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

Monday, July 13, 2015

Monday, July 13, 2015

16 Pages Number 1447th year

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

DPs 23 - 32WEATHER FORECAsT

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US secretary of state ‘hopeful’ Iran nuke deal near

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Wary of climate change, Vanuatu villagers seek higher ground

Casillas leaves Real for new challenge at Porto

Mount Raung on the main island of Java has been erupting for weeks, and on Thursday a cloud of drift-ing ash forced the closure of Bali

airport during peak holiday season, and four others.

The airport at Bali, a top in-ternational holiday destination

that attracts millions of foreign tourists every year, reopened on Saturday as the ash drifted away, allowing some passengers to board flights home and others to arrive.

But Sunday morning, the trans-port ministry announced wind had once again pushed the cloud over

the resort island and that the airport was being closed again until at least 4:00 pm (0800 GMT).

“We will continue to monitor developments and decide if the closure will be extended later,” transport ministry spokesman J.A. Barata told AFP.

IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

Ash spewing from an Indonesian volcano closed Bali airport again Sunday, just a day after it reopened, causing fresh travel chaos for weary holidaymakers stranded on the holiday island.

More travel chaos as volcano closes Bali airport again

DENPASAR - Ash spewing from an Indonesian volcano closed Bali airport again Sunday, just a day after it reopened, causing fresh travel chaos for weary holidaymakers stranded on the holiday island.

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

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

SAN DIEGO — Screams and cheers are cheap at Comic-Con, but the energy stepped up a notch Sat-urday evening after fans got their first look at “Deadpool.”

Not only did the trailer for the irreverent film starring Ryan Reynolds get a standing ovation, but soon the 6,500-person Hall H audience started chanting, “One more time!”

Host Chris Hardwick seemed momentarily flustered, explaining that he doesn’t actually have that power. But he asked the A/V gods if it was possible, and soon, the blood-soaked, expletive-laced trailer was playing again.

It seems fitting for a movie 11 years in the making that Reynolds said was only greenlit because of the enthusiasm of the fans.

The Marvel antihero, known for his salty language and off-humor, is given an origin story in this film, which comes out Feb. 12.

Perhaps the main event of the Twentieth Century Fox presenta-tion, which also included looks at “Fantastic Four,” the “Maze Run-ner” sequel and “Victor Franken-

stein,” was “X-Men: Apocalypse.”The veil was stripped away from

the highly secretive film as director Bryan Singer revealed that it takes place 10 years after the events of “X-Men: Days of Future Past” in 1983.

This is a world that has grown to accept mutants, mostly. But a mysterious and influential sect has risen that believes the mutants are gods.

While Jennifer Lawrence said her character in this outing is more Raven than Mystique, Michael Fassbender stayed ambiguous about whether we’d be seeing Erik or Magneto.

“I think he’s a guy who plays both sides. He’s always that kind of ambiguous villain,” said Fass-bender. “When we meet him, he’s more of a simple guy, living a nor-mal life. He’s hung up his cape and his evil ways.”

The footage also showed the first glimpse at Oscar Isaac’s villain Apocalypse and Sophie Turner’s young Jean Grey.

“X-Men: Apocalypse” is only five weeks into shooting and will be released on May 27. (ap)

The winner of two Golden Globe awards and an Oscar nomination for his role as Sherif Ali in David Lean’s 1962 epic “Lawrence of Arabia”, Sharif was known for his debonair style, raffish good looks and often mischievous joie de vivre.

He died in Cairo of a heart at-tack, his agent Steve Kenis said in London, after a struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Close friend and Egypt’s former antiquities minister Zahi Hawwas said Sharif died in an upmarket Cairo clinic where he had been under treatment for the past month.

“His psychological state had deteriorated, he wasn’t eating or drinking,” Hawwas told AFP.

Tributes poured in after the news of Sharif’s death, with Hollywood star Antonio Banderas calling him “a great storyteller, a loyal friend and a

wise spirit”.“I will always miss him. He was one of the best,”

he tweeted of the Egyptian star, who was flu-ent in six languages and also famous for

his skills at playing the card game bridge.

Italian actress Claudia Cardi-nale, who acted with Sharif in Jacques Baratier’s 1958 film “Goha,” expressed her “great sadness” while renowned Egyptian actress Youssra said she felt “awful”.

“I just lost (one) of the best people in my life, I feel so lost and unhappy and helpless,” she told AFP.

The actor’s grandson, Omar Sharif Jr, posted on

Twitter: “I join my family in thanking everyone for the

global outpouring of prayers and support we’ve been receiving. I will miss my grandfather dearly.” (afp)

NEW YORK - Beyonce and Pearl Jam will headline the Global Citizen Festival in New York, which for the first time will broadcast in-ternationally as organizers seek to expand its anti-poverty message.

Other performers at the Septem-ber 26 show in Central Park will include Coldplay, whose frontman Chris Martin has signed on to a long-term role in arranging the fes-tival, and English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who previously an-nounced his participation.

Launched in 2012, the annual concert coinciding with the UN General Assembly is free for fans who commit to actions aimed at eradicating extreme poverty.

Beyonce will be playing one of only two announced shows since the pop superstar ended a world tour last year.

This year’s festival “is especially rewarding as we all join focuses and utilize our talents for one goal: to end extreme poverty globally,” Be-yonce said in a statement released

Thursday.The festival, which in the past

has been broadcast only in the Unit-ed States by MSNBC, will aim to reach a worldwide audience through a YouTube livestream, among other broadcast plans.

Beyonce was a surprise perform-er at last year’s festival during a set by her husband, rapper Jay Z. An-other unexpected guest was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who vowed to improve sanitation for his nation’s poorest. (afp)

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Bryan Singer, from left, Jennifer Lawrence, and Michael Fassbender attend the “X-Men: Apocalypse” panel on day 3 of Comic-Con International on Saturday, July 11, 2015, in San Diego, Calif.

First footage of ‘X-Men: Apocalypse,’

‘Deadpool’ shown

Beyonce to lead expanded anti-poverty concert

Omar Sharif, the eternal ‘Doctor Zhivago’, dies at 83

CAIRO - Egyptian-born film legend Omar Sharif, who died Friday aged 83, captivated audi-ences worldwide for more than half a century, but will forever be remembered as the eponymous “Doctor Zhivago”.

International2 Monday, July 13, 2015 15International Activities

Bali News Monday, July 13, 2015

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

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

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

The dedication or inauguration day of a Temple is considered its birth day and celebration always takes place on the same day if the wuku or 210 day calendar is used. When new moon is used then the celebration always happens on new moon or full moon. The day of course can differ the religious celebration of a temple lasts at least one full day with some temple celebrating for three days while the celebra-tion 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 beau-tifully 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 beauti-fully 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

With a strategic location at Four Seasons’ Coconut Grove on Jimbaran Beach, TropicSurf’s ‘Ticket to Ride’ program caters for all levels – begin-ner through advanced – and provides convenient access to the island’s best breaks, all while enjoying the authen-tic Balinese culture and world-class service of Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay. For beginners and longboarders, the gentle beach break directly off the Coconut Grove is the perfect learn-ing ground, and TropicSurf’s unique coaching methodology provides personalized guidance for a maximum of four people per class. Experienced surfers can take advantage of Tropic-Surf’s boat to surf ‘Airports’, just 10 minutes’ boat ride away, or the Ulu-watu peninsula, or take a 20-minute road trip to Nusa Dua and Sanur.

Hurley-sponsored professional surfer Jay Phillips said the TropicSurf program at Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay offers “the experience of a life-time”. Phillips is based on the Gold Coast, Australia, and traveled to Bali with his wife and three children. “You’ve got all surf breaks at your fingertips right here in the Bay,” he said. “I know my daughter’s in safe hands surfing perfect little waves at Tora-Tora or on the shore break right in front of Sundara, and my wife’s having the time of her life at the resort while I get some quality waves as well. It’s been a dream holiday.”

While TropicSurf enables surfers avoid the crowds and pick the best waves to get the most of their time in the water, any non-surfers can immerse in the resort’s tranquil beach-front

IBP/Courtesy of Four Seasons Jimbaran

Four Seasons Jimbaran introduces bespoke surfing holidays

JIMBARAN - Bali is one of the world’s top surfing destina-tions, but often the challenge is getting the best waves yet avoid-ing the crowds, as well as spending quality time with family or spouse. It is a constant balancing act, but there is now a solution to keep everybody happy thanks to a new partnership between Four Seasons Resort Jimbaran Bay and TropicSurf, to offer bespoke surfing holidays in Bali.

location and authentic experiences. Comprising seven living ‘villages’, the 156 villas– each with indoor and outdoor living pavilions, shower gar-den and picturesque pool – cascade down 14 hectares of hilly headland and tropical water gardens dotted with hundreds of statues and shrines. Guests can go on a Temple Tour and even receive a traditional seawater blessing by the resident ‘Mangku’ (Priest), embark on a culinary journey at the onsite Jimbaran Bay Cooking Academy, take a curative journey at The Healing Village Spa or soak up the chilled-chic vibe – and Southeast Asia’s best cocktails – from a poolside beachfront day bed at Sundara.

“TropicSurf’s unique coaching methodology and approach to luxury surfing holidays is the perfect match for what our guests look for when

traveling to Bali,” said Uday Rao, General Manager of Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay. “Whether beginner or experienced surfers, they can maxi-mize their time in the water and still enjoy plenty of time with their family or spouse, immersing themselves in everything that Bali has to offer; from the art and spirituality, to the wellbe-ing rituals, recreational activities and world-class dining.”

Ross Phillips, Founder and Direc-tor of TropicSurf, said: “Tropicsurf is delighted to be partnered with Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay in Bali. The property has an authentic Balinese feel and the location is central to the broad range of wave types that we need for our varied guest abilities. We understand that for most of our guests, their time is valuable. So we have di-rect boat access just 10 minutes from

the Four Seasons beach to some ideal waves. We aim to get our guests to a higher level of surfing skill in a shorter time span. Our expert guides not only can get you into some of Bali’s magi-cal waves, but also transform your surfing along the way.”

To mark the launch, Four Seasons has created exclusive new Tropic-Surf accommodation packages. The Learn-to-Surf package is the perfect choice for beginners, inclusive of daily buffet breakfast and a one-hour lesson for two people with Tropic-Surf’s professional instructor. The TropicSurf Family Holiday includes daily buffet breakfast and a private lesson for two adults and two children (aged 6 and above) to enjoy quality family time bonding over the shared experience of riding your first waves together.

NEGArA - Dozens of bus, truck and family vehicle drivers took physical condition test made by the officers when lining up at Gilimanuk Harbor, Saturday (Jul. 11). The drivers also underwent alcohol test to ensure whether they were not under influence of alcohol while driving.

Until Saturday afternoon, the officers of the first class Denpasar

Harbor Health Office have taken around 60 samples of the drivers for the alcohol test. However, the results of all the drivers par-ticularly bus drivers and public transportation was negative. When visited by the officers at LCM dock, some drivers seemingly refused to be tested, as they wor-ried if their blood sample will be taken. However, when described

by the officers if the test is only through the mouth, some drivers finally agreed.

One of the bus drivers to Sema-rang destination, Ipung Purwanto, claimed if the health checkup did not matter. According to him, such an effort needs to be done especially he has been working for three days and rarely took a break. “Within once departure, he drives for 18

hours without a break,” said the driver from Surabaya.

Technical Implementation Of-ficer of the first class Denpasar Harbor Health, I Made Arta, said that such an effort is intentionally made at stop points of vehicle at Gilimanuk and Padang Bai Harbor. The drivers, especially of the home-coming transportation, are checked up to know their blood pressure and

alcohol test to ensure whether they are in fit condition.

“We target to take 100 samples of drivers. On average their blood pressure is in normal range,” he said with permission from his leader-ship, Nyoman Murtiyasa. However, when the officers find drivers af-fected by alcohol, the officers will ask them to go down and do not drive a car or bus. (kmb26)

It was revealed by economic academician, Prof. Dr. Ida Ba-gus Raka Suardana, Saturday (Jul. 11). Religious leaders (high priests, PHDI, MUDP and cus-tomary village) are expected to continuously disseminate the reduction of imported fruit usage and other needs as well as ritual paraphernalia must be made as simple as possible.

“It is unnecessary to make grandiose offerings for the wor-ship. If this manner can be done by each family, it can be imag-ined how much saving can be made to reduce our dependence on foreign products,” he said.

He said that the other ritual paraphernalia such as young coconut leaf is also now very dependent on outside region, particularly Java. Before fes-tive season (rerahinan) in Bali, numerous cars and pickup boxes lined up at the crossing harbor transporting the commodity. Likewise, similar condition also happens to the needs of meat, especially chicken.

“Provincial and county gov-ernment should also make a poli-cy on the making of the centers of local fruit farms and plantations

supporting the ritual parapherna-lia and provision of incentives for the farmers,” he said.

He admitted there has been a behavioral change of Balinese people since the past 25 years. One of which happens to reli-gious ceremony in the matter of ritual paraphernalia, where the fruits are dominated by imported products.

“We expect that Balinese people will be more aware and willing to change the current needs in the making of knick-knacks of their penjor along with the use of local materials. By changing the raw materials of penjor knickknacks, it will be able to generate the economy of Bali,” he said.

In the meantime, to meet the needs, people are suggested to jointly plant quality raw mate-rials by utilizing dormant land remaining available in the area of Karangasem and Bangli.

“By doing so, certainly people can use raw materials produced in Bali as an expression of grati-tude to God. Why are we grate-ful to imported raw materials?” he said.

Rector of the Undiknas Uni-

Bus and truck drivers at Gilimanuk take alcohol test

Galungan, not a moment to show off prestige

DENPASAR - In this Wedensday, the Hindus, especially those in Bali, will celebrate Galungan and Kuningan. Festivity interpreted as the victory of Dharma against Adharma falling on July 15. They are expected not to use the moment to show off or make prestige contest such as the use of imported fruits and making penjor costing millions of rupiahs just to show off financial capability. However, it must be emphasized on the spirit of simplicity and modesty, so that we can suppress the dependence on foreign products.

versity Denpasar, Prof. Dr. Gede Sri Darma, DBA, admitted that the dominance of imported prod-ucts in everyday’s life of the Hindus are inseparable from the sense of prestige and social sta-tus. The quality of young coconut leaf and knickknacks of Bali can only last about two to three days, while the imported products can last longer.

“We should be proud of hav-ing the results of the abundant natural resources. The govern-

ment must also be serious and is not only busy taking care of itself or just taking care of people when there is a project,” he said.

He mentioned that almost all the necessities for ceremonial purposes and other supporting materials are mostly brought in from East Java, such as coconut, jackfruit wood, and even the last one is bamboo to make penjor. East Java and Central Lombok are the centers of bamboo pro-

ducer that can offer cheaper bamboo, so that traders have the opportunity to sell them to Bali because local bamboo is sold for higher price.

Prof. Sri Darma also added that there are three keys to gener-ate the economic wheels of Bali and make it even. The community is required to maintain Balinese culture and then Balinese people should understand about cultural values of the penjor and the chain of social life. (kmb27)

IBP/File

The sellers of Galungan equipments is seen on the picture.

3Monday, July 13, 2015 14 InternationalInternational Bali NewsTraveling Monday, July 13, 2015

In a statement published on the state-run website Cubade-bate, the Transportation Ministry said the number of cruise ship port calls rose from 24 in 2012 to 139 in 2014, while visits by cruise passengers saw a similar jump from 6,770 to 37,519 dur-ing the same period.

Already this year there have been 174 port calls and 62,183 passenger visits through May, according to the ministry’s sta-tistics.

The s ta tement ca l led the cruise industry an “important element of tourism development for the country,” and said further

growth is expected.The report comes two days

after U.S. cruise company Car-nival announced a plan to begin running ships to the Caribbean island through its new brand, fathom, which focuses on trips in which passengers sail to a destination in order to volunteer there.

Amid a gradual thaw between Cold War foes Washington and Havana, Carnival has secured permission from the U.S. Trea-sury Department but is st i l l awaiting approval from the Cu-ban government.

The Cuban Transportation

Ministry said growth during the last three years “could have been even greater if not for the inhu-man measures imposed on us by the U.S. blockade (embargo) which substantially hurts mari-time activity” â?? a signal that Havana may look favorably on Carnival’s proposal and U.S. cruise ships in general.

Carnival hopes to begin the trips in May and says it would be the first American cruise company to visit Cuba since the advent of the embargo, which went into full effect in 1962.

Cruise ships dock regularly in the port of Havana during

Carnival Corporation via AP, File

Cuba announces 5-fold spike in cruise tourism since 2012

HAVANA -?? Cruise ship tourism to Cuba spiked more than five-fold over the last three years and is up even higher so far in 2015, government officials reported Thursday.

the winter high season, disgorg-ing hundreds of travelers at a time into the adjacent colonial quarter.

