was seeking to win fresh investment as growth slows, and to convince the world that he remains committed to reform despite recent doubts.

Some 700 participants attended the event, known as “Asia’s Davos” in reference to the WEF’s annual global gathering in Switzerland, at the start of a busy week for Jakarta, which is also hosting a summit of Asian and African leaders.

Indonesia has enjoyed strong growth in recent years, driven by demand for its natural resources, foreign investment and a fast-emerging middle class. But expan-sion has been slowing as commod-ity prices fall.

“This is causing a lot of pain

for a lot of people,” Widodo told delegates at the WEF event. “I stand here today to invite you to join me and my people on an incred-ible journey... to make incredible profit.”

Widodo, who came to office last year partly on a pledge to revive the economy, has vowed to improve the business climate and bring new investment.

He sees the WEF as a key plat-form to push his agenda, where delegated included Coca-Cola and US oil giant Chevron as well as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich.

However, Widodo, who took power in October, has his work cut out to improve the investment climate, with investors put off in recent years by policies seen as nationalistic in the banking and mining sectors, and complex bu-reaucracy.

Indonesia came a dismal 114th in the World Bank’s latest rankings on the ease of doing business, out of 189 countries.

The president has already taken some steps. He almost entirely axed fuel subsidies that gobbled up a huge chunk of the economy in the early months of his administration, freeing up billions of dollars.

But analysts said momentum appears to have slowed and ac-cused the government of sending mixed signals. They pointed to a ban introduced last week on the sale of beer at small shops across the Muslim-majority country, which sparked anger from international brewers.

“If you want to roll (out) the red carpet, don’t squeeze them when they come,” said Yose Rizal Damuri from Jakarta think-tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

A major focus for Widodo is improving infrastructure, with potholed roads and ageing ports a key complaint of investors -- a problem all too clear for delegates arriving in the chaotic capital Jakarta, which suffers chronic traffic jams and has scant public transport. (afp)

SHANGHAI - Global carmak-ers including Volkswagen, Ford and GM showed off hundreds of vehicles in Shanghai Monday, adamant that China remains the promised land even though sales growth has hit the brakes. At Chi-na’s premier auto show, foreign carmakers admitted an economic slowdown in the world’s second largest economy had taken its toll, but said the market was simply too big -- and too important -- to ignore.

China’s economy expanded 7.4 percent last year, the slowest in nearly a quarter of a century.

“It is still growing and the mar-ket is the largest market in the world,” Ian Robertson, head of sales and marketing at Germany’s BMW, told reporters.

Vehicle sales in China reached 23.49 million last year, well ahead of the United States which it over-took in 2009.

But annual sales growth halved to 6.9 percent last year from 13.9 percent in 2013, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

The slowdown continued in the first three months of this year, when sales rose just 3.9 percent.

Among the bright spots in China is the market for SUVs (sport util-ity vehicles), one of the country’s fastest growing segments.

“By 2018, China is expected to be the biggest market in the world for SUVs,” John Lawler, chairman and CEO of Ford Motor China, told a news conference.

Ford is introducing seven new vehicles in Shanghai, including two SUVs and the Taurus, intended to be its flagship sedan for the China market.

But the “premier” car segment -- which sells for $33,000 to $197,000 -- and the even more pricey luxury

market have been hit by the eco-nomic slowdown as well as a cam-paign lasting more than two years to crack down on corruption and government waste.

“There’s an impact from a cultural standpoint about show-ing off your wealth in China right

now,” said Luca de Meo, member of the board of management for sales and marketing at Germany’s Audi.

“It could have an impact on the automotive business and we’re seeing it already in the high-end segment. There are less govern-

ment-related purchases as well,” he told AFP.

At the show a rumoured ban on scantily clad models appeared to be in effect, with carmakers using demurely dressed attendants and dance shows to draw attention to their stands at a sprawling new venue.

Automakers, with Chinese gov-ernment backing, are making a renewed push for new energy vehicles, displaying the latest fully-electric models and hybrids at the show.

Volkswagen announced plans to locally produce more than 15 new energy vehicles in China in the next four years, while General Motors (GM) will launch a plug-in hybrid version of its Cadillac brand CT6 sedan.

But the Chinese market for electric cars remains small ow-ing to perceived problems with reliability and access to charging facilities.

Electric and hybrid vehicle sales in the country reached 26,581 in the first quarter of this year, three times the same period in 2014 but still accounting for less than one percent of total sales, according to the CAAM.

“The government is very de-termined in terms of the drive for the industry’s electrification,” the president of GM China, Matt Tsien, told reporters.

“How long will it take to get there? I think it all depends on fac-tors like infrastructure and regula-tions.” (afp)

US, Japan in ‘grabbing distance’ of pact on Asia trade deal

WASHINGTON - The United States and Japan are within “grabbing distance” of resolving their differences on a much-awaited massive Pacific free-trade pact, the top US diplomat for Asia said Monday.

China’s biggest auto show opens as economy slows

AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

Dancers perform near the Ford Taurus during the opening of the Shanghai Auto Show in Shang-hai Monday, April 20, 2015. Global carmakers including Volkswagen, Ford and GM showed off hundreds of vehicles in Shanghai Monday, adamant that China remains the promised land even though sales growth has hit the brakes. At China’s premier auto show, foreign carmakers admit-ted an economic slowdown in the world’s second largest economy had taken its toll.

JAKARTA - The Museum of Asia-Africa Conference (KAA) or Building Independence is ready to welcome the heads of state who will take part in a historical walk down Jl. Asia Afrika here on Friday, (April 24). “Preparations for the commemoration of the 60th anni-versary of the Asia-Africa Confer-ence (AAC) are almost 100 percent complete,” Museum of Asia-Africa Conference Head Thomas Ardian Siregar stated on Tuesday.

Ardian remarked that the prepa-rations have been ongoing for the past two months before the culmi-nation of the 60th anniversary of the AAC. “The building has been renovated since last month. The museum has been painted and its floors have been polished,” Ardian revealed.

He noted that during the Band-ung historical walk, the leaders of Asian and African countries will walk alongside the ministers and officials from Savoy Homann Hotel to Merdeka Building.

President Joko Widodo will deliver a speech, and it will be followed by representatives from Africa, Asia, and observer countries at Merdeka Building. The tour will proceed to KAA, which stores and showcases memorabilia.

“There will be a signing of (the guest book) at the Asia Africa Monument, which is built as a sym-bol of togetherness. The museum is a symbol of togetherness that the leaders of Asia and Africa have a shared commitment,” he stated.

In addition, the museum and the local government will also hold a series of other events that will involve the community.

“People can participate and contribute to the AAC. We want the people to celebrate the values of AAC,” he said.

Mayor of Bandung, West Java, H. Ridwan Kamil will read the “Dasa Sila Bandung,” or the Ten Principles of Bandung, at the peak of the 60th commemoration of the AAC here on Friday.

As the host of the 60th commem-oration of the AAC 2015, Ridwan stated that he felt fortunate to have had the opportunity to organize the historic event.

The mayor expressed hope that the 10th annual event will hold sig-nificance for Bandung city, includ-ing for the city’s residents who will welcome the AAC delegates.

The 60th commemoration of the AAC is also proving to be profitable for Indonesia. Based on a survey conducted by the Tourism Minis-try, the country has so far earned Rp480 billion from the event, the mayor noted.

Indonesia has organized a series of events to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the AAC that is be-ing held in Jakarta and Bandung from April 19 to 25, 2015.

Some 32 world leaders are scheduled to attend the AAC Sum-mit on April 22-23. Leaders from Brunei Darussalam, Jordan, Swa-ziland, China, North Korea, Iran, Madagascar, Malawi, Myanmar, Namibia, Sudan, Timor Leste, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Gabon, Ma-laysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Singapore, and Thailand have confirmed their attendance.

Six countries: Algeria, Angola, Liberia, the Philippines, Seychelles, and Zambia will send their deputy heads of state or government.

The first ACC was organized in Bandung, West Java, on April 18-24, 1955, on the initiative of Indonesia, Myanmar (Burma), Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India, and Pakistan. (ant)

ANTARA FOTO/Widodo S. Jusuf

The Museum of Asia-Africa Conference (KAA) or Building Independence is ready to welcome the heads of state who will take part in a historical walk down Jl. Asia Afrika here on Friday, (April 24).

AAC Museum ready to welcome heads of state

‘Call me’: Indonesian leader woos investors

at key Asia forumJAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo turned on his man-of-the people charm at

a key Asian business forum Monday, telling investors they could just give him a call if they ran into trouble.

REUTERS/Beawiharta

President Joko Widodo gestures as he delivers a speech during the interactive session of the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Jakarta April 20, 2015. Widodo urged investors on Monday to come to Indonesia, promising “incredible profits” and assuring them that if they run into any problems they can give him a call.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015 6 International

W RLD 11International Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Previous visits and offerings to Yasukuni Shrine have drawn sharp rebukes from China and South Ko-rea. Abe’s last visit to Yasukuni, in December 2013, also was criticized by Washington.

The shrine said Abe sent “ma-sakaki” offerings, which came with a wooden plate showing his name and official title. He sent similar offerings for last year’s spring and fall festivals at the shrine, which honors war criminals including wartime leader Hideki Tojo among the 2.5 million war dead.

Abe’s move comes at a sensitive time as he has expressed hopes of meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping during an Asia-African conference this week in Indonesia, where they will be among more than 100 leaders taking part. The spring festival at the shine will end before he gets back.

He will also speak to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, where he is expected to touch on

Japan’s wartime history as part of Japan-U.S. relations since the war. Abe’s 8-day U.S. tour, which in-cludes talks with President Barack Obama, is expected to showcase his commitment to stronger ties with Washington, especially in national security. Anything Abe says this year on history will be closely watched because it marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshi-hide Suga said Abe made the ges-ture Tuesday as a private citizen based on his personal belief, and paid for the offerings himself. He said Abe’s offerings did not repre-sent the government’s position as a whole, and brushed off concerns about any diplomatic impact.

Suga also said he still hopes Abe and Xi can meet in an informal set-ting on the sidelines of the confer-ence in Indonesia, although nothing has been set.

“Because they will be attending

the same conference, it would be meaningful if they can meet in a natural way,” Suga told a regular news conference.

As victims of Japan’s wartime aggression, neighboring countries see the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism. They also see visits by Japanese political leaders as a sign of Japan’s lack of remorse over its atrocities. China and South Korea have repeatedly cautioned against Abe’s perceived push for historical revisionism.

In a news program on BS Fuji on Monday, Abe said he does not plan to repeat a landmark apol-ogy made in a 1995 statement by then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama marking the 50th an-niversary of the war’s end. Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a similar apology in 2005. “I don’t see any reason why I have to write that again,” Abe said. “If we merely repeat the same words, we don’t need a new statement.” (ap)

BELGRADE, Serbia — An in-vestigation into the sudden plunge of the Serbian president’s plane last week shows that it was due to the co-pilot spilling coffee on the instruments panel.

The investigation results released Tuesday show that the co-pilot ac-cidentally activated the emergency slot extension when trying to clean the coffee from the panel. That reportedly caused the plane to dive and the brief shutdown of one of the engines. Unsurprisingly there was

panic among passengers.The captain then stabilized the

aircraft and returned to the capital Belgrade.

