Bali Post

BULELENG - Bad weather hap-pening in the waters of northern Bali within the past few days made the officers of a number of traditional ports spreading in the coastal area of Buleleng vigilant. To that end, a total of seven ports were forced to be closed to anticipate the occurrence of marine accidents. The closure was estimated to last until the sea weather returned to normal.

Observation in several areas of the central fish base (PPI) at Sawan Village, Sangsit Subdistrict, Wednesday (Jan 25), indicated that

situation at the PPI looked quiet. No freight unloading activities were visible on the PPI pier and other piers around the location. Meanwhile, the stalls and small boats of local fishermen were also drawn to a safer place to avoid the brunt of waves. Then, from the verge of pier, the height of ocean waves reached 3 meters.

Such condition caused the au-thority to close the PPI temporar-ily until the sea weather returned to normal. As a rule, every two or three days a ship from Supekan Island, Madura, would anchor on the pier to unload and upload its

freights. However, since the high waves occurred the activities on the pier were stopped because the ship crewmen from Supekan had received information about the high waves ensued at the PPI so the loading and unloading activi-ties could not be carried out.

Cessation of the port activities at the PPI Sangsit made dozens of port workers unemployed. As a result, they lost daily income of transport-ing goods from ships to mainland since it stopped for a few days. Now, the workers could only daydream while searching for a second job to support their family.

The Head of Buleleng Port Of-fice, Gede Putrawan, said in his office on Wednesday the closed tra-ditional ports were the Pegametan, Banyumandi (Gerokgak Subdis-trict), Brongbong (Seririt Subdis-trict), Temukus (Banjar Subdistrict), Buleleng (Buleleng Subdistrict), the PPI Sangsit (Sawan Subdistrict), and Tembok (Tejakula Subdistrict). Previously, those traditional ports were used for location of freight loading and unloading and crossing service to regional destinations like Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Madura and Maluku.

SUNNY BRIGHT/CLOUDY RAIN

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Friday, January 27, 2012

16 Pages Number 304th 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

CITY TEMPERATURE OC

WEATHER FORECAST

24 - 33

23 - 33

22 - 31

23 - 32

26 - 34

DENPASAR

JAKARTA

BANDUNG

YOGYAKARTA

SURABAYA

PAGE 12

PAGE 8

Continued on page 6

‘War Horse’ starone of Hollywood’sequine elite

The bad weather created big waves and made the water went up to the beach. This condition made the Balawista or lifeguard placed red flag which is the sign not to do any activities in the area. The Head of Kuta Security Officer, IGN Tresna, said that the waves could up to 5 meters high since the last few days.

On Wednesday, January 25, the water even could reach the Balawista posts

and make all the sellers in the area pan-icked.

The bad weather also destroyed the glasses in some hotels in Kuta. Tresna urged the tourists to obey the rules and prohibition by the authorized officers.

The Coordinator of Balawista Badung, I Ketut Ipel , said that the department employed more officers on the beach and add more signs.(kmb25)

Bad weather condition

Tourists prohibited to swim in Kuta

Bad weather, seven traditional ports closed

IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

A Lifeguard holding the warning flag that being put in Kuta Beach during the bad weather condition.

Bali Post

Mangupura - Everyone is prohibited to do any activities in the coastal area of

Kuta Beach. It is applied because the bad weather condition which happen in the

last few days. The restriction was given on Thursday, January 26, 2012.

Agro-industryresolvesagriculturalproblems in Bali

InternationalFriday, January 27, 20122

Bali News

Founder : K.Nadha, General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Diah Dewi Juniarti Editors: Gugiek Savindra,Alit Susrini, Alit Sumertha, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Sri Hartini, Suana, Sueca, Sugiartha, Wirya, YudiWinanto Denpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subagiadnya, Subrata, Suentra, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Pujawan, Buleleng: Adnyana, Gianyar: Agung Dharmada, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung:Bali Putra Ariawan. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Syamsudin Karim, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto. Development: Alit Purnata, Mas Ruscitadewi. :Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, : 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-

5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp. (0370) 639543, : (0370) 628257. Publisher: PT Bali Post

meters away from two local buildings of teacher room and

time which luckily did not cause any casualties although a loss of

-ing constructed with a budget from an Australian block green

-

easy to be blown away due to ceil-ings were not placed yet causing

a high wind pressure so it is not due to a weak construction but because of construction is not

be changed with newer zincs due

he and his wife was afraid to go

condition moreover his own house having its roof plastic sheet

-

done the building location is in a sensitive strong wind area which so with the ceiling not on yet on

known compensation will be

given although a report is being prepared to be sent to central gov-ernment while to avoid another

-dents houses damaged due to strong wind happened around 4

-

the four houses were owned by

-

have checked and it is predicted

Denpasar (Bali Post) –

dangerous substances were destroyed -

-

-tion facilities or producers there are

seven points of problems such as no

-

and disciplining illegal products are part of the routine supervision also a continuous activity held by the

-

medicines and food that has high risk

so it is a producer target to distribute their products just like when they

is no near to appreciating health as it contains dangerous substance and

could cause cancer or damaging

usually on the face due to cosmetics

will always remind the public to-

processed eight facilities with legal aspects where one has gone to court

(bit)

IBP/File

The damage roof of the school in Pegayamaman Village, Buleleng Regency

Singaraja (Bali Post) –

Negara (Bali Post)—Two passenger ships serving the

crossing ran aground on Wednesday -

about to berth on the freighter pier

but due to high winds the ship was

of the temple made the ship holding

-

behind the temple had to wait until

afternoon the passenger ship could anchor back and had unloaded its

said there were no casualties in the

hoped every captain to be cautious

3International Bali News Friday, January 27, 2012

Denpasar (Bali Post)—Balinese people who have relatives

transmigrating in South Lampung,

Sidomulyo Subdistrict, were askedto stay calm. They were also urgednot to be easily provoked by issuesdisturbing the atmosphere whichcould annoy the peace in Bali.

“We urge the Balinese to stay calmand not to be easily provoked,” saidDeputy Chairman of the Commission

Adnyana, Wednesday (Jan 25).Kariyasa Adnyana added that the

case of clashes occurred at the localvillage had now been handled by lo-

On that account, the Balinese wereasked to remain calm in order tokeep the peace. “Indeed, the clashesoccurred at the transmigration areamostly dwelled by residents fromBali. If some people could not contacttheir relatives in Lampung, it wasmerely the matter of communicationdisturbance after the clash,” said the

PDI-P cadre from Buleleng.Furthermore, he expected that Bali

Government could immediately com-municate and make coordination withthe Government of South Lampungbecause the incident took place in thearea becoming the settlement of Ba-linese transmigrants. “Appropriately,the Bali Government communicateswith the Lampung Government to

-over, in Bali had circulated a short

-voke the situation,” he said.

He did hope that Bali Govern-ment also sent envoys to the areaof transmigrants from Bali to knowabout the real situation after theclashes. As reported previously, theclashes taking place on Tuesday (Jan24) at Napal Hamlet, Sidowaluyo

in 60 houses burned and 23 othersdamaged. In the incident, at leasteight motorcycles and four units oftractors owned by residents werealso burned. (kmb13)

“Aweek before Galungan, the peoplerushing to pawnshop rose up to 20 per-cent if compared to normal days whichonly ranged from 100 to 150 requests

contacted on Wednesday (Jan 25).According to him, aside from the

number of people’s arrival, similar surge

they continued to lack of capital every

required an additional capital of ap-proximately IDR 50 million. However,before Galungan they required up toIDR 100 million or more. Nevertheless,the surge in mortgage application aheadof religious holiday celebration posed aroutine phenomenon always repeatingevery six months.

“Especially in our working area,the most application occurred ahead

other celebration did not show off a-

tion,” he explained.

Explained, most of the goods pawnedby people ahead of Galungan were goldjewelries like necklaces, bracelets andother jewelry. The amount reached 90percent. This trend happened becausethe disbursement process of gold jew-elry was faster than other goods.

“The process of funding applicationof gold jewelry only takes about 15

as certificate of vehicle ownership(BPKB) takes two to three days. ForBPKB document, we must check thephysical condition of vehicle alongwith the annual tax payment. Except,they want to mortgage BPKB docu-ment along with vehicle, the processwill go on faster, about one day,” heexplained.

Similar conditions also occurredin the Pegadaian of Kreneng BranchOffice. The branch supervising eightunits handled the loan applicationfor 250 people a week while onnormal days reached 150 people.

reaching 92 percent. (par)Denpasar (Bali Post)—

Being a farmer indeed faces alot of obstacles, ranging from theconstraints of human resources tothe problem of production, mar-keting and lack of partisanshiprules that can save the farmers inBali. A large number of agricul-tural commodities coming fromoutside Bali have also becomeone of the causes making theagricultural products of Bali lesscompetitive.

Ketut Suardana, one of thefarmers, once said that the fateof farmers was currently alwaysoppressed. Its human resourceshad not got attention from thegovernment so that farmers gen-erally had lower capabilities. Heacknowledged that farmers wereindeed still awry, if they contin-ued to do production it would losein marketing. If they did not dothe production, many agriculturalcommodities would be brought infrom outside Bali.

