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Cambodia PM says work on mega-dam will not start until 2018

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

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

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Monaco’s Berbatov seeks goals on London return

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

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

President Joko Widodo has de-nied clemency to the convicts de-spite repeated pleas from Australia, Brazil and France, who have citizens due to be executed soon by firing squad.

“The first thing I need to say firm-ly is that there shouldn’t be any in-tervention towards the death penalty because it is our sovereign right to exercise our law,”

President Joko Widodo told reporters.

Wido-do said

h e

took calls from the leaders of France, Brazil and the Netherlands about the death penalty but made no mention of Australia. Two Australians are among the 11 on death row.

Indonesia has harsh penalties for drug trafficking and resumed execu-tions in 2013 after a five-year gap.

Shortly before Widodo spoke, a court in Jakarta

threw out an appeal by the two

Australians a g a i n s t

Widodo’s rejection of their request for presidential clemency.

Australia has been pursuing an eleventh-hour campaign to save the lives of Myuran Sukumaran, 33, and Andrew Chan, 31, two members of the so-called Bali Nine, convicted in 2005 as the ringleaders of a plot to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia.

“According to the judge, the president’s rejection of (the) clem-ency petition is not an administrative act so this court does not have the jurisdiction to accept our case,” said Todung Mulya Lubis, a lawyer for the two men.

“We plan to appeal to-day’s court decision. We

have two weeks to file an appeal. If the law is respected, the execution should be postponed until the legal process is over.”

Australia, which has long had rocky relations with its northern neighbour, has said it would con-sider recalling its ambassador to Indo- n e s i a i n p r o - test if the e x - ecutions take place.

It i s n o t c l e a r w h e n

t h e p a i r w i l l be put to

death, al-

though the head of the prosecutor’s office in Bali, where they are in prison, previously said it is “very likely” that they will be transferred this week to an island off Java where the executions will take place. Au-thorities have to inform death row convicts 72 hours before they are executed.

The looming executions have dramatically heightened tensions between Australia and Indonesia, fraying ties that were only just re-covering from a spying row.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has made repeated pleas for the men to be spared and even urged Indonesia to remember Canberra’s significant help in dealing with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

However, the remarks sparked anger in Indonesia, with several groups organising collections of coins to return the aid to Aus-tralia, and Vice President Jusuf Kalla saying the money would be given back if Canberra did not consider it “humanitarian”. Brazil and the Netherlands have already pulled their ambassadors after Indone-sia executed two of their citizens on drug offences last month.

Brazil took the further step of refusing to allow Indonesia’s new am-bassador to take part in a credentials cer-emony, prompting the Southeast Asian country to recall

him back to Jakarta in protest. (rtr/afp)

ANTARA FOTO/Nyoman Budhiana

Brother of death convicted, Myuran Sukumaran, Chintu Sukumaran (right) and his mother Raji Sukumaran (left) visited Myuran in Kerobokan Jail on Tuesday. An Indonesian judge has rejected an appeal from two Australian men due to be executed in Indonesia after President Joko Widodo denied them clemency.

Executions won’t be delayed despite mercy pleas

JAKARTA - President said on Tuesday the planned execution of 11 convicts on death row, most on drugs charges, would not be delayed, warning foreign countries not to intervene in Jakarta’s right to use capital punishment.

NEW YORK — Oscar viewer-ship was down 16 percent from last year and reached its lowest point since 2009, with 36.6 million people watching the Neil Patrick Harris-hosted awards show on ABC Sunday night.

The Nielsen company’s prelimi-nary estimate of U.S. viewership was down from the 43.7 million people who watched last year, a feel-good show where host Ellen DeGeneres at-tracted attention for posting a “selfie” with various movie stars and having pizzas delivered to the audience.

Last year’s show, which also had the star power of “Frozen,” Matthew McConaughey and U2, reached the biggest audience for any Academy Awards show since 2000.

The Oscars tend to be the most-

watched entertainment program of the year on television, often second only to the Super Bowl. But viewer-ship can be affected by the relative popularity of the movies up for big awards, and best picture winner “Birdman” wasn’t a particularly big box office draw. “American Sniper” was the most popular movie, but re-ceived one relatively minor award.

There was also a movement among black viewers to boycott the awards show because all of the major acting nominees were white. There’s no way to immediately tell whether this had an impact on the decrease in viewers since Nielsen did not have an immediate breakdown of ethnic viewership.

This year’s Oscars audience was the lowest since 36.3 million watched

in 2009, when “Slumdog Millionaire” won best picture. After a couple of years where awards show ratings in general were going up — a reflection of the desire among viewers for live programming — they appear to have flattened.

Nielsen also said there were 5.9 million messages about the Academy Awards sent out through Twitter in the U.S. That’s roughly half the 11.2 million tweets sent out last year, when DeGeneres’ selfie replicated like wildfire online. Facebook said there were 58 million interactions worldwide on the Oscars, including posts and “likes.”

The biggest individual moment for Twitter and Facebook was the same: Lady Gaga’s medley of songs from “The Sound of Music.” (ap)

LONDON - Eddie Redmayne -- the latest British actor to crack Hol-lywood -- is set to see his profile go cosmic after clinching the Oscar for his poignant and physically chal-lenging portrayal of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking.

Having already won a BAFTA and Golden Globe for playing the disabled British scientist in “The Theory of Everything”, the 33-year-old actor completed the trio on Oscar night.

He bested “Birdman” star Mi-chael Keaton, the other main favou-rite, as well as his friend and fellow countryman Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Imitation Game”), Steve Carell (“Foxcatcher”) and Bradley Cooper (“American Sniper”).

“This belongs to all of those peo-ple around the world battling ALS,” a visibly humbled Redmayne said, referring to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, from which Hawking suf-fers.

“It belongs -- it belongs to one exceptional family -- Stephen, Jane, Jonathan and the Hawking children.”

Redmayne built his reputation on the stage, television and as a supporting actor in several major films, but his first leading role as Hawking has elevated him to Hol-lywood’s A-list.

