I N T E R N A T I O N A L
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
16 Pages Number 78 10th year
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018
No Netflix, no selfies at Cannes Film Festival this year
PARIS - The Cannes Film Festival will ban Netflix from this year’s event after the video-on-demand company stood firm in its refusal to give its movies a cinema release, festival director Thierry Fremaux said in an interview. Red-carpet selfies will also be banned. Two Netflix films were screened in Cannes last year but organisers had said the company would not be allowed to compete at the festival again if it did not show them in movie halls. “Last year, when we selected two of their movies, I thought I could convince Netflix to release them in theaters. I was presumptuous: they refused,” Fremaux told magazine Le Film Francais. “The people at Netflix loved the red carpet and would like to show us more movies. But they have understood that their intransigence over their (business) model clashes with our own.” However, Netflix may be permitted to show movies on the fringe of the festival, outside the official competition, he said. Meanwhile, the festival’s decision to blacklist selfies taken by members of the audience on the red carpet caused a stir. Fremaux said selfies created a “mess”. Asked if that decision was outdated and old fashioned, Fremaux said: “No, it’s quite the opposite, and you’ll see, others will follow suit.” Selfies, he said, “go against what has made Cannes’ reputation. A certain elegance, discretion.” Fremaux also said he was ending the press screening of movies before their world premiere in the official competition. The official selection for the May 8-19 festival will be announced on April 12th, he said. Australian movie star Cate Blanchett will head the jury this year. (rtr)
REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo
A Chopard representative displays the Palme d’Or, the highest prize awarded to competing films, during an interview before the start of the festival.
REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Director Steven Spielberg waves during the premiere of “Ready Player One” in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 26, 2018.
Virtual reality meets big screen in Spielberg’s ‘Ready Player One’
LOS ANGELES - In Steven Spielberg’s new movie “Ready Player One,” disgruntled citizens in the year 2045 don virtual reality headsets to enter a digital universe where they can dance at hot clubs or race fancy cars through the streets of New York. Back in the real world in 2018, VR enthusiasts hope the fast-paced action movie heading to worldwide theaters this week will spark new interest in the technology and help boost what is now a niche market. “Ready Player One,” based on a novel by Ernest Cline, features a group of teenagers who spend their days in VR goggles, suits and gloves to maneuver their avatars through a computerized wonderland called the Oasis. It is filled with infinite possibilities for working, learning and socializing. “You have a choice to spend all your time there, or make connections in the real world with real people, real eye contact,” Spielberg said told Reuters in an interview. “In a way, our story is a cautionary tale as well as a great adventure.” The movie’s hero, Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), visits the Oasis to escape his miserable life in an Ohio trailer park. As his refuge comes under threat, Watts joins other avatars in a contest that could give them the power to protect the virtual world.
Existing VR capabilities are far more limited than what is portrayed in the film. For entertainment, VR’s most prevalent use is in gaming, where players can battle in 360-degree settings seen through headsets from Facebook’s Oculus unit, HTC Corp and others. Spielberg was among VR’s early adopters. He had been toying with a headset at home before he made “Ready Player One,” and he incorporated the technology behind the scenes. To appear in the Oasis, the actors had to perform in a nearly empty white room wearing motion-capture outfits so their movements could be transferred to digitally created sets. Spielberg had the Oasis sets re-built in VR. “Everybody had a chance to put on the headsets, and suddenly, wow, there you are in the set itself,” he said. “It gave a kind of orientation so they weren’t just acting in the abstract.” The film, which is being distributed by Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros, is shown on a traditional movie screen, no headset required.
VR supporters hope “Ready Player One,” filled with special effects and backed by an upbeat 1980s rock soundtrack, thrills audiences and piques their curiosity. Several related VR experiences, such as a trip inside the movie’s dance club, will be offered on the HTC Vive headset through an official partnership with the film. People who do not own the equipment can head to VR arcades to try out the technology. “We are really are excited to show people VR is not something futuristic,” said JB McRee, HTC Vive’s senior manager of product marketing. “It really is something that exists now.” Actress Lena Waithe, who plays an auto mechanic in the Oasis, said she enjoys VR but encouraged limits to time spent in a virtual world. “It’s fascinating, but it can be a little dangerous if you play in it too much,” she said. “There needs to be a bit of balance. I think that’s the message we are trying to get through with the film.” (rtr)
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018
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REUTERS/Jason Lee
A train believed to be carrying a senior North Korean delegation leaves the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, China March 27, 2018.
Train believed carrying top North Korean delegation leaves Beijing
BEIJING/SEOUL - A train believed to be carrying a senior North Korean delegation left the Chinese capital on Tuesday following a dramatic whirlwind visit that some reports said included the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un. The conservative South Korea Chosun Ilbo newspaper, citing an unnamed senior intelligence official, said the delegation had included Kim and that he had since left to return to North Korea. South Korea’s left-leaning press Hankyoreh also reported Kim had travelled to Beijing for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday afternoon before leaving for a “third location” on Tuesday. It did not cite specific sources. The Hankyoreh did not specify where the “third location” was but said it could be in China. Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post said Kim was on the train that left Beijing, citing two anonymous sources. South
Korea said it was closely watching events in Beijing, where a foreign ministry spokeswoman deflected a question on whether Kim, his sister or some other senior North Korean was visiting. South Korea’s spy agency declined to confirm the report. “At present I have no understanding of the situation you mention. If there is news we will release it,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular daily briefing. Diplomatic sources in Beijing said a
senior North Korean official was in town, but did not know exactly who. Bloomberg, citing three unidentified sources, reported late on Monday that Kim was in Beijing in what would be his first known trip outside North Korea since taking power in 2011. The unconfirmed visit came ahead of planned summit meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump. “The presidential Blue House is watching things in Beijing very closely,
while keeping all possibilities open,” said the senior official in Seoul, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Improving ties between North Korea, which is pursuing nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and China would be a positive sign before the planned summits, he said. A Reuters reporter saw a convoy leave Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guest House, where senior foreign leaders often stay, and drive north on Tuesday morning. It was unclear where the convoy was headed. Later, a Reuters journalist saw what was believed to be the delegation’s train pulling out of a Beijing station. The group was
reported to have arrived in China on Sunday after crossing from North Korea in the border city of Dandong. A senior U.S. official who follows North Korea closely said the available evidence suggested that Kim had travelled to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, but stressed that has not been confirmed.
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.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http:// radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Bali News
To protect local small business
Palm wine and arrack must be seen from cultural aspect
DENPASAR - Palm wine and arrack makers in Bali have not been protected yet by regulation. Actually, this type of liquor is also needed by Hindus on the Island of the Gods as a means of religious ceremonies (libation). In order to protect the makers, the presence of palm wine and arrack should be viewed in terms of cultural aspect.
“It is local content and local culture having been done from antiquity. Do not be seen in terms of negative side, please be viewed from cultural side, so we must protect it,” said Chairman of the Bali House of Representatives, I Nyoman Adi Wiryatama, after
leading Special Plenary Session in the Bali House of Representatives on Monday (Mar. 26). Wiryatama agreed there must be a regulation in the future to protect the makers of palm wine and arrack whose number reaches thousands. The Bali House itself has been directed to that purpose, and the right formula is now being figured out. “All this time, they are unprotected because there are no definite rules. There is no standard about alcohol content. It is often dangerous, right? It is only made without any standards,” he explained. If there is regulation, continued Wiryatama, what is allowed and disallowed will be arranged therein. It must be regulated so that arrack makers are able to run their business well, but does not harm society in general. In other words, they also need to be controlled so as not to just think instantly of making a profit. However, their products even have a negative impact on society. “Palm wine has been consumed by the community from time immemorial. If they are abandoned, people may sell stale palm wine or mixed palm wine, so it will have more negative hazards. In the future, we will make a regulation on how the arrack makers can run their business well, not endanger the public in general. We have such a mindset in the parliament,” said this PDI-P politician. Meanwhile, a legislator of the PDI-P Faction, I Ketut Kariyasa Adnyana, said that such home-based business players with traditional palm wine or arrack products should be protected. Although there are regulations concerning the limitation of liquor, actually it can be included in the exception for Bali as a tourism area. Now, it just needs to make the regulation so as to be able to organize the makers well. “All the ceremonies in Bali involve the use of palm wine, rice wine and arrack. This is what we have to protect because they are a part of the MSMEs. However, the distribution must be regulated to avoid the abuse. This should be made a regulation,” he said. Kariyasa added the parliament has actually attempted the regulation since long time ago considering the producers of palm wine belong to critical areas such as Karangasem. Based on the last note of Bali Post, previously there was a regulation of Minister of Trade No. 6 / M-DAG /PER/1/2015. In the regulation, the regents and mayors have full authority to control regarding the supervision of alcoholic beverages along with administrative sanctions for violators. Related to this matter, Regional Regulation of Bali No.5/2012 on Alcoholic Beverage Distribution Control in Bali Province was finally revoked in 2016. However, the Bali House of Representatives has suggested the Bali provincial government to make regulatory studies to establish joint ventures related to Balinese traditional drinks such as palm wine, rice wine and arrack that must be protected, and strictly prohibit the production or circulation of mixed alcoholic beverages. (kmb32)
International
Activities
International
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
15
US-China trade war
Potential to impact on three sectors in Indonesia
DENPASAR - The US and Chinese trade rivalries do not only affect the two countries, but will also affect Indonesia. There are at least three sectors affected, namely the exports and imports as well as fiscal and trade of Indonesia. Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) of Bali, A.A. Ngurah Alit Wiraputra, said the most significant impact of the trade war is investment in Indonesia. Both countries will focus on improving the investment climate in their country. The second is Indonesian trade. Although so far there has been no dumping in their country, if it happens the products of both countries will flood Indonesia. Indonesia is a potential market for the US and China. “But if dumping is enforced, the US will surely lose because the US products are expensive. Therefore, the US protects itself from China’s trade,” he said on Monday (Mar. 26). If the US and Chinese products flood Indonesia, there will be competition against Indonesian businessmen. “To be sure, they will sell their products to Indonesia, especially Chinese products,” he added. Indonesia should also start thinking about the entry of Chinese products. This is meant to stabilize the value of Indonesian trade. “We have to try to use domestic prod-
ucts,” he said. In this trade war, the US appealed to its citizens to use domestic products although they are expensive. “However, they are subsidized by the US government. It reduces taxes of domestic products, while taxes of foreign products are increased,” he said. Another negative impact of the trade war is that Indonesia’s exports will also be difficult to enter the US. The US considers Indonesia is just like China. “Our exports will decline, whereas the US is our highest export destination,” he said. This impact will affect the performance of Indonesian entrepreneurs. On that account, he hoped the entrepreneurs of Indonesia to diversify the market such as Europe, Korea and Japan. Especially for food, the US no longer accepts Indonesian products. The affected exports will also have an impact on Indonesia’s fiscal. If the US economy strengthens, the US dollar will also strengthen. At the same time, it will make the rupiah worse off. If the rupiah weakens, the investors will wait and see when investing in Indonesia. “This should be observed by the government of Indonesia so that businessmen will not wait and see in this trade war,” he said. Kadin hoped that the impact will not be so significant on the import-export, fiscal and trade of Indonesia. (kmb42)
Antara Foto/Fikri Yusuf/ via REUTERS ATTENTION
Balinese Hindu men perform during Tektekan, a traditional ceremony believed to expel evil spirits, ahead of the holy day Nyepi, in Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia, March 15, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Picture taken March 15, 2018.
Founder : K.Nadha, General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Gugiek Savindra Editors:Agus Toni, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Sueca, Sugiartha, Yudi Winanto Denpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subrata, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Suasrina, Buleleng: Dewa kusuma, Gianyar: Manik Astajaya, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Dewa Farendra. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto. 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
Easter Break In The Heart Of Kuta At The ANVAYA Beach Resort Bali
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Technology
International
Bali News
International
Marines experiment with new technology concepts for the urban battlefield
REUTERS/Randall Hill
Boeing engineer Monica Joshi demonstrates an industrial exoskeleton at the Boeing Research & Technology facility in Ladson, South Carolina, United States March 26, 2018.
Robotic Exoskeletons could turn manufacturing workers into superhumans
IT may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but a few innovative manufacturers are experimenting with outfitting their workers with robotic appendages and exoskeleton suits. The technology is still in its infancy, but manufacturing executives may want to start taking notice of how wearable robotics could someday enable their workers to do their jobs more safely and effectively. Gavin Barnes, lead engineer for the FORTIS Exoskeleton program at Lockheed Martin, explained that these systems can boost a manufacturing worker’s strength, endurance and productivity. He said the company’s FORTIS structure can support tools weighing up to 36 pounds, allowing workers to use the tool for a much longer period of time before needing to rest. “Because I don’t have to put all my effort and energy into holding that tool, I can focus instead on the craftsmanship at hand with really fine movement of a light tool,” Barnes said. A recent report on wearable robotics said that industry will reach $2.1 billion by 2021. Exoskeletons are now being developed in the U.S., China, Korea, Japan and in Europe. It identifies industrial use as one of the primary markets, especially for aviation manufacturing
and shipbuilding. These industrial exoskeleton suits run between $20,000 and $100,000. The FORTIS system starts at $23,000. Not just for heavy loads, robotic devices can help workers perform their jobs with fewer safety risks and impacts on their bodies. Ed Potoczak, director of industry relations at software company IQMS, said manufacturing workers who do repetitive motions with heavy loads can create long-term stresses on the body. When done repetitively, even a 10-pound item can be taxing. “When you reduce your injury incidences, your rates tend to go down…So between time away, recuperation and recovery, all that would represent hard savings to an employer,” Potoczak said. Homayoon Kazerooni, a professor of mechanical engineering at California Berkeley who is known as “the father of modern exoskeletons,” has worked with the U.S. military to develop the Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton (BLEEX) and the Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC). He said there are still many tasks in factories that cannot be automated and could benefit from robotic devices to aid humans. “These are the workers who do unstructured jobs— filling up trucks with boxes, bending, squatting, using their whole bodies,” Kazerooni said. (net)
CAMP PENDLETON - The Marine Corps is planning for a future that will pit Marines against an enemy well-versed in fighting and hiding in crowded urban areas and equipped with high-tech weapons and communications systems. Current events have validated these assumptions about future operations, including the use of bomb-bearing and swarmcapable drones during recent attacks on a Russia base in Syria. Such threats loomed large as a Marine infantry rifle company took to the streets of a Camp Pendleton combat town this week to experiment with several dozen new technologies and prototypes designed to make them more lethal, effective, efficient and agile in an urban fight. About 180 Marines are participating in the Urban 5th Generation Marine Exploration and Experimentation 2018 exercise at Camp Pendleton. U5G 2018 runs from March 15-25 and is the first in a progressive series of exercises this year focused on identifying potential technology enhancements for the Marine Corps rifle company and its subordinate units. If he had his way, Capt. Ben Brewster and his rifle company would get to fight and operate under a “protective bubble.” Brewster describes it as created
by layered offensive and defensive unmanned aerial systems (UAS) – both organic to the company and from the larger Marine air-ground task force – that would include systems and equipment to kill or neutralize enemy or threatening drones in the air. Potential adversaries and terrorists already have access to new widely available technologies including inexpensive, commercial off-the-shelf systems like drones – and that adds more complex threats to military forces and civilians in the urban environment. “I’ve never had to deal with IEDs that can attack me…from quadcopters,” said Brewster, commander of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines. Three drones flitted overhead at the Range 131 Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT) facility here, and an “enemy” drone – a bat-wingshaped UAS – sliced through the air as Third Platoon moved among buildings around a town square. “Anyone of these could have a two-pound IED (improvised explosive device)” or act as a spotter or command-and-control for an enemy force, he said. “I need the ability for my Marines to be able to jam these drones,” he added. (net)
US Marine Corps Photo
US Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Briar Purty, an infantryman with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division tests Drone Killer Counter-UAS Technology during Urban Advanced Naval Technology Exercise 2018 (ANTX-18) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. on March 21, 2018.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
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Anticipation of unrealized target
Bali Health Agency prepares subsequent JE immunization
SINGARAJA — The immunization of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) will end next April 2018. In Bali, there are 962,000 children from the age of nine months to 15 years targeted for JE immunization. To anticipate the unattainable target when the immunization ends, Bali Health Agency will provide subsequent immunization. This is done by sweeping to districts and municipality in Bali.