“We are puzzled to be a farm-er. Other than having low qualityof human resources, we also stillface other obstacles, includingthe marketing. If necessary, theprice should be increased steadilyso the income of farmers in Baligoes up, and then the welfare willcome true as always echoed by

government, namely prosperingfarmers. All farmers want it, sothat government will not onlyshout an empty slogan to helpfarmers, while in the reality thefund allocated to agriculture isonly a few,” he explained.

agricultural products in Bali wasalso acknowledged by the Deanof the Faculty of Agriculture,University of Warmadewa, Nyo-man Kaca. According to him, interms of production, most farm-ers were felt to have been ableto produce agricultural productswhose quality was undoubtedlyto be marketed. However, lackof integration (link and match)among the various parties, es-pecially in connecting the vi-sion and mission of improvingthe income of farmers in Bali,caused the problem still to hauntthe farmers.

“Knowledge of farmers inmarketing remains low so theyare unable to compete againstlarge farms. Even, the agricul-ture and tourism that shouldbe supporting each other stayto run partially or individually.On the other hand, in the freemarket era Balinese farmers arerequired to prepare continuousagricultural production and have

certain quality. These cannot be

Programs and subsidieslaunched by government, par-ticularly in an effort to increasethe agricultural sector, he ac-knowledged, had been good.Unfortunately, the program hadnot fully touched the farmersin Bali. To further optimizethe knowledge of farmers, es-pecially in terms of marketing,the important role of extensionworkers (PPL) was urgentlyrequired. “Ironically, almost allextension workers in Bali haveretired, so the extension functionproviding information on mar-keting and trainings to farmerscannot be realized properly. Atthe moment, Bali itself has nothad the agricultural extensionagency,” he explained.

Nyoman Kaca added that

used as an example in an effort tohelp farmers, especially in mar-keting of the agricultural prod-ucts through the farmer marketactivity held every 3-4 months.“Other than facilitation throughthe marketing activities likefarmer markets, the budget forthe agricultural sector should beincreased to seriously revive thesector,” he said.

Galungan, people Denpasar (Bali Post)—

Ahead of Galungan celebration, people began to go to pawnshop.Although the increase cannot be predicted until the celebration day,lately the number has grown a lot compared to normal days.

IBP/File

Farmer is working in his rice field. Being a farmer indeed faces a lot of obstacles, ranging from the constraints of human resources to the problem of production, marketing and lack of partisanship rules that can save the farmers in Bali.

Agricultural products

News International4 Friday, January 27, 2012

Gandhi, the prince of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty that has dominated India for most of its post-independence period, has taken centre stage during campaigning for the polls.

He has criss-crossed the most important election-bound state that is also home to his parliamentary constituency, Uttar Pradesh (UP), and has also swung through neigh-bouring Uttarakhand and north-western Punjab.

In each, the 41-year-old leader widely tipped as a future prime minister has done his best to sell the Congress party whose reputation has been battered at the national level by allegations of corruption and mismanagement.

If the unmarried heir-apparent can improve on his party’s woeful performance in the last UP elec-tions in 2007, he can look forward to a shot of “political viagra,” says political analyst Uday Bhaskar.

“Rahul Gandhi is being tested,” says the director of the National Maritime Foundation, a New Delhi-based think-tank. “If he is able to swing UP, he is going to be cheered.”

But the Congress party, a na-tional secular force with its roots in the country’s independence movement, has seen its dominance country-wide eroded as regional parties come to the fore.

One of them, the Bahujan Samaj Party of mercurial low-caste leader Mayawati, gave an illustration of this in 2007 when she swept to power in UP by exploiting support among the former “Untouchable” or Dalit classes.

Reuters

CAIRO - Tens of thousands massed in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and other Egyptian cities on Wednesday, a year after an uprising erupted that toppled Hosni Mubarak, spurred on revolts across the region and exposed rifts in the Arab world’s most populous state.

United last year by popular anger at Mubarak and his 30-year rule, Egyptians gathering on the January 25 anniversary were in high spirits but divided between activists demanding a swift end to army rule and Islamists cel-ebrating their dramatic change in fortunes after emerging victors in a parliamentary election.

One group of mostly youths in Tahrir stood near a street where protesters clashed in November and December with police and the army, chanting “Down with military rule” and “Revolution until victory, revolution in all of Egypt’s streets.”

With the 83-year-old Muba-rak on trial for his life but a new parliament installed this week that is dominated by his Islamist adversaries, some of the youthful

activists who turned to the Inter-net to launch last year’s revolt are disenchanted, weary of army rule but fearful the Islamists may also stifle their hopes.

Protesters mistrust the military council that took charge on Feb-ruary 11 last year when Mubarak was driven out and which is led by the man who was his defense minister for two decades, Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi. The army has vowed to relinquish power after a presiden-tial poll in June.

On the other side of the packed Tahrir Square, a vast plaza where protesters fought fierce battles with police during the 18-day uprising last year, supporters of the once banned Muslim Brother-hood and other Islamists grouped to celebrate.

“I’m very happy with the an-niversary of January 25. We never dreamed of this. The revolution’s victory was reaped with the elected parliament,” said Khaled Mohamed, 41, a member of the Brotherhood whose Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) secured the biggest bloc in parliament after the first free vote in decades.

Agence France Presse

Just back to work after a medical leave, President Cristina Kirchner accused Prime Minister David Cameron of portraying Argentina as “violent” in the Falkland Islands dispute.

Kirchner, dressed in black and a small surgery scar visible on her throat, plunged back into one of her country’s most sensitive and longest-running disputes: over the South Atlantic islands Britain has held since 1833, and Buenos Aires considers its own.

“They are trying to paint us as bad guys, or violent guys and

really, that is not who we are,” Kirchner told a packed auditorium in a lengthy speech after 20 days of medical leave for thyroid surgery.

Cameron had accused Argen-tina of a “colonialist” attitude, a comment which enraged many in Argentina.

Protesters marched on the Brit-ish embassy in Buenos Aires on Friday, burning the Union Jack, and demanding Argentina snap diplomatic ties with London.

“The United Nations Commit-tee on Decolonization has 16 cases open on places that remain colonies, of which 10 are British colonies, and one of the best known is our

beloved Malvinas islands,” Kirch-ner stressed.

She said she would keep using diplomacy to try to bring back the islands under the control of Buenos Aires.

“We are not part of any country’s invading strike force,” Kirchner said in a swipe at Britain’s international military role.

“Our armed forces only take part in peacekeeping missions. And that is a political decision of democratic governments since 1983.”

Renewed tensions come months before the 30th anniversary of the brief, but bloody, war between the two countries over the islands.

IBP/afp

President Cristina Kirchner speaks at the presidential house, on Janu-ary 25, 2012 in Buenos Aires, on her first public appearance after she had her thyroid gland removed.

after Egypt’s uprising

AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty

Egyptians carry a large national flag with Arabic writing that reads, “President before constitution,” in Tahrir Square during the first an-niversary to mark the beginning of the popular uprising that unseated President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012.

India’s ruling party, Rahul Gandhi face poll testsAgence France Presse

Five Indian states go to the polls starting from Saturday, putting the reputation of the beleaguered ruling Congress party to the test, as well as the credibility of its young leader Rahul Gandhi.

IBP/afp

Congress Party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi delivers a speech during a Congress election campaign rally in the village of Chabhal, some 25 km from Amritsar, on January 25.

Activities Friday, January 27, 2012 5International

Temple CeremonyCalendar Event for January 4 through 26, 2012

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

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

The celebration is very colorful. The shrine are dressed with pieces of cloths and sometimes with brocade, sail-ings, 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

4 Jan Buda Paing Wariga Merajan Pasek Gaduh Kayubihi Bangli.

7 Jan Tumpek Uduh/Pengatag Pura Puseh/Pura Desa Batuan Sukawati Pura Pasek Bendesa Kekeran Mengwi Pura Manik Mas Besakih.

8 Jan Purnama Kepitu Ngusaba Ngaed Pr. Benua - Besakih Pura Dalem Desa Camenggaon - Sukawati Pura Suranadhi Lombok Pura Narmada Lombok Pura Segara Ampenan Lombok Mr Agung Dewa Agung Klungkung Sidemen -

Karangasem Pura . Merajan Pasek Gelgel Ababi Mr. Pasek gelgel Tista Pura di Gunung - Tianyar Kubu - Karangasem. Pura Pingit Klenting sari Gerokgak - Singaraja Pura di Gunung - Tianyar Tianyar Merajan Pasek Gelgel Ababi Mr. Pasek gelgel Tista Pura di Gunung - Tianyar Kubu - Karangasem Pura Pingit Klenting sari Gerokgak - Singaraja Pura Payogan Agung Kutai Kartanegara.