The film is based on a memoir by Hawking’s wife Jane, played by fellow Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, and recounts their doomed love story.

The couple started dating in the 1960s at Cambridge University -- before Hawking was diagnosed at the age of 21 with ALS.

The film charts their relationship as his health declined and fame grew, until their marriage fell apart in the early 1990s. Redmayne could have been left waiting for his first

leading role had it not been for a beer-fueled evening with director James Marsh.

Despite having someone else in mind for the role, Marsh was convinced by Redmayne during a pub chat without the need for an audition.

He then spent four months vis-iting people with motor neurone disease at a clinic in London and reading everything he could by Hawking.

The result is a physical transfor-mation that has been compared to Daniel Day-Lewis’s Oscar-winning performance in “My Left Foot”.

Hawking has reportedly said there were moments watching the film when he thought he was watch-ing himself, and was so impressed he allowed the director to use his trademark computerised voice.

The son of a London banker with four siblings, Redmayne took act-ing classes from a young age and was a child extra in the West End production of “Oliver!”

He attended the elite Eton school alongside Prince William and stud-ied art history at Cambridge -- the same university where Hawking still works.

Barely a year after graduating, Redmayne had a part in an all-male production of “Twelfth Night” by Shakespeare’s Globe theatre, and by 2004 had won his first theatre award.

He has also appeared in a num-ber of hit films including “The Good Shepherd”, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” and “The Other Bo-leyn Girl”. He also played Marius in the Oscar-winning 2012 musical “Les Miserables”.

Like Cumberbatch, Redmayne is blessed with chiselled good looks and has modelled for luxury brand Burberry. (afp)

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, or IFPI, said that Swift was the world’s most popular recording artist last year when accounting for physical sales, downloads and streaming.

Swift dominated US charts in late 2014 but the group said that she was also among the top five artists in the next largest markets of Germany, Japan and Britain.

B u t t h e IFPI said that the blockbuster soundtrack to the Disney film “Fro-zen” would have topped Swift. The industry group, which did not give exact sales figures, awards the top rank solely to an indi-vidual artist.

British boy band One Direction, which topped the list in 2013 year, was number

two, followed by British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and then more established acts Coldplay and AC/DC. Michael Jackson was sixth, even though the King of Pop died in 2009.

Swift’s album “1989” last year sold 1.2 million cop-ies in its first week in the United

States, the top haul since Eminem’s “The Eminem Show” in 2002 when overall music sales were far higher.

Swift has topped the charts, which now fac to r i n streaming services, despite her high-profile fight with Spotify. Swift last year pulled her music from the growing Swedish streaming site, urging it to pro-

vide more compensation to artists. (afp)

Nielsen: Oscars viewership down 16 percent

Taylor Swift officially world’s top seller in 2014

NEW YORK - Taylor Swift was crowned the world’s top-selling artist in 2014 on Monday, although an industry group said that the Disney soundtrack “Frozen” would have beaten her.

Redmayne completes journey to stars with Oscar glory

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Redmayne completes journey to stars with Oscar glory

International2 Wednesday, February 25, 2015 15International Activities

Bali News

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

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

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

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

Balinese Temple Ceremony

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

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

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

“We celebrate the moment of Valen-tine’s Day to share our love to the children of this orphanage who are in need of our help,” said Deden Agoes Rifana, Human Resources Manager. “We really appreci-ate all the efforts this wonderful team gives to the children. We wish that there will be more and more people who are willing to do this noble job,” he added.

This orphanage visit is one of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes of HARRIS Hotel Bukit Jimbaran. Within a year, the company

has planned some events, from visiting the orphanages, blood donation, cleaning blitz, and etc.

Ni Made Gunasih, the Chief Caregiver of Panti Asuhan Semara Putra Klung-kung, spoke on behalf of the foundation and the orphanage, was very thankful for the visit. She said that every help they get is a great support to provide better future for the kids.

Semara Putra Orphanage under Kri-pana Putra Dharma Foundation was established with good cause to foster

and nurture children with disabilities and unfortunate ones. Today, Semara Putra Orphanage is taking care of 125 foster children, from the age of elementary school to university student. From this number, 85 of them are disabled; blind, deaf, mute, physical or mental disabled and autism. The disabled children are sent to special school for disabled (SLB) in front of the orphanage. The rest 40 children are normal, but they are or-phans or abandoned or come from poor families. (r)

Without having a culinary adventure, your leisure holidays in Bali seem incomplete. Aside from offering unique tourism charms, Bali also has a wide range of intriguing food delicacies worth tasting. Therefore, the food business opportunities on this bijou island are always crowded and very promising. One of them is seafood.

“Within the past 2-3 years, the development of culinary business in Bali takes place very fast. It encourages us to open a venue to eat offering seafood delicacies on Kuta Beach area,” said the woman named Sylvia Fatono.

Sylvia felt to have many advantages in opening the food business. Apart from situat-ing at strategic location, especially on beauti-ful beach, it also had a broad market segment ranging from domestic tourists, foreign tourists

to local communities. “Our premises ap-ply the concept of full bars both indoors and outdoors that does not only give a pleasure of dining, but also a new atmosphere like being on the quay dock,” she said.

Not only that, added the woman who graduated from a business study in Australia, her restaurant also applied the concept of dining on the beach by featur-ing the room in blue and white domination. Uniquely, it was also equipped with typical marine trinkets. “We also provide menus with special flavor options of the best quality, including the best service,” she added. (kmb)

IBP/Courtesy of Harris Hotel

Sharing Love with the Kids

Semara Putra Orphanage received visit from HARRIS Hotel Bukit Jimbaran

SEMArAPUrA - It was 13 February 2015, a bright Thursday morning, when two orange cars ar-rived at Semara Putra Orphanage, Klungkung. From the cars, came out people in orange shirts bring-ing some daily supplies. They were the players of HArrIS Hotel Bukit Jimbaran. They were greeted by the caregivers and joyful kids. It wasn’t long before the kids noticed the HArrIS Mascot: Dino. They laughed happily and run to him in no time. Dino hugged them and it was like meeting an old friend. It was a heartfelt moment that began the orphanage visit from the company.