The Transportation Ministry also cited Cienfuegos, Santiago and other coastal points as cen-ters of cruise tourism, and high-lighted the Isle of Youth as an opportunity for possible future expansion of the sector.

American tourism to Cuba remains illegal under U.S. law, although Washington has relaxed rules in recent years to allow ever-greater numbers of U.S. visitors on cultural, academic, religious and other types of ex-changes considered “purposeful travel.”

Carnival’s weeklong cruis-

es aboard the 710 passenger-capacity Adonia would offer legal “people-to-people” trips in which travelers spend most of the day involved in cultural activities in order to conform to U.S. regulations.

Most Cuban ports are not able to accommodate larger vessels that can hold tens of thousands of people. In Havana, an auto-mobile tunnel that traverses the mouth of the bay prevents the city from dredging deeper to receive lower-drafting ships.

A recently completed upgrade at Mariel, an industrial port about a 45-minute drive west of Havana, could be a possibility if Cuba ever looks to receive the bigger cruise vessels. (ap)

AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File

AP Photo/Desmond Boylan, File

In this April 1, 2015, file photo, tourist leave a privately owned home with rooms for rent in Havana, Cuba.

AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa

Tourists walk around the home that once belonged to author Ernest Hemingway, known as Finca Vigia, in Havana, Cuba, Monday, June 22, 2015.

This 20 percent drop in the room occupancy rate, as compared to that in the same period last year, occurred due to stiff competition.

The figure fell from 60 percent in the corresponding period last year, Chief of the Bali Chapter of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati said.

“However, I am optimistic that in the days before and after the Idul Fitri festivities, the room occupancy rate of luxury hotels will increase

because numerous domestic and foreign tourists visit Bali for their vacations,” he affirmed.

Several guests have booked rooms in hotels to holiday in Bali during the Idul Fitri festivities, which will fall on July 17 and 18, he stated.

“Owners of many luxury ho-tels are offering special packages to potential guests during Idul Fitri. Hopefully, these promo-tions will serve to increase their room occupancy rates,” Sukawati remarked. (ant)

GIANYAR - Within the past few months the condition of Ubud area is slightly deserted. Now, when entering July 2015, the Ubud area denoting prominent tourist destination of Gian-yar starts to be thronged by travelers. Inevitably this condition causes some roads in the region also to deal with traffic jams. In addition, unavoidable congestions occur at some points.

Based on observation in the area of Ubud on Friday (Jul. 10), there was increasing number of travelers as seen from the atmosphere at some points in the Ubud area starting from the Catus Pata or central intersection of Ubud area that looked to have been crowded by travelers passing on foot. Similar conditions also appeared along the Jalan Wenara Wana leading to the Monkey Forest attraction.

Increasing number of tourist visit is also directly proportional to the condition of some road sections such as Jalan Raya Ubud, Jalan Wenara Wana and others starting crowded with vehicles transporting travelers. Congestion is inevitable at some major intersections like the central intersec-tion and in front of the office of the Ubud subdistrict head.

Such increase is also experienced by traders at Ubud Art Market located in the heart of Ubud town. Accord-ing to one of the traders, within the past few days the number of travel-ers stopped by at the shop indeed increased compared to usual days. “Indeed the tourist visit coming here increases. It commonly happens when entering July,” said the trader.

Similar opinion is also recognized by the Head of the Gianyar Tourism

IBP/Wawan

The room occupancy rate of luxury hotels in the resort island of Bali was recorded at 40 per-cent on an average, in the first half of 2015.

Occupancy rate in luxury hotels falls to 40 percent

DENPASAR - The room occupancy rate of luxury hotels in the resort island of Bali was recorded at 40 percent on an aver-age, in the first half of 2015.

July, tourist visit to Ubud mounts

IBP/Wawan

Within the past few months the condition of Ubud area is slightly deserted. Now, when enter-ing July 2015, the Ubud area denoting prominent tourist destination of Gianyar starts to be thronged by travelers. Inevitably this condition causes some roads in the region also to deal with traffic jams.

Office, A.A. Ari Brahmanta, that when entering July 2015, the tourist visit to Ubud will increase. However, his party is unable to ensure whether it has showed an increasing visit compared to July of last year. “If we observe travelers in Ubud, they are indeed more crowded than the previ-ous month in 2015. We will know about the number at the end of July after we make a check at the airport, including the room occupancy rate in Ubud such as home stay, star hotel and others,” he said.

When asked about the target of

tourist arrival, A.A. Ari Brahmanta said that in 2015 the Gianyar Tourism Office only adds three percent to the target of tourist visit in previous year reaching 1.2 million even though in 2014 the tourist arrival exceeded the target, reaching 1.3 million people. “Every year we just increase three per-cent to the target of tourist visit to all attractions in Gianyar,” he explained.

Based on the data of the Gianyar Tourism Office, the average tourist ar-rival of domestic and foreign travelers to Tirta Empul reaches 32,681 each month. This condition is the same as

the previous year, where Tirta Empul always reaches the foremost tourist traffic. Other than lying in the track to Kintamani, Tirta Empul indeed has a high attraction with holy spring shower and is located adjacent to the Tampaksiring Palace.

Further, the Goa Gajah Bedulu at-traction is ranked second in the number of tourist arrival with monthly average of 19,321 visitors. Then, it is followed by Gunung Kawi Tampaksiring with monthly visit of 9,381 people, Gunung Kawi Sebatu (1,781 people) and Yeh Pulu Bedulu (450 people).

In the meantime, beyond the tourist attractions managed by the govern-ment of Gianyar such as painting museum, the bird park, rafting and others also become the destination of tourists visit. Total domestic and foreign tourist arrival until May 2015 to tourist attractions managed by the government of Gianyar and private companies reached 361,630 people. (kmb35)

Bali News International4 Monday, July 13, 2015 Monday, July 13, 2015 13International

En route to Mass at Vienna’s gothic St. Stephens Cathedral, Kerry said twice he was “hopeful” after a “very good meeting” Satur-day with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who had Muslim services Friday. Kerry noted that “a few tough things” remain in the way of agreement but added: “We’re getting to some real decisions.”

He spoke ahead of Monday target date for a pact meant to im-pose long-term, verifiable limits on nuclear programs that Tehran could modify to produce weapons. Iran, in return, would get tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief.

The nuclear talks are now in their 16th day and have been extended three times since the first deadline of March 31 for the current round was missed. The mood among ne-gotiators has turned more somber each time a new target date was set. As the weekend approached, Kerry declared the talks could not go on indefinitely and warned that the U.S. could walk away from the negotiations.

But in another sign that a deal could soon be sealed, Russian news agencies reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov planned to arrive in Vienna on

Sunday evening. Most other for-eign ministers of the six nations negotiating with Iran already are in the Austrian capital and in position to join Kerry and Zarif for any an-nouncement of an agreement.

Diplomats familiar with the talks say most of the nuts and bolts of implementing the deal have been agreed upon. But over the past week issues that were previously on the back burner have led to new disputes. Among them is Iran’s demand for a lifting of a U.N. arms embargo and its insistence that any U.N. Security Council resolu-tion approving the deal be written in a way that effectively frames previous resolutions criticizing its nuclear activities as illegal.

Despite Kerry’s relatively upbeat take, comments by Iran’s supreme leader suggested that Tehran’s mis-trust of Washington would persist no matter what the outcome of the talks.

Iran’s state-run Press TV cited Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Satur-day as calling the U.S. an “excel-lent example of arrogance.” It said Khamenei told university students in Tehran to be “prepared to con-tinue the struggle against arrogant powers.”

Even if Khamenei isn’t signal-

ing that the talks have failed, his comments appeared to be a blow to U.S. hopes that an agreement will lead to improved bilateral relations that could translate into increased cooperation in a common cause— the fight against Islamic

State radicals.Zarif had hinted at just that last

week, suggesting a deal acceptable to his country will open the door to joint efforts on that front.

Israeli Prime Minister Benja-min Netanyahu, a fierce opponent

of what he considers a deal that is too lenient on Tehran, said Khamenei’s comments showed that Western powers are “cav-ing” into Iran even as the Islamic Republic keeps railing against them. (ap)

BEIJING — Beijing’s city gov-ernment said Sunday that it is going to move part of its administrative functions out of the city center as part of a plan to better integrate the Chinese capital with its surround-ing areas.

The municipal government’s Communist Party committee also agreed at a meeting Friday and Saturday to stick to its target to limit Beijing’s population to 23 million, according to the government’s information office microblog. Its population was 21.5 million at the end of 2014.

The “subsidiary administrative center” will be in Tongzhou, a district in Beijing’s eastern sub-urbs about a 40-minute car ride

from downtown Beijing without heavy traffic, and will take shape by 2017.

The new center is part of a plan to integrate Beijing with neighbor-ing Hebei, an industrial province from where much of the capital’s pollution wafts in, and the port city of Tianjin. Officials want to develop high-quality resources such as hospitals and universities in the whole area, rather than have them concentrated in downtown Beijing.

Moving part of the municipal government and its services out of central Beijing and to neigh-boring regions will help ease traffic congestion and population growth. (ap)

AP Photo/Andy Wong, File

FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2012 file photo, people rush to catch their train at Beijing station in Beijing, China as millions of Chinese are expected to cramp onto China’s train network in the coming weeks to return home for the Chinese lunar new year.

Beijing city gov’t to move part of its functions to a suburb

Carlos Barria/Pool via AP

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, centre, and State Department Chief of Staff Jon Finer, left, meet with other members of the U.S. delegation at the garden of the Palais Coburg hotel where the Iran nuclear talks meetings are being held in Vienna, Austria, Friday July 10, 2015.

US secretary of state ‘hopeful’ Iran nuke deal near

VIENNA — Nuclear negotiations with Iran appeared back on track Sunday after blowing through three deadlines, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry dropping warnings they could go either way but expressing hope that nearly a decade of international efforts could soon result in a historic deal.

GIANYAR - Penjor is the most prominent symbol of Hindu in Bali, marking the celebration of Galun-gan and Kuningan feast. Various more efficient penjor outfits have now been available on sale at road-sides. With this condition, people often have to spend up to millions of rupiahs to create a magnificent penjor. Is it still appropriate to be done amid the weakening economy of Indonesia, especially Bali? In response to this matter, a number of religious leaders appealed to Hin-dus not to make grandiose penjor.

Chairman of the Hindu Dharma Parishad of Indonesia (PHDI) Bali, Prof. Dr. I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana, confirmed that parishad still urges people to make penjor featuring the philosophical and aesthetical aspects of the ceremony. “It is based on the Sundari Gama manuscript and agreed interpretation where

the most important in the making of penjor is that the materials are genuine, the presence of tubers and fruits as well as bamboo shrine. So, it puts more emphases on the use of sacredness and genuineness of the materials. Ultimately, it is filled with aesthetics,” he explained.

He did not deny the condition of Balinese people where today they put more emphases on the aestheti-cal element when making a penjor, while philosophical elements of the ceremony are even reduced. People are advised not to make a big and magnificent penjor beyond the capability. Moreover, the making has deviated from the philosophy of sacred penjor. “It is better, if possible, to make penjor from the products of own garden because the plants have been given ritual on the Tumpek Uduh, posing the otonan or birthday of the plants ahead of

the Galungan feast. When making a penjor from the results of own garden the sacredness is definitely fulfilled,” explained the professor at the IHDN Denpasar.

In the meantime, people having no garden are expected to buy pen-jor outfits from of fellow Balinese. It is no other than maintaining the economic turnaround in Bali. He also hoped the making of penjor will not use the materials brought in from outside Bali. “So, even though purchasing, try to use the materials existing in Bali such as bamboo from Bangli, Karangasem and other regions. This way is good and do not bring in from outside. Essentially, we strongly advise that the making of penjor must not use expensive materials, because the penjor of Galungan is the ritual one, not creation penjor featuring the aesthetic elements used in the

competition,” he said.Similar opinion was delivered

by a lecture of the Hindu Univer-sity of Indonesia (Unhi) Denpasar, Prof. Dr. I.B. Gunadha, that penjor must be distinguished from papen-joran. Penjor is closely associated with Hindu religious ritual, while papenjoran is made for the benefit of outside religious ceremonies or profane use. Sacred penjor like the penjor of Galungan must comply with several requirements. “Penjor is a symbol of mountain as a source of well-being. That’s why penjor resembles the shape of the Ananta Boga dragon with the head at the bottom and tail curving over the top. By using bamboo, it is equipped with bakang-bakang made from young coconut or palm leaf,” he explained.

He said that the outfits of penjor on Galungan include bambu shrine,

tubers, fruits, sampian penjor, lamak, ceniga, fabrics and so on. These elements must be available in the making of penjor for Galun-gan because they are symbolizing people’s expression of gratitude to God after being bestowed with the source of life,” he said.

“Penjor is completely made from tubers, fruits, and other outfits such as bamboo shrine to accommodate the offerings on the Galungan cel-ebration. Once completed, penjor is then mounted on the right side of the entrance into the house com-pound area,” he explained.

The right time to install penjor is in the afternoon, the day before Ga-lungan, namely on the Penampahan Galungan. Installation of the penjor the day before Galungan means to make the supplies and decorations of the penjor remain fresh on the Galungan. (nik)

Cleanup of the water hyacinth conducted by the legislators with local people was done by pulling it to the edge of the lake by using a tool. Other than targeting water hyacinth, the mutual assistance activity led by the Chairman of the Bangli House, Ngakan Kutha Parwata, also cleaned up abuyat grass and plastic waste around the lake. Plastic waste removed last Saturday was mostly consisting of plastic waste formerly used by residents in their farmland. From the results of the mutual assistance, the hyacinth and plastic waste were collected and then put into sacks to be transported by trucks. The Bangli Environment Agency (BLH) in the mutual assistance activity also came down to clean up the lake.

Met at the sidelines of the mutual assistance, Chairman of the Bangli House, Ngakan Kutha Parwata, accompanied by Deputy Chairman Komang Carles and Nyoman Basma said that the con-dition of Lake Batur is currently very poor. Other than being filled with water hyacinth, Lake Batur is also contaminated by plastic waste. According to Kutha Parwata, although the government of Bangli has made similar program all this time, he admitted if the program cannot work due to budgetary constraints.

Besides, the cleanup activities of hyacinth and plastic waste done by the government of Bangli all this time is admitted to have been unable to attract public response. “Probably, over the years people have mindset that the government program is deemed a project. So, people are less responsive to continue the activity,” he said.

With the cleanup activities initiated by factions in the Bangli House, in the future his party hoped the response and public concerns with the environment can be better. Through the recent activities, Ngakan Kutha re-appealed to all the people living around the lake to be more concerned with the environmental sustainability of the lake.

In the meantime, Chairman of the Sustainable Lake Fo-rum doubling as headman of Kedisan, Nyoman Gamayana, said that his party strongly welcomed the mutual assistance undertaken by the legislators of Bangli. He hoped the activity can continue on an ongoing basis at Buahan village and other areas at the edge of Lake Batur. (kmb40)

Chairman of PHDI: Do not bring in magnificent penjor outfits

Legislators and people clean up Lake Batur

IBP/Suasrina

The loegislators and locals in Bangli area clean up Lake Batur.

BANGLI - Responding to the increasingly wide-spread water hyacinth in Lake Batur Kintamani, the factions in the Bangli House intervene by taking action through a mutual assistance. By teaming up with local people and mass organizations, the cleanup action of water hyacinth was carried out around Buahan village, Saturday (Jul. 11).

Bali News Monday, July 13, 2015 5InternationalMonday, July 13, 201512 International

BUSINESS

The announcement by Euro-pean Council President Donald Tusk came as eurozone finance ministers met for a second day to continue “difficult” Greek bailout talks, with the aim of

reaching a deal that eurozone leaders can sign off on.

“I have cancelled EUCO (the European Union summit) today,” European Council President Don-ald Tusk said in a tweet.

The summit of 19 eurozone leaders wil l s t i l l be held at 1400 GMT and “last until we conclude ta lks on Greece” , Tusk said.

The EU also said it was “rela-tively unlikely” it would get the green light Sunday to start talks for a new bailout for cash-strapped Greece.

“I think it’s relatively unlikely

that the European Commission will get a mandate to start formal negotiations” on a new bailout, EU Commissioner for the euro Valdis Dombrovskis told report-ers.

An EU source said the cancel-lation of the full summit of 28 EU leaders was a “good sign in principle” in terms of whether a Greek deal would be reached.

“But it means the question of the mandate for negotiations will be bumped up to the eurozone summit” as finance ministers are unable to seal an agreement, the source told AFP.

Another diplomat said the cancellation was to “allow us to finalise” a deal and to allow better discussion at the eurozone level. (afp)

WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton will make boost-ing middle class incomes and wages the focus of her economic

agenda, pointing to stagnant pay-checks as the central challenge facing the U.S. economy.

