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EntertainmentWEATHER FORECAsT

PAgE 6 PAgE 8

sri Lanka’s largest Muslim party defects from gov’t

Torres will make loan move to Milan permanent next month

PAgE 13

Us, NATO to mark end of mission to Afghanistan

Continued on page 6

AirAsia, a regional low-cost carrier with presence in several Southeast Asian countries, said in a statement that the missing Airbus A320-200 was on the submitted flight plan route. However, it had requested deviation due to weather before communication with the aircraft was lost while it was still under the control of the Indonesian Air Traffic Control.

“We don’t dare to pressume what has happened exceped that it has lost contact.” Djoko Murjatmodjo, Indonesia’s acting director general of transportation, told reporters. He said the last contact between pilot and the air traffic control was at 6.13 a.m. (2313 GMT Saturday) “when he asked to hinder cloud by turning left and go higher to 34,000 feet.”

He said there was no distress signal from Flight QZ8501.The contact was lost about 42 minutes after the single-aisle

jetliner took off from Indonesia’s Surabaya airport, Hadi Mustofa, an official of the transportation ministry told Indonesia’s MetroTV. It was about an hour before it was scheduled to land in Singapore at 0030gmt.

Flight QZ8501 tlost communication with Jakarta’s air traffic control at 7:24 a.m. Singapore time (2324 GMT Saturday) about an hour before it was scheduled to land in Singapore, the Singa-pore Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.

The plane had two pilots, five cabin crew and 155 passengers, including 16 children and one infant, AirAsia Indonesia said in a statement. Indonesian officials had earlier said there were 161 people on board, presumably because the infant was not counted.

The AirAsia statement said there were six foreigners — three South Koreans and one each from Singapore, Malaysia and France. The rest were Indonesians.

It said the captain in command had a total of 6,100 flying hours, a substantial number, and the first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours.

At Surabaya airport, dozens of relatives sat in a room, many of them talking on mobile phones and crying. Some looked dazed.

Murjatmodjo, the Indonesian official, said the plane is believed to have gone missing somewhere over the Java Sea between Tanjung Pandan on Belitung island and Pontianak, on Indonesia’s part of Kalimantan island.

He said the pilot contacted Jakarta air traffic control 6:12 a.m. reporting clouds and asking to go higher from 32,000 feet (9,700 meters ) to 34,000 feet (10,303 meters), the usual cruising altitude for jetliners.

AirAsia plane with 162 on board missing JAKARTA — An AirAsia plane with 162 people

on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from Surabaya to Singapore. The two countries immedi-ately launched a search and rescue operation but there was no word on the plane’s whereabouts more than six hours after it went missing.

The Singapore statement said search and rescue operations have been activated by the Indonesian authorities. It said the Singapore air force and the navy also were searching with two C-130 planes.

Flightradar24, a flight tracking website, said the plane was de-livered in September 2008, which would make it six years old.

The Malaysia-based AirAsia, which has dominated cheap travel in the region for years, has never lost a plane before. AirAsia Malaysia owns 49 percent of the Indonesian subsidiary.

This is the third major air incident involving Malaysia this year. On March 8, Malaysia Airlines flight 370, a wide-bodied Boeing 777, went missing soon after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing. It remains missing until this day with 239 people in one of the biggest aviation mysteries. Another Malaysia Airlines flight,

also a Boeing 777, was shot down over rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine while on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17. A total of 298 people on board were killed.

The crew’s request for an unusual route is curious since the weather “didn’t seem to be anything unusual,” said William Wal-dock, an expert on air crash search and rescue with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona.

Severe weather is the reason pilots usually request a different route, but in this case the “winds were light, there were a few thin clouds, but that’s about it,” he said in an interview.

Waldock cautioned against drawing comparisons to the disap-pearance of Malaysia flight 370.

AP Photo/Trisnadi

Relatives of the passengers of AirAsia flight QZ8501 comfort each other at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The AirAsia plane with 162 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore, and search and rescue operations were underway.

RABAT, Morocco - Morocco banned bib-lical epic “Exodus: Gods and Kings” on the flight of the Jews from ancient Egypt because it “represents God” which is forbidden under Islam, its distributor said Saturday.

The distributor said it had received written notice that Ridley Scott’s blockbuster contained a scene that represents God in the form of a “child who gives a revelation to the prophet Moses”.

Initially, cinema owners were informed verbally that the film had been banned, media reports had said.

“I deplore this censorship,” distributor Mounia Layadi Benkirane said in a statement to AFP.

Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, has also banned the movie, citing “historical inaccuracies”.

Moroccan media on Thursday reported that cinema managers had been told not to screen the film, despite its release already having been approved by the state-run Moroccan Cinema Centre (MCC).

Hassan Belkady, who runs Cinema Rif in Casablanca, told media24 news website that he had been threatened with the closure of his business if he ignored the ban.

“They phoned and threatened they would shut down the theatre if I did not take the film off the schedule,” Belkady said.

Distributor Benkirane, who also runs the Colisseum cinema in Marrakesh, said “Exodus” has now been pulled from the schedules.

“The last screening was on Friday night at 21:30. I respect the decision of the MCC board,” she said, but added that she did not understand why the decision was taken.

“The child through whom Moses receives the revelation in the film at no time says he is God,” she said, noting that such a film ban is “very rare” in the North African country.

Neither the head of the MCC nor the com-munications ministry could be immediately contacted by AFP to comment on the issue.

Benkirane said the film could have resulted in 35,000 ticket sales in Morocco and earned 1.8 million dirhams (nearly 160,000 euros).

Now the buzz caused by the controversy “will profit only the pirates who continue to peddle the film”, she said.

The 3D “Exodus: Gods and Kings”, star-ring Christian Bale as Moses rising up against the Pharaoh Ramses, earned $24.1 million in its debut weekend in the United States, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations. (afp)

“The limited release, in under 10 per-cent of the amount of theaters originally planned, featured numerous sellouts and a first-day gross over $1 million,” said Rory Bruer, global distribution president from Sony Pictures.

After initially planning to halt release of the film that sparked an international incident, “The Interview” opened in about 300 cinemas, mostly small inde-pendent theaters, December 25.

The film was also released online for rental or purchase.

Major US theater chains announced last week that they would not show the film after threats from hackers who claimed a cyber attack of Sony Studios.

The low-brow comedy featuring Seth Rogen and James Franco revolves around the fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. It infuriated North Korea, who the US has

blamed for the cyber attack.“Considering the incredibly challeng-

ing circumstances, we are extremely grateful to the people all over the country who came out to experience ‘The Interview’ on the first day of its unconventional release,” Bruer said in a statement.

The film played to packed theaters across the US, with many viewers com-ing out to make a statement about free speech.

Online services for Sony’s PlaySta-tion and Microsoft’s Xbox gaming consoles, which had decided to release the film online, went down Thursday, allegedly attacked by hackers.

A file sharing website reported the film had been illegally downloaded over 750,000 times.

Online views of the film had not yet been released. (afp)

AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File

In this Dec. 22, 2014, file photo, a South Korean army soldier walks near a TV screen showing an advertisement of Sony Picture’s “The Interview,” at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea.

‘The Interview’ takes in $1 million in limited releaseLOS ANGELES - Raunchy comedy “The Interview” took in one mil-

lion dollars in its limited release opening day, Sony Studios said Friday, after the film was turned away by major theaters.

Joel Ryan/Invision/AP

Actors Joel Edgerton and Chris-tian Bale pose for photographers upon arrival at the World premiere of the film Exodus: Gods And Kings in London, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014.

Morocco banned Moses epic for ‘showing God’

This news can also be heard in “Bali Image” at global Radio FM 96.5 at 9.30 until 10.00 am

International2 Monday, December 29, 2014 15International Activities

Bali News

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

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

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

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

Balinese Temple Ceremony

Monday, December 29, 2014

Facing the New Year 2015 will become an interesting challenge in tourism sector. It is particularly for hotels in need of promotion. This kind of challenge is experienced by Budi Susanta, one of the general managers who is now managing a new property named the Alaya Resort Ubud, Budi Susanta said that he had applied simple tips. For instance, his party joined the organization such as the Ubud Hotels Association (UHA). “Alaya Resort Ubud has joined for three years with the UHA. As a new property, we need to focus on branding,” said the man

from Bangli.The benefits of joining with the

UHA, said Budi, were getting experi-ences, knowledge and relationships. The UHA actively held a meeting every month where all the members could draw a lot of knowledge re-lated to the latest updates on tourism industry. “I personally can expand the horizons of information. So, I get to know what steps to do next,” he expressed.

In addition to having an impact on his personal as a general manager, at least it could also improve the ex-

istence of product because it would indirectly involve the hotel brand. “Hotels are also promoted in the activi-ties by the UHA so that each member can expand relationships, friendship and exchange ideas,” he said when met amidst the activities of the UHA at The Royal Pita Maha.

According to him, other than being active, it was also needed a consistency of the Alaya in the face of competition among the emergence of mushrooming accommodation either in the matter of quality improvement of product, ser-vices or human resources. (ocha)

Fadjar Dua Orphanage was built in 1976 and until now many children have graduated and then become part of their main donors and support and now has 42 children under their supervision, 23 children are living in while the other 19 children has their own parents but too poor and unable to send their children to school.

“The house is comfortable, clean and well taken care of, there are rooms for female and male children. They are in the process of having new building which is still under constructions. This new building will be used for male children. All children has their own responsibility to clean up their own room, besides their

main duty to study”. Said Mr. Drs.H. Alfian, the chief of the Orphanage.

“Harris Raya Kuta plans to continue the program by completing and make their own library in one corner of their living room. This library was planned to be competed by books for school and other books to support their study i.e. story books, novel, encyclopedia, etc. This program is planned to be completed by June 2015. Once the library program is finished, we will continue with other programs with them focusing on study support in order to make those children successful at school with good rank and can continue their study to the next level,” Liza Indira wished.

Harris Hotel Raya Kuta visited Panti Asuhan Fajar Dua

SEMArAPUrA - As part of Corporate Social responsibility (CSr) Program, Harris Hotel raya Kuta visited Panti Asuhan Fajar Dua at Klungkung, Bali on Friday, December 12th, 2014. Harris Hotel raya Kuta team headed by Liza Indira, General Manager came to share and entertain all children with Harris Move performance, is a name of dance performed by Harris Players to express the cheerful and friendliness that usually done inside and / or outside the Hotel, and Dino mascot show.

IBP/BTN File Photo

Profile

Budi SusantaConsistently welcomes the New Year

IBP/Ocha

NEGARA - By the turn of the year, the sales of fireworks are widespread and traders peddled their merchandise freely. Even, at roadside to rural areas it is sold openly on motorcycle, just like street traders. Among the trad-ers, other than selling fireworks, they also sell firecrackers with small-scale explosion. They are sold at affordable price and can be purchased by children.

One of the traders from Banyu-wangi admitted on Saturday (Dec 27) that he sold fireworks by getting around to make it easier. “When selling at particular place, it is hard to sell and there are some problems. Moreover, we are competing against many traders,” said the long-haired man. He had intentionally came to Bali with friends and got the fireworks sup-ply from Java.

Aside from fireworks, he also sold firecrackers, but they were of small size. “Just a little firecracker, it does not generate big explosive sound,” he explained. He admitted that until the New Year he could reap a profit of up to three times if the entire goods were sold out.

In addition to at roadside, the itinerant fireworks traders also offered their merchandise to major public places and even in front of

temple as seen on last Kuningan feast day, Saturday (Dec 27). At some temples with crowded pil-grims, other than traders of food, drinks and toys, firecracker traders also offered their merchandise. As a result, not a few kids were inter-ested to buy the fireworks.

Meanwhile, the bursting by using bamboo cannon was also rife at a number of villages. Un-fortunately, the bamboo bursting

took place in densely populated areas so that it resulted in incon-venience for the residents. “If it is carried out on the beach or in the garden, it will not matter, but this is made near the house. It only disturbs the people’s com-fort,” said one of the residents in Mendoyo. Residents hoped such an action could be disciplined, especially the hazardous and trou-bling firecrackers. (kmb26)

It was expressed by the former Dean of the Faculty of Tourism, Udayana University, I Putu Anom, when met in Denpasar.

According to him, the development of Serangan Island by PT Bali Turtle Island Development (BTID) through reclamation as extensive as 379 hect-ares to finally reach 491 hectares had a positive and negative impact. In

terms of positive impact, local villag-ers became easier to conduct tourism activities or other economic activities through land transportation, where the travel time to mainland Bali could be faster and easier. Undeniably, it also brought in social and cultural impacts as a result of the tourism development of Serangan Island.

“The development indeed greatly

affects the social life of local commu-nity. Simply have a look at, today a lot of cafés and restaurants are established and people tend to appear more glam-orously,” he said.

After a year of evaluation, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy had set Serangan Island as a tourism village in Bali. It should get a priority for development.

He said the Ministry of Tourism had a glance at Serangan Island to be made the latest tourism village on the Island of Bali. Even, the govern-ment already included the plan in the development and management of the National Tourism Strategic Area (KSPN).

“Based on the study of the KSPN against the Sanur, Kuta and Nusa Dua area, the Serangan village is deter-mined as tourism village by the team of central government, but with the presence of storied buildings such as condominiums, the plan was rejected

by the Assessment Team 11 of the KSPN Bali. In the concept of tourism village, the multi-storey hotel building is not allowed,” he explained.

He argued that mangrove forest area on Serangan Island and the Ngurah Rai Grand Forest Park (Ta-hura) should still become a natural tourist attraction. “Both regions must remain to be conserved, so that it is not allowed to present any physical buildings such as hotels, restaurants and others in the region,” said Sec-retary of the Assessment Team 11 of the KSPN Bali. (par)

Development of Serangan Island

After reclamation, it has not certain planThe Serangan Island

DENPASAr - Serangan village as one of the tourist objects in Bali does not escape from the attention of many people, especially those who intend to develop the tourism potential owned by Serangan village. Unfortunately, after the reclamation until now it seems there is no definite development plan.

Fireworks sold freely

IBP/File

3Monday, December 29, 201414 InternationalInternational Timeless Indonesia FestivalTraveling Monday, December 29, 2014

Before the presentation of South Sulawesi, the TIF had already been showing off the beauty of Bali and NTB through the cultural richness of fabric and music.

“We displayed the distinctive fabrics in the fashion show. It is intended to introduce the wealth of Indonesia to international com-munity that is not comparable to others. I mean it is not comparable

to that of Malaysia, Singapore and others. That’s what I want to present in the cultural show, the beautiful performance of various regions. Then, we are not inferior in terms of fashion industry, even though we feature the fabrics of the regions. It is the essence,” said the drafter of the TIF, Herlinda Siahaan.

As the appearance of Bali and NTB, the fashion show of South

Sulawesi was also collaborated with the touch of music. This time, the committee displayed the Music Makers band led by a musician from Malang but had long been doing music in Jakarta.

“We just combine it with music. It gives more emphases on the music of the archipelago, but is not devoted to the music of South Sulawesi. The problem is that the core culture of Makassar is the Bugis, while the government does not send any participant. We cannot search it here. There is Toraja, but it could not come to present Toraja traditional dances because they are Christians (celebrating Christmas—Ed),” she said. (rin)

MANGUPURA - In the fashion show performance of South Su-lawesi Province, there was some-thing incomplete. As a matter of fact, the activity had been planned long time ago to feature the national renowned choreographer, namely Denny Malik.

Initiator of the event, Herlinda Sia-haan, admitted to have invited Denny Malik to make a dance performance that was appropriate with the South Sulawesi. However, Denny Malik unilaterally cancelled to make perfor-mance on the day of event. Actually the choreographer had been paid to hundreds of millions of rupiahs to stage a total of three dances.

“Necessarily Denny Malik ap-

peared to fill in the agenda of the South Sulawesi. Like Guruh Soeka-rno Putra, Denny Malik also had a dance studio of contemporary ethnic and we had contracted Denny Malik far in advance to fill in the event, but in fact he did not land here. It was an irresponsible attitude of Denny Malik,” said Linda.

Managing Director of Konderatu Graha Cipta was deeply disappointed by the unilateral cancellation made suddenly by Denny Malik. Moreover, the TIF was designed to show off the beauty of Indonesia to travel-ers. Against this incident, her party planned to report Denny to police authority with the accusation of fraud and defamation. (rin)

The second day of the Timeless Indonesia Festi-val (TIF) taking place on Thursday (Dec 25) drew adequate attention of the audience. The event was started at 8:00 p.m. with the presentation of Ayu Laksmi, a famous singer with a golden voice.