Ketut Suarjaya
IBP/kmb
TB cases ranked second in Indonesia
Bali estimated to still have 13,000 patients DENPASAR — Indonesia is ranked second after India in the matter of tuberculosis case (TB). Meanwhile, Bali itself is estimated to have 13,000 people with tuberculosis. Of this number, only about 26 percent or 3,000 cases are found and treated. “So, there are still 10,000 people potentially transmitting,” said the Head of the Bali Health Agency, Ketut Suarjaya, in Denpasar coinciding with the World TB Day on Sunday (Mar. 25). According to Suarjaya, patients with mild symptoms frequently do not want to have treatment. Besides, many health workers do not realize if the coming patients have TB cases. His agency invited the community to help the government in finding and approaching tuberculosis patients. With the target of finding 75-90 percent of TB cases, he hoped that TB cases can be completed by 2030. “People should not discriminate or stay away from tuberculosis patients. With a healthy lifestyle, we can avoid this tuberculosis,” he added. Suarjaya added that TB is indeed a hazardous disease that can even cause death. However, TB can be cured by taking medication regularly. In addition, TB can also be prevented by trying to keep your healthy such as by checking health regularly and not smoking, doing diligent exercise, eating nutritious food, taking adequate rest and controlling stress. “Environmental hygiene also plays an important role in prevention such as house ventilation and
insufficient sunlight. Again, this TB can be cured with regular medication. We continuously try to find the case and treat it thoroughly,” he said. According to lung specialist of Sanglah Hospital, Ni Luh Putu Eka Arisanti, TB disease can attack other organs and cause damages in the organ. In addition, TBC is dangerous because it can be transmitted to others. “So, if anyone has symptoms of cough more than a week, fever, night sweats and weight loss, please immediately go to public health center,” he said. Eka added that transmission of TB disease is possible through coughing, sneezing and from spittle or phlegm of patient positively infected with TB germs. On that account, there is the ethic of coughing by closing the mouth and nose with a tissue, then the tissue is thrown in place properly. If there is no tissue, use inside sleeve. “TB is not a hereditary disease and can be cured with regular medication for at least six months and continue to follow the doctor’s advice,” he said. An internist from Central Army Hospital (RSPAD), Agus Setyo Budi, invited health agencies to proactively combat TB disease in accordance with MDGs achievement targets. Health agencies is hoped to be more assertive against the efforts to prevent TB transmission. For instance, if coughing for more than two weeks, patients should be isolated and prioritized so as not to spread in crowded places. (kmb32)
In Bali, there are approximately 1.2 million targets. Of that number, 95 percent or a total of 962,000 children are targeted to be covered by the JE Immunization. From the record of Bali Health Agency, the target of immunization has reached 55 percent so far. This achievement includes children of pre-school education, kindergarten, elementary, and junior high schools. Until April 2018, the immunizations are held in integrated service center, public health center and hospitals. In terms of immunization stage, the target of 95 percent cannot be achieved, and then the solution to be taken is subsequent immunization. Head of the Bali Health Agency, I Ketut Suarjaya, said when attending the Launching of Smart Drug Use Movement (Gema Cermat) in Buleleng last week that so far the immunization has run smoothly and encountered almost no obstacles. However, from the implementation of immunization in international schools some parents refused immunization. However, after being given an explanation, their parents understood so that immunization is permitted. Evaluation is routinely performed by health workers in the region. Later, two weeks before the immunization schedule ends, the Bali Health Agency will conduct a comprehensive evaluation on achievement of the immunization itself. Results of the evaluations will determine whether the target has been achieved or vice versa. If the target has not been achieved, Bali Health Agency with district and municipal health agency will conduct subsequent immunization. This will be done by swiping scattered targets. “Based on regular evaluation, the target has covered about 55 percent and we keep moving until the
immunization schedule ends. Two weeks before the scheduled ends, there is a comprehensive evacuation. Otherwise, the left and scattered targets will be followed up then,” he said. According to Suarjaya, the minimum target of immunization is actually 90 percent of the total target. However, the Bali Health Agency deliberately sets immunization achievement to exceed the minimum target as local government has commitment to protecting children in Bali from the possibility of being contracted by JE virus. Seriousness of the JE handling is done by establishing regular JE immunization for the tenth month. In other words, after the immunization for two months (March-April 2018) is over, then every 10-month-old child must get JE immunization. “Starting in May 2018, it becomes regular immunization. The 10-month-old children must get JE immunization. Later on, after getting measles immunization for ninemonth children, then at the age of 10 months they must get JE immunization,” he said. Related to JE vaccine support, Suarjaya said that 1.2 million vials of vaccine have been prepared. Such number of vaccine is entirely stored in the Bali Health Agency using cool room in which the temperature can be arranged as needed. Storage of the vaccine is concentrated in the province because it requires a place to avoid destruction of the vaccine. In addition, most health agencies in the region do not have a special room to store the vaccine, so that every immunization schedule, the Bali Health Agency will drop as needed. For delivery to each health agency, the vaccine is stored temporarily in a special refrigerator and will use special container when deployed to school or public health center, integrated health service and hospital. “We provide the vaccine pursuant to the target data. Distribution is made from the Bali Health Agency because the regions have no special container to store the vaccine. The vaccine is an attenuated virus and has the temperature between two and eight degrees. If the temperature is more, the vaccines are damaged. To avoid such damage, the vaccine is dropped during immunization, and from the public health center it must be stored in special container,” he explained. (kmb38)
IBP/kmb38
The immunization of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) will end next April 2018. In Bali, there are 962,000 children from the age of nine months to 15 years targeted for JE immunization.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Bali News
International
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
International
13
Egypt begins second day of voting as Sisi coasts towards victory
The water flooded people’s house has the height of about 15 centimeters from the ground.
IBP/kmb38
Water of Lake Buyan overflows, 11 people’s houses flooded
SINGARAJA — Water of Lake Buyan at Pancasari village, Sukasada subdistrict, returns to overflow. Eleven houses at Dasong hamlet and more than 25 hectares of farmland are inundated by lake water. The water flooded people’s house has the height of about 15 centimeters from the ground. Nevertheless, people have not evacuated. They prefer to survive despite having to move household equipment to a safer place and avoid the pool of lake water. As seen on Monday (Mar. 26), the lake water looked to inundate people’s home yard to living room. The water began to rise about five days before Nyepi (Mar. 17). Therefore, people made a higher place to put their household supplies. So far, they have not evacuated to a safer place because the water level is dangerous. Moreover, the height has decreased in a few days. In addition to people’s home yard and living room, their farmlands cultivated with vegetable, beans, carrots, cabbage, peppers, and strawberries have begun to be inundated. The inundated farmland is estimated to
reach tens of hectares. Surely, this situation caused famers to suffer material losses. Due to water puddles, their plants cannot grow normally because the stems and roots are inundated with water. Their plants also perished to trigger the occurrence of crop failure. A local resident, Wayan Mertasa, said the lake water has overflowed since last rainy season. The intensity is difficult to predict because sometimes it rises and not long after the water recedes back. He pointed out that since five days before Nyepi the lake water already inundated his home yard to living room of semi-
permanent house. The height of puddle reached about 15 centimeters. Mertasa with his wife and children still survive at his home. He just moved the household supplies and other valuables to a special place so as not to get flooded by lake water. Although the lake water has inundated the house and farmland, he and other residents still do their daily activities. He remains to fish in the lake to meet the needs of his family. “We are still living here with wife and children as well as relatives. The water level only reaches about 15 centimeters from the ground level. If the lake water overflows like the one
in 2012 with the height of 1.5 meters, we will evacuate,” he said. Meanwhile, hamlet chief of Dasong, Pancasari, Sukasada, Made Suartana, said that since the lake water inundated the houses and farmland, people have received basic food packages from related instances in Buleleng district. His residents proposed to local government to immediately deepen the lake having experienced siltation. Lake dredging is believed to be a permanent solution so that the lake water does not return to flood the homes of residents or farmland. “The siltation happens due to soil erosion in the forest and surrounding farmlands. The volume of lake water increases when it rains. Automatically, the water overflows into the house and inundates the farmland nearby. Our residents have the lake dredged so it can accommodate more water
when it rains,” he said. Suartana added the most damaging impact on his residents is the flooding of farmland on the edge of the lake. He estimated that currently more than 25 hectares of farmland are inundated. Rising lake water every year causes farmers to be unable to cultivate their farmland maximally as the only source of income to Dasong hamlet. For that purpose, the dredging to deepen the lake can be a solution and prevent farmland from being affected if the lake water increases in the rainy season next year. “Since the farmland is inundated, farmland cannot be maximally cultivated by our residents. For example, the farmland is only effective for three months. For about nine months, it cannot be cultivated optimally because the land is submerged as happens today,” he explained. (kmb38)
Go Express develops business massively this year MANGUPURA - Go Express, a subsidiary of Garuda Indonesia, will massively expand its business this year. The business development is done by developing more channels. When encountered at the opening of the Garuda Indonesia Travel Fair (GATF) 2018, Vice President of Garuda Indonesia Cargo Commercial, Rene van Joost, said that Go Express was patented in 2009 but the service is re-launched this year. “We will be marketing this service massively. So, in the opportunity of this GATF we re-launch the opening
of the Go Express whose soft-launch was made last October. However, we are still preparing the system. Well, today the system has run,” he explained. At the beginning of March, Go Express was re-launched in Jabodetabek. Early April, it will open in six major cities in Indonesia such as Medan, Makassar, Denpasar, Balikpapan, Manado and Yogyakarta. Previously, Go Express already had 150 channels from Cargo Service Center (CSC) and from Garuda Sales Office (GASO). Meanwhile, currently there are some 80 agents under
process. So, through this GATF event he would like to look for more individual agents offered to open outlets. Contribution of Go Express itself to Garuda’s cargo turnover is 2 percent. “It’s a 2-percent contribution at the beginning because it is newly penetrating and just makes channel. The channel will be made as dense as possible. However, in 2019 when all the channels can have been accomplished, they will become massive and give a very big contribution,” he explained. This year, the contribution of Go
Express agency is targeted to reach 86 percent, 14 percent from direct shippers. The composition of Garuda Indonesia Cargo, especially in 2017, reached 88 percent supported by the agencies. Meanwhile, the remaining 12 percent is direct shipper. “The direct shipper is a company. There are contractual direct selling (CDS), individual agency (CSC),” he said. Meanwhile, the target of Garuda cargo total turnover in 2018 reached USD 287 million. In 2017, the turnover earned amounts to USD 250 million. With the presence of Go Express,
he admitted to target SMEs with the volume of delivery is not too large. Go Express is said to be more targeting online shippers which send goods not in large quantities (retail) with a maximum weight of 30 kg. Definitely, since Go Express serves door-to-door delivery services, not port-to-port, the monitoring of goods delivery can be done through application that can be downloaded in Playstore. Obviously, since Go Express is the ‘grandson of the children’ of Garuda company, the delivery will use Garuda and Citilink. (kmb42)
Houthi Military Media Unit/Handout via Reuters
CAIRO - Egypt began the second of a three-day presidential election on Tuesday with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi set for an easy victory, after authorities urged people to cast their ballots to provide a strong mandate for the former military commander. Sisi faces just one challenger, who is expected to barely register against the incumbent, whom he supports. Critics have slammed the election as a charade after more serious challengers were forced to step down. Egyptian authorities hope that three days of voting will be enough to produce a decent turnout for Sisi. The president still has many supporters, but his austerity measures in recent years and a fierce crackdown on security have eroded some support. Egypt’s election commission said the election would be free and fair, and Sisi said he would have liked more candidates running. Polls opened on Monday, with those who cast ballots saying they were voting for stability. Sisi, an ex-general who in 2013 led the military overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, is trying to defeat Islamist insurgents in the Sinai Peninsula and complete a series of mega-projects inaugurated with great fanfare since he came to power. Sisi has said he will not seek a third term, but critics expect him to remove a two-presidential term limit. He won nearly 97 percent of the vote in 2014, but less than half of eligible Egyptians voted, even though the election was extended to three days. (rtr)
A photo distributed by the Houthi Military Media Unit shows the launch by Houthi forces of a ballistic missile aimed at Saudi Arabia March 25, 2018.
Barrage of missiles on Saudi Arabia ramps up Yemen war
RIYADH - The Houthi movement that controls northern Yemen vowed on Monday to fire more missiles into Saudi Arabia unless it stops bombing the country, after one of its missiles caused casualties in the Saudi capital for the first time. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis accused them of using Iranian-made missiles. Spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said the coalition reserved the right to respond to Iran “at the appropriate time and manner”, under international law and within the framework of the United Nations, to protect Saudi Arabia. The incident threatens to sharply escalate a war that has already unleashed what the United Nations considers the world’s most urgent humanitarian crisis. Millions of Yemenis live under threat of mass starvation and disease, at the mercy of combatants who have sometimes cut off food and medical supplies. Saudi forces said they shot down three missiles over Riyadh
shortly before midnight. Debris fell on a home in the capital, killing an Egyptian man and wounding two others. Air defences also repelled missiles fired at the southern Saudi cities of Najran, Jizan and Khamis Mushait, the coalition said. The attacks stripped away the sense of calm in Riyadh, a city which until recent months had never quite felt at war. A Houthi leader hailed the attack, which took place as Yemen marked the third anniversary of the start of the war. “We praise the successful advance of military capabilities,” Houthi political council chief Saleh al-Samad told tens of thousands of supporters in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
“If they want peace, as we have said to them before, stop your air strikes and we will stop our missiles,” he said. “If you continue your air strikes, we have a right to defend ourselves by all means available.” The war pits a coalition of Sunni Arab states friendly to the West against the Houthis, a Shi’ite armed movement sympathetic to Iran. The Houthis, who deny they are Iranian pawns and say their movement is a national revolution against corruption, control the north of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. Saudi Arabia and its allies have been fighting on behalf of an exiled government with a foothold in the south. (rtr)
The Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi casts his vote during the presidential election in Cairo, Egypt March 26, 2018.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018
BUSINESS Egypt economy stabliises under Sisi but prices remain to be tamed CAIRO - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has revived economic growth and tackled pressing problems in power and gas supply, but as he heads for a second term, he must juggle austerity under an IMF programme with the need to tame inflation. Sisi inherited an economy in tatters when he took over the presidency in 2014, requiring aggressive reforms that have largely stopped the rot while hurting most Egyptians through a currency devaluation and withdrawal of some price subsidies. “He’s now at the crossroads that every Egyptian president has found himself in,” said Reham Eldesoki, an independent economist long focused on Egypt. “He needs to push forward on intensive reforms, to move forward in building services and non-oil industry and to make Egypt really investment-friendly.” Sisi’s performance in consolidating the gains over the next four years - he is set to cruise to victory in a presidential election which began on Monday - will be watched well beyond Egypt’s borders. European nations particularly worry that any faltering of reforms could worsen unemployment and encourage young Egyptians to cross the Mediterranean illegally, aggravating already sizeable flows of migrants from north Africa. Sisi, who led the military’s overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically-elected president in 2013, was elected president the following year after a prolonged period of popular protests had scared away many investors and foreign tourists. Successive governments’ reluctance to devalue the overpriced currency had led to an acute foreign exchange shortage, dampening imports and pricing Egyptian exports
out of foreign markets. Sisi’s signature economic achievement so far has been concluding a three-year deal with the International Monetary Fund in 2016. Under this, the government has raised the price of subsidised fuel to ease the huge burden on the budget, increased value-added tax to 14 percent and devalued the Egyptian pound against the dollar by more than half. Many say the reforms were needed to stablise Egypt as it recovers from the chaos and tackles an Islamist insurgency. However, the currency reform hit the middle classes particularly hard, while inflation remains high, poverty has increased and unemployment is not going down as quickly as people had hoped. Economists see some grounds for hope. GDP growth increased to 5.3 percent year-on-year in the three months to December from a low of 2.1 percent in 2012/13, according to the central bank. “I think we should see growth continuing to escalate,” said Mohamed Abu Basha, an economist with Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes. “Tourism has space to recover, and consumption and in-
that offer relatively attractive returns right now,” said Karl Schamotta, director of global product and market strategy at Cambridge Global Payments in Toronto. Global markets were shaken last week after U.S. President Donald Trump moved to impose tariffs on Chinese goods, edging the world’s two largest economies closer to a trade war, but latest reports indicated a slightly more selective stance. China’s premier, Li Keqiang, said on Monday China and the United States should maintain negotiations
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Nyambutin Ritual, first time baby’s feet touch the earth
ENERGY FIX Egypt, once a net energy exporter, had struggled to get enough fuel to run its antiquated power stations, with the country of 97 million people suffering regular blackouts. Under Sisi, the government signed construction contracts for new plants and arranged for floating gas terminals to allow more imports. The power shortages were soon brought to a near halt. Sisi has also acted to break a logjam in gas exploration and development. Likewise, he moved to reduce vast arrears in payments to international energy companies for oil and gas. This has encouraged them to revive their activities in Egypt, leading to several gas discoveries, including the Zohr field, the largest in the Mediterranean region. Zohr, operated by Italy’s ENI, shipped its first gas at the end of 2017. Other fields that were brought on stream included BP’s Atoll and West Nile Delta. The government says the country will be self-sufficient in gas by the end of this year. INFRASTRUCTURE EXPANSION Sisi launched a series of large infrastructure projects designed partly to put Egyptians back to work. Many won praise, such as new roads and expanded electricity capacity. More controversially, Sisi has begun work on several megaprojects, some of which economists
REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
A plant’s gas tanks are seen at the desert road of Suez city north of Cairo, Egypt August 14, 2016. Picture taken August 14, 2016. say will produce little immediate return. These include dredging a new branch of the Suez Canal. Sisi insisted the project be completed within a year, adding to the cost, but because of a worldwide trade slowdown canal revenue was little changed. He has begun building several new desert cities, including a $45 billion new administrative capital east of Cairo. Egypt has also been negotiating with Russia for a new $20 billion nuclear power plant. Many investors and economists worry that the army is becoming too involved in these projects and in other ventures, threatening to
crowd out private investors. Austerity measures imposed under the IMF deal pushed annual inflation to 33 percent in August. By last month, the rate had dropped back to 14.4 percent. But more planned measures will make it difficult to bring it down further. The government is widely expected to raise fuel prices again at the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. “The challenge now will be to get inflation down to single digits,” Abu Basha said. “We know that they will eliminate most of the fuel subsidies by the end of the IMF programme in 2019.” (rtr)
and he reiterated pledges to ease access for American businesses, as China tried to avert a trade war. “We are looking at less need for safe havens,” said Schamotta. The yen, often viewed as a safehaven currency in times of market turbulence and economic uncertainty, partly because of the resilience provided by Japan’s current account surplus, slipped against the greenback. The dollar was up 0.35 percent against the Japanese currency.The dollar’s strength against the yen was also due to Japanese factors such as
growing views that a political scandal in Tokyo could deepen, with a figure in a cronyism controversy surrounding Prime Minister Shinzo Abe due to testify in parliament on Tuesday. The euro rose 0.77 percent against the greenback, with the latest comments from Jens Weidmann, Germany’s likely candidate to become the European Central Bank’s next president, also offering some support. Weidmann said market expectations of a rate hike towards the middle of next year were “not completely unrealistic”, a view shared by the
broader market, although some expect a rate hike by the first quarter of 2019. Traders in the currency market were also braced for a flood of Treasury issuance this week. “That’s pushing short-term rates up and forcing traders into sort of a wait-and-see mode, because we are not really sure how much that will impact the market more generally,” said Schamotta. The British pound < GBP=> rose 0.69 percent against the dollar as investors became more convinced that the Bank of England would raise interest rates in May. (rtr)
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Balinese Hindus commonly practice a number of different rituals as expressions of gratitude for the graces bestowed upon them by God. The nyambutin series of rituals make up one such ceremony that is conducted with sincerity for babies with the hope of having grace bestowed upon the family.
vestment should continue to recover over the next few years.”