The Democratic presidential

front-runner intends to lay out the themes of her economic plan in a speech on Monday, emphasiz-ing the need for the real income

of everyday Americans to rise steadily alongside corporate prof-its and executive compensation.

While Republican candidate Jeb Bush has called for an annual growth rate of 4 percent, Clinton will assert that the U.S. economy should not be judged by a specific growth figure but rather by how much income increases for middle-class households.

“For a typical working Ameri-can, their income has not been rising anywhere near as fast as it should be rising, and that is the challenge we face,” said David Kamin, a New York University law professor who has advised Clinton’s campaign. “It’s not a new problem, and it’s going to take a holistic vision.”

Clinton’s campaign on Saturday provided a preview of her speech to be given at The New School, a university in New York City. The campaign said Clinton will point to economic progress during her husband’s two terms in the 1990s and more recently under President Barack Obama. But she will aim to identify ways of improving upon the uneven nature of the nation’s recovery since the Great Reces-sion, bolstering wages even as the unemployment rate has fallen to a seven-year low of 5.3 percent.

The former secretary of state is expected to begin outlining a series of specific economic proposals this summer on issues like wage growth, college afford-ability, corporate accountability and paid leave.

In Clinton’s approach to the economy, more Americans would share in the prosperity and avoid the boom-and-bust cycles of Wall Street that have led to economic turbulence of the past decade.

She is also expected to argue that the nation should not be fatalistic about globalization and that specific policy steps can help U.S. workers achieve better living standards.

Clinton, who is seeking to become the nation’s first female president, is also expected to ad-dress ways of making it easier for women to join the workforce.

In framing an economic vi-sion, Clinton will attempt to meet the demands of liberals within her own party who are wary of her willingness to regulate Wall Street while inspiring confidence among a larger electorate who will judge her policies if she wins the Democratic nomination.

Progressives encouraged Eliz-abeth Warren to seek the presi-dency, but the Massachusetts senator, who has railed against Wall Street and corporate ex-cesses, declined to run. Many of those same liberals are now packing large gatherings held by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is challenging Clinton for the nomination from the left and has made economic inequality the chief plank of his campaign.

Alan Blinder, a Princeton University economist and former economic adviser to President Bill Clinton, said the former first lady has expressed interest in policies to curb excessive risk on Wall Street, such as a financial transactions tax on high-frequen-cy trading, taxes on large Wall Street banks based on their risk profile and eliminating the so-called carried interest loophole that allows managers of hedge funds and private equity firms to pay a lower tax rate than most individuals. (ap)

EU cancels summit on Greece as eurozone talks continue

BRUSSELS - The EU cancelled a full 28-nation summit on Sunday to decide Greece’s fate in the single European cur-rency, although a meeting of leaders from the 19 countries in the eurozone will go ahead as planned.

AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Clinton to make boosting wages central to her economic plan

Administrative head of the national park, Wiryawan, when asked for his confirmation said that last February his party at-tempted to release some heads of Bali starling. From the observa-tion of the officers on guard, of

the nine heads released have now increased three heads. “There is an increase of Bali starling population at Cekik, from nine to 12 heads,” he added.

From the dozen heads, four of which were de l ibera te ly

placed in a cage at Cekik so that other birds will not go out of the Cekik area. At some points of the TNBB becoming the habitat area of Bali starling, the officers also perform strict guard. At least four officers are deployed to maintain while observing the bird becoming the icon of Bali.

Wiryawan added that earlier other than at Cekik, the release was also performed at Prapat

Agung Peninsula or familiarly known as the Red Light station. In the area adjacent to the Se-gara Rupek Temple, according to him, the total population of Bali starling has reached 20 heads. Each bird bred in captivity is released with a special mark of bracelet to distinguish them from the results of breeding in nature. “On average, every year the bird lays eggs twice, and in

once breeding season it lays up to three eggs,” he affirmed. So, in a year, a pair of Bali starling can have six offspring.

Previously, for observation need his party actually has used a special device namely micro-chip functioned to monitor the distribution area. Unfortunately, the effort with the device failed and could only last for a few weeks. (olo)

SEMARAPURA - The area of Nusa Penida still offers many tempt-ing attractions other than being well known for its underwater attraction and spiritual tourism. In fact, the mangrove forest stretching from Jungutbatu vil-lage to Lembongan village in Nusa Penida is in great demand among local and foreign travelers. In serving travelers, the locals offer an adventure of exploring mangrove forest by ca-noe. The adventure indeed offers the other splendor of tourism side in Nusa Penida. Numerous local and foreign travelers like enjoying the nature of mangrove forest.

Not to forget the Regent of Klung-kung, I Nyoman Suwirta, in his visit to Nusa Penida also made his time explore the charms of mangrove for-ests. Accompanied by Spokesman I Wayan Parna and some staffs as well as local village officials, he looked very impressed with the hidden potential in the mangrove forest. (dwa)

IBP/Olo

The population of Bali starling at Cekik, West Bali National Park (TNBB), has increased since the release early last year. From nine heads of Bali starling re-leased at Cekik, they have grown to 12 heads this July.

Population of Bali starling at Cekik increases

NEGARA - The population of Bali starling at Cekik, West Bali National Park (TNBB), has increased since the release early last year. From nine heads of Bali starling released at Cekik, they have grown to 12 heads this July.

Mangrove of Nusa Penida attracts travelers

IBP/Dewa Farend IBP/Dewa Farend

Monday, July 13, 2015 Monday, July 13, 2015 6 11International International

From page 1

INDONESIAW RLD

Resource-rich Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, was part of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for almost 50 years until suspending its membership in 2009 after becoming a net oil importer.

The switch to becoming an importer came as domestic demand soared and output dropped due to a lack of investment from for-eign companies, put off by complex regulations, corruption and growing economic nationalism.

With oil imports surging as the economy booms and the energy sector still in urgent need of reform, the government is looking for cheaper supplies and has taken the unusual step for an oil importer of requesting to rejoin the 12-member exporting cartel.

“It is only natural that we should build relations with exporters,” Energy Minister Sudirman Said said before heading to an OPEC meeting at the organisation’s headquarters in Vienna last month, where he was seeking to have the suspension lifted.

After the meeting, the energy ministry said that some OPEC members had backed Indonesia rejoining.

OPEC has refused to comment but analysts said the group, which has members from the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, is likely to welcome an applicant from Asia.

“We understand the application is viewed favourably because Indonesia would again provide OPEC with a member nation in Asia and thus broaden the geopolitical base of the group,” Ann-Louise Hittle, vice president of Macro Oils research at Wood Mackenzie, told AFP.

But some observers questioned the wisdom of the move, sug-gesting that trying to rejoin OPEC and source cheaper supplies from outside Indonesia could slow the momentum of the govern-ment’s attempts to reform the corruption-tainted, domestic oil and gas sector.

When reform-minded President Joko Widodo took power last year, he set up a team to look at overhauling the sector, which critics have said is plagued by a shadowy “oil mafia” who skim off huge, illicit profits.

Some progress has been made. In May, state-owned energy company Pertamina said it would disband its oil-trading arm Petral, which supplies one third of the country’s daily oil needs but has been dogged for years by concerns about a lack of transparency.

But the reform team, which undertook a six-month assignment to assess the sector, made other recommendations, such as shift-ing to a newer type of cleaner burning, more efficient petrol, and there are fears such efforts could be stymied by the new focus on OPEC.

“What is the use of Indonesia approaching OPEC, even if only as an observer?” wrote Faisal Basri, the former head of the govern-ment’s reform team, on his blog, and added the country appeared to be “just giving up”. (afp)

Indonesia eyes return to OPEC as oil crisis looms

JAKARTA - Indonesia is seeking to rejoin OPEC to get access to cheaper oil supplies as demand soars and domestic production falls, but critics say the move is an unwelcome distraction from efforts to overhaul the country’s troubled energy sector.

JAKARTA - Five people were killed and nearly 50 injured Friday in a huge fire in a cosmetics factory outside the Indonesian capital Jakarta, police said.

The blaze took hold following an explosion during working hours at the

plant, reportedly a subsidiary of Japa-nese cosmetics maker Mandom Corp.

“A total of five people were killed in the fire, while 46 others were injured,” Jakarta police chief Tito Karnavian told reporters.

Of the injured, more than half suf-

fered burns to more than 70 per cent of their bodies, he added.

Police have deployed a forensics team to investigate the cause of the blast, which remains unclear, but have been unable to enter the site due to the heat. (afp)

JAKARTA — Indonesian po-lice said Friday a low-explosive homemade bomb caused a blast at a shopping mall southwest of the capital.

National police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said investigators are still trying to find the perpetra-tors and the motive for the bombing on Thursday. He said the bomb was made of materials that can be easily

purchased.The explosion in a restroom at

the Alam Sutera mall in the Serpong region of Banten province, just out-side Jakarta, caused no casualties.

It happened as authorities are preparing thousands of police and soldiers to safeguard the annual mass exodus of millions of Mus-lims coinciding with the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has a secular central government and has been battling terrorists since the Bali nightclubs bombings in 2002, which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

More recent terror attacks have been less deadly and have generally targeted security forces and local “infidels,” not Westerners. (ap)

Five killed after cosmetic factory explosion in Indonesia

Police say low-explosive bomb caused blast at Indonesia mall

AP Photo/Trisnadi

Officials distribute face masks to motorists to protect themselves from the volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Raung, in Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia, early Saturday, July 11, 2015. Ash spewing from a volcano on Indonesia’s main island of Java sparked chaos for holidaymakers as airports closed and international airlines canceled flights to tourist hotspot Bali, stranding thousands.

Many passengers were surprised after the new closure was an-nounced.

“Someone just said the airport was closed for at least six hours ... gotta be kidding,” said one stranded tourist, Steve Dunthorne, on Twitter.

“Standing in queue for check-in like a lemon. Staff look as con-fused as passengers,” he added.

Indonesian passenger Dwi Anggoro had already checked in for his flight to the central Java city of Yogyakarta when the announce-ment was made.

“Instead of going back, I’ll just stay here and wait for develop-ments,” he told Metrotvnews.com website.

Another airport on Java serving domestic routes was also closed, he said. The other three originally closed Thursday, including the international airport on popular Lombok island, east of Bali, are now open.

Australian carriers Jetstar and Virgin said they were cancelling some flights to Bali on Sunday, while Indonesian flag carrier Garuda confirmed all its flights would be axed until 4:00 pm.

The disruption comes at a bad time, with many Australians stuck in Bali after heading there for the school break and millions of Indonesian tourists setting off on holiday ahead of the Muslim celebration of Eid next week.

The closure has caused chaotic scenes at Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport, with thousands of stranded holidaymakers packing out the terminals, anxiously staring at the departure boards, and sitting and sleeping on the floor.

About 300 flights to and from Bali were cancelled Friday. Airport officials did not immediately know how many flights would be axed due to the new shutdown.

Indonesian government vulcanologist Gede Suantika said that Mount Raung continued to erupt Sunday, spewing ash up to 1,000 metres (3,200 feet) into the air.

“Our observation this morning showed that the winds had pushed the ash in a southeasterly direction towards Bali again,” he added.

Australia’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre said winds were ex-pected to blow the ash cloud away from the airport overnight or on Monday.

Authorities raised the alert status of Mount Raung, a 3,300-metre volcano, late last month to the second highest level after it began to spew lava and ash high into the air.

Air traffic is regularly disrupted by volcanic eruptions in Indone-sia, which sits on a belt of seismic activity running around the basin of the Pacific Ocean and is home to the highest number of active volcanoes in the world, around 130. (afp)

Cyclone Pam struck the Pacific archipelago three months ago, blasting the islands with winds of 270 kilome-ters (168 miles) per hour, killing at least 11 people and affecting 180,000 more by destroying their homes and crops. Many residents saw it as part of broader environmental changes they’ve witnessed in recent years, from higher sea levels to trees bearing fruit out of season.

“We have seen a lot of changes in our weather patterns. The level of the sea rise. And it is affecting the nation at the moment,” said Vanuatu President Bald-win Lonsdale in an interview with The Associated Press. “The impact of climate change is quite real in Vanuatu.”

Parts of Vanuatu are low-lying and are starting to see visible signs of rising sea levels as the earth warms and ice caps melt. The world’s oceans have risen nearly 7 centimeters (nearly 3 inches) since 1992, scientists at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-tion say, and are projected to rise at a faster rate in the decades to come.

More damaging than the overall rise, however, are the unpredictable surges brought on by more severe storms. While scientists caution that singular events like the cyclone can’t be attributed solely to climate change, many say there is a link to a general increase in violent

MADRID — Eight elderly residents have died and eleven others were injured as a fire swept through a nursing home just outside the northeastern city of Zaragoza, officials said Sunday.

Regional Interior Ministry spokesman Gustavo Alcalde said the cause of the fire, which broke out early Sunday, is still unknown and was being investigated. Alcalde said one of the nursing home’s caretakers was also hospitalized. One man with serious burns is in a critical condition in the inten-sive care unit of a local hospital, regional health spokesman Sebastian Celeya said, adding the others are suffering from smoke inhalation.

The fire appears to have started in a first-floor bedroom of the three-story building, fire brigade spokesman Carlos Carilla said. The fire department had responded to a phone call from a person who asked for help to evacuate elderly people and said a mattress in a bedroom had caught fire.

Alcalde said other lives had been saved thanks to the rapid response by fire and police, but called it “a very sad day” in Zaragoza. (ap)

In this Saturday, May 30, 2015, photo, children play on the beach in the town of Takara, on

Efate Island, Vanuatu. The town was damaged in March during Cyclone Pam. Many people in the town are considering rebuilding their

community on higher ground to escape what they believe are the ongoing effects of climate

change. (AP Photo/Nick Perry)

Wary of climate change, Vanuatu villagers seek higher ground

TAKARA, Vanuatu — Many people living in this coastal village in Vanuatu believe the March cy-clone that sent waves surging through their homes was the latest and most dramatic sign of climate change. They are now considering rebuilding their entire community on higher ground.

8 die, 12 hurt as fire sweeps through Spanish nursing home

More...

weather.“The short answer would be that

certainly there is a connection between climate change and extreme weather,” said Debarati Guha-Sapir, a professor at the University of Louvain School of Public Health in Brussels. “The numbers of storms and high wind events have been increasing. So have droughts, in fact, and all of these are very connected to climate change.”

She said there’s likely to be an in-crease in catastrophic flooding in coming years and people need to better prepare for that.

Vanuatu isn’t the only Pacific island nation figuring out how to face climate change. Low-lying Kiribati has pur-chased land in Fiji, which Kiribati Presi-dent Anote Tong says is an investment and also a guarantee in case the entire nation needs to move.

In Takara, which is on Vanuatu’s main island of Efate, village chief Benjamin Tamata said he wants to move the village of about 200 people inland by about 300 meters (1,000 feet) to move away from the rising seas and to avoid future storm surges.

“When the cyclone came to my village, it’s not only the cyclone,” he said. “With the sea level rising, it came through and damaged our houses. And some of the people run away.” He said

many escaped to a nearby school, but now it’s time to plan for the long term.

“We try to relocate,” he said. “To take all the people from this village and we try to relocate where we can be safe, or where we can survive from the sea.”

If Takara does move inland, it won’t be the first village to do so in Vanuatu. A decade ago, dozens of villagers on Tegua Island moved inland in what the U.N. described as one of the first cases of mass displacement triggered by global warming.

“Staff from the meteorological of-fice and hazard department, they went and assessed the level of sea rise,” said Lonsdale. “And they advised people to move inland. And so they assisted. They assisted the communities and we have moved them further up from the coastal area.”

NOAA, NASA, the Japanese weather agency, and the World Meteorological Organization all declared 2014 the hot-test year on record, with NOAA putting 2014 at an average of 58.26 degrees Fahrenheit (14.6 Celsius).

As the world gets warmer, water ex-pands, so the seas rise. But on top of that, ice sheets in Greenland and west Antarc-tica are melting, as are world glaciers, and scientists worry that meltwater will dramatically increase sea level by about 1 meter by the end of the century. (ap)

SportsDestination Monday, July 13, 2015 7Monday, July 13, 201510 InternationalInternational

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GIANYAR - Puakan village retains a long history related to pil-grimage of Rishi Markandeya in the eighth century. Bali Tatwa palm-leaf manuscript carries that initially the rishi stayed in the Damalung Ashram in East Java. Then, he held a pilgrim-age eastwards with the accompani-ment of 800 followers. They arrived in a heavily wooded location in the heart of Mount Agung. At the

location, they camped and opened agricultural areas.

The followers got epidemic and it claimed some casualties. With that condition, Rishi Markandeya asked for guidance and got answers that an error has occurred. He did not perform a ritual to ask for permission when they wanted to clear forest. In the journey, Rishi Markandeya ultimately held a ritual

by burying Panca Datu or five types of metals (gold, silver, iron, bronze and tin) symbolizing the power of the universe.