The TIF event on the second day was an oppor-tunity to demonstrate the distinctive art and culture of Bali Province. It was started with Balinese dance that could invite the audience to begin to look to the stage. After the dance, it was fol-lowed by the appearance of Ayu Laksmi. Coming up with modified kebaya, Ayu

Laksmi could hypnotize the audience. Then, it was re-sumed with a fashion show of the products designed by Monica Weber.

No less attractive was the appearance of Balawan with his ethnic percussion music. All the spectators were dissolved in the me-lodious music of Balawan. After his performance, it was the turn of another fashion show presenting the products designed by Yenli. Having been pam-pered with the glamour of fashion shows, spectators were ultimately jazzed up by the magnificent Kecak Dance that revived mystical atmosphere. (may)

IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

Implementation of the Timeless Indonesia Festival (TIF) on Kelan Beach, Badung, featured the beauty of South Sulawesi through fashion show, Saturday night (Dec 27).

Fashion show of South Sulawesi presented in TIFMANGUPURA - Implementation of the Timeless Indonesia

Festival (TIF) on Kelan Beach, Badung, featured the beauty of South Sulawesi through fashion show, Saturday night (Dec 27). A local fashion designer from South Sulawesi, Ida Nurharis, presented at least 20 collections of clothes made from silk woven fabric denoting the distinctive product of the region.

Committee disappointed as Denny Malik cancels to appear

Ayu Laksmi makes captivating performance

IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

Artists from West Nusa Tenggara performed dance that depicted from love story of Mandalika Princess during the third day of Timeless Indonesia Festival that held at Kelan Beach, on Friday.

Several major anniversaries will also be marked by a variety of events in 2015, including 70 years since the end of World War II, the 60th anniversary of the opening of Disneyland and 10 years since Hur-ricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

The Milan Expo opens in May for six months and is expected to draw 20 million visitors. The Expo is the modern incarnation of the old World’s Fairs that thrilled 19th- and 20th-century guests with new products and technology. The theme of the Milan Expo is food and nutrition, and dozens of countries will be participating. The U.S. will be doing its part by sending six au-thentic food trucks to Italy featuring regional American and ethnic fu-sion menus. Milan’s famous opera house, La Scala, normally closed in the summer, will host performances daily during the Expo.

Elsewhere in Europe: Jan. 1 marks the day Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency. Pils-

en, in the Czech Republic — home to pilsner-style beer and a Gothic cathedral — and Mons, Belgium, known for history ranging from World War I back to the ancient Romans, have been named 2015 European Capitals of Culture. And Norway made a number of “where to go in 2015” lists, thanks to its connection to Disney’s blockbuster “Frozen” film.

Singapore celebrates its golden Jubilee — 50 years since indepen-dence from Great Britain. Vietnam celebrates 70 years since indepen-dence from France and 50 years since the first U.S. combat troops arrived at Da Nang, which some historians say marked the start of the Vietnam War — even though Americans had been sent to the country in prior years.

A number of U.S. museums and historic sites will be hosting exhibits and events to mark 150 years since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the end of

the Civil War.The new year also marks 70

years since the end of World War II, both the defeat of Nazi Germany and the atomic bombing of Japan that ended the war in Asia. Hiro-shima and Nagasaki are planning memorial services on the August anniversaries of the bombings, along with numerous arts projects and peace-themed events through-out the year.

In New Orleans, Aug. 29 is 10 years since the devastation of Hur-ricane Katrina. “Come see the new New Orleans” is a mantra in the tourist industry there for showcas-ing trendy emerging neighborhoods and a vibrant restaurant scene.

South Dakota expects crowds for the 50th Custer State Park Buf-falo Roundup in September and the 75th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August.

The news that the U.S. intends to normalize relations with Cuba could lead to a rush of travelers hop-

ing to experience the island before it loses its frozen-in-time culture to an onslaught of U.S. chain stores, hotels and tourists. But don’t pack your bags just yet: For the near fu-ture, the only way you can legally visit Cuba as an American citizen is to take a “people to people” cultural exchange tour licensed by the U.S. government. The tours are expen-sive and itineraries are limited.

Two big openings take place in the Big Apple in 2015: the observa-tory at 1 World Trade in late spring and the new Whitney Museum of American Art in May in Manhat-tan’s Meatpacking District near the High Line and the Hudson River.

The city also got a Christmas gift from Lonely Planet, which named the borough of Queens as “best in the U.S.” destination. Manhattan has been giving ground to trendy Brooklyn in recent years, but the elevation of Queens as the next big thing was a bit of a surprise. Not that New Yorkers and tourists alike don’t love Queens attractions like the 1964 World’s Fair grounds, the hipster beach scene in the Rock-aways, Chinatown in Flushing, the Asian and Latin American ethnic

mix in Jackson Heights and the emerging industrial-chic ambience of Long Island City. But the bor-ough is not quite on tourist radars yet — though the Lonely Planet pronouncement may change that.

Universal Studios Hollywood debuts two new attractions in 2015: Springfield, an immersive area opening in spring surround-ing The Simpsons Ride, and Fast & Furious_Supercharged, a thrill ride opening in summer based on the film series.

Disneyland opens “Frozen Fun” in January in Anaheim, California, with a sing-along, “Olaf’s Snow Fest,” and meet-and-greets with Anna and Elsa, among other attrac-tions. The California theme park also celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, with celebration details to be revealed at the end of Janu-ary. Disney World near Orlando, Florida, has several 2015 openings, including a new Italian restau-rant, Trattoria al Forno; an Africa Marketplace at Disney’s Animal Kingdom; and at the new Disney Springs complex, three restaurants, STK, Morimoto Asia and The Boat-house. (ap)

Destinations for 2015

Milan, Cuba, Queens and moreNEW YORK — See Cuba before it changes. Check out the Expo in Milan. And if you’re head-

ing to New York City to see the view from 1 World Trade Center’s observatory (scheduled to open late spring), take the subway to Queens and see if you can figure out why it topped Lonely Planet’s “best in the U.S.” destinations for 2015.

In this Sun-day, Sept. 7, 2014 pho-to, 1 World Trade Center tow-ers above the lower Manhattan skyline in New York. The One World Trade observatory is expected to open in late spring 2015. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File

AP Photo/Desmond Boylan, File

In this Dec. 17, 2014 file photo, tourists relax at the Hotel National, overlooking Morro Castle in Havana, Cuba.

In this July 16, 2014 file photo, food is displayed on a table during the groundbreak-ing cer-emony of the US Pavilion Expo 2015, in Pero, Italy. The theme of the Expo 2015 in Milan is “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”.

AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File

In this March 29, 2009

file photo, a bartender

pours a glass of beer at a restaurant in the Pil-

sner Urquell factory in

Pilsen, Czech Republic.

Pilsen has been named

the 2015 European Capital of

Culture. AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File

Date Event Time Place

Dec 29 Showing tourism and culinary North Sulawesi potential of North Sulawesi 10.00-16.00 Stage Dinner 17.30-18.30 Performance of ethnic music, dance, fashion show 19.00-21.00 Closing 21.00

Dec 30 Showing tourism and culinaryEast Java potential of East Java 10.00-16.00 Stage Dinner 17.30-18.30 Performance of ethnic music, dance, fashion show 19.00-21.00 Closing 21.00

Dec 31 Showing tourism and culinaryNorth Sumatera potential of North Sumatera 10.00-16.00 Stage Dinner 17.30-18.30 Performance of ethnic music, dance, fashion show 19.00-21.00 Closing 21.00

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Schedule of TIFDecember 29 - 31, 2014

Bali News International4 Monday, December 29, 2014 Monday, December 29, 2014 13International RLDW

The symbolic ceremony will mark the end of the U.S.-led Inter-national Security Assistance Force, which will transition to a supporting role with 13,500 soldiers, most of them American, starting Jan. 1.

President Ashraf Ghani, who took office in September, signed bilateral security agreements with Washington and NATO allowing the enduring military presence. The move has led to a spike in violence as the Taliban have claimed it as an excuse to step up operations aimed at destabilizing his government.

ISAF was set up after the U.S.-led invasion as an umbrella for the coalition of around 50 nations that provided troops and took responsi-bility for security across the coun-try. It ends with 2,224 American soldiers killed, according to an AP tally, out of a total of some 3,500 foreign troop deaths.

The mission peaked at 140,000

troops in 2010 with a surge or-dered by U.S. President Barack Obama to root the insurgents out of strategically important regions, notably in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, where the Taliban had its capital from 1996 to 2001.

ISAF will segue into Resolute Support, a training and support mission, with the U.S. accounting for almost 11,000 members of the residual force.

Obama recently expanded the remit of the U.S. forces remain-ing in the country, allowing them to extend their counter-terrorism operations to Taliban, as well as al-Qaida, and to provide ground and air support for the Afghan forces when necessary for at least the next two years.

Afghans have mixed feelings about the drawdown of foreign troops, many believing that with the deteriorating security situation

their presence is needed to back up the Afghan effort to bring peace after more than three decades of continual war.

“At least in the past 13 years we have seen improvements in our way of life — freedom of speech, democracy, the people generally better off financially,” said 42-year-old shop keeper Gul Moham-mad. “But we do need the foreign troops to stay here at least until our own forces are strong enough, while our economy strengthens, while our leaders try to form a government,” he said.

As Afghan forces take sover-eignty, the country is without a Cabinet three months after Ghani’s inauguration, and economic growth is near zero due to the reduction of the international military and aid juggernauts. The United States spent more than $100 million on reconstruction in Afghanistan, on top of the $1 trillion war. (ap)

LONDON — Snow and icy weather swept through parts of Europe on Saturday, stranding drivers overnight and leaving thousands of homes without power in Britain. Snow also covered parts of Switzerland and southwestern Germany, and more than 20 centimeters (nearly eight inches) of snow has fallen in higher parts of Germany’s Black Forest.

Many motorists in Britain were forced to abandon their cars or were trapped in vehicles for hours after becoming snowed in. Dozens of people traveling from Sheffield to London spent the night in a church after their bus became stuck.

Parts of northern England saw 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) of snow. Western Power Distribution said 36,000 customers were without power, and another 69,000 had short interruptions to supplies. Staff worked through the night to reconnect customers, but thousands in the East Mid-lands region were still affected.

Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport and Leeds Bradford International closed late Friday as workers cleared snow from the runways. The airports have reopened. British weather forecasts predict more snow showers, mainly in the north, though the main threat would be ice on roads.

The snow was welcomed in the French Alps, which have seen hardly any since the start of the ski season. But with up to 60 centimeters (2 feet) predicted this weekend above 2,000 meters (yards) altitude, one of the busiest vacation weeks of the year looked more promising — if drivers could reach the mountains.

Traffic jams snarled many of France’s major highways on Saturday, with more than three-quarters of the country under severe weather watch. Only 7,000 drivers of 36,000 expected were able to reach their destination in Savoie, one of the Alps regions, according to the Interior Ministry. Emer-gency shelters have been set up along the way for potentially thousands who are going to be forced to stay on the road overnight. In the north, the port of Calais closed because of wind gusts. (ap)

AP Photo/Massoud HossainiInternational Security Assistance Forces take part in a ceremony in north of Kabul International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014. The U.S. and NATO ceremonially ended their combat mis-sion in Afghanistan on Monday, 13 years after the Sept.

US, NATO to mark end of mission to Afghanistan

KABUL — The United States and NATO will mark the formal end of the war in Afghanistan on Sun-day with a ceremony at their military headquarters in Kabul as the insurgency they fought for 13 years remains as ferocious and deadly as at any time since the 2001 invasion that unseated the Taliban regime following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Snow, ice sweep Europe, stranding drivers

AP Photo/dpa, Marius BeckerA snow-plough clears the street in Winterberg, western Germany, Saturday Dec. 27, 2014. Weather forecasts predict more snowfall.

MANGUPURA - On Tuesday night (Dec 24), the employees of Matahari Bungalow on Jalan Legian, Kuta, Badung, turned panic. One of the guests staying at the bungalow D20, Gabrielle Cecelia Hiria Duggan, 58, complained about chest pains and eventu-ally died.

Chief of Kuta Police, I Nyoman Sebudi, accompanied by the Chief of Kuta Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Dewa Tagel, revealed on Friday (Dec 26) that the first wit-ness knowing the incident was the victim’s grandson, Brayden Allan Robert Priest, 19. Approximately at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the victim and her grandson were drinking juice in the pool of the bungalow. After drinking, she suddenly said to get chest pain. Brayden directly drove the victim into the room.

“The victim’s grandson gave her a drug because she got breathless. Since the pain is getting worse, the witness (the victim’s grandson—Ed) asked for help to reception-

ist,” added the Chief of the Criminal Inves-tigation Unit.

Meanwhile, the receptionist immediately called BMS and a few minutes later some medical officers arrived at the bungalow. The BMS officers provided assistance of breath, but the victim’s life could not be saved.

Nevertheless, the bungalow employee then contacted BIMC. Within minutes, the BIMC officers arrived at the victim’s room and immediately provided cardiac shock therapy. However, the efforts did not produce a result. After that, the victim was taken to Sanglah Hospital.

“Some witnesses had been testified, one of which was the security guard of the bungalow. Related to the incident, the fam-ily received the victim’s death and refused autopsy. Therefore, the victim’s body was returned to her family,” said this former Chief of Denpasar Police Criminal Investigation Unit. (kmb36)

When Bali Post said the word klejat, people already knew about the food. “Of course, klejat has become the typical food of Serangan,” said the Headman of Serangan, I Wayan Karma, some time ago. He also revealed if the seashell was also widely available at Sanur area and the coastal areas in general. However, since the processing of klejat was first practiced by the people of Serangan, then the klejat chips eventually became the hallmark of the region.

Karma explained that today was increas-ingly difficult to find seashell and its popula-tion was getting rarer in the area after the reclamation held by BTID as it could disrupt the klejat population. Ultimately people chose to buy seashell to Madura Island. A total of 100-300 kg of klejat was stocked by collector to be further resold to traders. The farming had also been done, but due to impatience of local people, the klejat farm-ing then ended. Many people eventually switched profession. Formerly, the seashell

existing in the area was sufficient for con-sumption and sale by local people. Due to increasing number of the enthusiasts and the declining population of seashell, local people were eventually unable to meet the needs of the market.

As a result of reclamation project carried out in the 1990s, a great change happened and it harmed the environment around the Serangan Island. After the reclamation of Serangan Island, many residents for-merly having the profession as fishermen were then difficult to get fish so that they shifted profession into coral reef miner. As a result, the abundant coral reef in the water of Serangan Island gradually began to deteriorate. The damage was discovered at the northern side and southern side of Serangan Island. After the destruction of coral reef, many rare species of fish disap-peared such as the Bali Stoides whereas this fish could only be found in the water of Serangan Island. (may)

GIANYAR - Circulation of liquor in Gianyar region is rife. Evidently, throughout the year 2014 the Gianyar Police Narcotics Unit has secured 2,794 liters of arrack from 108 offenders. “As planned, on December 31, 2014 we will carry out the extermi-nation against the entire evidence of liquor confis-cated,” said the Chief of Gianyar Police Narcotics Unit, Kadek Ardika, at Gianyar Police Headquarters, Saturday (Dec 27).

He said the 2,794 liters of liquor confiscated from the 108 offenders were mostly from the drinking stalls at Geriana Kanginan, Sidemen, Karangasem. From the stall owned by I Kadek Juliarka, 31, police managed to secure 600 liters of liquor, while from the stall owned by Gusti Ayu Widiastuti, 54, around Batubulan, Sukawati, and the stall of Ida Ayu Asrini, 44, at Tengah hamlet, Tampaksiring village, police could respectively confiscate a total of 80 liters of liquor. Police arrested the other 105 suspects selling the liquor with the evidence of less than 80 liters.

“Since the selling of liquor was without being equipped with Alcoholic Drink Trade Permit (SIUP-MB), the liquor was secured by police and the sellers were declared to have violated the Bali Regional Bylaw (Perda) No.5/2012 on the Supervision and Control of Alcoholic Beverage. Then, the traders were charged with misdemeanor,” he explained.

Ardika added that his party would continue to discipline the trades of alcoholic drink in order to make the region under the Gianyar Police jurisdic-tion safe and orderly, especially before the New Year’s celebration. Abuse of the alcoholic drink or liquor could cause interference with the public order such as theft, assault, mass quarrel among group of people and even among the hamlets to result in traffic disruption. “For the sake of creating security, we will continue to perform control against the alcoholic drink trades,” he said. (kmb35)

IBP/FileThe liquors are destryoed by the police officers.