Initially, President Tomislav Nikolic’s press office said last Friday that the plane made an emer-gency return because of an engine failure. Nikolic was en route to the Vatican for an official visit, which was canceled.

Serbia’s aviation authorities say that the co-pilot has been sus-pended. (ap)

LUENEBURG, Germany — A former Auschwitz guard has testified at his trial that he bears a moral share of the blame for atrocities at the camp, but it’s up to judges to decide whether he deserves to be convicted as an accessory to murder.

As his trial opened Tuesday, 93-year-old Oskar Groening acknowl-edged having helped collect and tally money as part of his job deal-ing with the belongings stolen from

people arriving at Auschwitz.Groening told reporters as he

arrived at the court in Lueneburg, south of Hamburg, that he expects an acquittal. In his statement to judges, he didn’t detail direct par-ticipation in any atrocities.

He concluded by saying to judges: “I share morally in the guilt but whether I am guilty under criminal law, you will have to de-cide.” (ap)

BARCELONA, Spain — Schools across the northeastern region of Catalonia have held five minutes of silence in memory of a teacher killed in a school attack by a 13-year-old boy armed with a crossbow and a machete.

The boy was detained by police as a suspect after the attack Monday morn-ing in Barcelona that also saw two other teachers and two students injured.

Students and teachers gathered

Tuesday for the midmorning silent ceremony inside the school in Bar-celona’s Sant Andreu neighborhood where the attack occurred.

Authorities said the boy, who is undergoing a psychiatric examination, will not face criminal charges because he is under the age of 14. Catalonia’s regional government declared a day of mourning and official institutions were to hold minutes of silence at midday. (ap)

AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File

FILE - In this March 10, 2015 file photo Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a news conference at his official residence in Tokyo. Abe will become the first Japanese prime minister to address a joint meeting of Congress in late April, the House speaker has announced.

Japan’s leader sends offerings to controversial war shrine

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent religious offerings Tuesday to a Tokyo shrine that honors the country’s war dead, including convicted World War II leaders, a likely signal that he won’t pray there ahead of trips to an international conference and the United States.

Auschwitz guard goes on trial, says he shares moral guilt

Catalan schools hold ceremony after teacher killed by boy

Serbia president’s plane trouble caused by coffee spill

AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File

In this file photo taken May 31, 2011, a Serbian government Falcon plane prepares for take off at a Belgrade International Airport, Serbia.

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“Lelisa did not get to have the kind of victory celebration that a champion of the Boston Marathon should have,” Boston Athletic As-sociation spokesman Jack Fleming said, interrupting the post-race news conference to place the champions’ trophy at Desisa’s side. “Lelisa, we want you to get your due today.”

Desisa won the 2013 race just hours before two bombs killed three people and wounded 260 others, turning what should be the pinnacle of any distance runner’s career into an afterthought. On Monday, he finished in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 17 seconds to claim a golden olive wreath, the $150,000 first prize and a winner’s medal to replace the one he donated to the city in memory of the victims.

“This medal, I think, is for me,” said Desisa, who waved to the crowd as he sprinted past the bomb sites. “I took off my hat and started waving my hands because I love the Boston people.”

Kenya’s Caroline Rotich won the women’s race, beating Mare Dibaba in a shoulder-to-shoulder sprint down Boylston to win by 4 seconds on a cold and rainy day that thinned the crowds but didn’t lessen their enthusiasm for the city’s signature sporting event.

“I got to the last corner and I saw the finish line tape and I thought, ‘This is it, I’m not going to let it go,’” said Rotich, who won in 2:24:55 to collect $150,000 and give Kenya its fifth straight wom-en’s champion. “I was like, ‘No, not today.’ And I kept going.” Buzunesh Deba finished third a year after she came in second to Rita Jeptoo, who has been suspended after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Desiree Linden was fourth and fellow U.S. Olympian Shalane Flanagan finishing ninth.

Desisa was in the men’s lead pack for the entire race, pulling away to beat countryman Yemane Adhane Tsegay by 31 seconds in the first 1-2 finish for Ethiopia in the race’s history. Kenya’s Wil-son Chebet was third, another 34

seconds back. Dathan Ritzenhein of Rockford, Michigan, was the first American, in seventh. Meb Keflezighi finished eighth a year after his victory — the first for an American man since 1983 — gave the city a tangible symbol of its comeback.

“I was crying on Boylston Street, because it was bringing up memories, good and bad,” said Keflezighi, who wrote the names of the bombing vic-tims on his race bib last year. “People were cheering like crazy, saying ‘U-S-A!’ I was chanting with them.”

The 2004 Olympic silver medal-

ist, who will turn 40 next month, was among the leaders until the 35-kilometer mark, when he took a drink of water that went down the wrong way. He had to stop five times to vomit. “The crowd was phenomenal,” he said. “I’d stop for a few seconds and they’d scream, ‘Keep going!’”

With many of the runners wear-ing long sleeves and gloves to fight off the cold, Linden led for much of the women’s race. But she fell off the pace in the final miles as Rot-ich and a pair of Ethiopians pulled away. (ap)

CHICAGO — Jimmy Butler set a playoff career-high for the second straight game with 31 points as the Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks 91-82 on Monday to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round NBA playoffs series. After scoring 25 points in Game 1, Butler was at his best down the stretch, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Chicago’s Derrick Rose scored all of his 15 points in the second half after dominating in the se-ries opener. Pau Gasol added 11 points and 16 rebounds and Mike Dunleavy Jr. scored 12 points for the third-seeded Bulls. Khris Middleton led the sixth-seeded Bucks with 22 points, and Michael Carter-Williams scored 12.

Game 3 is Thursday at Milwau-

kee. In Oakland, California, Klay Thompson scored 26 points and Stephen Curry had 22 points and six assists as the Golden State Warriors regrouped from an early deficit to down the New Orleans Pelicans 97-87 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

The top-seeded Warriors fell behind by 13 points in the first quarter after a strong start by the Pelicans’ Anthony Davis and Eric Gordon. A big burst before half-time pushed the Warriors ahead, and they did just enough in the closing moments to put away the pesky Pelicans.

Game 3 is Thursday in New Orleans. Davis had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Gordon scored 23 points for the Pelicans. (ap)

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler, lays up a shot against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half in Game 1 of the NBA basketball playoffs Saturday, April 18, 2015, in Chicago. The Bulls won 103-91.

Butler scores 31, Bulls beat Bucks 91-82

to go up 2-0Desisa wins 119th Boston Marathon;

Rotich takes women’s race

AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Lelisa Desisa, of Ethiopia, crosses the finish line to win the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 20, 2015, in Boston.

BOSTON — Lelisa Desisa ran through the rain to earn a second Boston Marathon victory and his first chance to enjoy it. The 25-year-old Ethiopian broke the tape again on Boylston Street on Monday as the world’s most prestigious marathon tried to return to its routine two years after Desisa’s first Boston win was overshadowed by the twin explosions at the finish line.

IBP/File Photo

Spa

98 InternationalWednesday, April 22, 2015 International Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Sp rt

As well as the injury absences, attacking fullback Marcelo is suspended for the decider at the Bernabeu with the tie standing at 0-0 from the first game. Ancelotti must improvise by either playing two, rather than the usual trident, in attack as he has often done in the absence of Bale or by push-ing Rodriguez forward on to the right wing to take the place of the Welshman.

Rodriguez has been in impres-sive form since his return from injury at the beginning of April with Real winning all four league games. The Colombian stood out in a slug-gish performance by Real in Satur-day’s 3-1 La Liga win over Malaga when he scored a fine 25-metre

goal, won a penalty and provided defensive cover in midfield.

Now, in the absence of Modric, who is set to be the player that Real will miss most against Atletico, it is Rodriguez who can provide similar passing and build-up play.

Ronaldo’s strike against Malaga brought up his 50th goal of the sea-son but he struggled after Christmas without the support from midfield of Modric or Rodriguez. “The best player was James because he gave a lot of quality to the team,” Ancelotti told a news conference after the Malaga victory.

Atletico will try to take advan-tage of the absentees to get some re-venge for their defeat in last season’s

Cham-p i o n s

League final and are led in

attack by Antoine Griezmann who is in

a rich vein of form. “He has scored important goals

all season and is giving a lot to the team,” fellow forward Raul Garcia told reporters.

The Frenchman hit a double in Atletico’s 2-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday. “The final is in the past. It would have been nice to win but this is an-other match. The team is playing very well and we are in a positive mood,” added Garcia. (rtr)

PARIS - Juventus will be hoping to make it 11 victories out of 11 against French teams in knockout ties when they face AS Monaco in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday. Juventus, who moved 15 points clear at the top of Serie A after beating second-placed Lazio 2-0 on Saturday as they close in on a fourth successive domestic crown, also have their eyes on a first Champions League semi-final appear-ance since 2003.

On current form they will start the match at Stade Louis II as favourites to reach the last four. They have won all 10 of their previous knockout ties against French teams in Europe while Monaco have won only one of six ties against Italian clubs. The Ligue 1 club have also not won any of their last four home matches in any competition.

Coach Massimiliano Allegri saw his men win last week’s first leg 1-0 in Turin thanks to Arturo Vidal’s second-half penalty and they travel to Monaco seeking a third straight away win in the competition after victories at Malmo and Borussia Dortmund. His only injury absentees are central defender Martin Caceres (ankle) and attacking midfielder Paul Pogba (thigh).

CONFIDENT JUVE

Juventus largely dominated the first leg, although Monaco did have chances of their own and went close to scoring through both Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco and Dimitar Ber-batov. But the Italians are oozing with

confidence. They have won eight of their last nine matches and the only goal they have conceded in that run was when their much-changed team lost 1-0 to Serie A bottom club Parma on April 11.

But while Allegri is enjoying Juve’s good form, his Monaco counterpart Leonardo Jardim has had to watch his side stumble in recent weeks. His immediate concern will be to work out a way to contain the Serie A side’s attacking intent without injured defensive midfielder Jeremy Toulalan (hamstring injury).

Since winning 3-1 at Arsenal in the first leg of their last 16 Champions League tie on Feb. 25, Monaco’s form has slipped. They squeezed into the last eight of the Champions League on away goals after losing 2-0 at home to Arsenal and after failing to find the net against Juve last week, only drew 1-1 with Rennes in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

That result dented their title hopes and left Jardim frustrated with side winning only twice in their last seven matches in all competitions. “I am not happy. We played well in the first half and controlled the match. However, in the last 30 minutes, I saw that we were looking tired,” he said.

Unless Monaco, who are now six points behind leaders Olympique Lyon in Ligue 1, click back into gear on Wednesday and come out looking for goals from the start to secure their first Champions League semi-final appear-ance since 2004, their season is in real danger of fizzling out. (rtr)

ROME — Mounir Obbadi scored in the 89th minute as Hellas Verona won 1-0 at Fiorentina on Monday in Serie A. Fiorentina goalkeeper Neto couldn’t control a shot from Lazaros Christodoupou-los and Obbadi took advantage of the rebound.

Verona goalkeeper Rafael saved a penalty from Alessandro Diamanti in the 67th.

Fiorentina remained sixth, one

point out of the Europa League places, although the Tuscan squad can also gain a spot in Europe next season by winning the Europa League.