At location of the ritual, he then established the Basukian Temple becoming the forerunner of the es-tablishment of the Besakih Temple complex. After burying the panca datu elements, the rishi ordered his followers to open farmland

downward to Mount Lebah in Ubud. It got to a strategic area where he made a land arrangement for housing and agriculture for his followers. The land was then called Puakan hamlet.

Puakan hamlet is located at Taro village, Tegallalang subdistrict, Gianyar, and approximately 24 km north of the Ubud tourist destina-tion. The atmosphere of the village

is very cool where along the left and right side of the road is planted with a variety of agricultural plants such as bananas, non-irrigated rice and various horticultural crops.

To get to Puakan hamlet, visitors can pass through Ubud-Tegalla-lang-Taro or through the highway of Kintamani via Payangan and turn right at Kerta village (Kerta Bumi Farm).

Puakan, a Historical Village in Gianyar

IBP/File Photo

Already a member of the Inter-national Tennis Hall of Fame on the merits of her “first” career in the sport, Hingis teamed with Sania Mirza to win the women’s doubles final at the All England Club by beating Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 5-7, 7-6 (4), 7-5 on Saturday night.

The 34-year-old Hingis added to her collection of Wimbledon trophies that includes the singles title from 1997, plus the women’s doubles titles from 1996 and 1998. The latter was her last appearance in a final at Wimbledon. “It feels like it was in another life,” Hingis said.

“Usually, you’re lucky to win it once or happy to be out here and play on the Wimbledon grounds,” Hingis said. “It’s above my expec-tations.”

She’ll get a chance to earn yet another trophy Sunday, when she and Leander Paes face Timea Babos and Alexander Peya in the mixed doubles final. And to think: A few years ago, Hingis was taking part in the “Legends” tournament for former players.

“I wouldn’t have thought (then) that I’ll be back, playing the finals here,” she said. The No. 1-seeded Hingis and Mirza trailed 5-2 in the final set before taking the last five games against the second-seeded Makarova and Vesnina, who won last year’s U.S. Open.

“It takes guts and courage be-ing 5-2 down in the third set,” said Hingis, who held serve to win the match, then began leaping up and down on court. “Couldn’t have asked for more drama.”

Play was halted at 5-5 because it was getting too dark; after a break, action resumed with the Centre Court roof closed and artificial lights on.

“When we came out at 5-all, we had goosebumps. The energy on the court — we were getting a standing ovation — it was un-believable,” said Mirza, the first woman from India to be ranked No. 1 in singles or doubles. “We both came out, and I said, ‘This is what we play for. This is what we work for.’”

Hingis, who reached No. 1 in the

rankings and won five Grand Slam singles titles in the 1990s, initially quit tennis in 2002 because of foot and leg injuries, then rejoined the circuit full-time in 2006. She an-nounced her retirement again in 2007, when she was given a two-year suspension for testing positive for cocaine at Wimbledon. At the time, she denied taking the drug but did not appeal the ruling.

The Swiss star returned to ten-nis in recent years as a coach and now is back playing, perhaps with an eye to competing at next year’s Rio Olympics.

Late Saturday evening, Hin-gis was asked whether during her time away from the game she ever thought this sort of success could again be possible.

“I always believed in it. With-out that, you can’t come out here and play and compete at this level,” Hingis said. “I always felt like I had one of the best volleys in the world, one of the best back-hands in the world, so you got to believe in something if you want to win.” (ap)

MUR DE BRETAGNE - De-fending champion Vincenzo Nibali, who was banking on the opening block of racing to make his mark on this year’s Tour de France, instead showed another sign of weakness on Saturday.

The Italian, who lost ground in the second stage after being trapped in a split of the peloton, finished 10 seconds behind the big guns on stage eight as they all finished together.

The Astana rider could not fol-low overall leader Chris Froome, Spain’s Alberto Contador or Colombian Nairo Quintana in the final ascent, a two-kilometre climb at an average gradient of 6.9 percent.

“In the finale I didn’t have good sensations. At the beginning of the stage I was fine but then in the final climb I could not respond to the ac-celerations,” Nibali told reporters. “It was an off day.”

His sports director Giuseppe Martinelli looked worried after his protege fell one minute 48 off the pace of Froome.

“I don’t understand what hap-pened. We must think this was just an off day otherwise it will be a complicated Tour,” the Italian said. Martinelli is now hoping that Sunday’s team time trial will give Astana the opportunity to regain some of the lost time.

“In the team time trial the team need to be perfect,” said Martinelli. “If tomorrow we are the team that we think we are we will ride a good time trial.”

The team time trial is a 28-km effort that finishes up the Cote de Cadoudal, a steep 1.7-km ascent where the teams will need to stay as compact as possible as the time will be taken on the fifth rider to cross the line. “We cannot afford any more mistakes,” said Marti-nelli. (rtr)

REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

Astana rider Vincenzo Nibali of Italy crosses the finish line after crashed during the 191.5-km (118.9 miles) 6th stage of the 102nd Tour de France cycling race from Abbeville to Le Havre, France, July 9, 2015.

Nibali shows signs of weakness

on Tour de France

AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

Martina Hingis of Switzerland, left, and Sania Mirza of India hold their trophies after winning the women’s doubles final against Ekaterina Makarova of Russia and Elena Vesnina of Russia at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday July 11, 2015.

Hingis, 34, teams with Mirza to win

Wimbledon doubles titleLONDON — Martina Hingis is a Wimbledon champion once again, 17 years — exactly half

her life — after the last time.

98 InternationalMonday, July 13, 2015 International Monday, July 13, 2015

Sp rt

CARSON, Calif. — Steven Ger-rard started and played the first 45 minutes of his American debut as the LA Galaxy beat Club América 2-1 in an International Champions Cup game Saturday night. After a six-week layoff following the end of his 17th and final season at Liverpool, Gerrard played his traditional spot in the central mid-field for the Galaxy in the friendly exhibition against the Mexican power at StubHub Center.

“It was a great feeling,” Gerrard said. “It was a difficult game and I thought (Club América) were very good. I thought after 15 or 20 minutes that the team settled really well, we

played some good football and we got our deserved equalizer. For me person-ally, it was good to get 45 minutes un-der my belt, and I’ll keep getting better and better, and the more I get used to my teammates, I’ll improve.”

Having only started practicing with the Galaxy on Tuesday, Gerrard seemed more comfortable when mov-ing forward in an attacking role, but was caught flat-footed several times on defense.

“Steven played well,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. “His passing was very good. His partnership with Juninho was good. Won some tackles, helped create some chances. Could

SAO PAULO — Fluminense has signed former Brazil play-maker Ronaldinho until the end of 2016. Saturday’s announce-ment came less than a month after Ronaldinho left Mexican club Queretaro, where he played only two tournaments. He had a year left in his contract but decided to leave after losing his spot in the starting lineup.

The 35-year-old Ronaldinho said he wants to try to win the Brazilian league, which is one of the few tournaments he still hasn’t won in his career.

“It was one of the things that motivated me to return to Brazil, to try to win a trophy that I still don’t have,” Ronaldinho said.

Official details of the deal with Fluminense were not immediate-ly available, but local media said Ronaldinho will earn a monthly salary of about 600,000 reals ($190,000), plus bonuses from the sales or jerseys and other club products.

Severa l c lubs repor ted ly showed interest in signing Ron-aldinho after he left Mexico, including teams in Turkey and the United States. Brazilian clubs also said they negotiated with the playmaker, and Fluminense’s Rio de Janeiro rival Vasco da Gama recently announced that its deal

with the midfielder was 90 per-cent completed.

“Fluminense was part of the 10 percent that kept other clubs from signing him,” Fluminense said in a statement on its website.

Ronaldinho will be officially introduced to fans before the July 19 match against Vasco da Gama at the Maracana Stadium, but he will only begin training on July 27.

Ronaldinho will join former Brazil striker Fred, who struggled in last year’s World Cup but re-mains one of Fluminense’s top players.

Fluminense will be Ronald-inho’s third team since he ended a successful career in Europe at clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and AC Milan. He played for Brazil’s popular club Flamengo in 2011, and a year later moved to Atletico Mineiro, which he led to its first Copa Libertadores title in 2013.

The two-time FIFA world play-er of the year helped Brazil win the 2002 World Cup in South Ko-rea and Japan and was in the team that was eliminated by France in the 2006 quarterfinals in Germany. He was not picked for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and also didn’t make it to the 2014 tournament at home. (ap)

HOUSTON — Dustin Corea scored two minutes into stoppage time to help El Salvador earn a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica in their CON-CACAF Gold Cup group stage match on Saturday.

El Salvador and Costa Rica are both 0-0-2 in the group, though Costa Rica owns a two-goal differential.

El Salvador was awarded a free kick from the left flank on a question-able foul call against Bryan Ruiz. Arturo Alvarez then found Corea in the 6-yard box, who volleyed it past Esteban Alvarado for the tying score.

Costa Rica got its goal in the 61st minute. Alvaro Saborio lobbed the

ball to the streaking Ruiz along the left flank. Ruiz went to the post and beat Derby Carrillo to the inside.

Costa Rica had a prime opportu-nity in the 41st minute. A fingertip deflection by Carrillo went straight to Ruiz, but his right-footed effort sailed wide right as defenders scrambled to cover the goal. (ap)

El Salvador salvages tie with Costa Rica on stoppage goal

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Steven Gerrard, of England, gestures after taking a fall during the first half of an Interna-tional Champions Cup soccer match against Club America, Saturday, July 11, 2015, in Carson, Claif.

Steven Gerrard debuts for LA Galaxy in win over Club America

have had a goal, so his first time out was very encouraging. He looked like he belonged.” Gerrard put an early shot on goal from 35 yards out that had to be punched away by goalie Hugo Gonzalez.

Club América scored on the coun-ter, with Carlos Darwin Quintero putting the ball between Brian Rowe’s legs for a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.

Galaxy captain Robbie Keane equalized in the 45th minute. After masterfully collecting a long ball from Juninho with his first touch, Keane coolly placed the ball into the open net from 10 yards out after Gonzalez misjudged the initial pass and came off his line in a futile attempt to send it away. Alan Gordon scored the win-ner in the 80th minute, outjumping two defenders and heading in Raul Mendiola’s perfect cross with a high arcing shot.

Still, Gerrard was the focus for the sellout crowd of 27,934 not adorned in the yellow of the traditional Mexican club. His No. 8 jerseys — both in Liverpool red and Galaxy white — were worn in abundance, and a sizable contingent of international media was on hand to cover the match.

“Physically, it was tough,” Gerrard said. “I haven’t played a competitive match for six or seven weeks so it was very important that I got out there and got 45 minutes.”

What they saw was a Gerrard who played as he had during his final sea-sons at Liverpool, with equal moments of good and bad. He misplayed a backward pass from Keane just inside the center line and had to send it out of play for a corner kick after scrambling to recover, but also forced Gonzalez into a sprawling right-footed save with a shot just outside the 6-yard box in the 22nd minute.

A Merseyside institution for half his life, Gerrard scored 120 goals in 504 appearances and led Liverpool to three League Cups, two FA Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, one UEFA Cup and the 2005 Champions League. (ap)

AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2014 file photo, Brazil’s Ronaldinho poses for a photo after slipping on his new Queretaro soccer club jersey at a press conference in Mexico City. Fluminense announced on Saturday, July 11, 2015 it has signed Ronaldinho until the end of 2016, less than a month after he left Mexican club Queretaro.

Ronaldinho signs with Brazilian club Fluminense

Casillas, 34, became a hero for both Real and Spain during a glit-tering career, where he has won three Champions Leagues with Real and the World Cup and two European Championships with La Roja.

But in recent years he lost some of the sheen that earned him the nickname “Saint Iker” and last term was regularly whistled by disgruntled fans at the Bernabeu as the world’s richest club ended the campaign with-out major silverware.

Real’s announcement of their captain’s departure, which ended days of frenzied speculation in the Spanish media, came exactly five years since the Spain cap-tain triumphantly hoisted aloft the nation’s first World

Cup in South Africa after a 1-0 vic-tory over the Netherlands.

The expected arrival at Real of Manchester United’s David De Gea, the 24-year-old former Atletico M a d r i d m a n

Casillas leaves Real for new challenge at Porto

MADRID - Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas left Real Madrid on Saturday after 16 seasons as an iconic figure at the Bernabeu to take on a new challenge at former European champions Porto.

AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File

FILE - In this May 24, 2014, file photo, Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas, center, lifts the Champions League trophy, as he and teammates, celebrate winning the Champions League title, against Atletico Madrid, in Lisbon, Portugal.

* Born May 20, 1981 in Mostoles on the outskirts of Madrid.

REAL MADRID

* Came through the Real Ma-drid youth academy and aged 16 is called into the first-team squad for the first time due to injuries for a Champions League game against Rosenborg.

* Made an accomplished debut with several fine blocks in a 2-2 La Liga draw away to Athletic Bilbao in September 1999.

* Became the youngest keeper to play in and win the Champions League final in 2000, aged 19, as Real beat Valencia.

* Won first La Liga title in 2001 in a new ‘galactico’ era with Flo-rentino Perez as president.

* Lost place to Cesar Sanchez in 2001-02 but an injury in the Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen saw Casillas come on and become the hero with key saves late in the game.

* Awarded the Zamora Trophy in 2008 for the first time as Real won their second successive La Liga title. The award goes to the goalkeeper that concedes the least goals in the league.

* Became the Real keeper with most appearances after beating Paco Buyo’s record of 454 matches in 2009.

* Dropped during 2012-13 due to a lack of form and a trou-

bled relationship with coach Jose Mourinho.

* During 2013-14 was only first choice for King’s Cup and Cham-pions League games, where he set a Spanish record of 952 minutes unbeaten.

* Won third Champions League and second King’s Cup in 2014.

* Restored to first-choice keeper in La Liga in 2014-15 but whistling from the fans and the expected arrival of David De Gea prompt his decision to join Porto after five league titles.

SPAIN

* Helped Spain win the Under-20 World Cup in 1999 in Nigeria.

* Captained Spain to victory at Euro 2008, their first major trophy since 1964.

* Made a decisive block against Arjen Robben in the final as Spain won the World Cup for the first time in South Africa in 2010. Conceded only two goals at the tournament.

* Became Spain’s most capped player in November 2011 after beating Andoni Zubizarreta’s total of 126 appearances.

* Lifted the trophy again at Euro 2012 and during the tournament set a record of 509 minutes without conceding a goal.

* Had a poor World Cup finals in Brazil in 2014 as Spain failed to make it beyond the group stage.

Factbox on Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas

who is being groomed to take over as Spain keeper, will also have contributed to Casillas’s decision to move on.

Regular playing time in Portu-gal for Porto, coached by Span-

ish ex-keeper Ju-len Lopetegui, should allow him to extend h i s i n t e rna -tional career at least until next year’s European

Championship in France.

“Thank you Iker, for everything,” Real

said on their website (www.realmadrid.com). “Thank you for being a symbol of the best in our history. You are leaving but we will not forget that you be-long in Real Madrid’s heart forever.”

Casillas made his de-but for Real in September 1999, aged 18, and as well as three European crowns

he has also won five La Liga titles, two King’s Cups and one Club World Cup.

He made 725 ap-pearances for Real, second only to for-

mer striker Raul, and was named the world’s best keeper

five times by the In te rna t iona l

Fede ra t i on of Football History and Statistics (IF-FHS). “For Real Madrid

today is a day, above all, of appreciation and recognition,”

Real said.“Today, the best goalkeeper in

the history of Real Madrid and in the history of Spanish football is

leaving the team and beginning a new stage in his career.” Casillas will hold a farewell news confer-ence on Sunday (1000 GMT) at the Bernabeu. (rtr)

WELLINGTON — New Zealand says it will contest its disqualification from Sunday’s final of the Oceania Olympic qualifying football series for fielding an ineligible player during a semifinal against Vanuatu.

The Oceania Football Confedera-tion disciplinary committee upheld a protest lodged by the Vanuatu Football Federation that claimed South Africa-born defender Deklan Wynne was not eligible to play in the match.

Vanuatu was promoted into Sun-day’s final against Fiji, the winner of which will represent the Oceania re-gion at next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero. In a statement on Sun-day, New Zealand Football said it was working with its lawyers to challenge the disciplinary committee’s decision

which, it said, was made at a hearing “of which New Zealand Football was not aware after being told the matter would be referred to FIFA.”

“While we firmly believe tonight’s match should have been delayed, we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that any final decision is only reached after a proper and fair process has been carried out,” New Zealand Football chief executive Andy Martin said.