2,794 liters of liquor destroyed ahead of New Year

Running thin, klejat as natural potential of Serangan Island

DENPASAR - Serangan Island has many natural resources in the sea, where one of them is klejat (seashell). It can be processed into various kinds of delicacies such as seashell chip becoming the culinary icon of Serangan village. A New Zealander traveler dies at hotel

Bali News Monday, December 29, 2014 5InternationalMonday, December 29, 201412 International

DENPASAR - Defense Minis-ter Ryamizard Ryacudu has asked all military personnel to maintain solidarity, both among themselves and with other state apparatuses, in order to avoid conflicts.

“It (conflict) must not happen. That’s why I always ask them to avoid it,” he said after giving directives to hundreds of military personnel at the Udayana Regional Military Command IX on Friday.

At least 516 personnel of the Indonesian Army (TNI AD), Navy (TNI AL) and Air Force (TNI AU) attended the gathering.

Ryamizard further asked all regional military command chiefs across Indonesia to warn their sub-ordinates against getting embroiled

in conflicts.“This must draw the attention of

superiors to keep reminding their subordinates,” he said.

He also urged regional military command chiefs to constantly mo-tivate their men to perform well, increase state defense, respect local wisdom, and refrain from contra-productive statements that may lead to public unrest.

Quite a few personal conflicts between the military and police personnel have led to clashes that have claimed the lives of people, he noted.

The defense minister also asked soldiers to maintain what he called “vertical loyalty” and not “double loyalty” to the President.” (ant)

The late Wayan Pugeg is a na-tive to Pangkung hamlet, Delod Peken village, Tabanan subdistrict, who composed the Pendet Dance around 1940. “Tabanan is arguably the artist producer. In addition to agricultural sector, Tabanan also yields many great artists such as the artist who choreographed the Pendet Dance,” said the Regent of Tabanan, Ni Putu Eka Wiryastuti.

As a tribute to the artists, espe-cially the residents of Pangkung hamlet who composed the well known dance internationally, the Tabanan government had built a Pendet statue placed in the heart of the town. Other than Pendet Dance, the statue of other dances such as the Oleg Tamulilingan Dance by Ketut Mario also enlivened the rice barn region of Bali.

The statues were intentionally placed in the midst of Tabanan town. Regent Eka explained the statues of the dance artists did not only contain aesthetic values, but were also meaningful as an obvi-ous appreciation to the great artists and heroes born in Tabanan. “Other than containing aesthetic value, the presence of the statues also poses

an appreciation to the artists who have yielded the finest work of arts,” she said.

Even, the original Pendet Dance of Tabanan had ever been danced en masse on the 518th anniversary celebration of Tabanan town or three years ago. At the same time, it also managed to increase the MURI record achievement for the Tabanan government.

Regent Eka said the perfor-mance of Pendet Dance en masse was basically collaboration be-tween the empowerment of the PKK members of Tabanan and the preservation of local genius because Pendet Dance was syn-onymous with guest welcoming and reflecting Balinese hospitality. “At that time, I thought that the mass Pendet Dance performance would be able to keep the spirit of hospitality of Tabanan community in an attempt to interpret the togeth-erness carried in the anniversary of the Tabanan town. It is very impor-tant because without hospitality and togetherness, all the development programs drafted by the Tabanan government will not go well,” she concluded. (kmb28)

IBP/PuspaThe Pendet Dance is the creation of an original artist from Tabanan, Wayan Pugeg. As a tribute to the artists, especially the residents of Pangkung hamlet who composed the well known dance internationally, the Tabanan government had built a Pendet statue placed in the heart of the town.

Original Pendet Dance of TabananTABANAN - Pendet dance as an opening dance is no longer bizarre

to Balinese people. Due to being famous, Pendet Dance had been claimed by Malaysia as a result of their culture. Unfortunately, the popularity of Pendet Dance was not as popular as the choreographer of the dance. Evidently the Pendet Dance is the creation of an original artist from Tabanan, Wayan Pugeg.

Defense minister reminds military personnel to avoid conflicts

IBP/Ngurah KenDefense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has asked all military personnel to maintain solidarity, both among themselves and with other state apparatuses, in order to avoid conflicts.

The 3.5-trillion-yen package is de-signed to help the provincial economy, small businesses and the household sector, as well as to increase public spending to rebuild areas hit by natural disasters.

“With speedy implementation of these measures, I think we can bolster consumption and lift the provincial economy and expand the positive growth cycle to all corners of the coun-try,” Abe told a meeting with ruling lawmakers shortly before the cabinet officially approved the package.

The world’s third largest economy is seeing a barrage of weak economic indicators after an April consump-tion tax rise slammed the brakes on growth.

Since coming to power two years ago, Abe has offered a series of pro-business, big-spending policies in a bid to bring Japan out of deflation.

His programmes were supported by the Bank of Japan’s aggressive monetary easing.

The efforts have driven down the yen and boosted earnings of major firms, particularly exporters.

But critics have argued that the benefits were not felt by small busi-nesses and consumers while real wages shrank.

Of the 3.5 trillion yen in the fresh stimulus, 600 billion yen will go to programmes to boost the local economy, 1.2 trillion yen for steps to help consumers and small businesses, and 1.7 trillion yen to rebuild areas hit by natural disasters, such as the 2011 tsunami and massive landslides this year.

The stimulus includes subsidies for small businesses that are facing soaring fuel costs as a result of the falling yen. (afp)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy flexed its old muscles in 2014. More than five years removed from the Great Recession, worries had taken hold at the start of the year that perhaps the world’s largest economy had slid into a semi-permanent funk.

But consumers, businesses and investors, after enduring a brutal winter, showed renewed vigor as the year wore on and set the United States apart from much of the world.

Stocks repeatedly set record highs — and did so again Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising modestly to a new peak. Employers were on pace to add nearly 3 million jobs, the most in 15 years. Sinking oil prices cut gasoline costs to their lowest levels since May 2009. Auto sales accelerated. Infla-tion was a historically low sub-2 percent.

The U.S. economy proved it could thrive even as the Federal Reserve ended its bond buying program, which had been intended to aid growth by holding down long-term loan rates.

All told, the United States remained insulated from the financial struggles surfacing everywhere from Europe and Latin America to China, Japan and Russia.

So what explained the U.S. economy’s resilience this year?

Economists say it largely reflected the delayed benefits of finally mending the damage from the worst downturn in nearly 80 years. Unlike past recoveries that enjoyed comparatively swift rebounds, this one proved agonizingly slow. It took 6½ years to regain all the jobs lost to the recession — 8.7 million — far longer than during previous recoveries.

“It was a healing process from a severe recession and the financial crisis,” said Richard Moody, chief

AP Photo/Eugene HoshikoIn this Nov. 20, 2014 photo, a woman looks at socks at a shop in Sugamo, where known as a shopping street for the older generation, in Tokyo. The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved a fresh stimulus package worth $29 billion Saturday in a bid to boost the economy, hit hard by a tax hike.

Japan approves $29 billion stimulus packageTOKYO - The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

approved a fresh stimulus package worth $29 billion Saturday in a bid to boost the economy, hit hard by a tax hike.

n Hiring BoomEmployers added 2.65 million jobs over the first 11 months of the year, and the unemployment rate sank to 5.8 percent from 6.7 percent. When the government announces the December job data next month, the 2014 job total is expected to be just shy of 3 million — the most since the dot-com era in 1999. Compared with recent years, those gains have been less concentrated in lower-paying industries such as retail, food service and temp agencies.

n Stocks SurgeStocks extended their bullish stampede of nearly six years. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed about 13 per-cent this year, hitting record highs more than 50 times. If you bought the index at a market bottom in March 2009, you’ve basically tripled your money. Corporate mergers helped drive this year’s gains, along with major companies buying up $400 billion-plus of their own stock.

n oil Prices PlungeIn a gift for U.S. consumers, energy got significantly cheaper. Crude oil prices were essentially cut in half from this year’s high. The slowing economies in Europe and Asia curbed demand, while production remained steady. The price decline trickled down to gasoline pumps. Average prices nationwide dropped to $2.32 a gallon, down roughly a dollar

from a year ago, according to AAA. Some of that price slowdown has hurt U.S. oil producers, which must weigh layoffs. But overall, cheaper oil is a posi-tive. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen noted that the falling prices resemble a tax cut, generating savings for consum-ers that can be spent elsewhere to drive economic growth.

n Autos Sales UpFar more Americans splurged on a new car after having held onto aging vehicles during the recession and slow early stages of the recovery. Sales were on track to increase 6 percent this year, with 16.5 million new vehicles on the road, according to Cars.com. That would be the best sales pace since 2006.

n Interest Rates DropEven as the economy has strengthened — usually a sign that interest rates will rise — it’s become easier to borrow. More loans mean more spending and faster growth. Rates have declined even though the Fed ended its program to stimulate growth by buying billions in Treasury and mortgage bonds each month.The yield on the 10-year Treasury note has slipped to about 2.27 percent from 3 percent when the year began. The average 30-year fixed mortgage is 3.83 percent, down from roughly 4.5 percent a year ago.

Economic highlights of 2014Year-ender In 2014, US economy began shaky, finished strong

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, FileIn this Dec. 24, 2014 file photo, last minute Christ-mas shoppers are reflected in a store’s window as they walk through Chicago’s Loop.

economist at Regions Financial, a bank based in Alabama.

The healing isn’t complete. Wage growth remains lackluster and has barely outpaced extremely low inflation. Home building has been tepid.

But worries earlier this year that the economy might be trapped indefinitely by sluggish growth have largely faded.

BUSINESS

Monday, December 29, 2014 Monday, December 29, 20146 11International International

From page 1

INDONESIAW RLD

“I think we have to let this play out,” he said. “Hopefully, the airplane will get found, and if that happens it will probably be in the next few hours. Until then, we have to reserve judgment.”

The circumstances bode well for finding the plane since the intended flight time was less than two hours and there is a known position at which the plane disappeared, he said. (ap)

AirAsia...

l MH370The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 on March 8 triggered one of modern aviation’s most perplexing mysteries. Flight 370 with 239 people aboard from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing vanished without trace, sending searchers across vast areas of the Indian Ocean. An initial multi-national operation to locate the wreckage far off Australia’s west coast turned up empty-handed, without a single piece of debris found.

l MH17All 298 passengers and crew aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 were killed when the Boeing 777 was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine on July 17. The plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when, according to Dutch air crash investigators, it was likely struck by multiple “high-energy objects” that some aviation experts say is consistent with a missile strike.Dutch prosecutors are coordinating an international criminal in-vestigation into the downing but have yet to name any suspects or say when or how charges might be brought.

l QZ8501An Indonesia AirAsia flight with 162 people aboard, most of them Indonesians, disappeared on Sunday over the Java Sea, triggering a search involving several Southeast Asian nations. The contact with Flight 8501 was lost about 42 minutes after the single-aisle, twin-engine A320-200 jetliner took off from Surabaya airport in Indonesia for Singapore.

3rd Malaysia-linked incident

The announcement by Sri Lanka Muslim Congress will be a major blow to Rajapaksa’s campaign for a third term in office, with more than 20 lawmakers and ministers defect-ing to the opposition.

Ameer Faaiz, a leader of the party that represents minority Muslims in overwhelmingly Buddhist Sri Lan-ka, cited the Rajapaksa administra-tion’s “intolerance toward religious

minorities” and disagreement with his style of rule.

He said the party consulted its supporters, who were of the over-whelming opinion that they could no longer stand with Rajapaksa and would throw their support behind his rival Maithripala Sirisena.

An attack on Muslims in June that was provoked by a Sri Lankan Buddhist ultranationalist and left

three dead and dozens injured exacerbated ethnic tensions in the aftermath of a decades-long civil war against Tamil Tiger rebels that ended in 2009.

Rajapaksa’s government had come under heavy criticism in recent years for backing extrem-ist Buddhist groups and turning a blind eye to the recent anti-Muslim violence.

Sirisena is a former health minister who split from Rajapaksa last month to run for president in the biggest challenge for the incumbent since he was first elected in 2005. (ap)

ZAGREB — Croatia’s liberal president faces pressure from a con-servative challenger in an election held amid widespread discontent over economic woes in the European Union’s newest member.

The vote Sunday is seen as a test for the center-left government which

has faced criticism for its failure to revive the economy more than one year after Croatia joined the EU. Croatia has one of the weakest economies in the bloc.

Nearly 3.8 million voters can pick from four candidates for the largely ceremonial post. Opinion polls indi-

cate that incumbent Ivo Josipovic, a composer and law expert, will win the most votes but fall short of the 50 percent majority needed for outright victory. Josipovic is tipped to face conservative opposition candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic in the second round in two weeks. (ap)

D’ABADIE, Trinidad — A prominent environmental activist in Trinidad who claims to have passed the 100-day mark of a hunger strike said he will reject medical intervention and keep protesting a highway project he says could hurt wetlands and remote villages.

Wayne Kublalsingh, 55, told The Associated Press in an interview this week he will suspend the strike only if the government lets inde-pendent mediators assess the project. He declined government offers for dialogue, saying community leaders have met repeatedly with of-ficials without results.

“All we have gotten from them is malingering, procrastination, a high degree of insincerity,” said Kublalsingh, his gaunt frame buried in the soft cushion of his small bed, closing his eyes through most of the interview.

Works and Infrastructure Minister Surujrattan Rambachan told the AP Saturday that development company representatives are prepared to meet with Kublalsingh and other protesters in January. “We continue to build the highway to allow people to be able to get to their destina-tions quickly and for their own economic and social purposes,” said Rambachan. He said the government is concerned about Kublalsingh’s health.

“It’s up to those around Dr. Kublalsingh to urge him to end the fast and save his life,” he said. The former university professor went on strike on Sept. 17 and is down to 88 pounds (40 kilograms) from 133 pounds (60 kilograms). He wants the government to reroute a 9-mile (14-kilometer) portion of the Port Fortin highway extension project in southern Trinidad to avoid cutting through 13 communities and part of the Oropouche Lagoon.

“It will disrupt life for generations of villagers living in the area and do irreparable damage to the lagoon,” he said. Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar and other officials say they won’t halt construction, and that it’s the best route to ease traffic and link southern Trinidad with the capital. (ap)

AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena

Sri Lankan opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena, center, waves to support-ers before filing his nomination papers for the upcoming presidential elections in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014.

Sri Lanka’s largest

Muslim party defects from gov’t

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s largest Muslim political party on Sunday defected from President Mahinda Raja-paksa to support the opposition candidate in next month’s presidential election.

Croatia votes to elect president amid economy woes

Trinidad hunger striker claims to surpass 100 days

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government’s target to attract 20 million foreign tourists by 2019 will depend on the seating capac-ity of airlines flying to and from Indonesia, Chairman of the Indo-nesian Tours and Travels Agency (ASITA) Asnawi Bahar said.

“We need a larger seating capac-ity in order to bring in 20 million foreign tourists to Indonesia,” Bahar stated on Saturday.

He added that the existing seat-ing capacity was not adequate to attract 20 million foreign tourists to Indonesia.

“In the future, we will have to increase the seating capacity of airlines flying tourists to Indone-sia from foreign countries,” he

reiterated.Citing examples, he pointed

out that additional seats should be added to direct flights from China, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Europe.

Bahar further noted that ASITA wanted state-owned Garuda In-donesia to introduce more flight routes to countries to which most foreign tourists belong and ask foreign airlines to introduce more flights to Indonesia, as well.

Earlier, the government set a target for the tourism sector to contribute 8 percent to the Gross Domestic Product in 2019.

The target for foreign exchange earned from the tourism sector was set at Rp240 trillion, which can

create jobs for 13 million people.Furthermore, the government

aims to attract as many as 20 mil-lion foreign tourists and 275 mil-lion domestic tourists.

So by 2019, the competitiveness of the Indonesian tourism sector will ensure that the country ranks on the big 30 list.

Moreover, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) revealed that for-eign tourist arrivals in the country this year has reached 9.3 million.

Earlier this month, Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya affirmed that efforts of Visit Indonesia Tourism Officers (VITO), who are based in 13 countries, increased the number of foreign tourists in Indonesia significantly.

“The increase in the number of foreign tourists in Indonesia cannot be separated from the active role played by all tourism stakehold-ers,” the minister stated.

From the period between Janu-ary and October this year, the number of tourists to Indonesia reached 7,755,616, which is an 8.71 percent increase.

According to Yahya, VITO en-couraged international communi-ties to visit Indonesia, especially those of Singapore, Malaysia, Aus-tralia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, the Middle East, England, the Netherlands, France, German, and Russia. These 13 countries are where VITO established its offices.

