Among the 84 countries in-clude Australia, Brazil, Ukraine, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Palestine, Honduras, Pakistan, Mongolia. Sierra Leone, Uruguay, Bosnia Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Israel, Albania, Mo-zambique, Macedonia, El Salvador, Zambia, Moldova, Madagascar, Georgia, Namibia, Kiribati, Arme-nia, Bolivia, Bhutan, Guatemala, Mauritania and Paraguay.

Rizal said he hoped that the visa waiving facility would boost the number of foreign tourists to the

country, which hopes to attract 20 million foreign tourists in 2019.

A strong growth of 19 percent was recorded in the number of for-eign visitors after the granting of visa free travel for 47 new countries last October.

“The growth was much higher than a normal growth of 6-8 per-cent,” Rizal said.

The government would also increase the number of workers in the tourism sector from 3 million to 7 million in five years.

The 84 countries would add

to 90 countries already granted visa free facility bringing the total number to 174 countries, the min-ister said.

“Offering visa-free travel is one of the easiest ways to boost tourist numbers,” Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said earlier.

Neighboring Malaysia offers visa-free travel to 164 countries and Thailand to 56 countries.

Both Malaysia and Thailand attract far more tourists than Indo-nesia each year.

Last year, Indonesia recorded 9

million foreign tourist arrivals in 2014, rising from 8.8 million visi-tors in 2013.

In the same year Thailand re-corded 26 million foreign tourist arrivals and Malaysia recorded 27 million foreign tourists.

“By waiving visa requirements, we can attract more tourists than Thailand or Malaysia in two years,” Arief said. (ant)

Page 6

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

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

16 Pages Number 28th year

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

Price: Rp 3.000,-

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

DPs 23 - 32WEATHER FORECAsT

Page 13

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

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.

Thai government says it’s not ignoring shrimp sheds slavery

91 missing from landslide that buries buildings in China

Page 8

FIFA ethics court bans Blatter, Platini for 8 years NEW DELHI — British actor Orlando Bloom has been allowed

entry into India after being turned away a day earlier from New Delhi’s international airport because he did not have a valid visa, officials said Monday.

The “Lord of the Rings” star was able to enter India after the External Affairs ministry intervened and gave him a special visa.

Bloom was invited by the top elected official of Uttar Pradesh state to promote tourism. He applied for an e-visa and arrived Saturday without realizing there was a problem with his application.

Bloom was forced to return to London but arrived in India the following day and was seen posing at the Taj Mahal on Sunday.

An External Affairs ministry spokesman said Bloom must have landed without the confirmation email or forgotten to check whether the visa had been granted.

Bloom is best known for his performances in “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies. He has also played roles in such Hollywood blockbuster films as “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Troy” and “Kingdom of Heaven.” (ap)

Colombia contestant Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo was already wear-ing the crown as this year’s Miss Universe winner when host Steve Harvey returned to apologize.

Harvey says it was his mistake and that he would take responsibility for not reading the card correctly that named contestant Pia Alonzo Wurtz-bach this year’s winner and Colombia the first runner-up.

A mystified Wurtzbach appeared stunned as she walked to the front of the stage alongside the crown-

wearing Arevalo before last year’s Miss Universe from Colombia re-moved the crown and placed it on Wurtzbach’s head instead.

The competition started with wom-en representing 80 countries between the ages of 19 and 27. For the first time, viewers at home weighed in, with their votes being tallied in addition to four in-person celebrity judges.

NBCUniversal and Donald Trump co-owned the Miss Universe Organi-zation until earlier this year. The real-estate developer offended Hispanics

in June when he made anti-immigrant remarks in announcing his Republi-can presidential run.

That led Spanish-language net-work Univision to pull out of the broadcast for what would have been the first of five years airing the pag-eants and NBC to cut business ties with Trump.

The former star of the “Celebrity Apprentice” reality show sued both companies, settling with NBC in September, which included buying the network’s stake in the pageants.

That same month, Trump sold the organization that includes the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants to entertainment company WME-IMG. (ap)

AP Photo/John Locher

Other contestants congratulate Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach after she was crowned Miss Universe at the Miss Universe pageant Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015, in Las Vegas. According to the pageant, a misreading led the announcer to read Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner before they took it away and gave it to Miss Philippines.

AP Photo/ Pawan Sharma

In this Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015, photo, British actor Orlando Bloom, front left, takes a selfie as Indian lawmaker Amar Singh, front right, watches on arrival at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. Indian officials say Bloom has arrived in New Delhi after being turned away a day earlier because he did not have a valid visa.

Orlando Bloom arrives in India after visa delay

Miss Universe mistake crowns Colombia before Philippines

LAS VEGAS — The Miss Universe contestant from the Philippines is this year’s winner but for one brief moment Sunday evening, it appeared as if it might be a repeat win for Colombia.

IT would not be excessively pessimistic to worry that the future of

prasi (illus-trated narratives

on plam-leaf) may not have a future. The pres-ervation of this art form, that is closely tied to the Balinese literary tradition, has found itself in a critical moment of its existence. Only very few Balinese artists still use prasi as a medium of expression, as it is considered very hard to make a living doing so.

To ensure the survival of this traditional art, it is high time for the Bali’s local gov-ernments to take some initia-tive in preventing prasi from dissaperaing from the cultural landscape. According to the Dean of the Faculty of Art and Design (FSRD) at the Indone-sia Institute of the Arts (ISI) Denpasar, Ni Made Rinu, government initiatives need to reach beyond just training or even material assistance for artists, but perhaps most importantly, should be geared towards opening doors for the marketing of prasi. If such efforts are not made, she is pessimistic about the possibil-ity of artists wanting to work intensively in prasi.

Artsits need to feel excited about their creations in order to be vivacious in their produc-tion, and to feel excited they need to feel that their work is valued and also marketable. “With the art of prasi increas-ingly dimming, it is time for the different levels of government in Bali to take the initiative of reviving it,” stated Dean Rinu.

Continue to page 2Human being ...

IBP/Wawan

Tourists play water sport in Nusa Dua, Bali Island. Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli said the government will waive visa requirement for short term visitors from 84 more countries hoping to boost number of tourists visiting the country.

Prasi art needs a boost

Visa free travel offered for 84 more countries

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli said the government will waive visa requirement for short term visitors from 84 more countries hoping to boost number of tourists visiting the country. “There are 84 more countries we decided today to grant visa free travel to be effective this week,” Rizal said after a coordinating meeting on Monday.

International2 15International Activities

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Tuesday, December 22, 2015Tuesday, December 22, 2015

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

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

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

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

Balinese Temple Ceremony

COVER STORYGiven the various pressures that

the era of globalizations brings, the vast majority of artists an no longer afford to create art for arts sake. Artists are human being like everybody else and need to be able to provide for their daily needs and those of their families. So when art an no longer guanratee a livelihood, artists will turn to other sources of income that look more promising.

“The phenomenon that we are seeing with prasi artists is exactly the same as what happened with Kamasan Painting artists. Many Kamasan painters have been forced to look for work as gold leaf crafts-men for example, because puppet paintings are rarely sold,” explained Rinu.

Rinu admits that the majority of Balinese painters use the same method for marketing their prod-ucts - that is; they passively wait for buyers to come and visit their home and buy their art works. When tour-ism is booming in Bali, this passive method is enough for artists to get by, however when the “tourism tap is clogged”, their livelihood takes a hit. “In this context, the government needs to do more than just encour-age artists to continue working. Facilitating the marketing of art products is of utmost importance,” she warned.

Related to the question of why Bali’s younger generation -includ-ing art students, are moving rapidly away from producing traditional art, Rinu said this is in large part due to the lack of education about traditional arts in elementary, high schools and vocational schools.

“I bet most of them have never even heard the word ‘prasi’,” she scorned.

Rinu, therefore hopes that gov-ernment will create a policy of including the art of prasi in el-ementary, high school and voca-tional school curriculum, before this art form fades into the annals of history. “Although certainly not all students will be interested in, have the talent for or the ability to seriously pursue the art of prasi, at least they can become familiar with it and hopeful some students will even be moved to learn more deeply about the art of prasi,” said the Dean.

She emphasized that formal educational institutions can be very effective in igniting awareness, love and appreciation of Bali’s ancestral heritage, amongst the younger gen-eration. (sumatika)

From page 1Human being ...

There are today very few art-ist community that produce such manuscripts. “Today, the traditional art of prasi art is arguably only con-centrated in the villages of Sidemen

and Tenganan in Karangasem and in Bungkulan village, Buleleng. The prasi tradition has been all but forgotten in other parts of Bali,” lamented Murdana.

According to the former Deputy Rektor, the art of prasi can be de-scribed as two- dimensional il-lustrative art that uses a pangutik or steel blade to etch images into palm-leaf. Pangutik are triangular in shape and can be used to cre-ate different thicknesses of lines. Once the lines have been etched, a hazelnut flesh charcoal and coco-nut oil ink is then rubbed onto the surface of the palm-leaf so the the etched lines become blackened and

contrast with the pale colour of the palm-leaf. “The process of creating prasi art-works is quite complicated and demands a high degree of ac-curacy. Also because the sheets of palm-leaf are quite small, prasi artists need to develop great mas-tery of the technique in order to overcome the limitations of this medium,” explained Murdana.

The development of the art of prasi in Bali is inextricably tied to the literary arts, as these illustra-

tions are meant to help clarify the contents of written words - primar-ily for illiterate people. These series of images interpret the literary content of the written texts and “sometimes, the images are also ac-companied by short texts, similar to modern comic strips,” he added.

Murdana is well aware that Balinese young people today are generally not very interested in pursuing this art form. However, he points to the wealth of very posi-tive local wisdom that prasi carry within them, citing such things as attitudes, ethics, morals and both mental and spiritual values as be-ing extremely valuable in terms of planting the seed of positive traits and contributing to the formation of strong character in young people. “Frankly speaking, I continuously long for the revival of the art of prasi, before this art is completely forgotten by the younger generation in Bali. In order to avoid the disap-pearance of the art of prasi, local governments in Bali must carry out concrete actions to preserve this art form. One thing that could be done is to hold prasi competitions as a way to stimulate interest in and excitement about prasi, amongst young people, as a way enoucrage the younger generation of Bali to leaner about prasi. When young people feel love for the art form, the intention to preserve it will naturally arise. I also hope that the art of prasi can be included as special local in the curriculum of all levels of education,” concluded Murdana. (sumatika)

IBP/Sumatika

Prasi (illustrated narratives on plam-leaf) may not have a future.

On the verge of disappearing

IBP/Sumatika

Prasi art on the verge of extinction

THE UrGENCy with which action needs to be taken to re-vive the art of prasi was also expressed by the former Deputy rektor of ISI Denpasar, I Ketut Murdana who concurres that the popularity of this art form is waning. Prasi refers to il-lustrative narratives depicting religious literature, almanacs, historical events, chronicles and fables on sheets of palm leaf (Borrasus flabelifer).

SANUr - Jazz in Sanur sounds especially joyous during the holidays. We don’t know if it’s the glow of Christmas lights by the beach adding ambience or the taste of a festive cocktail accompanying the music, but listening to live jazz is one of our favorite holiday past-times.

With that in mind, together with Indra Lesmana Group and Sanggar Musik Indra Lesmana Giya Santrian presents several incredible jazz artists per-formances at our Griya Beach Club throughout the holiday season right into the new years. Immerse yourself in the beachfront décor (and delicious drinks) of our venue as you listen to the top list musicians, Indra Lesmana Group featuring artiusts Margie Segers (13 Dec), Idang Rasjidi (27 Dec), Eva Celia (10 Jan) and Glenn Fredly (24 Jan).

A performer that creates jazz in a perfect at-mosphere, Margie Segers, with her unique ability to sing blues notes and ability to improvise and express any song. Margie brings every tune she

sings to life. Some of her more popular song include “Layu Sebelum Berkembang” , “ Kesepian” and “Hanya Untukmu” .

Idang Rasjidi is well known for his unique piano play. Idang can make trumpet, trombone, and percussion sounds while accompanying his piano plays, which he learned by doing. His jazz love comes from his childhood environment, with his whole family a fan of jazz music.

Both senior jazz artists combine elements of funk, jazz, and pop that is original and unique to each of their own style. A rich, powerful voice and infectious stage presence make them a natural for our Mostly Jazz stage.

The Jam Sessions during the Sunday Mostly Jazz Program is envisioned as a channel to fine tune quality and communication between musi-cians and jazz fans. The bi-weekly event presents an intimate acoustic format with other musicians Sandy Winarta on drums, Kevin Yosua and Indra Gupta on bass, Dennis Junio on saxophone and many more.

IBP/Net

IBP/Net

Griya Santrian presents Sunday Mostly Jazz

14 InternationalScienceTuesday, December 22, 2015 3International Bali News Tuesday, December 22, 2015

The new mark was noted in the annual Arctic Report Card, released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-istration. The Arctic centers on the North Pole and reaches into North America and Eurasia.

“Warming is happening more than twice as fast in the Arctic than anywhere else in the world. We know this is due to climate change,” NOAA chief scientist Rick Spinrad told reporters in San Francisco at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

Another record emerged for

sea ice, which appears when Arc-tic Ocean water freezes. When it reached its peak coverage in February, it was the lowest maxi-mum extent since records began in 1979. The minimum ice coverage, reached in September, was the fourth lowest on record.

The retreat of sea ice is con-sidered a threat to animals like walruses, which use it for mating, giving birth and getting out of the water.

Walruses can use land instead to leave the water, but they are crowding onto beaches where a

stampede can be devastating for calves, two editors of the report card told AP.

Walruses have been hauling themselves out on land in north-west Alaska, a recent phenomenon, Martin Jeffries of the federal Of-fice of Naval Research and Jackie Richter-Menge of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wrote in a joint email.

Snow cover in June in both the North American and Eurasian parts of the Arctic was at the second lowest level since records began in 1967. Reduced snow cover lets more sunlight through to the land, which absorbs the energy and gets warmer. Since 1979, the extent of June snow cover has been dropping by 18 percent per decade, the study said. (ap)

MIAMI - After years of study-ing a mysterious thigh bone from a cave in China, scientists said Thursday they believe it repre-sents an ancient species of human that persisted much longer than previously thought.

The 14,000-year-old bone was uncovered in 1989 in Maludong, known as the Red Deer Cave. The trove of fossils it was initially found with went unstudied until 2012.

The partial femur, though rela-tively young in age, looks like the bones of far older species like Homo habilis and early Homo erectus that lived more than 1.5 million years ago, said the study in PLOS ONE.

“Its young age suggests the possibility that primitive-looking humans could have survived until very late in our evolution, but we need to careful as it is just one bone,” said co-author professor Ji Xueping from the Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology in China.

Until now, scientists believed that the only pre-modern humans

who survived in what is now Eu-rope and Asia were Neanderthals and Denisovans, both of which disappeared some 40,000 years ago.

They are believed to have van-ished soon after modern humans entered the region, but the new bone suggests another primitive human could have survived far longer, perhaps until the end of the last Ice Age.

“The new find hints at the possibility a pre-modern spe-cies may have overlapped in time with modern humans on mainland East Asia, but the case needs to be built up slowly with more bone discoveries,” said co-author Darren Curnoe from the University of New South Wales.

The thigh bone is small, with a thin shaft much like the bones of Homo habilis, which lived 1.5-2.8 million years ago.

The individual would have weighed only about 110 pounds (50 kilograms), which was quite small for pre-modern and Ice Age human standards. (afp)

MIAMI - Two American as-tronauts will step out on a short spacewalk Monday to move a stalled rail car that is stuck outside the International Space Station, NASA said.

Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Tim Kopra will float out of the orbiting lab to move the mobile transporter rail car “a few inches,” NASA said in a statement on Sunday.

Once they coax it to its new position on the station’s truss, it will be “latched in place and elec-trically mated to the complex.”

NASA television coverage of the outing begins at 6:30 am (1130 GMT) and the spacewalk should start by 8:10 am (1310 GMT).

The spacewalk should last three hours, about half as long as a typi-cal spacewalk.

The problem began last week when the mobile transporter rail car, a piece of moveable equip-ment that is attached to the Cana-darm2 robotic arm, began to move to another work site.