IBP/kmb

Profile

Sylvia FatonoCarefully read market opportunitiesDENPASAR – The punish-

ment given out to top officials, former officials and employees at the Denpasar Corruption Court, was indeed very striking. Allega-tions of corruption related to the procurement of heavy equipment including generators, a sound system, lighting and CCTVs at the Bali Art Center, Denpasar, public prosecutor, Made Tangkas et al., charged defendants Ketut Suastika and Mantara Gandi with only 1.5 years without obligation to repay

losses to the state.In the prosecutor’s indictment it

was clearly stated that the defen-dants had caused state loses worth more than IDR 800 million.

Meanwhile, in the case of trea-surer of the Jembrana Electoral Commission, Kadek Ari Komala Sari, who was alleged to have harmed the state by incurring losses worth just IDR 61 million, the punishment was a sentence of 4 years in prison She was also obliged to repay the financial

losses to the state through joint and several liabilities. Secretary, I Gede Putu Wigraha, who was also involved in the case, was sentenced to two years.

“Based on my observations, the sentence for the Art Center case is rather strange and questionable, particularly because there has been no refund of the grafted money, nor any obligation to provide the amount lost to corruption. Aspisus of the prosecutor’s office only a confiscation IDR 296 million,”

said legal practiononer Ketut Ri-nata, on Monday (Feb. 23).

Rinata added that there were other aspects of this case that also needed to be looked into, particularly details regarding a certain Exaudi Gultom. “This fig-ure remains a mystery that needs be further explored. The trial has already revealed many facts that lead to Exaudi Gultom so, if these avenues are not pursued, the case would not be resolved given that Gultonm appears to be the primary

defendant,” said Rinata.Normally, the prosecutors and

judges should be pursuing this mystery during the cross-examina-tion of the defendants PA and KPA because they were both directly involved in the case. “It is impos-sible that PA and NAC did not know the contractor of the IDR 21 million project. If the defendants are honest, objective and transpar-ent, everything will be revealed in the trial,” he said in a loud voice. (kmb37)

Head of the Denpasar Public Works Agency, Ketut Winarta, said on Monday (Feb. 23) that the fact that the pools of rainwater subsided relatively quickly was proof that the drainage channesl in Denpasar were generally func-tioning properly. If the drainage system was unable to function optimally at certain points, it was because the Teba River had stag-nated. This, coupled with heavy rains, made flooding inevitable. “For this reason, we are working with the national and provincial governments to deal with the problem on the main channel” he said briefly.

He added that the city of Den-pasar, was still working on fixing the problem of drainage channels. Gradually, the precast concrete u-ditch system would be applied to drainage channels falling under the authority of the city of Denpasar. The use of the u-ditch is considered more effective in running water downstream smoothly.

Meanwhile, an academic from Udayana University (Unud), Dr. Rumawan Salain, said that the flooding that recently occurred at some points in Denpasar should used as a learning experience for both the government and society at large. Heavy rainfall caused the existing watershed to be unable to accommodate the overflowing rainwater in residential areas.

According to Salain, geograph-ical factors are to be considered. The city of Denpasar receives runoff water from Badung, Ta-banan, and Gianyar Counties whose excess water flows towards Denpasar. Not all floodgates lo-cated in the city of Denpasar fall under the sole authority of the municipality of Denpasar., many are also the responsibility of ad-jacent counties.

Salain explained that the Bali Government, needs to coordinate with relevant counties along with the municipality of Denpasar in order to effectively address this

Hundreds of millions grafted from corruption only sentenced to 1.5 years

Main drainage system less than optimal

Academic stresses importance of provincial govt in preventing floodsDENPASAR – Recent flooding Denpasar has been assessed

to be due to the impact of heavy rainfall and less than optimal drainage systems at some points. A number of drainage chan-nels, especially the main drainage system, were unable to ac-commodate the flarge low of water.

issue. All drainage systems in-cluding the primary, secondary and tertiary should be properly connected and free from obstacles so that flooding can be avoided.

Regarding garbage as the main

cause of flooding, Salain revealed that although it is a contributing factor, the responsabilty of waste disposal does not rest solely with the residents of the City of Den-pasar. In order to truly deal with

the issue of garbage in the gutters, the provincial government needs to coordinates with the counties and municipalities in developing intergrated waste management. (kmb25)

IBP/File

The flood which happen a few days ago in Denpasar.

3Wednesday, February 25, 201514 InternationalInternational Bali NewsTechnology Wednesday, February 25, 2015

The “Robear” has a cub-like face with big doey eyes, but packs enough power to transfer frail pa-tients from a wheelchair to a bed or a bath, Japan’s Riken institute said Tuesday.

“The polar cub-like look is aimed at radiating an atmosphere of strength, geniality and cleanli-ness at the same time,” research leader Toshiharu Mukai told AFP.

“We voted for this design among options presented by our designer.

We hope to commercialise the ro-bot in the not-too distant future,” he added.

A historically low birth rate and ever-increasing life expectancy means Japan’s population of el-derly people is growing, while the pool of youngsters to look after them is shrinking.

A reluctance to accept large-scale immigration means an increasing reliance on robots, especially to perform physically difficult work.

This frequently combines with the country’s love of all things cute, to produce machines with disarming faces and child-like voices.

“As Japan is ageing with fewer children, the problem of a short-age in caregivers for the elderly is getting serious,” Riken said in a statement.

“Expectations are high that robotics will help resolve this problem,” it said. (afp)

NEW YORK - Is the future of the US car industry in Silicon Valley? Af-ter Tesla and Google, Apple appears to be readying for a plunge into the industry long rooted far away in the steel belt of the US upper Midwest.

According to various media re-ports, the maker of iPhones and iPads has created a special unit baptized “Titan” with hundreds of staff to begin developing an electric car, with 2020 the target date.