In a bid to increase the number of foreign tourists’ visits to Indone-sia, the ministry will implement a policy in 2015 to issue visas free of charge to tourists from Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, and Russia.

In addition, the ministry will also facilitate the same for those who wish to travel via cruises to In-donesia, as part of efforts to boost marine tourism in the country.

Furthermore, VITO, as the Indonesian representative in pro-moting the country’s tourism po-tential in the international market, should focus on daily promotions through mass media and contact industrial tourism sectors, Yahya emphasized. (ant)

Solihat (30) and her infant named Rangga Permana (3) died while Anto Suryanto (31) survived the landslide after a team of rescue workers man-aged to save him, he said on Sunday.

Along with police and army per-sonnel, local residents worked together to rescue the victims shortly after the landslide crushed the ill-fated house, he said.

Certain parts of Indonesia have been hit by landslides and floods as a

result of torrential rains over the past few weeks.

The most deadly landslides recently hit Jemblung Hamlet, Banjarnegara District, Central Java Province, killing more than a hundred people.

According to Social Affairs Min-ister Khofifah Indar Parawansa, 274 of 304 districts and cities in Indonesia are prone to landslides, while the rest are vulnerable to floods, volcano erup-tions, and tsunamis. (ant)

JAYAPURA - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo vowed to visit Papua often to have better knowledge of the problems plaguing the eastern-most Indonesian province. “I will visit Papua very often; at least three times a year,” the president said during a get-together with members of the Volun-teer Front (Bara) of Reform Network (JP) at the Waringin Sports Stadium here on Saturday evening.

A number of local officials, includ-ing Governor of Papua Lukas Enembe and Mayor of Jayapura Benhur Tom-my Mano, attended the gathering.

Jokowi stated that he will fre-quently visit Papua to encourage the resolution of various problems in the province.

“There are many issues in Papua.

They can be resolved through dialogs, including those between the governor and the people, and the chief of the re-gional military command and the chief of provincial police and the people. I want the problems to be resolved,” he emphasized.

Though the dialogs, the president believes that the various problems in the province could be overcome.

“I don’t want to give high hopes. I want to resolve the problems, which, I believe, is possible. However, we must keep in mind my previous statement that we should be confident in our leaders,” he remarked.

Jokowi is in Papua to attend a national Christmas celebration at Mandala Square in Jayapura on Saturday night. (ant)

Antara Foto/Maulana Surya

The fire burned the largest textile market in Solo, Klewer Market, on Saturday (27/12) night. Fires on Saturday, around 20:00 has not extinguished until Sunday morning De-cember 28, 2014.

Seating capacity of airlines inadequate for tourism target

Landslide kills mother, infantJAKARTA - A landslide buried a house in Babakan Talang

Bawah Hamlet of Kertamulya Village, West Java, on early Sunday, killing two people, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

Jokowi vows to visit Papua often

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SEMARAPURA - Atuh Beach is tranquilly situated at beautiful bay with natural white sand, while in the left side lies the Juntil Cape and on the right (south) stands the Labuan Ampuak. Then, in the east occur the magnificent Gili Batu Melawang, Gili Batu Pedasan, Gili Batu Abah and Gili Batu Metegen.

At the easternmost tip of Juntil Cape and in the east of Gili Padasan lies a very ideal fishing spot. Meanwhile, in the south of Labuan Ampuak can be found a natural cave becoming the native home to swallows to nest. The land at the Atuh Valley is very fertile and there stand two temples namely the Segara Temple functioned to venerate Lord Varuna whose piodalan or anniversary falls on Sasih Kedasa (tenth month of Balinese calendar). In the inner courtyard of the temple lie two sacred wells containing very clear water.

Access leading to the beach can be taken through two routes, namely Pelilit hamlet (20 km from Buyuk boat quay) then it is connected to unpaved road along about 2 km. Meanwhile, another can be reached through Kelo-dan hamlet (17 km from Buyuk) and connected to unpaved road along ap-proximately 5 km.

Atuh Beach

IBP/File Photo

Toronto’s Kyle Lowry scored 25 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Raptors stayed ahead of Atlanta for top spot in the East. Lowry shot 9 of 17, after hav-ing averaged 27.5 percent from the field over his previous four games against the Clippers.

J.J. Redick had 23 points for the Clippers, who had not lost at home since Nov. 17. Atlanta’s Jeff Teague scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to guide the Hawks past Milwaukee 90-85.

Al Horford added 20 for the Hawks, who avenged a 30-point home loss to Milwaukee on Friday. Khris Middleton led

Milwaukee with 21 points, which tied a season high. Chicago’s Jimmy Butler scored 33 points to lead the Bulls to a 107-100 win against New Orleans.

Derrick Rose had 19 for the Bulls, who also had three re-serves score in double figures. New Orleans’ Anthony Davis had 29 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots in his first NBA game in Chicago, his hometown.

Memphis led from start to fin-ish in winning 103-95 at Miami. Mike Conley scored 24 points and Marc Gasol added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who led by 19 early in the second half before Miami scored to get

within one or two points on 11 different occasions in the final minutes.

But the Grizzlies always had an answer, putting six players in double figures and snapping a four-game losing streak. Dwyane Wade scored 25 points for Miami, which fell to 6-11 at home.

Washington made a blistering start and went on to comfort-ably beat Boston 101-88. Kris Humphries scored 18 points and Paul Pierce had 17 for the Wizards, who led 15-2 with less than four minutes gone. Jeff Green scored 23 points for Boston, which has lost four straight. (ap)

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier insists it is in the best interest of Formula 1 to allow Mercedes’ rivals to catch up in the engine department. The German car maker’s opponents have been trying to find ways to relax rules that prevent them from introduc-ing engine updates during the season in order to reduce the gap

seen during the 2014 season.Mercedes, however, has been

reluctant to changes, as it fears the costs would increase dramati-cally. Boullier, whose team will use Honda power next year after switching from Mercedes, thinks it is essential that the rules are unfrozen in order for Formula 1 to have proper competition.

“Doing something that will stu-pidly increase the costs is not what we want to achieve,” said Boul-lier. “But it’s a competition and we can change the cars as much as we want. “Within the regulations, I think engines should be frozen once every manufacturer has been able to develop their engines.

“If you disallow the competi-

tion, then this goes a against the spirit of the sport.” Boul-lier admits he has concerns that Mercedes could be in a position to dominate the sport for years unless the rules are relaxed.

“They benefited from the fact that they did a very good job and they benefited from the fact that the regulations are locked with the

engines being frozen,” he added.“Most of the gains they have

had come from the engine and they will for a couple of years until everybody can match them in terms of development. “This is what they are benefiting from and if you could unfreeze the engine regs, you will see some catch up.”

AP Photo/Jae C. HongToronto Raptors’ Amir Johnson, center, is defended by Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin, right, and J.J. Redick during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014, in Los Angeles. The Raptors won 110-98.

Raptors win 110-98 to snap Clippers home streak

LOS ANGELES — Toronto ended the Los Angeles Clippers’ eight-game home winning streak with a 110-98 victory on Saturday, with the Raptors’ reserves steering the NBA Eastern Conference leaders through the fourth quarter. The other two East divisional leaders also won, with Atlanta taking victory at Milwaukee and Chicago extending its winning streak to six by downing New Orleans, while in the West, Memphis moved into a virtual tie for the Southwest Division leade by beating Miami.

McLaren-Honda wants Formula 1 to unfreeze engine regulations

IBP/ist

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98 InternationalMonday, December 29, 2014 International Monday, December 29, 2014

Sp rt

The news came as a complete surprise because Atletico Madrid assistant coach German Burgos said earlier in the day that Torres was all set to rejoin his boyhood club. “It is on the verge of comple-tion and we are waiting for things to firm up,” Burgos said of the deal.

“He will be a very important reinforcement for the second half of the season,” Diego Simeone’s number two told Spanish media. Chelsea made the announcement about Torres’ permanent switch to Milan on their website.

“The striker moved to the San Siro on a two-year loan deal in August and on Jan. 5 he will com-plete a permanent transfer to the Serie A side,” said the Stamford Bridge club. “Chelsea Football Club thanks Fernando for his ser-vice during the past four seasons and wishes him the very best for the future.”

Torres, who joined the London-ers for a British record fee of 50 million pounds ($77.75 million) in January 2011, had a chequered spell at the club but helped Chelsea

win the Champions League and the FA Cup in 2012 and the Europa League a year later.

For Humphrey Bogart and In-grid Bergman in the classic 1942 film Casablanca it was a case of “we’ll always have Paris” and for Fernando Torres and the Chelsea fans it will be “we’ll always have Barcelona”.

Both relationships had flicker-ing moments of fire and passion but ultimately they were two love affairs doomed to failure. In Janu-ary 2011, Chelsea broke the British transfer record by splashing out 50 million pounds ($77.75 million) on Liverpool striker Torres who ended his days at Stamford Bridge on Saturday when the London-ers announced the loan switch he made to AC Milan in August would become a permanent move on Jan. 5.

One of his first goal attempts on his debut for the Londoners, a 20-metre effort against Liverpool that sailed high, wide and not so hand-some, was almost a symbol of the trials and tribulations Torres was to endure for the next 3-1/2 years.

It took the Spanish interna-tional 14 games, and a host of near misses, to open his account but al-though it was joyously acclaimed by the Stamford Bridge faithful, his strike against West Ham United proved his only Chelsea goal of the season.

The following campaign was only marginally better for the blond forward, who helped Spain win the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2008 and 2012, and he said he was indebted to the fans for their unstinting show of support dur-ing the worst spell of his career. “Since I joined Chelsea the fans have been amazing to me,” Torres told the club’s in-house television channel in February 2012. “It has been very important to have the fans behind me.

“At the beginning of the season I went through the hardest mo-ments of my career. I went several games without being in the starting lineup and I’ve never been in that situation before.”

Torres said he experienced one of his best moments when the supporters kept cheering his name

while he was on the bench for a 3-0 home Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers three months earlier. “That game against Wolverhampton showed me there is something very important to fight for, the love of the fans,” he explained.

“I’ve never had that feeling from supporters before and I wasn’t even on the pitch.” Torres could always rely on the back-ing of the Chelsea followers and, although that faith was only spo-radically rewarded, when it was it came in spectacular fashion.

Sublime Hat-trickThe Chelsea number nine scored a

sublime hat-trick in a 6-1 home rout of neighbours Queens Park Rang-ers, but he will never be forgotten for his goal at the Nou Camp in the semi-finals of the 2012 Champions League.

Having had captain John Terry sent off in the first half of the second leg, the Londoners had to withstand wave after wave of Barcelona at-tacks.

Then suddenly, and unexpectedly, Torres ran half the length of the field before rounding keeper Victor Valdes to slot the ball into an empty net and

send eventual champions Chelsea through to the final. A year later the Spaniard scored an almost replica goal in Amsterdam to help Chelsea beat Benfica 2-1 in the Europa League final.

That 2012-13 season, half of which Torres spent working under his former Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez, was his best in Chelsea blue. He was on target 23 times in 64 games and scored in seven dif-ferent competitions, a club record. While he enjoyed some great highs during his time in west London, his Chelsea career will still be looked upon largely as a failure.

He was sent off three times and his tally of 46 goals in 172 games represents a stunning fall from grace compared to 81 goals in 142 matches for Liverpool and 38 strikes in 110 games for Spain.

The fans were consistent in their support of Torres throughout his time at Chelsea but a tipping point in the relationship came in the semi-finals of last season’s Champions League.

Torres refused to celebrate the goal he scored in the second leg against his former club Atletico Ma-drid and when he was taken off in the second period, he turned to salute the fans of the Spanish team. (rtr)

TOKYO - Japan coach Javier Agu-irre denied on Saturday any involve-ment in match-fixing in Spain and called for calm from the team’s sup-porters during their Asian Cup defence. The Mexican was among 41 people named by Spain’s anti-corruption pros-ecutor in court this month following a probe into Real Zaragoza’s 2-1 win at Levante on the final day of the 2010-11 campaign.

The victory ensured Zaragoza, coached by Aguirre, avoided relega-tion. The Japan Football Association has sent a delegation to Spain to conduct a probe into the case but said Aguirre will remain in charge for next month’s Asian Cup in Australia.

Speaking through a translator, Agu-irre said he believed Spanish soccer was clean and the investigation would not impact Japan’s preparations for the tournament.

“I worked in Spain for 12 years and I have never done anything unethical or unprofessional,” Aguirre told reporters

at the JFA’s headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday.“I would like to tell our supporters to stay calm during this investigation.

We need their support to take the Asian Cup title. “I will be concentrating and preparing for the Japan team to win the Asian Cup.”

The 56-year-old Aguirre replaced Italian Alberto Zaccheroni, who stepped down after Japan were eliminated in the first round of this year’s World Cup in Brazil.

The prosecutor in Spain alleges the Levante players were paid a total of 965,000 euros to deliberately lose the game. “I will be cooperating with the Spanish authorities and seeing this case through to the end,” Aguirre added.

Defending champions Japan open their tournament against Palestine on Jan. 12 and also have Iraq and Jordan in their group. (rtr)

MONROVIA, Liberia — Former soccer star George Weah has won a seat in the Liberian Senate by coming out ahead of the president’s son, according to Liberia’s election commission.

Weah received 78 percent of the vote while Robert Sirleaf took nearly 11 percent, Jerome Korkoya, the

chairman of the national electoral body, announced Saturday. Korkoya called the conclusion of the electoral process “the end of a crucial jour-ney.” Originally scheduled for Octo-ber, the elections were pushed back to December as Liberia struggled to contain the Ebola epidemic.

Nearly 3,400 people have died

from Ebola in Liberia this year, according to the World Health Or-ganization.

Weah, the first African to win FIFA’s world soccer player of the year award in 1995, won the first round of Liberia’s 2005 presidential race, but he lost the runoff to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. (ap)

Goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi will lead Oman’s 23-man squad at next month’s Asian Cup as they bid to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament for the first time.

Coach Paul Le Guen and the squad will reach their Canberra base on Sunday and play warm-ups against Qatar and China before starting their campaign for continental glory in Group A against South Korea on Jan. 10.

The ‘Red Warriors’, who were unbeaten through qualifying, will have a tough task to make it to the knockout stage with Australia and Kuwait the other members of the group. (rtr)

LONDON - Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace ended manager Neil Warnock’s brief second spell in charge on Satur-day following a dismal run of one win in 12 games, the club said in a statement. A 3-1 home defeat by Southampton on Friday left Pal-ace in the relegation zone, third from bottom on 15 points from 18 games. Warnock, appointed in August, is the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season.

“Crystal Palace Football Club can today confirm that Neil War-nock has been relieved of his duties and is no longer first-team manager,” Palace said on their website (www.cpfc.co.uk). “The club would like to put on record its thanks to Neil for all his hard work and energy over the past four months.”

The London club have lost three and drawn three of their

last six games, their last win com-ing against Liverpool on Nov. 23. Palace make the trip across London to face Queens Park Rangers on Sunday with Keith Millen taking charge as caretaker manager.

Warnock, 66, returned to Sel-hurst Park after Tony Pulis, who had steered them to an 11th-place finish against the odds last sea-son, departed two days before the start of the current campaign.

Warnock left Palace in 2010 after they went into adminis-tration, joining Queens Park Rangers and taking them into the Premier League before be-ing sacked eight months later, in January 2012.

The following month he was ap-pointed manager of Leeds United, only to be fired just over a year later. Warnock has managed 13 clubs, starting in non-League foot-ball almost 35 years ago. (rtr)

IBP/

net

Torres will make loan move to Milan permanent next monthLONDON - Former Spain forward Fernando Torres’ loan move from Chelsea to AC Milan

will become a permanent transfer next month, the Premier League club said on Saturday.

Squad:Goalkeepers: Ali Al Habsi, Mazin Al Kasbi, Mohannad Al Zaabi

Defenders: Abdul Salam Amir, Mohammed Mussallami, Saad Suhail, Jaber Owaisi, Ahmed Saleem, Nasr Al Shimli, Ali Al Busaidi

Midfielders: Ahmed Mubarak, Eid Al Farsi, Ali Saleem, Raeed Ibrahim, Ali Al Jabri, Hassan Mudhafar, Mohsin Johar

Forwards: Imad Al Hosni, Abdulaziz Muqbali, Saeed Al Razaiqi, Moham-med Al Siyabi, Yakoob Abdulkarim, Qasim Saeed

Oman name squad for Asian Cup

George Weah wins Liberian Senate race

Japan coach Aguirre denies match-fixing, calls for calm

REUTERS/Yuya Shino

Japan’s national soccer team head coach Javier Aguirre of Mexico gestures as he speaks during a news conference at the Japan Football Asso-ciation headquarters in Tokyo December 27, 2014.