“We trust that Oceania Football Confederation will change its posi-tion and conduct that proper and fair process.” Wynne represented New Zealand at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup last month and has played at se-nior level after becoming a naturalized New Zealander. (ap)

New Zealand ejected from Oceania Olympic qualifier

98 InternationalMonday, July 13, 2015 International Monday, July 13, 2015

Sp rt

CARSON, Calif. — Steven Ger-rard started and played the first 45 minutes of his American debut as the LA Galaxy beat Club América 2-1 in an International Champions Cup game Saturday night. After a six-week layoff following the end of his 17th and final season at Liverpool, Gerrard played his traditional spot in the central mid-field for the Galaxy in the friendly exhibition against the Mexican power at StubHub Center.

“It was a great feeling,” Gerrard said. “It was a difficult game and I thought (Club América) were very good. I thought after 15 or 20 minutes that the team settled really well, we

played some good football and we got our deserved equalizer. For me person-ally, it was good to get 45 minutes un-der my belt, and I’ll keep getting better and better, and the more I get used to my teammates, I’ll improve.”

Having only started practicing with the Galaxy on Tuesday, Gerrard seemed more comfortable when mov-ing forward in an attacking role, but was caught flat-footed several times on defense.

“Steven played well,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. “His passing was very good. His partnership with Juninho was good. Won some tackles, helped create some chances. Could

SAO PAULO — Fluminense has signed former Brazil play-maker Ronaldinho until the end of 2016. Saturday’s announce-ment came less than a month after Ronaldinho left Mexican club Queretaro, where he played only two tournaments. He had a year left in his contract but decided to leave after losing his spot in the starting lineup.

The 35-year-old Ronaldinho said he wants to try to win the Brazilian league, which is one of the few tournaments he still hasn’t won in his career.

“It was one of the things that motivated me to return to Brazil, to try to win a trophy that I still don’t have,” Ronaldinho said.

Official details of the deal with Fluminense were not immediate-ly available, but local media said Ronaldinho will earn a monthly salary of about 600,000 reals ($190,000), plus bonuses from the sales or jerseys and other club products.

Severa l c lubs repor ted ly showed interest in signing Ron-aldinho after he left Mexico, including teams in Turkey and the United States. Brazilian clubs also said they negotiated with the playmaker, and Fluminense’s Rio de Janeiro rival Vasco da Gama recently announced that its deal

with the midfielder was 90 per-cent completed.

“Fluminense was part of the 10 percent that kept other clubs from signing him,” Fluminense said in a statement on its website.

Ronaldinho will be officially introduced to fans before the July 19 match against Vasco da Gama at the Maracana Stadium, but he will only begin training on July 27.

Ronaldinho will join former Brazil striker Fred, who struggled in last year’s World Cup but re-mains one of Fluminense’s top players.

Fluminense will be Ronald-inho’s third team since he ended a successful career in Europe at clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and AC Milan. He played for Brazil’s popular club Flamengo in 2011, and a year later moved to Atletico Mineiro, which he led to its first Copa Libertadores title in 2013.

The two-time FIFA world play-er of the year helped Brazil win the 2002 World Cup in South Ko-rea and Japan and was in the team that was eliminated by France in the 2006 quarterfinals in Germany. He was not picked for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and also didn’t make it to the 2014 tournament at home. (ap)

HOUSTON — Dustin Corea scored two minutes into stoppage time to help El Salvador earn a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica in their CON-CACAF Gold Cup group stage match on Saturday.

El Salvador and Costa Rica are both 0-0-2 in the group, though Costa Rica owns a two-goal differential.

El Salvador was awarded a free kick from the left flank on a question-able foul call against Bryan Ruiz. Arturo Alvarez then found Corea in the 6-yard box, who volleyed it past Esteban Alvarado for the tying score.

Costa Rica got its goal in the 61st minute. Alvaro Saborio lobbed the

ball to the streaking Ruiz along the left flank. Ruiz went to the post and beat Derby Carrillo to the inside.

Costa Rica had a prime opportu-nity in the 41st minute. A fingertip deflection by Carrillo went straight to Ruiz, but his right-footed effort sailed wide right as defenders scrambled to cover the goal. (ap)

El Salvador salvages tie with Costa Rica on stoppage goal

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Steven Gerrard, of England, gestures after taking a fall during the first half of an Interna-tional Champions Cup soccer match against Club America, Saturday, July 11, 2015, in Carson, Claif.

Steven Gerrard debuts for LA Galaxy in win over Club America

have had a goal, so his first time out was very encouraging. He looked like he belonged.” Gerrard put an early shot on goal from 35 yards out that had to be punched away by goalie Hugo Gonzalez.

Club América scored on the coun-ter, with Carlos Darwin Quintero putting the ball between Brian Rowe’s legs for a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.

Galaxy captain Robbie Keane equalized in the 45th minute. After masterfully collecting a long ball from Juninho with his first touch, Keane coolly placed the ball into the open net from 10 yards out after Gonzalez misjudged the initial pass and came off his line in a futile attempt to send it away. Alan Gordon scored the win-ner in the 80th minute, outjumping two defenders and heading in Raul Mendiola’s perfect cross with a high arcing shot.

Still, Gerrard was the focus for the sellout crowd of 27,934 not adorned in the yellow of the traditional Mexican club. His No. 8 jerseys — both in Liverpool red and Galaxy white — were worn in abundance, and a sizable contingent of international media was on hand to cover the match.

“Physically, it was tough,” Gerrard said. “I haven’t played a competitive match for six or seven weeks so it was very important that I got out there and got 45 minutes.”

What they saw was a Gerrard who played as he had during his final sea-sons at Liverpool, with equal moments of good and bad. He misplayed a backward pass from Keane just inside the center line and had to send it out of play for a corner kick after scrambling to recover, but also forced Gonzalez into a sprawling right-footed save with a shot just outside the 6-yard box in the 22nd minute.

A Merseyside institution for half his life, Gerrard scored 120 goals in 504 appearances and led Liverpool to three League Cups, two FA Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, one UEFA Cup and the 2005 Champions League. (ap)

AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2014 file photo, Brazil’s Ronaldinho poses for a photo after slipping on his new Queretaro soccer club jersey at a press conference in Mexico City. Fluminense announced on Saturday, July 11, 2015 it has signed Ronaldinho until the end of 2016, less than a month after he left Mexican club Queretaro.

Ronaldinho signs with Brazilian club Fluminense

Casillas, 34, became a hero for both Real and Spain during a glit-tering career, where he has won three Champions Leagues with Real and the World Cup and two European Championships with La Roja.

But in recent years he lost some of the sheen that earned him the nickname “Saint Iker” and last term was regularly whistled by disgruntled fans at the Bernabeu as the world’s richest club ended the campaign with-out major silverware.

Real’s announcement of their captain’s departure, which ended days of frenzied speculation in the Spanish media, came exactly five years since the Spain cap-tain triumphantly hoisted aloft the nation’s first World

Cup in South Africa after a 1-0 vic-tory over the Netherlands.

The expected arrival at Real of Manchester United’s David De Gea, the 24-year-old former Atletico M a d r i d m a n

Casillas leaves Real for new challenge at Porto

MADRID - Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas left Real Madrid on Saturday after 16 seasons as an iconic figure at the Bernabeu to take on a new challenge at former European champions Porto.

AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File

FILE - In this May 24, 2014, file photo, Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas, center, lifts the Champions League trophy, as he and teammates, celebrate winning the Champions League title, against Atletico Madrid, in Lisbon, Portugal.

* Born May 20, 1981 in Mostoles on the outskirts of Madrid.

REAL MADRID

* Came through the Real Ma-drid youth academy and aged 16 is called into the first-team squad for the first time due to injuries for a Champions League game against Rosenborg.

* Made an accomplished debut with several fine blocks in a 2-2 La Liga draw away to Athletic Bilbao in September 1999.

* Became the youngest keeper to play in and win the Champions League final in 2000, aged 19, as Real beat Valencia.

* Won first La Liga title in 2001 in a new ‘galactico’ era with Flo-rentino Perez as president.

* Lost place to Cesar Sanchez in 2001-02 but an injury in the Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen saw Casillas come on and become the hero with key saves late in the game.

* Awarded the Zamora Trophy in 2008 for the first time as Real won their second successive La Liga title. The award goes to the goalkeeper that concedes the least goals in the league.

* Became the Real keeper with most appearances after beating Paco Buyo’s record of 454 matches in 2009.

* Dropped during 2012-13 due to a lack of form and a trou-

bled relationship with coach Jose Mourinho.

* During 2013-14 was only first choice for King’s Cup and Cham-pions League games, where he set a Spanish record of 952 minutes unbeaten.

* Won third Champions League and second King’s Cup in 2014.

* Restored to first-choice keeper in La Liga in 2014-15 but whistling from the fans and the expected arrival of David De Gea prompt his decision to join Porto after five league titles.

SPAIN

* Helped Spain win the Under-20 World Cup in 1999 in Nigeria.

* Captained Spain to victory at Euro 2008, their first major trophy since 1964.

* Made a decisive block against Arjen Robben in the final as Spain won the World Cup for the first time in South Africa in 2010. Conceded only two goals at the tournament.

* Became Spain’s most capped player in November 2011 after beating Andoni Zubizarreta’s total of 126 appearances.

* Lifted the trophy again at Euro 2012 and during the tournament set a record of 509 minutes without conceding a goal.

* Had a poor World Cup finals in Brazil in 2014 as Spain failed to make it beyond the group stage.

Factbox on Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas

who is being groomed to take over as Spain keeper, will also have contributed to Casillas’s decision to move on.

Regular playing time in Portu-gal for Porto, coached by Span-

ish ex-keeper Ju-len Lopetegui, should allow him to extend h i s i n t e rna -tional career at least until next year’s European

Championship in France.

“Thank you Iker, for everything,” Real

said on their website (www.realmadrid.com). “Thank you for being a symbol of the best in our history. You are leaving but we will not forget that you be-long in Real Madrid’s heart forever.”

Casillas made his de-but for Real in September 1999, aged 18, and as well as three European crowns

he has also won five La Liga titles, two King’s Cups and one Club World Cup.

He made 725 ap-pearances for Real, second only to for-

mer striker Raul, and was named the world’s best keeper

five times by the In te rna t iona l

Fede ra t i on of Football History and Statistics (IF-FHS). “For Real Madrid

today is a day, above all, of appreciation and recognition,”

Real said.“Today, the best goalkeeper in

the history of Real Madrid and in the history of Spanish football is

leaving the team and beginning a new stage in his career.” Casillas will hold a farewell news confer-ence on Sunday (1000 GMT) at the Bernabeu. (rtr)

WELLINGTON — New Zealand says it will contest its disqualification from Sunday’s final of the Oceania Olympic qualifying football series for fielding an ineligible player during a semifinal against Vanuatu.

The Oceania Football Confedera-tion disciplinary committee upheld a protest lodged by the Vanuatu Football Federation that claimed South Africa-born defender Deklan Wynne was not eligible to play in the match.

Vanuatu was promoted into Sun-day’s final against Fiji, the winner of which will represent the Oceania re-gion at next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero. In a statement on Sun-day, New Zealand Football said it was working with its lawyers to challenge the disciplinary committee’s decision

which, it said, was made at a hearing “of which New Zealand Football was not aware after being told the matter would be referred to FIFA.”

“While we firmly believe tonight’s match should have been delayed, we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that any final decision is only reached after a proper and fair process has been carried out,” New Zealand Football chief executive Andy Martin said.

“We trust that Oceania Football Confederation will change its posi-tion and conduct that proper and fair process.” Wynne represented New Zealand at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup last month and has played at se-nior level after becoming a naturalized New Zealander. (ap)

New Zealand ejected from Oceania Olympic qualifier

SportsDestination Monday, July 13, 2015 7Monday, July 13, 201510 InternationalInternational

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GIANYAR - Puakan village retains a long history related to pil-grimage of Rishi Markandeya in the eighth century. Bali Tatwa palm-leaf manuscript carries that initially the rishi stayed in the Damalung Ashram in East Java. Then, he held a pilgrim-age eastwards with the accompani-ment of 800 followers. They arrived in a heavily wooded location in the heart of Mount Agung. At the

location, they camped and opened agricultural areas.

The followers got epidemic and it claimed some casualties. With that condition, Rishi Markandeya asked for guidance and got answers that an error has occurred. He did not perform a ritual to ask for permission when they wanted to clear forest. In the journey, Rishi Markandeya ultimately held a ritual

by burying Panca Datu or five types of metals (gold, silver, iron, bronze and tin) symbolizing the power of the universe.

At location of the ritual, he then established the Basukian Temple becoming the forerunner of the es-tablishment of the Besakih Temple complex. After burying the panca datu elements, the rishi ordered his followers to open farmland

downward to Mount Lebah in Ubud. It got to a strategic area where he made a land arrangement for housing and agriculture for his followers. The land was then called Puakan hamlet.

Puakan hamlet is located at Taro village, Tegallalang subdistrict, Gianyar, and approximately 24 km north of the Ubud tourist destina-tion. The atmosphere of the village

is very cool where along the left and right side of the road is planted with a variety of agricultural plants such as bananas, non-irrigated rice and various horticultural crops.

To get to Puakan hamlet, visitors can pass through Ubud-Tegalla-lang-Taro or through the highway of Kintamani via Payangan and turn right at Kerta village (Kerta Bumi Farm).

Puakan, a Historical Village in Gianyar

IBP/File Photo

Already a member of the Inter-national Tennis Hall of Fame on the merits of her “first” career in the sport, Hingis teamed with Sania Mirza to win the women’s doubles final at the All England Club by beating Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 5-7, 7-6 (4), 7-5 on Saturday night.

The 34-year-old Hingis added to her collection of Wimbledon trophies that includes the singles title from 1997, plus the women’s doubles titles from 1996 and 1998. The latter was her last appearance in a final at Wimbledon. “It feels like it was in another life,” Hingis said.

“Usually, you’re lucky to win it once or happy to be out here and play on the Wimbledon grounds,” Hingis said. “It’s above my expec-tations.”

She’ll get a chance to earn yet another trophy Sunday, when she and Leander Paes face Timea Babos and Alexander Peya in the mixed doubles final. And to think: A few years ago, Hingis was taking part in the “Legends” tournament for former players.

“I wouldn’t have thought (then) that I’ll be back, playing the finals here,” she said. The No. 1-seeded Hingis and Mirza trailed 5-2 in the final set before taking the last five games against the second-seeded Makarova and Vesnina, who won last year’s U.S. Open.

“It takes guts and courage be-ing 5-2 down in the third set,” said Hingis, who held serve to win the match, then began leaping up and down on court. “Couldn’t have asked for more drama.”

Play was halted at 5-5 because it was getting too dark; after a break, action resumed with the Centre Court roof closed and artificial lights on.

“When we came out at 5-all, we had goosebumps. The energy on the court — we were getting a standing ovation — it was un-believable,” said Mirza, the first woman from India to be ranked No. 1 in singles or doubles. “We both came out, and I said, ‘This is what we play for. This is what we work for.’”

Hingis, who reached No. 1 in the

rankings and won five Grand Slam singles titles in the 1990s, initially quit tennis in 2002 because of foot and leg injuries, then rejoined the circuit full-time in 2006. She an-nounced her retirement again in 2007, when she was given a two-year suspension for testing positive for cocaine at Wimbledon. At the time, she denied taking the drug but did not appeal the ruling.

The Swiss star returned to ten-nis in recent years as a coach and now is back playing, perhaps with an eye to competing at next year’s Rio Olympics.

Late Saturday evening, Hin-gis was asked whether during her time away from the game she ever thought this sort of success could again be possible.

“I always believed in it. With-out that, you can’t come out here and play and compete at this level,” Hingis said. “I always felt like I had one of the best volleys in the world, one of the best back-hands in the world, so you got to believe in something if you want to win.” (ap)

MUR DE BRETAGNE - De-fending champion Vincenzo Nibali, who was banking on the opening block of racing to make his mark on this year’s Tour de France, instead showed another sign of weakness on Saturday.

The Italian, who lost ground in the second stage after being trapped in a split of the peloton, finished 10 seconds behind the big guns on stage eight as they all finished together.

The Astana rider could not fol-low overall leader Chris Froome, Spain’s Alberto Contador or Colombian Nairo Quintana in the final ascent, a two-kilometre climb at an average gradient of 6.9 percent.

“In the finale I didn’t have good sensations. At the beginning of the stage I was fine but then in the final climb I could not respond to the ac-celerations,” Nibali told reporters. “It was an off day.”

His sports director Giuseppe Martinelli looked worried after his protege fell one minute 48 off the pace of Froome.

“I don’t understand what hap-pened. We must think this was just an off day otherwise it will be a complicated Tour,” the Italian said. Martinelli is now hoping that Sunday’s team time trial will give Astana the opportunity to regain some of the lost time.

“In the team time trial the team need to be perfect,” said Martinelli. “If tomorrow we are the team that we think we are we will ride a good time trial.”