The cause of the stall remains unclear, but “experts believe it may be related to a stuck brake handle,” according to ISS mis-sion integration and operations manager Kenny Todd.

Engineers at mission control in Houston have been unable to robotically move it back into place.

If the brake was somehow inadvertently engaged, it may be an easy task to unstick it. The astronauts may then turn to a few other get-ahead tasks as part of their ongoing maintenance and upgrades of the ISS.

NASA described the job as a “cautionary measure” that needs to be done ahead of the arrival of the Russian Progress supply ship on Wednesday.

The US space agency an-nounced last week that an un-planned spacewalk would likely be necessary, and mission manag-ers decided after meeting Sunday to go ahead with the outing on Monday. (afp)

US spacewalkers will aim to move stalled rail car

Ancient human ancestor may have persisted through

Ice Age

AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward

This July 10, 2008 file photo made with a fisheye lens shows ice floes in Baffin Bay above the Arctic Circle, seen from the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent.

Arctic posts record warmth over land, less ice in its ocean

NEW YORK — The warming Arctic has set another re-cord. The average air temperature over Arctic land reached 2.3 degrees F (1.3 degrees C) above average for the year ending in September. That’s the highest since observations began in 1900.

Chief of Buleleng Police Quick Response Unit, Wayan Parta said that the police are appealing to fireworks retailers to buy their merchandise from official distribu-tors to avoid shoddy products from getting onto the streets. “We’ve been patrolling fireworks merchants on Jalan Diponegoro in Singaraja, where most merchants already have a license. We’ve taken preventive

actions in every region of Bule-leng,” said Parta with permission from the Chief of Buleleng Police, Harry Haryadi.

Parta explained that many people in Buleleng equate New Year cel-ebrations with the use of firecrack-ers and the consumption of alcohol and that that unavoidable crowds will gather to enjoy the night with a party. “Every region is also being

jointly secured by the police station of each subdistrict in an effort to prevent chaos early on, so that the mayority of people can enjoy the excitement of New Year with their family and friends,” he said.

He emphasized that the use of assembled cannons will not be tolerated. “Within the past year, there haven’t been any commotions caused by the use of firewors and assembled cannons, nevertheless we are still making a public appeal to not use home made explosives as these are officially prohibited. If any such devices are found, there will be consequences,” he affirmed. (kmb34)

DENPASAR - Preparations are underway for the eighth annual Denpasar Festival (Denfest) that will be held later this month. The committee has prepared everything for the success of this annual celebration and the venue itself is about 30 percent completed.

This year the festival organizers are requesting that food vendors use paper plates. Committee secretary of the Denpasar Festival who is also Divi-sion Head of the Economic Affairs of the Denpasar Municipality, Made Saryawan, said that the culi-nary portions of the festival is being arranged more professionally with clean-up being made easy. “We are asking that all food outlets serve their dishes on paper plates, as was done during the Sanur Village Festival,” said Saryawan.

One prospective merchant, however has com-plained about having to use paper, saying that it will cost more. He explained that he is used to using ingka (baskets) covered in banana leaf to serve his food. “Why must we use paper when the combination of ingka and banana leaves is more eco-friendly? he asked.

Responding to this complaint, Saryawan said that the committee is not requiring vendors to use paper but that based on certain studies, the use of paper is more pratical and allows people freedom of move-ment instead of having to bring the based back to the vendor. “This way people can just toss out their plates,” said Saryawan.

As for the cost of buying paper plates, Saryawan said that because vendors are not being charged to set up shop at the festival nor for the use of other facilities, and because everything has been prepared by the committee: “there should be no reason for vendors to raise their prices during the festival,” he said.

Another aspect of this year’S Denfest that differs from previous years, is the music. “This year’s Den-pasar Festival will feature a jazz festival to appeal to jazz lovers in Denpasar,” said Saryawan. (kmb12)

IBP/Dewa Kusuma

Chief of Buleleng Police Quick Response Unit, Wayan Parta

Christmas and New Year’s celebrations

Police target fireworks and illegal alcohol

SINGARAJA - In anticipation of the misuse of fireworks, firecrackers and illegal alcoholic beverages over the holidays, the Buleleng Police have started approaching both urban and rural communities to provide guidance and direction to the public, so that young people are not left unattended and turn to explosives or alcohol, both of which could cause harm.

IBP/Wawan

Workers prepare stage for the eighth Denpasar Festival (Denfest) that will be held later this month.

The 8th Denpasar Festival; food vendors requested to use paper

Bali News International4 Tuesday, December 22, 2015 Tuesday, December 22, 2015 13International

Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd, flanked by police, navy and other officials, held a news conference specifically to ad-dress issues raised by the AP story. The report has elicited widespread reactions around the world, includ-ing from major food companies in the U.S., Europe and Australia that buy Thai seafood.

Sansern said the government was already aware of slavery in the industry before the AP report was released Dec. 14.

“The report said that government officials ignore (this matter) ... This is not the truth,” he said. “Authori-ties found it first,” he said, adding that the Thai government wants the shrimp industry to have “proper working conditions according to international laws.”

Thailand is one of the world’s biggest shrimp providers and its seafood export industry is esti-mated to bring in about $7 billion annually.

The AP report revealed the widespread use of undocumented migrant laborers, many from neigh-boring Myanmar. Many of these laborers end up being tricked or sold into shrimp-peeling sheds where they are forced to work 16-hour days with no time off and little or no pay for sometimes years at a time.

Many workers are held under

debt bondage, forced to repay money the company gave to the agents who sold them. Some end up locked inside. Others are allowed to go out, but only if they leave their children or spouse behind as a guar-antee against running away.

At the news conference Monday, government officials did not deny the existence of forced labor. But they disputed parts of the story, especially the AP’s assertion that police took bribes and turned a blind eye to the practices in the industry. “This is not true,” Sansern said without elaborating.

The AP stood by its report, part of a series of investigations this year into slavery in the fishing industry in the region. More than 2,000 trapped fishermen were freed earlier this year from an island in Indonesia as a result of the AP’s work. The reports also have led to a dozen arrests, millions of dollars’ worth of seizures and proposals for new federal laws.

“We stand firmly behind our reporters’ coverage, which has been scrupulous, thorough and fair,” said Paul Colford, an AP vice president and director of media relations. “Their stories exposing the enslave-ment of workers in the Southeast Asian fishing industry have been a source of great pride throughout The Associated Press.”

The AP focused last week’s

story on a shrimp shed southwest of Bangkok in Samut Sakhon, the heart of the country’s shrimp processing industry. The shed was raided last month after a worker escaped. But while several undocu-mented workers were detained, no one with the company was arrested on human-trafficking charges, and the shed reopened days later.

Police in Bangkok have since ordered local authorities to re-investigate the shed for human trafficking. Arrests have been made, the shed has been closed and Samut Sakhon police have held a meeting to explain human-trafficking laws to shed owners.

The story noted that the govern-ment has recently passed laws to

crack down on abusive employers, but also revealed gaps in those efforts, with some former slaves saying police sold them to agents to be trafficked again.

Sansern also took issue with the AP’s statement that human traffick-ing “has helped turn Thailand into one of the world’s biggest shrimp providers.”(ap)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Police in eastern Cambodia used water cannons Monday to quash a protest by factory workers seeking higher wages, detaining at least a dozen demonstrators.

Seng Seila, the governor of Bavet city, where the protest took place, said police acted “because protesters threw rocks at factories and tried to disrupt other workers in the factories.”

Svay Rieng Provincial Cabinet chief and spokesman Ros Pharith confirmed that protesters had been detained for questioning, but was uncertain how many. He said just a few thousand workers took part.

Keo Samorn, a 29-year-old gar-ment worker who joined Monday’s protest, said some male protesters

were beaten before being taken away by truck. He said that he and others scared by the police ran to hide in nearby bushes.

Labor unions had sought to hike the minimum wage to $160 a month for next year from the current level of $128, but most agreed to accept an increase to $140.

However, some workers in Bavet’s Manhattan Special Eco-nomic Zone and elsewhere are demanding they be paid $148 a month. They began striking last week, though estimates of how many were involved ranged from 2,000 to 30,000.

Wages are a sensitive issue in Cambodia, where about 700,000 people are employed in more than 700 garment and shoe factories. In

2014, the Southeast Asian country shipped about $6 billion worth of products to the United States and Europe.

Factory workers in Cambodia are generally better organized and more militant than in other low-cost manufacturing countries, and also are loosely allied with the political opposition. Aggressive labor strikes around the capital, Phnom Penh, in 2014 were suppressed with deadly force and led to a crackdown on government opponents.

The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia asked for government intervention last week to help stop the strike, saying it is damaging the investment climate for the industry, the country’s main source of exports.

Thai government says it’s not ignoring shrimp sheds slavery

BANGKOK — Thailand’s government said Monday it is not ignoring the slavery and forced labor in its lucrative shrimp industry that was highlighted in an Associated Press investiga-tion published last week.

AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, File

In this Monday, Nov. 9, 2015, file photo, Thai soldiers search a room at the workers’ living quarters during a raid on a shrimp shed in Samut Sakhon, Thailand.

Cambodian police crack down on striking garment workers

REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha smiles as he reviews the honour guard during a welcoming ceremony for Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen at Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, December 18, 2015.

NEGARA - Jembrana Police deploy hundreds of personnel in the Candle Opera-tion 2015 during the celebration of Christ-mas and New Year. In addition to securing places of worship and vital objects, the security of the Denpasar-Gilimanuk road section chiefly at Gilimanuk is also carried out by setting up security posts.

Ahead of Christmas celebration, a num-ber of church officials and religious leaders in Jembrana were given briefing by the

Chief of Jembrana Police, Djoni Widodo. In his presentation, the police chief urged the implementation of active participation to maintain security and order. Police will always secure during the celebration so that people do not need to worry during the implementation of worship. Aside from be-ing attended by police, the briefing was also attended by the Chief of the 1617/Jembrana Military District, Sansan Iskandar, as well as a number of related agencies such as the

Transportation Agency, SAR, ASDP Gili-manuk, harbor master and others.

After the briefing, the police chief said that the security of Christmas is in the same series with the New Year. Other than alerting personnel in the implementation of Christmas celebration, the security of the highway is also carried out along the Denpasar-Gilimanuk road section, namely from Pengeragoan to Gilimanuk. “We have alerted four security posts and a service post

at Gilimanuk,” he said.He added the church security has been

mapped covering 30 churches in Jembrana. Some of them are small churches that are also mandatory for police to secure, while seven others are great churches. The security task is started on the day before by sterilizing the vicinity of the churches. Aside from district police personnel, the se-curity will also be backed up by Bali Police Mobile Brigade personnel. (kmb26)

The Head of the Gianyar Culture Agency, I Gusti Ngurah Wijana, said on Sunday (Dec. 20) that the museum development plan on Kera-mas Beach will continue in 2016. “Next year, the central government is definitely providing additional de-velopment fund worth IDR 9 billion. So, the project can be continued with

finishing process,” he said.He added that with such amount

of budget the project will be contin-ued with the construction of subak miniature and parking arrangement, including the content or collection of the museum. “So, it has been clear that the development will be continued with the addition of subak

miniature and parking space,” he said.

Ngurah Wijana explained that the subak museum development takes a total budget of IDR 42 billion. Due to large amount of fund needed, the development is worked on gradually. For this year, the central government has disbursed IDR 10 billion used to build the structure of the two-story museum. “Other than getting fund from central government, the development this year also used the regional budget of Gianyar worth IDR 2 billion allocated for the con-

struction of the management office,” he said.

Regent of Gianyar, A.A. Gde Agung Bharata, expected to the mu-seum can be completed in 2017 and launched in the same year. To that end, it is required additional budget in 2016. A total of IDR 7 billion of additional budget is required to com-plete the museum. “As planned, it is targeted to be inaugurated in 2017 so that we speed up the construction. Thankfully, we will positively get additional budget of IDR 9 billion from central government next year.

Then, we just need the additional budget of IDR 7 billion,” he said.

To that end, other than targeting to get funding from central govern-ment in 2017, it is also expected to get fund from regional budget of Gianyar. “With the completion target in 2017, there are still opportunities to get additional fund from central government and regional budget of Gianyar to meet the shortage of approximately IDR 7 billion. We are quite optimistic that the launch-ing can be done in 2017,” he said. (kmb35)

Approaching Christmas and New Year 30 churches in Jembrana to be secured

The Subak Museum in Tabanan. Gianyar Gov-ernment is planning to

make the similar museum in th regency

Subak museum development

Central govt adds fund worth IDR 9 billion in 2016

GIANYAR - Central government has been ascertained to disburse funds amounting to IDR 9 billion in 2016 for the construction of Subak Museum around the Masceti Temple on Keramas Beach. The certainty has confirmed the expectation of the completion plan of the museum development in 2017.

IBP/File

Bali News Tuesday, December 22, 2015 5InternationalTuesday, December 22, 201512 International

BUSINESS

WASHINGTON — Just as the Federal Reserve is pulling back slightly on the economic accelera-tor, Congress is pressing down a bit harder. The spending and tax-cut package that Congress approved Friday stands to modestly boost growth next year. It could also help drive a shift away from government as a drag on economic growth to a source of potential stimulus.

“This shift ... is currently being overlooked by financial markets and analysts,” said Joseph Carson, U.S. economist at asset manager Alliance Bernstein. “But we believe this will

be a key aspect of a more positive and faster growth environment for next year.”

Economists at Goldman Sachs have forecast that increased federal spending and tax cuts should add to economic growth in 2016 for the first time in six years.

The $1.1 trillion budget deal boosts spending for most Cabinet agencies by about 6 percent next year. A separate tax measure pro-vides $680 billion in tax cuts over 10 years. It would do so mostly by ex-tending or making permanent about 50 different expiring tax breaks.

That measure follows Congress’ approval of a five-year, $305 billion highway bill earlier in December.

Taken together, the measures could increase growth to about 3 percent next year, Carson estimates, up from a likely pace of about 2.25 percent this year.

Alec Phillips, an economist at Goldman Sachs, forecasts a smaller gain and envisions overall growth next year of 2.25 percent.

The picture now looks brighter for state and local governments, too. Their tax revenue has increased as the economy has improved. The

economy now has about 4.5 million more jobs than it did before the Great Recession began in late 2007.

Spending on construction at all levels of government, for example, rose 6.1 percent in October com-pared with a year earlier. Additional government spending can also trans-late into more purchases of military equipment.

The economic lift from govern-ment, if it proved significant and if it raised undesirably low inflation, could make it easier for the Fed to continue raising short-term interest rates. On Wednesday, citing the im-

proved economy, the Fed announced its first rate increase in nine years. For seven years, the central bank had kept its key short-term rate at a record low near zero to encourage borrowing and spending.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s pre-decessor, Ben Bernanke, had fre-quently called on Congress to limit its budget cuts in the short run to help the economy recover. But in recent months Yellen has noted that governments at all levels were spending a bit more. That likely helped set the stage for the Fed’s rate increases. (ap)

However, with Wednesday’s US Federal Reserve interest rate rise now in the past, analysts said concerns about the global economy continue to keep traders cautious.

While markets will begin wind-

ing down for the Christmas break Friday there are some key economic figures due for release this week, including US economic growth and home sales as well as Japanese infla-tion and spending.

Crude continued to slide as an ongoing supply glut showed no sign of easing. Figures Friday showed an increase in the number of US rigs drilling, increasing worries that output will continue apace.

Brent sank 1.9 percent at one point to $36.17 a barrel -- its weak-est since July 2004 -- before picking up slightly. US standard West Texas Intermediate was down 0.9 percent

at $34.42, levels not seen since early 2009 at the height of the global fi-nancial crisis.

Prices have slumped by almost a fifth since December 4 when the OPEC oil producers’ group decided against limiting production, despite tepid demand and the supply glut.

The commodity has sunk more than 60 percent from above $100 in summer 2014 and prices are now

at levels not seen since the financial crisis.

“There hasn’t been any signifi-cant signs of a pick-up in demand and we haven’t seen any meaningful cuts to production,” Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, told Bloomberg News.