Apple remains silent on the proj-ect, but the reports were partially backed up by a lawsuit filed against the tech giant. Battery maker 123 Systems has accused Apple of ag-gressively poaching its staff.

But it puts Apple in line with Tesla, the current champion of the electric car, and Google, the online giant which is focused on the self-driving, also-electric Google Car.

The Big Three US automakers -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler (now a part of Fiat Chrysler Automo-biles, FCA) -- are taking the threat from the Detroit outsiders seriously.

“Given the company’s (Apple’s) tremendous capabilities, that is no surprise to anyone,” GM spokesman Dan Flores told AFP.

At Chrysler, spokesman Eric Maynes said: “We can’t comment on something we haven’t seen.”

Ford too had no comment on Apple’s plans, but the number two automaker recently opened a research center in Palo Alto, the heart of Sili-con Valley, as it looks to the future of self-driving automobiles.

Bill Visnic, an analyst at industry specialist Edmunds.com, said that given the seven-year average time frame to develop and bring a car to the mass market, the Detroit giants are not under serious pressure yet.

Even with the unexpected success of Tesla, for instance, the company still sold less than 35,000 cars last year in an national market of more than 16 million units. And Tesla’s cars are confined to a very high-end niche market.

“Apple is not an immediate threat to the US auto industry. I don’t think you’ll see the volume there, the number of cars won’t really begin to approach anything like Detroit is

making right now at any time soon,” said Visnic.

Alec Gutierrez, a market analyst at Kelley Blue Book, said Apple’s strength is its role as a “disruptor” in industries, and that the “comprehen-sive ecosystem” of its popular con-sumer electronics could be extended to an “Apple car”.

Apple has the money to put into a new car -- some $180 billion in capital built up to invest in new proj-ects. Even so, said Gutierrez, given the costs and competition in the auto industry, “it’s fraught with risk.”

“The automotive space is so high-ly competitive today, and margins in new car sales are extraordinarily thin, which is something Apple is not used to.”

“How many companies have totally failed into trying to enter the automotive industry? It’s a tough thing and it’s very expensive,” added Brett Smith, program director at the Center for Automotive Research.

He pointed to Tesla continuing to lose money despite its success in marketing its luxury cars with bat-tery systems superior to any offered by Detroit.

And the major automakers are all working hard on making more and better hybrid and all-electric vehicles.

That sets a high bar for any new entrant, notes Smith.

“Does Apple have better tech-nologies than Mercedes or Ford or GM or Toyota to build a car? I really doubt it.”

What Apple could bring to the industry is what Google brings: ways to process and use data.

Google is focused not on the physical car itself but on the technol-ogy that will allow cars to run them-selves. Its self-driving vehicles, in the guise of various car models, have already driven hundreds of thousands of miles (kilometers) on California roads in test runs.

Apple already has something to of-fer the industry, notes Visnic. It could become a key supplier of connectivity technology for cars, putting its oper-ating systems up against Google’s Android, already being installed in many car models. (afp)

NEW YORK - Google said Monday it was teaming up with the mobile phone payment firm Softcard to ramp up its efforts to counter Apple Pay in the emerging sector.

The California tech giant an-nounced Google Wallet would become a pre-installed “tap to pay” app on Android smartphones sold in

the US market by AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, as part of the deal with the carriers’ mobile payments company Softcard.

The aim is “to help more An-droid users get the benefits of tap and pay,” said Google Payments vice president Ariel Bardin.

“We’re also acquiring some ex-citing technology and intellectual

property from Softcard to make Google Wallet better.”

The move gives Google and its large base of Android smartphones a stronger position to challenge Apple Pay, the mobile payments system introduced on the latest iPhones last year.

A statement from Softcard -- which was founded by the three

carriers last year in a push for mobile payments -- said the deal with Google would “bring together leading technologies to advance mobile wallets.”

“For now, Softcard customers can continue to tap and pay with the app,” the statement said.

LoopPay technology is compat-ible with approximately 90 percent

of retail terminals to let customers tap their phones for payment with registered credit cards, according to Samsung.

LoopPay has been built into smartphone cases as well as into fobs, or dongles, and transmits credit card data using magnetic fields to point-of-sale terminals to effectuate transactions. (afp)

Tesla, Google, Apple: is Silicon Valley the future of the US car?

Google Wallet partners up to battle Apple Pay

Japan’s Robear: Strength of a robot, face of a bear

TOKYO - Forget the frightening androids of dystopian sci-fi, the future of robots is cute polar bears that can lift elderly people into and out of bed.

IBP/Net

The “Robear” has a cub-like face with big doey eyes, but packs enough power to transfer frail patients from a wheelchair to a bed or a bath, Japan’s Riken institute said Tuesday.

“We are ready for that (provide security for Bali Nine transfer),” Commander of Ngurah Rai Air Base Colonel Sugiarto P.W. said.

The authorities will provide security cover to the two convicts during their transfer through a special gate at the Ngurah Rai International Airport.

No details have been made available regarding the time when the two convicts will be trans-ferred.

Currently, three Sukhoi jet fight-ers have been stationed at the Ngu-rah Rai Operation Base. However, Sugiarto emphasized that the main task of the jet fighters is to secure the border area.

“The Sukhoi jet fighters are meant for securing the airspace in the border area. It is routinely conducted every year,” he said.

The three Russian-manufac-

tured jet fighters were flown in from the Makassar Air Base, South Sulawesi, on Sunday (Feb. 22) and scheduled to be on standby at Ngu-rah Rai until March 1, 2015.

Apart from securing the airspace in the border area, it does not rule out the possibility of jet fighters be-ing used to provide security cover to the convoy during the transfer of the Bali Nine convicts to the Nusakambangan Penitentiary in Central Java Province.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Su-kumaran were sentenced to death by firing squad.