Dollar, yen weak as risk appetite returns
NEW YORK - The U.S. dollar slipped to a five-week low against a basket of major currencies on Monday, as optimism that the United States and China are set to begin negotiations on trade helped ease fears of a trade war and investors’ appetite for risk improved. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.42 percent at 89.064, after slipping to a five-week low of 89.056. “You are seeing fears of a trade war ebbing right now and investors are moving back into asset classes
Bali News
International
IBP/kmb
As Jro Mangku Nurata explained, while officiating over a tutug kambuhan ritual recently, Nyambutin or nelubulanin (meaning 3 months) ceremonies are held for babies 105 days after they are born which is 3 months according to the Balinese calendar. God is asked to provide protection for the young human. Part of this ceremony includes giving the baby a name and clarifying the meaning of this name. Most notably this is the first time that the baby’s feet are allowed to touch the earth. “According to Hindu tradition, babies are only allowed to have their feet touch the ground once they are three months old as this is when they start being able to sit up by themselves”, explained Jro Mangku. The Nyambutin, ceremony said Jro Mangku is a way to welcome the baby into the world and show gratitude in a ritual called pangenteg bayu in which water is given to Mother Earth in the hopes that the baby is given a long life. The Nyambutin ceremony is classified as a Manusa Yadnya (rite of passage) ceremony and is carried out with the hope the baby and their family will be prosperous and have a good life. The baby’s placenta will usually have been buried in the family yard and it is in this same area that the nyambutin ceremony is held with the baby’s parents actively taking part in all the rituals involved. This ceremony is dedicated to Bhatara Surya (Lord of the Sun), Ibu Pertiwi (Mother Earth) and Bhatara-Bhatari (deities of the household), explained Jero Mangku Nurata. “The aim is to ask that the baby be guided and safeguarded”, he said. (kmb)
Shivaratri as Sin Redemption Night, Perform Main Abstinences
Hindu community in Bali celebrates a unique Shivaratri Day. Shivaratri means the holy contemplation night or the sin redemption night. Shivaratri falls one day before new moon in the seventh month of Balinese calendar (Kapitu) and this year falls on Friday (Jan. 8). On this day, Hindu devotees in Bali do fasting and meditation to get forgiveness from God for the sins caused by avidya (darkness). On that day, the Hindu community commonly performs three types of abstinence adjusted to the capabilities. The main abstinences are monabrata (no speaking), upawasa (fasting) and jagra (guarding, keeping awake for whole night). Medium abstinence only performs the upawasa and jagra, while the small abstinence just performs jagra. Shivaratri is often called pejagran day because on that day God in his manifestation as Lord Shiva in his function as destroyer does meditation for whole night. Therefore, on this day devotees invoke to him so that all the sins
could be removed. Devotees usually do pejagran at temples or shrines while reading scriptures. The Hindu palm-leaf manuscript named Lubdaka written by Mpu Tanakung carries the procession of Shivaratri with a series as follows: firstly, taking a bath in the morning, putting on clean dressing and invoking holy water. Then, begin the fasting without food and drink. It’s a mental exercise in order to get a strength and durability against thirst and hunger. At night, it is resumed with the reading of Vedic scripture while keeping awake through the night to calm down the mind. Of course, it is commenced with the worship of God for forgiveness for the sins having been committed previously. In the Lubdaka palm-leaf manuscript is stated that though people are very guilty, even the most sinful, they still have the opportunity to destroy their sins if they sincerely celebrate and implement the abstinence of Shivaratri. In the mythology, Lubdaka is mentioned as a hunter of
animals in the forest. Every day, he always kills animals. Once upon a time, he returned to the forest for hunting. Unfortunately he was unlucky on that day, so that did not get any animals. Unwittingly, it was already dusk and it was getting darker. Actually he intended to go home, but it was extremely dark so that he did not know the right way home. He decided to stay, and for fear of being ambushed by beasts he climbed a bilva tree to lean. Unwittingly, underneath there is a clear water lake with a shrine and lingam. To prevent from sleeping for fear of being attacked by animals, he eliminated his sleepiness while picking bilva leaves. He picked the bilva leaves one by one and then he dropped it so that hit the lingam underneath. Lubdaka did not realize that on that day was the Shivaratri (the night of Shiva) where Lord Shiva was meditating. When picking bilva leaves, he began to regret what he had committed in past times. He promised to himself to stop hunting. After staying up all night, the
IBP/kmb
morning came and he went home. From that day, he stopped hunting and switched profession into a farmer. In keeping with the times, his health condition dropped and eventually died. It is narrated that the soul of Lubdaka was hovering in the sky, did not know where to go. After that, the Cikrabala forces took him away to be included in the Candragomuka crater in Hell. At that time, Lord Shiva came and
intercepted the Cikrabala forces. Cikrabala forces insisted on bringing the soul of Lubdaka to Hell because during his lifetime he often killed many forest animals. Lord Shiva explained that Lubdaka has made penance on the Shivaratri by staying up all night accompanied by remorse over his sins in the past. Thus, he deserved to get forgiveness and ultimately Lubdaka was taken to Shiva Loka. (kmb)
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International
RLD
U.S., EU to expel more than 100 Russian diplomats over UK nerve attack
LONDON - The United States said on Monday it would expel 60 Russian diplomats, joining governments across Europe in punishing the Kremlin for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain that they have blamed on Moscow.
It was the strongest action that U.S. President Donald Trump had taken against Russia since coming to office. He has been criticised by Democrats and members of his own Republican Party for failing to be tough enough on Russia over U.S. allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. electoral system, including the 2016 presidential campaign. British Prime Minister Theresa May, welcoming the show of solidarity, said 18 countries had announced plans to expel Russian officials. Those included 14 European Union countries. In total, 100 Russian diplomats were being removed, the biggest Western expulsion of Russian diplomats since the height of the Cold War. Australia later confirmed it was expelling two Russian diplomats identified as undeclared intelligence officers, citing Russia’s “reckless and deliberate conduct”. New Zealand said it had no such agents operating on its shores but would expel them if it did. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Twitter Monday’s “extraordinary international response by our allies stands in history as the largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers ever and will help defend our shared security”. May said the coordinated measures sent the “strongest signal to Russia that it cannot continue to flout international law”. Britain had evidence Russia has investigated ways of distributing nerve agents for assassinations, May told parliament.
Train believed...
From page 1
Underscoring the mystery, one senior Beijing-based diplomatic source told Reuters simply: “We just don’t know.” One source with ties to China’s leadership said it was possible Kim’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, was in town. She visited South Korea for the Winter Olympics last month, paving the way for a summit between the two Koreas. South Korean news agency Newsis reported that Kim Yo Jong and the North’s ceremonial leader, Kim Yong Nam, were visiting Beijing, citing an unidentified North Korea-related source in Beijing. The pair visited South Korean
President Moon Jae-in at his office in Seoul during the Winter Olympics in February. The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was unlikely Kim Jong Un would have sent his sister on such an important mission, unlike her ceremonial visit to South Korea for the Olympics. On the contrary, the official said, a summit with Xi would underscore Kim’s standing as a world leader. “LOT OF LEVERAGE”
Xi and Kim Jong Un had reasons to meet in advance of Kim’s meetings with Moon and possibly Trump, the U.S. official said. “Xi has met Trump, and in many respects learned how to deal with him better than some people here
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Jokowi studying names for his running mate in presidential race BANJAR BARU - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) revealed that he was still studying the names he would choose to be his running mate or his vice presidential candidate in the 2019 presidential race.”I have once again stated that the internal team was still reviewing the names to be selected as the vice presidential candidate,” he noted, after witnessing the handing over of land certificates at the Rudi Rusnawan Sport Hall, Banjar Baru, South Kalimantan, on Monday. The head of state remarked that the political parties that supported him were also doing the same. “The parties are also just doing the same. We have not had any communication with all the supporting parties,” he added. Jokowi mentioned that the decision to pick a name for the vice presidential candidate position in the 2019 presidential election was still a long process. “It is still a long process. So, please do not ask the matter (who will be chosen) again,” he explained. Regarding the political parties that are formulating the criteria for the vice presidential candidate to accompany him, the president stated that he would just let them do it. “If there is a party that makes the criteria, they can please go ahead. That is okay, and that is a political dynamism. We and the community will eventually be able to see who the most suitable candidate would be,” he elaborated. Jokowi remarked that that he will make a note of all names offered by political parties? supporters as reference of considerations. “Oh yes, all will be considered,” Jokowi stated while answering the questions of journalists. In a previous report, the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) proposed 12 figures considered suitable to accompany Jokowi as his vice presidential candidate in the 2019 presidential election. PSI claimed that it obtained the names from the survey results and the PSI`s political communications with the local community. The 12 names include Airlangga Hartarto, Chairul Tanjung, Din Syamsuddin, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Moeldoko, Mohammad Mahfud MD, Nadiem Anwar Makarim, Rusdi Kirana, Said Aqil Siradj, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Susi Pudjiastuti, and Yaqut Qoumas.(rtr)
‘PROVOCATIVE GESTURE’
Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the expulsions a “provocative gesture”. A Kremlin spokesman said the West was making a “mistake” and that President Vladimir Putin would make a final decision about Russia’s response. Moscow has denied being behind the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the southern English city of Salisbury. Skripal, 66, and Yulia Skripal, 33, were found unconscious on a public bench in a shopping centre on March 4 and remain critically ill in hospital. “We assess that more than 130 people in Salisbury could have been potentially exposed to this nerve agent,” May said. Monday’s wave of expulsions followed EU leaders saying last week that evidence presented by May of Russian involvement in the attack was a solid basis for further action. The staff expelled by Washington includes 12 people identified by the United States as intelligence officers from Russia’s mission to the United Nations headquarters in New York. They were involved in activities outside their official capacity and an abuse of their privileges of residence, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said. Russian U.N. ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called it “a very unfortunate, very unfriendly move”. Trump also ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle because of its proximity to a U.S. submarine base and planemaker and defence contractor Boeing Co, a senior U.S. official said. Seattle was a hub of Russian cyber espionage, both political and commercial, according to two U.S. intelligence officials. The administration officials said “well over 100 intelligence officers” operated in the United States, and Washington’s action cuts 60 of them. (rtr)
International
REUTERS/Vincent Kessler
The Russian coat of arms is seen on the Russian consulate in Strasbourg, France, March 26, 2018.
do,” the official said. “At the same time, despite the recent tensions, he needs to know what Kim has in mind for dealing with the South and the U.S., and he still has a lot of leverage with the North.” Japanese media reported on Monday that a high-ranking Pyongyang official appeared to have arrived by train in Beijing. The Blue House official said South Korea had been aware of “related movements” in North Korea, such as the train, for a few days but he could not confirm whether Kim or another high-ranking North Korean official was visiting China. Beijing is the main ally of secretive and isolated North Korea, as well as its biggest trading partner. China has not confirmed any visit
by a North Korean but has not totally censored speculation. There were posts on Chinese social media talking about the possibility Kim Jong Un was in China, some citing family members in Dandong. The rail journey between Dandong and Beijing covers more than 1,100 km (680 miles). It takes at least 14 hours by ordinary service, according to Chinese railway timetables. The North Korean leader is due to hold separate summits with South Korea in late April and the United States in May. “The fact that the summits are being held has been beyond our expectations. Right now, the situation surrounding the Korean peninsula is moving very quickly and it would be inadvisable to think with prejudice,” the Blue House official said.
Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, met then-president Jiang Zemin in China in 2000 before a summit between the two Koreas in June that year. Kim Jong Il was considered at the time to have made the visit to reaffirm close ties with China. “North Korea likely wants to confirm its relationship with China and believes it has some leverage with which it can ask for things from China,” said Yoo Ho-yeol, Professor of North Korean studies at Seoul’s Korea University. “If North Korea speaks with the United States on its own, it might feel it is at a disadvantage but, if it has China as an ally, Pyongyang may think it will be able to protect its interests and profits during the summits.” (rtr)
Ex-governor of Jakarta to stay in jail as Indonesia court rejects appeal JAKARTA - Indonesia’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the Christian exgovernor of Jakarta to review his conviction for insulting Islam, a court spokesman said on Monday, so the politician will serve out his two-year sentence. A lower court jailed Basuki Tjahaja Purnama for blasphemy last May after a doctored and incorrectly subtitled video spread on social media that appeared to show him insulting the Koran. At the time, Purnama, who is popularly known as Ahok, was popular and looked set for re-election to govern the capital of a country with the largest Muslim population in the world. But Islamists led mass rallies calling for him to be unseated and hardline groups urged voters to elect a Muslim rival instead. Purnama lost the election, was jailed and filed for a judicial review of his case last month. “All the reasons for the appeal put forward by Ahok’s team were rejected by the judge,” said court spokesman Suhadi. He did not explain the court’s reasoning further. The person who doctored the video was imprisoned for 18 months late last year when a court found him guilty of violating information technology laws and Purnama’s lawyers tried to use this to argue his conviction was flawed. Indonesia is a secular state with a Muslim majority and several religious minorities but the case of Purnama, who is ethnic Chinese, and the rise of hardline
REUTERS/Bay Ismoyo/Pool/File Photo
Jakarta’s Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (L), popularly known as Ahok, speaks to his lawyers after his sentencing during the guilty verdict in his blasphemy trial in Jakarta on May 9, 2017. Muslim groups casts doubt on the country’s reputation for tolerance and diversity. (rtr)
Government to cut toll road tariff rates
JAKARTA - The government plans to lower next week toll road tariff rates which are considered too high and have been complained of by many toll road users. Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi expects that toll tariffs will be cut by 20 percent following the government`s decision to extend the periods of toll road operators` (BUJT`s) business concessions. The toll rate is to be lowered after the government considered extending the concession period of BUJT with a tax burden of about 15-20 percent. “So the toll rates can be cut by half,” Sumadi said after giving a speech at the first anniversary of Papernusa firm in Jakarta on Sunday (March 25). The government will also provide tax breaks for goods transportation so that logistics transportation cost would not be burdensome. The
highest toll road tariff rate will be reduced by half or down to about 40 percent. Later there will be a change in the classification of logistics trucks. The vehicle of logistics truck will be changed, according to Minister Sumadi. Rates that are so expensive will be cheaper. “For example, toll road tariffs in East Java, now Rp180,000, will be reduced to Rp90,000,”he said.The policy will be stipulated in the public works and housing minister`s regulation to be issued next week. “It will be issued on Tuesday or Wednesday next week (April 3, April 4),” said Minister Sumadi. The policy was taken to ease the burden of the public. The effort was made under the order of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to his cabinet. The President has ordered the reduction of the toll tariffs in
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2018 now that many people had complained about toll tariffs which they considered too expensive. For its part, President Jokowi summoned the minister of public works and public housing (PUPR) and the minister of state-owned enterprises to significantly lower the tariffs of toll roads, especially those related to logistics and cargo transportation. Minister of PUPR Basuki Hadimuljono had said the tariff of the first class vehicles or category I in 1980 was only about Rp200-300 per kilometer. The tariff was then increased in 2000 - 2010 to Rp600 - Rp700 per kilometer. The Tariffs continued to rise in the 2010 - 2017 period, and reached the range of Rp900 to Rp1,300 per kilometer. The tariff is set by referring to annual inflation rates. Currently, the government plans to lower tariffs to below Rp1,000 per
kilometer. But this will be disadvantageous to toll road operators (BUJT). Therefore, the government will offer a solution that is assessed appropriate, namely lowering the tariff rates but extending the periods of BUJT business concessions. In the meantime, state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga has confirmed that the new tariff rates -- such as that for the Ngawi-Kertosono section -- will go down from Rp1,200 to Rp1,000 per kilometer. “For category I vehicles, the base tariff of the 48-kilometr Ngawi-Kertosono Toll Road, will be cut from Rp1.200 per kilometer to Rp1,000 per kilometer so the fare for the Ngawi-Kertosono section will account for Rp48.000,” said Corporate Secretary of PT Jasa Marga M Agus Setiawan in Jakarta, Friday (March 23).