“Nothing has really changed in the oil market over the past couple of months apart from the price.” (afp)

ASUNCION, Paraguay - South America’s Mercosur countries are set to meet Monday to initiate talks on a possible free trade deal early next year with the European Union.

Foreign and economy minsters from the group are hoping that details of the proposed deal can be hammered out in the next few months, Paraguay’s Foreign Minis-ter Eladio Loizaga said on Sunday.

Among those expected at Mon-day’s gathering are Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri; Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff; Uru-guayan President Tabare Vazquez; and host nation Paraguay’s President Horacio Cartes.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been due to attend but cannot due to scheduling conflicts, Loizaga said late Sunday.

Mercosur countries are working

on a common position they can take into talks with the European Union which have dragged on since resum-ing in 2010 after a six year halt.

Currently, they are ready to open up 87 percent of the Mercosur market to EU countries who, having proposed 91.5 percent, want more.

A trade deal would link two of the world’s biggest markets, the Mercosur region of nearly 300 mil-lion inhabitants and the EU of over 500 million. But an agreement has proved elusive since negotiations started in the 1990s.

Mercosur wants a deal with the massive European Union as well as the Pacific Alliance grouping Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Mercosur’s full members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uru-guay and Venezuela. Its associate members include Chile, Peru and Colombia. (afp)

Mercosur eyes free trade with EU

AP Photo/Jorge Saenz

Economy and Foreign Ministers of Mercosur members take part of a preparatory meeting for the Mercosur Summit in Luque, Paraguay, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015. Presidents of Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela and Surinam are scheduled to meet Monday.

US spending bill may aid economy just as Fed is pulling back

Asian markets mostly rise but oil hits 11-year low

HONG KONG - Oil prices extended losses Monday with Brent hitting an 11-year low, fuelling fears about the global economy, but most Asian stock markets recovered from early losses to rally in the afternoon.

AMLAPURA - Residents of Karangasem chiefly the water subscribers of the Municipal Wa-terworks (PDAM) will face clean water crisis in 2016. This condition will happen if the water from the Telaga Waja River pipeline project does not flow smoothly throughout Karangasem.

This was announced by Director of the PDAM Karangasem, I Gede T Baktiyasa, Sunday (Dec. 20) in Karangasem. This man from Datah village delivered it when respond-ing to the complaints of the PDAM customer from Perasi Tengah that

has not obtained clean water ser-vices for totally a week.

One of the residents from Perasi Tengah, Gusti Ngurah, said that a number of families posing the cus-tomers of the PDAM at his hamlet complained. The problem is that they formerly get water a night around 02:00 until 06:00. At that time, the water only runs for only about two hours. However, since last week, the tap of the PDAM has only flowed air at night. “At Pan-giong (Perasi) there are two water sources taken advantage as raw water by the PDAM Karangasem.

We do not know where the water of Pangiong is drained to. Actu-ally the water sources at Pangiong are enough to supply customers at Perasi,” he said.

Gusti Ngurah claimed to have repeatedly contacted the PDAM officer on duty in the region such as Mr. Bendesa. However, PDAM customers still cannot get water. “A few days ago, the PDAM sup-plied us some water by tank truck. But, some other families were not supplied with water, so that they complained,” said Gusti Ngurah.

On the other hand, Gede Bakti-

yasa said that Perasi Tengah located on higher region has indeed been difficult to get water supply from long time ago. It happens because the pressure at the high location is small. As a result, in the peak hours the water will not get there. At night the village can get water, but at the same time the supply from the Tirta-gangga pipeline must be shared with Timbrah and other areas.

Related to the water crisis of Karangasem in 2016, Baktiyasa said that it happens because so far the springs taken advantage as the PDAM raw water has been used

up to 95 percent. “If next year the water from Telaga Waja River pipeline project does not flow, the residents of Karangasem including the PDAM customers are going to face water crisis. So far, the condi-tion is in red light (severe water crisis),” he said.

Baktiyasa said that next year the regent of Karangasem must find a solution to provide clean water for his residents. He added that even though it has rained the water dis-charge in the springs or wells have not been getting normal because the rain was not so heavy. (013)

Chairman of the Fishermen As-sociation of Indonesia (HNSI) Tabanan, I Ketut Arsana Yasa, explained that lobster fisherman in Tabanan is virtually dormant since the export ban of lobster weighing below 200 grams issued by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, namely Regulation No.1/PERMEN-KP/2015 on the

limitation for the capture of three important fishery species namely lobster (Panulirus spp.), crabs (Scyla spp.) and swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus spp.). “As a result, fisher-men are dormant. They cannot do much especially during this lobster harvest season because their catch cannot be marketed,” he said, Sun-day (Dec. 20).

He added that before the issuance of the ministerial regulation the price of lobster weighing 100 grams and above could reach IDR 400,000. For once departure to sea during harvest season like this time fisherman can averagely obtain 1-3 kilograms. “Now, fishermen are reluctant to go to sea because they are not sure to return the operating costs,” he explained.

Yasa explained that ??the Ta-banan beach area has become the habitat of sand lobster and prime lobster. These types are dominated by lobsters weighing 100 grams that have been able to lay eggs. In terms of distribution, the most fishermen in

Tabanan are on Yeh Gangga Beach and the others spread along the beaches in Tabanan.

A fisherman of Yeh Gangga, I Ketut Baret, 60, complained about the income after the rules on the lobster export restriction. “Our operating cost does not return,” he said. He added that in once departure to sea he must prepare a capital as much as IDR 3 million including the purchase of nets and gasoline. “Today, we catch with nets. If we use a lobster trap, it can just catch a lobster weighing 100-150 grams,” he explained.

He continued that from Decem-

ber to February is the season where the lobster catch can increase dra-matically. But more sadly, despite being in the season, he rarely can get lobster weighing more than 200 grams. “The dominant lobster is weighing 100 grams, while the saleable lobster for export weigh-ing more than 200 grams,” he said. In order to earn money, the lobster weighing less than 200 grams is sold cheaply by fishermen for domestic consumption. “We sell it at cheap price, reaching IDR 70,000 per kilo-gram, whereas in the past we could sell it at IDR 400,000 as intended for export,” he explained. (kmb24)

In 2016, Karangasem faces PDAM water crisis if water of Telaga Waja River not flowed yet

TABANAN - There is an Indonesian proverb saying that chickens die in rice granary. Similar condition is also experi-enced by lobster fishermen in Tabanan. Despite being in lobster season, fishermen do not get meaningful income. Their lobster catch is sold at a low price because it cannot be exported due to ministerial regulation.

Lobster season, income of fishermen sluggish

IBP/File

The fisherman is showing the lobster

that he just catch

6 11International

W RLDTuesday, December 22, 2015Tuesday, December 22, 2015 International

China’s official Xinhua News Agency said the landslide buried or damaged 33 buildings in the in-dustrial park in Shenzhen, a major manufacturing center in Guang-dong province across the border from Hong Kong that makes prod-ucts used around the world ranging from cellphones to cars.

Aerial photos on the microblog of the Public Security Ministry’s Firefighting Bureau showed the area awash in a sea of red mud, with several buildings either knocked on their side or collapsed entirely.

Posts on the microblog said mud had thoroughly infused many of the buildings, leaving the “room of survival extremely small.”

Just seven people were rescued overnight and 13 overall were hospitalized, including three with life-threatening injuries, according

to state broadcaster China Central Television, or CCTV, which cited rescue leaders.

Persistent rain fell in the area on Monday, although it wasn’t clear whether that was hampering rescue efforts.

Cellphone camera video of the noontime Sunday disaster run by CCTV showed the massive wall of debris slamming into the buildings and sending up huge plumes of dust. Details began to emerge about the cause of the landslide, which authorities said covered an area of 100,000 square meters (1 million square feet) with up to 6 meters (20 feet) of mud.

The Ministry of Land and Re-sources said the debris originated with a steep, man-made mountain of dirt, cement chunks and other construction waste that had been

piled up against a 100-meter (330-foot) -high hill over the past two years.

Heavy rains in the region had saturated the soil, making it in-creasingly unstable and ultimately causing it to collapse with massive force.

“The pile was too big, the pile was too steep, leading to instabil-ity and collapse,” the ministry said, adding that the original, natural hill remained intact. Some area residents blamed government neg-ligence for the disaster.

“If the government had taken proper measures in the first place, we would not have had this prob-lem,” said one of the residents, Chen Chengli. “We’ve been down this road before, it’s too crazy.” Chen’s neighbor Yi Jimin refuted arguments that the landslide was an act of nature.

“Heavy rains and a collapse of a mountain are natural disas-ters, but this wasn’t a natural disaster, this was man-made,” Yi said. (ap)

MADRID — Spanish political parties face what are likely to be tough negotiations to form a government after the country voted in a fragmented Parliament that bade farewell to the dominating two-party scene of recent decades.

The ruling conservative Popular party came first with 123 seats in Sunday’s election but fell far short of a 176 majority needed to govern alone.

Incumbent Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he will “try to form a stable government’” but faces an uphill climb to gain outside support.

The leading opposition Socialist party came second with 90 seats and could join with other leftist groups.

Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez said Monday that Rajoy’s Popular Party had first option to try to form a government, but noted that Spain was “entering a new political phase.” (ap)

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has urged Vatican bureau-crats to show more honesty, humility and sobriety as he issued a Christmas-time “catalog of virtues” for his collaborators to follow after having excoriated them last year for a host of sins.

Francis joked Monday during his annual Christmas greeting that after last year’s public diagnosis of the “15 ailments of the Curia” that he should have come up this year with the “Curial antibiotics” to treat them.

In a way he did, issuing a list of virtues that should guide their work, including honesty, sobriety, respect and humility.

The 79-year-old Francis delivered his remarks sitting down, tell-ing the sober-faced cardinals and bishops gathered that had been suffering from the flu for the past several days “and I don’t feel very strong.” (ap)

PARIS — Overwhelmed with relief, Air France passengers ar-rived in Paris safely a day after a fake bomb forced them into an emergency landing and evacuation in Kenya.

Passenger Marine Gorlier of the French town of Melun cried as she met family members Monday at Charles de Gaulle Airport. “We thought we were going to die,” she said.

Antoine Dupont of Lille said, “I really admired the crew, because they thought it was a real bomb and they remained very serene,” he said. “One of my grandchildren said: ‘The slide was super!’”

All 459 passengers and 14 crew members traveling from Mau-ritius to Paris were safely evacuated.

It was the fourth recent bomb hoax against Air France. France has been in a state of emergency since Islamic extremist attacks Nov. 13. (ap)

91 missing from landslide that buries buildings in China

Chinatopix via AP

A mound of dirt forms in the aftermath of a landslide in Shenzhen in southern China’s Guang-dong province Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. The massive landslide buried dozens of buildings when it swept through an industrial park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

SHENZHEN, China — Rescuers were searching Monday for at least 91 missing people a day after a mountain of excavated soil and construction waste buried dozens of buildings when it swept through an industrial park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Spain: Parties face tough talks after

inconclusive election

Flu-stricken pope issues ‘catalog of virtues’ to Curia

Air France passengers arrive in Paris after Kenya bomb scare

Nearly 80 people are still missing after the ferry ran into trouble in rough weather in Sulawesi on Saturday, but search and rescue teams returned to the seas at daybreak on Monday in an increasingly desperate bid to find any sign of the boat and its pas-sengers.

Three people, including two children, have been confirmed dead so far. All the victims are Indonesians.

Officials say 39 others have been plucked from the water alive, some by fish-ermen after desperately clinging to buoys and fishing traps for hours in huge swells until help arrived.

The families of those missing have been nervously awaiting any news of their loved ones in Siwa, where the ferry had been destined before it sent out a distress signal and lost contact with authorities.

But after days of torrid weather in the Bay of Bone where the ferry disappeared -- including waves up to five metes (16

feet) high -- authorities are hoping calmer conditions will aid the search.

“The weather is quite good today, hopefully we will find more people,” local rescue head Roki Asikin told AFP, adding his team was feeling optimistic as they set off at daybreak.

“We are still searching for the survi-vors.”

Six boats -- including two fishing vessels -- and one helicopter have been deployed to comb the gulf where the ferry vanished, an area where inter-provincial ferries are vital for those wishing to cross the vast island.

Officials have dismissed claims the boat has sunk, despite initial media reports the boat had gone down in ferocious seas, say-ing instead it was adrift having lost engine power.

The Indonesian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands is heavily dependent on ferry services but the industry has a poor safety record and fatal accidents are common. (afp)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has ordered the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) to conduct an investigation into the crash of a T-501 Golden Eagle fighter aircraft, according to Cabi-net Secretary Pramono Anung.

The T-501 Golden Eagle fighter aircraft of the TNI AU crashed while participating in an air show

at the Adisutjipto Airport in Yog-yakarta on Sunday.

“The TNI AU needs to conduct thorough investigation to identify the cause of the crash as the ill-fated trainer aircraft was new, and we also heard that its pilot was very experienced,” the cabinet secretary revealed at the State Palace on Monday.

Anung said it was necessary to unearth whether the cause of the accident was due to human error or a technical problem.

Chief of the TNI AU’s Infor-mation Center Commodore Dwi Badarmanto noted at a press brief-ing here on Sunday that the South Korean-made aircraft was delivered to Indonesia in 2013, and it was

relatively new.The aircraft, which was manu-

factured by Korean Aero Industries (KAI), was procured to strengthen the Air Squadron 15 based at the Iswahjudi Air Base in Madiun, East Java, he noted.

“We do not exactly know the cause of the crash. However, we have formed a team of investigators

to look into the crash. We will also involve the KAI in the investigation process,” he emphasized.

The aircraft crashed in a plantation area, killing its pilot and co-pilot. The crash site is not far from the airport.

Following the accident, the authorities decided to stop the air show, which was being held since Saturday. (ant)

SYDNEY - Australia and Indo-nesia on Monday agreed to boost intelligence-sharing in the fight against terrorism, days after police arrested several men allegedly linked to a planned suicide bombing in Jakarta.

During raids in several cities across Java island on Friday and Saturday, police detained five mem-bers of an alleged extremist network and seized chemicals, laboratory equipment and a flag inspired by the Islamic State group.

The operation was reportedly sparked by a tip-off from the Aus-tralian Federal Police and the FBI.

Following annual bilateral talks

with counterpart Retno Marsudi in Sydney, Australian Foreign Min-ister Julie Bishop said she could not go into detail about the alleged plot, but said intelligence-sharing was critical.

“Suffice to say that Australia is always prepared to play its part and in this instance it would appear that the Indonesian police have been very successful in thwarting an attempted terrorist activity,” she said.

“Overall Australia and Indonesia are co-operating extremely closely on the whole issue of countering terrorism... we will continue to co-operate in sharing informa-tion, sharing intelligence, for the

safety and security of our respective people and the region.”

Among those arrested was Asep Urip, a 31-year-old teacher at an Islamic boarding school in Central Java, and his 35-year-old pupil Zaenal, whom police allege was being “groomed” to carry out an imminent attack.

A subsequent raid on the teach-er’s house uncovered a black flag inscribed with text “similar to an ISIS flag”, police said, referring to an acronym often used for IS, which controls large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

Marsudi did not go into detail about the alleged plot, but said: “On

the intelligence-sharing, this is one of the most important issues that we have to do under the context of the counter-terrorism cooperation.”

The Java raids came a month after Indonesia increased security at its airports following a threat directed at one of the airports serv-ing Jakarta.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, suffered several major bomb at-tacks by Islamic radicals between 2000 and 2009, including the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people.

But a crackdown has weakened the most dangerous extremist networks.

However, the emergence of IS has sparked alarm that Indonesians returning from battlefields in the Middle East could revive them.

Australia is equally alarmed at the threat from those being radi-calised, with Monday’s meeting, which also included defence minis-ters, focusing on national security, including counter-terrorism, as well as economic ties.

Six attacks in Australia have been foiled over the past year, according to the government, but several have not, most recently in October when a police employee was shot dead by a 15-year-old reportedly shouting religious slogans. (afp)

President instructs air force to investigate aircraft crash

Australia, Indonesia boost anti-terror co-operation

AP Photo

A paramedic carries four-year-old boy identified as Rafli who survived the ferry that sank off Sulawesi island at a hospital in Siwa, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015. Rescuers have pulled out dozens of survivors and a num-ber of dead from the passenger boat that sank in central Indonesia after being buffeted by high waves, and were battling bad weather Sunday to reach scores of others still missing.