11 Jan Buda Wage Warigadean. Pura Kepisah Sumerta Denpasar Pura Pasek Gelgel Pura Pasek Gelgel Pura Puncaksari Penarukan Peninjoan Bangli Pura Bangun Sakti Besakih Pura Antegsari Kaba-Kaba Kediri Tabanan Pura Pesimpangan Batur Pande Kaba-Kaba Kediri

Tabanan

13 Jan Sukra Umanis Warigadean Odalan Ida Ratu di Penataran Agung Besakih

Odalan Ida Ratu Puraus Merajan Salonding Besakih.

15 Jan Redite Pon Julungwangi Pura Panti Pasek Gelgel Gobleg Banjar Singaraja.

17 Jan Anggar Kasih Julungwangi Pura Tirtaharum Tegalwangi Bangli Pura Pasek Tohjiwa Wanasari Tabanan Pura Pasek Tangguntiti Jakatebel Tabanan Pura Pasek Bendesa Sangsit Buleleng Pura Dalem Waturenggong Taro Tegalalang Pura Ibu (Pura Kaja) Wanasari Selemadeg Tabanan Pura Pasek Gelgel Tulikup Pura manik Bingin Sidemen.

18 Jan Buda Umanis Julungwangi Pura Penetaran Gana Bebalang Bangli Pura Dalem Gede Banjar Pande Bangli Pura Puncaksari Sangeh Abiansemal Pura Dadia Agung Pasek Sanak Sapta Resi Sidan

Gianyar Merajan Pasek Tohjiwa Jakatebel Merajan Pasek Prateka Batusesa Odalan di Mr. Jeroan Dauh Cemenggon Pr. Puseh Penegil Darma Kubutambahan Singaraja.

23 Jan Tilem Kepitu Aci Petahuan Pura Ulun Kulkul Besakih Ngusaba Buluh Pura Benua Kawasan Besakih.

26 Jan Wraspati Wage Sungsang Pura Kawitan Tangkas Kori Agung Desa Tangkas

Klungkung Pr. Siang Kangin Tampuagan Tembuku Bangli Odalan Ida Ratu Mas Penataran Agung Besakih Merajan Pasek Gelgel Petemon Merajan Pasek Gelgel MelinggihGelgel Melinggih Odalan Ida Bhatara Bang Tulus Dewa Besakih

IBP

Another advantage of Bali is recorded by the world. A tour-ism business getting involved in the management of meeting, incentive, convention, exhibi-tion (MICE) namely PT. Pa-cific World Nusantara was just awarded The Best Professional Incentive Travel. It was an award delivered by the Venue magazine which is affiliated with the Min-istry of Tourism and the Creative Economy of the Republic Indo-nesia. The award was received by the Regional Country Manager of PT. Pacific World Nusantara IB. Surakusuma coinciding with the Indonesia MICE Outlook & Award 2011 at the Hotel Atlet Century Park Jakarta.

Achievement of the award

definitely added to the series of world achievements won by the Pacific World Nusantara. The domestic and foreign awards achieved were such as from the ITTA as the Leading Tour Op-erator in Indonesia, South Africa - as the Best DMC (Destination Management Company), The Best DMC from CEI Magazine based in Hong Kong, and as The Best Preferred Partner from Maritz US.

For Lolec, as he familiarly greeted, the awards received really made him proud and they also had an impact on Bali. The world would note that Bali was capable of organizing MICE tourists, especially in the field of incentive. “However, the next challenge, government in this regard the Directorate of MICE

and Economic Creative should develop the incentive tours more seriously. Indeed, the MICE ac-tivities especially incentive could be developed in all tourism in Indonesia,” he explained.

Lolec who is also Chairman of the INCCA Bali said that Pacific World Nusantara had deeply involved in the incentive sector for over 30 years. In his journey he noted that incen-tive tourism activities in Bali and Indonesia were faced with various temptations, such as the Bali bombing disaster, terrorist threat, the issue of earthquake and tsunami. “Thankfully, the Pacific World Nusantara can survive and remains consis-tent to develop MICE tourism (incentive) to the future,” said Lolec

According to Lolec, since 1996 the incentive tourism ac-tivities had developed in Bali and Indonesia. Some of them were from companies with the automotive, software, insur-ance, consultancy, medical, and cosmetics background. “For example, in 2011 Pacific World Nusantara handled nearly 1,800 incentive tourists of cosmetic manufacturers from around the world,” said Lolec.

The man who is also a car-toonist then added that formation of the tourism-related organiza-tions such as GIPI and central BPPI was expected to support the MICE activities in the future, so it could develop into a bet-ter condition and be beneficial for the economy of Bali and Indonesia.

Receive ‘The Best Professional Incentive Travel’

Friday, January 27, 2012 6 News International

From page 1

Newswire Agencia Estadoreported at least two fatalitiesin the collapse of both build-ings, reportedly 20 and 10 storyhigh. A loud explosion precededthe collapse, which left the sur-rounding area covered in debrisand dust, witnesses said. “It waslike an earthquake. First somepieces of the buildings started tofall down. People started to run.And then it all fell down at once,”a witness who identified himselfas Gilbert told Reuters.

As many as 11 people couldbe trapped in the wreckage, cablebroadcaster Gloominess said.City authorities are assessingthe risk of collapse of a damagedadjoining building, local news-wires reported, without givingthe source of the information. “Iran down the stairs desperate to

escape. Just when I left the build-ing it collapsed. I escaped by theskin of my teeth - it’s the workof God,” Nelson Tomes, 38, anair conditioning technician, toldiG newswire.

Tomes, who was on the 10thfloor of one of the buildings, saidhe rushed to the stairwell after heheard a “huge noise.” T imagesshowed cars covered with con-crete and steel rods. Light, theelectricity distribution companyserving the city, cut power to thearea to avert the possibility offires after a strong smell of gaswas detected, the T broadcast-ers said.

Rio de Janeiro is struggling toaddress concerns over poor infra-structure as it prepares to co-hostthe soccer World Cup in 2014and the Olympic Games two

years later. The incident comesmonths after an explosion appar-ently caused by a gas leak rippedthrough a restaurant in downtownRio, killing three people and ig-niting concerns over the state ofthe city’s infrastructure.

In recent months, Rio’s in-habitants have had to deal withunexpected explosions of sewerlines and landslides in some cityslums caused by heavy rain anddeforestation. The collapsedbuildings, which housed a bak-ery and an Itau Univac Hold-ing bank branch, were near theheadquarters of state-controlledcompanies including oil producerPetrograd and development bankBODES. Traffic in the area andservice in neighboring subwaystations was been suspended, theT channels reported.

Associated Press Writer

BUCHAREST, Romania What did they give the dictatorwho had everything

An African leopardskin or a silver dove a novel offeringfrom the former Shah of Iran are just two examples of giftsreceived by Nicolae Ceausescu that will be auctioned off Thurs-day, on what would have been the late Romanian leader’s 94thbirthday.

The auction which is billed “the Golden Age” is a referenceto the final years of Ceausescu’s rule, when Communist Partyofficials painted a rosy picture of life in Romania, while, in real-ity, people struggled with food shortages, power outages and thedreaded Securitate secret police which kept tabs on the populationof 23 million with an army of 760,000 informers.

Ceausescu, known as “the Genius of the Carpathians,” wasoverthrown during the 1989 anti-communist uprising and ex-ecuted with his wife Elena after a summary trial on ChristmasDay, 1989.

“This auction is first of its kind gathering together objects fromprivate collections and items that belonged to the family whichwere sold by the state,” ihail Stomff, head of private sales atArtmark auction house told the Associated Press. “The value isforemost a historical one.”

Reuters

MAR EILLE, France - Jean-Claude as, whose breastimplant firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) has sparked an in-ternational health scandal by using substandard silicone, wasarrested on Thursday and could be charged with manslaughter,a French police source told Reuters.

He was arrested at around 7 a.m. (1 a.m. ET) at his home insouthern France and police searched the premises. He will beheld for 48 hours while investigators decide whether to chargehim with involuntary manslaughter and causing injury.

A second PIP executive, former chief financial officer ClaudeCouty, was also arrested under an investigation that was openedin the southern port city of arseille, close to PIP’s formerpremises, on December 8.

The probe followed the death from cancer in 2010 of a womanwith PIP implants, although health authorities in France andelsewhere have stressed the is no proven link to cancer fromthe PIP implants.

Lawyers for women who have filed complaints over theirimplants hailed the arrest as excellent news.

“This is a comfort for the victims,” said Laurent Gaudon,whose clients accuse PIP and surgeons who used its implants offraud. “It’s the feeling that justice is advancing and they havenot been forgotten. It’s the assurance that the guilty are at lastgoing to be held accountable.”

Two buildings collapse in Rio de JaneiroReuters

RIO DE A EIRO - wo buildings collapsed in downtown Rio de aneiro on Wednesday,in the latest incident highlighting the failure of authorities to improve the city’s infrastructureamid preparations to host soccer’s World Cup and the Olympics. Rescue crews pulled fourpeople alive from the debris, with no dead bodies found by midnight, City Mayor EduardoPaes told reporters at the site.

REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Firefighters work on the debris of a collapsed building in Rio de Janeiro January 25, 2012.

French police arrest PIP implant boss Mas

Ex-Romanian dictator’s gifts up for auction

“We have made coordination with the official at each port.Apparently, without being closed the ship crewmen had knownabout the weather conditions at sea. During the high wavesthese days, they do not dare go to sea and wait for the weatherto normal,” he said.

eanwhile, observation at Anturan fishing village, BulelengSubdistrict, the 3-meter-high waves had made the sea water reachthe yard of people’s house. Despite high waves, people preferredto stay at home. If the wave conditions continued to grow higher,they would just flee to a safer home of their family. “I’ve beenfamiliar with this condition but remain vigilant. If the wavesgrow higher, I will flee,” said one of the local residents, KadekParwata. (kmb)

Bad weather...

Friday, January 27, 2012 7Indonesia Today International

Antara

SURABAYA - National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has won an “Indonesian Most Admired Company Award” from Fortune Indonesia magazine for its success in implementing good corporate transformation program.

The award was an achievement the management of Garuda Indo-nesia could be proud of, Garuda technical and management director Hadinoto Soedigno said here on Wednesday.

“The achievement proves that all the efforts we have made to improve services and to conduct corporate transformation have given us good results, particularly

the public`s positive perception and appreciation (of Garuda`s perfor-mance),” Hadinoto said in a press statement.

The magazine`s appreciation for Garuda`s transformation program was based on the results of a sur-vey and research as well as on the public`s assessment of companies in Indonesia, he said.

“The assessment covered a num-ber of aspects including leadership, management system, innovation, financial performance, corporate social responsibilities (CSR), human resources development, and develop-ment of managerial team,” he said.

The award also went to other companies, including Unilever, Bank Mandiri, Telkom, Medco,

BRI, Indosat, Aneka Tambang, and BCA.

Hadinoto said last year Garuda also won a number of awards from both national and international organizations in recognition of its achievement.

The awards included “Top Brand Award”, “Indonesia Best Brand Award”, “Annual Report Award”, and “Good Corporate Governance/GCG Awards` from national orga-nizations.

Also last year, Garuda won “World`s Most Improved Airline” from Skytrax London, an indepen-dent global airline rating agency, and “Airline Turnaround of the Year” from the Center of Asia Pa-cific Aviation (CAPA).

He said the cabinet session on agrarian policy and the Master Plan on Accelerated Poverty Eradication in Indonesia (MP3KI) was sup-posed to be held on Thursday.

“Since inputs are still required for a more comprehensive agrarian policy, in addition to the preparation for the MP3KI, the cabinet session has been postponed by the presi-dent,” Julian said, adding that the president`s agenda was an internal matter and closed for the media.

According to Julian, the head of state was scheduled to chair a meet-

ing at Bogor Palace on Friday but it was also an internal one and not for media coverage.

But the presidential spokes-man did not explain in detail the president`s agenda at Bogor Palace and only said that the president would be at the palace until Sat-urday.

Julian said President Yudhoyono would also leave for Palembang, South Sumatra, on Monday morn-ing, January 30 for a working visit and return to Jakarta in the afternoon.

Antara

JAKARTA - The government discussed two options for the financ-ing of infrastructure development at a limited cabinet meeting here on Wednesday. One option was setting up a new financing institution and the other strengthening an existing body, PT Sarana Multi Infrastructure (SMI), Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Darmin Nasution said after the meeting.

The meeting of ministers deal-ing with economic affairs chaired by Presient Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono was also attended by Vice President Boediono. Darmin said all proposals and ideas were discussed while the focus was not only on one option and therefore no decision had been made. He however added that a decision would be made soon.

“This is a very useful stage be-fore concluding hopefully in the not too distant future whether we will strengthen the existing institution or set up a new one,” he said.

Darmin said it was not impos-sible for the government to set up an institution like Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo) that operated during the New Order government. He said countries generally had a special bank that was charged with collecting development funds to

finance not only infrastructure but also other projects.

He said it was possible for a bank like that to be set up without necessar-ily repeating the mistakes made in the 1997/1998 crisis under present eco-nomic conditions which were marked by good growth and stability.

“Indeed an institution like that must be made really professional so that no moral hazard will come from its customers, management, supervi-sion, owners or others,” he said.

Darmin said the government had so far been considering to strength-en the existing institution because setting up a new one would take time, adding that PT SMI would soon issue bonds.

He believed the government could collect a large amount of funds from bonds as the country`s economic conditions were good with its invest-ment rating also rising.

“Our funds sources will be more open than before and so it will be up to us to be ready to exploit them or not,” he said.

Chief economic minister Hatta Radjasa meanwhile said he thought it would be better for the government to use the existing institution or set up a special desk in state-owned banks to specially deal with infra-structure development funding.

Antara

JAKARTA - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono chaired a limited cabinet meeting at his of-fice on Wednesday to discuss the establishment of a special bank that could provide funds for infrastruc-ture development.

Attended by Vice President Bo-ediono, the limited cabinet meeting was held for Coordinating Minister for Economy Hatta Rajasa and Bank Indonesia, the central bank Governor Darmin Nasution to ex-plain the readiness to establish an infrastructure bank.

In his introduction before starting

the meeting, President Yudhoyono said the presence of an infrastruc-ture bank was of a great importance to ensure the availability of infra-structure funds in the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia`s Economic Develop-ment (MP3EI).

“In the limited cabinet meeting in the field of economy, we will discuss a number of issues related to banking, more specially about the plan and policy to establish a kind of infrastructure bank,” the presi-dent said in his introduction.

According to the president, the presence of an infrastructure bank was an important part of eco-

nomic development that should be launched immediately if its concept of implementation had been drawn up.

The head of state added that the infrastructure bank would guarantee the implementation of every project in the Master Plan for the Accelera-tion and Expansion of Indonesia`s Economic Development.

“The MP3EI is the priority to build infrastructure across Indone-sia because we have had plan and policy and the groundbreaking has been done. But we have to ensure the matters related to the presence of an infrastructure bank,” the president said.

AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara

Recently detained Afghan asylum seekers sit inside a cell at a detention house in Medan, North Su-matra, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Indonesia is a major launching post for Afghans, Iranian and Iraqis seeking refuge in Australia.

President discusses establishment of infrastructure bank

Garuda wins “Indonesian most admired company award”

President post-pones cabinet session on agrarian policy

Government considering two

Antara

JAKARTA - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono here on Thurs-day postponed a cabinet session on agrarian policy indefinitely, presi-dential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said here on Thursday.

8 InternationalFriday, January 27, 2012

Bali Today

Chairman of the IndonesianFarmers Association (HKTI) ofBali Chapter, Prof. Nyoman Su-parta, judged that Bali Governmentremained to overcome the problemsin the stage of discourse. “Govern-ment program addressing the agri-cultural issues is still generic whereit is too focused on the production,whereas farmers are quite capableof doing it until that stage,” saidNyoman Suparta when contactedon Wednesday (Jan 25).

According to him, the vision ofagriculture was agri-business thatdid not only get involved in theproduction. To that end, the govern-ment should build and strengthenthe agricultural marketing systemin the future. Government, espe-cially the Agriculture Agency andIndustry and Trade Agency shouldmake collaboration with stake-holders as well as possible build amarketing system with a guarantee

AFP PHOTO / SONNY TUMBELAKA

Indonesian fishermen come back from fishing at Kedongan beach in Jimbaran on Indo-nesia’s resort island of Bali on January 26, 2012. The worldwide fishing industry could benefit from a 50 billion USD boost annually if stocks are allowed time to recover and farmers stop polluting the waters with excess fertilizer, the UN said.

Agro-industry resolves agricultural problems in BaliBali Post

DE PA AR - he matter of continuity, uality and uantityhas become classical problem faced by the agricultural sec-tor in Bali. Many farmers complained about their redundantproducts because theirs could not be absorbed ma imally bythe market. Conversely, the industry perpetrators complainedabout the supply of agricultural products of Bali as they hadnot met the uality and continuity.

IBP/Net

The rice field in Bali now become extinct. The matter of continuity, quality and quantity has be-come classical problem faced by the agricultural sector in Bali. Many farmers complained about their redundant products because theirs could not be absorbed maximally by the market.

of certainty.“Government should also im-

mediately boost the agro-industryof processing in order the harvest

-nitely channeled to the industrialmarket. Other than holding pro-motion, fanaticism to use the localagricultural products should be

He said the promotion on the useof agricultural products should belaunched so the community wouldfeel drugged. So far, the use of lo-cal agricultural products was stillminimal, where people preferredthe agricultural products importedfrom other country. “In addition,government should also encour-age farmers to improve the quality,quantity and continuity of their

An agricultural expert fromWarmadewa University, Dr. I GustiBagus Udayana, said the problems

faced by the agricultural sectorin general was perishable natureof the agriculture, so that it was

required a packaging and trans-portation technology to resolvethe problem. ost agriculturalproducts were also highly season-

that the continuity aspect of theagro-industrial products turnedinsecure.