The two were arrested along with seven other Australians while they were attempting to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin from Bali to Sydney, Australia, in 2005. Pres-ident Joko Widodo had recently rejected Sukumaran’s clemency petition. (ant)

AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati

New Zealand’s Anthony Glen de Malmanche, foreground, walks out of a prison to the Denpasar District Court before his hearing trial in Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. Indonesian police arrested the New Zealander on Dec. 1, 2014 for allegedly smuggling methamphetamine onto the island.

DENPASAR - The penitentiary in Denpasar, Bali, has provided psy-chologists to help in case death con-victs from Australia Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran need their counseling ahead of their execution.

Ngurah Rai air base prepared for Bali Nine duo’s transfer

KUTA - Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport is ready to secure and guard the transfer of Australian convicts Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukuraman, who are members of the Bali Nine group on death row, to another facility.

ANTARA FOTO/Nyoman Budhiana

The Sukhoi jet fighter flown above Kerobokan Jail on Tuesday. Currently, three Sukhoi jet fighters have been stationed at the Ngurah Rai Operation Base. However, Sugiarto empha-sized that the main task of the jet fighters is to secure the border area.

Penitentiary provides psychologist for Chan, Sukumaran“We have prepared psychologists

from local state Udayana University and Sanglah regional hospital for the two death convicts,” head of the peni-tentiary, Sudjonggo, said on Tuesday.

He said psychological counseling

would be given in case the convicts need it.

Right now however psychological conditions of the two convicts are still normal and they still conduct activi-ties as usual. “In case development

happens disrupting their mental state before their transfer we will conduct examination,” he added.

Ahead of their transfer to a maxi-mum security prison on the island of Nusakambangan off Central Java be-fore execution is done the Indonesian military (TNI) has prepared its Sukhoi fighter planes to escort their transfer.

“We have also prepared Raiders and Cavalry troops to assure the se-curity of the two death convicts - An-drew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran - during the transfer from Kerobokan penitentiary to Ngurah Rai airporot,” the commander of the 9th Udayana Military Command, Major General Torry Djohar Banguntoro said.

He made the statement when asked regarding TNI’s preparations with regard to the transfer of the Bali Nine drug ring members from Bali to Nusakambangan.

“There has been an order coming from the TNI commander for him to help secure the process of transfer of the death convicts. A squadron of Sukhoi planes have been made ready to escort the Hercules plane that would be used to take the death convicts. There will also be a patrol in the sea and land security operations,” he said after meeting with House Commis-sion I members in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, recently.

Indonesia plans to execute 11 death row convicts, including two narcotic drug convicts from Australia, Andrew

Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, soon.Australia has already appealed to

Indonesia to cancel the executions, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott even invoking Australia’s aid to 2004 tsunami victims in Aceh. (ant)

International4 Wednesday, February 25, 2015 Wednesday, February 25, 2015 13InternationalBali News

“From now until 2018, there will be no permission to build (the dam),” said Hun Sen, whose mandate as prime minister ends in 2018. “Now I beg you to stop talking about it.” Gonzalez-Davidson was a co-founder of non-governmental group called Mother Nature, which has vo-cally opposed construction of the hydropower dam in southwestern Cambodia’s Koh Kong province. Cambodia has signed a deal to build the mega-dam with China’s state-owned Sinohydro, but both sides have said more studies were needed before any construction begins.

The project, one of several dams

being built by Chinese companies in Cambodia, sparked strong disap-proval from the political opposition and environmental groups.

In September, Gonzalez-David-son led a protest that briefly blocked a government convoy from driving to the proposed site of the dam, in the Areng Valley of the Cardamom Mountains.

Environmental groups say the dam would destroy the natural habitat across a vast expanse of one of Southeast Asia’s last great wilderness areas, which contains some of Cambodia’s most profuse wildlife, including the world’s largest population of almost extinct Siamese crocodiles.

Gonzalez-Davidson’s visa ex-pired Friday and the government refused to extend or renew it. On Monday, Prime Minister Hun Sen publicly appealed to Gonzalez-Davidson to leave the country and he was deported Monday evening.

“His visa had expired and he re-fused to leave Cambodia as ordered from the ministry, therefore we had no choice but to deport him,” said Gen. Khieu Sopheak, an Interior Ministry spokesman.

Without naming the activist, Hun Sen said Tuesday that foreigners should not give advice to Cambodia on forest conservation or the con-struction of dams.(ap)

LONDON — British police are defending their actions as the search continues for three British teenage girls believed to have traveled to Turkey and to be heading to Syria to support extremists.

The case has generated wide attention. Turkish officials have complained that British officials waited three days before seeking help in the case, losing valu-able time. But the Metropolitan Police said Tuesday they noti-

fied Turkish officials one day after the girls went missing last week.

“Once we established that the girls had traveled to Turkey, police made contact with the foreign liaison officer at the Turkish Embassy in London on Wednesday, 18 February,” police said in a statement.

The families of Shamima Be-gum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, have implored them to return home.(ap)

BERLIN — German police are raiding premises linked to biker gang Satudarah after authorities issued a ban against the group. Satudarah Maluku MC originated in the Netherlands but has chapters in more than half a dozen countries in Europe and Asia.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere early Tuesday banned the group from carrying out any activity in Germany, saying it poses a serious danger to the general public.

The raids began at 6 a.m. (0500 GMT) in five western Ger-man states: North-Rhine Westphalia, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Lower Saxony and Bremen.(ap)

AP Photo/Metropolitan Police

This is a still taken from CCTV issued by the Metropolitan Police in London on Monday Feb. 23, 2015, of 15-year-old Amira Abase, left, Kadiza Sultana,16, centre, and Shamima Begum, 15, going through Gatwick airport, south of London, before they caught their flight to Turkey on Tuesday Feb 17, 2015.

UK police defend actions in missing

girls case

Germany bans Dutch biker gang Satudarah,

raids premises

Cambodia PM says work on mega-dam will not

start until 2018PHNOM PENH — Construction of a massive dam in southwestern Cambodia will not start

until at least 2018, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday, in an apparent effort to stop heavy opposition to the project which has focused criticism on him. Hun Sen’s comments came a day after Spanish activist Alex Gonzalez-Davidson, who had campaigned against the dam, was de-ported for overstaying his visa.