Search resumes for Indonesian ferry, dozens missing

JAKARTA - The search resumed Monday for a ferry missing in central Indonesia with more than 100 people on board, despite nearly two days pass-ing since the stricken vessel was last heard from.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015DestinationTuesday, December 22, 201510 InternationalInternational

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TABANAN - Soka Beach as been known since long ago, as it is passed by travelers during their travel from Denpasar-Gilimanuk or vice versa. The site has a very beautiful scen-ery. The west part bounded by hills which is a part of Mount Batukaru in the north. While in the south is Indian ocean where Banyuwangi in Java is faintly visible from Soka. Vast rice fields and lush coconut groves enhance the beautiful scenery.

Moreover, later when the sun is about to set, the view on top of Pura Luhur Serijong is comparable to the view in Tanah Lot.

Pura Luhur Serijong, built almost in the same period with the Rambut Siwi Temple in Jembarana and Pura Tanah Lot, on the sixteenth century AD by Rauh Bawu Sakti, and all of them have the same status. Pura Luhur Serijong is a place of wor-ship (disungsung) particular by all

Hindu followers in the Selemadeg and Pupuan subdistrict, and by those from Tabanan regency in general, mainly by Subak, because this temple is regarded as the source of food (welfare).

Until now the history of Soka Beach is still unknown, but according to local and the surrounding residents, travellers headed to west Bali and vice versa were always pass through this beach.

Soka beach is located in a quiet vil-lage of Selemadeg District, 45 kilome-ters from Denpasar and 84 kilometers from Gilimanuk, along the Java-Bali main road. No wonder countless ve-

hicle passes the area everyday.Next to the east coast of Soka

there is a cave on a rock cliff, called cave Bulung Daya as many swiftlet live in this cave. On the west coast stretching along the palm garden, an accomodation service “Balian Beach Bungalow” and the Balian river is one of the best rafting spot in Bali.

Near to the Soka beach, a large parking lot is available. There are also few places for visitors to eat, drink, and shop for local snacks while resting before continue departing on their journey. On religious holidays and full moon (Purnama), the beach is crowded with visitors and Hindu fol-

lowers who are conducting religious ceremonies.

For those who enjoy fishing the sea, they can join the local fishermen while they are sailing to the sea, us-ing traditional boats using outboard engines or sails.

Soka Beach is located 40 km from Denpasar or 25 km west of the city of Tabanan, right on the Denpasar-Gilimanuk road section. Soka Beach has beautiful scenery and is great for a place to rest or stop over. On this beach lies a large pot of rock and an old kitchen belongs to Kebo Iwa as mentioned in the popular local legend.

Soka Beach

IBP/Net

Close to full strength, the Cava-liers are grooving again. Irving scored 12 points and played 17 minutes in his season debut and James had 23, leading Cleveland to a 108-86 victory Sunday over the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost their 10th straight and fell to 1-28.

Back on the floor for the first time since breaking his left knee-cap in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Irving showed some rust but that didn’t matter.

“Kind of been a long, long road, but finally getting out there with my teammates was a pleasure,” Irving said.

The Cavs managed to open the season 17-7 without Irving. But Cleveland is more complete with the All-Star point guard running its offense and being a headache for opposing defenses. Now that Ir-ving’s back, the Cavs are as healthy as they’ve been since early in the playoffs last season.

“We’re almost there,” James said. Matthew Dellavedova made four 3-pointers and added 20 points for the Cavs, who improved to 12-1

at home and are eyeing a Christmas Day game against Golden State. James didn’t play in the fourth quarter, logging a season-low 25 minutes.

Nerlens Noel had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the brutal Sixers, now 0-17 on the road and on their second double-digit losing streak.

At Miami, Chris Bosh scored 29 points and Hassan Whiteside shook off a slow first half to finish with 22 points and 11 rebounds in the Heat’s 116-109 win over Portland. Dwyane Wade had 18 points and added seven assists for the Heat. They trailed by 12 at one point and were down 10 at the half.

The Heat shot 57 percent and played the final 13:37 without Goran Dragic. He was ejected for the first time in his career after arguing two foul calls.

Atlanta rallied to beat Orlando 103-100, with Kyle Korver scor-ing 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. Korver had four 3-pointers in the final period and six overall. Mike Scott added 15 points, and Al Horford and Jeff Teague scored

14 apiece in Atlanta’s third straight victory.

The Magic had the ball and a chance to tie with 7.3 seconds remaining, but the Hawks smoth-ered an inbounds pass to Evan Fournier.

The Sacramento Kings ended a four-game road losing streak with a 104-94 win at Toronto, the Pelicans beat the Nuggets 130-125 and the Bucks beat the Suns 101-95 with Greg Monroe hitting a spinning, go-ahead layup with 20.6 seconds left to lift Milwaukee past Phoenix.

Bucks coach Jason Kidd said after the game that he will be tak-ing an indefinite leave to have hip surgery. Assistant Joe Prunty will direct the team in his absence.

The Timberwolves beat the Nets 100-85, with Karl-Anthony Towns scoring 24 points in the building where he was taken with the No. 1 pick in the June draft, and Min-nesota beat Brooklyn. (ap)

LONDON — Andy Murray has been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year for the second time after helping Britain win the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936.

The 28-year-old Murray says “I didn’t expect this. It’s very humbling to be up here in front of so many great athletes,” after beating Kevin Sinfield, who captained rugby league side Leeds Rhinos to the treble in 2015, to the prestigious British award on Sunday. Jessica Ennis-Hill was third in the public vote.

The 2013 winner was instrumental in helping Britain to a first Davis Cup victory in 79 years following a 3-1 win over Belgium in November.

“This has been a five-year journey. We were down in the bottom level of tennis and now we’re number one in the world and I never thought that would be possible,” Murray added. (ap)

Kyrie Irving returns, Cavaliers rock lowly 76ers 108-86

CLEVELAND — As Kyrie Irving dressed following his first game in six months, LeBron James popped on some music. With Chris Brown’s “Picture Me Rollin’” filling the locker room, Irving, James and Iman Shumpert bobbed their heads in unison and did some small dance moves.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving (2) drives to the basket

against Philadelphia 76ers Jahlil Okafor (8) in the first

half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015,

in Cleveland. AP Photo/Tony Dejak

Andy Murray named 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year

British tennis player Andy Murray poses with the trophy after winning the 2015 Sports Per-sonality of the Year, in Belfast, Northern Ire-land, Sunday Dec. 20, 2015. Niall Carson/PA via AP

98 Tuesday, December 22, 2015 Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Sp rt

FIFA President Blatter and his one-time protege Platini were kicked out of the sport for conflict of interest and disloyalty to FIFA in a $2 million payment deal that is also the subject of a criminal investigation in Switzerland.

Blatter’s FIFA career is end-ing in disgrace after more than 17 years as president and 40 years in total with the scandal-hit govern-ing body.

Platini’s bid to succeed his former mentor in the Feb. 26 presi-dential election is now likely over, though both are expected to appeal at the FIFA appeals committee and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Blatter has suggested he could pursue a lengthier appeal to Swit-zerland’s highest court, the federal tribunal, which can intervene if

legal process was abused.Ethics judges decided that Blat-

ter and Platini broke FIFA Code of Ethics rules on conflicts of interest, breach of loyalty and offering or receiving gifts.

Both denied wrongdoing in 2011 when Platini took $2 mil-lion of FIFA money approved by Blatter as uncontracted salary for work as a presidential adviser from 1999-2002.

Blatter was fined 50,000 Swiss francs ($50,250) and Platini, a FIFA vice president and head of European soccer’s governing body UEFA, was fined 80,000 Swiss francs ($80,400).

“Neither in his written statement nor in his personal hearing was Mr. Blatter able to demonstrate another legal basis for this payment,” the

judges said. “By failing to place FIFA’s interests first and abstain from doing anything which could be contrary to FIFA’s interests, Mr. Blatter violated his fiduciary duty to FIFA.

“His (Blatter’s) assertion of an oral agreement was determined as not convincing and was rejected by the chamber.”

Platini, the judges said, “failed to act with complete credibility and integrity, showing unawareness of the importance of his duties and concomitant obligations and responsibilities.”

Blatter was scheduled to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) at FIFA’s former headquarters in Zurich.

He arrived soon after 10 a.m. in a chauffeur-driven car accompa-nied by his daughter, Corinne, and media spokesman Thomas Renggli. He did comment to reporters as he was bustled through a throng of cameras.

Blatter and Platini both have strong motivation to fight the bans in fast-track appeal cases. Blatter, who turns 80 in March, wants a FIFA swansong by hosting the elec-tion congress in Zurich and being made honorary president by the 209 member federations.

The 60-year-old Platini wants to clear his name, pass a FIFA integrity check and be declared an official candidate in the election he had been favored to win.

Platini’s campaign has stalled since being quizzed on Sept. 25 in a Swiss federal investigation of suspected criminal mismanage-ment at FIFA.

Switzerland’s attorney general has opened criminal proceedings against Blatter for the suspected “disloyal payment” of FIFA money to Platini and selling undervalued World Cup TV rights for the Ca-ribbean.

Platini’s status in the criminal case is “between a witness and an

accused person,” attorney general Michael Lauber said in October.

In recent media interviews, both men have said Platini asked Blatter for a salary of 1 million Swiss francs. He got a contract for 300,000 Swiss francs annually, in line with FIFA’s then-wage struc-ture, plus a “gentleman’s agree-ment” to get the rest later. Swiss law obliged FIFA only to pay the deferred money within five years.

Platini was paid in February 2011, just before Blatter began campaigning for re-election against Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar. Platini’s UEFA urged its members weeks before the June 2011 poll to back Blatter, who was elected unopposed when Bin Hammam was implicated in bribery.

Few FIFA officials knew of the Platini payment which emerged during a wider Swiss probe of the governing body’s business affairs, including suspected money laun-dering in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests.

The agreement was “a classic conflict of interest” between two executive committee members, FIFA audit panel chairman Do-menico Scala said in October.

Platini was an icon of French foot-ball, a former national team captain and coach, when the newly-elected Blatter offered him a job in 1998.

He had led the organization of a successful 1998 World Cup, won by host France, and on the eve of the tournament had campaigned to help Blatter win the FIFA presiden-cy. Blatter appeared to see Platini as a protege in FIFA politics who could add ideas and credibility to his presidential office.

Their friendship cooled after Platini was elected UEFA president in 2007. It became strained when Blatter reneged on a 2011 promise to step aside in four years’ time, which could have left Platini a clear run at the FIFA top job.

Blatter was re-elected for a fifth term in May, beating Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan two days after American and Swiss investigations of bribery and corruption were un-leashed on FIFA. Platini had urged Blatter to resign immediately but was ignored.

Just four days later, Blatter announced his resignation plans — provoking the Feb. 26 election — under pressure from the corrup-tion crisis. (ap)

MILAN — Roma ended its winless streak with a 2-0 victory over Genoa in Serie A on Sunday to relieve some of the pressure on coach Rudi Garcia, while league leader Inter Milan lost 2-1 at home to Lazio.

Alessandro Florenzi opened the scoring just before halftime at the Stadio Olimpico and the whole Roma team ran over to hug Garcia.

Edin Dzeko was sent off 16 minutes before the end but teenager Sadiq Umar sealed the match late on to end a seven-match winless run for Roma that included Wednesday’s Italian Cup exit against second-division Spezia.

“Today we see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Garcia said. “There will be a lot of good things in the second half of the season. This is an important vic-tory, but not the most important since I’ve been sat on the Roma bench.”

Roma remained fifth but only four points behind Inter after Antonio Can-dreva’s late penalty at San Siro.

“I’m not angry but disappointed,” Inter coach Roberto Mancini said. “There are games you can’t manage to win because you play badly like we did tonight but you shouldn’t lose them by making mistakes like we did. We’ve ruined Christmas for ourselves a bit.”

Napoli beat Atalanta 3-1, and Fiorentina defeated Chievo Verona 2-0, to stay tied for second on 35 points, two ahead of Juventus which came

from behind to win 3-2 at Carpi.Carpi almost snatched a point after

a stoppage-time own goal from Ju-ventus defender Leonardo Bonucci as Lorenzo Lollo miskicked from close to goal. Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri was so angry that he tore his coat off and threw it at the bench.

AC Milan moved into sixth after coming from behind to rescue a 4-2 win at relegation-threatened Frosi-none, and bottom club Hellas Verona held high-flying Sassuolo to a 1-1 draw. Sampdoria beat fellow struggler Palermo 2-0, while 10-man Udinese won 1-0 at Torino.

Reports in Italy said Garcia faced dismissal if Roma failed to beat Genoa in the final match before the winter break.

Florenzi netted the all-important goal two minutes from the break, vol-leying in at the back post after Lucas Digne’s cross was deflected by Genoa defender Ezequiel Munoz.

Dzeko was shown a straight red in the 74th for dissent and Genoa almost took advantage of its numerical supe-riority before Sadiq secured the win seven minutes after coming off the bench, heading in a cross from fellow substitute William Vainqueur.

It was the 18-year-old Sadiq’s first Serie A goal in his third appearance. The top five in Serie A are within four points off each other after Inter’s third loss of the season. (ap)

MADRID — Gareth Bale scored four goals, Karim Ben-zema added three and Cristiano Ronaldo two as Real Madrid made it look easy against nine-man Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, winning 10-2 to get within two points of Spanish league front-runners Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

Barcelona stayed ahead with 35 points even though it had the weekend off because it was playing the Club World Cup in Japan, a tournament it won ear-lier Sunday. Atletico, also with 35 points but behind on goal dif-ference, missed a chance to take sole possession of the lead after a 1-0 loss at Malaga.

Real Madrid was losing with both teams at full strength at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, but it took advantage of two early red cards to Rayo Vallecano to get back into the game and ease the pressure on coach Rafa Benitez, who was loudly jeered before

the match.It was the first time a team

scored 10 or more goals in the league since Madrid trounced Elche 11-2 in 1960. Rayo coach Paco Jemez blamed the referee-ing for the rout.

“It’s been a while since I’ve last seen something like this,” he said. “It’s a shame. This doesn’t benefit anybody, not Real Ma-drid, not our team, not Spanish football.”

Danilo opened the scoring in the third minute before An-tonio Amaya equalized in the 10th and Jozabed Sanchez put Rayo ahead in the 12th. But Rayo lost Roberto “Tito” Ro-man to a straight red in the 14th after a foul on Toni Kroos and Madrid leveled through Bale in the 25th.

Raul Baena was then sent off for a second bookable offence in the 28th after bringing down Sergio Ramos in the penalty area. Ronaldo netted the resulting spot

kick to give Madrid a 3-2 lead. The hosts then made the two-man advantage count with a flurry of goals.

Bale netted his second in the 41st and completed his hat-trick in the 61st after Benzema and Ronaldo had struck in the 48th and 53rd, respectively.

Bale added a fourth in the 70th before Benzema netted two more in the 79th and 90th minute for the game’s second hat trick.

It was the first time Bale scored four goals for Real Ma-drid. Benzema had scored five times in Madrid’s previous two games at home, including three in the 8-0 win over Malmo in a Champions League game two weeks ago.

“We started well but we didn’t keep the same intensity,” Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas said. “They took advantage of their opportunities, but then we took control of the game again and got an easy win.” (ap)

FIFA ethics court bans Blatter, Platini for 8 years

Walter Bieri/Keystone via AP

The FIFA logo is pictured outside the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015.

ZURICH — Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were each banned for eight years by the FIFA ethics committee on Mon-day in a stunning removal of world soccer’s most powerful leaders.

Alessandro Di Meo/ANSA via AP

Roma’s Alessandro Florenzi celebrates after scoring during a Se-rie A soccer match between Roma and Genoa at Rome’s Olympic stadium Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015.

Roma ends winless streak with 2-0

victory over Genoa

Madrid routs 9-man Rayo Vallecano 10-2 in Spanish league

AP Photo/Francisco Seco

Real Madrid’s shoots the ball to the goal next to Rayo Vallecano’s Nacho Martinez, right, during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015.