“Certainly all the elementssuch as government, stakehold-ers and universities must worktogether and farmers must havethe commitment and be solid,”he said.

Bagus Udayana judged thequality of the agricultural andagro-industrial products producedwas generally low so they had

both at home and overseas. Inaddition, most small-scale indus-tries employed low technology. Itconsequently became an obstacleto promote the sector, includinginvestments.

“There are two ways to resolvethe problems in the agricultural

production process and prioritiz-ing the development of agro-in-dustries based on local resources,

so in the era of globalization theprospects will be very bright and itcan possibly become a key sector,”he said.

as a bridge to connect with relevantagencies in the production processwas very important from rawmaterials, processing, marketing

-tion of government, stakeholder,universities and farmers should besynergic.

eanwhile, a lecturer of theFaculty of Economics, WarmadewaUniversity, I Wayan Arjana, saidthat government should make con-crete steps to save the agriculture.

aintaining farmland was an urgentproblem that should be overcomeby Bali Government through thegovernment programs in advancingthe agricultural sector.

“So far, the endeavor of govern-ment to promote the agriculturalsector is still limited in discourse.Until now, there is no governmentprogram being capable of promot-ing the sector. As consequence, theconversion of land function turnsrampant,” he concluded. (par)

Balinese Culture

9International Friday, January 27, 2012

JUKUT KAKUL(Snail Soup)

OVERVIEW: The French are not the only ones to have a

liking for snails. The Balinese gather snails in the rice fields. But you can use the canned variety. Cucumber, zucchini or any other summer squash can be used instead of green papaya.

INGREDIENTS: 200 gr unripe green papaya 1 liter chicken stock ½ cup spice paste for seafood 1 stalk lemon grass bruised 2 salam leaves 1 tbsp oil 48 canned snails, washed and drained 1 tsp salt Freshly ground black pepper Fried shallots to garnish

PREPARATION: Peel the papaya, cut in half lengthwise and

remove the seeds, then cut it lengthwise in 4 or 6 slices. Cut crosswise into slices about 0.5 cm thick.

Combine stock, spice paste, lemon grass, salam leaves and oil in a large pot. Bring to boil, and then simmer for 5 minutes. Add papayas and simmer until almost tender. Add the snails and continue cooking until the papaya softens.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with fried shallots.

Helpful hint: If you do not care for snails. You can substitute 12 dried black Chinese mushroom. Washed and soaked I warm water for 20minutes. Add them together with the papaya to ensure they will be tender by the time the papaya is cooked. (www.baliguide.com/balifood)

Galungan isaBalineseholiday thatoccurs every 210 days and lasts for10 days. Kuningan is the last day ofthe holiday. Galungan means “Whenthe Dharma is winning.” During thisholiday the Balinese gods visit theEarth and leave on Kuningan.

Occurring once in every 210 daysin the pawukon (Balinese cycle ofdays), Galungan marks the begin-ning of the most important recurringreligious ceremony that is celebratedby all Balinese. During the Galungan

familydescend to their formerhomes.Theymustbesuitablyentertainedandwelcomed, and prayers and offeringsmustbemadefor them.Thosefamilieswho have ancestors that have not yetbeen cremated, but are still buried inthevillagecemetery,mustmakeoffer-ings at the graves.

Although Galungan falls on aWednesday, most Balinese will begintheir Galungan ‘holiday’ the daybefore, where the family is seen to bebusilypreparingofferingsandcookingfor the next day. While the women ofthehouseholdhavebeenbusyfordaysbefore creating beautifully woven‘banten’ (offerings made from youngcoconut fronds), themenofourvillageusually wake up well before dawn tojoinwith theirneighbours to slaughtera pig unlucky enough to be chosen tohelp celebrate this occasion. Then the

with a grinding stone, and mouldedonto sate sticks thathavebeenalready

SAYUR PAKIS(Fern Tips In Garlic Dressing)

OVERVIEW: Fern tips

also know as fiddleheads, have delightful, spinach like flavor.

INGREDIENTS: 400 gr (12 ½ oz)

young fern tips 3 cloves garlic 4 cm (1 ½

in) kencur root, peeled and chopped

4 - 7 bird’s eye chilies

2 tbsp oil ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp black peppercorns, crushed

PREPARATION: 1. Blanch fern tips in boiling water and cool under

running water. Drain and dry thoroughly. 2. Place all remaining ingredients in a food

processor and blend coarsely, or grind in a stone mortar.

3. Combine this mixture with the vegetables and mix well. Serve at room temperature. (www.baliguide.com/balifood)

IBP/Doc

People praying to the temple during Galungan celebration.

Galungan celebration

prepared by whittling small sticks ofbamboo. Chickens may also be cho-sen from the collection of free-rangechickens that roam around the housecompound. Delicate combinations ofvarious vegetables, herbs and spicesare also prepared by the men to makeupaselectionof ‘lawar’dishes.Whilemuch of this cooking is for use in theofferings to be made at the familytemple, by mid-morning, once all the

of a series of satisfying feasts fromwhat has been prepared. While thewomen continue to be kept busy withthepreparationsof themanyofferingstobemadeat the family templeon theday of Galungan, the men also haveanother job to do this day, once the

pole, or ‘penjor’, is made to decorate

the entrance to the family compound.BylateTuesdayafternoonalloverBalithe visitor can see these decorativepoles creating a very festive atmo-sphere in the street.

On Wednesday, the day of Galun-

will try to return to their own ances-tral home at some stage during theday, even if they work in another partof the island. This is a very specialday for families, where offerings aremade to God and to the family ances-tors who have come back to rest atthis time in their family temple. Aswell as the family temple, visits aremade to the village temple with of-ferings as well, and to the homes ofother families who may have helpedthe family in some way over the pastsix months.

Friday, January 27, 201210 InternationalDestinations

IBP

Tenganan Village is one of the oldest Balinese Traditional located in Karangasem Regency, east part of Bali. This village is much referred by cultural literature science of Tenganan Pegringsin-gan, which is very famous in the island. It own very unique local community life pattern which is one example of Bali Aga Village cultures (Hindu Prehistoric) and different with other countryside in plain of Bali. Nowadays, this village has been appointed as a place for tourist destination which can present the attractive and unique matters which able to add the variation of object and fascination for tourist to come.

Tenganan village is geographically situated among the hill in west and east part of this vil-lage. This village is located in Manggis sub dis-trict and Karangasem Regency or about 1 hour drive from Denpasar Town. It is a small village consisted of three Banjars (group of local com-munity) those are Banjar Kauh, Banjar Tengah and Banjar Pande. The regional of this village is consisted of three complexes those are resident, plantation and rice field complex. The history of Tenganan village is expressed in a few versions. The first version is mentioned that the resident of Tenganan village are come from Paneges Village, a village is located near with Bedahulu

Village that is located Gianyar Regency. The second version is expressed that word of Ten-ganan recognized in one of Bali inscription that was written by the word of Tranganan. The third version is expressed that the Tenganan Village Resident prays to the Bukit Lempuyang Temple. The word of Tenganan is ascribed by a Tengah root word which can mean to aim to middle of Pegringsingan, the fasten cloth type weave that is typically produce by Tenganan village resident. The structure of resident in Tenganan village is built in linear consisted of six rays. Each of ray consisted of some lawn broadly, the building form where the local community use it to present the handicraft for tourists. All the tradition existences of the human being are harmoniously with the God, human and environment as according to Tri Hita Karana concept. The Tourism Destination of Tenganan remains to draw during the time, good-ness as tourism cultural object, tourism nature and agriculture tourism.

It is a very famous village throughout Bali where most of the local people knows where it is located. It is located in Karangasem Regency and close to Candidasa. You can find many travel agencies serve the tour to visit this village and you may join Karangasem Tour which you will discover places of interest in east part of Bali including this village.

Tenganan Village

IBP/Net

Friday, January 27, 2012 11

BUSINESSInternational

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The FederalReserve signaled Wednesday that a fulleconomic recovery could take nearlythree more years, and it went further thanever to assure consumers and businessesthat they will be able to borrow cheaplywell into the future.

The central bank said it would prob-ably not increase its benchmark interestrate until late 2014 at the earliest — ayear and a half later than it had previ-ously said.

The new timetable showed the Fedis concerned that the recovery remains

-tion will stay tame enough for rates toremain at record lows without ignitingprice increases.

Chairman Ben Bernanke cautionedthat late 2014 is merely its “best guess.”The Fed can shift that plan if the eco-nomic picture changes. But he cast doubton whether that would be necessary.

“Unless there is a substantial strength-ening of the economy in the near term, it’sa pretty good guess we will be keepingrates low for some time,” he said.

The Fed has kept its key rate at a re-cord low near zero for about three years.Its new time frame suggests the rate willstay there for roughly an additional threeyears.

The bank’s tepid outlook also sug-gests it’s prepared to do more to help theeconomy. One possibility is a third bond-buying program that would seek to furtherdrive down rates on mortgages and otherloans to embolden consumers and busi-nesses to borrow and spend more.