Earlier, PUPR Minister Hadimuljono said the government would lower the tariff rates of 12 toll roads in Indonesia. “For this matter, the government is preparing a legal umbrella in the form of a Perpres (presidential regulation),” said Hadimuljono, after meeting President Jokowi. Minister Basuki Hadimuljono noted that several logistics transport drivers, especially in Java and Sumatra, had complained about the high toll rates on both islands. The decrease in tariff was followed by the change of vehicle classification from the five category groups into three category groups. If currently, there are 5 category groups of I, II, III, IV, V, then they can be made into 3 groups, such as category I, II and III. The current category III, IV, V group will become one group. (ant)
Destination
March 2018 10 Tuesday, March 27,28, 2018 10 Wednesday,
International International
Wednesday, March27, 28,2018 2018 Tuesday, March
International International
Formula One Advantage Vettel, but is missing a vital says Brawn Hamilton can feel ingredient, confident
LONDON - Formula One’s Australian season-opener lacked a vital
Champions Mercedes up years in Melbourne, their mistake LONDON - Sebastian Vettel won the first round of what could be a long and lively Formula One ingredient, overtaking, andmessed it will take to fix the problem, managdenying Hamilton what had looked a nailed-on victory title fight with Lewis Hamilton on Sunday but the Ferrari driver may be the one with more to worry ing director for motorsports Ross Brawn said on Monday.from pole position, but they alsoBrawn left rivals in no doubt about about as they leave Australia. The former Honda, GP and Mercedes teamtheir bosspace. said in a re-
Standup paddleboard yoga lesson
SANUR - Stand Up Paddleboard flexibility and mediation. thoughts at peace as you swim back Yoga is a form of Yoga executed on a Meet your teacher at Hotel Sanur into shore at the lesson’s end. SUP. Besides the technical challenges Beach Bali and walk down to the beach The benefits of yoga are widely yoga already provides, it adds an even together. With the help of your fitness known and when combined with harder challenge: balancing on the guru, pick out a paddleboard and swim stand up paddle boarding, it provides Stand Up Paddleboard. Mastering out into shallow waters to begin your a perfect environment to align your this balancing challenge is a great lesson. Listen as you hear tips that assist body, mind and spirit. work-out for the entire body and you in mastering your balance on the In a SUP Yoga class you move mind. And on top of that, you get board. Once you feel comfortable that from an indoor shala or studio to a the bonus of a stunning and tranquil you can stand on the wavering surface, stunning ocean lagoon, where you ocean environment. you instructor begins introducing you can literally see colourful fish swimFind your inner yogi as you bal- to the yoga poses. ming around you. ance atop a standup paddleboard off Relax as you move through the You perform asanas (postures) the coast of stunning Sanur Beach. range of poses that stretch your mus- against a blissful ocean backdrop, Your instructor teaches you the basic cles and try your stability. Breathe challenging your core and balance yoga poses and how to breathe cor- deeply and reach deep for a medita- and enhancing your yoga practice. MANGUPURA Bali Airport Reef, hollow that’s best with rectly for the ultimate- workout in tive statealso of mind that left leaves your (net)southern swells. Lefts is nicknamed ‘Airport Rights’ and ‘Airport Lefts’, the longer among the two breaks, sometimes availis a popular surf spot in Tuban, approximately 4 able up to 2 km north from the strip, which usukm south of the main strip of Kuta Beach. The ally roll on for around 70 metres to shore. Airport surf spot’s name refers to the waves that form Rights, on the other hand, spans only a kilometre on both sides of the westernmost end of Ngurah long, with fickler 1-2 metre waves. Both breaks Rai International Airport’s landing strip, which are usually best during the dry months, between juts around 900 metres out to sea. It’s great for April and October. As a beginner, you can enjoy beginners during smaller waves, but can build the considerably rideable waves near the shore. up to provide serious barrelling action for pros For the greater swells of up to 2 metre, you can try during south-easterly trade winds. Boat access is beyond the reef, which would require a rented boat recommended, as these surf breaks are roughly a ride out. Rights is most accessible from the beach kilometre out from the shore. of Kedonganan, while both are reachable if you’re staying at a hotel in southern Kuta or Tuban, such as Ride the Waves at Airport Rights The Patra Bali, the Holiday Inn Baruna Resort and The Bali Airport Reef surf breaks are nicknamed the Sari Segara Resort. Crowds are unpredictable as though facing the shore from out at sea, or how for both breaks, but it’s not as busy as Kuta most of airplanes would approach the runway as they land. the time, and the view of landing jets while you’re Airport Lefts, north of the landing strip, offers a surfing can be amazing. (net)
Airport Rights Surf Spot
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Anthony Joshua during the media session
Joshua says Parker Cilic, Del Potro advance as Dimitrov falls in Miami faces overwhelming experience Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton before the race.
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the Melbourne moment we’re a bit worse Vettel told reporters after view“At of the weekend that a off,” fundamental rethink was needed. repeating last year’s opening win thanks to a pitstop during a virtual “Think of how much wheel-to-wheel dicing we missed out on,” safety he said.car period that wrong-footed Mercedes, whose data wrongly indicated Hamilton had him covered. “The point is that, until we take a structured approach to the problem, “Last year wemake had more pace at this point. If you look at the gaps we won’t really any progress. the“One whole we’re not true match,” the German, of weekend, our aims, which we yet are alooking at withadded the (governing) FIA who is vying with Hamilton to become a five-times champion. and the teams is that, for 2021, we want to have cars that allow drivers “I think youanother look, and you arehefair, then Lewis was fastest to really fightif one on track,” added. whereas last year I think we were fastest was when very, current very The sport is preparing for a major shake-upand afterit2020, close.” commercial and technical agreements expire. Last year, led fromchampionships Melbourne to Monza before chal- as Brawn, whoVettel won multiple at Benetton andhis Ferrari lenge imploded. technical director when Michael Schumacher was dominant, said the tookOne polewere on Saturday of the great qualifying FIAHamilton and Formula carryingwith out one aerodynamic research using laps of his career, a massive 0.664 quicker than Ferrari’s wind tunnel modelslapping and computer dynamics. Kimi “WeRaikkonen. need to evolve a car design that achieves close to the level of The time we may have him,wheel-to-wheel with the Britonaction,” producing a performance now see,flattered but permits he said. near-perfect lap while Vettel would doubtless have been closer had Several drivers, including Mercedes’ four-times world champion he notHamilton, made a mistake. Lewis complained after Sunday’s race about how difficult it also pointed tocars’ Mercedes’ qualifying ‘partyturbulence mode’ hadBut beenrivals to overtake with the aerodynamics creating engine setting with concern. in their wake. “Mercedes is playing with everyone... engine, onethough can The Albert Park layout also makes it with hardthat to get past no even beat Mercedes. They’re in a different world,” Red Bull motorsport this year there was a third zone where the DRS (drag reduction system) consultantrear Helmut was be quoted qualifying. moveable wingMarko flap could used as to saying make itafter easier to pass. Despite pessimism, andedge the absence Red Bull drivers “My bestthe friend was on the of a cliff of and I couldn’t get tofrom him to the year’s first podium, Melbourne did not dispel hopes of a threesave his life today, that’s how hard it was to overtake,” said Hamilton, wayhad teamstarted battle.on pole position but finished second. who Australian Daniel Ricciardo, finished after starting Ferrari’s race winner Sebastianwho Vettel did notfourth pass Hamilton on the eighth following a grid penalty, set the fastest lap of for track, however, but in the pitlane during a virtual safetythe carrace period. Red Bull and was right on the tail of Raikkonen. Red Bull’s 20-year-old Dutch driver Max Verstappen, who finished “We are convinced that we had a better car than Ferrari, though sixth on Sunday and provided one of the highlights with a 360 degree the Mercedes still probably had something in hand,” said Red Bull spin that cost him several places, was even more scathing. principal Christian Horner. “Completely worthless. I would have turned off the TV,” motorsport. Melbourne is a hard track to overtake on but Bahrain is next up com quoted him as saying when asked what the race would have been and more open. Vettel won there last year when it was the third race like forseason watching of the but fans. Hamilton will also fancy his chances. “(It boring.ItYou your bestcloud to trybut something, and I “Wewas) still very got second. feelsdolike a dark it’s not,” the was in DRS range all the time, but there is nothing you can do.” (rtr) Briton had said on Sunday. “We have a great car, we are still the
Please contact Gugiek : 08123840500
Saeed Khan/Pool via Reuters
world champions and with a couple of adjustments we can win the next race.” (rtr)
MIAMI - Croatian second ably expected. trying to keep winning matches. seed Marin Cilic survived a tough Trailing 5-6 0-40 in the second But it is not easy. My body is startexamination by Canadian Vasek set, the Canadian saved three ing to feel tight because of all my Pospisil to reach the fourth round of consecutive match points and hit success.” the Miami Open with a 7-5 7-6(4) a running forehand pass to cap a The fifth seeded Argentine will victory after nearly two hours on 33-shot rally before Cilic claimed face Filip Krajinovic in the fourth Sunday. victory in the tiebreak. roundJoshua on Tuesday the Serbian LONDON - WBA and IBF world heavyweight champion Anthony saysafter Joseph Parker Butbe the‘overwhelmed’ tournament, within world “It was afight reliefinatCardiff the end,” defeated Frenchman Benoit Paire will their unification on Saturday. number one Roger Federer already Cilic told reporters. “I had those 6-3 6-3. Undefeated Briton Joshua is the three whelming. You have a fighter that two heavyweights undefeated and ousted, lost another highly-ranked match points at 6-5 and there Meanwhile, South Korean player when Bulgarian Grigor greatout rallythe at deuce. was Chung Hyeon, overwhelming favourite and will was willthat block noise, Iwhich it’s in the UK. the 19th seed, Dimitrov, theadvantage third seed,in was in of theenergy. tie-break, needed just 62times minutes dispatch have home thetaken Prin- playing takes areally wholewell heap “Twenty outtoof 20 I’ve down 6-4Stadium, 6-4 by Frenchman Jer- returning well aand serving qualifiersoMichael Mmoh cipality although New “Thenreally you have fighter who American been victorious, expect the same emy Chardy.Parker is also unbeaten really 6-1. Zealander rides good. the wave, which can leave you 6-1 routine.” Wellsand champion Juan “I excited. saved the best for is last andorI’m The highest-ranked inIndian his 24 fights brings with him too The fight won lost Parker’s promoterplayer Davidfrom HigMartin del belt. Potro of Argentina, the really pleased withbut thethe victory.” number 23, Chung has not the WBO in training camp last bolt is Asia ginsat said Joshua is rattled and fifthAseed, wasofmore fortunate, winDel Potro fired 17 the tournament and crowd 80,000 is expected screwed on during the winners, spell from dropped warneda set thatin Tuesday’s pre-fight ning his 13thsays consecutive match all five when take on Joao Sousa in the last and Joshua Parker will have claiming your changing roompoints to the first bell.” will news conference will start without by defeating Nishikori the net andwill turned back a 16Joshua after the never heard Japan’s anythingKei like the noise crashing Whoever wins become if hePortuguese arrives late,outlasted as he has 6-2 Nishikori’s lone break chance to American that6-2. will be generated. three-belt heavyweight champion done in theJared past. Donaldson 1-6 The big-hitting Cilic firedtosix match inthe 72 high minutes. “It took me a few times get take andthe Joshua says stakes will 6-3 6-4. “He’s rattled and the press Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sport aces allwho three “I think I’m playing good,” Elsewhere,tomorrow big-serving used and to it,”saved Joshua, hasbreak a 20-0 create an electric atmosphere in the conference is allCanapart of against Kei points hetold faced Potro told reporters. “I can dian Milos Raonic record, theagainst BBC.Pospisil, but Del Welsh capital. that,” he told Skypounded Sports. 10 aces Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina hits a forehand REUTERS/Brandon Malone the “It’s 77th-ranked Canadianhemade it play“This even better, but I need to said. get to take Argentina’s pictured) on day six of the Miami Open an experience hasn’t is history,” Joshua “Wedown will be in controlDiego of that Nishikori of Japan The(not start of the race Formula One’s more the Croat on this court, 7-6(5) (rtr) 6-3. (rtr) at Tennis Center at Crandon Park. Del Potro won 6-2, 6-2. faceddifficult yet. It isthan daunting, it isprobover- confidence “This is aplaying unification fight with Schwartzman press conference.” Australian season-opener.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Sp rt
Netherlands fans
UEFA to allow players to switch clubs in Champions League
REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Portugal suffer first-half collapse in 3-0 loss to Dutch
GENEVA - European champions Portugal suffered a dramatic first-half collapse and had Joao Cancelo sent off just after the hour in an embarrassing 3-0 World Cup warm-up defeat by the Netherlands on Monday. Memphis Depay, Ryan Babel and Virgil van Dijk all scored after taking advantage of uncharacteristically slack defending by Portugal as the Dutch, who failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup, secured a first win for new coach Ronald Koeman. Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo began the match a hat-trick away from matching Hungarian Ferenc Puskas’s record of 84 goals as Europe’s all-time leading international marksmen but never looked like scoring one, let alone three. Portugal, who face Spain, Iran and Morocco in
their World Cup group, dominated possession for the opening few minutes but the Dutch struck first when Depay beat defender Jose Fonte to a loose ball and fired into the net after 12 minutes. Ryan Babel was left completely unmarked to head in from Matthijs De Ligt’s cross at the far post in the 32nd minute and it needed a superb save by Anthony Lopes to keep out a Depay header shortly afterwards. There was no let-off on the stroke of halftime, however, when a Depay free kick was teed up by De Ligt for the unmarked Van Dijk to fire home the third. Portugal tightened up in defence after halftime and escaped further embarrassment but still suffered more misery when Cancelo was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge. The Dutch brought on Justin Kluivert, the 18-year-old son of their former forward Patrick, for his international debut in the 78th minute. (rtr)
ZURICH - Players who switch clubs during the course of a season will be allowed to play for both in the Champions League under new rules announced by UEFA on Tuesday. The European global soccer body said in a statement that it would also allow teams to use a fourth substitute in extra-time during Champions League and Europa League knockout ties. The new ruling, to come into effect next season, means that a player who been fielded by one club in the group stage of the Champions League, and is transferred during the January window, can play for his new club in the knockout stages. The same applies to the Europa League. Under current rules, clubs who qualify for the knockout stage of either the Champions League or Europa League are allowed to register three new players. These can include one player who has represented a different club in the Europa League group stages but none who have been
fielded for another club in the Champions League group stage. The present ruling prevents Barcelona from fielding Philippe Coutinho in the Champions League this season as he has already played for Liverpool. Alexis Sanchez was eligible for Manchester United, however, as he switched from Arsenal in the Europa League to the Champions League. The new rules state that “that a club may register three new eligible players without any restrictions.” UEFA said the new ruling brought it into line with domestic leagues which “do not impose restrictions on the eligibility for competitions of players registered for a new club during the winter transfer window.” UEFA said the fourth substitution will be allowed following its approval by soccer’s law-making body IFAB on March 3. It said that 23 players, instead of 18, would be allowed on team sheets for the Champions League and Europa League finals, and the European Super Cup match. (rtr)
England squad hopefuls can still push for World Cup spots - Southgate
England boss Gareth Southgate has said it is not too late for any player to win a place in his 23-man squad for the World Cup in June. Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere was hoping to win his first cap since Euro 2016 in the friendlies against Netherlands and Italy but was forced to withdraw from the squad with a knee injury. The 26-year-old midfielder now faces a race against time to prove his fitness to Southgate, who will be monitoring players that are in contention during the remaining games of the Premier League cam-
paign. “I don’t think it’s too late for anybody,” Southgate told reporters. “It is obviously more difficult because there are a couple of guys who have been in squads and not had the chance to play for us. “We will still be monitoring everybody between now and the end of the season because there is probably a squad of 31, 32 players that are in contention and none of us know what is going to happen in the next eight to 10 weeks.” Southgate will also be without talismanic goalscorer Harry Kane against Italy on Tuesday as he
continues to recover from an ankle injury. “I don’t know when he’ll (Kane) be back, but he was confident that would be sooner rather than later,” Southgate added. “His mindset is very positive. None of these lads wants to miss games.” England have three more warmup games before the World Cup in Russia, having beaten the Netherlands 1-0 last week. Forward Raheem Sterling has urged the home supporters to show the team some love in the buildup to the World Cup as they prepare to face the Italians at Wembley.