Warnock sacked by Crystal Palace after dismal run

98 InternationalMonday, December 29, 2014 International Monday, December 29, 2014

Sp rt

The news came as a complete surprise because Atletico Madrid assistant coach German Burgos said earlier in the day that Torres was all set to rejoin his boyhood club. “It is on the verge of comple-tion and we are waiting for things to firm up,” Burgos said of the deal.

“He will be a very important reinforcement for the second half of the season,” Diego Simeone’s number two told Spanish media. Chelsea made the announcement about Torres’ permanent switch to Milan on their website.

“The striker moved to the San Siro on a two-year loan deal in August and on Jan. 5 he will com-plete a permanent transfer to the Serie A side,” said the Stamford Bridge club. “Chelsea Football Club thanks Fernando for his ser-vice during the past four seasons and wishes him the very best for the future.”

Torres, who joined the London-ers for a British record fee of 50 million pounds ($77.75 million) in January 2011, had a chequered spell at the club but helped Chelsea

win the Champions League and the FA Cup in 2012 and the Europa League a year later.

For Humphrey Bogart and In-grid Bergman in the classic 1942 film Casablanca it was a case of “we’ll always have Paris” and for Fernando Torres and the Chelsea fans it will be “we’ll always have Barcelona”.

Both relationships had flicker-ing moments of fire and passion but ultimately they were two love affairs doomed to failure. In Janu-ary 2011, Chelsea broke the British transfer record by splashing out 50 million pounds ($77.75 million) on Liverpool striker Torres who ended his days at Stamford Bridge on Saturday when the London-ers announced the loan switch he made to AC Milan in August would become a permanent move on Jan. 5.

One of his first goal attempts on his debut for the Londoners, a 20-metre effort against Liverpool that sailed high, wide and not so hand-some, was almost a symbol of the trials and tribulations Torres was to endure for the next 3-1/2 years.

It took the Spanish interna-tional 14 games, and a host of near misses, to open his account but al-though it was joyously acclaimed by the Stamford Bridge faithful, his strike against West Ham United proved his only Chelsea goal of the season.

The following campaign was only marginally better for the blond forward, who helped Spain win the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2008 and 2012, and he said he was indebted to the fans for their unstinting show of support dur-ing the worst spell of his career. “Since I joined Chelsea the fans have been amazing to me,” Torres told the club’s in-house television channel in February 2012. “It has been very important to have the fans behind me.

“At the beginning of the season I went through the hardest mo-ments of my career. I went several games without being in the starting lineup and I’ve never been in that situation before.”

Torres said he experienced one of his best moments when the supporters kept cheering his name

while he was on the bench for a 3-0 home Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers three months earlier. “That game against Wolverhampton showed me there is something very important to fight for, the love of the fans,” he explained.

“I’ve never had that feeling from supporters before and I wasn’t even on the pitch.” Torres could always rely on the back-ing of the Chelsea followers and, although that faith was only spo-radically rewarded, when it was it came in spectacular fashion.

Sublime Hat-trickThe Chelsea number nine scored a

sublime hat-trick in a 6-1 home rout of neighbours Queens Park Rang-ers, but he will never be forgotten for his goal at the Nou Camp in the semi-finals of the 2012 Champions League.

Having had captain John Terry sent off in the first half of the second leg, the Londoners had to withstand wave after wave of Barcelona at-tacks.

Then suddenly, and unexpectedly, Torres ran half the length of the field before rounding keeper Victor Valdes to slot the ball into an empty net and

send eventual champions Chelsea through to the final. A year later the Spaniard scored an almost replica goal in Amsterdam to help Chelsea beat Benfica 2-1 in the Europa League final.

That 2012-13 season, half of which Torres spent working under his former Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez, was his best in Chelsea blue. He was on target 23 times in 64 games and scored in seven dif-ferent competitions, a club record. While he enjoyed some great highs during his time in west London, his Chelsea career will still be looked upon largely as a failure.

He was sent off three times and his tally of 46 goals in 172 games represents a stunning fall from grace compared to 81 goals in 142 matches for Liverpool and 38 strikes in 110 games for Spain.

The fans were consistent in their support of Torres throughout his time at Chelsea but a tipping point in the relationship came in the semi-finals of last season’s Champions League.

Torres refused to celebrate the goal he scored in the second leg against his former club Atletico Ma-drid and when he was taken off in the second period, he turned to salute the fans of the Spanish team. (rtr)

TOKYO - Japan coach Javier Agu-irre denied on Saturday any involve-ment in match-fixing in Spain and called for calm from the team’s sup-porters during their Asian Cup defence. The Mexican was among 41 people named by Spain’s anti-corruption pros-ecutor in court this month following a probe into Real Zaragoza’s 2-1 win at Levante on the final day of the 2010-11 campaign.

The victory ensured Zaragoza, coached by Aguirre, avoided relega-tion. The Japan Football Association has sent a delegation to Spain to conduct a probe into the case but said Aguirre will remain in charge for next month’s Asian Cup in Australia.

Speaking through a translator, Agu-irre said he believed Spanish soccer was clean and the investigation would not impact Japan’s preparations for the tournament.

“I worked in Spain for 12 years and I have never done anything unethical or unprofessional,” Aguirre told reporters

at the JFA’s headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday.“I would like to tell our supporters to stay calm during this investigation.

We need their support to take the Asian Cup title. “I will be concentrating and preparing for the Japan team to win the Asian Cup.”

The 56-year-old Aguirre replaced Italian Alberto Zaccheroni, who stepped down after Japan were eliminated in the first round of this year’s World Cup in Brazil.

The prosecutor in Spain alleges the Levante players were paid a total of 965,000 euros to deliberately lose the game. “I will be cooperating with the Spanish authorities and seeing this case through to the end,” Aguirre added.

Defending champions Japan open their tournament against Palestine on Jan. 12 and also have Iraq and Jordan in their group. (rtr)

MONROVIA, Liberia — Former soccer star George Weah has won a seat in the Liberian Senate by coming out ahead of the president’s son, according to Liberia’s election commission.

Weah received 78 percent of the vote while Robert Sirleaf took nearly 11 percent, Jerome Korkoya, the

chairman of the national electoral body, announced Saturday. Korkoya called the conclusion of the electoral process “the end of a crucial jour-ney.” Originally scheduled for Octo-ber, the elections were pushed back to December as Liberia struggled to contain the Ebola epidemic.

Nearly 3,400 people have died

from Ebola in Liberia this year, according to the World Health Or-ganization.

Weah, the first African to win FIFA’s world soccer player of the year award in 1995, won the first round of Liberia’s 2005 presidential race, but he lost the runoff to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. (ap)

Goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi will lead Oman’s 23-man squad at next month’s Asian Cup as they bid to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament for the first time.

Coach Paul Le Guen and the squad will reach their Canberra base on Sunday and play warm-ups against Qatar and China before starting their campaign for continental glory in Group A against South Korea on Jan. 10.

The ‘Red Warriors’, who were unbeaten through qualifying, will have a tough task to make it to the knockout stage with Australia and Kuwait the other members of the group. (rtr)

LONDON - Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace ended manager Neil Warnock’s brief second spell in charge on Satur-day following a dismal run of one win in 12 games, the club said in a statement. A 3-1 home defeat by Southampton on Friday left Pal-ace in the relegation zone, third from bottom on 15 points from 18 games. Warnock, appointed in August, is the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season.

“Crystal Palace Football Club can today confirm that Neil War-nock has been relieved of his duties and is no longer first-team manager,” Palace said on their website (www.cpfc.co.uk). “The club would like to put on record its thanks to Neil for all his hard work and energy over the past four months.”

The London club have lost three and drawn three of their

last six games, their last win com-ing against Liverpool on Nov. 23. Palace make the trip across London to face Queens Park Rangers on Sunday with Keith Millen taking charge as caretaker manager.

Warnock, 66, returned to Sel-hurst Park after Tony Pulis, who had steered them to an 11th-place finish against the odds last sea-son, departed two days before the start of the current campaign.

Warnock left Palace in 2010 after they went into adminis-tration, joining Queens Park Rangers and taking them into the Premier League before be-ing sacked eight months later, in January 2012.

The following month he was ap-pointed manager of Leeds United, only to be fired just over a year later. Warnock has managed 13 clubs, starting in non-League foot-ball almost 35 years ago. (rtr)

IBP/

net

Torres will make loan move to Milan permanent next monthLONDON - Former Spain forward Fernando Torres’ loan move from Chelsea to AC Milan

will become a permanent transfer next month, the Premier League club said on Saturday.

Squad:Goalkeepers: Ali Al Habsi, Mazin Al Kasbi, Mohannad Al Zaabi

Defenders: Abdul Salam Amir, Mohammed Mussallami, Saad Suhail, Jaber Owaisi, Ahmed Saleem, Nasr Al Shimli, Ali Al Busaidi

Midfielders: Ahmed Mubarak, Eid Al Farsi, Ali Saleem, Raeed Ibrahim, Ali Al Jabri, Hassan Mudhafar, Mohsin Johar

Forwards: Imad Al Hosni, Abdulaziz Muqbali, Saeed Al Razaiqi, Moham-med Al Siyabi, Yakoob Abdulkarim, Qasim Saeed

Oman name squad for Asian Cup

George Weah wins Liberian Senate race

Japan coach Aguirre denies match-fixing, calls for calm

REUTERS/Yuya Shino

Japan’s national soccer team head coach Javier Aguirre of Mexico gestures as he speaks during a news conference at the Japan Football Asso-ciation headquarters in Tokyo December 27, 2014.

Warnock sacked by Crystal Palace after dismal run

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SEMARAPURA - Atuh Beach is tranquilly situated at beautiful bay with natural white sand, while in the left side lies the Juntil Cape and on the right (south) stands the Labuan Ampuak. Then, in the east occur the magnificent Gili Batu Melawang, Gili Batu Pedasan, Gili Batu Abah and Gili Batu Metegen.

At the easternmost tip of Juntil Cape and in the east of Gili Padasan lies a very ideal fishing spot. Meanwhile, in the south of Labuan Ampuak can be found a natural cave becoming the native home to swallows to nest. The land at the Atuh Valley is very fertile and there stand two temples namely the Segara Temple functioned to venerate Lord Varuna whose piodalan or anniversary falls on Sasih Kedasa (tenth month of Balinese calendar). In the inner courtyard of the temple lie two sacred wells containing very clear water.

Access leading to the beach can be taken through two routes, namely Pelilit hamlet (20 km from Buyuk boat quay) then it is connected to unpaved road along about 2 km. Meanwhile, another can be reached through Kelo-dan hamlet (17 km from Buyuk) and connected to unpaved road along ap-proximately 5 km.

Atuh Beach

IBP/File Photo

Toronto’s Kyle Lowry scored 25 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Raptors stayed ahead of Atlanta for top spot in the East. Lowry shot 9 of 17, after hav-ing averaged 27.5 percent from the field over his previous four games against the Clippers.

J.J. Redick had 23 points for the Clippers, who had not lost at home since Nov. 17. Atlanta’s Jeff Teague scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to guide the Hawks past Milwaukee 90-85.

Al Horford added 20 for the Hawks, who avenged a 30-point home loss to Milwaukee on Friday. Khris Middleton led

Milwaukee with 21 points, which tied a season high. Chicago’s Jimmy Butler scored 33 points to lead the Bulls to a 107-100 win against New Orleans.

Derrick Rose had 19 for the Bulls, who also had three re-serves score in double figures. New Orleans’ Anthony Davis had 29 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots in his first NBA game in Chicago, his hometown.

Memphis led from start to fin-ish in winning 103-95 at Miami. Mike Conley scored 24 points and Marc Gasol added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who led by 19 early in the second half before Miami scored to get

within one or two points on 11 different occasions in the final minutes.

But the Grizzlies always had an answer, putting six players in double figures and snapping a four-game losing streak. Dwyane Wade scored 25 points for Miami, which fell to 6-11 at home.

Washington made a blistering start and went on to comfort-ably beat Boston 101-88. Kris Humphries scored 18 points and Paul Pierce had 17 for the Wizards, who led 15-2 with less than four minutes gone. Jeff Green scored 23 points for Boston, which has lost four straight. (ap)

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier insists it is in the best interest of Formula 1 to allow Mercedes’ rivals to catch up in the engine department. The German car maker’s opponents have been trying to find ways to relax rules that prevent them from introduc-ing engine updates during the season in order to reduce the gap

seen during the 2014 season.Mercedes, however, has been

reluctant to changes, as it fears the costs would increase dramati-cally. Boullier, whose team will use Honda power next year after switching from Mercedes, thinks it is essential that the rules are unfrozen in order for Formula 1 to have proper competition.

“Doing something that will stu-pidly increase the costs is not what we want to achieve,” said Boul-lier. “But it’s a competition and we can change the cars as much as we want. “Within the regulations, I think engines should be frozen once every manufacturer has been able to develop their engines.

“If you disallow the competi-

tion, then this goes a against the spirit of the sport.” Boul-lier admits he has concerns that Mercedes could be in a position to dominate the sport for years unless the rules are relaxed.

“They benefited from the fact that they did a very good job and they benefited from the fact that the regulations are locked with the

engines being frozen,” he added.“Most of the gains they have

had come from the engine and they will for a couple of years until everybody can match them in terms of development. “This is what they are benefiting from and if you could unfreeze the engine regs, you will see some catch up.”

AP Photo/Jae C. HongToronto Raptors’ Amir Johnson, center, is defended by Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin, right, and J.J. Redick during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014, in Los Angeles. The Raptors won 110-98.

Raptors win 110-98 to snap Clippers home streak

LOS ANGELES — Toronto ended the Los Angeles Clippers’ eight-game home winning streak with a 110-98 victory on Saturday, with the Raptors’ reserves steering the NBA Eastern Conference leaders through the fourth quarter. The other two East divisional leaders also won, with Atlanta taking victory at Milwaukee and Chicago extending its winning streak to six by downing New Orleans, while in the West, Memphis moved into a virtual tie for the Southwest Division leade by beating Miami.

McLaren-Honda wants Formula 1 to unfreeze engine regulations

IBP/ist

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Monday, December 29, 2014 Monday, December 29, 20146 11International International

From page 1

INDONESIAW RLD

“I think we have to let this play out,” he said. “Hopefully, the airplane will get found, and if that happens it will probably be in the next few hours. Until then, we have to reserve judgment.”

The circumstances bode well for finding the plane since the intended flight time was less than two hours and there is a known position at which the plane disappeared, he said. (ap)

AirAsia...

l MH370The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 on March 8 triggered one of modern aviation’s most perplexing mysteries. Flight 370 with 239 people aboard from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing vanished without trace, sending searchers across vast areas of the Indian Ocean. An initial multi-national operation to locate the wreckage far off Australia’s west coast turned up empty-handed, without a single piece of debris found.

l MH17All 298 passengers and crew aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 were killed when the Boeing 777 was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine on July 17. The plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when, according to Dutch air crash investigators, it was likely struck by multiple “high-energy objects” that some aviation experts say is consistent with a missile strike.Dutch prosecutors are coordinating an international criminal in-vestigation into the downing but have yet to name any suspects or say when or how charges might be brought.

l QZ8501An Indonesia AirAsia flight with 162 people aboard, most of them Indonesians, disappeared on Sunday over the Java Sea, triggering a search involving several Southeast Asian nations. The contact with Flight 8501 was lost about 42 minutes after the single-aisle, twin-engine A320-200 jetliner took off from Surabaya airport in Indonesia for Singapore.

3rd Malaysia-linked incident

The announcement by Sri Lanka Muslim Congress will be a major blow to Rajapaksa’s campaign for a third term in office, with more than 20 lawmakers and ministers defect-ing to the opposition.

Ameer Faaiz, a leader of the party that represents minority Muslims in overwhelmingly Buddhist Sri Lan-ka, cited the Rajapaksa administra-tion’s “intolerance toward religious

minorities” and disagreement with his style of rule.

He said the party consulted its supporters, who were of the over-whelming opinion that they could no longer stand with Rajapaksa and would throw their support behind his rival Maithripala Sirisena.

An attack on Muslims in June that was provoked by a Sri Lankan Buddhist ultranationalist and left

three dead and dozens injured exacerbated ethnic tensions in the aftermath of a decades-long civil war against Tamil Tiger rebels that ended in 2009.

Rajapaksa’s government had come under heavy criticism in recent years for backing extrem-ist Buddhist groups and turning a blind eye to the recent anti-Muslim violence.