In a statement after a two-day policymeeting, the Fed said it stands ready toadjust its “holdings as appropriate topromote a stronger economic recoveryin the context of price stability.”

Treasury yields fell after the middayannouncement. But yields stopped fall-ing after the bank later issued forecastsfor the economy and interest rates. Theyshowed that while some members foreseesuper-low rates beyond 2014, six of the17 members forecast a rate increase asearly as this year or next.

-leased interest-rate forecasts from itscommittee members. It will now do sofour times a year, when it also updatesits economic outlook.

The rate forecasts are an effort to pro-vide more explicit clues about the Fed’splans. They also coincide with a broaderFed effort to make its communicationswith the public more open.

Lower yields on bonds tend to encour-age investors to shift money into stocks,which can boost wealth and spur morespending.

Stocks, which had traded lower before

the Fed’s announcement, quickly recov-ered their losses. The Dow Jones industri-al average closed at 12,758.85, its highestclose in more than eight months.

Some economists said the new late-2014 target may foreshadow further Fedaction to try to invigorate the economy.

Julie Coronado, an economist at BNPParibas, said she thought the Fed wasindicating that it will step up its purchasesof bonds and other assets if economicgrowth fails to accelerate — even if itdoesn’t slow.

That is a “very low bar indeed,” shewrote in a note to clients.

Other analysts fear that the Fed’slonger-term timetable for a rate increasecould hamstring it, even though Bernankestressed the Fed’s ability to adjust rates

Dana Saporta, an economist at CreditSuisse, worried that the much-longertimetable would compromise the Fed’scredibility if it must raise rates soonerbecause of unexpectedly strong growth

“It’s striking that the Fed would makean implicit commitment for almost threeyears,” Saporta said. “It seems like anawfully long time to make such a state-ment. Given that no one knows whatwill happen ... the (Fed) may eventuallyregret this.”

The central bank slightly reduced itsoutlook for growth this year, from asmuch as 2.9 percent forecast in November

-tion — 2 percent — in a statement of itslong-term policy goals.

The bank sees unemployment falling aslow as 8.2 percent this year, better than itsearlier forecast of 8.5 percent. December’sunemployment rate was 8.5 percent.

Those rates are still far higher thannormal. The Fed didn’t set a formal targetfor unemployment, but it said a rate be-tween 5.2 percent and 6 percent would beconsistent with a healthy economy.

Bernanke noted that the Fed expectsonly moderate growth over the next year.He pointed to the persistently depressedhousing market and continued tight creditfor many consumers and companies.

-dued,” a more encouraging assessmentthan last month.

“This is a fairly clear-cut signal that in-

Tom Porcelli, an economist at RBC Capi-tal Markets, wrote in a research note.

The Fed’s statement was approved on a9-1 vote. Jeffrey Lacker, president of theRichmond regional Fed bank, dissented.He objected to the new time frame for arate increase.

The extended time frame is a shift fromthe Fed’s previous plan to keep the ratelow at least until mid-2013.

On Tuesday, Obama pro-posed a minimum effectivetax rate of 30 percent on thosewho earn a million dollars ormore, reviving his call for theso-called “Buffett rule,” de-signed to prevent millionairesfrom paying a smaller share ofincome taxes than middle-classtaxpayers.

Buffett published an edito-rial in August stating that hisown 17.4 percent effective taxrate was lower than that paid by

also said wealthy people shouldpay more taxes.

“The question is what is fairwhen you have to raise multi-trillions to fund theUnitedStatesof America,” Buffett said in ajoint interviewwithhis long-timesecretary, Debbie Bosanek, onABC News.

“willnotchangemybehavior.I have paid all different kindsof rates and I’ve always beeninterested in making money. I

issue. Debbie works just as hardas Idoandshepays twice therateI do,” said Buffett, a Democratand Obama supporter.

Bosanek pays a tax rate of35.8 percent on her income,ABC said. She attended Tues-day’s State of the Union address

Obama.“I just feel like an average

citizen. I represent the averagecitizen who needs a voice,” Bo-sanek told ABC. “Everybody in

rate than Warren.”Buffett saidhedoesnotblame

Republican presidential can-didate Mitt Romney or other

wealthy people for paying lowertax rates than most Americansand challenged Congress tomake a change.

Buffett also lashed out at as-sertions by some Republicansthat the “Buffett rule” is classwarfare, the report said.

“If this is a war, my side hasthe nuclear bomb,” Buffett said.“We have K Street (Washingtonlobbyists). We have Wall Street.Debbie doesn’t have anybody.I want a government that is re-sponsive to the people who gotthe short straw in life.”

Shortly after the proposedmillionaires’ surtax was firstraised,SenateRepublican leaderMitch McConnell told NBC’s“Meet the Press”: “With regardto (Buffett’s) tax rate, if he’sfeeling guilty about it, I think heshould send in a check.”

AFP PHOTO/JOE KLAMAR

A demonstrator holds a “99%” sign as hundreds of people stage a protest in Holly-wood, California on January 25, 2012 against “corporate tax dodgers,” namely FedEx. Increasing taxes on the wealthy would bring fairness to U.S. taxpayers across the board, billionaire investor Warren Buffett said on Wednesday, backing the tax reform that President Barack Obama proposed in his State of the Union address.

Billionaire Buffett defends proposed tax rate changeReuters

WASHINGTON - Increasing taxes on the wealthy would bring fairness to U.S.taxpayers across the board, billionaire investor Warren Buffett said on Wednesday,backing the tax reform that President Barack Obama proposed in his State of theUnion address.

Fed says full recovery could take 3 more years

Entertainment InternationalFriday, January 27, 201212

Finder, a 12-year-old thorough-bred, is among more than 150 equine performers featured in the Oscar-nominated “War Horse,” and one of 14 who play the scene-stealing Joey. He lives on a ranch about 45 miles northeast of Hollywood with veteran horse trainer Bobby Lovgren, who oversaw all the equine action on “War Horse.”

“Plowing, riding, chasing — you name it, it’s in there,” said Lovgren, who calls “War Horse” ‘’the biggest horse movie ever made.” Lovgren is the protégé of legendary Hollywood horseman Glenn Randall, who trained Roy Rogers’ Trigger. Thanks to the enduring appeal of horses on screen, Lovgren, Finder and “War Horse” continue a longtime tradition of Hol-lywood horses that began with the earliest motion pictures.

“Bobby and his team literally per-formed miracles with the horses on

this film,” Spielberg said. “I wanted it to feel like the horses were perform-ing their parts as much as (actors) Emily Watson or Peter Mullan, and that is what happened. There were times during production when the horses reacted in ways I had never imagined a horse could react. You just sit back and thank your lucky stars that these horses are so cognizant that they are able to give everything to a moment.”

Those moments took months of training and a 22-member team of trainers, handlers and yes, equine makeup artists. Set in England during World War I, “War Horse” centers on the enduring relationship between Joey and the farm boy who trained him. When Joey is sold to soldiers heading into battle, the horse begins a journey that brings him through various fighting factions and into the lives of soldiers and civilians who

are moved by his strength and spirit. The film has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including cinema-tography and best picture.

As the film’s “horse master,” Lovgren oversaw everything horse-related. His team prepared the equine actors for their various duties. Some became expert jumpers, others learned to stumble or feign a struggle. There were horses for riding and horses for pulling, and even stand-ins for the star horses while shots were being set. Lovgren’s team was also responsible for teaching the actors how to ride and handle the animals.

“We all became incredibly at-tached to the horses,” said cast member Patrick Kennedy. “Getting to know these horses and learning to ride them was the greatest privilege I’ve ever had.”

None of the horses are credited by name in the film, and the filmmakers wouldn’t say why. Lovgren said it’s not uncommon: “Sometimes they’ll put a few of the horses’ names, but you know, realistically, it’s very dif-ficult to say that there was one hero Joey.”

Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES — Potential Oscar win-ners will now be a click away from winning a trophy. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that it has partnered with a company to develop an electronic voting system for next year’s 85th annual Academy Awards.

The motion picture academy says it entered into an agreement with Everyone Counts Inc. to exclusively to work with longtime accountants PricewaterhouseCoo-pers to create the new system. Oscar voting in the past has been compiled through paper

ballots sent through the mail.Ric Robertson, the Academy’s chief

operating officer, said in a statement that it’s the first step the Academy is taking “to-ward developing a secure and convenient electronic voting system.” The 84th annual Academy Awards are set for Feb. 26.

Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES — Lindsay Lohan’s bad luck with cars continues after a woman who claims she was struck by the actress’ sports car sued over her injuries Wednesday. Nubia Del Carmen Preza claims she was struck by Lohan’s Maserati while walking through a West Hollywood intersection in Sep-tember 2010.

Preza’s lawsuit states she has suffered “disabling and serious personal injuries, pain, suffering and anguish” and that she is seeking damages for all her medical expenses and lost time at work. A call to her at-torney, Gregory Picco, seeking additional details was not im-mediately returned.