MADRID - Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli has said it is futile “trying to teach Lionel Messi anything” new with the forward set to return from injury to face Spain in a World Cup warm-up on Tuesday. “You can’t teach him anything. He’s untouchable, you need to understand that and try to create situations in training that fit around him and from there pick a side with a view to that,” Sampaoli told a news conference on Monday. “He’s the kind of player that comes around not so very often. He’s the best player in the world and we need to ensure that everything we do is geared towards him being comfortable. His (footballing) mind is much more developed than (the minds of) the rest of us.” There had been doubts as to whether the Argentina captain would be available for selection after a muscle problem kept him out of Saturday’s 2-0 friendly win
over Italy played at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium. Sampaoli, however, said Barcelona’s Messi was raring to go although their West Ham United forward Manuel Lanzini, who scored Argentina’s second goal at the weekend, is doubtful. “He (Messi) trained as normal today, with the group. He’s fine to play,” Sampaoli said. “If there was a risk, he’d have told us. In the last friendly he told us so. “He trained yesterday and today and if he stays as he is there’ll be no worries about him playing. “We’re keeping tabs on Lanzini to see if he’ll be fit to play. We’ll decide the starting eleven tomorrow night.” Spain will host Argentina in the first international to be played at Atletico Madrid’s new Wanda Metropolitano stadium with both countries preparing for this year’s World Cup in Russia. (rtr)
REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci -/File Photo
REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Southgate’s side have gone five matches without conceding a goal but have failed to produce much fluid attacking football themselves and scored just three times in that period. “I feel sometimes there is too much negativity,” Sterling told BBC. “If you want your country to
do well, as everyone says, bring a positive light into it. Make the boys go off to the World Cup with clear heads, knowing everyone’s behind them, everyone’s with them.” England begin their World Cup campaign against Tunisia in Volgograd, Russia on June 18. (rtr)
You can’t teach Messi anything new, says Argentina coach
Argentina’s Lionel Messi takes part in a training session ahead of the match against Uruguay alongside team mate Mauro Icardi and head coach Jorge Sampaoli.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo with a pitch invader
9
Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley
England manager Gareth Southgate and Raheem Sterling during the press conference
8
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Sp rt
Netherlands fans
UEFA to allow players to switch clubs in Champions League
REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Portugal suffer first-half collapse in 3-0 loss to Dutch
GENEVA - European champions Portugal suffered a dramatic first-half collapse and had Joao Cancelo sent off just after the hour in an embarrassing 3-0 World Cup warm-up defeat by the Netherlands on Monday. Memphis Depay, Ryan Babel and Virgil van Dijk all scored after taking advantage of uncharacteristically slack defending by Portugal as the Dutch, who failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup, secured a first win for new coach Ronald Koeman. Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo began the match a hat-trick away from matching Hungarian Ferenc Puskas’s record of 84 goals as Europe’s all-time leading international marksmen but never looked like scoring one, let alone three. Portugal, who face Spain, Iran and Morocco in
their World Cup group, dominated possession for the opening few minutes but the Dutch struck first when Depay beat defender Jose Fonte to a loose ball and fired into the net after 12 minutes. Ryan Babel was left completely unmarked to head in from Matthijs De Ligt’s cross at the far post in the 32nd minute and it needed a superb save by Anthony Lopes to keep out a Depay header shortly afterwards. There was no let-off on the stroke of halftime, however, when a Depay free kick was teed up by De Ligt for the unmarked Van Dijk to fire home the third. Portugal tightened up in defence after halftime and escaped further embarrassment but still suffered more misery when Cancelo was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge. The Dutch brought on Justin Kluivert, the 18-year-old son of their former forward Patrick, for his international debut in the 78th minute. (rtr)
ZURICH - Players who switch clubs during the course of a season will be allowed to play for both in the Champions League under new rules announced by UEFA on Tuesday. The European global soccer body said in a statement that it would also allow teams to use a fourth substitute in extra-time during Champions League and Europa League knockout ties. The new ruling, to come into effect next season, means that a player who been fielded by one club in the group stage of the Champions League, and is transferred during the January window, can play for his new club in the knockout stages. The same applies to the Europa League. Under current rules, clubs who qualify for the knockout stage of either the Champions League or Europa League are allowed to register three new players. These can include one player who has represented a different club in the Europa League group stages but none who have been
fielded for another club in the Champions League group stage. The present ruling prevents Barcelona from fielding Philippe Coutinho in the Champions League this season as he has already played for Liverpool. Alexis Sanchez was eligible for Manchester United, however, as he switched from Arsenal in the Europa League to the Champions League. The new rules state that “that a club may register three new eligible players without any restrictions.” UEFA said the new ruling brought it into line with domestic leagues which “do not impose restrictions on the eligibility for competitions of players registered for a new club during the winter transfer window.” UEFA said the fourth substitution will be allowed following its approval by soccer’s law-making body IFAB on March 3. It said that 23 players, instead of 18, would be allowed on team sheets for the Champions League and Europa League finals, and the European Super Cup match. (rtr)
England squad hopefuls can still push for World Cup spots - Southgate
England boss Gareth Southgate has said it is not too late for any player to win a place in his 23-man squad for the World Cup in June. Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere was hoping to win his first cap since Euro 2016 in the friendlies against Netherlands and Italy but was forced to withdraw from the squad with a knee injury. The 26-year-old midfielder now faces a race against time to prove his fitness to Southgate, who will be monitoring players that are in contention during the remaining games of the Premier League cam-
paign. “I don’t think it’s too late for anybody,” Southgate told reporters. “It is obviously more difficult because there are a couple of guys who have been in squads and not had the chance to play for us. “We will still be monitoring everybody between now and the end of the season because there is probably a squad of 31, 32 players that are in contention and none of us know what is going to happen in the next eight to 10 weeks.” Southgate will also be without talismanic goalscorer Harry Kane against Italy on Tuesday as he
continues to recover from an ankle injury. “I don’t know when he’ll (Kane) be back, but he was confident that would be sooner rather than later,” Southgate added. “His mindset is very positive. None of these lads wants to miss games.” England have three more warmup games before the World Cup in Russia, having beaten the Netherlands 1-0 last week. Forward Raheem Sterling has urged the home supporters to show the team some love in the buildup to the World Cup as they prepare to face the Italians at Wembley.
MADRID - Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli has said it is futile “trying to teach Lionel Messi anything” new with the forward set to return from injury to face Spain in a World Cup warm-up on Tuesday. “You can’t teach him anything. He’s untouchable, you need to understand that and try to create situations in training that fit around him and from there pick a side with a view to that,” Sampaoli told a news conference on Monday. “He’s the kind of player that comes around not so very often. He’s the best player in the world and we need to ensure that everything we do is geared towards him being comfortable. His (footballing) mind is much more developed than (the minds of) the rest of us.” There had been doubts as to whether the Argentina captain would be available for selection after a muscle problem kept him out of Saturday’s 2-0 friendly win
over Italy played at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium. Sampaoli, however, said Barcelona’s Messi was raring to go although their West Ham United forward Manuel Lanzini, who scored Argentina’s second goal at the weekend, is doubtful. “He (Messi) trained as normal today, with the group. He’s fine to play,” Sampaoli said. “If there was a risk, he’d have told us. In the last friendly he told us so. “He trained yesterday and today and if he stays as he is there’ll be no worries about him playing. “We’re keeping tabs on Lanzini to see if he’ll be fit to play. We’ll decide the starting eleven tomorrow night.” Spain will host Argentina in the first international to be played at Atletico Madrid’s new Wanda Metropolitano stadium with both countries preparing for this year’s World Cup in Russia. (rtr)
REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci -/File Photo
REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Southgate’s side have gone five matches without conceding a goal but have failed to produce much fluid attacking football themselves and scored just three times in that period. “I feel sometimes there is too much negativity,” Sterling told BBC. “If you want your country to
do well, as everyone says, bring a positive light into it. Make the boys go off to the World Cup with clear heads, knowing everyone’s behind them, everyone’s with them.” England begin their World Cup campaign against Tunisia in Volgograd, Russia on June 18. (rtr)
You can’t teach Messi anything new, says Argentina coach
Argentina’s Lionel Messi takes part in a training session ahead of the match against Uruguay alongside team mate Mauro Icardi and head coach Jorge Sampaoli.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo with a pitch invader
9
Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley
England manager Gareth Southgate and Raheem Sterling during the press conference
Destination
March 2018 10 Tuesday, March 27,28, 2018 10 Wednesday,
International International
Wednesday, March27, 28,2018 2018 Tuesday, March
International International
Formula One Advantage Vettel, but is missing a vital says Brawn Hamilton can feel ingredient, confident
LONDON - Formula One’s Australian season-opener lacked a vital
Champions Mercedes up years in Melbourne, their mistake LONDON - Sebastian Vettel won the first round of what could be a long and lively Formula One ingredient, overtaking, andmessed it will take to fix the problem, managdenying Hamilton what had looked a nailed-on victory title fight with Lewis Hamilton on Sunday but the Ferrari driver may be the one with more to worry ing director for motorsports Ross Brawn said on Monday.from pole position, but they alsoBrawn left rivals in no doubt about about as they leave Australia. The former Honda, GP and Mercedes teamtheir bosspace. said in a re-
Standup paddleboard yoga lesson
SANUR - Stand Up Paddleboard flexibility and mediation. thoughts at peace as you swim back Yoga is a form of Yoga executed on a Meet your teacher at Hotel Sanur into shore at the lesson’s end. SUP. Besides the technical challenges Beach Bali and walk down to the beach The benefits of yoga are widely yoga already provides, it adds an even together. With the help of your fitness known and when combined with harder challenge: balancing on the guru, pick out a paddleboard and swim stand up paddle boarding, it provides Stand Up Paddleboard. Mastering out into shallow waters to begin your a perfect environment to align your this balancing challenge is a great lesson. Listen as you hear tips that assist body, mind and spirit. work-out for the entire body and you in mastering your balance on the In a SUP Yoga class you move mind. And on top of that, you get board. Once you feel comfortable that from an indoor shala or studio to a the bonus of a stunning and tranquil you can stand on the wavering surface, stunning ocean lagoon, where you ocean environment. you instructor begins introducing you can literally see colourful fish swimFind your inner yogi as you bal- to the yoga poses. ming around you. ance atop a standup paddleboard off Relax as you move through the You perform asanas (postures) the coast of stunning Sanur Beach. range of poses that stretch your mus- against a blissful ocean backdrop, Your instructor teaches you the basic cles and try your stability. Breathe challenging your core and balance yoga poses and how to breathe cor- deeply and reach deep for a medita- and enhancing your yoga practice. MANGUPURA Bali Airport Reef, hollow that’s best with rectly for the ultimate- workout in tive statealso of mind that left leaves your (net)southern swells. Lefts is nicknamed ‘Airport Rights’ and ‘Airport Lefts’, the longer among the two breaks, sometimes availis a popular surf spot in Tuban, approximately 4 able up to 2 km north from the strip, which usukm south of the main strip of Kuta Beach. The ally roll on for around 70 metres to shore. Airport surf spot’s name refers to the waves that form Rights, on the other hand, spans only a kilometre on both sides of the westernmost end of Ngurah long, with fickler 1-2 metre waves. Both breaks Rai International Airport’s landing strip, which are usually best during the dry months, between juts around 900 metres out to sea. It’s great for April and October. As a beginner, you can enjoy beginners during smaller waves, but can build the considerably rideable waves near the shore. up to provide serious barrelling action for pros For the greater swells of up to 2 metre, you can try during south-easterly trade winds. Boat access is beyond the reef, which would require a rented boat recommended, as these surf breaks are roughly a ride out. Rights is most accessible from the beach kilometre out from the shore. of Kedonganan, while both are reachable if you’re staying at a hotel in southern Kuta or Tuban, such as Ride the Waves at Airport Rights The Patra Bali, the Holiday Inn Baruna Resort and The Bali Airport Reef surf breaks are nicknamed the Sari Segara Resort. Crowds are unpredictable as though facing the shore from out at sea, or how for both breaks, but it’s not as busy as Kuta most of airplanes would approach the runway as they land. the time, and the view of landing jets while you’re Airport Lefts, north of the landing strip, offers a surfing can be amazing. (net)
Airport Rights Surf Spot
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Anthony Joshua during the media session
Joshua says Parker Cilic, Del Potro advance as Dimitrov falls in Miami faces overwhelming experience Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton before the race.
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the Melbourne moment we’re a bit worse Vettel told reporters after view“At of the weekend that a off,” fundamental rethink was needed. repeating last year’s opening win thanks to a pitstop during a virtual “Think of how much wheel-to-wheel dicing we missed out on,” safety he said.car period that wrong-footed Mercedes, whose data wrongly indicated Hamilton had him covered. “The point is that, until we take a structured approach to the problem, “Last year wemake had more pace at this point. If you look at the gaps we won’t really any progress. the“One whole we’re not true match,” the German, of weekend, our aims, which we yet are alooking at withadded the (governing) FIA who is vying with Hamilton to become a five-times champion. and the teams is that, for 2021, we want to have cars that allow drivers “I think youanother look, and you arehefair, then Lewis was fastest to really fightif one on track,” added. whereas last year I think we were fastest was when very, current very The sport is preparing for a major shake-upand afterit2020, close.” commercial and technical agreements expire. Last year, led fromchampionships Melbourne to Monza before chal- as Brawn, whoVettel won multiple at Benetton andhis Ferrari lenge imploded. technical director when Michael Schumacher was dominant, said the tookOne polewere on Saturday of the great qualifying FIAHamilton and Formula carryingwith out one aerodynamic research using laps of his career, a massive 0.664 quicker than Ferrari’s wind tunnel modelslapping and computer dynamics. Kimi “WeRaikkonen. need to evolve a car design that achieves close to the level of The time we may have him,wheel-to-wheel with the Britonaction,” producing a performance now see,flattered but permits he said. near-perfect lap while Vettel would doubtless have been closer had Several drivers, including Mercedes’ four-times world champion he notHamilton, made a mistake. Lewis complained after Sunday’s race about how difficult it also pointed tocars’ Mercedes’ qualifying ‘partyturbulence mode’ hadBut beenrivals to overtake with the aerodynamics creating engine setting with concern. in their wake. “Mercedes is playing with everyone... engine, onethough can The Albert Park layout also makes it with hardthat to get past no even beat Mercedes. They’re in a different world,” Red Bull motorsport this year there was a third zone where the DRS (drag reduction system) consultantrear Helmut was be quoted qualifying. moveable wingMarko flap could used as to saying make itafter easier to pass. Despite pessimism, andedge the absence Red Bull drivers “My bestthe friend was on the of a cliff of and I couldn’t get tofrom him to the year’s first podium, Melbourne did not dispel hopes of a threesave his life today, that’s how hard it was to overtake,” said Hamilton, wayhad teamstarted battle.on pole position but finished second. who Australian Daniel Ricciardo, finished after starting Ferrari’s race winner Sebastianwho Vettel did notfourth pass Hamilton on the eighth following a grid penalty, set the fastest lap of for track, however, but in the pitlane during a virtual safetythe carrace period. Red Bull and was right on the tail of Raikkonen. Red Bull’s 20-year-old Dutch driver Max Verstappen, who finished “We are convinced that we had a better car than Ferrari, though sixth on Sunday and provided one of the highlights with a 360 degree the Mercedes still probably had something in hand,” said Red Bull spin that cost him several places, was even more scathing. principal Christian Horner. “Completely worthless. I would have turned off the TV,” motorsport. Melbourne is a hard track to overtake on but Bahrain is next up com quoted him as saying when asked what the race would have been and more open. Vettel won there last year when it was the third race like forseason watching of the but fans. Hamilton will also fancy his chances. “(It boring.ItYou your bestcloud to trybut something, and I “Wewas) still very got second. feelsdolike a dark it’s not,” the was in DRS range all the time, but there is nothing you can do.” (rtr) Briton had said on Sunday. “We have a great car, we are still the
Please contact Gugiek : 08123840500
Saeed Khan/Pool via Reuters
world champions and with a couple of adjustments we can win the next race.” (rtr)
MIAMI - Croatian second ably expected. trying to keep winning matches. seed Marin Cilic survived a tough Trailing 5-6 0-40 in the second But it is not easy. My body is startexamination by Canadian Vasek set, the Canadian saved three ing to feel tight because of all my Pospisil to reach the fourth round of consecutive match points and hit success.” the Miami Open with a 7-5 7-6(4) a running forehand pass to cap a The fifth seeded Argentine will victory after nearly two hours on 33-shot rally before Cilic claimed face Filip Krajinovic in the fourth Sunday. victory in the tiebreak. roundJoshua on Tuesday the Serbian LONDON - WBA and IBF world heavyweight champion Anthony saysafter Joseph Parker Butbe the‘overwhelmed’ tournament, within world “It was afight reliefinatCardiff the end,” defeated Frenchman Benoit Paire will their unification on Saturday. number one Roger Federer already Cilic told reporters. “I had those 6-3 6-3. Undefeated Briton Joshua is the three whelming. You have a fighter that two heavyweights undefeated and ousted, lost another highly-ranked match points at 6-5 and there Meanwhile, South Korean player when Bulgarian Grigor greatout rallythe at deuce. was Chung Hyeon, overwhelming favourite and will was willthat block noise, Iwhich it’s in the UK. the 19th seed, Dimitrov, theadvantage third seed,in was in of theenergy. tie-break, needed just 62times minutes dispatch have home thetaken Prin- playing takes areally wholewell heap “Twenty outtoof 20 I’ve down 6-4Stadium, 6-4 by Frenchman Jer- returning well aand serving qualifiersoMichael Mmoh cipality although New “Thenreally you have fighter who American been victorious, expect the same emy Chardy.Parker is also unbeaten really 6-1. Zealander rides good. the wave, which can leave you 6-1 routine.” Wellsand champion Juan “I excited. saved the best for is last andorI’m The highest-ranked inIndian his 24 fights brings with him too The fight won lost Parker’s promoterplayer Davidfrom HigMartin del belt. Potro of Argentina, the really pleased withbut thethe victory.” number 23, Chung has not the WBO in training camp last bolt is Asia ginsat said Joshua is rattled and fifthAseed, wasofmore fortunate, winDel Potro fired 17 the tournament and crowd 80,000 is expected screwed on during the winners, spell from dropped warneda set thatin Tuesday’s pre-fight ning his 13thsays consecutive match all five when take on Joao Sousa in the last and Joshua Parker will have claiming your changing roompoints to the first bell.” will news conference will start without by defeating Nishikori the net andwill turned back a 16Joshua after the never heard Japan’s anythingKei like the noise crashing Whoever wins become if hePortuguese arrives late,outlasted as he has 6-2 Nishikori’s lone break chance to American that6-2. will be generated. three-belt heavyweight champion done in theJared past. Donaldson 1-6 The big-hitting Cilic firedtosix match inthe 72 high minutes. “It took me a few times get take andthe Joshua says stakes will 6-3 6-4. “He’s rattled and the press Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sport aces allwho three “I think I’m playing good,” Elsewhere,tomorrow big-serving used and to it,”saved Joshua, hasbreak a 20-0 create an electric atmosphere in the conference is allCanapart of against Kei points hetold faced Potro told reporters. “I can dian Milos Raonic record, theagainst BBC.Pospisil, but Del Welsh capital. that,” he told Skypounded Sports. 10 aces Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina hits a forehand REUTERS/Brandon Malone the “It’s 77th-ranked Canadianhemade it play“This even better, but I need to said. get to take Argentina’s pictured) on day six of the Miami Open an experience hasn’t is history,” Joshua “Wedown will be in controlDiego of that Nishikori of Japan The(not start of the race Formula One’s more the Croat on this court, 7-6(5) (rtr) 6-3. (rtr) at Tennis Center at Crandon Park. Del Potro won 6-2, 6-2. faceddifficult yet. It isthan daunting, it isprobover- confidence “This is aplaying unification fight with Schwartzman press conference.” Australian season-opener.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018
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International
RLD
U.S., EU to expel more than 100 Russian diplomats over UK nerve attack
LONDON - The United States said on Monday it would expel 60 Russian diplomats, joining governments across Europe in punishing the Kremlin for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain that they have blamed on Moscow.