Sirisena is a former health minister who split from Rajapaksa last month to run for president in the biggest challenge for the incumbent since he was first elected in 2005. (ap)

ZAGREB — Croatia’s liberal president faces pressure from a con-servative challenger in an election held amid widespread discontent over economic woes in the European Union’s newest member.

The vote Sunday is seen as a test for the center-left government which

has faced criticism for its failure to revive the economy more than one year after Croatia joined the EU. Croatia has one of the weakest economies in the bloc.

Nearly 3.8 million voters can pick from four candidates for the largely ceremonial post. Opinion polls indi-

cate that incumbent Ivo Josipovic, a composer and law expert, will win the most votes but fall short of the 50 percent majority needed for outright victory. Josipovic is tipped to face conservative opposition candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic in the second round in two weeks. (ap)

D’ABADIE, Trinidad — A prominent environmental activist in Trinidad who claims to have passed the 100-day mark of a hunger strike said he will reject medical intervention and keep protesting a highway project he says could hurt wetlands and remote villages.

Wayne Kublalsingh, 55, told The Associated Press in an interview this week he will suspend the strike only if the government lets inde-pendent mediators assess the project. He declined government offers for dialogue, saying community leaders have met repeatedly with of-ficials without results.

“All we have gotten from them is malingering, procrastination, a high degree of insincerity,” said Kublalsingh, his gaunt frame buried in the soft cushion of his small bed, closing his eyes through most of the interview.

Works and Infrastructure Minister Surujrattan Rambachan told the AP Saturday that development company representatives are prepared to meet with Kublalsingh and other protesters in January. “We continue to build the highway to allow people to be able to get to their destina-tions quickly and for their own economic and social purposes,” said Rambachan. He said the government is concerned about Kublalsingh’s health.

“It’s up to those around Dr. Kublalsingh to urge him to end the fast and save his life,” he said. The former university professor went on strike on Sept. 17 and is down to 88 pounds (40 kilograms) from 133 pounds (60 kilograms). He wants the government to reroute a 9-mile (14-kilometer) portion of the Port Fortin highway extension project in southern Trinidad to avoid cutting through 13 communities and part of the Oropouche Lagoon.

“It will disrupt life for generations of villagers living in the area and do irreparable damage to the lagoon,” he said. Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar and other officials say they won’t halt construction, and that it’s the best route to ease traffic and link southern Trinidad with the capital. (ap)

AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena

Sri Lankan opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena, center, waves to support-ers before filing his nomination papers for the upcoming presidential elections in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014.

Sri Lanka’s largest

Muslim party defects from gov’t

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s largest Muslim political party on Sunday defected from President Mahinda Raja-paksa to support the opposition candidate in next month’s presidential election.

Croatia votes to elect president amid economy woes

Trinidad hunger striker claims to surpass 100 days

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government’s target to attract 20 million foreign tourists by 2019 will depend on the seating capac-ity of airlines flying to and from Indonesia, Chairman of the Indo-nesian Tours and Travels Agency (ASITA) Asnawi Bahar said.

“We need a larger seating capac-ity in order to bring in 20 million foreign tourists to Indonesia,” Bahar stated on Saturday.

He added that the existing seat-ing capacity was not adequate to attract 20 million foreign tourists to Indonesia.

“In the future, we will have to increase the seating capacity of airlines flying tourists to Indone-sia from foreign countries,” he

reiterated.Citing examples, he pointed

out that additional seats should be added to direct flights from China, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Europe.

Bahar further noted that ASITA wanted state-owned Garuda In-donesia to introduce more flight routes to countries to which most foreign tourists belong and ask foreign airlines to introduce more flights to Indonesia, as well.

Earlier, the government set a target for the tourism sector to contribute 8 percent to the Gross Domestic Product in 2019.

The target for foreign exchange earned from the tourism sector was set at Rp240 trillion, which can

create jobs for 13 million people.Furthermore, the government

aims to attract as many as 20 mil-lion foreign tourists and 275 mil-lion domestic tourists.

So by 2019, the competitiveness of the Indonesian tourism sector will ensure that the country ranks on the big 30 list.

Moreover, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) revealed that for-eign tourist arrivals in the country this year has reached 9.3 million.

Earlier this month, Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya affirmed that efforts of Visit Indonesia Tourism Officers (VITO), who are based in 13 countries, increased the number of foreign tourists in Indonesia significantly.

“The increase in the number of foreign tourists in Indonesia cannot be separated from the active role played by all tourism stakehold-ers,” the minister stated.

From the period between Janu-ary and October this year, the number of tourists to Indonesia reached 7,755,616, which is an 8.71 percent increase.

According to Yahya, VITO en-couraged international communi-ties to visit Indonesia, especially those of Singapore, Malaysia, Aus-tralia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, the Middle East, England, the Netherlands, France, German, and Russia. These 13 countries are where VITO established its offices.

In a bid to increase the number of foreign tourists’ visits to Indone-sia, the ministry will implement a policy in 2015 to issue visas free of charge to tourists from Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, and Russia.

In addition, the ministry will also facilitate the same for those who wish to travel via cruises to In-donesia, as part of efforts to boost marine tourism in the country.

Furthermore, VITO, as the Indonesian representative in pro-moting the country’s tourism po-tential in the international market, should focus on daily promotions through mass media and contact industrial tourism sectors, Yahya emphasized. (ant)

Solihat (30) and her infant named Rangga Permana (3) died while Anto Suryanto (31) survived the landslide after a team of rescue workers man-aged to save him, he said on Sunday.

Along with police and army per-sonnel, local residents worked together to rescue the victims shortly after the landslide crushed the ill-fated house, he said.

Certain parts of Indonesia have been hit by landslides and floods as a

result of torrential rains over the past few weeks.

The most deadly landslides recently hit Jemblung Hamlet, Banjarnegara District, Central Java Province, killing more than a hundred people.

According to Social Affairs Min-ister Khofifah Indar Parawansa, 274 of 304 districts and cities in Indonesia are prone to landslides, while the rest are vulnerable to floods, volcano erup-tions, and tsunamis. (ant)

JAYAPURA - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo vowed to visit Papua often to have better knowledge of the problems plaguing the eastern-most Indonesian province. “I will visit Papua very often; at least three times a year,” the president said during a get-together with members of the Volun-teer Front (Bara) of Reform Network (JP) at the Waringin Sports Stadium here on Saturday evening.

A number of local officials, includ-ing Governor of Papua Lukas Enembe and Mayor of Jayapura Benhur Tom-my Mano, attended the gathering.

Jokowi stated that he will fre-quently visit Papua to encourage the resolution of various problems in the province.

“There are many issues in Papua.

They can be resolved through dialogs, including those between the governor and the people, and the chief of the re-gional military command and the chief of provincial police and the people. I want the problems to be resolved,” he emphasized.

Though the dialogs, the president believes that the various problems in the province could be overcome.

“I don’t want to give high hopes. I want to resolve the problems, which, I believe, is possible. However, we must keep in mind my previous statement that we should be confident in our leaders,” he remarked.

Jokowi is in Papua to attend a national Christmas celebration at Mandala Square in Jayapura on Saturday night. (ant)

Antara Foto/Maulana Surya

The fire burned the largest textile market in Solo, Klewer Market, on Saturday (27/12) night. Fires on Saturday, around 20:00 has not extinguished until Sunday morning De-cember 28, 2014.

Seating capacity of airlines inadequate for tourism target

Landslide kills mother, infantJAKARTA - A landslide buried a house in Babakan Talang

Bawah Hamlet of Kertamulya Village, West Java, on early Sunday, killing two people, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

Jokowi vows to visit Papua often

Bali News Monday, December 29, 2014 5InternationalMonday, December 29, 201412 International

DENPASAR - Defense Minis-ter Ryamizard Ryacudu has asked all military personnel to maintain solidarity, both among themselves and with other state apparatuses, in order to avoid conflicts.

“It (conflict) must not happen. That’s why I always ask them to avoid it,” he said after giving directives to hundreds of military personnel at the Udayana Regional Military Command IX on Friday.

At least 516 personnel of the Indonesian Army (TNI AD), Navy (TNI AL) and Air Force (TNI AU) attended the gathering.

Ryamizard further asked all regional military command chiefs across Indonesia to warn their sub-ordinates against getting embroiled

in conflicts.“This must draw the attention of

superiors to keep reminding their subordinates,” he said.

He also urged regional military command chiefs to constantly mo-tivate their men to perform well, increase state defense, respect local wisdom, and refrain from contra-productive statements that may lead to public unrest.

Quite a few personal conflicts between the military and police personnel have led to clashes that have claimed the lives of people, he noted.

The defense minister also asked soldiers to maintain what he called “vertical loyalty” and not “double loyalty” to the President.” (ant)

The late Wayan Pugeg is a na-tive to Pangkung hamlet, Delod Peken village, Tabanan subdistrict, who composed the Pendet Dance around 1940. “Tabanan is arguably the artist producer. In addition to agricultural sector, Tabanan also yields many great artists such as the artist who choreographed the Pendet Dance,” said the Regent of Tabanan, Ni Putu Eka Wiryastuti.

As a tribute to the artists, espe-cially the residents of Pangkung hamlet who composed the well known dance internationally, the Tabanan government had built a Pendet statue placed in the heart of the town. Other than Pendet Dance, the statue of other dances such as the Oleg Tamulilingan Dance by Ketut Mario also enlivened the rice barn region of Bali.

The statues were intentionally placed in the midst of Tabanan town. Regent Eka explained the statues of the dance artists did not only contain aesthetic values, but were also meaningful as an obvi-ous appreciation to the great artists and heroes born in Tabanan. “Other than containing aesthetic value, the presence of the statues also poses

an appreciation to the artists who have yielded the finest work of arts,” she said.

Even, the original Pendet Dance of Tabanan had ever been danced en masse on the 518th anniversary celebration of Tabanan town or three years ago. At the same time, it also managed to increase the MURI record achievement for the Tabanan government.

Regent Eka said the perfor-mance of Pendet Dance en masse was basically collaboration be-tween the empowerment of the PKK members of Tabanan and the preservation of local genius because Pendet Dance was syn-onymous with guest welcoming and reflecting Balinese hospitality. “At that time, I thought that the mass Pendet Dance performance would be able to keep the spirit of hospitality of Tabanan community in an attempt to interpret the togeth-erness carried in the anniversary of the Tabanan town. It is very impor-tant because without hospitality and togetherness, all the development programs drafted by the Tabanan government will not go well,” she concluded. (kmb28)

IBP/PuspaThe Pendet Dance is the creation of an original artist from Tabanan, Wayan Pugeg. As a tribute to the artists, especially the residents of Pangkung hamlet who composed the well known dance internationally, the Tabanan government had built a Pendet statue placed in the heart of the town.

Original Pendet Dance of TabananTABANAN - Pendet dance as an opening dance is no longer bizarre

to Balinese people. Due to being famous, Pendet Dance had been claimed by Malaysia as a result of their culture. Unfortunately, the popularity of Pendet Dance was not as popular as the choreographer of the dance. Evidently the Pendet Dance is the creation of an original artist from Tabanan, Wayan Pugeg.

Defense minister reminds military personnel to avoid conflicts

IBP/Ngurah KenDefense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has asked all military personnel to maintain solidarity, both among themselves and with other state apparatuses, in order to avoid conflicts.

The 3.5-trillion-yen package is de-signed to help the provincial economy, small businesses and the household sector, as well as to increase public spending to rebuild areas hit by natural disasters.

“With speedy implementation of these measures, I think we can bolster consumption and lift the provincial economy and expand the positive growth cycle to all corners of the coun-try,” Abe told a meeting with ruling lawmakers shortly before the cabinet officially approved the package.

The world’s third largest economy is seeing a barrage of weak economic indicators after an April consump-tion tax rise slammed the brakes on growth.

Since coming to power two years ago, Abe has offered a series of pro-business, big-spending policies in a bid to bring Japan out of deflation.

His programmes were supported by the Bank of Japan’s aggressive monetary easing.

The efforts have driven down the yen and boosted earnings of major firms, particularly exporters.

But critics have argued that the benefits were not felt by small busi-nesses and consumers while real wages shrank.

Of the 3.5 trillion yen in the fresh stimulus, 600 billion yen will go to programmes to boost the local economy, 1.2 trillion yen for steps to help consumers and small businesses, and 1.7 trillion yen to rebuild areas hit by natural disasters, such as the 2011 tsunami and massive landslides this year.

The stimulus includes subsidies for small businesses that are facing soaring fuel costs as a result of the falling yen. (afp)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy flexed its old muscles in 2014. More than five years removed from the Great Recession, worries had taken hold at the start of the year that perhaps the world’s largest economy had slid into a semi-permanent funk.

But consumers, businesses and investors, after enduring a brutal winter, showed renewed vigor as the year wore on and set the United States apart from much of the world.

Stocks repeatedly set record highs — and did so again Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising modestly to a new peak. Employers were on pace to add nearly 3 million jobs, the most in 15 years. Sinking oil prices cut gasoline costs to their lowest levels since May 2009. Auto sales accelerated. Infla-tion was a historically low sub-2 percent.

The U.S. economy proved it could thrive even as the Federal Reserve ended its bond buying program, which had been intended to aid growth by holding down long-term loan rates.

All told, the United States remained insulated from the financial struggles surfacing everywhere from Europe and Latin America to China, Japan and Russia.

So what explained the U.S. economy’s resilience this year?

Economists say it largely reflected the delayed benefits of finally mending the damage from the worst downturn in nearly 80 years. Unlike past recoveries that enjoyed comparatively swift rebounds, this one proved agonizingly slow. It took 6½ years to regain all the jobs lost to the recession — 8.7 million — far longer than during previous recoveries.

“It was a healing process from a severe recession and the financial crisis,” said Richard Moody, chief

AP Photo/Eugene HoshikoIn this Nov. 20, 2014 photo, a woman looks at socks at a shop in Sugamo, where known as a shopping street for the older generation, in Tokyo. The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved a fresh stimulus package worth $29 billion Saturday in a bid to boost the economy, hit hard by a tax hike.

Japan approves $29 billion stimulus packageTOKYO - The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

approved a fresh stimulus package worth $29 billion Saturday in a bid to boost the economy, hit hard by a tax hike.

n Hiring BoomEmployers added 2.65 million jobs over the first 11 months of the year, and the unemployment rate sank to 5.8 percent from 6.7 percent. When the government announces the December job data next month, the 2014 job total is expected to be just shy of 3 million — the most since the dot-com era in 1999. Compared with recent years, those gains have been less concentrated in lower-paying industries such as retail, food service and temp agencies.

n Stocks SurgeStocks extended their bullish stampede of nearly six years. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed about 13 per-cent this year, hitting record highs more than 50 times. If you bought the index at a market bottom in March 2009, you’ve basically tripled your money. Corporate mergers helped drive this year’s gains, along with major companies buying up $400 billion-plus of their own stock.

n oil Prices PlungeIn a gift for U.S. consumers, energy got significantly cheaper. Crude oil prices were essentially cut in half from this year’s high. The slowing economies in Europe and Asia curbed demand, while production remained steady. The price decline trickled down to gasoline pumps. Average prices nationwide dropped to $2.32 a gallon, down roughly a dollar

from a year ago, according to AAA. Some of that price slowdown has hurt U.S. oil producers, which must weigh layoffs. But overall, cheaper oil is a posi-tive. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen noted that the falling prices resemble a tax cut, generating savings for consum-ers that can be spent elsewhere to drive economic growth.

n Autos Sales UpFar more Americans splurged on a new car after having held onto aging vehicles during the recession and slow early stages of the recovery. Sales were on track to increase 6 percent this year, with 16.5 million new vehicles on the road, according to Cars.com. That would be the best sales pace since 2006.

n Interest Rates DropEven as the economy has strengthened — usually a sign that interest rates will rise — it’s become easier to borrow. More loans mean more spending and faster growth. Rates have declined even though the Fed ended its program to stimulate growth by buying billions in Treasury and mortgage bonds each month.The yield on the 10-year Treasury note has slipped to about 2.27 percent from 3 percent when the year began. The average 30-year fixed mortgage is 3.83 percent, down from roughly 4.5 percent a year ago.

Economic highlights of 2014Year-ender In 2014, US economy began shaky, finished strong

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, FileIn this Dec. 24, 2014 file photo, last minute Christ-mas shoppers are reflected in a store’s window as they walk through Chicago’s Loop.

economist at Regions Financial, a bank based in Alabama.

The healing isn’t complete. Wage growth remains lackluster and has barely outpaced extremely low inflation. Home building has been tepid.

But worries earlier this year that the economy might be trapped indefinitely by sluggish growth have largely faded.