98 Tuesday, December 22, 2015 Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Sp rt

FIFA President Blatter and his one-time protege Platini were kicked out of the sport for conflict of interest and disloyalty to FIFA in a $2 million payment deal that is also the subject of a criminal investigation in Switzerland.

Blatter’s FIFA career is end-ing in disgrace after more than 17 years as president and 40 years in total with the scandal-hit govern-ing body.

Platini’s bid to succeed his former mentor in the Feb. 26 presi-dential election is now likely over, though both are expected to appeal at the FIFA appeals committee and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Blatter has suggested he could pursue a lengthier appeal to Swit-zerland’s highest court, the federal tribunal, which can intervene if

legal process was abused.Ethics judges decided that Blat-

ter and Platini broke FIFA Code of Ethics rules on conflicts of interest, breach of loyalty and offering or receiving gifts.

Both denied wrongdoing in 2011 when Platini took $2 mil-lion of FIFA money approved by Blatter as uncontracted salary for work as a presidential adviser from 1999-2002.

Blatter was fined 50,000 Swiss francs ($50,250) and Platini, a FIFA vice president and head of European soccer’s governing body UEFA, was fined 80,000 Swiss francs ($80,400).

“Neither in his written statement nor in his personal hearing was Mr. Blatter able to demonstrate another legal basis for this payment,” the

judges said. “By failing to place FIFA’s interests first and abstain from doing anything which could be contrary to FIFA’s interests, Mr. Blatter violated his fiduciary duty to FIFA.

“His (Blatter’s) assertion of an oral agreement was determined as not convincing and was rejected by the chamber.”

Platini, the judges said, “failed to act with complete credibility and integrity, showing unawareness of the importance of his duties and concomitant obligations and responsibilities.”

Blatter was scheduled to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) at FIFA’s former headquarters in Zurich.

He arrived soon after 10 a.m. in a chauffeur-driven car accompa-nied by his daughter, Corinne, and media spokesman Thomas Renggli. He did comment to reporters as he was bustled through a throng of cameras.

Blatter and Platini both have strong motivation to fight the bans in fast-track appeal cases. Blatter, who turns 80 in March, wants a FIFA swansong by hosting the elec-tion congress in Zurich and being made honorary president by the 209 member federations.

The 60-year-old Platini wants to clear his name, pass a FIFA integrity check and be declared an official candidate in the election he had been favored to win.

Platini’s campaign has stalled since being quizzed on Sept. 25 in a Swiss federal investigation of suspected criminal mismanage-ment at FIFA.

Switzerland’s attorney general has opened criminal proceedings against Blatter for the suspected “disloyal payment” of FIFA money to Platini and selling undervalued World Cup TV rights for the Ca-ribbean.

Platini’s status in the criminal case is “between a witness and an

accused person,” attorney general Michael Lauber said in October.

In recent media interviews, both men have said Platini asked Blatter for a salary of 1 million Swiss francs. He got a contract for 300,000 Swiss francs annually, in line with FIFA’s then-wage struc-ture, plus a “gentleman’s agree-ment” to get the rest later. Swiss law obliged FIFA only to pay the deferred money within five years.

Platini was paid in February 2011, just before Blatter began campaigning for re-election against Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar. Platini’s UEFA urged its members weeks before the June 2011 poll to back Blatter, who was elected unopposed when Bin Hammam was implicated in bribery.

Few FIFA officials knew of the Platini payment which emerged during a wider Swiss probe of the governing body’s business affairs, including suspected money laun-dering in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests.

The agreement was “a classic conflict of interest” between two executive committee members, FIFA audit panel chairman Do-menico Scala said in October.

Platini was an icon of French foot-ball, a former national team captain and coach, when the newly-elected Blatter offered him a job in 1998.

He had led the organization of a successful 1998 World Cup, won by host France, and on the eve of the tournament had campaigned to help Blatter win the FIFA presiden-cy. Blatter appeared to see Platini as a protege in FIFA politics who could add ideas and credibility to his presidential office.

Their friendship cooled after Platini was elected UEFA president in 2007. It became strained when Blatter reneged on a 2011 promise to step aside in four years’ time, which could have left Platini a clear run at the FIFA top job.

Blatter was re-elected for a fifth term in May, beating Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan two days after American and Swiss investigations of bribery and corruption were un-leashed on FIFA. Platini had urged Blatter to resign immediately but was ignored.

Just four days later, Blatter announced his resignation plans — provoking the Feb. 26 election — under pressure from the corrup-tion crisis. (ap)

MILAN — Roma ended its winless streak with a 2-0 victory over Genoa in Serie A on Sunday to relieve some of the pressure on coach Rudi Garcia, while league leader Inter Milan lost 2-1 at home to Lazio.

Alessandro Florenzi opened the scoring just before halftime at the Stadio Olimpico and the whole Roma team ran over to hug Garcia.

Edin Dzeko was sent off 16 minutes before the end but teenager Sadiq Umar sealed the match late on to end a seven-match winless run for Roma that included Wednesday’s Italian Cup exit against second-division Spezia.

“Today we see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Garcia said. “There will be a lot of good things in the second half of the season. This is an important vic-tory, but not the most important since I’ve been sat on the Roma bench.”

Roma remained fifth but only four points behind Inter after Antonio Can-dreva’s late penalty at San Siro.

“I’m not angry but disappointed,” Inter coach Roberto Mancini said. “There are games you can’t manage to win because you play badly like we did tonight but you shouldn’t lose them by making mistakes like we did. We’ve ruined Christmas for ourselves a bit.”

Napoli beat Atalanta 3-1, and Fiorentina defeated Chievo Verona 2-0, to stay tied for second on 35 points, two ahead of Juventus which came

from behind to win 3-2 at Carpi.Carpi almost snatched a point after

a stoppage-time own goal from Ju-ventus defender Leonardo Bonucci as Lorenzo Lollo miskicked from close to goal. Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri was so angry that he tore his coat off and threw it at the bench.

AC Milan moved into sixth after coming from behind to rescue a 4-2 win at relegation-threatened Frosi-none, and bottom club Hellas Verona held high-flying Sassuolo to a 1-1 draw. Sampdoria beat fellow struggler Palermo 2-0, while 10-man Udinese won 1-0 at Torino.

Reports in Italy said Garcia faced dismissal if Roma failed to beat Genoa in the final match before the winter break.

Florenzi netted the all-important goal two minutes from the break, vol-leying in at the back post after Lucas Digne’s cross was deflected by Genoa defender Ezequiel Munoz.

Dzeko was shown a straight red in the 74th for dissent and Genoa almost took advantage of its numerical supe-riority before Sadiq secured the win seven minutes after coming off the bench, heading in a cross from fellow substitute William Vainqueur.

It was the 18-year-old Sadiq’s first Serie A goal in his third appearance. The top five in Serie A are within four points off each other after Inter’s third loss of the season. (ap)

MADRID — Gareth Bale scored four goals, Karim Ben-zema added three and Cristiano Ronaldo two as Real Madrid made it look easy against nine-man Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, winning 10-2 to get within two points of Spanish league front-runners Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

Barcelona stayed ahead with 35 points even though it had the weekend off because it was playing the Club World Cup in Japan, a tournament it won ear-lier Sunday. Atletico, also with 35 points but behind on goal dif-ference, missed a chance to take sole possession of the lead after a 1-0 loss at Malaga.

Real Madrid was losing with both teams at full strength at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, but it took advantage of two early red cards to Rayo Vallecano to get back into the game and ease the pressure on coach Rafa Benitez, who was loudly jeered before

the match.It was the first time a team

scored 10 or more goals in the league since Madrid trounced Elche 11-2 in 1960. Rayo coach Paco Jemez blamed the referee-ing for the rout.

“It’s been a while since I’ve last seen something like this,” he said. “It’s a shame. This doesn’t benefit anybody, not Real Ma-drid, not our team, not Spanish football.”

Danilo opened the scoring in the third minute before An-tonio Amaya equalized in the 10th and Jozabed Sanchez put Rayo ahead in the 12th. But Rayo lost Roberto “Tito” Ro-man to a straight red in the 14th after a foul on Toni Kroos and Madrid leveled through Bale in the 25th.

Raul Baena was then sent off for a second bookable offence in the 28th after bringing down Sergio Ramos in the penalty area. Ronaldo netted the resulting spot

kick to give Madrid a 3-2 lead. The hosts then made the two-man advantage count with a flurry of goals.

Bale netted his second in the 41st and completed his hat-trick in the 61st after Benzema and Ronaldo had struck in the 48th and 53rd, respectively.

Bale added a fourth in the 70th before Benzema netted two more in the 79th and 90th minute for the game’s second hat trick.

It was the first time Bale scored four goals for Real Ma-drid. Benzema had scored five times in Madrid’s previous two games at home, including three in the 8-0 win over Malmo in a Champions League game two weeks ago.

“We started well but we didn’t keep the same intensity,” Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas said. “They took advantage of their opportunities, but then we took control of the game again and got an easy win.” (ap)

FIFA ethics court bans Blatter, Platini for 8 years

Walter Bieri/Keystone via AP

The FIFA logo is pictured outside the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015.

ZURICH — Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were each banned for eight years by the FIFA ethics committee on Mon-day in a stunning removal of world soccer’s most powerful leaders.

Alessandro Di Meo/ANSA via AP

Roma’s Alessandro Florenzi celebrates after scoring during a Se-rie A soccer match between Roma and Genoa at Rome’s Olympic stadium Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015.

Roma ends winless streak with 2-0

victory over Genoa

Madrid routs 9-man Rayo Vallecano 10-2 in Spanish league

AP Photo/Francisco Seco

Real Madrid’s shoots the ball to the goal next to Rayo Vallecano’s Nacho Martinez, right, during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015.

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TABANAN - Soka Beach as been known since long ago, as it is passed by travelers during their travel from Denpasar-Gilimanuk or vice versa. The site has a very beautiful scen-ery. The west part bounded by hills which is a part of Mount Batukaru in the north. While in the south is Indian ocean where Banyuwangi in Java is faintly visible from Soka. Vast rice fields and lush coconut groves enhance the beautiful scenery.

Moreover, later when the sun is about to set, the view on top of Pura Luhur Serijong is comparable to the view in Tanah Lot.

Pura Luhur Serijong, built almost in the same period with the Rambut Siwi Temple in Jembarana and Pura Tanah Lot, on the sixteenth century AD by Rauh Bawu Sakti, and all of them have the same status. Pura Luhur Serijong is a place of wor-ship (disungsung) particular by all

Hindu followers in the Selemadeg and Pupuan subdistrict, and by those from Tabanan regency in general, mainly by Subak, because this temple is regarded as the source of food (welfare).

Until now the history of Soka Beach is still unknown, but according to local and the surrounding residents, travellers headed to west Bali and vice versa were always pass through this beach.

Soka beach is located in a quiet vil-lage of Selemadeg District, 45 kilome-ters from Denpasar and 84 kilometers from Gilimanuk, along the Java-Bali main road. No wonder countless ve-

hicle passes the area everyday.Next to the east coast of Soka

there is a cave on a rock cliff, called cave Bulung Daya as many swiftlet live in this cave. On the west coast stretching along the palm garden, an accomodation service “Balian Beach Bungalow” and the Balian river is one of the best rafting spot in Bali.

Near to the Soka beach, a large parking lot is available. There are also few places for visitors to eat, drink, and shop for local snacks while resting before continue departing on their journey. On religious holidays and full moon (Purnama), the beach is crowded with visitors and Hindu fol-

lowers who are conducting religious ceremonies.

For those who enjoy fishing the sea, they can join the local fishermen while they are sailing to the sea, us-ing traditional boats using outboard engines or sails.

Soka Beach is located 40 km from Denpasar or 25 km west of the city of Tabanan, right on the Denpasar-Gilimanuk road section. Soka Beach has beautiful scenery and is great for a place to rest or stop over. On this beach lies a large pot of rock and an old kitchen belongs to Kebo Iwa as mentioned in the popular local legend.

Soka Beach

IBP/Net

Close to full strength, the Cava-liers are grooving again. Irving scored 12 points and played 17 minutes in his season debut and James had 23, leading Cleveland to a 108-86 victory Sunday over the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost their 10th straight and fell to 1-28.

Back on the floor for the first time since breaking his left knee-cap in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Irving showed some rust but that didn’t matter.

“Kind of been a long, long road, but finally getting out there with my teammates was a pleasure,” Irving said.

The Cavs managed to open the season 17-7 without Irving. But Cleveland is more complete with the All-Star point guard running its offense and being a headache for opposing defenses. Now that Ir-ving’s back, the Cavs are as healthy as they’ve been since early in the playoffs last season.

“We’re almost there,” James said. Matthew Dellavedova made four 3-pointers and added 20 points for the Cavs, who improved to 12-1

at home and are eyeing a Christmas Day game against Golden State. James didn’t play in the fourth quarter, logging a season-low 25 minutes.

Nerlens Noel had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the brutal Sixers, now 0-17 on the road and on their second double-digit losing streak.

At Miami, Chris Bosh scored 29 points and Hassan Whiteside shook off a slow first half to finish with 22 points and 11 rebounds in the Heat’s 116-109 win over Portland. Dwyane Wade had 18 points and added seven assists for the Heat. They trailed by 12 at one point and were down 10 at the half.

The Heat shot 57 percent and played the final 13:37 without Goran Dragic. He was ejected for the first time in his career after arguing two foul calls.

Atlanta rallied to beat Orlando 103-100, with Kyle Korver scor-ing 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. Korver had four 3-pointers in the final period and six overall. Mike Scott added 15 points, and Al Horford and Jeff Teague scored

14 apiece in Atlanta’s third straight victory.

The Magic had the ball and a chance to tie with 7.3 seconds remaining, but the Hawks smoth-ered an inbounds pass to Evan Fournier.

The Sacramento Kings ended a four-game road losing streak with a 104-94 win at Toronto, the Pelicans beat the Nuggets 130-125 and the Bucks beat the Suns 101-95 with Greg Monroe hitting a spinning, go-ahead layup with 20.6 seconds left to lift Milwaukee past Phoenix.

Bucks coach Jason Kidd said after the game that he will be tak-ing an indefinite leave to have hip surgery. Assistant Joe Prunty will direct the team in his absence.

The Timberwolves beat the Nets 100-85, with Karl-Anthony Towns scoring 24 points in the building where he was taken with the No. 1 pick in the June draft, and Min-nesota beat Brooklyn. (ap)

LONDON — Andy Murray has been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year for the second time after helping Britain win the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936.

The 28-year-old Murray says “I didn’t expect this. It’s very humbling to be up here in front of so many great athletes,” after beating Kevin Sinfield, who captained rugby league side Leeds Rhinos to the treble in 2015, to the prestigious British award on Sunday. Jessica Ennis-Hill was third in the public vote.

The 2013 winner was instrumental in helping Britain to a first Davis Cup victory in 79 years following a 3-1 win over Belgium in November.

“This has been a five-year journey. We were down in the bottom level of tennis and now we’re number one in the world and I never thought that would be possible,” Murray added. (ap)

Kyrie Irving returns, Cavaliers rock lowly 76ers 108-86

CLEVELAND — As Kyrie Irving dressed following his first game in six months, LeBron James popped on some music. With Chris Brown’s “Picture Me Rollin’” filling the locker room, Irving, James and Iman Shumpert bobbed their heads in unison and did some small dance moves.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving (2) drives to the basket

against Philadelphia 76ers Jahlil Okafor (8) in the first

half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015,

in Cleveland. AP Photo/Tony Dejak

Andy Murray named 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year

British tennis player Andy Murray poses with the trophy after winning the 2015 Sports Per-sonality of the Year, in Belfast, Northern Ire-land, Sunday Dec. 20, 2015. Niall Carson/PA via AP

6 11International

W RLDTuesday, December 22, 2015Tuesday, December 22, 2015 International

China’s official Xinhua News Agency said the landslide buried or damaged 33 buildings in the in-dustrial park in Shenzhen, a major manufacturing center in Guang-dong province across the border from Hong Kong that makes prod-ucts used around the world ranging from cellphones to cars.