Last week, Fiorentina drew 1-1 at Dynamo Kiev in the opening leg of the Europa League quarterfinals. Verona moved up to 14th, 13 points clear of the relegation zone.

Fiorentina forward Khouma Ba-bacar exited with an apparent knee injury seven minutes after coming on in the second half. (ap)

Saudi Arabia’s Nasser Al Sham-rani has had his ban for spitting at

and head-butting Western Syd-ney Wanderers defender

Matthew Spiranovic af-ter the Asian Cham-

pions League final reduced on ap-

peal to the Court of

Arbi-tra-

tion for Sport (CAS). T h e p r o l i f i c Al-Hilal striker was handed an eight-match ban by the Asian Football Con-federation for the incident, which

happened in November after his club were beaten by the Australian side 1-0 over the two legs of the final.

CAS stayed the punishment in March and late on Monday reduced the ban to two matches for the head-butt and four matches for the spitting offence with a further two-match ban suspended for a probationary period of two years. The original ban, six for the spitting and two for the head-butt, was the minimum Al Shamrani could have received for the offenses.

The AFC had attempted to delay the announcement of

their initial verdict to avoid em-

b a r -

rassment when they presented Al Shamrani with their Player of the Year award, only for the news to leak out.

An appeal to the AFC failed but the regional body allowed him to compete in the Asian Cup with Saudi Arabia in January after restricting the ban to just ACL League matches.

Al Shamrani served two matches of the ban before CAS granted the stay and he returned to score his 26th goal in the ACL as Al Hilal beat Iran’s Foolad 2-0 earlier this month.

The statement on the CAS web-site said the full verdict, with the grounds for the reduction in the punishment, would be issued at a later date. (rtr)

SYDNEY - Western Sydney Wanderers have said their crunch Asian Champions League match against Japan’s Kashima Antlers will go ahead on Tuesday despite the gale force winds and heavy rain battering the city. The New South Wales gov-ernment has advised workers in Sydney to head home early on Tuesday before the storm, which has flooded coastal areas and brought down trees and power lines across the city, worsens.

The reigning Asian champions are scheduled to take on Kashima in a Group H match at Parramatta Stadium and fans have been given fair warning that conditions will not be ideal for watching football.

“If you’re still making your way to the game tonight, please prepare for strong winds and rain and make sure you pack a poncho,” read a statement on the stadium website.

“Umbrellas cannot be used when causing obstructed views for other patrons. They will also not be allowed in strong winds so we can ensure patron safety at all times.”

The match is a key fixture for both sides with defeat almost certainly meaning an early exit from Asia’s pre-mier club competition for the A-League outfit or the seven-times Japanese champions.

Wanderers said the newly-laid surface at the stadium was draining

well and that they were working to get as many fans as possible seated under

cover. (ap)

LONDON - Manchester City have “let themselves down” this season and the squad have had “a lot of honest conversations” since the 4-2 defeat at Manchester United nine days ago, says England goalkeeper Joe Hart. The Premier League champions have had a disappointing campaign under manager Manuel Pellegrini and are down in fourth position, 12 points behind runaway leaders Chelsea with five matches left to play.

“We are not in the place where we wanted to be, we wanted to be really challenging for the title like we’ve done in previous years,” Hart told the club website (www.mcfc.co.uk) on Tuesday. “We’ve got to be honest and win these last games and see where it takes us. We’ve let ourselves down at key mo-ments.

“It’s a difficult league to win. The two times we’ve won it, it’s gone right to the

wire,” Hart added of their title triumphs in 2012 and 2014.

“This season, in a lot of games we’ve played well but teams have tended to raise their game against us. It’s just how it is, that’s not me moaning.” Hart said the defeat at third-placed United earlier this month was a particularly tough pill for him and his team mates to swallow.

“It was a difficult day, emotional to lose the derby in the manner we did after starting so well,” he added, referring to the eighth-minute lead given to City by Sergio Aguero. “There’s been a lot of reflection, a lot of honest conversations. It was a tough result to take. “This is my club. It was a bad result to lose with the great rivalry we have and the positions in the league.”

City, who will finish with no silver-ware to show for their efforts this season, entertain FA Cup finalists Aston Villa in the league on Saturday.(rtr)

Saudi spitter Al Shamrani gets ban reduced

Verona beats Fiorentina

1-0 in Serie A with late

strike

AP Photo/Fabrizio Giovannozzi

Verona’s Mounir Obbadi, left, scores during a Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Verona at the Artemio Franchi stadium in Florence, Italy Monday, April 20, 2015.

Fans warned to bring poncho as

Wanderers match goes ahead

REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino

Juventus’ Carlos Tevez celebrates

after scoring against Empoli

during their Italian Serie A soccer

match at Juven-tus Stadium in Tu-

rin April 4, 2015.

Juventus aim to continue 100 percent record

against French teams

REUTERS/Andrea Comas

Real Madrid’s James Rodri-

guez celebrates his goal against

Malaga during their Spanish First Division soccer match

at Santiago Bernabeu

stadium in Madrid, April

18, 2015.

We’ve let ourselves down this term, says City keeper Hart

Real’s Rodriguez may hold key amid injury crisis

With Real Madrid facing an injury crisis ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid attention will be on talisman Cristiano Ronaldo to lead them through but James Rodriguez may hold the key. Real coach Carlo Ancelotti will be without playmaker Luka Modric and forward Gareth Bale while striker Karim Benzema’s knee injury may be more serious than first thought and he will also miss the quarter-final, second leg.

98 InternationalWednesday, April 22, 2015 International Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Sp rt

As well as the injury absences, attacking fullback Marcelo is suspended for the decider at the Bernabeu with the tie standing at 0-0 from the first game. Ancelotti must improvise by either playing two, rather than the usual trident, in attack as he has often done in the absence of Bale or by push-ing Rodriguez forward on to the right wing to take the place of the Welshman.

Rodriguez has been in impres-sive form since his return from injury at the beginning of April with Real winning all four league games. The Colombian stood out in a slug-gish performance by Real in Satur-day’s 3-1 La Liga win over Malaga when he scored a fine 25-metre

goal, won a penalty and provided defensive cover in midfield.

Now, in the absence of Modric, who is set to be the player that Real will miss most against Atletico, it is Rodriguez who can provide similar passing and build-up play.

Ronaldo’s strike against Malaga brought up his 50th goal of the sea-son but he struggled after Christmas without the support from midfield of Modric or Rodriguez. “The best player was James because he gave a lot of quality to the team,” Ancelotti told a news conference after the Malaga victory.

Atletico will try to take advan-tage of the absentees to get some re-venge for their defeat in last season’s

Cham-p i o n s

League final and are led in

attack by Antoine Griezmann who is in

a rich vein of form. “He has scored important goals

all season and is giving a lot to the team,” fellow forward Raul Garcia told reporters.

The Frenchman hit a double in Atletico’s 2-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday. “The final is in the past. It would have been nice to win but this is an-other match. The team is playing very well and we are in a positive mood,” added Garcia. (rtr)

PARIS - Juventus will be hoping to make it 11 victories out of 11 against French teams in knockout ties when they face AS Monaco in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday. Juventus, who moved 15 points clear at the top of Serie A after beating second-placed Lazio 2-0 on Saturday as they close in on a fourth successive domestic crown, also have their eyes on a first Champions League semi-final appear-ance since 2003.

On current form they will start the match at Stade Louis II as favourites to reach the last four. They have won all 10 of their previous knockout ties against French teams in Europe while Monaco have won only one of six ties against Italian clubs. The Ligue 1 club have also not won any of their last four home matches in any competition.

Coach Massimiliano Allegri saw his men win last week’s first leg 1-0 in Turin thanks to Arturo Vidal’s second-half penalty and they travel to Monaco seeking a third straight away win in the competition after victories at Malmo and Borussia Dortmund. His only injury absentees are central defender Martin Caceres (ankle) and attacking midfielder Paul Pogba (thigh).

CONFIDENT JUVE

Juventus largely dominated the first leg, although Monaco did have chances of their own and went close to scoring through both Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco and Dimitar Ber-batov. But the Italians are oozing with

confidence. They have won eight of their last nine matches and the only goal they have conceded in that run was when their much-changed team lost 1-0 to Serie A bottom club Parma on April 11.

But while Allegri is enjoying Juve’s good form, his Monaco counterpart Leonardo Jardim has had to watch his side stumble in recent weeks. His immediate concern will be to work out a way to contain the Serie A side’s attacking intent without injured defensive midfielder Jeremy Toulalan (hamstring injury).

Since winning 3-1 at Arsenal in the first leg of their last 16 Champions League tie on Feb. 25, Monaco’s form has slipped. They squeezed into the last eight of the Champions League on away goals after losing 2-0 at home to Arsenal and after failing to find the net against Juve last week, only drew 1-1 with Rennes in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

That result dented their title hopes and left Jardim frustrated with side winning only twice in their last seven matches in all competitions. “I am not happy. We played well in the first half and controlled the match. However, in the last 30 minutes, I saw that we were looking tired,” he said.

Unless Monaco, who are now six points behind leaders Olympique Lyon in Ligue 1, click back into gear on Wednesday and come out looking for goals from the start to secure their first Champions League semi-final appear-ance since 2004, their season is in real danger of fizzling out. (rtr)

ROME — Mounir Obbadi scored in the 89th minute as Hellas Verona won 1-0 at Fiorentina on Monday in Serie A. Fiorentina goalkeeper Neto couldn’t control a shot from Lazaros Christodoupou-los and Obbadi took advantage of the rebound.

Verona goalkeeper Rafael saved a penalty from Alessandro Diamanti in the 67th.

Fiorentina remained sixth, one

point out of the Europa League places, although the Tuscan squad can also gain a spot in Europe next season by winning the Europa League.

Last week, Fiorentina drew 1-1 at Dynamo Kiev in the opening leg of the Europa League quarterfinals. Verona moved up to 14th, 13 points clear of the relegation zone.

Fiorentina forward Khouma Ba-bacar exited with an apparent knee injury seven minutes after coming on in the second half. (ap)

Saudi Arabia’s Nasser Al Sham-rani has had his ban for spitting at

and head-butting Western Syd-ney Wanderers defender

Matthew Spiranovic af-ter the Asian Cham-

pions League final reduced on ap-

peal to the Court of

Arbi-tra-

tion for Sport (CAS). T h e p r o l i f i c Al-Hilal striker was handed an eight-match ban by the Asian Football Con-federation for the incident, which

happened in November after his club were beaten by the Australian side 1-0 over the two legs of the final.

CAS stayed the punishment in March and late on Monday reduced the ban to two matches for the head-butt and four matches for the spitting offence with a further two-match ban suspended for a probationary period of two years. The original ban, six for the spitting and two for the head-butt, was the minimum Al Shamrani could have received for the offenses.

The AFC had attempted to delay the announcement of

their initial verdict to avoid em-

b a r -

rassment when they presented Al Shamrani with their Player of the Year award, only for the news to leak out.

An appeal to the AFC failed but the regional body allowed him to compete in the Asian Cup with Saudi Arabia in January after restricting the ban to just ACL League matches.

Al Shamrani served two matches of the ban before CAS granted the stay and he returned to score his 26th goal in the ACL as Al Hilal beat Iran’s Foolad 2-0 earlier this month.