BUSINESS

Bali News International4 Monday, December 29, 2014 Monday, December 29, 2014 13International RLDW

The symbolic ceremony will mark the end of the U.S.-led Inter-national Security Assistance Force, which will transition to a supporting role with 13,500 soldiers, most of them American, starting Jan. 1.

President Ashraf Ghani, who took office in September, signed bilateral security agreements with Washington and NATO allowing the enduring military presence. The move has led to a spike in violence as the Taliban have claimed it as an excuse to step up operations aimed at destabilizing his government.

ISAF was set up after the U.S.-led invasion as an umbrella for the coalition of around 50 nations that provided troops and took responsi-bility for security across the coun-try. It ends with 2,224 American soldiers killed, according to an AP tally, out of a total of some 3,500 foreign troop deaths.

The mission peaked at 140,000

troops in 2010 with a surge or-dered by U.S. President Barack Obama to root the insurgents out of strategically important regions, notably in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, where the Taliban had its capital from 1996 to 2001.

ISAF will segue into Resolute Support, a training and support mission, with the U.S. accounting for almost 11,000 members of the residual force.

Obama recently expanded the remit of the U.S. forces remain-ing in the country, allowing them to extend their counter-terrorism operations to Taliban, as well as al-Qaida, and to provide ground and air support for the Afghan forces when necessary for at least the next two years.

Afghans have mixed feelings about the drawdown of foreign troops, many believing that with the deteriorating security situation

their presence is needed to back up the Afghan effort to bring peace after more than three decades of continual war.

“At least in the past 13 years we have seen improvements in our way of life — freedom of speech, democracy, the people generally better off financially,” said 42-year-old shop keeper Gul Moham-mad. “But we do need the foreign troops to stay here at least until our own forces are strong enough, while our economy strengthens, while our leaders try to form a government,” he said.

As Afghan forces take sover-eignty, the country is without a Cabinet three months after Ghani’s inauguration, and economic growth is near zero due to the reduction of the international military and aid juggernauts. The United States spent more than $100 million on reconstruction in Afghanistan, on top of the $1 trillion war. (ap)

LONDON — Snow and icy weather swept through parts of Europe on Saturday, stranding drivers overnight and leaving thousands of homes without power in Britain. Snow also covered parts of Switzerland and southwestern Germany, and more than 20 centimeters (nearly eight inches) of snow has fallen in higher parts of Germany’s Black Forest.

Many motorists in Britain were forced to abandon their cars or were trapped in vehicles for hours after becoming snowed in. Dozens of people traveling from Sheffield to London spent the night in a church after their bus became stuck.

Parts of northern England saw 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) of snow. Western Power Distribution said 36,000 customers were without power, and another 69,000 had short interruptions to supplies. Staff worked through the night to reconnect customers, but thousands in the East Mid-lands region were still affected.

Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport and Leeds Bradford International closed late Friday as workers cleared snow from the runways. The airports have reopened. British weather forecasts predict more snow showers, mainly in the north, though the main threat would be ice on roads.

The snow was welcomed in the French Alps, which have seen hardly any since the start of the ski season. But with up to 60 centimeters (2 feet) predicted this weekend above 2,000 meters (yards) altitude, one of the busiest vacation weeks of the year looked more promising — if drivers could reach the mountains.

Traffic jams snarled many of France’s major highways on Saturday, with more than three-quarters of the country under severe weather watch. Only 7,000 drivers of 36,000 expected were able to reach their destination in Savoie, one of the Alps regions, according to the Interior Ministry. Emer-gency shelters have been set up along the way for potentially thousands who are going to be forced to stay on the road overnight. In the north, the port of Calais closed because of wind gusts. (ap)

AP Photo/Massoud HossainiInternational Security Assistance Forces take part in a ceremony in north of Kabul International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 8, 2014. The U.S. and NATO ceremonially ended their combat mis-sion in Afghanistan on Monday, 13 years after the Sept.

US, NATO to mark end of mission to Afghanistan

KABUL — The United States and NATO will mark the formal end of the war in Afghanistan on Sun-day with a ceremony at their military headquarters in Kabul as the insurgency they fought for 13 years remains as ferocious and deadly as at any time since the 2001 invasion that unseated the Taliban regime following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Snow, ice sweep Europe, stranding drivers

AP Photo/dpa, Marius BeckerA snow-plough clears the street in Winterberg, western Germany, Saturday Dec. 27, 2014. Weather forecasts predict more snowfall.

MANGUPURA - On Tuesday night (Dec 24), the employees of Matahari Bungalow on Jalan Legian, Kuta, Badung, turned panic. One of the guests staying at the bungalow D20, Gabrielle Cecelia Hiria Duggan, 58, complained about chest pains and eventu-ally died.

Chief of Kuta Police, I Nyoman Sebudi, accompanied by the Chief of Kuta Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Dewa Tagel, revealed on Friday (Dec 26) that the first wit-ness knowing the incident was the victim’s grandson, Brayden Allan Robert Priest, 19. Approximately at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the victim and her grandson were drinking juice in the pool of the bungalow. After drinking, she suddenly said to get chest pain. Brayden directly drove the victim into the room.

“The victim’s grandson gave her a drug because she got breathless. Since the pain is getting worse, the witness (the victim’s grandson—Ed) asked for help to reception-

ist,” added the Chief of the Criminal Inves-tigation Unit.

Meanwhile, the receptionist immediately called BMS and a few minutes later some medical officers arrived at the bungalow. The BMS officers provided assistance of breath, but the victim’s life could not be saved.

Nevertheless, the bungalow employee then contacted BIMC. Within minutes, the BIMC officers arrived at the victim’s room and immediately provided cardiac shock therapy. However, the efforts did not produce a result. After that, the victim was taken to Sanglah Hospital.

“Some witnesses had been testified, one of which was the security guard of the bungalow. Related to the incident, the fam-ily received the victim’s death and refused autopsy. Therefore, the victim’s body was returned to her family,” said this former Chief of Denpasar Police Criminal Investigation Unit. (kmb36)

When Bali Post said the word klejat, people already knew about the food. “Of course, klejat has become the typical food of Serangan,” said the Headman of Serangan, I Wayan Karma, some time ago. He also revealed if the seashell was also widely available at Sanur area and the coastal areas in general. However, since the processing of klejat was first practiced by the people of Serangan, then the klejat chips eventually became the hallmark of the region.

Karma explained that today was increas-ingly difficult to find seashell and its popula-tion was getting rarer in the area after the reclamation held by BTID as it could disrupt the klejat population. Ultimately people chose to buy seashell to Madura Island. A total of 100-300 kg of klejat was stocked by collector to be further resold to traders. The farming had also been done, but due to impatience of local people, the klejat farm-ing then ended. Many people eventually switched profession. Formerly, the seashell

existing in the area was sufficient for con-sumption and sale by local people. Due to increasing number of the enthusiasts and the declining population of seashell, local people were eventually unable to meet the needs of the market.

As a result of reclamation project carried out in the 1990s, a great change happened and it harmed the environment around the Serangan Island. After the reclamation of Serangan Island, many residents for-merly having the profession as fishermen were then difficult to get fish so that they shifted profession into coral reef miner. As a result, the abundant coral reef in the water of Serangan Island gradually began to deteriorate. The damage was discovered at the northern side and southern side of Serangan Island. After the destruction of coral reef, many rare species of fish disap-peared such as the Bali Stoides whereas this fish could only be found in the water of Serangan Island. (may)

GIANYAR - Circulation of liquor in Gianyar region is rife. Evidently, throughout the year 2014 the Gianyar Police Narcotics Unit has secured 2,794 liters of arrack from 108 offenders. “As planned, on December 31, 2014 we will carry out the extermi-nation against the entire evidence of liquor confis-cated,” said the Chief of Gianyar Police Narcotics Unit, Kadek Ardika, at Gianyar Police Headquarters, Saturday (Dec 27).

He said the 2,794 liters of liquor confiscated from the 108 offenders were mostly from the drinking stalls at Geriana Kanginan, Sidemen, Karangasem. From the stall owned by I Kadek Juliarka, 31, police managed to secure 600 liters of liquor, while from the stall owned by Gusti Ayu Widiastuti, 54, around Batubulan, Sukawati, and the stall of Ida Ayu Asrini, 44, at Tengah hamlet, Tampaksiring village, police could respectively confiscate a total of 80 liters of liquor. Police arrested the other 105 suspects selling the liquor with the evidence of less than 80 liters.

“Since the selling of liquor was without being equipped with Alcoholic Drink Trade Permit (SIUP-MB), the liquor was secured by police and the sellers were declared to have violated the Bali Regional Bylaw (Perda) No.5/2012 on the Supervision and Control of Alcoholic Beverage. Then, the traders were charged with misdemeanor,” he explained.

Ardika added that his party would continue to discipline the trades of alcoholic drink in order to make the region under the Gianyar Police jurisdic-tion safe and orderly, especially before the New Year’s celebration. Abuse of the alcoholic drink or liquor could cause interference with the public order such as theft, assault, mass quarrel among group of people and even among the hamlets to result in traffic disruption. “For the sake of creating security, we will continue to perform control against the alcoholic drink trades,” he said. (kmb35)

IBP/FileThe liquors are destryoed by the police officers.

2,794 liters of liquor destroyed ahead of New Year

Running thin, klejat as natural potential of Serangan Island

DENPASAR - Serangan Island has many natural resources in the sea, where one of them is klejat (seashell). It can be processed into various kinds of delicacies such as seashell chip becoming the culinary icon of Serangan village. A New Zealander traveler dies at hotel

3Monday, December 29, 201414 InternationalInternational Timeless Indonesia FestivalTraveling Monday, December 29, 2014

Before the presentation of South Sulawesi, the TIF had already been showing off the beauty of Bali and NTB through the cultural richness of fabric and music.

“We displayed the distinctive fabrics in the fashion show. It is intended to introduce the wealth of Indonesia to international com-munity that is not comparable to others. I mean it is not comparable

to that of Malaysia, Singapore and others. That’s what I want to present in the cultural show, the beautiful performance of various regions. Then, we are not inferior in terms of fashion industry, even though we feature the fabrics of the regions. It is the essence,” said the drafter of the TIF, Herlinda Siahaan.

As the appearance of Bali and NTB, the fashion show of South

Sulawesi was also collaborated with the touch of music. This time, the committee displayed the Music Makers band led by a musician from Malang but had long been doing music in Jakarta.

“We just combine it with music. It gives more emphases on the music of the archipelago, but is not devoted to the music of South Sulawesi. The problem is that the core culture of Makassar is the Bugis, while the government does not send any participant. We cannot search it here. There is Toraja, but it could not come to present Toraja traditional dances because they are Christians (celebrating Christmas—Ed),” she said. (rin)

MANGUPURA - In the fashion show performance of South Su-lawesi Province, there was some-thing incomplete. As a matter of fact, the activity had been planned long time ago to feature the national renowned choreographer, namely Denny Malik.

Initiator of the event, Herlinda Sia-haan, admitted to have invited Denny Malik to make a dance performance that was appropriate with the South Sulawesi. However, Denny Malik unilaterally cancelled to make perfor-mance on the day of event. Actually the choreographer had been paid to hundreds of millions of rupiahs to stage a total of three dances.

“Necessarily Denny Malik ap-

peared to fill in the agenda of the South Sulawesi. Like Guruh Soeka-rno Putra, Denny Malik also had a dance studio of contemporary ethnic and we had contracted Denny Malik far in advance to fill in the event, but in fact he did not land here. It was an irresponsible attitude of Denny Malik,” said Linda.

Managing Director of Konderatu Graha Cipta was deeply disappointed by the unilateral cancellation made suddenly by Denny Malik. Moreover, the TIF was designed to show off the beauty of Indonesia to travel-ers. Against this incident, her party planned to report Denny to police authority with the accusation of fraud and defamation. (rin)

The second day of the Timeless Indonesia Festi-val (TIF) taking place on Thursday (Dec 25) drew adequate attention of the audience. The event was started at 8:00 p.m. with the presentation of Ayu Laksmi, a famous singer with a golden voice.

The TIF event on the second day was an oppor-tunity to demonstrate the distinctive art and culture of Bali Province. It was started with Balinese dance that could invite the audience to begin to look to the stage. After the dance, it was fol-lowed by the appearance of Ayu Laksmi. Coming up with modified kebaya, Ayu

Laksmi could hypnotize the audience. Then, it was re-sumed with a fashion show of the products designed by Monica Weber.

No less attractive was the appearance of Balawan with his ethnic percussion music. All the spectators were dissolved in the me-lodious music of Balawan. After his performance, it was the turn of another fashion show presenting the products designed by Yenli. Having been pam-pered with the glamour of fashion shows, spectators were ultimately jazzed up by the magnificent Kecak Dance that revived mystical atmosphere. (may)

IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

Implementation of the Timeless Indonesia Festival (TIF) on Kelan Beach, Badung, featured the beauty of South Sulawesi through fashion show, Saturday night (Dec 27).

Fashion show of South Sulawesi presented in TIFMANGUPURA - Implementation of the Timeless Indonesia

Festival (TIF) on Kelan Beach, Badung, featured the beauty of South Sulawesi through fashion show, Saturday night (Dec 27). A local fashion designer from South Sulawesi, Ida Nurharis, presented at least 20 collections of clothes made from silk woven fabric denoting the distinctive product of the region.

Committee disappointed as Denny Malik cancels to appear

Ayu Laksmi makes captivating performance

IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

Artists from West Nusa Tenggara performed dance that depicted from love story of Mandalika Princess during the third day of Timeless Indonesia Festival that held at Kelan Beach, on Friday.

Several major anniversaries will also be marked by a variety of events in 2015, including 70 years since the end of World War II, the 60th anniversary of the opening of Disneyland and 10 years since Hur-ricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

The Milan Expo opens in May for six months and is expected to draw 20 million visitors. The Expo is the modern incarnation of the old World’s Fairs that thrilled 19th- and 20th-century guests with new products and technology. The theme of the Milan Expo is food and nutrition, and dozens of countries will be participating. The U.S. will be doing its part by sending six au-thentic food trucks to Italy featuring regional American and ethnic fu-sion menus. Milan’s famous opera house, La Scala, normally closed in the summer, will host performances daily during the Expo.

Elsewhere in Europe: Jan. 1 marks the day Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency. Pils-

en, in the Czech Republic — home to pilsner-style beer and a Gothic cathedral — and Mons, Belgium, known for history ranging from World War I back to the ancient Romans, have been named 2015 European Capitals of Culture. And Norway made a number of “where to go in 2015” lists, thanks to its connection to Disney’s blockbuster “Frozen” film.

Singapore celebrates its golden Jubilee — 50 years since indepen-dence from Great Britain. Vietnam celebrates 70 years since indepen-dence from France and 50 years since the first U.S. combat troops arrived at Da Nang, which some historians say marked the start of the Vietnam War — even though Americans had been sent to the country in prior years.

A number of U.S. museums and historic sites will be hosting exhibits and events to mark 150 years since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the end of

the Civil War.The new year also marks 70

years since the end of World War II, both the defeat of Nazi Germany and the atomic bombing of Japan that ended the war in Asia. Hiro-shima and Nagasaki are planning memorial services on the August anniversaries of the bombings, along with numerous arts projects and peace-themed events through-out the year.

In New Orleans, Aug. 29 is 10 years since the devastation of Hur-ricane Katrina. “Come see the new New Orleans” is a mantra in the tourist industry there for showcas-ing trendy emerging neighborhoods and a vibrant restaurant scene.

South Dakota expects crowds for the 50th Custer State Park Buf-falo Roundup in September and the 75th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August.

The news that the U.S. intends to normalize relations with Cuba could lead to a rush of travelers hop-

ing to experience the island before it loses its frozen-in-time culture to an onslaught of U.S. chain stores, hotels and tourists. But don’t pack your bags just yet: For the near fu-ture, the only way you can legally visit Cuba as an American citizen is to take a “people to people” cultural exchange tour licensed by the U.S. government. The tours are expen-sive and itineraries are limited.

Two big openings take place in the Big Apple in 2015: the observa-tory at 1 World Trade in late spring and the new Whitney Museum of American Art in May in Manhat-tan’s Meatpacking District near the High Line and the Hudson River.

The city also got a Christmas gift from Lonely Planet, which named the borough of Queens as “best in the U.S.” destination. Manhattan has been giving ground to trendy Brooklyn in recent years, but the elevation of Queens as the next big thing was a bit of a surprise. Not that New Yorkers and tourists alike don’t love Queens attractions like the 1964 World’s Fair grounds, the hipster beach scene in the Rock-aways, Chinatown in Flushing, the Asian and Latin American ethnic

mix in Jackson Heights and the emerging industrial-chic ambience of Long Island City. But the bor-ough is not quite on tourist radars yet — though the Lonely Planet pronouncement may change that.