It was the strongest action that U.S. President Donald Trump had taken against Russia since coming to office. He has been criticised by Democrats and members of his own Republican Party for failing to be tough enough on Russia over U.S. allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. electoral system, including the 2016 presidential campaign. British Prime Minister Theresa May, welcoming the show of solidarity, said 18 countries had announced plans to expel Russian officials. Those included 14 European Union countries. In total, 100 Russian diplomats were being removed, the biggest Western expulsion of Russian diplomats since the height of the Cold War. Australia later confirmed it was expelling two Russian diplomats identified as undeclared intelligence officers, citing Russia’s “reckless and deliberate conduct”. New Zealand said it had no such agents operating on its shores but would expel them if it did. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Twitter Monday’s “extraordinary international response by our allies stands in history as the largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers ever and will help defend our shared security”. May said the coordinated measures sent the “strongest signal to Russia that it cannot continue to flout international law”. Britain had evidence Russia has investigated ways of distributing nerve agents for assassinations, May told parliament.
Train believed...
From page 1
Underscoring the mystery, one senior Beijing-based diplomatic source told Reuters simply: “We just don’t know.” One source with ties to China’s leadership said it was possible Kim’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, was in town. She visited South Korea for the Winter Olympics last month, paving the way for a summit between the two Koreas. South Korean news agency Newsis reported that Kim Yo Jong and the North’s ceremonial leader, Kim Yong Nam, were visiting Beijing, citing an unidentified North Korea-related source in Beijing. The pair visited South Korean
President Moon Jae-in at his office in Seoul during the Winter Olympics in February. The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was unlikely Kim Jong Un would have sent his sister on such an important mission, unlike her ceremonial visit to South Korea for the Olympics. On the contrary, the official said, a summit with Xi would underscore Kim’s standing as a world leader. “LOT OF LEVERAGE”
Xi and Kim Jong Un had reasons to meet in advance of Kim’s meetings with Moon and possibly Trump, the U.S. official said. “Xi has met Trump, and in many respects learned how to deal with him better than some people here
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Jokowi studying names for his running mate in presidential race BANJAR BARU - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) revealed that he was still studying the names he would choose to be his running mate or his vice presidential candidate in the 2019 presidential race.”I have once again stated that the internal team was still reviewing the names to be selected as the vice presidential candidate,” he noted, after witnessing the handing over of land certificates at the Rudi Rusnawan Sport Hall, Banjar Baru, South Kalimantan, on Monday. The head of state remarked that the political parties that supported him were also doing the same. “The parties are also just doing the same. We have not had any communication with all the supporting parties,” he added. Jokowi mentioned that the decision to pick a name for the vice presidential candidate position in the 2019 presidential election was still a long process. “It is still a long process. So, please do not ask the matter (who will be chosen) again,” he explained. Regarding the political parties that are formulating the criteria for the vice presidential candidate to accompany him, the president stated that he would just let them do it. “If there is a party that makes the criteria, they can please go ahead. That is okay, and that is a political dynamism. We and the community will eventually be able to see who the most suitable candidate would be,” he elaborated. Jokowi remarked that that he will make a note of all names offered by political parties? supporters as reference of considerations. “Oh yes, all will be considered,” Jokowi stated while answering the questions of journalists. In a previous report, the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) proposed 12 figures considered suitable to accompany Jokowi as his vice presidential candidate in the 2019 presidential election. PSI claimed that it obtained the names from the survey results and the PSI`s political communications with the local community. The 12 names include Airlangga Hartarto, Chairul Tanjung, Din Syamsuddin, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Moeldoko, Mohammad Mahfud MD, Nadiem Anwar Makarim, Rusdi Kirana, Said Aqil Siradj, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Susi Pudjiastuti, and Yaqut Qoumas.(rtr)
‘PROVOCATIVE GESTURE’
Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the expulsions a “provocative gesture”. A Kremlin spokesman said the West was making a “mistake” and that President Vladimir Putin would make a final decision about Russia’s response. Moscow has denied being behind the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the southern English city of Salisbury. Skripal, 66, and Yulia Skripal, 33, were found unconscious on a public bench in a shopping centre on March 4 and remain critically ill in hospital. “We assess that more than 130 people in Salisbury could have been potentially exposed to this nerve agent,” May said. Monday’s wave of expulsions followed EU leaders saying last week that evidence presented by May of Russian involvement in the attack was a solid basis for further action. The staff expelled by Washington includes 12 people identified by the United States as intelligence officers from Russia’s mission to the United Nations headquarters in New York. They were involved in activities outside their official capacity and an abuse of their privileges of residence, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said. Russian U.N. ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called it “a very unfortunate, very unfriendly move”. Trump also ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle because of its proximity to a U.S. submarine base and planemaker and defence contractor Boeing Co, a senior U.S. official said. Seattle was a hub of Russian cyber espionage, both political and commercial, according to two U.S. intelligence officials. The administration officials said “well over 100 intelligence officers” operated in the United States, and Washington’s action cuts 60 of them. (rtr)
International
REUTERS/Vincent Kessler
The Russian coat of arms is seen on the Russian consulate in Strasbourg, France, March 26, 2018.
do,” the official said. “At the same time, despite the recent tensions, he needs to know what Kim has in mind for dealing with the South and the U.S., and he still has a lot of leverage with the North.” Japanese media reported on Monday that a high-ranking Pyongyang official appeared to have arrived by train in Beijing. The Blue House official said South Korea had been aware of “related movements” in North Korea, such as the train, for a few days but he could not confirm whether Kim or another high-ranking North Korean official was visiting China. Beijing is the main ally of secretive and isolated North Korea, as well as its biggest trading partner. China has not confirmed any visit
by a North Korean but has not totally censored speculation. There were posts on Chinese social media talking about the possibility Kim Jong Un was in China, some citing family members in Dandong. The rail journey between Dandong and Beijing covers more than 1,100 km (680 miles). It takes at least 14 hours by ordinary service, according to Chinese railway timetables. The North Korean leader is due to hold separate summits with South Korea in late April and the United States in May. “The fact that the summits are being held has been beyond our expectations. Right now, the situation surrounding the Korean peninsula is moving very quickly and it would be inadvisable to think with prejudice,” the Blue House official said.
Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, met then-president Jiang Zemin in China in 2000 before a summit between the two Koreas in June that year. Kim Jong Il was considered at the time to have made the visit to reaffirm close ties with China. “North Korea likely wants to confirm its relationship with China and believes it has some leverage with which it can ask for things from China,” said Yoo Ho-yeol, Professor of North Korean studies at Seoul’s Korea University. “If North Korea speaks with the United States on its own, it might feel it is at a disadvantage but, if it has China as an ally, Pyongyang may think it will be able to protect its interests and profits during the summits.” (rtr)
Ex-governor of Jakarta to stay in jail as Indonesia court rejects appeal JAKARTA - Indonesia’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the Christian exgovernor of Jakarta to review his conviction for insulting Islam, a court spokesman said on Monday, so the politician will serve out his two-year sentence. A lower court jailed Basuki Tjahaja Purnama for blasphemy last May after a doctored and incorrectly subtitled video spread on social media that appeared to show him insulting the Koran. At the time, Purnama, who is popularly known as Ahok, was popular and looked set for re-election to govern the capital of a country with the largest Muslim population in the world. But Islamists led mass rallies calling for him to be unseated and hardline groups urged voters to elect a Muslim rival instead. Purnama lost the election, was jailed and filed for a judicial review of his case last month. “All the reasons for the appeal put forward by Ahok’s team were rejected by the judge,” said court spokesman Suhadi. He did not explain the court’s reasoning further. The person who doctored the video was imprisoned for 18 months late last year when a court found him guilty of violating information technology laws and Purnama’s lawyers tried to use this to argue his conviction was flawed. Indonesia is a secular state with a Muslim majority and several religious minorities but the case of Purnama, who is ethnic Chinese, and the rise of hardline
REUTERS/Bay Ismoyo/Pool/File Photo
Jakarta’s Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (L), popularly known as Ahok, speaks to his lawyers after his sentencing during the guilty verdict in his blasphemy trial in Jakarta on May 9, 2017. Muslim groups casts doubt on the country’s reputation for tolerance and diversity. (rtr)
Government to cut toll road tariff rates
JAKARTA - The government plans to lower next week toll road tariff rates which are considered too high and have been complained of by many toll road users. Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi expects that toll tariffs will be cut by 20 percent following the government`s decision to extend the periods of toll road operators` (BUJT`s) business concessions. The toll rate is to be lowered after the government considered extending the concession period of BUJT with a tax burden of about 15-20 percent. “So the toll rates can be cut by half,” Sumadi said after giving a speech at the first anniversary of Papernusa firm in Jakarta on Sunday (March 25). The government will also provide tax breaks for goods transportation so that logistics transportation cost would not be burdensome. The
highest toll road tariff rate will be reduced by half or down to about 40 percent. Later there will be a change in the classification of logistics trucks. The vehicle of logistics truck will be changed, according to Minister Sumadi. Rates that are so expensive will be cheaper. “For example, toll road tariffs in East Java, now Rp180,000, will be reduced to Rp90,000,”he said.The policy will be stipulated in the public works and housing minister`s regulation to be issued next week. “It will be issued on Tuesday or Wednesday next week (April 3, April 4),” said Minister Sumadi. The policy was taken to ease the burden of the public. The effort was made under the order of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to his cabinet. The President has ordered the reduction of the toll tariffs in
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2018 now that many people had complained about toll tariffs which they considered too expensive. For its part, President Jokowi summoned the minister of public works and public housing (PUPR) and the minister of state-owned enterprises to significantly lower the tariffs of toll roads, especially those related to logistics and cargo transportation. Minister of PUPR Basuki Hadimuljono had said the tariff of the first class vehicles or category I in 1980 was only about Rp200-300 per kilometer. The tariff was then increased in 2000 - 2010 to Rp600 - Rp700 per kilometer. The Tariffs continued to rise in the 2010 - 2017 period, and reached the range of Rp900 to Rp1,300 per kilometer. The tariff is set by referring to annual inflation rates. Currently, the government plans to lower tariffs to below Rp1,000 per
kilometer. But this will be disadvantageous to toll road operators (BUJT). Therefore, the government will offer a solution that is assessed appropriate, namely lowering the tariff rates but extending the periods of BUJT business concessions. In the meantime, state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga has confirmed that the new tariff rates -- such as that for the Ngawi-Kertosono section -- will go down from Rp1,200 to Rp1,000 per kilometer. “For category I vehicles, the base tariff of the 48-kilometr Ngawi-Kertosono Toll Road, will be cut from Rp1.200 per kilometer to Rp1,000 per kilometer so the fare for the Ngawi-Kertosono section will account for Rp48.000,” said Corporate Secretary of PT Jasa Marga M Agus Setiawan in Jakarta, Friday (March 23).
Earlier, PUPR Minister Hadimuljono said the government would lower the tariff rates of 12 toll roads in Indonesia. “For this matter, the government is preparing a legal umbrella in the form of a Perpres (presidential regulation),” said Hadimuljono, after meeting President Jokowi. Minister Basuki Hadimuljono noted that several logistics transport drivers, especially in Java and Sumatra, had complained about the high toll rates on both islands. The decrease in tariff was followed by the change of vehicle classification from the five category groups into three category groups. If currently, there are 5 category groups of I, II, III, IV, V, then they can be made into 3 groups, such as category I, II and III. The current category III, IV, V group will become one group. (ant)
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International
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
BUSINESS Egypt economy stabliises under Sisi but prices remain to be tamed CAIRO - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has revived economic growth and tackled pressing problems in power and gas supply, but as he heads for a second term, he must juggle austerity under an IMF programme with the need to tame inflation. Sisi inherited an economy in tatters when he took over the presidency in 2014, requiring aggressive reforms that have largely stopped the rot while hurting most Egyptians through a currency devaluation and withdrawal of some price subsidies. “He’s now at the crossroads that every Egyptian president has found himself in,” said Reham Eldesoki, an independent economist long focused on Egypt. “He needs to push forward on intensive reforms, to move forward in building services and non-oil industry and to make Egypt really investment-friendly.” Sisi’s performance in consolidating the gains over the next four years - he is set to cruise to victory in a presidential election which began on Monday - will be watched well beyond Egypt’s borders. European nations particularly worry that any faltering of reforms could worsen unemployment and encourage young Egyptians to cross the Mediterranean illegally, aggravating already sizeable flows of migrants from north Africa. Sisi, who led the military’s overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically-elected president in 2013, was elected president the following year after a prolonged period of popular protests had scared away many investors and foreign tourists. Successive governments’ reluctance to devalue the overpriced currency had led to an acute foreign exchange shortage, dampening imports and pricing Egyptian exports
out of foreign markets. Sisi’s signature economic achievement so far has been concluding a three-year deal with the International Monetary Fund in 2016. Under this, the government has raised the price of subsidised fuel to ease the huge burden on the budget, increased value-added tax to 14 percent and devalued the Egyptian pound against the dollar by more than half. Many say the reforms were needed to stablise Egypt as it recovers from the chaos and tackles an Islamist insurgency. However, the currency reform hit the middle classes particularly hard, while inflation remains high, poverty has increased and unemployment is not going down as quickly as people had hoped. Economists see some grounds for hope. GDP growth increased to 5.3 percent year-on-year in the three months to December from a low of 2.1 percent in 2012/13, according to the central bank. “I think we should see growth continuing to escalate,” said Mohamed Abu Basha, an economist with Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes. “Tourism has space to recover, and consumption and in-
that offer relatively attractive returns right now,” said Karl Schamotta, director of global product and market strategy at Cambridge Global Payments in Toronto. Global markets were shaken last week after U.S. President Donald Trump moved to impose tariffs on Chinese goods, edging the world’s two largest economies closer to a trade war, but latest reports indicated a slightly more selective stance. China’s premier, Li Keqiang, said on Monday China and the United States should maintain negotiations
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Nyambutin Ritual, first time baby’s feet touch the earth
ENERGY FIX Egypt, once a net energy exporter, had struggled to get enough fuel to run its antiquated power stations, with the country of 97 million people suffering regular blackouts. Under Sisi, the government signed construction contracts for new plants and arranged for floating gas terminals to allow more imports. The power shortages were soon brought to a near halt. Sisi has also acted to break a logjam in gas exploration and development. Likewise, he moved to reduce vast arrears in payments to international energy companies for oil and gas. This has encouraged them to revive their activities in Egypt, leading to several gas discoveries, including the Zohr field, the largest in the Mediterranean region. Zohr, operated by Italy’s ENI, shipped its first gas at the end of 2017. Other fields that were brought on stream included BP’s Atoll and West Nile Delta. The government says the country will be self-sufficient in gas by the end of this year. INFRASTRUCTURE EXPANSION Sisi launched a series of large infrastructure projects designed partly to put Egyptians back to work. Many won praise, such as new roads and expanded electricity capacity. More controversially, Sisi has begun work on several megaprojects, some of which economists
REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
A plant’s gas tanks are seen at the desert road of Suez city north of Cairo, Egypt August 14, 2016. Picture taken August 14, 2016. say will produce little immediate return. These include dredging a new branch of the Suez Canal. Sisi insisted the project be completed within a year, adding to the cost, but because of a worldwide trade slowdown canal revenue was little changed. He has begun building several new desert cities, including a $45 billion new administrative capital east of Cairo. Egypt has also been negotiating with Russia for a new $20 billion nuclear power plant. Many investors and economists worry that the army is becoming too involved in these projects and in other ventures, threatening to
crowd out private investors. Austerity measures imposed under the IMF deal pushed annual inflation to 33 percent in August. By last month, the rate had dropped back to 14.4 percent. But more planned measures will make it difficult to bring it down further. The government is widely expected to raise fuel prices again at the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. “The challenge now will be to get inflation down to single digits,” Abu Basha said. “We know that they will eliminate most of the fuel subsidies by the end of the IMF programme in 2019.” (rtr)
and he reiterated pledges to ease access for American businesses, as China tried to avert a trade war. “We are looking at less need for safe havens,” said Schamotta. The yen, often viewed as a safehaven currency in times of market turbulence and economic uncertainty, partly because of the resilience provided by Japan’s current account surplus, slipped against the greenback. The dollar was up 0.35 percent against the Japanese currency.The dollar’s strength against the yen was also due to Japanese factors such as
growing views that a political scandal in Tokyo could deepen, with a figure in a cronyism controversy surrounding Prime Minister Shinzo Abe due to testify in parliament on Tuesday. The euro rose 0.77 percent against the greenback, with the latest comments from Jens Weidmann, Germany’s likely candidate to become the European Central Bank’s next president, also offering some support. Weidmann said market expectations of a rate hike towards the middle of next year were “not completely unrealistic”, a view shared by the
broader market, although some expect a rate hike by the first quarter of 2019. Traders in the currency market were also braced for a flood of Treasury issuance this week. “That’s pushing short-term rates up and forcing traders into sort of a wait-and-see mode, because we are not really sure how much that will impact the market more generally,” said Schamotta. The British pound < GBP=> rose 0.69 percent against the dollar as investors became more convinced that the Bank of England would raise interest rates in May. (rtr)
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Balinese Hindus commonly practice a number of different rituals as expressions of gratitude for the graces bestowed upon them by God. The nyambutin series of rituals make up one such ceremony that is conducted with sincerity for babies with the hope of having grace bestowed upon the family.
vestment should continue to recover over the next few years.”