AP Photo/Heng Sinith

A farmer is silhouetted as he drives his water buffalo cart loaded with rice hay after his day’s work at a paddy field in Samroang Kandal village on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia Monday, Jan. 26, 2015.

According to Chief of Kuta Police, Ida Bagus Dedy Januartha, after receiving the report of the case, Chief of the Criminal Inves-tigation Unit, Dewa Tagel Wijarsa, and his staff immediately conducted an investigation. On Sunday around mid-day, police arrested nine sus-pects with an average age of 17 with the initials GA, BP, AS, AKP, OR, MW, GE aka TD, RA and PP. “The

suspects are from East Denpasar and Abiansemal, Badung” he said.

Results of the examination, added Dewa Tagel, revealed that on Saturday (Feb. 21) around 7:00 p.m., the GMBJ members had a dinner party at the home of TD for his birthday. The feast went on until 10:00 p.m. The youth were not satisfied by the feast and continued with arrack party in the area of

Renon, East Denpasar. “There were a total of 14 people, who went to Sanur to buy arrack” added Dewa Tagel.

On Sunday at approximately 1:30 p.m., the group split up. Some of the motorcycle gang members moved on to Jalan Hayam Wuruk, Denpasar to meet up with two other members who had been waiting for them before they all headed

to Kuta.The Circle K mini market on

the corner of Jalan Raya Kuta and Jalan Legian became the target of the young gang, where a few gang members stole a box of chocolates, cigarettes and 8 boxes of chocolate milk from the 24 mini market. To distribute to their friends who waited outside.

At the second Circle K, they committed a similar crime, this time ruffling some merchandise and grabbed chocolates and soft drinks. Once outside, they pushed over a refrigerator at the stall adjacent to the Circle K. At the third Circle K,

the gang took a lighter and three packs of cigarettes. Attendants of the Circle K were angry, but their protest were met with shouting from the offenders” he said.

They then went on to rumaged through another mini market where they stole perfume, and 15 packs of cigarettes. The suspect with the initials MW smashed in a car window with a glass bottle. One of them also squeezed the breast of the mini market attendant. After comit-ting such brutal actions, they ate at Kreneng Market. They were later arrested at their respective home” said Dewa Tagel. (kmb36)

SEMARAPURA - The price of rice at Galiran Market, Klungkung recently started to rise. Surely it began to be complained by residents. Moreover, the average of rice price hike in the market reached IDR 1,500 per kilo-gram. Such price hike is seen to happen to C4 rice variety with less good qual-ity from IDR 9,000 to IDR 11,000 per kilogram. “The increase in the price of rice has been going on since the past one week. It is the first time for me to see such high price hike,” said one of the rice traders, Ketut Suniarti, Monday (Feb. 23).

According to Suniarti, the price hike of rice was very influential on the trader’s results of sales. Since the price of rice went up, her rice sales de-creased. Moreover, the price of rice per sack containing 25 kg was formerly sold for only IDR 230,000. It was unknown why it rose to IDR 250,000 per sack. “Ordinarily we can retail up to 50 kg each day. But today we just could sell 20 kilograms,” she said.

Suniarti herself did not know the cause of the price hike of rice. How-ever, she just hoped the government could stabilize the rice price in the market. If the price of rice was not stable, it was feared to affect the in-crease in the price of other goods. “It is said the government wants to lower

the price of rice, but so far it even re-mains expensive. How can we sell to consumers?” asked Suniarti.

Similar opinion was also revealed by one of the rice wholesalers named Kadek Susilawati. According to her, the rice supply from Java had run thin. As a result, she claimed to have no rice stock obtained from outside Bali. “The supply continues to diminish. Even, today there is no delivery at all. So, our stock has run out,” she said. Susilawati also recognized that she usually got supply from West Java. But at that time the rice supply from West Java was empty. Such condition was alleged to occur as a result of flooding. “Meanwhile, the rice supply of Bali is also minimal. Maximally the traders only get 2 tons and she must scramble with other rice wholesaler,” she said.

Other than the price of rice, the price of chili also rose. As said by Ayu Komang, a chili trader from Besakih, Karangasem, the current price already reached IDR 11,000 per kilogram. Actually the previous price of large chili in the market was only IDR 7,000 per kilogram. The price had increased since Sunday (Feb. 22). She estimated the chili price increased due to the reduction in production as many chili plants died after the recent continuous rain. (119)

BANGLI - The price of Kinta-mani tangerines has decreased since last week. Previously they were be-ing sold in the range of IDR 5,000 to IDR 6,000 per kilogram, now the price has dropped to only IDR 4,000. The drop in price was caused by a decreased demand from Java due to the rainy season.

As expressed by tangerine farm-

er Ketut Sandia from Manikliyu village, Kintamani, on Monday (Feb. 23), the price of Kintamani tangerines was becoming unfriend-ly to farmers with a price of only IDR 4,000 per kilogram. The price suddenly decreased as much as IDR 2,000 from the week before. Sandia added that the current price for Kintamani tangerines does not

allow farmers to cover their costs. Disease is also increasingly affect-ing the tangerine crops.

Sandia suspected that he declin-ing price of Kintamani tangerines at this time is due to the influence of rains that have marked impact on the price of tangerines, as deliver-ies to Java can no longer be made regulalry.

“I believe the declining price occurred because deliveries to Java could not be made. But even, if there were regular deliveries to Java, the demand there is not very high when it rains this much. Maybe because of flooding in java or maybe people just don’t like to eat tengeriens when it is raining” he said. The Kintamani tangerine crops

are therefore mostly purchesed in local markets in the area.