It is the second lawsuit filed against Lohan this month in-volving an automobile mishap. A paparazzo sued Lohan Jan. 10, claiming that he was struck in January 2010 by a vehicle in which Lohan was riding. Grigor Balyan claims he was trying to shoot pictures of the actress in

Hollywowhen he was hit.Preza’s lawsuit states Lohan

was driving when she was hit on the afternoon of Sept. 1, 2010, at an intersection just south of the Sunset Strip. At the time, Lohan lived near the intersection. Lohan’s spokesman Steve Honig said nei-ther Lohan nor her attorneys had been served with the lawsuit and could not comment on it.

The model and actress re-mains on probation for a 2007 drunken driving case filed after she was arrested twice that year on suspicion of driving while impaired.

One of the incidents sparked two civil lawsuits after Lohan chased a vehicle she thought was carrying her former assis-tant on Pacific Coast Highway. One of the cases has settled. The other, filed by three men who were in the SUV Lohan was driving, may go to trial in March.

Lohan’s attorney in that case, Ed McPherson, has said the men had plenty of chances to get out of the vehicle and called the case “absurd.”

Oscars voting to go electronic

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Producer Brian Grazer is seen after the nominations for the 84th Annual

Academy Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012 in Beverly Hills, Calif. The 84th

Annual Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Kodak

Theatre in Los Angeles.

‘War Horse’ star one of Hollywood’s equine elite

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

In this Jan. 6, 2012 photo, horse trainer Bobby Lovgren works with his horse, Finder, in Acton, Calif. Finder was the star of the recent film “War Horse”.

Associated Press Writer

ACTON, Calif. — One star of Steven Spielberg’s latest epic likes to end his work day by rolling around in the dirt, kicking his legs in the air and flaring his nostrils.

Lohan sued by pedestrian allegedly struck by star

AP Photo/Katy Winn, file

FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2012 file photo, Lindsay Lohan arrives at The Weinstein Company 2012 Golden Globe After Party at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

Science Friday, January 27, 2012 13International

Even experienced stargazers were stunned by the intensity of the aurora borealis that swept across the night sky in northern Scandinavia after the biggest solar flare in six years.

“It has been absolutely incredible,” British astronomer John Mason cried from the deck of the MS Midnatsol, a cruise ship plying the fjord-fringed coast of northern Norway. “I saw my first aurora 40 years ago, and this is one of the best,” Mason told The Associated Press, his voice nearly drowning in the cheers of awe-struck fellow passengers.

U.S. space weather experts from the Na-tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-tion said Tuesday evening that so far they had heard of no problems from the storm that triggered the auroras, which made it as far south as Wales, where the weather often doesn’t cooperate with good viewing.

It was part of the strongest solar storm in years, but the sun is likely to get even more active in the next few months and years, said physicist Doug Biesecker at the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado. “To me this was a wake up call. The sun is reminding us that solar max is approaching,” Biesecker said. “A lot worse is in store for us. We hope that you guys are paying attention. I would say we passed with flying colors.”

Even before particles from the solar storm reached the Earth on Tuesday, a different aurora Monday night was dancing across the sky as far south as Ireland and England, where people rarely get a chance to catch the stunning light show.

Those northern lights were likely just variations in normal background solar wind, not the solar storm that erupted Sunday, Biesecker said.

Associated Press Writer

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The Sumatran elephant could be extinct in the wild within three decades unless immediate steps are taken to slow the breakneck pace of deforestation, environmentalists warned Tuesday. The International Union for Conservation of Nature recently listed the animals as “critically endangered” after their numbers dropped to between 2,400 and 2,800 from an estimated 5,000 in 1985.

The decline is largely because of destruction of their habitat, with forests all across the Indonesian island of Sumatra being clear-cut for timber, palm oil and pulp and paper plantations.

Sumatra has some of the most significant populations of Asian elephants outside of India and Sri Lanka and is also home to tigers, orangutans and rhinos.

“The Sumatran elephant joins a growing list of Indonesian spe-cies that are critically endangered,” Carlos Drews of the conservation group WWF said in a statement Tuesday. “Unless urgent and effective conservation action is taken these magnificent animals are likely to go extinct within our lifetime.”

Indonesia’s endangered elephants sometimes venture into populated areas searching for food and destroy crops or attack humans, making them unpopular with villagers. Some are shot or poisoned with cyanide-laced fruit, while others are killed by poachers for their ivory.

Agence France Presse

Scientists have discovered a new flowering plant belonging to the scarce Medinilla group on Fiji’s Kadavu island, the International Union for Conservation of Nature said on Friday.

“Although the plant was first found in August of 2010, it has taken this long to go through the process and verify it,” IUCN spokeswoman Ewa Ewa Magiera told AFP.

The plant was found during a biodi-versity assessment of the Nakasaleka district carried out as part of IUCN’s Water and Nature Initiative (WANI), Magiera said.

There are some 193 known species of Medinilla in Madagascar, Africa, South Asia and the Pacific Islands, according to the conservation body.

Eleven can only be found in Fiji, among them the Tagimoucia flower, the country’s floral emblem.

Solar storm sparks dazzling northern lightsAssociated Press Writer

STOCKHOLM — A storm from the broiling sun turned the chilly northern-most skies of Earth into an ever-changing and awe-provoking art show of northern lights on Tuesday.

A picture released on January 19 by the International Union for Conserva-tion of Nature in Gland shows a new flowering plant belonging to the Me-dinilla plant group discovered in the highlands of Matasawalevu village, on the island of Kadavu in Fiji.

AFP Photo/Marika Tuiwawa

Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

Sumatran elephants out to find food in between patrolling the conservation looking for illegal loggers who are destroying the habitat of Sumatran elephants on June 13, 2010 in Way Kambas, Lampung, Indonesia.

Sumatran elephants could be extinct in 30 years

Friday, January 27, 201214 InternationalSport

Barca, who lost to Real in lastyear’s final, were 2-0 ahead by

second leg at the Nou Camp and 4-1up on aggregate but the visitors ral-lied to pull two goals back and leavethemselves needing only one moreto advance to the last four.

In the frenetic closing stages,Real defender Sergio Ramos wasshown a second yellow card andsent off and his team mates furi-

as they left the pitch. “It’s more-

drid and that’s why we are pleasedwith the game today,” Guardiola,who has only suffered one reverseto Real in 14 matches since hetook charge in 2008, told a newsconference.

that’s why the victory is worthso much,” the former Barca andSpain midfielder added.”Theyplayed a good match but over the180 minutes we were the deserved

winners.”Barca fullback Daniel Alves,

who blasted a spectacular goal to

said Real had played “phenom-enally well”. “This is the version of

problems because they pressure youa lot,” the Brazilian said.

“They were closing us down

to bring the ball forward. “But theimportant thing is that we have thevictory in the tie in the bag.”

SOUR NOTE

Barca’s success, which set up

Levante, was soured by injuriesto playmaker Andres Iniesta andforward Alexis Sanchez. Iniesta

half and had to be replaced by Pe-dro, who netted the opening goal,while Guardiola said Sanchez hadalso picked up an injury that could

keep him out for several games.

who turns 49 on Thursday, gave asubdued performance at his newsconference and refrained fromdirectly criticising the match of-

of the more controversial decisionstaken during the game.

However, he did make a refer-ence to some of his players sayingit was “impossible to win at theNou Camp”, an allusion to thebelief he expressed last seasonthat Barca get favourable treat-ment from referees. “I am not in-sinuating anything,” he said whenasked if the referee had performedpoorly.

“You are the ones who under-stand football, I understand less,”added the Portuguese, who has anincreasingly testy relationship withthe Spanish media. “Although Idon’t read or listen much to thesports press I will wait for your

Reuters

LIVERPOOL, England -Craig Bellamy scored the de-cisive goal against his formerclub as Liverpool reached theLeague Cup final on Wednes-

3-2 on aggregate, promptingmanager Kenny Dalglish to goall teary-eyed. A thrilling semi-final second leg finished 2-2at Anfield but the advantage

fortnight ago booked Liverpoola date at Wembley next monthwhere they will face CardiffCity, another of Bellamy’s oldclubs.

“It couldn’t be a better finalfor me,” Bellamy, who leftthe pitch to a standing ovationwhen he was substituted lateon, told Sky Sports. “Cardiffmeans so much to me, it’swhere I’m from, I’ve neverplayed at Wembley and to beat

the players they have, it wasjust so fitting for us to get tothe final.”

City started without striker

not to appeal his four-matchban for stamping on Totten-ham Hotspur’s Scott Parkerat the weekend. Against therun of play, City drew levelon aggregate with Nigel deJong’s 31st-minute cracker butnine minutes later Liverpoolhad their noses in front againwhen captain Steven Gerrardconverted a penalty as he haddone in the first leg.

City keeper Joe Hart hadkept his side in the game witha succession of excellent savesbefore Edin Dzeko put the Pre-mier League leaders 2-1 aheadon the night with a 67th minutetap-in. Seven-times winnersLiverpool were not done yet,though, and Bellamy securedtheir place in the final with aconfident finish 16 minutesfrom time that Hart could donothing about.