Dollar, yen weak as risk appetite returns
NEW YORK - The U.S. dollar slipped to a five-week low against a basket of major currencies on Monday, as optimism that the United States and China are set to begin negotiations on trade helped ease fears of a trade war and investors’ appetite for risk improved. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.42 percent at 89.064, after slipping to a five-week low of 89.056. “You are seeing fears of a trade war ebbing right now and investors are moving back into asset classes
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As Jro Mangku Nurata explained, while officiating over a tutug kambuhan ritual recently, Nyambutin or nelubulanin (meaning 3 months) ceremonies are held for babies 105 days after they are born which is 3 months according to the Balinese calendar. God is asked to provide protection for the young human. Part of this ceremony includes giving the baby a name and clarifying the meaning of this name. Most notably this is the first time that the baby’s feet are allowed to touch the earth. “According to Hindu tradition, babies are only allowed to have their feet touch the ground once they are three months old as this is when they start being able to sit up by themselves”, explained Jro Mangku. The Nyambutin, ceremony said Jro Mangku is a way to welcome the baby into the world and show gratitude in a ritual called pangenteg bayu in which water is given to Mother Earth in the hopes that the baby is given a long life. The Nyambutin ceremony is classified as a Manusa Yadnya (rite of passage) ceremony and is carried out with the hope the baby and their family will be prosperous and have a good life. The baby’s placenta will usually have been buried in the family yard and it is in this same area that the nyambutin ceremony is held with the baby’s parents actively taking part in all the rituals involved. This ceremony is dedicated to Bhatara Surya (Lord of the Sun), Ibu Pertiwi (Mother Earth) and Bhatara-Bhatari (deities of the household), explained Jero Mangku Nurata. “The aim is to ask that the baby be guided and safeguarded”, he said. (kmb)
Shivaratri as Sin Redemption Night, Perform Main Abstinences
Hindu community in Bali celebrates a unique Shivaratri Day. Shivaratri means the holy contemplation night or the sin redemption night. Shivaratri falls one day before new moon in the seventh month of Balinese calendar (Kapitu) and this year falls on Friday (Jan. 8). On this day, Hindu devotees in Bali do fasting and meditation to get forgiveness from God for the sins caused by avidya (darkness). On that day, the Hindu community commonly performs three types of abstinence adjusted to the capabilities. The main abstinences are monabrata (no speaking), upawasa (fasting) and jagra (guarding, keeping awake for whole night). Medium abstinence only performs the upawasa and jagra, while the small abstinence just performs jagra. Shivaratri is often called pejagran day because on that day God in his manifestation as Lord Shiva in his function as destroyer does meditation for whole night. Therefore, on this day devotees invoke to him so that all the sins
could be removed. Devotees usually do pejagran at temples or shrines while reading scriptures. The Hindu palm-leaf manuscript named Lubdaka written by Mpu Tanakung carries the procession of Shivaratri with a series as follows: firstly, taking a bath in the morning, putting on clean dressing and invoking holy water. Then, begin the fasting without food and drink. It’s a mental exercise in order to get a strength and durability against thirst and hunger. At night, it is resumed with the reading of Vedic scripture while keeping awake through the night to calm down the mind. Of course, it is commenced with the worship of God for forgiveness for the sins having been committed previously. In the Lubdaka palm-leaf manuscript is stated that though people are very guilty, even the most sinful, they still have the opportunity to destroy their sins if they sincerely celebrate and implement the abstinence of Shivaratri. In the mythology, Lubdaka is mentioned as a hunter of
animals in the forest. Every day, he always kills animals. Once upon a time, he returned to the forest for hunting. Unfortunately he was unlucky on that day, so that did not get any animals. Unwittingly, it was already dusk and it was getting darker. Actually he intended to go home, but it was extremely dark so that he did not know the right way home. He decided to stay, and for fear of being ambushed by beasts he climbed a bilva tree to lean. Unwittingly, underneath there is a clear water lake with a shrine and lingam. To prevent from sleeping for fear of being attacked by animals, he eliminated his sleepiness while picking bilva leaves. He picked the bilva leaves one by one and then he dropped it so that hit the lingam underneath. Lubdaka did not realize that on that day was the Shivaratri (the night of Shiva) where Lord Shiva was meditating. When picking bilva leaves, he began to regret what he had committed in past times. He promised to himself to stop hunting. After staying up all night, the
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morning came and he went home. From that day, he stopped hunting and switched profession into a farmer. In keeping with the times, his health condition dropped and eventually died. It is narrated that the soul of Lubdaka was hovering in the sky, did not know where to go. After that, the Cikrabala forces took him away to be included in the Candragomuka crater in Hell. At that time, Lord Shiva came and
intercepted the Cikrabala forces. Cikrabala forces insisted on bringing the soul of Lubdaka to Hell because during his lifetime he often killed many forest animals. Lord Shiva explained that Lubdaka has made penance on the Shivaratri by staying up all night accompanied by remorse over his sins in the past. Thus, he deserved to get forgiveness and ultimately Lubdaka was taken to Shiva Loka. (kmb)
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Bali News
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018
International
13
Egypt begins second day of voting as Sisi coasts towards victory
The water flooded people’s house has the height of about 15 centimeters from the ground.
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Water of Lake Buyan overflows, 11 people’s houses flooded
SINGARAJA — Water of Lake Buyan at Pancasari village, Sukasada subdistrict, returns to overflow. Eleven houses at Dasong hamlet and more than 25 hectares of farmland are inundated by lake water. The water flooded people’s house has the height of about 15 centimeters from the ground. Nevertheless, people have not evacuated. They prefer to survive despite having to move household equipment to a safer place and avoid the pool of lake water. As seen on Monday (Mar. 26), the lake water looked to inundate people’s home yard to living room. The water began to rise about five days before Nyepi (Mar. 17). Therefore, people made a higher place to put their household supplies. So far, they have not evacuated to a safer place because the water level is dangerous. Moreover, the height has decreased in a few days. In addition to people’s home yard and living room, their farmlands cultivated with vegetable, beans, carrots, cabbage, peppers, and strawberries have begun to be inundated. The inundated farmland is estimated to
reach tens of hectares. Surely, this situation caused famers to suffer material losses. Due to water puddles, their plants cannot grow normally because the stems and roots are inundated with water. Their plants also perished to trigger the occurrence of crop failure. A local resident, Wayan Mertasa, said the lake water has overflowed since last rainy season. The intensity is difficult to predict because sometimes it rises and not long after the water recedes back. He pointed out that since five days before Nyepi the lake water already inundated his home yard to living room of semi-
permanent house. The height of puddle reached about 15 centimeters. Mertasa with his wife and children still survive at his home. He just moved the household supplies and other valuables to a special place so as not to get flooded by lake water. Although the lake water has inundated the house and farmland, he and other residents still do their daily activities. He remains to fish in the lake to meet the needs of his family. “We are still living here with wife and children as well as relatives. The water level only reaches about 15 centimeters from the ground level. If the lake water overflows like the one
in 2012 with the height of 1.5 meters, we will evacuate,” he said. Meanwhile, hamlet chief of Dasong, Pancasari, Sukasada, Made Suartana, said that since the lake water inundated the houses and farmland, people have received basic food packages from related instances in Buleleng district. His residents proposed to local government to immediately deepen the lake having experienced siltation. Lake dredging is believed to be a permanent solution so that the lake water does not return to flood the homes of residents or farmland. “The siltation happens due to soil erosion in the forest and surrounding farmlands. The volume of lake water increases when it rains. Automatically, the water overflows into the house and inundates the farmland nearby. Our residents have the lake dredged so it can accommodate more water
when it rains,” he said. Suartana added the most damaging impact on his residents is the flooding of farmland on the edge of the lake. He estimated that currently more than 25 hectares of farmland are inundated. Rising lake water every year causes farmers to be unable to cultivate their farmland maximally as the only source of income to Dasong hamlet. For that purpose, the dredging to deepen the lake can be a solution and prevent farmland from being affected if the lake water increases in the rainy season next year. “Since the farmland is inundated, farmland cannot be maximally cultivated by our residents. For example, the farmland is only effective for three months. For about nine months, it cannot be cultivated optimally because the land is submerged as happens today,” he explained. (kmb38)
Go Express develops business massively this year MANGUPURA - Go Express, a subsidiary of Garuda Indonesia, will massively expand its business this year. The business development is done by developing more channels. When encountered at the opening of the Garuda Indonesia Travel Fair (GATF) 2018, Vice President of Garuda Indonesia Cargo Commercial, Rene van Joost, said that Go Express was patented in 2009 but the service is re-launched this year. “We will be marketing this service massively. So, in the opportunity of this GATF we re-launch the opening
of the Go Express whose soft-launch was made last October. However, we are still preparing the system. Well, today the system has run,” he explained. At the beginning of March, Go Express was re-launched in Jabodetabek. Early April, it will open in six major cities in Indonesia such as Medan, Makassar, Denpasar, Balikpapan, Manado and Yogyakarta. Previously, Go Express already had 150 channels from Cargo Service Center (CSC) and from Garuda Sales Office (GASO). Meanwhile, currently there are some 80 agents under
process. So, through this GATF event he would like to look for more individual agents offered to open outlets. Contribution of Go Express itself to Garuda’s cargo turnover is 2 percent. “It’s a 2-percent contribution at the beginning because it is newly penetrating and just makes channel. The channel will be made as dense as possible. However, in 2019 when all the channels can have been accomplished, they will become massive and give a very big contribution,” he explained. This year, the contribution of Go
Express agency is targeted to reach 86 percent, 14 percent from direct shippers. The composition of Garuda Indonesia Cargo, especially in 2017, reached 88 percent supported by the agencies. Meanwhile, the remaining 12 percent is direct shipper. “The direct shipper is a company. There are contractual direct selling (CDS), individual agency (CSC),” he said. Meanwhile, the target of Garuda cargo total turnover in 2018 reached USD 287 million. In 2017, the turnover earned amounts to USD 250 million. With the presence of Go Express,
he admitted to target SMEs with the volume of delivery is not too large. Go Express is said to be more targeting online shippers which send goods not in large quantities (retail) with a maximum weight of 30 kg. Definitely, since Go Express serves door-to-door delivery services, not port-to-port, the monitoring of goods delivery can be done through application that can be downloaded in Playstore. Obviously, since Go Express is the ‘grandson of the children’ of Garuda company, the delivery will use Garuda and Citilink. (kmb42)
Houthi Military Media Unit/Handout via Reuters
CAIRO - Egypt began the second of a three-day presidential election on Tuesday with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi set for an easy victory, after authorities urged people to cast their ballots to provide a strong mandate for the former military commander. Sisi faces just one challenger, who is expected to barely register against the incumbent, whom he supports. Critics have slammed the election as a charade after more serious challengers were forced to step down. Egyptian authorities hope that three days of voting will be enough to produce a decent turnout for Sisi. The president still has many supporters, but his austerity measures in recent years and a fierce crackdown on security have eroded some support. Egypt’s election commission said the election would be free and fair, and Sisi said he would have liked more candidates running. Polls opened on Monday, with those who cast ballots saying they were voting for stability. Sisi, an ex-general who in 2013 led the military overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, is trying to defeat Islamist insurgents in the Sinai Peninsula and complete a series of mega-projects inaugurated with great fanfare since he came to power. Sisi has said he will not seek a third term, but critics expect him to remove a two-presidential term limit. He won nearly 97 percent of the vote in 2014, but less than half of eligible Egyptians voted, even though the election was extended to three days. (rtr)
A photo distributed by the Houthi Military Media Unit shows the launch by Houthi forces of a ballistic missile aimed at Saudi Arabia March 25, 2018.
Barrage of missiles on Saudi Arabia ramps up Yemen war
RIYADH - The Houthi movement that controls northern Yemen vowed on Monday to fire more missiles into Saudi Arabia unless it stops bombing the country, after one of its missiles caused casualties in the Saudi capital for the first time. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis accused them of using Iranian-made missiles. Spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said the coalition reserved the right to respond to Iran “at the appropriate time and manner”, under international law and within the framework of the United Nations, to protect Saudi Arabia. The incident threatens to sharply escalate a war that has already unleashed what the United Nations considers the world’s most urgent humanitarian crisis. Millions of Yemenis live under threat of mass starvation and disease, at the mercy of combatants who have sometimes cut off food and medical supplies. Saudi forces said they shot down three missiles over Riyadh
shortly before midnight. Debris fell on a home in the capital, killing an Egyptian man and wounding two others. Air defences also repelled missiles fired at the southern Saudi cities of Najran, Jizan and Khamis Mushait, the coalition said. The attacks stripped away the sense of calm in Riyadh, a city which until recent months had never quite felt at war. A Houthi leader hailed the attack, which took place as Yemen marked the third anniversary of the start of the war. “We praise the successful advance of military capabilities,” Houthi political council chief Saleh al-Samad told tens of thousands of supporters in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
“If they want peace, as we have said to them before, stop your air strikes and we will stop our missiles,” he said. “If you continue your air strikes, we have a right to defend ourselves by all means available.” The war pits a coalition of Sunni Arab states friendly to the West against the Houthis, a Shi’ite armed movement sympathetic to Iran. The Houthis, who deny they are Iranian pawns and say their movement is a national revolution against corruption, control the north of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. Saudi Arabia and its allies have been fighting on behalf of an exiled government with a foothold in the south. (rtr)
The Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi casts his vote during the presidential election in Cairo, Egypt March 26, 2018.
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Technology
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Marines experiment with new technology concepts for the urban battlefield
REUTERS/Randall Hill
Boeing engineer Monica Joshi demonstrates an industrial exoskeleton at the Boeing Research & Technology facility in Ladson, South Carolina, United States March 26, 2018.
Robotic Exoskeletons could turn manufacturing workers into superhumans
IT may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but a few innovative manufacturers are experimenting with outfitting their workers with robotic appendages and exoskeleton suits. The technology is still in its infancy, but manufacturing executives may want to start taking notice of how wearable robotics could someday enable their workers to do their jobs more safely and effectively. Gavin Barnes, lead engineer for the FORTIS Exoskeleton program at Lockheed Martin, explained that these systems can boost a manufacturing worker’s strength, endurance and productivity. He said the company’s FORTIS structure can support tools weighing up to 36 pounds, allowing workers to use the tool for a much longer period of time before needing to rest. “Because I don’t have to put all my effort and energy into holding that tool, I can focus instead on the craftsmanship at hand with really fine movement of a light tool,” Barnes said. A recent report on wearable robotics said that industry will reach $2.1 billion by 2021. Exoskeletons are now being developed in the U.S., China, Korea, Japan and in Europe. It identifies industrial use as one of the primary markets, especially for aviation manufacturing
and shipbuilding. These industrial exoskeleton suits run between $20,000 and $100,000. The FORTIS system starts at $23,000. Not just for heavy loads, robotic devices can help workers perform their jobs with fewer safety risks and impacts on their bodies. Ed Potoczak, director of industry relations at software company IQMS, said manufacturing workers who do repetitive motions with heavy loads can create long-term stresses on the body. When done repetitively, even a 10-pound item can be taxing. “When you reduce your injury incidences, your rates tend to go down…So between time away, recuperation and recovery, all that would represent hard savings to an employer,” Potoczak said. Homayoon Kazerooni, a professor of mechanical engineering at California Berkeley who is known as “the father of modern exoskeletons,” has worked with the U.S. military to develop the Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton (BLEEX) and the Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC). He said there are still many tasks in factories that cannot be automated and could benefit from robotic devices to aid humans. “These are the workers who do unstructured jobs— filling up trucks with boxes, bending, squatting, using their whole bodies,” Kazerooni said. (net)
CAMP PENDLETON - The Marine Corps is planning for a future that will pit Marines against an enemy well-versed in fighting and hiding in crowded urban areas and equipped with high-tech weapons and communications systems. Current events have validated these assumptions about future operations, including the use of bomb-bearing and swarmcapable drones during recent attacks on a Russia base in Syria. Such threats loomed large as a Marine infantry rifle company took to the streets of a Camp Pendleton combat town this week to experiment with several dozen new technologies and prototypes designed to make them more lethal, effective, efficient and agile in an urban fight. About 180 Marines are participating in the Urban 5th Generation Marine Exploration and Experimentation 2018 exercise at Camp Pendleton. U5G 2018 runs from March 15-25 and is the first in a progressive series of exercises this year focused on identifying potential technology enhancements for the Marine Corps rifle company and its subordinate units. If he had his way, Capt. Ben Brewster and his rifle company would get to fight and operate under a “protective bubble.” Brewster describes it as created
by layered offensive and defensive unmanned aerial systems (UAS) – both organic to the company and from the larger Marine air-ground task force – that would include systems and equipment to kill or neutralize enemy or threatening drones in the air. Potential adversaries and terrorists already have access to new widely available technologies including inexpensive, commercial off-the-shelf systems like drones – and that adds more complex threats to military forces and civilians in the urban environment. “I’ve never had to deal with IEDs that can attack me…from quadcopters,” said Brewster, commander of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines. Three drones flitted overhead at the Range 131 Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT) facility here, and an “enemy” drone – a bat-wingshaped UAS – sliced through the air as Third Platoon moved among buildings around a town square. “Anyone of these could have a two-pound IED (improvised explosive device)” or act as a spotter or command-and-control for an enemy force, he said. “I need the ability for my Marines to be able to jam these drones,” he added. (net)
US Marine Corps Photo
US Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Briar Purty, an infantryman with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division tests Drone Killer Counter-UAS Technology during Urban Advanced Naval Technology Exercise 2018 (ANTX-18) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. on March 21, 2018.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
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Anticipation of unrealized target
Bali Health Agency prepares subsequent JE immunization
SINGARAJA — The immunization of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) will end next April 2018. In Bali, there are 962,000 children from the age of nine months to 15 years targeted for JE immunization. To anticipate the unattainable target when the immunization ends, Bali Health Agency will provide subsequent immunization. This is done by sweeping to districts and municipality in Bali.