Kintamani tangerines, have however been produced with a much larger market in mind, par-ticularly neighbouring Java, where tons of tangeriens are shipped, when harvests permit. These ship-ments usually cause the price of tangerines to increase. (ina)

Motorcycle gang pillages goods from mini market

MANGUPURA - In Bali, motorcycle gangs continues to commit menacing actions such as those committed by the Bulu Jaum Motorcycle Gang (GMBJ) early Sunday morning (Feb 21). The gang pillaged goods from 3 Circle K mini market outlets and another mini markets located on the corner of Jalan Raya Kuta and Jalan Legian. In addition, they also committed an act of aggression towards a female attendant of one of the mini markets.

Rainy season, price of Kintamani tangerine decreases

Price of rice increases IDR 1,500 per kilogram

IBP/Sos

The rice seller is seen in the picture

Indonesia Today Wednesday, February 25, 2015 5InternationalWednesday, February 25, 201512 International

BUSINESS

BRASILIA - Brazilian states and cities are scrambling to raise taxes and cut spending after years of excesses, nudging an already weak national economy closer to recession.

Growing budget deficits, the biggest in more than a decade, have prompted some states to temporarily suspend payments to suppliers and freeze billions of reais in ser-vices and infrastructure projects, from road maintenance to healthcare facilities.

The measures rippling through rich and poor, big and small states mirror President Dilma Rousseff’s own efforts to regain cred-ibility with investors at the federal level after years of lavish government spending and tax breaks for select industries.

While a return to fiscal rigor in states and cities may help Brazil keep its coveted investment grade credit rating, it could seri-ously hamper investment crucial for Latin America’s largest economy to avoid a painful recession this year.

States and cities posted a primary budget deficit of 7.8 billion reais ($2.7 billion) in 2014, the first since 1998. Twenty-one of Brazil’s 27 states saw payrolls as a percent-age of net revenues rise in the past four years, and 17 are close or beyond a legal limit for their staffing bill.

States’ outstanding net debt grew by 21 percent between 2010 and 2014 to nearly half a trillion reais, driven by a surge in public spending and federal government efforts to relax debt limits to increase investments.

To be sure, states haven’t replicated the reckless spending that triggered fiscal cri-ses in the 1980s and 1990s. That traumatic period led Brazil to pass a landmark Fiscal Responsibility Law in 2000 that placed strict limits on the ability of states and cities to take on new debt without federal govern-ment approval.

While Rousseff’s government has agreed to some requests to ease those limits, ratings agencies say debt levels remain manage-able.

Still, the belt-tightening could not come at a worse time for the economy, which is

already on the brink of recession and could shrink as much as 2 percent this year, accord-ing to recent market forecasts.

“This will certainly have an impact on activity and push the economy further into negative territory,” said Rafael Bistafa, economist with Sao Paulo-based consul-tancy Rosenberg. “But you can’t keep raising states’ debt limits. It is not sustainable.”

Obliged to follow strict spending rules on healthcare, education and other essential ser-vices, states and cities have little option but to cut back on investments, public-finance expert Mansueto Almeida said.

State governors have sought to reassure voters that key projects will remain on schedule.

There have been no cuts to the budget for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the state governor insists the city will be ready to host the event.

But analysts say many initiatives, such as a flagship project to build “pacification” police units in Rio’s slums, will need to be scaled back.

Fiscal discipline that limits services and wages could also fuel the same popular dis-content that led to massive street protests in 2013 and rattled the government.

Earlier this month, the governor of the southern state of Parana backtracked on a series of tax hikes and tougher pension rules after teachers stormed the local assembly in protest.

Doctors and trash collectors in the capital Brasilia went on strike in January because of salary delays, but returned to work after they were paid. Teachers are threatening to prolong their strike if they are not paid late wages.

Spending by states and cities grew as salaries rose above already-high inflation and incumbent governors ramped up outlays ahead of last October’s elections.

Rousseff also encouraged states to bolster investments for last year’s soccer World Cup and to try to jumpstart the stagnant economy. (rtr)

MAKASSAR - Suspended comissioner of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Abraham Samad finally met a sum-mon for questioning at the South and West Sulawesi Regional Police headquarters on Tuesday for an al-leged document falsification case.

Samad showed up at the police precinct, accompanied by his friend named Upi Asmaradana and team of lawyers, at about 12.45 pm lo-cal time.

During the questioning, a staff member of the antigraft body named Indra Mantongbati accom-panied him. “I am accompanying him during the questioning,” Man-tongbati said.

The Indonesian Legal Aid (YLBHI) office has provided him with a team of lawyers, who consist of, among others, Abraham Abdul Aziz, Adnan Buyung Aziz, Abdul Kadir Wakonubun, Dahlan, Mu-hajir, Mursal, Zulkifli Hasanuddin, Budi Wijardjo and Ridwan Bakar.

Abraham Samad’s lawyer, No-ersjahbani Katjasungkana, told journalists in Jakarta a week ago that he would not meet the sum-mons of the South and West Su-lawesi Regional Police command for questioning.

He was named a suspect in the alleged document falsification case by the South and West Sulawesi Regional Police on February 9, 2015.

Spokesman of the South and West Sulawesi Police Senior Com-missioner Endi Sutendi recently said Samad was named a suspect for allegedly falsifying a residence administration document based on a report by Feriyani Lim.

In this case, the police investiga-

tors accuse Samad of helping Feri-yani falsify copies of the Family Card and Identity Card when she was applying for the issuance of a passport in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi Province, in 2007.

In response to the legal case he is facing, Abraham Samad has called on the Indonesian people to pray for him.

“I do believe that I am not guilty. I hope the people kindly pray for me and support me so that this case can soon be resolved,” he said.

The police named Samad a sus-pect amid the antigraft body-police conflict. President Joko Widodo then resolved the conflict between the KPK and police on February 18, 2015 by nominating Commissioner General Badrodin Haiti as the po-lice chief candidate and selecting three acting KPK commissioners.

The figures that Presiden Joko Widodo chose to replace Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto (the KPK commissioner who was named in the Kotawaringin Barat election dispute case) and to fill a vacant commissioner position were Taufiequrrahman Ruki (former KPK chairman), Indriyanto Senoaji (the University of Indonesia’s law expert), and Johan Budi (KPK’s prevention unit head).