The statement on the CAS web-site said the full verdict, with the grounds for the reduction in the punishment, would be issued at a later date. (rtr)

SYDNEY - Western Sydney Wanderers have said their crunch Asian Champions League match against Japan’s Kashima Antlers will go ahead on Tuesday despite the gale force winds and heavy rain battering the city. The New South Wales gov-ernment has advised workers in Sydney to head home early on Tuesday before the storm, which has flooded coastal areas and brought down trees and power lines across the city, worsens.

The reigning Asian champions are scheduled to take on Kashima in a Group H match at Parramatta Stadium and fans have been given fair warning that conditions will not be ideal for watching football.

“If you’re still making your way to the game tonight, please prepare for strong winds and rain and make sure you pack a poncho,” read a statement on the stadium website.

“Umbrellas cannot be used when causing obstructed views for other patrons. They will also not be allowed in strong winds so we can ensure patron safety at all times.”

The match is a key fixture for both sides with defeat almost certainly meaning an early exit from Asia’s pre-mier club competition for the A-League outfit or the seven-times Japanese champions.

Wanderers said the newly-laid surface at the stadium was draining

well and that they were working to get as many fans as possible seated under

cover. (ap)

LONDON - Manchester City have “let themselves down” this season and the squad have had “a lot of honest conversations” since the 4-2 defeat at Manchester United nine days ago, says England goalkeeper Joe Hart. The Premier League champions have had a disappointing campaign under manager Manuel Pellegrini and are down in fourth position, 12 points behind runaway leaders Chelsea with five matches left to play.

“We are not in the place where we wanted to be, we wanted to be really challenging for the title like we’ve done in previous years,” Hart told the club website (www.mcfc.co.uk) on Tuesday. “We’ve got to be honest and win these last games and see where it takes us. We’ve let ourselves down at key mo-ments.

“It’s a difficult league to win. The two times we’ve won it, it’s gone right to the

wire,” Hart added of their title triumphs in 2012 and 2014.

“This season, in a lot of games we’ve played well but teams have tended to raise their game against us. It’s just how it is, that’s not me moaning.” Hart said the defeat at third-placed United earlier this month was a particularly tough pill for him and his team mates to swallow.

“It was a difficult day, emotional to lose the derby in the manner we did after starting so well,” he added, referring to the eighth-minute lead given to City by Sergio Aguero. “There’s been a lot of reflection, a lot of honest conversations. It was a tough result to take. “This is my club. It was a bad result to lose with the great rivalry we have and the positions in the league.”

City, who will finish with no silver-ware to show for their efforts this season, entertain FA Cup finalists Aston Villa in the league on Saturday.(rtr)

Saudi spitter Al Shamrani gets ban reduced

Verona beats Fiorentina

1-0 in Serie A with late

strike

AP Photo/Fabrizio Giovannozzi

Verona’s Mounir Obbadi, left, scores during a Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Verona at the Artemio Franchi stadium in Florence, Italy Monday, April 20, 2015.

Fans warned to bring poncho as

Wanderers match goes ahead

REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino

Juventus’ Carlos Tevez celebrates

after scoring against Empoli

during their Italian Serie A soccer

match at Juven-tus Stadium in Tu-

rin April 4, 2015.

Juventus aim to continue 100 percent record

against French teams

REUTERS/Andrea Comas

Real Madrid’s James Rodri-

guez celebrates his goal against

Malaga during their Spanish First Division soccer match

at Santiago Bernabeu

stadium in Madrid, April

18, 2015.

We’ve let ourselves down this term, says City keeper Hart

Real’s Rodriguez may hold key amid injury crisis

With Real Madrid facing an injury crisis ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid attention will be on talisman Cristiano Ronaldo to lead them through but James Rodriguez may hold the key. Real coach Carlo Ancelotti will be without playmaker Luka Modric and forward Gareth Bale while striker Karim Benzema’s knee injury may be more serious than first thought and he will also miss the quarter-final, second leg.

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“Lelisa did not get to have the kind of victory celebration that a champion of the Boston Marathon should have,” Boston Athletic As-sociation spokesman Jack Fleming said, interrupting the post-race news conference to place the champions’ trophy at Desisa’s side. “Lelisa, we want you to get your due today.”

Desisa won the 2013 race just hours before two bombs killed three people and wounded 260 others, turning what should be the pinnacle of any distance runner’s career into an afterthought. On Monday, he finished in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 17 seconds to claim a golden olive wreath, the $150,000 first prize and a winner’s medal to replace the one he donated to the city in memory of the victims.

“This medal, I think, is for me,” said Desisa, who waved to the crowd as he sprinted past the bomb sites. “I took off my hat and started waving my hands because I love the Boston people.”

Kenya’s Caroline Rotich won the women’s race, beating Mare Dibaba in a shoulder-to-shoulder sprint down Boylston to win by 4 seconds on a cold and rainy day that thinned the crowds but didn’t lessen their enthusiasm for the city’s signature sporting event.

“I got to the last corner and I saw the finish line tape and I thought, ‘This is it, I’m not going to let it go,’” said Rotich, who won in 2:24:55 to collect $150,000 and give Kenya its fifth straight wom-en’s champion. “I was like, ‘No, not today.’ And I kept going.” Buzunesh Deba finished third a year after she came in second to Rita Jeptoo, who has been suspended after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Desiree Linden was fourth and fellow U.S. Olympian Shalane Flanagan finishing ninth.

Desisa was in the men’s lead pack for the entire race, pulling away to beat countryman Yemane Adhane Tsegay by 31 seconds in the first 1-2 finish for Ethiopia in the race’s history. Kenya’s Wil-son Chebet was third, another 34

seconds back. Dathan Ritzenhein of Rockford, Michigan, was the first American, in seventh. Meb Keflezighi finished eighth a year after his victory — the first for an American man since 1983 — gave the city a tangible symbol of its comeback.

“I was crying on Boylston Street, because it was bringing up memories, good and bad,” said Keflezighi, who wrote the names of the bombing vic-tims on his race bib last year. “People were cheering like crazy, saying ‘U-S-A!’ I was chanting with them.”

The 2004 Olympic silver medal-

ist, who will turn 40 next month, was among the leaders until the 35-kilometer mark, when he took a drink of water that went down the wrong way. He had to stop five times to vomit. “The crowd was phenomenal,” he said. “I’d stop for a few seconds and they’d scream, ‘Keep going!’”

With many of the runners wear-ing long sleeves and gloves to fight off the cold, Linden led for much of the women’s race. But she fell off the pace in the final miles as Rot-ich and a pair of Ethiopians pulled away. (ap)

CHICAGO — Jimmy Butler set a playoff career-high for the second straight game with 31 points as the Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks 91-82 on Monday to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round NBA playoffs series. After scoring 25 points in Game 1, Butler was at his best down the stretch, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Chicago’s Derrick Rose scored all of his 15 points in the second half after dominating in the se-ries opener. Pau Gasol added 11 points and 16 rebounds and Mike Dunleavy Jr. scored 12 points for the third-seeded Bulls. Khris Middleton led the sixth-seeded Bucks with 22 points, and Michael Carter-Williams scored 12.

Game 3 is Thursday at Milwau-

kee. In Oakland, California, Klay Thompson scored 26 points and Stephen Curry had 22 points and six assists as the Golden State Warriors regrouped from an early deficit to down the New Orleans Pelicans 97-87 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

The top-seeded Warriors fell behind by 13 points in the first quarter after a strong start by the Pelicans’ Anthony Davis and Eric Gordon. A big burst before half-time pushed the Warriors ahead, and they did just enough in the closing moments to put away the pesky Pelicans.

Game 3 is Thursday in New Orleans. Davis had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Gordon scored 23 points for the Pelicans. (ap)

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler, lays up a shot against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half in Game 1 of the NBA basketball playoffs Saturday, April 18, 2015, in Chicago. The Bulls won 103-91.

Butler scores 31, Bulls beat Bucks 91-82

to go up 2-0Desisa wins 119th Boston Marathon;

Rotich takes women’s race

AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Lelisa Desisa, of Ethiopia, crosses the finish line to win the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 20, 2015, in Boston.

BOSTON — Lelisa Desisa ran through the rain to earn a second Boston Marathon victory and his first chance to enjoy it. The 25-year-old Ethiopian broke the tape again on Boylston Street on Monday as the world’s most prestigious marathon tried to return to its routine two years after Desisa’s first Boston win was overshadowed by the twin explosions at the finish line.

IBP/File Photo

Spa

Wednesday, April 22, 2015 6 International

W RLD 11International Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Previous visits and offerings to Yasukuni Shrine have drawn sharp rebukes from China and South Ko-rea. Abe’s last visit to Yasukuni, in December 2013, also was criticized by Washington.

The shrine said Abe sent “ma-sakaki” offerings, which came with a wooden plate showing his name and official title. He sent similar offerings for last year’s spring and fall festivals at the shrine, which honors war criminals including wartime leader Hideki Tojo among the 2.5 million war dead.

Abe’s move comes at a sensitive time as he has expressed hopes of meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping during an Asia-African conference this week in Indonesia, where they will be among more than 100 leaders taking part. The spring festival at the shine will end before he gets back.

He will also speak to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, where he is expected to touch on

Japan’s wartime history as part of Japan-U.S. relations since the war. Abe’s 8-day U.S. tour, which in-cludes talks with President Barack Obama, is expected to showcase his commitment to stronger ties with Washington, especially in national security. Anything Abe says this year on history will be closely watched because it marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshi-hide Suga said Abe made the ges-ture Tuesday as a private citizen based on his personal belief, and paid for the offerings himself. He said Abe’s offerings did not repre-sent the government’s position as a whole, and brushed off concerns about any diplomatic impact.

Suga also said he still hopes Abe and Xi can meet in an informal set-ting on the sidelines of the confer-ence in Indonesia, although nothing has been set.

“Because they will be attending

the same conference, it would be meaningful if they can meet in a natural way,” Suga told a regular news conference.

As victims of Japan’s wartime aggression, neighboring countries see the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism. They also see visits by Japanese political leaders as a sign of Japan’s lack of remorse over its atrocities. China and South Korea have repeatedly cautioned against Abe’s perceived push for historical revisionism.

In a news program on BS Fuji on Monday, Abe said he does not plan to repeat a landmark apol-ogy made in a 1995 statement by then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama marking the 50th an-niversary of the war’s end. Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a similar apology in 2005. “I don’t see any reason why I have to write that again,” Abe said. “If we merely repeat the same words, we don’t need a new statement.” (ap)

BELGRADE, Serbia — An in-vestigation into the sudden plunge of the Serbian president’s plane last week shows that it was due to the co-pilot spilling coffee on the instruments panel.

The investigation results released Tuesday show that the co-pilot ac-cidentally activated the emergency slot extension when trying to clean the coffee from the panel. That reportedly caused the plane to dive and the brief shutdown of one of the engines. Unsurprisingly there was

panic among passengers.The captain then stabilized the

aircraft and returned to the capital Belgrade.

Initially, President Tomislav Nikolic’s press office said last Friday that the plane made an emer-gency return because of an engine failure. Nikolic was en route to the Vatican for an official visit, which was canceled.