Ketut Suarjaya
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TB cases ranked second in Indonesia
Bali estimated to still have 13,000 patients DENPASAR — Indonesia is ranked second after India in the matter of tuberculosis case (TB). Meanwhile, Bali itself is estimated to have 13,000 people with tuberculosis. Of this number, only about 26 percent or 3,000 cases are found and treated. “So, there are still 10,000 people potentially transmitting,” said the Head of the Bali Health Agency, Ketut Suarjaya, in Denpasar coinciding with the World TB Day on Sunday (Mar. 25). According to Suarjaya, patients with mild symptoms frequently do not want to have treatment. Besides, many health workers do not realize if the coming patients have TB cases. His agency invited the community to help the government in finding and approaching tuberculosis patients. With the target of finding 75-90 percent of TB cases, he hoped that TB cases can be completed by 2030. “People should not discriminate or stay away from tuberculosis patients. With a healthy lifestyle, we can avoid this tuberculosis,” he added. Suarjaya added that TB is indeed a hazardous disease that can even cause death. However, TB can be cured by taking medication regularly. In addition, TB can also be prevented by trying to keep your healthy such as by checking health regularly and not smoking, doing diligent exercise, eating nutritious food, taking adequate rest and controlling stress. “Environmental hygiene also plays an important role in prevention such as house ventilation and
insufficient sunlight. Again, this TB can be cured with regular medication. We continuously try to find the case and treat it thoroughly,” he said. According to lung specialist of Sanglah Hospital, Ni Luh Putu Eka Arisanti, TB disease can attack other organs and cause damages in the organ. In addition, TBC is dangerous because it can be transmitted to others. “So, if anyone has symptoms of cough more than a week, fever, night sweats and weight loss, please immediately go to public health center,” he said. Eka added that transmission of TB disease is possible through coughing, sneezing and from spittle or phlegm of patient positively infected with TB germs. On that account, there is the ethic of coughing by closing the mouth and nose with a tissue, then the tissue is thrown in place properly. If there is no tissue, use inside sleeve. “TB is not a hereditary disease and can be cured with regular medication for at least six months and continue to follow the doctor’s advice,” he said. An internist from Central Army Hospital (RSPAD), Agus Setyo Budi, invited health agencies to proactively combat TB disease in accordance with MDGs achievement targets. Health agencies is hoped to be more assertive against the efforts to prevent TB transmission. For instance, if coughing for more than two weeks, patients should be isolated and prioritized so as not to spread in crowded places. (kmb32)
In Bali, there are approximately 1.2 million targets. Of that number, 95 percent or a total of 962,000 children are targeted to be covered by the JE Immunization. From the record of Bali Health Agency, the target of immunization has reached 55 percent so far. This achievement includes children of pre-school education, kindergarten, elementary, and junior high schools. Until April 2018, the immunizations are held in integrated service center, public health center and hospitals. In terms of immunization stage, the target of 95 percent cannot be achieved, and then the solution to be taken is subsequent immunization. Head of the Bali Health Agency, I Ketut Suarjaya, said when attending the Launching of Smart Drug Use Movement (Gema Cermat) in Buleleng last week that so far the immunization has run smoothly and encountered almost no obstacles. However, from the implementation of immunization in international schools some parents refused immunization. However, after being given an explanation, their parents understood so that immunization is permitted. Evaluation is routinely performed by health workers in the region. Later, two weeks before the immunization schedule ends, the Bali Health Agency will conduct a comprehensive evaluation on achievement of the immunization itself. Results of the evaluations will determine whether the target has been achieved or vice versa. If the target has not been achieved, Bali Health Agency with district and municipal health agency will conduct subsequent immunization. This will be done by swiping scattered targets. “Based on regular evaluation, the target has covered about 55 percent and we keep moving until the
immunization schedule ends. Two weeks before the scheduled ends, there is a comprehensive evacuation. Otherwise, the left and scattered targets will be followed up then,” he said. According to Suarjaya, the minimum target of immunization is actually 90 percent of the total target. However, the Bali Health Agency deliberately sets immunization achievement to exceed the minimum target as local government has commitment to protecting children in Bali from the possibility of being contracted by JE virus. Seriousness of the JE handling is done by establishing regular JE immunization for the tenth month. In other words, after the immunization for two months (March-April 2018) is over, then every 10-month-old child must get JE immunization. “Starting in May 2018, it becomes regular immunization. The 10-month-old children must get JE immunization. Later on, after getting measles immunization for ninemonth children, then at the age of 10 months they must get JE immunization,” he said. Related to JE vaccine support, Suarjaya said that 1.2 million vials of vaccine have been prepared. Such number of vaccine is entirely stored in the Bali Health Agency using cool room in which the temperature can be arranged as needed. Storage of the vaccine is concentrated in the province because it requires a place to avoid destruction of the vaccine. In addition, most health agencies in the region do not have a special room to store the vaccine, so that every immunization schedule, the Bali Health Agency will drop as needed. For delivery to each health agency, the vaccine is stored temporarily in a special refrigerator and will use special container when deployed to school or public health center, integrated health service and hospital. “We provide the vaccine pursuant to the target data. Distribution is made from the Bali Health Agency because the regions have no special container to store the vaccine. The vaccine is an attenuated virus and has the temperature between two and eight degrees. If the temperature is more, the vaccines are damaged. To avoid such damage, the vaccine is dropped during immunization, and from the public health center it must be stored in special container,” he explained. (kmb38)
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The immunization of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) will end next April 2018. In Bali, there are 962,000 children from the age of nine months to 15 years targeted for JE immunization.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Bali News
To protect local small business
Palm wine and arrack must be seen from cultural aspect
DENPASAR - Palm wine and arrack makers in Bali have not been protected yet by regulation. Actually, this type of liquor is also needed by Hindus on the Island of the Gods as a means of religious ceremonies (libation). In order to protect the makers, the presence of palm wine and arrack should be viewed in terms of cultural aspect.
“It is local content and local culture having been done from antiquity. Do not be seen in terms of negative side, please be viewed from cultural side, so we must protect it,” said Chairman of the Bali House of Representatives, I Nyoman Adi Wiryatama, after
leading Special Plenary Session in the Bali House of Representatives on Monday (Mar. 26). Wiryatama agreed there must be a regulation in the future to protect the makers of palm wine and arrack whose number reaches thousands. The Bali House itself has been directed to that purpose, and the right formula is now being figured out. “All this time, they are unprotected because there are no definite rules. There is no standard about alcohol content. It is often dangerous, right? It is only made without any standards,” he explained. If there is regulation, continued Wiryatama, what is allowed and disallowed will be arranged therein. It must be regulated so that arrack makers are able to run their business well, but does not harm society in general. In other words, they also need to be controlled so as not to just think instantly of making a profit. However, their products even have a negative impact on society. “Palm wine has been consumed by the community from time immemorial. If they are abandoned, people may sell stale palm wine or mixed palm wine, so it will have more negative hazards. In the future, we will make a regulation on how the arrack makers can run their business well, not endanger the public in general. We have such a mindset in the parliament,” said this PDI-P politician. Meanwhile, a legislator of the PDI-P Faction, I Ketut Kariyasa Adnyana, said that such home-based business players with traditional palm wine or arrack products should be protected. Although there are regulations concerning the limitation of liquor, actually it can be included in the exception for Bali as a tourism area. Now, it just needs to make the regulation so as to be able to organize the makers well. “All the ceremonies in Bali involve the use of palm wine, rice wine and arrack. This is what we have to protect because they are a part of the MSMEs. However, the distribution must be regulated to avoid the abuse. This should be made a regulation,” he said. Kariyasa added the parliament has actually attempted the regulation since long time ago considering the producers of palm wine belong to critical areas such as Karangasem. Based on the last note of Bali Post, previously there was a regulation of Minister of Trade No. 6 / M-DAG /PER/1/2015. In the regulation, the regents and mayors have full authority to control regarding the supervision of alcoholic beverages along with administrative sanctions for violators. Related to this matter, Regional Regulation of Bali No.5/2012 on Alcoholic Beverage Distribution Control in Bali Province was finally revoked in 2016. However, the Bali House of Representatives has suggested the Bali provincial government to make regulatory studies to establish joint ventures related to Balinese traditional drinks such as palm wine, rice wine and arrack that must be protected, and strictly prohibit the production or circulation of mixed alcoholic beverages. (kmb32)
International
Activities
International
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
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US-China trade war
Potential to impact on three sectors in Indonesia
DENPASAR - The US and Chinese trade rivalries do not only affect the two countries, but will also affect Indonesia. There are at least three sectors affected, namely the exports and imports as well as fiscal and trade of Indonesia. Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) of Bali, A.A. Ngurah Alit Wiraputra, said the most significant impact of the trade war is investment in Indonesia. Both countries will focus on improving the investment climate in their country. The second is Indonesian trade. Although so far there has been no dumping in their country, if it happens the products of both countries will flood Indonesia. Indonesia is a potential market for the US and China. “But if dumping is enforced, the US will surely lose because the US products are expensive. Therefore, the US protects itself from China’s trade,” he said on Monday (Mar. 26). If the US and Chinese products flood Indonesia, there will be competition against Indonesian businessmen. “To be sure, they will sell their products to Indonesia, especially Chinese products,” he added. Indonesia should also start thinking about the entry of Chinese products. This is meant to stabilize the value of Indonesian trade. “We have to try to use domestic prod-
ucts,” he said. In this trade war, the US appealed to its citizens to use domestic products although they are expensive. “However, they are subsidized by the US government. It reduces taxes of domestic products, while taxes of foreign products are increased,” he said. Another negative impact of the trade war is that Indonesia’s exports will also be difficult to enter the US. The US considers Indonesia is just like China. “Our exports will decline, whereas the US is our highest export destination,” he said. This impact will affect the performance of Indonesian entrepreneurs. On that account, he hoped the entrepreneurs of Indonesia to diversify the market such as Europe, Korea and Japan. Especially for food, the US no longer accepts Indonesian products. The affected exports will also have an impact on Indonesia’s fiscal. If the US economy strengthens, the US dollar will also strengthen. At the same time, it will make the rupiah worse off. If the rupiah weakens, the investors will wait and see when investing in Indonesia. “This should be observed by the government of Indonesia so that businessmen will not wait and see in this trade war,” he said. Kadin hoped that the impact will not be so significant on the import-export, fiscal and trade of Indonesia. (kmb42)
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Balinese Hindu men perform during Tektekan, a traditional ceremony believed to expel evil spirits, ahead of the holy day Nyepi, in Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia, March 15, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Picture taken March 15, 2018.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018
No Netflix, no selfies at Cannes Film Festival this year
PARIS - The Cannes Film Festival will ban Netflix from this year’s event after the video-on-demand company stood firm in its refusal to give its movies a cinema release, festival director Thierry Fremaux said in an interview. Red-carpet selfies will also be banned. Two Netflix films were screened in Cannes last year but organisers had said the company would not be allowed to compete at the festival again if it did not show them in movie halls. “Last year, when we selected two of their movies, I thought I could convince Netflix to release them in theaters. I was presumptuous: they refused,” Fremaux told magazine Le Film Francais. “The people at Netflix loved the red carpet and would like to show us more movies. But they have understood that their intransigence over their (business) model clashes with our own.” However, Netflix may be permitted to show movies on the fringe of the festival, outside the official competition, he said. Meanwhile, the festival’s decision to blacklist selfies taken by members of the audience on the red carpet caused a stir. Fremaux said selfies created a “mess”. Asked if that decision was outdated and old fashioned, Fremaux said: “No, it’s quite the opposite, and you’ll see, others will follow suit.” Selfies, he said, “go against what has made Cannes’ reputation. A certain elegance, discretion.” Fremaux also said he was ending the press screening of movies before their world premiere in the official competition. The official selection for the May 8-19 festival will be announced on April 12th, he said. Australian movie star Cate Blanchett will head the jury this year. (rtr)
REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo
A Chopard representative displays the Palme d’Or, the highest prize awarded to competing films, during an interview before the start of the festival.
REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Director Steven Spielberg waves during the premiere of “Ready Player One” in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 26, 2018.
Virtual reality meets big screen in Spielberg’s ‘Ready Player One’
LOS ANGELES - In Steven Spielberg’s new movie “Ready Player One,” disgruntled citizens in the year 2045 don virtual reality headsets to enter a digital universe where they can dance at hot clubs or race fancy cars through the streets of New York. Back in the real world in 2018, VR enthusiasts hope the fast-paced action movie heading to worldwide theaters this week will spark new interest in the technology and help boost what is now a niche market. “Ready Player One,” based on a novel by Ernest Cline, features a group of teenagers who spend their days in VR goggles, suits and gloves to maneuver their avatars through a computerized wonderland called the Oasis. It is filled with infinite possibilities for working, learning and socializing. “You have a choice to spend all your time there, or make connections in the real world with real people, real eye contact,” Spielberg said told Reuters in an interview. “In a way, our story is a cautionary tale as well as a great adventure.” The movie’s hero, Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), visits the Oasis to escape his miserable life in an Ohio trailer park. As his refuge comes under threat, Watts joins other avatars in a contest that could give them the power to protect the virtual world.
Existing VR capabilities are far more limited than what is portrayed in the film. For entertainment, VR’s most prevalent use is in gaming, where players can battle in 360-degree settings seen through headsets from Facebook’s Oculus unit, HTC Corp and others. Spielberg was among VR’s early adopters. He had been toying with a headset at home before he made “Ready Player One,” and he incorporated the technology behind the scenes. To appear in the Oasis, the actors had to perform in a nearly empty white room wearing motion-capture outfits so their movements could be transferred to digitally created sets. Spielberg had the Oasis sets re-built in VR. “Everybody had a chance to put on the headsets, and suddenly, wow, there you are in the set itself,” he said. “It gave a kind of orientation so they weren’t just acting in the abstract.” The film, which is being distributed by Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros, is shown on a traditional movie screen, no headset required.
VR supporters hope “Ready Player One,” filled with special effects and backed by an upbeat 1980s rock soundtrack, thrills audiences and piques their curiosity. Several related VR experiences, such as a trip inside the movie’s dance club, will be offered on the HTC Vive headset through an official partnership with the film. People who do not own the equipment can head to VR arcades to try out the technology. “We are really are excited to show people VR is not something futuristic,” said JB McRee, HTC Vive’s senior manager of product marketing. “It really is something that exists now.” Actress Lena Waithe, who plays an auto mechanic in the Oasis, said she enjoys VR but encouraged limits to time spent in a virtual world. “It’s fascinating, but it can be a little dangerous if you play in it too much,” she said. “There needs to be a bit of balance. I think that’s the message we are trying to get through with the film.” (rtr)
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REUTERS/Jason Lee
A train believed to be carrying a senior North Korean delegation leaves the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, China March 27, 2018.
Train believed carrying top North Korean delegation leaves Beijing
BEIJING/SEOUL - A train believed to be carrying a senior North Korean delegation left the Chinese capital on Tuesday following a dramatic whirlwind visit that some reports said included the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un. The conservative South Korea Chosun Ilbo newspaper, citing an unnamed senior intelligence official, said the delegation had included Kim and that he had since left to return to North Korea. South Korea’s left-leaning press Hankyoreh also reported Kim had travelled to Beijing for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday afternoon before leaving for a “third location” on Tuesday. It did not cite specific sources. The Hankyoreh did not specify where the “third location” was but said it could be in China. Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post said Kim was on the train that left Beijing, citing two anonymous sources. South
Korea said it was closely watching events in Beijing, where a foreign ministry spokeswoman deflected a question on whether Kim, his sister or some other senior North Korean was visiting. South Korea’s spy agency declined to confirm the report. “At present I have no understanding of the situation you mention. If there is news we will release it,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular daily briefing. Diplomatic sources in Beijing said a
senior North Korean official was in town, but did not know exactly who. Bloomberg, citing three unidentified sources, reported late on Monday that Kim was in Beijing in what would be his first known trip outside North Korea since taking power in 2011. The unconfirmed visit came ahead of planned summit meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump. “The presidential Blue House is watching things in Beijing very closely,
while keeping all possibilities open,” said the senior official in Seoul, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Improving ties between North Korea, which is pursuing nuclear and missile programmes in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and China would be a positive sign before the planned summits, he said. A Reuters reporter saw a convoy leave Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guest House, where senior foreign leaders often stay, and drive north on Tuesday morning. It was unclear where the convoy was headed. Later, a Reuters journalist saw what was believed to be the delegation’s train pulling out of a Beijing station. The group was
reported to have arrived in China on Sunday after crossing from North Korea in the border city of Dandong. A senior U.S. official who follows North Korea closely said the available evidence suggested that Kim had travelled to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, but stressed that has not been confirmed.
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