Universal Studios Hollywood debuts two new attractions in 2015: Springfield, an immersive area opening in spring surround-ing The Simpsons Ride, and Fast & Furious_Supercharged, a thrill ride opening in summer based on the film series.

Disneyland opens “Frozen Fun” in January in Anaheim, California, with a sing-along, “Olaf’s Snow Fest,” and meet-and-greets with Anna and Elsa, among other attrac-tions. The California theme park also celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, with celebration details to be revealed at the end of Janu-ary. Disney World near Orlando, Florida, has several 2015 openings, including a new Italian restau-rant, Trattoria al Forno; an Africa Marketplace at Disney’s Animal Kingdom; and at the new Disney Springs complex, three restaurants, STK, Morimoto Asia and The Boat-house. (ap)

Destinations for 2015

Milan, Cuba, Queens and moreNEW YORK — See Cuba before it changes. Check out the Expo in Milan. And if you’re head-

ing to New York City to see the view from 1 World Trade Center’s observatory (scheduled to open late spring), take the subway to Queens and see if you can figure out why it topped Lonely Planet’s “best in the U.S.” destinations for 2015.

In this Sun-day, Sept. 7, 2014 pho-to, 1 World Trade Center tow-ers above the lower Manhattan skyline in New York. The One World Trade observatory is expected to open in late spring 2015. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File

AP Photo/Desmond Boylan, File

In this Dec. 17, 2014 file photo, tourists relax at the Hotel National, overlooking Morro Castle in Havana, Cuba.

In this July 16, 2014 file photo, food is displayed on a table during the groundbreak-ing cer-emony of the US Pavilion Expo 2015, in Pero, Italy. The theme of the Expo 2015 in Milan is “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”.

AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File

In this March 29, 2009

file photo, a bartender

pours a glass of beer at a restaurant in the Pil-

sner Urquell factory in

Pilsen, Czech Republic.

Pilsen has been named

the 2015 European Capital of

Culture. AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File

Date Event Time Place

Dec 29 Showing tourism and culinary North Sulawesi potential of North Sulawesi 10.00-16.00 Stage Dinner 17.30-18.30 Performance of ethnic music, dance, fashion show 19.00-21.00 Closing 21.00

Dec 30 Showing tourism and culinaryEast Java potential of East Java 10.00-16.00 Stage Dinner 17.30-18.30 Performance of ethnic music, dance, fashion show 19.00-21.00 Closing 21.00

Dec 31 Showing tourism and culinaryNorth Sumatera potential of North Sumatera 10.00-16.00 Stage Dinner 17.30-18.30 Performance of ethnic music, dance, fashion show 19.00-21.00 Closing 21.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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Schedule of TIFDecember 29 - 31, 2014

International2 Monday, December 29, 2014 15International Activities

Bali News

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

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

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

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

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

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

Balinese Temple Ceremony

Monday, December 29, 2014

Facing the New Year 2015 will become an interesting challenge in tourism sector. It is particularly for hotels in need of promotion. This kind of challenge is experienced by Budi Susanta, one of the general managers who is now managing a new property named the Alaya Resort Ubud, Budi Susanta said that he had applied simple tips. For instance, his party joined the organization such as the Ubud Hotels Association (UHA). “Alaya Resort Ubud has joined for three years with the UHA. As a new property, we need to focus on branding,” said the man

from Bangli.The benefits of joining with the

UHA, said Budi, were getting experi-ences, knowledge and relationships. The UHA actively held a meeting every month where all the members could draw a lot of knowledge re-lated to the latest updates on tourism industry. “I personally can expand the horizons of information. So, I get to know what steps to do next,” he expressed.

In addition to having an impact on his personal as a general manager, at least it could also improve the ex-

istence of product because it would indirectly involve the hotel brand. “Hotels are also promoted in the activi-ties by the UHA so that each member can expand relationships, friendship and exchange ideas,” he said when met amidst the activities of the UHA at The Royal Pita Maha.

According to him, other than being active, it was also needed a consistency of the Alaya in the face of competition among the emergence of mushrooming accommodation either in the matter of quality improvement of product, ser-vices or human resources. (ocha)

Fadjar Dua Orphanage was built in 1976 and until now many children have graduated and then become part of their main donors and support and now has 42 children under their supervision, 23 children are living in while the other 19 children has their own parents but too poor and unable to send their children to school.

“The house is comfortable, clean and well taken care of, there are rooms for female and male children. They are in the process of having new building which is still under constructions. This new building will be used for male children. All children has their own responsibility to clean up their own room, besides their

main duty to study”. Said Mr. Drs.H. Alfian, the chief of the Orphanage.

“Harris Raya Kuta plans to continue the program by completing and make their own library in one corner of their living room. This library was planned to be competed by books for school and other books to support their study i.e. story books, novel, encyclopedia, etc. This program is planned to be completed by June 2015. Once the library program is finished, we will continue with other programs with them focusing on study support in order to make those children successful at school with good rank and can continue their study to the next level,” Liza Indira wished.

Harris Hotel Raya Kuta visited Panti Asuhan Fajar Dua

SEMArAPUrA - As part of Corporate Social responsibility (CSr) Program, Harris Hotel raya Kuta visited Panti Asuhan Fajar Dua at Klungkung, Bali on Friday, December 12th, 2014. Harris Hotel raya Kuta team headed by Liza Indira, General Manager came to share and entertain all children with Harris Move performance, is a name of dance performed by Harris Players to express the cheerful and friendliness that usually done inside and / or outside the Hotel, and Dino mascot show.

IBP/BTN File Photo

Profile

Budi SusantaConsistently welcomes the New Year

IBP/Ocha

NEGARA - By the turn of the year, the sales of fireworks are widespread and traders peddled their merchandise freely. Even, at roadside to rural areas it is sold openly on motorcycle, just like street traders. Among the trad-ers, other than selling fireworks, they also sell firecrackers with small-scale explosion. They are sold at affordable price and can be purchased by children.

One of the traders from Banyu-wangi admitted on Saturday (Dec 27) that he sold fireworks by getting around to make it easier. “When selling at particular place, it is hard to sell and there are some problems. Moreover, we are competing against many traders,” said the long-haired man. He had intentionally came to Bali with friends and got the fireworks sup-ply from Java.

Aside from fireworks, he also sold firecrackers, but they were of small size. “Just a little firecracker, it does not generate big explosive sound,” he explained. He admitted that until the New Year he could reap a profit of up to three times if the entire goods were sold out.

In addition to at roadside, the itinerant fireworks traders also offered their merchandise to major public places and even in front of

temple as seen on last Kuningan feast day, Saturday (Dec 27). At some temples with crowded pil-grims, other than traders of food, drinks and toys, firecracker traders also offered their merchandise. As a result, not a few kids were inter-ested to buy the fireworks.

Meanwhile, the bursting by using bamboo cannon was also rife at a number of villages. Un-fortunately, the bamboo bursting

took place in densely populated areas so that it resulted in incon-venience for the residents. “If it is carried out on the beach or in the garden, it will not matter, but this is made near the house. It only disturbs the people’s com-fort,” said one of the residents in Mendoyo. Residents hoped such an action could be disciplined, especially the hazardous and trou-bling firecrackers. (kmb26)

It was expressed by the former Dean of the Faculty of Tourism, Udayana University, I Putu Anom, when met in Denpasar.

According to him, the development of Serangan Island by PT Bali Turtle Island Development (BTID) through reclamation as extensive as 379 hect-ares to finally reach 491 hectares had a positive and negative impact. In

terms of positive impact, local villag-ers became easier to conduct tourism activities or other economic activities through land transportation, where the travel time to mainland Bali could be faster and easier. Undeniably, it also brought in social and cultural impacts as a result of the tourism development of Serangan Island.

“The development indeed greatly

affects the social life of local commu-nity. Simply have a look at, today a lot of cafés and restaurants are established and people tend to appear more glam-orously,” he said.

After a year of evaluation, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy had set Serangan Island as a tourism village in Bali. It should get a priority for development.

He said the Ministry of Tourism had a glance at Serangan Island to be made the latest tourism village on the Island of Bali. Even, the govern-ment already included the plan in the development and management of the National Tourism Strategic Area (KSPN).

“Based on the study of the KSPN against the Sanur, Kuta and Nusa Dua area, the Serangan village is deter-mined as tourism village by the team of central government, but with the presence of storied buildings such as condominiums, the plan was rejected

by the Assessment Team 11 of the KSPN Bali. In the concept of tourism village, the multi-storey hotel building is not allowed,” he explained.

He argued that mangrove forest area on Serangan Island and the Ngurah Rai Grand Forest Park (Ta-hura) should still become a natural tourist attraction. “Both regions must remain to be conserved, so that it is not allowed to present any physical buildings such as hotels, restaurants and others in the region,” said Sec-retary of the Assessment Team 11 of the KSPN Bali. (par)

Development of Serangan Island

After reclamation, it has not certain planThe Serangan Island

DENPASAr - Serangan village as one of the tourist objects in Bali does not escape from the attention of many people, especially those who intend to develop the tourism potential owned by Serangan village. Unfortunately, after the reclamation until now it seems there is no definite development plan.

Fireworks sold freely

IBP/File

Monday, December 29, 201416Monday, December 29, 2014

16 Pages Number 87th year

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

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Continued on page 6

AirAsia, a regional low-cost carrier with presence in several Southeast Asian countries, said in a statement that the missing Airbus A320-200 was on the submitted flight plan route. However, it had requested deviation due to weather before communication with the aircraft was lost while it was still under the control of the Indonesian Air Traffic Control.

“We don’t dare to pressume what has happened exceped that it has lost contact.” Djoko Murjatmodjo, Indonesia’s acting director general of transportation, told reporters. He said the last contact between pilot and the air traffic control was at 6.13 a.m. (2313 GMT Saturday) “when he asked to hinder cloud by turning left and go higher to 34,000 feet.”

He said there was no distress signal from Flight QZ8501.The contact was lost about 42 minutes after the single-aisle

jetliner took off from Indonesia’s Surabaya airport, Hadi Mustofa, an official of the transportation ministry told Indonesia’s MetroTV. It was about an hour before it was scheduled to land in Singapore at 0030gmt.

Flight QZ8501 tlost communication with Jakarta’s air traffic control at 7:24 a.m. Singapore time (2324 GMT Saturday) about an hour before it was scheduled to land in Singapore, the Singa-pore Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.

The plane had two pilots, five cabin crew and 155 passengers, including 16 children and one infant, AirAsia Indonesia said in a statement. Indonesian officials had earlier said there were 161 people on board, presumably because the infant was not counted.

The AirAsia statement said there were six foreigners — three South Koreans and one each from Singapore, Malaysia and France. The rest were Indonesians.

It said the captain in command had a total of 6,100 flying hours, a substantial number, and the first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours.

At Surabaya airport, dozens of relatives sat in a room, many of them talking on mobile phones and crying. Some looked dazed.

Murjatmodjo, the Indonesian official, said the plane is believed to have gone missing somewhere over the Java Sea between Tanjung Pandan on Belitung island and Pontianak, on Indonesia’s part of Kalimantan island.

He said the pilot contacted Jakarta air traffic control 6:12 a.m. reporting clouds and asking to go higher from 32,000 feet (9,700 meters ) to 34,000 feet (10,303 meters), the usual cruising altitude for jetliners.

AirAsia plane with 162 on board missing JAKARTA — An AirAsia plane with 162 people

on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from Surabaya to Singapore. The two countries immedi-ately launched a search and rescue operation but there was no word on the plane’s whereabouts more than six hours after it went missing.

The Singapore statement said search and rescue operations have been activated by the Indonesian authorities. It said the Singapore air force and the navy also were searching with two C-130 planes.

Flightradar24, a flight tracking website, said the plane was de-livered in September 2008, which would make it six years old.

The Malaysia-based AirAsia, which has dominated cheap travel in the region for years, has never lost a plane before. AirAsia Malaysia owns 49 percent of the Indonesian subsidiary.

This is the third major air incident involving Malaysia this year. On March 8, Malaysia Airlines flight 370, a wide-bodied Boeing 777, went missing soon after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing. It remains missing until this day with 239 people in one of the biggest aviation mysteries. Another Malaysia Airlines flight,

also a Boeing 777, was shot down over rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine while on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17. A total of 298 people on board were killed.

The crew’s request for an unusual route is curious since the weather “didn’t seem to be anything unusual,” said William Wal-dock, an expert on air crash search and rescue with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona.

Severe weather is the reason pilots usually request a different route, but in this case the “winds were light, there were a few thin clouds, but that’s about it,” he said in an interview.

Waldock cautioned against drawing comparisons to the disap-pearance of Malaysia flight 370.

AP Photo/Trisnadi

Relatives of the passengers of AirAsia flight QZ8501 comfort each other at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The AirAsia plane with 162 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore, and search and rescue operations were underway.

RABAT, Morocco - Morocco banned bib-lical epic “Exodus: Gods and Kings” on the flight of the Jews from ancient Egypt because it “represents God” which is forbidden under Islam, its distributor said Saturday.

The distributor said it had received written notice that Ridley Scott’s blockbuster contained a scene that represents God in the form of a “child who gives a revelation to the prophet Moses”.

Initially, cinema owners were informed verbally that the film had been banned, media reports had said.

“I deplore this censorship,” distributor Mounia Layadi Benkirane said in a statement to AFP.

Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, has also banned the movie, citing “historical inaccuracies”.

Moroccan media on Thursday reported that cinema managers had been told not to screen the film, despite its release already having been approved by the state-run Moroccan Cinema Centre (MCC).

Hassan Belkady, who runs Cinema Rif in Casablanca, told media24 news website that he had been threatened with the closure of his business if he ignored the ban.

“They phoned and threatened they would shut down the theatre if I did not take the film off the schedule,” Belkady said.

Distributor Benkirane, who also runs the Colisseum cinema in Marrakesh, said “Exodus” has now been pulled from the schedules.

“The last screening was on Friday night at 21:30. I respect the decision of the MCC board,” she said, but added that she did not understand why the decision was taken.

“The child through whom Moses receives the revelation in the film at no time says he is God,” she said, noting that such a film ban is “very rare” in the North African country.

Neither the head of the MCC nor the com-munications ministry could be immediately contacted by AFP to comment on the issue.

Benkirane said the film could have resulted in 35,000 ticket sales in Morocco and earned 1.8 million dirhams (nearly 160,000 euros).

Now the buzz caused by the controversy “will profit only the pirates who continue to peddle the film”, she said.

The 3D “Exodus: Gods and Kings”, star-ring Christian Bale as Moses rising up against the Pharaoh Ramses, earned $24.1 million in its debut weekend in the United States, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations. (afp)

“The limited release, in under 10 per-cent of the amount of theaters originally planned, featured numerous sellouts and a first-day gross over $1 million,” said Rory Bruer, global distribution president from Sony Pictures.

After initially planning to halt release of the film that sparked an international incident, “The Interview” opened in about 300 cinemas, mostly small inde-pendent theaters, December 25.

The film was also released online for rental or purchase.

Major US theater chains announced last week that they would not show the film after threats from hackers who claimed a cyber attack of Sony Studios.

The low-brow comedy featuring Seth Rogen and James Franco revolves around the fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. It infuriated North Korea, who the US has

blamed for the cyber attack.“Considering the incredibly challeng-

ing circumstances, we are extremely grateful to the people all over the country who came out to experience ‘The Interview’ on the first day of its unconventional release,” Bruer said in a statement.

The film played to packed theaters across the US, with many viewers com-ing out to make a statement about free speech.

Online services for Sony’s PlaySta-tion and Microsoft’s Xbox gaming consoles, which had decided to release the film online, went down Thursday, allegedly attacked by hackers.

A file sharing website reported the film had been illegally downloaded over 750,000 times.

Online views of the film had not yet been released. (afp)

AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File

In this Dec. 22, 2014, file photo, a South Korean army soldier walks near a TV screen showing an advertisement of Sony Picture’s “The Interview,” at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea.

‘The Interview’ takes in $1 million in limited releaseLOS ANGELES - Raunchy comedy “The Interview” took in one mil-

lion dollars in its limited release opening day, Sony Studios said Friday, after the film was turned away by major theaters.

Joel Ryan/Invision/AP

Actors Joel Edgerton and Chris-tian Bale pose for photographers upon arrival at the World premiere of the film Exodus: Gods And Kings in London, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014.

Morocco banned Moses epic for ‘showing God’

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