Serbia’s aviation authorities say that the co-pilot has been sus-pended. (ap)

LUENEBURG, Germany — A former Auschwitz guard has testified at his trial that he bears a moral share of the blame for atrocities at the camp, but it’s up to judges to decide whether he deserves to be convicted as an accessory to murder.

As his trial opened Tuesday, 93-year-old Oskar Groening acknowl-edged having helped collect and tally money as part of his job deal-ing with the belongings stolen from

people arriving at Auschwitz.Groening told reporters as he

arrived at the court in Lueneburg, south of Hamburg, that he expects an acquittal. In his statement to judges, he didn’t detail direct par-ticipation in any atrocities.

He concluded by saying to judges: “I share morally in the guilt but whether I am guilty under criminal law, you will have to de-cide.” (ap)

BARCELONA, Spain — Schools across the northeastern region of Catalonia have held five minutes of silence in memory of a teacher killed in a school attack by a 13-year-old boy armed with a crossbow and a machete.

The boy was detained by police as a suspect after the attack Monday morn-ing in Barcelona that also saw two other teachers and two students injured.

Students and teachers gathered

Tuesday for the midmorning silent ceremony inside the school in Bar-celona’s Sant Andreu neighborhood where the attack occurred.

Authorities said the boy, who is undergoing a psychiatric examination, will not face criminal charges because he is under the age of 14. Catalonia’s regional government declared a day of mourning and official institutions were to hold minutes of silence at midday. (ap)

AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File

FILE - In this March 10, 2015 file photo Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a news conference at his official residence in Tokyo. Abe will become the first Japanese prime minister to address a joint meeting of Congress in late April, the House speaker has announced.

Japan’s leader sends offerings to controversial war shrine

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent religious offerings Tuesday to a Tokyo shrine that honors the country’s war dead, including convicted World War II leaders, a likely signal that he won’t pray there ahead of trips to an international conference and the United States.

Auschwitz guard goes on trial, says he shares moral guilt

Catalan schools hold ceremony after teacher killed by boy

Serbia president’s plane trouble caused by coffee spill

AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File

In this file photo taken May 31, 2011, a Serbian government Falcon plane prepares for take off at a Belgrade International Airport, Serbia.

Indonesia Today Wednesday, April 22, 2015 5InternationalWednesday, April 22, 201512 International

BUSINESS

Assistant Secretary of State Danny Russel was speaking just days before Japanese Prime Minis-ter Shinzo Abe is due to arrive on a historic visit to Washington, where he will hold talks with US President Barack Obama and become the first Japanese premier to address a joint session of Congress.

One of the issues at the top of the agenda in his talks with US officials from April 26 to May 3 will be the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), an ambitious 12-nation free-trade

agreement including Australia, Ja-pan, Singapore and Vietnam.

The trade deal would encompass 40 percent of the global economy and has been the subject of pro-tracted negotiations. But it does not include China -- the world’s second largest economy.

“TPP is making steady headway. We are within what I would call grabbing distance of an agreement with the Japanese and that’s really the lynchpin to closing” the whole deal, Russel told a New York think-

tank.“Every leader and every trade

minister within the 12 is determined to close on this deal this year, and it’s really a very impressive deal, not only in trade terms but in en-vironment and labor as well,” he added in his talk at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Abe told The Wall Street Journal he also believed that a deal was within reach.

“We think that an agreement between Japan and the US is close,

but we’re hoping that even more progress will be made,” Abe told the business daily.

US and Japanese negotiators have been holding a marathon session in Tokyo as they bid to close the gaps, which have bogged down on issues including Japanese tariffs on agricultural imports and US access to Japan’s auto market.

“It would be good if I could reach an agreement during my meeting with the president, but when you climb a mountain, the last step is always the hardest,” Abe told the Journal.

“Ultimately, what needs to hap-

pen is for both countries to make a political decision” to resolve the differences, he added.

Last week, senior US lawmakers reached a deal to make it easier for Obama to negotiate the massive trade pact.

If Congress as a whole approves the bill, it would grant Obama “fast-track” authority, and give lawmak-ers the ability to vote to approve or reject the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership.

But it would prevent them from introducing changes to the accord -- described as the largest since the North American Free Trade Agree-ment. (afp)

“Please come and invest in Indonesia -- if you have any prob-lem, call me,” he told business chiefs and government leaders at the World Economic Forum’s Asia edition, who burst into laughter and applause.

Widodo, who has won huge popularity thanks to his humble background and down-to-earth image, was seeking to win fresh investment as growth slows, and to convince the world that he remains committed to reform despite recent doubts.

Some 700 participants attended the event, known as “Asia’s Davos” in reference to the WEF’s annual global gathering in Switzerland, at the start of a busy week for Jakarta, which is also hosting a summit of Asian and African leaders.

Indonesia has enjoyed strong growth in recent years, driven by demand for its natural resources, foreign investment and a fast-emerging middle class. But expan-sion has been slowing as commod-ity prices fall.

“This is causing a lot of pain

for a lot of people,” Widodo told delegates at the WEF event. “I stand here today to invite you to join me and my people on an incred-ible journey... to make incredible profit.”

Widodo, who came to office last year partly on a pledge to revive the economy, has vowed to improve the business climate and bring new investment.

He sees the WEF as a key plat-form to push his agenda, where delegated included Coca-Cola and US oil giant Chevron as well as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich.

However, Widodo, who took power in October, has his work cut out to improve the investment climate, with investors put off in recent years by policies seen as nationalistic in the banking and mining sectors, and complex bu-reaucracy.

Indonesia came a dismal 114th in the World Bank’s latest rankings on the ease of doing business, out of 189 countries.

The president has already taken some steps. He almost entirely axed fuel subsidies that gobbled up a huge chunk of the economy in the early months of his administration, freeing up billions of dollars.

But analysts said momentum appears to have slowed and ac-cused the government of sending mixed signals. They pointed to a ban introduced last week on the sale of beer at small shops across the Muslim-majority country, which sparked anger from international brewers.

“If you want to roll (out) the red carpet, don’t squeeze them when they come,” said Yose Rizal Damuri from Jakarta think-tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

A major focus for Widodo is improving infrastructure, with potholed roads and ageing ports a key complaint of investors -- a problem all too clear for delegates arriving in the chaotic capital Jakarta, which suffers chronic traffic jams and has scant public transport. (afp)

SHANGHAI - Global carmak-ers including Volkswagen, Ford and GM showed off hundreds of vehicles in Shanghai Monday, adamant that China remains the promised land even though sales growth has hit the brakes. At Chi-na’s premier auto show, foreign carmakers admitted an economic slowdown in the world’s second largest economy had taken its toll, but said the market was simply too big -- and too important -- to ignore.

China’s economy expanded 7.4 percent last year, the slowest in nearly a quarter of a century.

“It is still growing and the mar-ket is the largest market in the world,” Ian Robertson, head of sales and marketing at Germany’s BMW, told reporters.

Vehicle sales in China reached 23.49 million last year, well ahead of the United States which it over-took in 2009.

But annual sales growth halved to 6.9 percent last year from 13.9 percent in 2013, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

The slowdown continued in the first three months of this year, when sales rose just 3.9 percent.

Among the bright spots in China is the market for SUVs (sport util-ity vehicles), one of the country’s fastest growing segments.

“By 2018, China is expected to be the biggest market in the world for SUVs,” John Lawler, chairman and CEO of Ford Motor China, told a news conference.

Ford is introducing seven new vehicles in Shanghai, including two SUVs and the Taurus, intended to be its flagship sedan for the China market.

But the “premier” car segment -- which sells for $33,000 to $197,000 -- and the even more pricey luxury

market have been hit by the eco-nomic slowdown as well as a cam-paign lasting more than two years to crack down on corruption and government waste.

“There’s an impact from a cultural standpoint about show-ing off your wealth in China right

now,” said Luca de Meo, member of the board of management for sales and marketing at Germany’s Audi.

“It could have an impact on the automotive business and we’re seeing it already in the high-end segment. There are less govern-

ment-related purchases as well,” he told AFP.

At the show a rumoured ban on scantily clad models appeared to be in effect, with carmakers using demurely dressed attendants and dance shows to draw attention to their stands at a sprawling new venue.

Automakers, with Chinese gov-ernment backing, are making a renewed push for new energy vehicles, displaying the latest fully-electric models and hybrids at the show.

Volkswagen announced plans to locally produce more than 15 new energy vehicles in China in the next four years, while General Motors (GM) will launch a plug-in hybrid version of its Cadillac brand CT6 sedan.

But the Chinese market for electric cars remains small ow-ing to perceived problems with reliability and access to charging facilities.

Electric and hybrid vehicle sales in the country reached 26,581 in the first quarter of this year, three times the same period in 2014 but still accounting for less than one percent of total sales, according to the CAAM.

“The government is very de-termined in terms of the drive for the industry’s electrification,” the president of GM China, Matt Tsien, told reporters.

“How long will it take to get there? I think it all depends on fac-tors like infrastructure and regula-tions.” (afp)

US, Japan in ‘grabbing distance’ of pact on Asia trade deal

WASHINGTON - The United States and Japan are within “grabbing distance” of resolving their differences on a much-awaited massive Pacific free-trade pact, the top US diplomat for Asia said Monday.

China’s biggest auto show opens as economy slows

AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

Dancers perform near the Ford Taurus during the opening of the Shanghai Auto Show in Shang-hai Monday, April 20, 2015. Global carmakers including Volkswagen, Ford and GM showed off hundreds of vehicles in Shanghai Monday, adamant that China remains the promised land even though sales growth has hit the brakes. At China’s premier auto show, foreign carmakers admit-ted an economic slowdown in the world’s second largest economy had taken its toll.

JAKARTA - The Museum of Asia-Africa Conference (KAA) or Building Independence is ready to welcome the heads of state who will take part in a historical walk down Jl. Asia Afrika here on Friday, (April 24). “Preparations for the commemoration of the 60th anni-versary of the Asia-Africa Confer-ence (AAC) are almost 100 percent complete,” Museum of Asia-Africa Conference Head Thomas Ardian Siregar stated on Tuesday.

Ardian remarked that the prepa-rations have been ongoing for the past two months before the culmi-nation of the 60th anniversary of the AAC. “The building has been renovated since last month. The museum has been painted and its floors have been polished,” Ardian revealed.

He noted that during the Band-ung historical walk, the leaders of Asian and African countries will walk alongside the ministers and officials from Savoy Homann Hotel to Merdeka Building.

President Joko Widodo will deliver a speech, and it will be followed by representatives from Africa, Asia, and observer countries at Merdeka Building. The tour will proceed to KAA, which stores and showcases memorabilia.

“There will be a signing of (the guest book) at the Asia Africa Monument, which is built as a sym-bol of togetherness. The museum is a symbol of togetherness that the leaders of Asia and Africa have a shared commitment,” he stated.

In addition, the museum and the local government will also hold a series of other events that will involve the community.

“People can participate and contribute to the AAC. We want the people to celebrate the values of AAC,” he said.

Mayor of Bandung, West Java, H. Ridwan Kamil will read the “Dasa Sila Bandung,” or the Ten Principles of Bandung, at the peak of the 60th commemoration of the AAC here on Friday.

As the host of the 60th commem-oration of the AAC 2015, Ridwan stated that he felt fortunate to have had the opportunity to organize the historic event.