Aerial photos on the microblog of the Public Security Ministry’s Firefighting Bureau showed the area awash in a sea of red mud, with several buildings either knocked on their side or collapsed entirely.

Posts on the microblog said mud had thoroughly infused many of the buildings, leaving the “room of survival extremely small.”

Just seven people were rescued overnight and 13 overall were hospitalized, including three with life-threatening injuries, according

to state broadcaster China Central Television, or CCTV, which cited rescue leaders.

Persistent rain fell in the area on Monday, although it wasn’t clear whether that was hampering rescue efforts.

Cellphone camera video of the noontime Sunday disaster run by CCTV showed the massive wall of debris slamming into the buildings and sending up huge plumes of dust. Details began to emerge about the cause of the landslide, which authorities said covered an area of 100,000 square meters (1 million square feet) with up to 6 meters (20 feet) of mud.

The Ministry of Land and Re-sources said the debris originated with a steep, man-made mountain of dirt, cement chunks and other construction waste that had been

piled up against a 100-meter (330-foot) -high hill over the past two years.

Heavy rains in the region had saturated the soil, making it in-creasingly unstable and ultimately causing it to collapse with massive force.

“The pile was too big, the pile was too steep, leading to instabil-ity and collapse,” the ministry said, adding that the original, natural hill remained intact. Some area residents blamed government neg-ligence for the disaster.

“If the government had taken proper measures in the first place, we would not have had this prob-lem,” said one of the residents, Chen Chengli. “We’ve been down this road before, it’s too crazy.” Chen’s neighbor Yi Jimin refuted arguments that the landslide was an act of nature.

“Heavy rains and a collapse of a mountain are natural disas-ters, but this wasn’t a natural disaster, this was man-made,” Yi said. (ap)

MADRID — Spanish political parties face what are likely to be tough negotiations to form a government after the country voted in a fragmented Parliament that bade farewell to the dominating two-party scene of recent decades.

The ruling conservative Popular party came first with 123 seats in Sunday’s election but fell far short of a 176 majority needed to govern alone.

Incumbent Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he will “try to form a stable government’” but faces an uphill climb to gain outside support.

The leading opposition Socialist party came second with 90 seats and could join with other leftist groups.

Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez said Monday that Rajoy’s Popular Party had first option to try to form a government, but noted that Spain was “entering a new political phase.” (ap)

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has urged Vatican bureau-crats to show more honesty, humility and sobriety as he issued a Christmas-time “catalog of virtues” for his collaborators to follow after having excoriated them last year for a host of sins.

Francis joked Monday during his annual Christmas greeting that after last year’s public diagnosis of the “15 ailments of the Curia” that he should have come up this year with the “Curial antibiotics” to treat them.

In a way he did, issuing a list of virtues that should guide their work, including honesty, sobriety, respect and humility.

The 79-year-old Francis delivered his remarks sitting down, tell-ing the sober-faced cardinals and bishops gathered that had been suffering from the flu for the past several days “and I don’t feel very strong.” (ap)

PARIS — Overwhelmed with relief, Air France passengers ar-rived in Paris safely a day after a fake bomb forced them into an emergency landing and evacuation in Kenya.

Passenger Marine Gorlier of the French town of Melun cried as she met family members Monday at Charles de Gaulle Airport. “We thought we were going to die,” she said.

Antoine Dupont of Lille said, “I really admired the crew, because they thought it was a real bomb and they remained very serene,” he said. “One of my grandchildren said: ‘The slide was super!’”

All 459 passengers and 14 crew members traveling from Mau-ritius to Paris were safely evacuated.

It was the fourth recent bomb hoax against Air France. France has been in a state of emergency since Islamic extremist attacks Nov. 13. (ap)

91 missing from landslide that buries buildings in China

Chinatopix via AP

A mound of dirt forms in the aftermath of a landslide in Shenzhen in southern China’s Guang-dong province Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. The massive landslide buried dozens of buildings when it swept through an industrial park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

SHENZHEN, China — Rescuers were searching Monday for at least 91 missing people a day after a mountain of excavated soil and construction waste buried dozens of buildings when it swept through an industrial park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Spain: Parties face tough talks after

inconclusive election

Flu-stricken pope issues ‘catalog of virtues’ to Curia

Air France passengers arrive in Paris after Kenya bomb scare

Nearly 80 people are still missing after the ferry ran into trouble in rough weather in Sulawesi on Saturday, but search and rescue teams returned to the seas at daybreak on Monday in an increasingly desperate bid to find any sign of the boat and its pas-sengers.

Three people, including two children, have been confirmed dead so far. All the victims are Indonesians.

Officials say 39 others have been plucked from the water alive, some by fish-ermen after desperately clinging to buoys and fishing traps for hours in huge swells until help arrived.

The families of those missing have been nervously awaiting any news of their loved ones in Siwa, where the ferry had been destined before it sent out a distress signal and lost contact with authorities.

But after days of torrid weather in the Bay of Bone where the ferry disappeared -- including waves up to five metes (16

feet) high -- authorities are hoping calmer conditions will aid the search.

“The weather is quite good today, hopefully we will find more people,” local rescue head Roki Asikin told AFP, adding his team was feeling optimistic as they set off at daybreak.

“We are still searching for the survi-vors.”

Six boats -- including two fishing vessels -- and one helicopter have been deployed to comb the gulf where the ferry vanished, an area where inter-provincial ferries are vital for those wishing to cross the vast island.

Officials have dismissed claims the boat has sunk, despite initial media reports the boat had gone down in ferocious seas, say-ing instead it was adrift having lost engine power.

The Indonesian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands is heavily dependent on ferry services but the industry has a poor safety record and fatal accidents are common. (afp)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has ordered the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) to conduct an investigation into the crash of a T-501 Golden Eagle fighter aircraft, according to Cabi-net Secretary Pramono Anung.

The T-501 Golden Eagle fighter aircraft of the TNI AU crashed while participating in an air show

at the Adisutjipto Airport in Yog-yakarta on Sunday.

“The TNI AU needs to conduct thorough investigation to identify the cause of the crash as the ill-fated trainer aircraft was new, and we also heard that its pilot was very experienced,” the cabinet secretary revealed at the State Palace on Monday.

Anung said it was necessary to unearth whether the cause of the accident was due to human error or a technical problem.

Chief of the TNI AU’s Infor-mation Center Commodore Dwi Badarmanto noted at a press brief-ing here on Sunday that the South Korean-made aircraft was delivered to Indonesia in 2013, and it was

relatively new.The aircraft, which was manu-

factured by Korean Aero Industries (KAI), was procured to strengthen the Air Squadron 15 based at the Iswahjudi Air Base in Madiun, East Java, he noted.

“We do not exactly know the cause of the crash. However, we have formed a team of investigators

to look into the crash. We will also involve the KAI in the investigation process,” he emphasized.

The aircraft crashed in a plantation area, killing its pilot and co-pilot. The crash site is not far from the airport.

Following the accident, the authorities decided to stop the air show, which was being held since Saturday. (ant)

SYDNEY - Australia and Indo-nesia on Monday agreed to boost intelligence-sharing in the fight against terrorism, days after police arrested several men allegedly linked to a planned suicide bombing in Jakarta.

During raids in several cities across Java island on Friday and Saturday, police detained five mem-bers of an alleged extremist network and seized chemicals, laboratory equipment and a flag inspired by the Islamic State group.

The operation was reportedly sparked by a tip-off from the Aus-tralian Federal Police and the FBI.

Following annual bilateral talks

with counterpart Retno Marsudi in Sydney, Australian Foreign Min-ister Julie Bishop said she could not go into detail about the alleged plot, but said intelligence-sharing was critical.

“Suffice to say that Australia is always prepared to play its part and in this instance it would appear that the Indonesian police have been very successful in thwarting an attempted terrorist activity,” she said.

“Overall Australia and Indonesia are co-operating extremely closely on the whole issue of countering terrorism... we will continue to co-operate in sharing informa-tion, sharing intelligence, for the

safety and security of our respective people and the region.”

Among those arrested was Asep Urip, a 31-year-old teacher at an Islamic boarding school in Central Java, and his 35-year-old pupil Zaenal, whom police allege was being “groomed” to carry out an imminent attack.

A subsequent raid on the teach-er’s house uncovered a black flag inscribed with text “similar to an ISIS flag”, police said, referring to an acronym often used for IS, which controls large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

Marsudi did not go into detail about the alleged plot, but said: “On

the intelligence-sharing, this is one of the most important issues that we have to do under the context of the counter-terrorism cooperation.”

The Java raids came a month after Indonesia increased security at its airports following a threat directed at one of the airports serv-ing Jakarta.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, suffered several major bomb at-tacks by Islamic radicals between 2000 and 2009, including the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people.

But a crackdown has weakened the most dangerous extremist networks.

However, the emergence of IS has sparked alarm that Indonesians returning from battlefields in the Middle East could revive them.

Australia is equally alarmed at the threat from those being radi-calised, with Monday’s meeting, which also included defence minis-ters, focusing on national security, including counter-terrorism, as well as economic ties.

Six attacks in Australia have been foiled over the past year, according to the government, but several have not, most recently in October when a police employee was shot dead by a 15-year-old reportedly shouting religious slogans. (afp)

President instructs air force to investigate aircraft crash

Australia, Indonesia boost anti-terror co-operation

AP Photo

A paramedic carries four-year-old boy identified as Rafli who survived the ferry that sank off Sulawesi island at a hospital in Siwa, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015. Rescuers have pulled out dozens of survivors and a num-ber of dead from the passenger boat that sank in central Indonesia after being buffeted by high waves, and were battling bad weather Sunday to reach scores of others still missing.

Search resumes for Indonesian ferry, dozens missing

JAKARTA - The search resumed Monday for a ferry missing in central Indonesia with more than 100 people on board, despite nearly two days pass-ing since the stricken vessel was last heard from.

Bali News Tuesday, December 22, 2015 5InternationalTuesday, December 22, 201512 International

BUSINESS

WASHINGTON — Just as the Federal Reserve is pulling back slightly on the economic accelera-tor, Congress is pressing down a bit harder. The spending and tax-cut package that Congress approved Friday stands to modestly boost growth next year. It could also help drive a shift away from government as a drag on economic growth to a source of potential stimulus.

“This shift ... is currently being overlooked by financial markets and analysts,” said Joseph Carson, U.S. economist at asset manager Alliance Bernstein. “But we believe this will

be a key aspect of a more positive and faster growth environment for next year.”

Economists at Goldman Sachs have forecast that increased federal spending and tax cuts should add to economic growth in 2016 for the first time in six years.

The $1.1 trillion budget deal boosts spending for most Cabinet agencies by about 6 percent next year. A separate tax measure pro-vides $680 billion in tax cuts over 10 years. It would do so mostly by ex-tending or making permanent about 50 different expiring tax breaks.

That measure follows Congress’ approval of a five-year, $305 billion highway bill earlier in December.

Taken together, the measures could increase growth to about 3 percent next year, Carson estimates, up from a likely pace of about 2.25 percent this year.

Alec Phillips, an economist at Goldman Sachs, forecasts a smaller gain and envisions overall growth next year of 2.25 percent.

The picture now looks brighter for state and local governments, too. Their tax revenue has increased as the economy has improved. The

economy now has about 4.5 million more jobs than it did before the Great Recession began in late 2007.

Spending on construction at all levels of government, for example, rose 6.1 percent in October com-pared with a year earlier. Additional government spending can also trans-late into more purchases of military equipment.

The economic lift from govern-ment, if it proved significant and if it raised undesirably low inflation, could make it easier for the Fed to continue raising short-term interest rates. On Wednesday, citing the im-

proved economy, the Fed announced its first rate increase in nine years. For seven years, the central bank had kept its key short-term rate at a record low near zero to encourage borrowing and spending.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s pre-decessor, Ben Bernanke, had fre-quently called on Congress to limit its budget cuts in the short run to help the economy recover. But in recent months Yellen has noted that governments at all levels were spending a bit more. That likely helped set the stage for the Fed’s rate increases. (ap)

However, with Wednesday’s US Federal Reserve interest rate rise now in the past, analysts said concerns about the global economy continue to keep traders cautious.

While markets will begin wind-

ing down for the Christmas break Friday there are some key economic figures due for release this week, including US economic growth and home sales as well as Japanese infla-tion and spending.

Crude continued to slide as an ongoing supply glut showed no sign of easing. Figures Friday showed an increase in the number of US rigs drilling, increasing worries that output will continue apace.

Brent sank 1.9 percent at one point to $36.17 a barrel -- its weak-est since July 2004 -- before picking up slightly. US standard West Texas Intermediate was down 0.9 percent

at $34.42, levels not seen since early 2009 at the height of the global fi-nancial crisis.

Prices have slumped by almost a fifth since December 4 when the OPEC oil producers’ group decided against limiting production, despite tepid demand and the supply glut.

The commodity has sunk more than 60 percent from above $100 in summer 2014 and prices are now

at levels not seen since the financial crisis.

“There hasn’t been any signifi-cant signs of a pick-up in demand and we haven’t seen any meaningful cuts to production,” Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, told Bloomberg News.

“Nothing has really changed in the oil market over the past couple of months apart from the price.” (afp)

ASUNCION, Paraguay - South America’s Mercosur countries are set to meet Monday to initiate talks on a possible free trade deal early next year with the European Union.

Foreign and economy minsters from the group are hoping that details of the proposed deal can be hammered out in the next few months, Paraguay’s Foreign Minis-ter Eladio Loizaga said on Sunday.

Among those expected at Mon-day’s gathering are Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri; Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff; Uru-guayan President Tabare Vazquez; and host nation Paraguay’s President Horacio Cartes.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been due to attend but cannot due to scheduling conflicts, Loizaga said late Sunday.

Mercosur countries are working

on a common position they can take into talks with the European Union which have dragged on since resum-ing in 2010 after a six year halt.

Currently, they are ready to open up 87 percent of the Mercosur market to EU countries who, having proposed 91.5 percent, want more.

A trade deal would link two of the world’s biggest markets, the Mercosur region of nearly 300 mil-lion inhabitants and the EU of over 500 million. But an agreement has proved elusive since negotiations started in the 1990s.

Mercosur wants a deal with the massive European Union as well as the Pacific Alliance grouping Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Mercosur’s full members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uru-guay and Venezuela. Its associate members include Chile, Peru and Colombia. (afp)

Mercosur eyes free trade with EU

AP Photo/Jorge Saenz

Economy and Foreign Ministers of Mercosur members take part of a preparatory meeting for the Mercosur Summit in Luque, Paraguay, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015. Presidents of Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela and Surinam are scheduled to meet Monday.

US spending bill may aid economy just as Fed is pulling back

Asian markets mostly rise but oil hits 11-year low

HONG KONG - Oil prices extended losses Monday with Brent hitting an 11-year low, fuelling fears about the global economy, but most Asian stock markets recovered from early losses to rally in the afternoon.

AMLAPURA - Residents of Karangasem chiefly the water subscribers of the Municipal Wa-terworks (PDAM) will face clean water crisis in 2016. This condition will happen if the water from the Telaga Waja River pipeline project does not flow smoothly throughout Karangasem.

This was announced by Director of the PDAM Karangasem, I Gede T Baktiyasa, Sunday (Dec. 20) in Karangasem. This man from Datah village delivered it when respond-ing to the complaints of the PDAM customer from Perasi Tengah that

has not obtained clean water ser-vices for totally a week.

One of the residents from Perasi Tengah, Gusti Ngurah, said that a number of families posing the cus-tomers of the PDAM at his hamlet complained. The problem is that they formerly get water a night around 02:00 until 06:00. At that time, the water only runs for only about two hours. However, since last week, the tap of the PDAM has only flowed air at night. “At Pan-giong (Perasi) there are two water sources taken advantage as raw water by the PDAM Karangasem.

We do not know where the water of Pangiong is drained to. Actu-ally the water sources at Pangiong are enough to supply customers at Perasi,” he said.

Gusti Ngurah claimed to have repeatedly contacted the PDAM officer on duty in the region such as Mr. Bendesa. However, PDAM customers still cannot get water. “A few days ago, the PDAM sup-plied us some water by tank truck. But, some other families were not supplied with water, so that they complained,” said Gusti Ngurah.