The team time trial is a 28-km effort that finishes up the Cote de Cadoudal, a steep 1.7-km ascent where the teams will need to stay as compact as possible as the time will be taken on the fifth rider to cross the line. “We cannot afford any more mistakes,” said Marti-nelli. (rtr)

REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

Astana rider Vincenzo Nibali of Italy crosses the finish line after crashed during the 191.5-km (118.9 miles) 6th stage of the 102nd Tour de France cycling race from Abbeville to Le Havre, France, July 9, 2015.

Nibali shows signs of weakness

on Tour de France

AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

Martina Hingis of Switzerland, left, and Sania Mirza of India hold their trophies after winning the women’s doubles final against Ekaterina Makarova of Russia and Elena Vesnina of Russia at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday July 11, 2015.

Hingis, 34, teams with Mirza to win

Wimbledon doubles titleLONDON — Martina Hingis is a Wimbledon champion once again, 17 years — exactly half

her life — after the last time.

Monday, July 13, 2015 Monday, July 13, 2015 6 11International International

From page 1

INDONESIAW RLD

Resource-rich Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, was part of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for almost 50 years until suspending its membership in 2009 after becoming a net oil importer.

The switch to becoming an importer came as domestic demand soared and output dropped due to a lack of investment from for-eign companies, put off by complex regulations, corruption and growing economic nationalism.

With oil imports surging as the economy booms and the energy sector still in urgent need of reform, the government is looking for cheaper supplies and has taken the unusual step for an oil importer of requesting to rejoin the 12-member exporting cartel.

“It is only natural that we should build relations with exporters,” Energy Minister Sudirman Said said before heading to an OPEC meeting at the organisation’s headquarters in Vienna last month, where he was seeking to have the suspension lifted.

After the meeting, the energy ministry said that some OPEC members had backed Indonesia rejoining.

OPEC has refused to comment but analysts said the group, which has members from the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, is likely to welcome an applicant from Asia.

“We understand the application is viewed favourably because Indonesia would again provide OPEC with a member nation in Asia and thus broaden the geopolitical base of the group,” Ann-Louise Hittle, vice president of Macro Oils research at Wood Mackenzie, told AFP.

But some observers questioned the wisdom of the move, sug-gesting that trying to rejoin OPEC and source cheaper supplies from outside Indonesia could slow the momentum of the govern-ment’s attempts to reform the corruption-tainted, domestic oil and gas sector.

When reform-minded President Joko Widodo took power last year, he set up a team to look at overhauling the sector, which critics have said is plagued by a shadowy “oil mafia” who skim off huge, illicit profits.

Some progress has been made. In May, state-owned energy company Pertamina said it would disband its oil-trading arm Petral, which supplies one third of the country’s daily oil needs but has been dogged for years by concerns about a lack of transparency.

But the reform team, which undertook a six-month assignment to assess the sector, made other recommendations, such as shift-ing to a newer type of cleaner burning, more efficient petrol, and there are fears such efforts could be stymied by the new focus on OPEC.

“What is the use of Indonesia approaching OPEC, even if only as an observer?” wrote Faisal Basri, the former head of the govern-ment’s reform team, on his blog, and added the country appeared to be “just giving up”. (afp)

Indonesia eyes return to OPEC as oil crisis looms

JAKARTA - Indonesia is seeking to rejoin OPEC to get access to cheaper oil supplies as demand soars and domestic production falls, but critics say the move is an unwelcome distraction from efforts to overhaul the country’s troubled energy sector.

JAKARTA - Five people were killed and nearly 50 injured Friday in a huge fire in a cosmetics factory outside the Indonesian capital Jakarta, police said.

The blaze took hold following an explosion during working hours at the

plant, reportedly a subsidiary of Japa-nese cosmetics maker Mandom Corp.

“A total of five people were killed in the fire, while 46 others were injured,” Jakarta police chief Tito Karnavian told reporters.

Of the injured, more than half suf-

fered burns to more than 70 per cent of their bodies, he added.

Police have deployed a forensics team to investigate the cause of the blast, which remains unclear, but have been unable to enter the site due to the heat. (afp)

JAKARTA — Indonesian po-lice said Friday a low-explosive homemade bomb caused a blast at a shopping mall southwest of the capital.

National police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said investigators are still trying to find the perpetra-tors and the motive for the bombing on Thursday. He said the bomb was made of materials that can be easily

purchased.The explosion in a restroom at

the Alam Sutera mall in the Serpong region of Banten province, just out-side Jakarta, caused no casualties.

It happened as authorities are preparing thousands of police and soldiers to safeguard the annual mass exodus of millions of Mus-lims coinciding with the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has a secular central government and has been battling terrorists since the Bali nightclubs bombings in 2002, which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

More recent terror attacks have been less deadly and have generally targeted security forces and local “infidels,” not Westerners. (ap)

Five killed after cosmetic factory explosion in Indonesia

Police say low-explosive bomb caused blast at Indonesia mall

AP Photo/Trisnadi

Officials distribute face masks to motorists to protect themselves from the volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Raung, in Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia, early Saturday, July 11, 2015. Ash spewing from a volcano on Indonesia’s main island of Java sparked chaos for holidaymakers as airports closed and international airlines canceled flights to tourist hotspot Bali, stranding thousands.

Many passengers were surprised after the new closure was an-nounced.

“Someone just said the airport was closed for at least six hours ... gotta be kidding,” said one stranded tourist, Steve Dunthorne, on Twitter.

“Standing in queue for check-in like a lemon. Staff look as con-fused as passengers,” he added.

Indonesian passenger Dwi Anggoro had already checked in for his flight to the central Java city of Yogyakarta when the announce-ment was made.

“Instead of going back, I’ll just stay here and wait for develop-ments,” he told Metrotvnews.com website.

Another airport on Java serving domestic routes was also closed, he said. The other three originally closed Thursday, including the international airport on popular Lombok island, east of Bali, are now open.

Australian carriers Jetstar and Virgin said they were cancelling some flights to Bali on Sunday, while Indonesian flag carrier Garuda confirmed all its flights would be axed until 4:00 pm.

The disruption comes at a bad time, with many Australians stuck in Bali after heading there for the school break and millions of Indonesian tourists setting off on holiday ahead of the Muslim celebration of Eid next week.

The closure has caused chaotic scenes at Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport, with thousands of stranded holidaymakers packing out the terminals, anxiously staring at the departure boards, and sitting and sleeping on the floor.

About 300 flights to and from Bali were cancelled Friday. Airport officials did not immediately know how many flights would be axed due to the new shutdown.

Indonesian government vulcanologist Gede Suantika said that Mount Raung continued to erupt Sunday, spewing ash up to 1,000 metres (3,200 feet) into the air.

“Our observation this morning showed that the winds had pushed the ash in a southeasterly direction towards Bali again,” he added.

Australia’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre said winds were ex-pected to blow the ash cloud away from the airport overnight or on Monday.

Authorities raised the alert status of Mount Raung, a 3,300-metre volcano, late last month to the second highest level after it began to spew lava and ash high into the air.

Air traffic is regularly disrupted by volcanic eruptions in Indone-sia, which sits on a belt of seismic activity running around the basin of the Pacific Ocean and is home to the highest number of active volcanoes in the world, around 130. (afp)

Cyclone Pam struck the Pacific archipelago three months ago, blasting the islands with winds of 270 kilome-ters (168 miles) per hour, killing at least 11 people and affecting 180,000 more by destroying their homes and crops. Many residents saw it as part of broader environmental changes they’ve witnessed in recent years, from higher sea levels to trees bearing fruit out of season.

“We have seen a lot of changes in our weather patterns. The level of the sea rise. And it is affecting the nation at the moment,” said Vanuatu President Bald-win Lonsdale in an interview with The Associated Press. “The impact of climate change is quite real in Vanuatu.”

Parts of Vanuatu are low-lying and are starting to see visible signs of rising sea levels as the earth warms and ice caps melt. The world’s oceans have risen nearly 7 centimeters (nearly 3 inches) since 1992, scientists at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-tion say, and are projected to rise at a faster rate in the decades to come.

More damaging than the overall rise, however, are the unpredictable surges brought on by more severe storms. While scientists caution that singular events like the cyclone can’t be attributed solely to climate change, many say there is a link to a general increase in violent

MADRID — Eight elderly residents have died and eleven others were injured as a fire swept through a nursing home just outside the northeastern city of Zaragoza, officials said Sunday.

Regional Interior Ministry spokesman Gustavo Alcalde said the cause of the fire, which broke out early Sunday, is still unknown and was being investigated. Alcalde said one of the nursing home’s caretakers was also hospitalized. One man with serious burns is in a critical condition in the inten-sive care unit of a local hospital, regional health spokesman Sebastian Celeya said, adding the others are suffering from smoke inhalation.

The fire appears to have started in a first-floor bedroom of the three-story building, fire brigade spokesman Carlos Carilla said. The fire department had responded to a phone call from a person who asked for help to evacuate elderly people and said a mattress in a bedroom had caught fire.

Alcalde said other lives had been saved thanks to the rapid response by fire and police, but called it “a very sad day” in Zaragoza. (ap)

In this Saturday, May 30, 2015, photo, children play on the beach in the town of Takara, on

Efate Island, Vanuatu. The town was damaged in March during Cyclone Pam. Many people in the town are considering rebuilding their

community on higher ground to escape what they believe are the ongoing effects of climate

change. (AP Photo/Nick Perry)

Wary of climate change, Vanuatu villagers seek higher ground

TAKARA, Vanuatu — Many people living in this coastal village in Vanuatu believe the March cy-clone that sent waves surging through their homes was the latest and most dramatic sign of climate change. They are now considering rebuilding their entire community on higher ground.

8 die, 12 hurt as fire sweeps through Spanish nursing home

More...

weather.“The short answer would be that

certainly there is a connection between climate change and extreme weather,” said Debarati Guha-Sapir, a professor at the University of Louvain School of Public Health in Brussels. “The numbers of storms and high wind events have been increasing. So have droughts, in fact, and all of these are very connected to climate change.”

She said there’s likely to be an in-crease in catastrophic flooding in coming years and people need to better prepare for that.

Vanuatu isn’t the only Pacific island nation figuring out how to face climate change. Low-lying Kiribati has pur-chased land in Fiji, which Kiribati Presi-dent Anote Tong says is an investment and also a guarantee in case the entire nation needs to move.

In Takara, which is on Vanuatu’s main island of Efate, village chief Benjamin Tamata said he wants to move the village of about 200 people inland by about 300 meters (1,000 feet) to move away from the rising seas and to avoid future storm surges.

“When the cyclone came to my village, it’s not only the cyclone,” he said. “With the sea level rising, it came through and damaged our houses. And some of the people run away.” He said

many escaped to a nearby school, but now it’s time to plan for the long term.

“We try to relocate,” he said. “To take all the people from this village and we try to relocate where we can be safe, or where we can survive from the sea.”

If Takara does move inland, it won’t be the first village to do so in Vanuatu. A decade ago, dozens of villagers on Tegua Island moved inland in what the U.N. described as one of the first cases of mass displacement triggered by global warming.

“Staff from the meteorological of-fice and hazard department, they went and assessed the level of sea rise,” said Lonsdale. “And they advised people to move inland. And so they assisted. They assisted the communities and we have moved them further up from the coastal area.”

NOAA, NASA, the Japanese weather agency, and the World Meteorological Organization all declared 2014 the hot-test year on record, with NOAA putting 2014 at an average of 58.26 degrees Fahrenheit (14.6 Celsius).

As the world gets warmer, water ex-pands, so the seas rise. But on top of that, ice sheets in Greenland and west Antarc-tica are melting, as are world glaciers, and scientists worry that meltwater will dramatically increase sea level by about 1 meter by the end of the century. (ap)

Bali News Monday, July 13, 2015 5InternationalMonday, July 13, 201512 International

BUSINESS

The announcement by Euro-pean Council President Donald Tusk came as eurozone finance ministers met for a second day to continue “difficult” Greek bailout talks, with the aim of

reaching a deal that eurozone leaders can sign off on.

“I have cancelled EUCO (the European Union summit) today,” European Council President Don-ald Tusk said in a tweet.

The summit of 19 eurozone leaders wil l s t i l l be held at 1400 GMT and “last until we conclude ta lks on Greece” , Tusk said.

The EU also said it was “rela-tively unlikely” it would get the green light Sunday to start talks for a new bailout for cash-strapped Greece.

“I think it’s relatively unlikely

that the European Commission will get a mandate to start formal negotiations” on a new bailout, EU Commissioner for the euro Valdis Dombrovskis told report-ers.

An EU source said the cancel-lation of the full summit of 28 EU leaders was a “good sign in principle” in terms of whether a Greek deal would be reached.

“But it means the question of the mandate for negotiations will be bumped up to the eurozone summit” as finance ministers are unable to seal an agreement, the source told AFP.

Another diplomat said the cancellation was to “allow us to finalise” a deal and to allow better discussion at the eurozone level. (afp)

WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton will make boost-ing middle class incomes and wages the focus of her economic

agenda, pointing to stagnant pay-checks as the central challenge facing the U.S. economy.

The Democratic presidential

front-runner intends to lay out the themes of her economic plan in a speech on Monday, emphasiz-ing the need for the real income

of everyday Americans to rise steadily alongside corporate prof-its and executive compensation.

While Republican candidate Jeb Bush has called for an annual growth rate of 4 percent, Clinton will assert that the U.S. economy should not be judged by a specific growth figure but rather by how much income increases for middle-class households.

“For a typical working Ameri-can, their income has not been rising anywhere near as fast as it should be rising, and that is the challenge we face,” said David Kamin, a New York University law professor who has advised Clinton’s campaign. “It’s not a new problem, and it’s going to take a holistic vision.”

Clinton’s campaign on Saturday provided a preview of her speech to be given at The New School, a university in New York City. The campaign said Clinton will point to economic progress during her husband’s two terms in the 1990s and more recently under President Barack Obama. But she will aim to identify ways of improving upon the uneven nature of the nation’s recovery since the Great Reces-sion, bolstering wages even as the unemployment rate has fallen to a seven-year low of 5.3 percent.

The former secretary of state is expected to begin outlining a series of specific economic proposals this summer on issues like wage growth, college afford-ability, corporate accountability and paid leave.

In Clinton’s approach to the economy, more Americans would share in the prosperity and avoid the boom-and-bust cycles of Wall Street that have led to economic turbulence of the past decade.

She is also expected to argue that the nation should not be fatalistic about globalization and that specific policy steps can help U.S. workers achieve better living standards.

Clinton, who is seeking to become the nation’s first female president, is also expected to ad-dress ways of making it easier for women to join the workforce.

In framing an economic vi-sion, Clinton will attempt to meet the demands of liberals within her own party who are wary of her willingness to regulate Wall Street while inspiring confidence among a larger electorate who will judge her policies if she wins the Democratic nomination.

Progressives encouraged Eliz-abeth Warren to seek the presi-dency, but the Massachusetts senator, who has railed against Wall Street and corporate ex-cesses, declined to run. Many of those same liberals are now packing large gatherings held by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is challenging Clinton for the nomination from the left and has made economic inequality the chief plank of his campaign.

Alan Blinder, a Princeton University economist and former economic adviser to President Bill Clinton, said the former first lady has expressed interest in policies to curb excessive risk on Wall Street, such as a financial transactions tax on high-frequen-cy trading, taxes on large Wall Street banks based on their risk profile and eliminating the so-called carried interest loophole that allows managers of hedge funds and private equity firms to pay a lower tax rate than most individuals. (ap)

EU cancels summit on Greece as eurozone talks continue

BRUSSELS - The EU cancelled a full 28-nation summit on Sunday to decide Greece’s fate in the single European cur-rency, although a meeting of leaders from the 19 countries in the eurozone will go ahead as planned.

AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Clinton to make boosting wages central to her economic plan

Administrative head of the national park, Wiryawan, when asked for his confirmation said that last February his party at-tempted to release some heads of Bali starling. From the observa-tion of the officers on guard, of

the nine heads released have now increased three heads. “There is an increase of Bali starling population at Cekik, from nine to 12 heads,” he added.

From the dozen heads, four of which were de l ibera te ly

placed in a cage at Cekik so that other birds will not go out of the Cekik area. At some points of the TNBB becoming the habitat area of Bali starling, the officers also perform strict guard. At least four officers are deployed to maintain while observing the bird becoming the icon of Bali.

Wiryawan added that earlier other than at Cekik, the release was also performed at Prapat

Agung Peninsula or familiarly known as the Red Light station. In the area adjacent to the Se-gara Rupek Temple, according to him, the total population of Bali starling has reached 20 heads. Each bird bred in captivity is released with a special mark of bracelet to distinguish them from the results of breeding in nature. “On average, every year the bird lays eggs twice, and in

once breeding season it lays up to three eggs,” he affirmed. So, in a year, a pair of Bali starling can have six offspring.