The mayor expressed hope that the 10th annual event will hold sig-nificance for Bandung city, includ-ing for the city’s residents who will welcome the AAC delegates.

The 60th commemoration of the AAC is also proving to be profitable for Indonesia. Based on a survey conducted by the Tourism Minis-try, the country has so far earned Rp480 billion from the event, the mayor noted.

Indonesia has organized a series of events to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the AAC that is be-ing held in Jakarta and Bandung from April 19 to 25, 2015.

Some 32 world leaders are scheduled to attend the AAC Sum-mit on April 22-23. Leaders from Brunei Darussalam, Jordan, Swa-ziland, China, North Korea, Iran, Madagascar, Malawi, Myanmar, Namibia, Sudan, Timor Leste, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Gabon, Ma-laysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Singapore, and Thailand have confirmed their attendance.

Six countries: Algeria, Angola, Liberia, the Philippines, Seychelles, and Zambia will send their deputy heads of state or government.

The first ACC was organized in Bandung, West Java, on April 18-24, 1955, on the initiative of Indonesia, Myanmar (Burma), Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India, and Pakistan. (ant)

ANTARA FOTO/Widodo S. Jusuf

The Museum of Asia-Africa Conference (KAA) or Building Independence is ready to welcome the heads of state who will take part in a historical walk down Jl. Asia Afrika here on Friday, (April 24).

AAC Museum ready to welcome heads of state

‘Call me’: Indonesian leader woos investors

at key Asia forumJAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo turned on his man-of-the people charm at

a key Asian business forum Monday, telling investors they could just give him a call if they ran into trouble.

REUTERS/Beawiharta

President Joko Widodo gestures as he delivers a speech during the interactive session of the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Jakarta April 20, 2015. Widodo urged investors on Monday to come to Indonesia, promising “incredible profits” and assuring them that if they run into any problems they can give him a call.

International4 Wednesday, April 22, 2015 Wednesday, April 22, 2015 13InternationalBali News

Two recent shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea be-

lieved to have taken the lives of as many as 1,300 asylum seekers and migrants has highlighted the escalating flow of people fleeing per-

secution, war and economic difficulties in their home-

lands. Over the years, thou-sands of people in Asia have

also used boats to escape. Here’s a look at where many go, and how they are treated

once they arrive.

AUSTRALIA

COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN: Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, China, Somalia, Sudan, Myanmar and Vietnam.

DESTINATIONS: Most of the boats leave Indonesian ports for Christmas Island, an Australian territory 345 kilometers (215 miles) south of the Indonesian island of Java, or Ashmore Reef, a collec-tion of Australian islands east of Christmas Island. They often arrive without passports, which makes repatriating them more difficult.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: Since July 2013, Australia has re-fused to allow refugees who arrive by boat to settle on the mainland, and it has been turning back boats since the current government was elected in September 2013.

It has a detention camp for asy-lum seekers on Christmas Island and pays Papua New Guinea and the Pacific island nation of Nauru to run similar camps where asylum seekers wait while their applications for refugee status are processed.

Australia has an agreement to pay Cambodia to take refugees detained on Nauru, and with Pap-ua New Guinea to resettle those camped out in there. So far none have gone to Cambodia, while some have been resettled in Papua New Guinea.

Australia is much more welcom-ing of asylum seekers who arrive by plane, although it still requires an initial period of detention. Once out of detention, some are allowed to work while others rely on welfare, including free medical care, but they are not eligible for government housing and must find accommoda-tion in the private rental market.

INDONESIA

COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN: Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Middle Eastern coun-

tries.DESTINATION: AustraliaG O V E R N M E N T ’ S R E -

SPONSE: Indonesia, with its thou-sands of islands and long stretches of unpatrolled coastlines, is a key transit country for asylum seek-ers and migrants wanting to get to Australia.

The country hasn’t signed the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention and doesn’t legally recognize asylum seekers or refugees. But it does operate 13 detention centers around the country that temporarily house them while the U.N. High Commis-sioner for Refugees office processes their applications for refugee status and eventual resettlement in a third country such as the U.S. or Canada. Thousands more live on their own outside the detention centers.

MALAYSIA

COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN: Mostly Myanmar, but also from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen and Sudan.

DESTINATIONS: Most register with the UNHCR for resettlement in a third country while others travel through Malaysia to Indonesia in a bid to reach Australia.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: As in Indonesia and Thailand, asylum seekers and refugees have no legal status in Malaysia, putting

them at risk of arrest and deten-tion.

There are no refugee camps in Malaysia, and more than 100,000 of these “urban refugees” live in overcrowded, low-cost apartments or houses across the country. Their children do not have access to for-mal education. Barred legally from working, many earn money doing dirty or dangerous jobs that locals shun, while they wait for possible resettlement through the UNHCR — typically a process that lasts several years.

EUROPE

COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN: Mainly Syria, Iraq, Eritrea and Somalia. Palestinians also have at-tempted to flee to Europe.

DESTINATION: Closest point of landfall, which usually means Italy, Greece or Malta. Many travel overland to Bulgaria and Hungary, favoring destinations like Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and other Nordic countries.

EUROPEAN UNION’S RE-SPONSE: Asylum seekers and migrants arriving in Europe without visas are interviewed and finger-printed by authorities. EU nations have “reception centers” to house migrants where they are fed and given health care while their ap-plications for asylum are being assessed.

Some migrants are given tempo-rary permits allowing them to stay while their cases are studied. The country where they land is respon-sible for handling this, including providing free legal assistance. The process should not exceed 11 months. Those who do not qualify for residency of some kind are in some cases invited to leave Europe voluntarily, with some incentives. Others are expelled, sometimes put on a plane and flown to their home nation.

INDIA

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Sri Lanka

DESTINATION: IndiaGOVERNMENT RESPONSE:

After Sri Lanka’s civil war erupted in 1983, hundreds of thousands from the ethnic Tamil minority fled the fighting between the majority Sinhalese government and Tamil rebels demanding an independent homeland. The refugees arrived in waves — many aboard crowded, rickety wooden boats that crossed the narrow bay between Sri Lanka their island nation and India — and landed on the beaches of Tamil Nadu state.

The Indian government erected hundreds of refugee camps, where authorities questioned people to make sure they were not linked to the rebels. Once cleared, they were

given living quarters, monthly ra-tions and the chance to find work in the community.

With ethnic, cultural and lin-guistic ties to India’s Tamils in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, many refugees from Sri Lanka assimilated and took Indian citizenship. Others opted for repatriation offered at various times. The arrivals ceased when the Sri Lankan government crushed the rebels with months of heavy bombings and ended the war in 2009.

BANGLADESH

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Myan-mar

DESTINATION: BangladeshTHE GOVERNMENT’S RE-

SPONSE: Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, a long-persecuted Muslim minority group in Myan-mar, have fled to Bangladesh in re-cent years to escape persecution in the predominantly Buddhist nation. Roughly 400,000 Rohingya are be-lieved to have gone to Bangladesh, where many of their ancestors came from, but only about 30,000 are of-ficially recognized as refugees. The luckiest live in designated refugee camps, which include schools and clinics, but most either live in squalid informal camps or in poor, crowded neighborhoods.

In 2012, when waves of Roh-ingya sought shelter in Bangladesh, border authorities reportedly forced more than 1,300 back into the sea in their creaky vessels. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina denied the refugees had been driven away, but made clear she didn’t want them, saying the country, already densely popu-lated, “cannot bear this burden.”

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES

DESTINATION: United States, Canada, Australia

FLIGHT AND RESPONSE: The mass exodus of Vietnamese “boat people” began in 1978, a few years after the end of the Vietnam War, with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing to escape persecution by the victorious Communist gov-ernment. Another wave followed in the late 1980s. The United Na-tions refugee agency says at least 840,000 left by sea.

The majority initially landed in Hong Kong and several Southeast Asian nations that established refu-gee camps and threatened to push them back, but most eventually settled in the United States, Canada and Australia. (ap)

How countries cope with migrants arriving by boat

Over the last ten years, thou-sands of people in the area have come to rely on arrack production for their livelihood.

Head of the Karangasem In-dustry and Trade Agency, Gusti Ngurah Suarta, said on Tuesday that traditional arrack has be-come one of the main home in-dustries for approximately 7,600 people in Karangasem’s four subdiscticts;. Manggis, Sidemen, Abang and Kubu. This thriv-ing home industry provides a is able to produce 220,000 bottles a month or 2.65 million bottles a year. Although thousands of people make arrack, only a few businesses such as UD Putrajaya, Dukuh Lestari and Bali Saka, have a permit.

Suarta said that the Ministry of Trades Regulation No.6/2015 on the Control and Supervision of Liquor Procurement, Distribution, and Sale, is like a nightmare for arrack makers, so the Karangasem Industry and Trade Agency is making efforts to help resolve their problem, including provid-ing guidance to arrack makers about how to become palm sugar producers instead. The attempt to guide arrack makers -in Tianyar hamlet, Kubu village, has been quite successful. The KI.T.A. has provided the arrack producers of Tianyar with the equipment

required to produce palm sugar and people are willing to gradu-ally switch professions, given the pressure to do so by the local government. However, unlike the arrack makers Kubu subdistricts, thousands of arrack makers in other areas refuse to switch to palm sugar production Ngurah Suarta said that they are refusing to make the switch because the income that they earn from pro-ducing arrack has allowed them to support their families and pay for their children’s school tuition.

They argue that producing ar-rack is more practical and sells more quickly than palm sugar. In response to their refusal switch professions, Ngurah Suarta is looking into other options that might be more suitable for them. It is worth noting that Karan-gasem’s arrack industry has been a source of employment for many people in all four subdistricts, to be precise: Manggis has a total of 800 arrack makers who produce about 250,000 bottles per year, Sidemen has 3,700 arrack pro-ducers that pump out 1,250,000 bottles per year, Abang produces 980,000 bottles a year, made by 2,500 people and Kubu has 600 people producing 240,000 bottles per year. Suarta therefor hopes to resolve this problem as soon as possible. (kmb31)

DENPASAR - After report-ing the incident of a man named NIM’s Facebook insult of Nyepi a month ago, representatives of the Balinese Hindu went to the Bali Police, Monday (Apr. 20) to question the seriousness of the Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation Unit’ regarding follow-up on this case. Repre-sentatives of the Cakrawayu, the Alliance of the Public Welfare Observer (Apisemar) and Institute for Monitoring and Executive Agency of the Republic of Indo-

nesia (LPPNRI) showed up to get some answers form the Police.

“We want confirmation that there has been follow-up on the reported case. It was reported a month ago, but we have yet to be provided any information about what is going on,” said Chairman of the LPPNRI, Made Ardika.

According to Ardika, and Chairman of the Apisemar, Nyo-man Pasek, there is fear that ff there are omissions in this case, it could affect the development of public opinion and lead to nega-

tive things. During their meeting with the Deputy Director of the Special Criminal Investigation Unit of Bali Police, T Widodo Ra-hino, the concerned citizens were assured that police have in fact followed up on the case. Several obstacles however have caused a delay in the handling of the report. Nevertheless, police promised to continue the investigation and track down NIM. “If there are omissions in procedure on the part of the Police, it could be very dan-gerous. We state that the reported

incident involves discrimination or “SARA”. If this is allowed to continue it will threaten the unity of society,” he said.