On the other hand, Gede Bakti-

yasa said that Perasi Tengah located on higher region has indeed been difficult to get water supply from long time ago. It happens because the pressure at the high location is small. As a result, in the peak hours the water will not get there. At night the village can get water, but at the same time the supply from the Tirta-gangga pipeline must be shared with Timbrah and other areas.

Related to the water crisis of Karangasem in 2016, Baktiyasa said that it happens because so far the springs taken advantage as the PDAM raw water has been used

up to 95 percent. “If next year the water from Telaga Waja River pipeline project does not flow, the residents of Karangasem including the PDAM customers are going to face water crisis. So far, the condi-tion is in red light (severe water crisis),” he said.

Baktiyasa said that next year the regent of Karangasem must find a solution to provide clean water for his residents. He added that even though it has rained the water dis-charge in the springs or wells have not been getting normal because the rain was not so heavy. (013)

Chairman of the Fishermen As-sociation of Indonesia (HNSI) Tabanan, I Ketut Arsana Yasa, explained that lobster fisherman in Tabanan is virtually dormant since the export ban of lobster weighing below 200 grams issued by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, namely Regulation No.1/PERMEN-KP/2015 on the

limitation for the capture of three important fishery species namely lobster (Panulirus spp.), crabs (Scyla spp.) and swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus spp.). “As a result, fisher-men are dormant. They cannot do much especially during this lobster harvest season because their catch cannot be marketed,” he said, Sun-day (Dec. 20).

He added that before the issuance of the ministerial regulation the price of lobster weighing 100 grams and above could reach IDR 400,000. For once departure to sea during harvest season like this time fisherman can averagely obtain 1-3 kilograms. “Now, fishermen are reluctant to go to sea because they are not sure to return the operating costs,” he explained.

Yasa explained that ??the Ta-banan beach area has become the habitat of sand lobster and prime lobster. These types are dominated by lobsters weighing 100 grams that have been able to lay eggs. In terms of distribution, the most fishermen in

Tabanan are on Yeh Gangga Beach and the others spread along the beaches in Tabanan.

A fisherman of Yeh Gangga, I Ketut Baret, 60, complained about the income after the rules on the lobster export restriction. “Our operating cost does not return,” he said. He added that in once departure to sea he must prepare a capital as much as IDR 3 million including the purchase of nets and gasoline. “Today, we catch with nets. If we use a lobster trap, it can just catch a lobster weighing 100-150 grams,” he explained.

He continued that from Decem-

ber to February is the season where the lobster catch can increase dra-matically. But more sadly, despite being in the season, he rarely can get lobster weighing more than 200 grams. “The dominant lobster is weighing 100 grams, while the saleable lobster for export weigh-ing more than 200 grams,” he said. In order to earn money, the lobster weighing less than 200 grams is sold cheaply by fishermen for domestic consumption. “We sell it at cheap price, reaching IDR 70,000 per kilo-gram, whereas in the past we could sell it at IDR 400,000 as intended for export,” he explained. (kmb24)

In 2016, Karangasem faces PDAM water crisis if water of Telaga Waja River not flowed yet

TABANAN - There is an Indonesian proverb saying that chickens die in rice granary. Similar condition is also experi-enced by lobster fishermen in Tabanan. Despite being in lobster season, fishermen do not get meaningful income. Their lobster catch is sold at a low price because it cannot be exported due to ministerial regulation.

Lobster season, income of fishermen sluggish

IBP/File

The fisherman is showing the lobster

that he just catch

Bali News International4 Tuesday, December 22, 2015 Tuesday, December 22, 2015 13International

Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd, flanked by police, navy and other officials, held a news conference specifically to ad-dress issues raised by the AP story. The report has elicited widespread reactions around the world, includ-ing from major food companies in the U.S., Europe and Australia that buy Thai seafood.

Sansern said the government was already aware of slavery in the industry before the AP report was released Dec. 14.

“The report said that government officials ignore (this matter) ... This is not the truth,” he said. “Authori-ties found it first,” he said, adding that the Thai government wants the shrimp industry to have “proper working conditions according to international laws.”

Thailand is one of the world’s biggest shrimp providers and its seafood export industry is esti-mated to bring in about $7 billion annually.

The AP report revealed the widespread use of undocumented migrant laborers, many from neigh-boring Myanmar. Many of these laborers end up being tricked or sold into shrimp-peeling sheds where they are forced to work 16-hour days with no time off and little or no pay for sometimes years at a time.

Many workers are held under

debt bondage, forced to repay money the company gave to the agents who sold them. Some end up locked inside. Others are allowed to go out, but only if they leave their children or spouse behind as a guar-antee against running away.

At the news conference Monday, government officials did not deny the existence of forced labor. But they disputed parts of the story, especially the AP’s assertion that police took bribes and turned a blind eye to the practices in the industry. “This is not true,” Sansern said without elaborating.

The AP stood by its report, part of a series of investigations this year into slavery in the fishing industry in the region. More than 2,000 trapped fishermen were freed earlier this year from an island in Indonesia as a result of the AP’s work. The reports also have led to a dozen arrests, millions of dollars’ worth of seizures and proposals for new federal laws.

“We stand firmly behind our reporters’ coverage, which has been scrupulous, thorough and fair,” said Paul Colford, an AP vice president and director of media relations. “Their stories exposing the enslave-ment of workers in the Southeast Asian fishing industry have been a source of great pride throughout The Associated Press.”

The AP focused last week’s

story on a shrimp shed southwest of Bangkok in Samut Sakhon, the heart of the country’s shrimp processing industry. The shed was raided last month after a worker escaped. But while several undocu-mented workers were detained, no one with the company was arrested on human-trafficking charges, and the shed reopened days later.

Police in Bangkok have since ordered local authorities to re-investigate the shed for human trafficking. Arrests have been made, the shed has been closed and Samut Sakhon police have held a meeting to explain human-trafficking laws to shed owners.

The story noted that the govern-ment has recently passed laws to

crack down on abusive employers, but also revealed gaps in those efforts, with some former slaves saying police sold them to agents to be trafficked again.

Sansern also took issue with the AP’s statement that human traffick-ing “has helped turn Thailand into one of the world’s biggest shrimp providers.”(ap)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Police in eastern Cambodia used water cannons Monday to quash a protest by factory workers seeking higher wages, detaining at least a dozen demonstrators.

Seng Seila, the governor of Bavet city, where the protest took place, said police acted “because protesters threw rocks at factories and tried to disrupt other workers in the factories.”

Svay Rieng Provincial Cabinet chief and spokesman Ros Pharith confirmed that protesters had been detained for questioning, but was uncertain how many. He said just a few thousand workers took part.

Keo Samorn, a 29-year-old gar-ment worker who joined Monday’s protest, said some male protesters

were beaten before being taken away by truck. He said that he and others scared by the police ran to hide in nearby bushes.

Labor unions had sought to hike the minimum wage to $160 a month for next year from the current level of $128, but most agreed to accept an increase to $140.

However, some workers in Bavet’s Manhattan Special Eco-nomic Zone and elsewhere are demanding they be paid $148 a month. They began striking last week, though estimates of how many were involved ranged from 2,000 to 30,000.

Wages are a sensitive issue in Cambodia, where about 700,000 people are employed in more than 700 garment and shoe factories. In

2014, the Southeast Asian country shipped about $6 billion worth of products to the United States and Europe.

Factory workers in Cambodia are generally better organized and more militant than in other low-cost manufacturing countries, and also are loosely allied with the political opposition. Aggressive labor strikes around the capital, Phnom Penh, in 2014 were suppressed with deadly force and led to a crackdown on government opponents.

The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia asked for government intervention last week to help stop the strike, saying it is damaging the investment climate for the industry, the country’s main source of exports.

Thai government says it’s not ignoring shrimp sheds slavery

BANGKOK — Thailand’s government said Monday it is not ignoring the slavery and forced labor in its lucrative shrimp industry that was highlighted in an Associated Press investiga-tion published last week.

AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, File

In this Monday, Nov. 9, 2015, file photo, Thai soldiers search a room at the workers’ living quarters during a raid on a shrimp shed in Samut Sakhon, Thailand.

Cambodian police crack down on striking garment workers

REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha smiles as he reviews the honour guard during a welcoming ceremony for Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen at Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, December 18, 2015.

NEGARA - Jembrana Police deploy hundreds of personnel in the Candle Opera-tion 2015 during the celebration of Christ-mas and New Year. In addition to securing places of worship and vital objects, the security of the Denpasar-Gilimanuk road section chiefly at Gilimanuk is also carried out by setting up security posts.

Ahead of Christmas celebration, a num-ber of church officials and religious leaders in Jembrana were given briefing by the

Chief of Jembrana Police, Djoni Widodo. In his presentation, the police chief urged the implementation of active participation to maintain security and order. Police will always secure during the celebration so that people do not need to worry during the implementation of worship. Aside from be-ing attended by police, the briefing was also attended by the Chief of the 1617/Jembrana Military District, Sansan Iskandar, as well as a number of related agencies such as the

Transportation Agency, SAR, ASDP Gili-manuk, harbor master and others.

After the briefing, the police chief said that the security of Christmas is in the same series with the New Year. Other than alerting personnel in the implementation of Christmas celebration, the security of the highway is also carried out along the Denpasar-Gilimanuk road section, namely from Pengeragoan to Gilimanuk. “We have alerted four security posts and a service post

at Gilimanuk,” he said.He added the church security has been

mapped covering 30 churches in Jembrana. Some of them are small churches that are also mandatory for police to secure, while seven others are great churches. The security task is started on the day before by sterilizing the vicinity of the churches. Aside from district police personnel, the se-curity will also be backed up by Bali Police Mobile Brigade personnel. (kmb26)

The Head of the Gianyar Culture Agency, I Gusti Ngurah Wijana, said on Sunday (Dec. 20) that the museum development plan on Kera-mas Beach will continue in 2016. “Next year, the central government is definitely providing additional de-velopment fund worth IDR 9 billion. So, the project can be continued with

finishing process,” he said.He added that with such amount

of budget the project will be contin-ued with the construction of subak miniature and parking arrangement, including the content or collection of the museum. “So, it has been clear that the development will be continued with the addition of subak

miniature and parking space,” he said.

Ngurah Wijana explained that the subak museum development takes a total budget of IDR 42 billion. Due to large amount of fund needed, the development is worked on gradually. For this year, the central government has disbursed IDR 10 billion used to build the structure of the two-story museum. “Other than getting fund from central government, the development this year also used the regional budget of Gianyar worth IDR 2 billion allocated for the con-

struction of the management office,” he said.

Regent of Gianyar, A.A. Gde Agung Bharata, expected to the mu-seum can be completed in 2017 and launched in the same year. To that end, it is required additional budget in 2016. A total of IDR 7 billion of additional budget is required to com-plete the museum. “As planned, it is targeted to be inaugurated in 2017 so that we speed up the construction. Thankfully, we will positively get additional budget of IDR 9 billion from central government next year.

Then, we just need the additional budget of IDR 7 billion,” he said.

To that end, other than targeting to get funding from central govern-ment in 2017, it is also expected to get fund from regional budget of Gianyar. “With the completion target in 2017, there are still opportunities to get additional fund from central government and regional budget of Gianyar to meet the shortage of approximately IDR 7 billion. We are quite optimistic that the launch-ing can be done in 2017,” he said. (kmb35)

Approaching Christmas and New Year 30 churches in Jembrana to be secured

The Subak Museum in Tabanan. Gianyar Gov-ernment is planning to

make the similar museum in th regency

Subak museum development

Central govt adds fund worth IDR 9 billion in 2016

GIANYAR - Central government has been ascertained to disburse funds amounting to IDR 9 billion in 2016 for the construction of Subak Museum around the Masceti Temple on Keramas Beach. The certainty has confirmed the expectation of the completion plan of the museum development in 2017.

IBP/File

14 InternationalScienceTuesday, December 22, 2015 3International Bali News Tuesday, December 22, 2015

The new mark was noted in the annual Arctic Report Card, released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-istration. The Arctic centers on the North Pole and reaches into North America and Eurasia.

“Warming is happening more than twice as fast in the Arctic than anywhere else in the world. We know this is due to climate change,” NOAA chief scientist Rick Spinrad told reporters in San Francisco at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

Another record emerged for

sea ice, which appears when Arc-tic Ocean water freezes. When it reached its peak coverage in February, it was the lowest maxi-mum extent since records began in 1979. The minimum ice coverage, reached in September, was the fourth lowest on record.

The retreat of sea ice is con-sidered a threat to animals like walruses, which use it for mating, giving birth and getting out of the water.

Walruses can use land instead to leave the water, but they are crowding onto beaches where a

stampede can be devastating for calves, two editors of the report card told AP.

Walruses have been hauling themselves out on land in north-west Alaska, a recent phenomenon, Martin Jeffries of the federal Of-fice of Naval Research and Jackie Richter-Menge of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wrote in a joint email.

Snow cover in June in both the North American and Eurasian parts of the Arctic was at the second lowest level since records began in 1967. Reduced snow cover lets more sunlight through to the land, which absorbs the energy and gets warmer. Since 1979, the extent of June snow cover has been dropping by 18 percent per decade, the study said. (ap)

MIAMI - After years of study-ing a mysterious thigh bone from a cave in China, scientists said Thursday they believe it repre-sents an ancient species of human that persisted much longer than previously thought.

The 14,000-year-old bone was uncovered in 1989 in Maludong, known as the Red Deer Cave. The trove of fossils it was initially found with went unstudied until 2012.

The partial femur, though rela-tively young in age, looks like the bones of far older species like Homo habilis and early Homo erectus that lived more than 1.5 million years ago, said the study in PLOS ONE.

“Its young age suggests the possibility that primitive-looking humans could have survived until very late in our evolution, but we need to careful as it is just one bone,” said co-author professor Ji Xueping from the Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology in China.

Until now, scientists believed that the only pre-modern humans

who survived in what is now Eu-rope and Asia were Neanderthals and Denisovans, both of which disappeared some 40,000 years ago.

They are believed to have van-ished soon after modern humans entered the region, but the new bone suggests another primitive human could have survived far longer, perhaps until the end of the last Ice Age.

“The new find hints at the possibility a pre-modern spe-cies may have overlapped in time with modern humans on mainland East Asia, but the case needs to be built up slowly with more bone discoveries,” said co-author Darren Curnoe from the University of New South Wales.

The thigh bone is small, with a thin shaft much like the bones of Homo habilis, which lived 1.5-2.8 million years ago.

The individual would have weighed only about 110 pounds (50 kilograms), which was quite small for pre-modern and Ice Age human standards. (afp)

MIAMI - Two American as-tronauts will step out on a short spacewalk Monday to move a stalled rail car that is stuck outside the International Space Station, NASA said.

Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Tim Kopra will float out of the orbiting lab to move the mobile transporter rail car “a few inches,” NASA said in a statement on Sunday.

Once they coax it to its new position on the station’s truss, it will be “latched in place and elec-trically mated to the complex.”

NASA television coverage of the outing begins at 6:30 am (1130 GMT) and the spacewalk should start by 8:10 am (1310 GMT).

The spacewalk should last three hours, about half as long as a typi-cal spacewalk.

The problem began last week when the mobile transporter rail car, a piece of moveable equip-ment that is attached to the Cana-darm2 robotic arm, began to move to another work site.

The cause of the stall remains unclear, but “experts believe it may be related to a stuck brake handle,” according to ISS mis-sion integration and operations manager Kenny Todd.

Engineers at mission control in Houston have been unable to robotically move it back into place.

If the brake was somehow inadvertently engaged, it may be an easy task to unstick it. The astronauts may then turn to a few other get-ahead tasks as part of their ongoing maintenance and upgrades of the ISS.

NASA described the job as a “cautionary measure” that needs to be done ahead of the arrival of the Russian Progress supply ship on Wednesday.

The US space agency an-nounced last week that an un-planned spacewalk would likely be necessary, and mission manag-ers decided after meeting Sunday to go ahead with the outing on Monday. (afp)

US spacewalkers will aim to move stalled rail car

Ancient human ancestor may have persisted through

Ice Age

AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward

This July 10, 2008 file photo made with a fisheye lens shows ice floes in Baffin Bay above the Arctic Circle, seen from the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent.