Previously, for observation need his party actually has used a special device namely micro-chip functioned to monitor the distribution area. Unfortunately, the effort with the device failed and could only last for a few weeks. (olo)

SEMARAPURA - The area of Nusa Penida still offers many tempt-ing attractions other than being well known for its underwater attraction and spiritual tourism. In fact, the mangrove forest stretching from Jungutbatu vil-lage to Lembongan village in Nusa Penida is in great demand among local and foreign travelers. In serving travelers, the locals offer an adventure of exploring mangrove forest by ca-noe. The adventure indeed offers the other splendor of tourism side in Nusa Penida. Numerous local and foreign travelers like enjoying the nature of mangrove forest.

Not to forget the Regent of Klung-kung, I Nyoman Suwirta, in his visit to Nusa Penida also made his time explore the charms of mangrove for-ests. Accompanied by Spokesman I Wayan Parna and some staffs as well as local village officials, he looked very impressed with the hidden potential in the mangrove forest. (dwa)

IBP/Olo

The population of Bali starling at Cekik, West Bali National Park (TNBB), has increased since the release early last year. From nine heads of Bali starling re-leased at Cekik, they have grown to 12 heads this July.

Population of Bali starling at Cekik increases

NEGARA - The population of Bali starling at Cekik, West Bali National Park (TNBB), has increased since the release early last year. From nine heads of Bali starling released at Cekik, they have grown to 12 heads this July.

Mangrove of Nusa Penida attracts travelers

IBP/Dewa Farend IBP/Dewa Farend

Bali News International4 Monday, July 13, 2015 Monday, July 13, 2015 13International

En route to Mass at Vienna’s gothic St. Stephens Cathedral, Kerry said twice he was “hopeful” after a “very good meeting” Satur-day with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who had Muslim services Friday. Kerry noted that “a few tough things” remain in the way of agreement but added: “We’re getting to some real decisions.”

He spoke ahead of Monday target date for a pact meant to im-pose long-term, verifiable limits on nuclear programs that Tehran could modify to produce weapons. Iran, in return, would get tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief.

The nuclear talks are now in their 16th day and have been extended three times since the first deadline of March 31 for the current round was missed. The mood among ne-gotiators has turned more somber each time a new target date was set. As the weekend approached, Kerry declared the talks could not go on indefinitely and warned that the U.S. could walk away from the negotiations.

But in another sign that a deal could soon be sealed, Russian news agencies reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov planned to arrive in Vienna on

Sunday evening. Most other for-eign ministers of the six nations negotiating with Iran already are in the Austrian capital and in position to join Kerry and Zarif for any an-nouncement of an agreement.

Diplomats familiar with the talks say most of the nuts and bolts of implementing the deal have been agreed upon. But over the past week issues that were previously on the back burner have led to new disputes. Among them is Iran’s demand for a lifting of a U.N. arms embargo and its insistence that any U.N. Security Council resolu-tion approving the deal be written in a way that effectively frames previous resolutions criticizing its nuclear activities as illegal.

Despite Kerry’s relatively upbeat take, comments by Iran’s supreme leader suggested that Tehran’s mis-trust of Washington would persist no matter what the outcome of the talks.

Iran’s state-run Press TV cited Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Satur-day as calling the U.S. an “excel-lent example of arrogance.” It said Khamenei told university students in Tehran to be “prepared to con-tinue the struggle against arrogant powers.”

Even if Khamenei isn’t signal-

ing that the talks have failed, his comments appeared to be a blow to U.S. hopes that an agreement will lead to improved bilateral relations that could translate into increased cooperation in a common cause— the fight against Islamic

State radicals.Zarif had hinted at just that last

week, suggesting a deal acceptable to his country will open the door to joint efforts on that front.

Israeli Prime Minister Benja-min Netanyahu, a fierce opponent

of what he considers a deal that is too lenient on Tehran, said Khamenei’s comments showed that Western powers are “cav-ing” into Iran even as the Islamic Republic keeps railing against them. (ap)

BEIJING — Beijing’s city gov-ernment said Sunday that it is going to move part of its administrative functions out of the city center as part of a plan to better integrate the Chinese capital with its surround-ing areas.

The municipal government’s Communist Party committee also agreed at a meeting Friday and Saturday to stick to its target to limit Beijing’s population to 23 million, according to the government’s information office microblog. Its population was 21.5 million at the end of 2014.

The “subsidiary administrative center” will be in Tongzhou, a district in Beijing’s eastern sub-urbs about a 40-minute car ride

from downtown Beijing without heavy traffic, and will take shape by 2017.

The new center is part of a plan to integrate Beijing with neighbor-ing Hebei, an industrial province from where much of the capital’s pollution wafts in, and the port city of Tianjin. Officials want to develop high-quality resources such as hospitals and universities in the whole area, rather than have them concentrated in downtown Beijing.

Moving part of the municipal government and its services out of central Beijing and to neigh-boring regions will help ease traffic congestion and population growth. (ap)

AP Photo/Andy Wong, File

FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2012 file photo, people rush to catch their train at Beijing station in Beijing, China as millions of Chinese are expected to cramp onto China’s train network in the coming weeks to return home for the Chinese lunar new year.

Beijing city gov’t to move part of its functions to a suburb

Carlos Barria/Pool via AP

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, centre, and State Department Chief of Staff Jon Finer, left, meet with other members of the U.S. delegation at the garden of the Palais Coburg hotel where the Iran nuclear talks meetings are being held in Vienna, Austria, Friday July 10, 2015.

US secretary of state ‘hopeful’ Iran nuke deal near

VIENNA — Nuclear negotiations with Iran appeared back on track Sunday after blowing through three deadlines, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry dropping warnings they could go either way but expressing hope that nearly a decade of international efforts could soon result in a historic deal.

GIANYAR - Penjor is the most prominent symbol of Hindu in Bali, marking the celebration of Galun-gan and Kuningan feast. Various more efficient penjor outfits have now been available on sale at road-sides. With this condition, people often have to spend up to millions of rupiahs to create a magnificent penjor. Is it still appropriate to be done amid the weakening economy of Indonesia, especially Bali? In response to this matter, a number of religious leaders appealed to Hin-dus not to make grandiose penjor.

Chairman of the Hindu Dharma Parishad of Indonesia (PHDI) Bali, Prof. Dr. I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana, confirmed that parishad still urges people to make penjor featuring the philosophical and aesthetical aspects of the ceremony. “It is based on the Sundari Gama manuscript and agreed interpretation where

the most important in the making of penjor is that the materials are genuine, the presence of tubers and fruits as well as bamboo shrine. So, it puts more emphases on the use of sacredness and genuineness of the materials. Ultimately, it is filled with aesthetics,” he explained.

He did not deny the condition of Balinese people where today they put more emphases on the aestheti-cal element when making a penjor, while philosophical elements of the ceremony are even reduced. People are advised not to make a big and magnificent penjor beyond the capability. Moreover, the making has deviated from the philosophy of sacred penjor. “It is better, if possible, to make penjor from the products of own garden because the plants have been given ritual on the Tumpek Uduh, posing the otonan or birthday of the plants ahead of

the Galungan feast. When making a penjor from the results of own garden the sacredness is definitely fulfilled,” explained the professor at the IHDN Denpasar.

In the meantime, people having no garden are expected to buy pen-jor outfits from of fellow Balinese. It is no other than maintaining the economic turnaround in Bali. He also hoped the making of penjor will not use the materials brought in from outside Bali. “So, even though purchasing, try to use the materials existing in Bali such as bamboo from Bangli, Karangasem and other regions. This way is good and do not bring in from outside. Essentially, we strongly advise that the making of penjor must not use expensive materials, because the penjor of Galungan is the ritual one, not creation penjor featuring the aesthetic elements used in the

competition,” he said.Similar opinion was delivered

by a lecture of the Hindu Univer-sity of Indonesia (Unhi) Denpasar, Prof. Dr. I.B. Gunadha, that penjor must be distinguished from papen-joran. Penjor is closely associated with Hindu religious ritual, while papenjoran is made for the benefit of outside religious ceremonies or profane use. Sacred penjor like the penjor of Galungan must comply with several requirements. “Penjor is a symbol of mountain as a source of well-being. That’s why penjor resembles the shape of the Ananta Boga dragon with the head at the bottom and tail curving over the top. By using bamboo, it is equipped with bakang-bakang made from young coconut or palm leaf,” he explained.

He said that the outfits of penjor on Galungan include bambu shrine,

tubers, fruits, sampian penjor, lamak, ceniga, fabrics and so on. These elements must be available in the making of penjor for Galun-gan because they are symbolizing people’s expression of gratitude to God after being bestowed with the source of life,” he said.

“Penjor is completely made from tubers, fruits, and other outfits such as bamboo shrine to accommodate the offerings on the Galungan cel-ebration. Once completed, penjor is then mounted on the right side of the entrance into the house com-pound area,” he explained.

The right time to install penjor is in the afternoon, the day before Ga-lungan, namely on the Penampahan Galungan. Installation of the penjor the day before Galungan means to make the supplies and decorations of the penjor remain fresh on the Galungan. (nik)

Cleanup of the water hyacinth conducted by the legislators with local people was done by pulling it to the edge of the lake by using a tool. Other than targeting water hyacinth, the mutual assistance activity led by the Chairman of the Bangli House, Ngakan Kutha Parwata, also cleaned up abuyat grass and plastic waste around the lake. Plastic waste removed last Saturday was mostly consisting of plastic waste formerly used by residents in their farmland. From the results of the mutual assistance, the hyacinth and plastic waste were collected and then put into sacks to be transported by trucks. The Bangli Environment Agency (BLH) in the mutual assistance activity also came down to clean up the lake.

Met at the sidelines of the mutual assistance, Chairman of the Bangli House, Ngakan Kutha Parwata, accompanied by Deputy Chairman Komang Carles and Nyoman Basma said that the con-dition of Lake Batur is currently very poor. Other than being filled with water hyacinth, Lake Batur is also contaminated by plastic waste. According to Kutha Parwata, although the government of Bangli has made similar program all this time, he admitted if the program cannot work due to budgetary constraints.

Besides, the cleanup activities of hyacinth and plastic waste done by the government of Bangli all this time is admitted to have been unable to attract public response. “Probably, over the years people have mindset that the government program is deemed a project. So, people are less responsive to continue the activity,” he said.

With the cleanup activities initiated by factions in the Bangli House, in the future his party hoped the response and public concerns with the environment can be better. Through the recent activities, Ngakan Kutha re-appealed to all the people living around the lake to be more concerned with the environmental sustainability of the lake.

In the meantime, Chairman of the Sustainable Lake Fo-rum doubling as headman of Kedisan, Nyoman Gamayana, said that his party strongly welcomed the mutual assistance undertaken by the legislators of Bangli. He hoped the activity can continue on an ongoing basis at Buahan village and other areas at the edge of Lake Batur. (kmb40)

Chairman of PHDI: Do not bring in magnificent penjor outfits

Legislators and people clean up Lake Batur

IBP/Suasrina

The loegislators and locals in Bangli area clean up Lake Batur.

BANGLI - Responding to the increasingly wide-spread water hyacinth in Lake Batur Kintamani, the factions in the Bangli House intervene by taking action through a mutual assistance. By teaming up with local people and mass organizations, the cleanup action of water hyacinth was carried out around Buahan village, Saturday (Jul. 11).

3Monday, July 13, 2015 14 InternationalInternational Bali NewsTraveling Monday, July 13, 2015

In a statement published on the state-run website Cubade-bate, the Transportation Ministry said the number of cruise ship port calls rose from 24 in 2012 to 139 in 2014, while visits by cruise passengers saw a similar jump from 6,770 to 37,519 dur-ing the same period.

Already this year there have been 174 port calls and 62,183 passenger visits through May, according to the ministry’s sta-tistics.

The s ta tement ca l led the cruise industry an “important element of tourism development for the country,” and said further

growth is expected.The report comes two days

after U.S. cruise company Car-nival announced a plan to begin running ships to the Caribbean island through its new brand, fathom, which focuses on trips in which passengers sail to a destination in order to volunteer there.

Amid a gradual thaw between Cold War foes Washington and Havana, Carnival has secured permission from the U.S. Trea-sury Department but is st i l l awaiting approval from the Cu-ban government.

The Cuban Transportation

Ministry said growth during the last three years “could have been even greater if not for the inhu-man measures imposed on us by the U.S. blockade (embargo) which substantially hurts mari-time activity” â?? a signal that Havana may look favorably on Carnival’s proposal and U.S. cruise ships in general.

Carnival hopes to begin the trips in May and says it would be the first American cruise company to visit Cuba since the advent of the embargo, which went into full effect in 1962.

Cruise ships dock regularly in the port of Havana during

Carnival Corporation via AP, File

Cuba announces 5-fold spike in cruise tourism since 2012

HAVANA -?? Cruise ship tourism to Cuba spiked more than five-fold over the last three years and is up even higher so far in 2015, government officials reported Thursday.

the winter high season, disgorg-ing hundreds of travelers at a time into the adjacent colonial quarter.

The Transportation Ministry also cited Cienfuegos, Santiago and other coastal points as cen-ters of cruise tourism, and high-lighted the Isle of Youth as an opportunity for possible future expansion of the sector.

American tourism to Cuba remains illegal under U.S. law, although Washington has relaxed rules in recent years to allow ever-greater numbers of U.S. visitors on cultural, academic, religious and other types of ex-changes considered “purposeful travel.”

Carnival’s weeklong cruis-

es aboard the 710 passenger-capacity Adonia would offer legal “people-to-people” trips in which travelers spend most of the day involved in cultural activities in order to conform to U.S. regulations.

Most Cuban ports are not able to accommodate larger vessels that can hold tens of thousands of people. In Havana, an auto-mobile tunnel that traverses the mouth of the bay prevents the city from dredging deeper to receive lower-drafting ships.

A recently completed upgrade at Mariel, an industrial port about a 45-minute drive west of Havana, could be a possibility if Cuba ever looks to receive the bigger cruise vessels. (ap)

AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File

AP Photo/Desmond Boylan, File

In this April 1, 2015, file photo, tourist leave a privately owned home with rooms for rent in Havana, Cuba.

AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa

Tourists walk around the home that once belonged to author Ernest Hemingway, known as Finca Vigia, in Havana, Cuba, Monday, June 22, 2015.

This 20 percent drop in the room occupancy rate, as compared to that in the same period last year, occurred due to stiff competition.

The figure fell from 60 percent in the corresponding period last year, Chief of the Bali Chapter of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati said.

“However, I am optimistic that in the days before and after the Idul Fitri festivities, the room occupancy rate of luxury hotels will increase

because numerous domestic and foreign tourists visit Bali for their vacations,” he affirmed.

Several guests have booked rooms in hotels to holiday in Bali during the Idul Fitri festivities, which will fall on July 17 and 18, he stated.

“Owners of many luxury ho-tels are offering special packages to potential guests during Idul Fitri. Hopefully, these promo-tions will serve to increase their room occupancy rates,” Sukawati remarked. (ant)

GIANYAR - Within the past few months the condition of Ubud area is slightly deserted. Now, when entering July 2015, the Ubud area denoting prominent tourist destination of Gian-yar starts to be thronged by travelers. Inevitably this condition causes some roads in the region also to deal with traffic jams. In addition, unavoidable congestions occur at some points.

Based on observation in the area of Ubud on Friday (Jul. 10), there was increasing number of travelers as seen from the atmosphere at some points in the Ubud area starting from the Catus Pata or central intersection of Ubud area that looked to have been crowded by travelers passing on foot. Similar conditions also appeared along the Jalan Wenara Wana leading to the Monkey Forest attraction.

Increasing number of tourist visit is also directly proportional to the condition of some road sections such as Jalan Raya Ubud, Jalan Wenara Wana and others starting crowded with vehicles transporting travelers. Congestion is inevitable at some major intersections like the central intersec-tion and in front of the office of the Ubud subdistrict head.

Such increase is also experienced by traders at Ubud Art Market located in the heart of Ubud town. Accord-ing to one of the traders, within the past few days the number of travel-ers stopped by at the shop indeed increased compared to usual days. “Indeed the tourist visit coming here increases. It commonly happens when entering July,” said the trader.

Similar opinion is also recognized by the Head of the Gianyar Tourism

IBP/Wawan

The room occupancy rate of luxury hotels in the resort island of Bali was recorded at 40 per-cent on an average, in the first half of 2015.

Occupancy rate in luxury hotels falls to 40 percent

DENPASAR - The room occupancy rate of luxury hotels in the resort island of Bali was recorded at 40 percent on an aver-age, in the first half of 2015.

July, tourist visit to Ubud mounts

IBP/Wawan

Within the past few months the condition of Ubud area is slightly deserted. Now, when enter-ing July 2015, the Ubud area denoting prominent tourist destination of Gianyar starts to be thronged by travelers. Inevitably this condition causes some roads in the region also to deal with traffic jams.