Ardika hopes that this case will not result in people assuming that there is indifference regarding the rights of minorities. “Do not let things like this happen, it could lead to the development of radical opinions,” he said.

As reported previously, the alliance of Hindu community or-ganizations and representatives of the Balinese community reported

the owner of a Facebook account (Fb) with the initial NIM to Bali Police, for having insulted Bali-nese Hindus. They reported the case, asserting that NIM’s com-ments in the social media qualify as harassment and humiliation of the Hindu community and are also words of provocation. The reported case is an infringement of Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE). Therefore, the Bali Police has been asked again to immediately arrest NIM. (kmb36)

Local community asks about progress on Nyepi insult caseIBP/Budana

Lontar tress, the source of arak in Karangasem

Arak makers invited to switch to palm sugar production

AMLAPURA - The central government’s prohibition of the sale of alcohol, is impacting the lives of arrack producers in Karangasem who have been invited to change there profession and become palm sugar producers. Some Karangasem arrack produces have however, rejected the offer.

3Wednesday, April 22, 2015 14 InternationalInternational Bali NewsTechnology Wednesday, April 22, 2015

“My name is ChihiraAico. How do you do?” she says in Japanese, blinking and nodding to customers in the foyer of Mitsukoshi, Japan’s oldest department store chain.

Clad in an elegant traditional kimono, ChihiraAico -- a name that sounds similar to a regular Japanese woman’s name -- breaks into a rosy-lipped smile as would-be shoppers approach.

Unlike her real-life counterparts -- almost always young women -- who welcome cus-tomers to shops like this, ChihiraAico cannot answer questions, but simply runs through her pre-recorded spiel.

The android, with lifelike skin and almost (but not quite) natural-looking movements, was developed by microwaves-to-power sta-tions conglomerate Toshiba, and unveiled at

a tech fair in Japan last year.“We are aiming to develop a robot that can

gradually do what a human does,” said Hitoshi Tokuda, chief specialist at Toshiba.

“The standard of customer service in this Mitsukoshi flagship store is top quality and this is a great opportunity to see what role our humanoid can play in this kind of envi-ronment.”

ChihiraAico will receive customers at the store until Tuesday, before taking part in a series of promotional events over the upcom-ing Golden Week holidays.

The humanoid is not the first robot to begin customer service in Japan -- the wisecracking Pepper, a four-foot (120 centimetre) machine with a plastic body perched on rollers, flogs coffee machines and mobile phones. (afp)

PARIS - The French mother of an autistic child has created what is believed to be the world’s first smartphone application allow-ing people speaking different languages -- or those incapable of speech at all -- to communicate together, French company Sogeti said Monday.

Marie Spitz developed the “Talk Dif-ferent” app that uses 700 images, colours, icons and sounds to create messages based on alternative communication techniques she practised to interact with her daughter Pauline, whose autism severely limits her speech capacity.

The key to “Talk Different,” Spitz says, is the ease and accessibility that allows lost travellers, the vocally- or hearing-impaired or other verbally isolated users to construct messages on smartphones or pads that virtu-ally anyone else will understand.

It was introduced for purchase and down-loading on Google Play and Apple Store in nine international languages on Monday by Sogeti, an affiliate of French computing service giant Capgemini.

Spitz says the 99 cent “Talk Different” app’s picture book simplicity is an inten-tional contrast to the more complex and confounding tools she used in communicat-ing with her daughter.

“The cost, required training and excessive specificity of aids for handicapped people

make them difficult to access, and wind up isolating the handicapped,” Spitz says.

“I have worked for over three years on this project with the goal that Talk Different would be accessible to all, for less than a euro on smartphones, while being very easy to use. The application requires no special training,” she adds

After working around her daughter’s speech disability for over a decade, Spitz founded her MPSLS software company to develop and perfect an application using her insights for medical, educational and tourism communication use.

Users select drawings and photos of various figures, situations, emotions or ideas, and combine them with colour, sound, text and other evocative content to construct what become easily identifiable messages or questions.

“Talk Different makes everyday com-munication easier via an intuitive and fun application. With her exceptional vision and drive, Marie Spitz has invented a new way of communicating for people who may not speak the same language or who suffer from a range of disabilities,” says Patrick Marquet, project manager at Sogeti.

With “Talk Different” now available for general public use, Spitz says she is develop-ing a version of the app specifically for health workers and the handicapped. (afp)

NEW YORK - Twitter said Monday it was making it easier to take direct messages private, carving out a bigger space for tar-geted exchanges on the popular microblog-ging service.

Previously, direct messaging could only occur between two Twitter users “following” each other, which basically allowed both par-ties to see whatever they posted publicly.

As of Monday, a user can change the settings on his accounts to allow receipt of a direct message from anyone, including those who do not follow the user. In turn, the user can reply with a direct message to

the sender, regardless of whether the sender follows the user, Twitter announced in a blog on its website.

Users who opt in can still take steps to block unwanted direct messages from a specific sender.

“We hope these changes help you connect more easily -- and directly -- on Twitter with the people, causes and businesses you care about most,” Twitter said.

At the end of 2014, Twitter had 288 million monthly active users, sending 500 million tweets per day, according to the San Francisco-based company. (afp)

AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi

Customers watch android robot “Aiko Chihira” at the reception of Mitsukoshi depart-ment store in Tokyo, Monday, April 20, 2015. The lifelike android robot, which was developed by Japanese electronics manufacturer Toshiba, marked her first day at work as a receptionist at the department store on Monday, greetings customers as they walked in.

Japan robot receptionist welcomes shoppers

TOKYO - She can smile, she can sing and this robot receptionist who started work in Tokyo on Monday never gets bored of welcoming customers to her upmarket shop.

Mother of austistic child develops ‘universal language’ app

AP Photo/Richard Drew, File

Twitter expands privacy on direct messages

The request from six Chinese cities came after Garuda Indonesia operated chartered flights from 10 Chinese cities to the world-renowned tourist island during the 2015 Chinese New Year celebrations.

The national flag carrier operated the chartered flights from January 29 to March 29 using Boeing 747-400 aircraft comprising 20 business-class seats and 435 economy-class seats.

“The flights occupancy had reached almost 95 percent,” he pointed out.

Garuda Indonesia is planning to serve chartered flights from the Chinese cities to Bali during the summer holidays from June to August this year.

“If we open chartered flights for six more cities, we must profoundly consider the availability of aircraft and crew members,” he noted.

Subagia stated that the request for chartered flights served as inputs for Garuda Indonesia to formulate a plan to operate new regular flights from China to Indonesia.

“We do not rule out the possibility that if one of the char-tered flight routes shows promising prospects, we will turn it into a regular flight route,” he remarked.

Garuda Indonesia has so far served regular flights from Jakarta to Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, as well as from Denpasar (Bali) to Beijing.

In mid-2015, Garuda Indonesia is expected to operate non-stop regular flights from Guangzhou to Denpasar. Simi-lar flights will also be operated on the Shanghai-Denpasar route.

Bali is one of the favorite destinations for Chinese tour-ists. (ant)

DENPASAR - Indonesia should not worry about the Asean Eco-nomic Community (AEC) 2015 as it has huge human resource potential, according to Chairperson of the Indonesia Businesspersons Asso-ciation (Apindo) for Bali province Panudiana Kuhn. “In terms of hu-man resource potential, Indonesia has gained prominence as compared to other Asean member countries,” he stated on Tuesday.

In addition to the human resource potential, Indonesia’s small and domestic industrial products have penetrated Thailand’s markets.

Meanwhile, Bali’s tourism and education sectors are ready to face the AEC, he added.

According to Kuhn, the tour-ism sector is well developed since it is supported by skilled human resources, star-class hotels coupled with natural beauty and unique cultures.

“The uniqueness and diversity of Balinese cultures inherited from

generation to generation continue to lure tourists to the island,” Kuhn remarked.

During 2014, Bali attracted 3.76 million tourists, an increase of 14.89 percent as compared to 3.27 million tourists recorded in the previous year.

During the period between January and February 2015, for-eign tourists visiting Bali reached 604,739, an increase of 15.44 percent as compared to 555,052 tourists recorded in the same pe-riod last year.

Kuhn emphasized that the tour-ism sector in Indonesia, especially in Bali, will be superior in the framework of the AEC.

In the field of education, higher education institutions in Bali are accepting foreign students.

Most of the foreign students have enrolled in medical courses at the Udayana University, besides other majors such as Balinese traditional cultures, Kuhn added. (ant)

ANTARA FOTO/Andika Wahyu

Six Chinese cities have made an official request to Garuda Indonesia to operate chartered flights to the resort island of Bali.

Six chinese cities request Garuda chartered flights to Bali

BEIJING - Six Chinese cities have made an official request to Garuda Indonesia to operate chartered flights to the resort island of Bali. “We are conduct-ing an in-depth study regarding the request as we also have to consider the availability of aircraft and crew members,” Vice President of Garuda Indonesia for China I. Wayan Subagia stated on Tuesday.

Indonesia should not worry about AEC

ANTARA FOTO/Fikri Yusuf

A man crafted a watermelon during a fruit and vegetable craft-ing competition held at Denpasar, recently. Indonesia should not worry about the Asean Economic Community (AEC) 2015 as it has huge human resource potential, according to Chairper-son of the Indonesia Businesspersons Association (Apindo) for Bali province Panudiana Kuhn.

International2 Wednesday, April 22, 2015 15International Activities

Bali News

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

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

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

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

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In the matter of employment, the figure of a man named Gede Nik Sukarta is always energetic. He never discriminates the quality of employment where he earns livelihood. It also applies in the Kayu Raja Villa Seminyak where he leads the eco-friendly accommodation. “I always show hard work, discipline, bravery and honesty in leading our men,” said the General Manager calmly.

The friendly man who working in the Kayu Raja Villa said he always put emphasis to staff in order they could focus on the employment, discipline, honesty and responsibility. All the times, he reminds the division head and supervisor of the importance as a trainer. By doing so, they could always ensure to provide training on the spot to the staff.

Additionally, spiritual motivation is always implanted to his staff. “I believe in the service excellence and the golden rules of marketing lay in the service excellence of operation. As evidence, it has made the hotel or villa survive forever,” said the man who has the Virgo zodiac.

In working, Gede Sukarta is always optimistic. Everyone contacting his company give an opportunity to make coopera-tion. “Though retaining a threat on the other hand, I always think everyone is good and we surely can create a good and right environment,” said the man who had served as the OM of Villa Kubu Seminyak Bali.

Likewise, he also claimed to be always optimistic with the Human Resources he led, including the tourism human resources in Bali and even in Indonesia. In the face of global competition, he added, Indonesia should become a driving force in tourism, especially in the Asian region. “It must be done by tourism workers in Bali and Indonesia,” said Sukarta. (kmb) IBP/kmb

IBP/Courtesy of Club Bali Suites

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Gede Nik Sukarta:Always showing hard work, discipline

Similarly remnants of food left by the pilgrims could be seen scat-tered all over the outermost court-yard in front of Basukihan Temple. After saying prayers and having lunch with their families or friends, most people just left their offerings and plastic incense wrappers in the courtyard and tossed their rubbish haphazardly,

Apparently the pilgrim lack awareness depite the fact that the ritual committee had asked people to do the devotional work of placing their offerings in special trash bins by hanging a banner with instruc-tions above oblations platform. The temple priests also made frequent announcements asking people to pick up after themselves.