Cardiff had booked theirplace by beating fellow Cham-pionship (second division)Crystal Palace 3-1 on penal-ties on Tuesday after a 1-1

Liverpool the chance of theirfirst silverware since the 2006FA Cup and provides them witha first trip to Wembley since1996 as various finals were

Stadium while the London sta-dium was being renovated.

Liverpool manager Dalg-lish’s eyes were brimming withemotion at the final whistle.“I’m just delighted with all

the effort and commitment ...We’ll just enjoy the moment,”he said.

HART BUSY

With their one-goal lead

a fortnight ago, Liverpoollooked the hungrier team fromthe outset and Hart was keptbusy as he saved well fromJose Enrique, Charlie Adamand Bellamy early on. City’sdefence again sorely missed

with understudy Stefan Saviclooking out of his depth beforehis halftime substitution.

However, with much of theaction at the other end of thepitch, the visitors’ opener cameout of the blue. David Silvaplayed a short pass to De Jongwho curled the ball into thetop corner from 25 metres outdespite slipping over while hewas striking it.

Liverpool refused to dwellon the setback and were backin front after referee Phil Dowdpointed to the spot following

Richards, who was hit on an out-stretched arm by the ball whichhad come off his leg. Gerrardstepped up to take the penaltyand got the better of Englandteam mate Hart to send the ballinto the bottom corner.

The Premier League leadersgot themselves level again onaggregate when Aleksandar Ko-larov’s exquisite cross from theleft in the 67th minute was metby Dzeko at the far post.

while his staff celebrated the goal,might well have known what wasaround the corner having seenhis side quickly squander a leadas recently as Sunday in the winover Spurs in the Premier League.After a quick one-two with GlenJohnson, Bellamy slid the ballpast Hart to send Anfield intowild celebrations.

the penalty, while also reckoningCity should have had one of theirown in the 16th minute whenDzeko was clipped by Adam.

“It was not a penalty for Liv-erpool but it was a penalty forus on Dzeko, this changed the

sole chance of a domestic trophythis season lies with the PremierLeague, where his side are threepoints clear at the top. “After wedid well, we scored, we did somemistakes because we conceded asecond stupid goal but now it’sfinished. Football is football,there are other things moreimportant in life.”

AP Photo/Manu Fernandez

FC Barcelona’s players Gerard Pique, left, and Sergio Busquets, second right, duels for the ball against Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, from Portugal, second left, during a quarterfi-nal second leg, Copa del Rey soccer match at the Camp Nou stadium, in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012.

Relief for Barca after surviving Reuters

MADRID - Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola and his players breathed a collective sigh of reliefon Wednesday after they were given a mighty King’s Cup scare by holders Real Madrid beforeholding on to eliminate their arch rivals 4-3 on aggregate.

Bellamy sends Liverpool

Friday, January 27, 2012 15International Sport

Tears also stung the cheeks ofAza-renka after an emotional 6-4 1-6 6-3victory over defending champion KimClijstersearned theworldnumber three

year-old came out on top of a bruising

Clijsters from side to side before put-ting away forehand winners deep inthe corners for dream start to just her

The second set was more akin toa nightmare for the pony-tailed right-

mercy of her emotions throughout her

to gather herself and put Clijsters on-

Azarenka told the crowd her temper

had struggled to keep it together in the

-

BUILT BELGIAN TOUGH

Clijsters is thought to be in her last

has shown the kind of physical andmental toughness that would stand

back-from-the-brink victory over Li

suffered a nasty ankle injury servedto bolster her aura of invincibility at

-

though she certainly did not feel she

better on the day wins and gets to go

to advance to her third Australian

Reuters

LOS ANGELES - The battlefor Los Angeles gained anotherfeisty chapter as the Lakers

Clippers on Wednesday to reas-

with a satisfying victory that

a strong inside presence along-

narrowly for much of the game

-ter to give the home team their

-

to the Clippers turned them into

games with a hamstring injuryand finished with four points

signaled their arrival as a threat

fell back despite leading by nine

points and nine rebounds from

within three points to start the

eight straight points in the fourth

helped rally the home team as

made a three-pointer to give his

raced down the court pounding

chance to tie things in the last

made a crucial turnover as the

big man tried to rub his head and

are now tied with the Lakes for

Azarenka, Sharapova scream Reuters

MELBOURNE - Grunt work saw VictoriaAzarenka and Maria Sharapova reach the Melbourne

AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill

Maria Sharapova of Russia reacts after winning a point against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic during their semifinal at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012.

Los Angeles Clippers for-ward Blake Griffin, right,

puts up a shot as Los Angeles Lakers center

Andrew Bynum defends during the first half of an

NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012,

in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Friday, January 27, 201216 SportI N T E R N A T I O N A L

But, speaking in an interview with AS.com, 2010 world champion Lorenzo is clear on where the line is drawn. “If Yamaha are very competitive in 2012 it will not be because of me, but because of the engineers, who are the ones working all-day on the computer, design-ing parts for the chassis and engine,” he said.

“I have no idea about race engineering, so it depends entirely on the Yamaha engineers. The only thing I do is give directions as to how the bike behaves on the track. “I’m just a rider, and the same goes for Stoner, Pedrosa and Valentino. It is important to give clear feedback on the shortcomings of the bike, but the rest is up to engineers.”

Despite that opinion, Lorenzo - second in the championship to Casey Stoner in 2011 - insists that rider talent still plays a decisive role in the MotoGP title outcome. “In 2010 Yamaha ran four riders and the champion was me,” he said. “And last year Honda ran four official bikes and the winner was Stoner. So in the end, the rider is still as important as the bike, or even a little more.”

Lorenzo’s 2011 season came to a premature

end when he badly damaged his finger in warm-up for the Australian Grand Prix. The Spaniard, who won three races, was often the only rider capable of challenging Stoner and admitted the risks finally caught up with him.

“Casey, besides being a supernaturally-talented rider, had a very competitive bike and forced me to go to the limit,” said the 24-year-old. “This has its risks and in Australia I made the mistake of wanting to get close to Stoner in the warm-up and prepare to try to win his home race, which was almost impossible. I made a mistake and maybe I’ll regret it, but everything is learned.”

Like all the factory MotoGP riders, Lorenzo is out of contract at the end of 2012 - the first year of 1000cc racing. The Spaniard stated that he sees no reason to leave Yamaha, where he has raced since his 2008 MotoGP debut, but like any rider he wants the most competitive bike possible.

Lorenzo, who missed the Valencia post-race test due to his injury, will be back on the 1000cc M1 during the start of testing at Sepang on January 31.

Reuters

ABU DHABI - Vitaly Petrov hoped his future in Formula One will be sorted out in the next week as he emerged as a contender for a test driver role at tyre supplier Pirelli on Wednesday. The Rus-sian has also been linked with a move to Malaysian-owned Caterham F1, as a re-placement for Italian veteran Jarno Trulli, after losing his race seat at Renault (now Lotus) at the end of last season.

“If I said something it will be made into lots, I cannot say anything about what I will do this year,” Petrov told reporters after making an unexpected appearance at a Pirelli presentation in Abu Dhabi. “But please wait a little bit, another week. I want to say something but I can’t say at the moment. “I want to stay in F1 because if I lose one year then it will be very difficult to come back and to take some places for 2013. So it is important to stay.”

The season starts in Melbourne, Aus-tralia, on March 18. Asked why he was attending the event at the Yas Marina cir-cuit, the 27-year-old added: “They asked me to come and be part of this event, so I drive some cars and talk to some people and work with them.

“Now in Russia, Pirelli is working quite close and maybe in the future we can do some good deals so maybe I will not test Pirelli but maybe we can work together in different parts.” Brazilian Lu-cas di Grassi is also expected to remain as a test driver, but Pirelli’s Motorsports Director Paul Hembery indicated there was also a role for Petrov.

“We will see how it goes,” he said. “There is always a lot of tyre development work to do, and we are eager to have a driver who has experience of racing from the previous year.” Petrov was highly criti-cal of Renault after a disappointing result in last November’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and was then replaced by Frenchman Romain Grosjean for this season.

“I think I understand I should not talk about the team like this, but what is done is done and I don’t need to be angry about what happened,” he said.

“Already it is the New Year, it is fin-ished so I am fully ready for next year. It is racing. Sometimes you have a good result, sometimes you have a bad one. So I think it is better not to talk about it.”

Petrov expects F1 decision in next week

IBP/ist

Lorenzo: It’s down to Yamaha

IBP/ist

Jorge Lorenzo has declared that if Yamaha builds the bike to beat in MotoGP 2012, it will be the engineers that deserve the majority of the credit. The amount of influence a factory rider has on the competitiveness of his machinery has been a subject of intense debate following Valentino Rossi’s victorious switch from Honda to Yamaha in 2004, then troubled move to Ducati in 2011.

Jorge Lorenzo ride his Yamaha on last season

MotoGP race