Office, A.A. Ari Brahmanta, that when entering July 2015, the tourist visit to Ubud will increase. However, his party is unable to ensure whether it has showed an increasing visit compared to July of last year. “If we observe travelers in Ubud, they are indeed more crowded than the previ-ous month in 2015. We will know about the number at the end of July after we make a check at the airport, including the room occupancy rate in Ubud such as home stay, star hotel and others,” he said.

When asked about the target of

tourist arrival, A.A. Ari Brahmanta said that in 2015 the Gianyar Tourism Office only adds three percent to the target of tourist visit in previous year reaching 1.2 million even though in 2014 the tourist arrival exceeded the target, reaching 1.3 million people. “Every year we just increase three per-cent to the target of tourist visit to all attractions in Gianyar,” he explained.

Based on the data of the Gianyar Tourism Office, the average tourist ar-rival of domestic and foreign travelers to Tirta Empul reaches 32,681 each month. This condition is the same as

the previous year, where Tirta Empul always reaches the foremost tourist traffic. Other than lying in the track to Kintamani, Tirta Empul indeed has a high attraction with holy spring shower and is located adjacent to the Tampaksiring Palace.

Further, the Goa Gajah Bedulu at-traction is ranked second in the number of tourist arrival with monthly average of 19,321 visitors. Then, it is followed by Gunung Kawi Tampaksiring with monthly visit of 9,381 people, Gunung Kawi Sebatu (1,781 people) and Yeh Pulu Bedulu (450 people).

In the meantime, beyond the tourist attractions managed by the govern-ment of Gianyar such as painting museum, the bird park, rafting and others also become the destination of tourists visit. Total domestic and foreign tourist arrival until May 2015 to tourist attractions managed by the government of Gianyar and private companies reached 361,630 people. (kmb35)

International2 Monday, July 13, 2015 15International Activities

Bali News Monday, July 13, 2015

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

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

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

The dedication or inauguration day of a Temple is considered its birth day and celebration always takes place on the same day if the wuku or 210 day calendar is used. When new moon is used then the celebration always happens on new moon or full moon. The day of course can differ the religious celebration of a temple lasts at least one full day with some temple celebrating for three days while the celebra-tion 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 beau-tifully 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 beauti-fully 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

With a strategic location at Four Seasons’ Coconut Grove on Jimbaran Beach, TropicSurf’s ‘Ticket to Ride’ program caters for all levels – begin-ner through advanced – and provides convenient access to the island’s best breaks, all while enjoying the authen-tic Balinese culture and world-class service of Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay. For beginners and longboarders, the gentle beach break directly off the Coconut Grove is the perfect learn-ing ground, and TropicSurf’s unique coaching methodology provides personalized guidance for a maximum of four people per class. Experienced surfers can take advantage of Tropic-Surf’s boat to surf ‘Airports’, just 10 minutes’ boat ride away, or the Ulu-watu peninsula, or take a 20-minute road trip to Nusa Dua and Sanur.

Hurley-sponsored professional surfer Jay Phillips said the TropicSurf program at Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay offers “the experience of a life-time”. Phillips is based on the Gold Coast, Australia, and traveled to Bali with his wife and three children. “You’ve got all surf breaks at your fingertips right here in the Bay,” he said. “I know my daughter’s in safe hands surfing perfect little waves at Tora-Tora or on the shore break right in front of Sundara, and my wife’s having the time of her life at the resort while I get some quality waves as well. It’s been a dream holiday.”

While TropicSurf enables surfers avoid the crowds and pick the best waves to get the most of their time in the water, any non-surfers can immerse in the resort’s tranquil beach-front

IBP/Courtesy of Four Seasons Jimbaran

Four Seasons Jimbaran introduces bespoke surfing holidays

JIMBARAN - Bali is one of the world’s top surfing destina-tions, but often the challenge is getting the best waves yet avoid-ing the crowds, as well as spending quality time with family or spouse. It is a constant balancing act, but there is now a solution to keep everybody happy thanks to a new partnership between Four Seasons Resort Jimbaran Bay and TropicSurf, to offer bespoke surfing holidays in Bali.

location and authentic experiences. Comprising seven living ‘villages’, the 156 villas– each with indoor and outdoor living pavilions, shower gar-den and picturesque pool – cascade down 14 hectares of hilly headland and tropical water gardens dotted with hundreds of statues and shrines. Guests can go on a Temple Tour and even receive a traditional seawater blessing by the resident ‘Mangku’ (Priest), embark on a culinary journey at the onsite Jimbaran Bay Cooking Academy, take a curative journey at The Healing Village Spa or soak up the chilled-chic vibe – and Southeast Asia’s best cocktails – from a poolside beachfront day bed at Sundara.

“TropicSurf’s unique coaching methodology and approach to luxury surfing holidays is the perfect match for what our guests look for when

traveling to Bali,” said Uday Rao, General Manager of Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay. “Whether beginner or experienced surfers, they can maxi-mize their time in the water and still enjoy plenty of time with their family or spouse, immersing themselves in everything that Bali has to offer; from the art and spirituality, to the wellbe-ing rituals, recreational activities and world-class dining.”

Ross Phillips, Founder and Direc-tor of TropicSurf, said: “Tropicsurf is delighted to be partnered with Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay in Bali. The property has an authentic Balinese feel and the location is central to the broad range of wave types that we need for our varied guest abilities. We understand that for most of our guests, their time is valuable. So we have di-rect boat access just 10 minutes from

the Four Seasons beach to some ideal waves. We aim to get our guests to a higher level of surfing skill in a shorter time span. Our expert guides not only can get you into some of Bali’s magi-cal waves, but also transform your surfing along the way.”

To mark the launch, Four Seasons has created exclusive new Tropic-Surf accommodation packages. The Learn-to-Surf package is the perfect choice for beginners, inclusive of daily buffet breakfast and a one-hour lesson for two people with Tropic-Surf’s professional instructor. The TropicSurf Family Holiday includes daily buffet breakfast and a private lesson for two adults and two children (aged 6 and above) to enjoy quality family time bonding over the shared experience of riding your first waves together.

NEGArA - Dozens of bus, truck and family vehicle drivers took physical condition test made by the officers when lining up at Gilimanuk Harbor, Saturday (Jul. 11). The drivers also underwent alcohol test to ensure whether they were not under influence of alcohol while driving.

Until Saturday afternoon, the officers of the first class Denpasar

Harbor Health Office have taken around 60 samples of the drivers for the alcohol test. However, the results of all the drivers par-ticularly bus drivers and public transportation was negative. When visited by the officers at LCM dock, some drivers seemingly refused to be tested, as they wor-ried if their blood sample will be taken. However, when described

by the officers if the test is only through the mouth, some drivers finally agreed.

One of the bus drivers to Sema-rang destination, Ipung Purwanto, claimed if the health checkup did not matter. According to him, such an effort needs to be done especially he has been working for three days and rarely took a break. “Within once departure, he drives for 18

hours without a break,” said the driver from Surabaya.

Technical Implementation Of-ficer of the first class Denpasar Harbor Health, I Made Arta, said that such an effort is intentionally made at stop points of vehicle at Gilimanuk and Padang Bai Harbor. The drivers, especially of the home-coming transportation, are checked up to know their blood pressure and

alcohol test to ensure whether they are in fit condition.

“We target to take 100 samples of drivers. On average their blood pressure is in normal range,” he said with permission from his leader-ship, Nyoman Murtiyasa. However, when the officers find drivers af-fected by alcohol, the officers will ask them to go down and do not drive a car or bus. (kmb26)

It was revealed by economic academician, Prof. Dr. Ida Ba-gus Raka Suardana, Saturday (Jul. 11). Religious leaders (high priests, PHDI, MUDP and cus-tomary village) are expected to continuously disseminate the reduction of imported fruit usage and other needs as well as ritual paraphernalia must be made as simple as possible.

“It is unnecessary to make grandiose offerings for the wor-ship. If this manner can be done by each family, it can be imag-ined how much saving can be made to reduce our dependence on foreign products,” he said.

He said that the other ritual paraphernalia such as young coconut leaf is also now very dependent on outside region, particularly Java. Before fes-tive season (rerahinan) in Bali, numerous cars and pickup boxes lined up at the crossing harbor transporting the commodity. Likewise, similar condition also happens to the needs of meat, especially chicken.

“Provincial and county gov-ernment should also make a poli-cy on the making of the centers of local fruit farms and plantations

supporting the ritual parapherna-lia and provision of incentives for the farmers,” he said.

He admitted there has been a behavioral change of Balinese people since the past 25 years. One of which happens to reli-gious ceremony in the matter of ritual paraphernalia, where the fruits are dominated by imported products.

“We expect that Balinese people will be more aware and willing to change the current needs in the making of knick-knacks of their penjor along with the use of local materials. By changing the raw materials of penjor knickknacks, it will be able to generate the economy of Bali,” he said.

In the meantime, to meet the needs, people are suggested to jointly plant quality raw mate-rials by utilizing dormant land remaining available in the area of Karangasem and Bangli.

“By doing so, certainly people can use raw materials produced in Bali as an expression of grati-tude to God. Why are we grate-ful to imported raw materials?” he said.

Rector of the Undiknas Uni-

Bus and truck drivers at Gilimanuk take alcohol test

Galungan, not a moment to show off prestige

DENPASAR - In this Wedensday, the Hindus, especially those in Bali, will celebrate Galungan and Kuningan. Festivity interpreted as the victory of Dharma against Adharma falling on July 15. They are expected not to use the moment to show off or make prestige contest such as the use of imported fruits and making penjor costing millions of rupiahs just to show off financial capability. However, it must be emphasized on the spirit of simplicity and modesty, so that we can suppress the dependence on foreign products.

versity Denpasar, Prof. Dr. Gede Sri Darma, DBA, admitted that the dominance of imported prod-ucts in everyday’s life of the Hindus are inseparable from the sense of prestige and social sta-tus. The quality of young coconut leaf and knickknacks of Bali can only last about two to three days, while the imported products can last longer.

“We should be proud of hav-ing the results of the abundant natural resources. The govern-

ment must also be serious and is not only busy taking care of itself or just taking care of people when there is a project,” he said.

He mentioned that almost all the necessities for ceremonial purposes and other supporting materials are mostly brought in from East Java, such as coconut, jackfruit wood, and even the last one is bamboo to make penjor. East Java and Central Lombok are the centers of bamboo pro-

ducer that can offer cheaper bamboo, so that traders have the opportunity to sell them to Bali because local bamboo is sold for higher price.

Prof. Sri Darma also added that there are three keys to gener-ate the economic wheels of Bali and make it even. The community is required to maintain Balinese culture and then Balinese people should understand about cultural values of the penjor and the chain of social life. (kmb27)

IBP/File

The sellers of Galungan equipments is seen on the picture.

Page 6

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

Monday, July 13, 2015

Monday, July 13, 2015

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DPs 23 - 32WEATHER FORECAsT

Page 13

US secretary of state ‘hopeful’ Iran nuke deal near

Page 8

Wary of climate change, Vanuatu villagers seek higher ground

Casillas leaves Real for new challenge at Porto

Mount Raung on the main island of Java has been erupting for weeks, and on Thursday a cloud of drift-ing ash forced the closure of Bali

airport during peak holiday season, and four others.

The airport at Bali, a top in-ternational holiday destination

that attracts millions of foreign tourists every year, reopened on Saturday as the ash drifted away, allowing some passengers to board flights home and others to arrive.

But Sunday morning, the trans-port ministry announced wind had once again pushed the cloud over

the resort island and that the airport was being closed again until at least 4:00 pm (0800 GMT).

“We will continue to monitor developments and decide if the closure will be extended later,” transport ministry spokesman J.A. Barata told AFP.

IBP/Yudi Karnaedi

Ash spewing from an Indonesian volcano closed Bali airport again Sunday, just a day after it reopened, causing fresh travel chaos for weary holidaymakers stranded on the holiday island.

More travel chaos as volcano closes Bali airport again

DENPASAR - Ash spewing from an Indonesian volcano closed Bali airport again Sunday, just a day after it reopened, causing fresh travel chaos for weary holidaymakers stranded on the holiday island.

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

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

SAN DIEGO — Screams and cheers are cheap at Comic-Con, but the energy stepped up a notch Sat-urday evening after fans got their first look at “Deadpool.”

Not only did the trailer for the irreverent film starring Ryan Reynolds get a standing ovation, but soon the 6,500-person Hall H audience started chanting, “One more time!”

Host Chris Hardwick seemed momentarily flustered, explaining that he doesn’t actually have that power. But he asked the A/V gods if it was possible, and soon, the blood-soaked, expletive-laced trailer was playing again.

It seems fitting for a movie 11 years in the making that Reynolds said was only greenlit because of the enthusiasm of the fans.

The Marvel antihero, known for his salty language and off-humor, is given an origin story in this film, which comes out Feb. 12.

Perhaps the main event of the Twentieth Century Fox presenta-tion, which also included looks at “Fantastic Four,” the “Maze Run-ner” sequel and “Victor Franken-

stein,” was “X-Men: Apocalypse.”The veil was stripped away from

the highly secretive film as director Bryan Singer revealed that it takes place 10 years after the events of “X-Men: Days of Future Past” in 1983.

This is a world that has grown to accept mutants, mostly. But a mysterious and influential sect has risen that believes the mutants are gods.

While Jennifer Lawrence said her character in this outing is more Raven than Mystique, Michael Fassbender stayed ambiguous about whether we’d be seeing Erik or Magneto.

“I think he’s a guy who plays both sides. He’s always that kind of ambiguous villain,” said Fass-bender. “When we meet him, he’s more of a simple guy, living a nor-mal life. He’s hung up his cape and his evil ways.”

The footage also showed the first glimpse at Oscar Isaac’s villain Apocalypse and Sophie Turner’s young Jean Grey.

“X-Men: Apocalypse” is only five weeks into shooting and will be released on May 27. (ap)

The winner of two Golden Globe awards and an Oscar nomination for his role as Sherif Ali in David Lean’s 1962 epic “Lawrence of Arabia”, Sharif was known for his debonair style, raffish good looks and often mischievous joie de vivre.

He died in Cairo of a heart at-tack, his agent Steve Kenis said in London, after a struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Close friend and Egypt’s former antiquities minister Zahi Hawwas said Sharif died in an upmarket Cairo clinic where he had been under treatment for the past month.

“His psychological state had deteriorated, he wasn’t eating or drinking,” Hawwas told AFP.

Tributes poured in after the news of Sharif’s death, with Hollywood star Antonio Banderas calling him “a great storyteller, a loyal friend and a

wise spirit”.“I will always miss him. He was one of the best,”

he tweeted of the Egyptian star, who was flu-ent in six languages and also famous for

his skills at playing the card game bridge.

Italian actress Claudia Cardi-nale, who acted with Sharif in Jacques Baratier’s 1958 film “Goha,” expressed her “great sadness” while renowned Egyptian actress Youssra said she felt “awful”.

“I just lost (one) of the best people in my life, I feel so lost and unhappy and helpless,” she told AFP.

The actor’s grandson, Omar Sharif Jr, posted on

Twitter: “I join my family in thanking everyone for the

global outpouring of prayers and support we’ve been receiving. I will miss my grandfather dearly.” (afp)

NEW YORK - Beyonce and Pearl Jam will headline the Global Citizen Festival in New York, which for the first time will broadcast in-ternationally as organizers seek to expand its anti-poverty message.

Other performers at the Septem-ber 26 show in Central Park will include Coldplay, whose frontman Chris Martin has signed on to a long-term role in arranging the fes-tival, and English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who previously an-nounced his participation.

Launched in 2012, the annual concert coinciding with the UN General Assembly is free for fans who commit to actions aimed at eradicating extreme poverty.

Beyonce will be playing one of only two announced shows since the pop superstar ended a world tour last year.

This year’s festival “is especially rewarding as we all join focuses and utilize our talents for one goal: to end extreme poverty globally,” Be-yonce said in a statement released

Thursday.The festival, which in the past

has been broadcast only in the Unit-ed States by MSNBC, will aim to reach a worldwide audience through a YouTube livestream, among other broadcast plans.

Beyonce was a surprise perform-er at last year’s festival during a set by her husband, rapper Jay Z. An-other unexpected guest was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who vowed to improve sanitation for his nation’s poorest. (afp)

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Bryan Singer, from left, Jennifer Lawrence, and Michael Fassbender attend the “X-Men: Apocalypse” panel on day 3 of Comic-Con International on Saturday, July 11, 2015, in San Diego, Calif.

First footage of ‘X-Men: Apocalypse,’

‘Deadpool’ shown

Beyonce to lead expanded anti-poverty concert

Omar Sharif, the eternal ‘Doctor Zhivago’, dies at 83

CAIRO - Egyptian-born film legend Omar Sharif, who died Friday aged 83, captivated audi-ences worldwide for more than half a century, but will forever be remembered as the eponymous “Doctor Zhivago”.