Chairman of the ritual commit-tee, I Wayan Gunatra, admitted that the awareness of pilgrims regard-ing sanitation at Besakih temple, remains low. Gunatra who is also chief of Besakih customary village said that if only everyone was aware and disciplined in picking up their own offerings when they were done with them, the sanitation attendants would not be overwhelmed.

A total of 80 sanitation attendants

are employed at Besakih, including 35 janitors under the coordination of the Karangasem Sanitation and Landscaping Agency. However, when there is an abundance of pil-grims, rubbish ends up scattered all over the grounds.

The problem is that the janitors do not have a chance to sweep because as soon as one groups of pilgrims is down praying, another group immediately takes a seat to pray, having queued for a long time.

Gunatra added that: “every-one must realize that maintaining temple sanitation and sanctity is also very important, just as im-portant as the prayers themselves. For this reason, both pilgrims and merchants would remain diligent in their responsibility to maintain the sanctity and sanitation of the temple”.

Before being sent to the landfill at Palak hamlet, the rubbish is stockpiled in four seperate locations and sometimes due to traffic jams, waste transportation is delayed. Ap-parently, the rubbish is also dumped into the river under the Kiduling Kreteg. (013)

SEMARAPURA - After suc-cessfully organizing the Festival Nusa Penida 2014, the government of Klungkung will hold the Semara-pura Festival 2015.

As planned, the Semarapura Fes-tival will be held on April 25-28 in the town of Semarapura. The event is held in the 107th celebration of the Puputan Klungkung and the 23rd anniversary of Semarapura town. Besides, it will also be re-

sumed with the Archipelagic Regal Hospitality.

Spokesperson of the govern-ment of Klungkung County, Wayan Parna, revealed that the Semarapura Festival 2015 will take the theme Atita, Wartamana,

Nagata—this name is taken be-cause it implies the glories of the past inspiring the current struggle for future brightness. “The theme of the Semarapura Festival 2015

would like to interpret the past glories of Klungkung kingdom for today’s spirit, so that it can be successful in the future that makes Klungkung County superior and prosperous,” he said on Tuesday.

The Festival Semarapura 2015 aiming to promote tourism and preserve culture will hold various events. Among others, the event will include cultural carnival, SME exhibitions, Dharma Gita,

fun bike, blood donation, exhibi-tion of painting Kamasan puppet for regeneration, trekking the path of Puputan Klungkung struggle, drama gong, and commemoration of Puputan Klungkung, marching band, semar pagulingan gamelan music, marching band, Pendet Dance en masse, fashion show and musical entertainment.

To provide information for the public, various intersections and

public places have been installed with banners and billboards re-lated to the implementation of the festival.

The regent of Klungkung, I Nyoman Suwirta, hoped that this event can reach a success and has an impact on the tourist visit and the cultural preservation. “Hope-fully, this festival can increase the next tourist arrivals,” he ex-plained. (dwa)

IBP/File

The garbage is pilling up in Besakih Temple during the ceremony.

Festival Semarapura jazzes up the celebration of Puputan Klungkung

Keeping temples clean: lack of awareness and discipline

AMLAPUrA - Local pilgrims worshipping in temples, ap-parently still lack awareness about the importance of keeping these holy places free of garbage and disposing of offerings in a suitable manner. This was clearly witnessed by the rub-bish scattered around the outer most courtyard of Penataran Besakih Temple during the Ida Batara Turun Kabeh (IBTK) ritual, last weekend.

Page 13

How countries cope with migrants arriving by boat

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

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

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DPs 23 - 32WEATHER FORECAsT

Attorney Christopher Brown said he issued the statement to clarify comments the singer made during a concert over the weekend about his daughter’s condition. The statement goes on to say that “there has been improvement” in her condition.

However, it also adds that Bobbi Kristina Brown is just now begin-ning rehabilitation “and the quality of her life will not be known for years to come.”

Bobbi Kristina Brown is the only child of Bobby Brown and the late

Whitney Houston.Houston was found face-down and

unresponsive in about a foot of water in a bathtub in a Beverly Hills hotel room Feb. 11, 2012, just before the Grammys. She later died, and authori-ties concluded she had accidentally drowned. Investigators found a dozen prescription-drug bottles in the suite and listed heart disease and cocaine use as contributors to her death.

On Saturday night, an emotional Bobby Brown told concertgoers that Bobbi Kristina was “awake” and “she is watching me.”

Bobby Brown’s wife, Alicia Etheredge-Brown, added in the statement that during the concert, Brown “made an attempt to correct the negative comments he must endure on a daily basis from both family and the public regarding his daughter’s medical condition.”

“He is encouraged by the steps that Bobbi Kristina has made since her hospitalization on January 31, 2015,” Etheredge-Brown said. “She has made it out of ICU, opened her eyes, and started a rehabilitation that will be long and hard.” (ap)

TAURANGA, New Zealand - AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd on Tuesday made a surprise guilty plea on a charge of threatening to kill, with his lawyer describing the veteran rocker’s offence as “just an angry phone call”.

Rudd had previously denied all allegations against him, but changed his plea on the first day of his trial at Tauranga District Court in New Zealand, also admitting two minor drug possession charges.

As a result, judge Robert Woolff adjourned the matter after just 10 minutes and extended Rudd’s bail until a sentencing hearing on June 26.

While threatening to kill carries a potential jail term of seven years, Rudd’s solicitor Craig Tuck said the 60-year-old would apply for a discharge without conviction.

“What we can see now is that this matter was essentially just an angry phone call that resulted in police getting a search warrant... that was it,” Tuck told reporters outside the court.

Rudd was arrested in November

at his waterfront mansion in the North Island coastal town of Tau-ranga, with court documents reveal-ing he was accused of threatening to kill a former employee.

He was allegedly upset about poor organisation at a function to launch his solo album “Head Job” in August, calling an associate four weeks later to say he wanted the ex-employee “taken out”, then phoning the man and threatening his life.

He allegedly offered the as-sociate “NZ$200,000 ($153,000), a motorbike, one of his cars or a house”.

When police raided Rudd’s home, they found 0.478 grams (0.017 ounces) of methamphet-amine and 91 grams (3.21 ounces) of cannabis, the documents said.

Rudd initially faced another charge of “attempting to procure murder”, but it was dropped after prosecutors decided there was in-sufficient evidence.

A second charge of threatening to kill -- relating to the ex-employ-ee’s daughter -- was dropped on Tuesday. (afp)

Tommy Schaefer, 21, was found guilty of the premeditated murder of Sheila von Wiese Mack on the resort island and jailed for 18 years.

His girlfriend and the victim’s daughter, 19-year-old Heather Mack who was pregnant at the time of the crime, was found guilty of assisting in the murder and given a 10-year prison term.

Schaefer wept in the Bali court as judges recounted harrowing details of the case, in which he beat the 62-year-old victim to death with a fruit bowl during a blazing row in the five-star resort, before he and his girlfriend dumped the body in a taxi.

“The defendant’s actions dis-turbed the public and can be con-sidered sadistic,” said Judge Made Suweda as he sentenced Schaefer. The case sent shockwaves across the tropical holiday island that wel-comes millions of foreign visitors each year.

Schaefer’s jail term was the same as that recommended by prosecutors. He escaped a death sentence, the maximum term for premeditated murder in Indone-sia.

Heather Mack, who hid in the bathroom while Schaefer attacked her mother, was found guilty of the lesser charge of assisting in the murder. Prosecutors had rec-ommended a 15-year jail term but Suweda said judges decided to give her a lighter sentence as she needed to care for her baby daughter, who was born last month.

Von Wiese Mack’s badly beaten body was discovered in a taxi out-side an upmarket resort on Bali last August. After her killing, the couple -- from the Chicago area -- fled to another part of Bali where police arrested them.

Schaefer confessed to the kill-ing during his trial but claimed he

was defending himself during an argument with von Wiese Mack, who was unhappy that her daughter was pregnant.

P rosecu to r s a l l eged tha t Schaefer “blindly hit” von Wiese Mack with the fruit bowl in a fit of rage after she directed a racial slur at him. Schaefer is black.

While her mother was being murdered, Mack hid in the bath-room and the couple then stuffed

the body into the suitcase together, according to her indictment.

The pair were tried separately. Handing down the verdict in

Schaefer’s case, Suweda said he was “legally and convincingly” guilty of premeditated murder.

Mack’s baby girl Stella is staying with her in Bali’s notorious Ker-obokan jail, where prisoners live in cramped, insanitary conditions and drug abuse is widespread.

In an interview with the Chica-go Tribune newspaper in February, Mack said she was “petrified” and revealed that she was sharing a cell with 10 other women.

“I loved my mom with all my heart and miss her every day,” she said.

The case involved a lengthy investigation, with assistance from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Locals and foreigners alike were horrified at the rare murder on Bali, a pocket of Hinduism in Muslim-majority Indonesia famed for its

palm-fringed, pristine beaches.Foreign visitors sometimes run

into trouble on the tropical island, although they normally fall foul of Indonesia’s tough anti-drugs laws, which include the death penalty for smuggling narcotics. (afp)

Bali suitcase murder

US couple given long jail terms

REUTERS/Darren Whiteside

Tommy Schaefer of the U.S., cries inside a Denpasar court on the Indonesian resort island of Bali April 21, 2015. An Indonesian court on Tuesday sentenced Schaefer to 18 years in prison for the murder an American woman whose body was found stuffed into a suitcase on the resort island of Bali.

DENPASAR - A US couple were given long jail terms Tuesday for the “sadistic” murder of the woman’s mother, whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase outside a luxury hotel on In-donesia’s Bali island.

News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http://globalfmbali.listen2my-

radio.com or live video streaming at http://radioglobalfmbali.com and http://ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.

Christine Cornege/New Zealand Herald via AP

AC/DC drummer’s kill threat just an ‘angry call’

ARLINGTON, Texas - Taylor Swift returned to her country roots at the American Country Music (ACM) Awards and celebrated with her mother and father. A video package highlighting her career and success played before Swift was awarded the 50th Anniversary Milestone Award, also given to Lambert, Strait, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire and Kenny Chesney.

Swift’s mother, who recently announced she is battling cancer, presented the award to her 25-year-old daughter with emotional words.

“I am a very proud mom,” said Andrea Swift, who also called Swift “brave enough to explore her musical curiosity.”

Taylor Swift thanked the country world for showing grace when she announced the release her first full-blown pop album, the top-selling “1989,” last year.

“I am so happy I learned how to write songs in a town like Nashville,” said Swift, who sat in the audience with her father, Scott Swift. (ap)

Bobbi Kristina Brown has opened eyes

ATLANTA — Bobby Brown’s lawyer issued a statement Monday saying the singer’s daughter has “opened her eyes” nearly three months after being found unresponsive in a bathtub in her Georgia home.

Swift awarded milestone award at ACM

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Taylor Swift accepts the milestone award at the 50th annual Academy of Country Music Awards at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, April 19, 2015, in Arlington, Texas.

Page 6

Japan’s leader sends offerings to controversial war shrine

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Real’s Rodriguez may hold key amid injury crisis