Arctic posts record warmth over land, less ice in its ocean

NEW YORK — The warming Arctic has set another re-cord. The average air temperature over Arctic land reached 2.3 degrees F (1.3 degrees C) above average for the year ending in September. That’s the highest since observations began in 1900.

Chief of Buleleng Police Quick Response Unit, Wayan Parta said that the police are appealing to fireworks retailers to buy their merchandise from official distribu-tors to avoid shoddy products from getting onto the streets. “We’ve been patrolling fireworks merchants on Jalan Diponegoro in Singaraja, where most merchants already have a license. We’ve taken preventive

actions in every region of Bule-leng,” said Parta with permission from the Chief of Buleleng Police, Harry Haryadi.

Parta explained that many people in Buleleng equate New Year cel-ebrations with the use of firecrack-ers and the consumption of alcohol and that that unavoidable crowds will gather to enjoy the night with a party. “Every region is also being

jointly secured by the police station of each subdistrict in an effort to prevent chaos early on, so that the mayority of people can enjoy the excitement of New Year with their family and friends,” he said.

He emphasized that the use of assembled cannons will not be tolerated. “Within the past year, there haven’t been any commotions caused by the use of firewors and assembled cannons, nevertheless we are still making a public appeal to not use home made explosives as these are officially prohibited. If any such devices are found, there will be consequences,” he affirmed. (kmb34)

DENPASAR - Preparations are underway for the eighth annual Denpasar Festival (Denfest) that will be held later this month. The committee has prepared everything for the success of this annual celebration and the venue itself is about 30 percent completed.

This year the festival organizers are requesting that food vendors use paper plates. Committee secretary of the Denpasar Festival who is also Divi-sion Head of the Economic Affairs of the Denpasar Municipality, Made Saryawan, said that the culi-nary portions of the festival is being arranged more professionally with clean-up being made easy. “We are asking that all food outlets serve their dishes on paper plates, as was done during the Sanur Village Festival,” said Saryawan.

One prospective merchant, however has com-plained about having to use paper, saying that it will cost more. He explained that he is used to using ingka (baskets) covered in banana leaf to serve his food. “Why must we use paper when the combination of ingka and banana leaves is more eco-friendly? he asked.

Responding to this complaint, Saryawan said that the committee is not requiring vendors to use paper but that based on certain studies, the use of paper is more pratical and allows people freedom of move-ment instead of having to bring the based back to the vendor. “This way people can just toss out their plates,” said Saryawan.

As for the cost of buying paper plates, Saryawan said that because vendors are not being charged to set up shop at the festival nor for the use of other facilities, and because everything has been prepared by the committee: “there should be no reason for vendors to raise their prices during the festival,” he said.

Another aspect of this year’S Denfest that differs from previous years, is the music. “This year’s Den-pasar Festival will feature a jazz festival to appeal to jazz lovers in Denpasar,” said Saryawan. (kmb12)

IBP/Dewa Kusuma

Chief of Buleleng Police Quick Response Unit, Wayan Parta

Christmas and New Year’s celebrations

Police target fireworks and illegal alcohol

SINGARAJA - In anticipation of the misuse of fireworks, firecrackers and illegal alcoholic beverages over the holidays, the Buleleng Police have started approaching both urban and rural communities to provide guidance and direction to the public, so that young people are not left unattended and turn to explosives or alcohol, both of which could cause harm.

IBP/Wawan

Workers prepare stage for the eighth Denpasar Festival (Denfest) that will be held later this month.

The 8th Denpasar Festival; food vendors requested to use paper

International2 15International Activities

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Tuesday, December 22, 2015Tuesday, December 22, 2015

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

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

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

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

Balinese Temple Ceremony

COVER STORYGiven the various pressures that

the era of globalizations brings, the vast majority of artists an no longer afford to create art for arts sake. Artists are human being like everybody else and need to be able to provide for their daily needs and those of their families. So when art an no longer guanratee a livelihood, artists will turn to other sources of income that look more promising.

“The phenomenon that we are seeing with prasi artists is exactly the same as what happened with Kamasan Painting artists. Many Kamasan painters have been forced to look for work as gold leaf crafts-men for example, because puppet paintings are rarely sold,” explained Rinu.

Rinu admits that the majority of Balinese painters use the same method for marketing their prod-ucts - that is; they passively wait for buyers to come and visit their home and buy their art works. When tour-ism is booming in Bali, this passive method is enough for artists to get by, however when the “tourism tap is clogged”, their livelihood takes a hit. “In this context, the government needs to do more than just encour-age artists to continue working. Facilitating the marketing of art products is of utmost importance,” she warned.

Related to the question of why Bali’s younger generation -includ-ing art students, are moving rapidly away from producing traditional art, Rinu said this is in large part due to the lack of education about traditional arts in elementary, high schools and vocational schools.

“I bet most of them have never even heard the word ‘prasi’,” she scorned.

Rinu, therefore hopes that gov-ernment will create a policy of including the art of prasi in el-ementary, high school and voca-tional school curriculum, before this art form fades into the annals of history. “Although certainly not all students will be interested in, have the talent for or the ability to seriously pursue the art of prasi, at least they can become familiar with it and hopeful some students will even be moved to learn more deeply about the art of prasi,” said the Dean.

She emphasized that formal educational institutions can be very effective in igniting awareness, love and appreciation of Bali’s ancestral heritage, amongst the younger gen-eration. (sumatika)

From page 1Human being ...

There are today very few art-ist community that produce such manuscripts. “Today, the traditional art of prasi art is arguably only con-centrated in the villages of Sidemen

and Tenganan in Karangasem and in Bungkulan village, Buleleng. The prasi tradition has been all but forgotten in other parts of Bali,” lamented Murdana.

According to the former Deputy Rektor, the art of prasi can be de-scribed as two- dimensional il-lustrative art that uses a pangutik or steel blade to etch images into palm-leaf. Pangutik are triangular in shape and can be used to cre-ate different thicknesses of lines. Once the lines have been etched, a hazelnut flesh charcoal and coco-nut oil ink is then rubbed onto the surface of the palm-leaf so the the etched lines become blackened and

contrast with the pale colour of the palm-leaf. “The process of creating prasi art-works is quite complicated and demands a high degree of ac-curacy. Also because the sheets of palm-leaf are quite small, prasi artists need to develop great mas-tery of the technique in order to overcome the limitations of this medium,” explained Murdana.

The development of the art of prasi in Bali is inextricably tied to the literary arts, as these illustra-

tions are meant to help clarify the contents of written words - primar-ily for illiterate people. These series of images interpret the literary content of the written texts and “sometimes, the images are also ac-companied by short texts, similar to modern comic strips,” he added.

Murdana is well aware that Balinese young people today are generally not very interested in pursuing this art form. However, he points to the wealth of very posi-tive local wisdom that prasi carry within them, citing such things as attitudes, ethics, morals and both mental and spiritual values as be-ing extremely valuable in terms of planting the seed of positive traits and contributing to the formation of strong character in young people. “Frankly speaking, I continuously long for the revival of the art of prasi, before this art is completely forgotten by the younger generation in Bali. In order to avoid the disap-pearance of the art of prasi, local governments in Bali must carry out concrete actions to preserve this art form. One thing that could be done is to hold prasi competitions as a way to stimulate interest in and excitement about prasi, amongst young people, as a way enoucrage the younger generation of Bali to leaner about prasi. When young people feel love for the art form, the intention to preserve it will naturally arise. I also hope that the art of prasi can be included as special local in the curriculum of all levels of education,” concluded Murdana. (sumatika)

IBP/Sumatika

Prasi (illustrated narratives on plam-leaf) may not have a future.

On the verge of disappearing

IBP/Sumatika

Prasi art on the verge of extinction

THE UrGENCy with which action needs to be taken to re-vive the art of prasi was also expressed by the former Deputy rektor of ISI Denpasar, I Ketut Murdana who concurres that the popularity of this art form is waning. Prasi refers to il-lustrative narratives depicting religious literature, almanacs, historical events, chronicles and fables on sheets of palm leaf (Borrasus flabelifer).

SANUr - Jazz in Sanur sounds especially joyous during the holidays. We don’t know if it’s the glow of Christmas lights by the beach adding ambience or the taste of a festive cocktail accompanying the music, but listening to live jazz is one of our favorite holiday past-times.

With that in mind, together with Indra Lesmana Group and Sanggar Musik Indra Lesmana Giya Santrian presents several incredible jazz artists per-formances at our Griya Beach Club throughout the holiday season right into the new years. Immerse yourself in the beachfront décor (and delicious drinks) of our venue as you listen to the top list musicians, Indra Lesmana Group featuring artiusts Margie Segers (13 Dec), Idang Rasjidi (27 Dec), Eva Celia (10 Jan) and Glenn Fredly (24 Jan).

A performer that creates jazz in a perfect at-mosphere, Margie Segers, with her unique ability to sing blues notes and ability to improvise and express any song. Margie brings every tune she

sings to life. Some of her more popular song include “Layu Sebelum Berkembang” , “ Kesepian” and “Hanya Untukmu” .

Idang Rasjidi is well known for his unique piano play. Idang can make trumpet, trombone, and percussion sounds while accompanying his piano plays, which he learned by doing. His jazz love comes from his childhood environment, with his whole family a fan of jazz music.

Both senior jazz artists combine elements of funk, jazz, and pop that is original and unique to each of their own style. A rich, powerful voice and infectious stage presence make them a natural for our Mostly Jazz stage.

The Jam Sessions during the Sunday Mostly Jazz Program is envisioned as a channel to fine tune quality and communication between musi-cians and jazz fans. The bi-weekly event presents an intimate acoustic format with other musicians Sandy Winarta on drums, Kevin Yosua and Indra Gupta on bass, Dennis Junio on saxophone and many more.

IBP/Net

IBP/Net

Griya Santrian presents Sunday Mostly Jazz

Among the 84 countries in-clude Australia, Brazil, Ukraine, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Palestine, Honduras, Pakistan, Mongolia. Sierra Leone, Uruguay, Bosnia Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Israel, Albania, Mo-zambique, Macedonia, El Salvador, Zambia, Moldova, Madagascar, Georgia, Namibia, Kiribati, Arme-nia, Bolivia, Bhutan, Guatemala, Mauritania and Paraguay.

Rizal said he hoped that the visa waiving facility would boost the number of foreign tourists to the

country, which hopes to attract 20 million foreign tourists in 2019.

A strong growth of 19 percent was recorded in the number of for-eign visitors after the granting of visa free travel for 47 new countries last October.

“The growth was much higher than a normal growth of 6-8 per-cent,” Rizal said.

The government would also increase the number of workers in the tourism sector from 3 million to 7 million in five years.

The 84 countries would add

to 90 countries already granted visa free facility bringing the total number to 174 countries, the min-ister said.

“Offering visa-free travel is one of the easiest ways to boost tourist numbers,” Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said earlier.

Neighboring Malaysia offers visa-free travel to 164 countries and Thailand to 56 countries.

Both Malaysia and Thailand attract far more tourists than Indo-nesia each year.

Last year, Indonesia recorded 9

million foreign tourist arrivals in 2014, rising from 8.8 million visi-tors in 2013.

In the same year Thailand re-corded 26 million foreign tourist arrivals and Malaysia recorded 27 million foreign tourists.

“By waiving visa requirements, we can attract more tourists than Thailand or Malaysia in two years,” Arief said. (ant)

Page 6

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

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

16 Pages Number 28th year

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

Price: Rp 3.000,-

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

DPs 23 - 32WEATHER FORECAsT

Page 13

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

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.

Thai government says it’s not ignoring shrimp sheds slavery

91 missing from landslide that buries buildings in China

Page 8

FIFA ethics court bans Blatter, Platini for 8 years NEW DELHI — British actor Orlando Bloom has been allowed

entry into India after being turned away a day earlier from New Delhi’s international airport because he did not have a valid visa, officials said Monday.

The “Lord of the Rings” star was able to enter India after the External Affairs ministry intervened and gave him a special visa.

Bloom was invited by the top elected official of Uttar Pradesh state to promote tourism. He applied for an e-visa and arrived Saturday without realizing there was a problem with his application.

Bloom was forced to return to London but arrived in India the following day and was seen posing at the Taj Mahal on Sunday.

An External Affairs ministry spokesman said Bloom must have landed without the confirmation email or forgotten to check whether the visa had been granted.

Bloom is best known for his performances in “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies. He has also played roles in such Hollywood blockbuster films as “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Troy” and “Kingdom of Heaven.” (ap)

Colombia contestant Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo was already wear-ing the crown as this year’s Miss Universe winner when host Steve Harvey returned to apologize.

Harvey says it was his mistake and that he would take responsibility for not reading the card correctly that named contestant Pia Alonzo Wurtz-bach this year’s winner and Colombia the first runner-up.

A mystified Wurtzbach appeared stunned as she walked to the front of the stage alongside the crown-

wearing Arevalo before last year’s Miss Universe from Colombia re-moved the crown and placed it on Wurtzbach’s head instead.

The competition started with wom-en representing 80 countries between the ages of 19 and 27. For the first time, viewers at home weighed in, with their votes being tallied in addition to four in-person celebrity judges.

NBCUniversal and Donald Trump co-owned the Miss Universe Organi-zation until earlier this year. The real-estate developer offended Hispanics

in June when he made anti-immigrant remarks in announcing his Republi-can presidential run.

That led Spanish-language net-work Univision to pull out of the broadcast for what would have been the first of five years airing the pag-eants and NBC to cut business ties with Trump.

The former star of the “Celebrity Apprentice” reality show sued both companies, settling with NBC in September, which included buying the network’s stake in the pageants.

That same month, Trump sold the organization that includes the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants to entertainment company WME-IMG. (ap)

AP Photo/John Locher

Other contestants congratulate Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach after she was crowned Miss Universe at the Miss Universe pageant Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015, in Las Vegas. According to the pageant, a misreading led the announcer to read Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner before they took it away and gave it to Miss Philippines.

AP Photo/ Pawan Sharma

In this Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015, photo, British actor Orlando Bloom, front left, takes a selfie as Indian lawmaker Amar Singh, front right, watches on arrival at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. Indian officials say Bloom has arrived in New Delhi after being turned away a day earlier because he did not have a valid visa.

Orlando Bloom arrives in India after visa delay

Miss Universe mistake crowns Colombia before Philippines

LAS VEGAS — The Miss Universe contestant from the Philippines is this year’s winner but for one brief moment Sunday evening, it appeared as if it might be a repeat win for Colombia.

IT would not be excessively pessimistic to worry that the future of

prasi (illus-trated narratives

on plam-leaf) may not have a future. The pres-ervation of this art form, that is closely tied to the Balinese literary tradition, has found itself in a critical moment of its existence. Only very few Balinese artists still use prasi as a medium of expression, as it is considered very hard to make a living doing so.

To ensure the survival of this traditional art, it is high time for the Bali’s local gov-ernments to take some initia-tive in preventing prasi from dissaperaing from the cultural landscape. According to the Dean of the Faculty of Art and Design (FSRD) at the Indone-sia Institute of the Arts (ISI) Denpasar, Ni Made Rinu, government initiatives need to reach beyond just training or even material assistance for artists, but perhaps most importantly, should be geared towards opening doors for the marketing of prasi. If such efforts are not made, she is pessimistic about the possibil-ity of artists wanting to work intensively in prasi.

Artsits need to feel excited about their creations in order to be vivacious in their produc-tion, and to feel excited they need to feel that their work is valued and also marketable. “With the art of prasi increas-ingly dimming, it is time for the different levels of government in Bali to take the initiative of reviving it,” stated Dean Rinu.

Continue to page 2Human being ...

IBP/Wawan

Tourists play water sport in Nusa Dua, Bali Island. Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli said the government will waive visa requirement for short term visitors from 84 more countries hoping to boost number of tourists visiting the country.

Prasi art needs a boost

Visa free travel offered for 84 more countries

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli said the government will waive visa requirement for short term visitors from 84 more countries hoping to boost number of tourists visiting the country. “There are 84 more countries we decided today to grant visa free travel to be effective this week,” Rizal said after a coordinating meeting on Monday.