The KPK-Police conflict sur-faced after the anti-graft body named Budi Gunawan, the sole candidate for police chief, in a cor-ruption case on January 13, 2015.

KPK investigators accused Budi Gunawan of receiving bribes through suspicious transactions when he headed the Police Head-quarters’ Career Planning Bureau during 2003-2006 and held other posts in police. (ant)

US benchmark West Texas In-termediate (WTI) for April delivery was down 29 cents to $49.16. Brent crude for April fell 17 cents to $58.73 in afternoon trade, reversing gains in the morning.

WTI shed $1.36 in New York and Brent lost $1.32 in London the day before as US crude stockpiles

lingered at historic levels, contrib-uting to a global oversupply.

A closely watched report on US weekly crude stockpiles is next due on Wednesday, with a Bloomberg News survey saying inventories are expected to rise by 3.75 million barrels.

US oil stockpiles are already at

their highest level on record at this time of year.

Globally, crude supplies are also being boosted after oilfields in east-ern Libya resumed pumping to the port of Hariga after a pipeline was repaired, and oil producer Oman plans to ramp up output to 980,000 barrels a day this year, according to

Bloomberg.Crude prices lost about 60 per-

cent of their value to about $40 between June and late January owing to an oversupply in world markets, a weak global economy and a strong dollar.

Prices have risen above multi-year lows following a slowdown in US oil drilling activities, but analysts say volatility is likely to continue for some time.

“It is apparent by now that drill-ing in the US will slow, global production growth is expected to be lower, and demand, at least in the US, is reacting positively to lower prices,” British bank Barclays said in a report.

“In short, the market is forecast to remain oversupplied for most of 2015, but expectations beyond that are for more balanced fundamen-tals.” (afp)

Oil turns lower in Asia, US crude stays below $50

SINGAPORE - Oil turned lower in Asia Tuesday as a feeble rebound failed to take hold, with prices under pressure in an oversupplied market.

As states tighten belts, Brazil edges closer to recession

REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

A man works on a gasoline pump at a petrol station in Diadema February 2, 2015. Brazilian states and cities are scrambling to raise taxes and cut spend-ing after years of excesses, nudging an already weak national economy closer to recession.

President Joko Widodo’s ad-ministration, which took office in October, is planning to double its infrastructure spending this year to build ports, power plants and other projects, and the tax of-fice figure for lost income would cover more than two-thirds of that spending.

As a proportion of gross do-mestic product (GDP), Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, has one of the lowest tax takes in the region, trailing behind Ma-laysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, according to the World Bank.

Sigit Priadi Pramudito, the country’s director-general of taxes, said in an interview late on Monday that many Indone-sian companies, particularly in the coal, palm oil, cocoa and other commodities sectors, were avoiding corporate taxes by using transfer pricing.

He declined to give names, but said some of them were major companies.

Under the transfer pricing method, an Indonesian company sells its goods to a subsidiary in another country below market prices, and the subsidiary in turn sells them to the market.

This effectively reduces profits in Indonesia and increases them in that foreign country.

“There’s a lot of potential in this area. We suspect that all along, they have been using the transfer pricing method,” Pra-mudito said. “This year we will chase them.”

The tax office has the authority to adjust the tax bill of a company if it suspects that a sale to a related entity is under-priced.

In the past, it was difficult to prove companies had under-priced their goods as the tax office lacked comparable data on market prices, Pramudito said.

But now it has collected more comprehensive data and is in-creasing its number of officers, he said, adding that it could take such companies to a tax court and in-deed had won some such cases.

Widodo plans to add 4,000 tax-men per year to its existing 36,000 to help achieve an ambitious tax revenue target of 1,489.3 trillion rupiah this year, up 30 percent from last year’s collection.

During his presidential cam-paign last year, Widodo pledged to increase tax collection to 16 percent of GDP from about 12 percent, and the tax office is keen

to close any loopholes.The tax crackdown on the

resources sector comes at a time when the prices of commodities have fallen to multi-year lows due to slowing global economic growth and ample supplies, setting the stage for a showdown with these companies.

Even so, many of them are still making big profits, Pramudito said.

“The prices of commodities have dropped, but the costs are still cheap. The fact is, their profits are still tremendous, and using that method (transfer pricing) adds to the profits.”

Indonesia’s finance minister has said Southeast Asia’s largest economy will review its tax trea-ties with dozens of countries and may suspend those it concludes are being abused for tax avoid-ance.

When asked whether the tax crackdown will hurt the invest-ment climate in Indonesia, Pra-mudito said the country’s hope to boost investment should not come at the expense of tax com-pliance.

“How can you build an invest-ment climate on the basis of tax avoidance?” (rtr)

TANGGERANG - The Soeka-rno-Hatta International Airport’s customs and excise authority has foiled an attempt to smuggle 2.148 kilograms of crystal meth-amphetamine from Hong Kong, a customs officer said.

The smuggled crystal meth was packed inside a ceramic statue of frog being stored in the airport’s PJT warehouse, Chief of the airport’s customs office Okto Irianto said on Tuesday.

An Indonesian man, only identified with an initial Z, was arrested, he said without reveal-ing when his men succeeded in foiling the attempt to smuggle the

drug worth Rp2.8 billion.“The drug smuggling attempt

can be foiled after the customs and excise officers suspected a ceramic statue of frog being stored in the PJT warehouse. They then checked the ceramic, sent from Hong Kong to someone in West Jakarta, and found the crystal meth inside,” he said.

The evidence has been handed over to the local police for further investigation, Okto Irianto said.

Indonesia has become one of the main targets of drug traf-fickers in Southeast Asia due to its big market. As a result, the country declares a war on the

drug trafficking and executes those found guilty and sentenced to death by court.

Indonesia had recently ex-ecuted six drug convicts as part of its serious efforts to combat drug trafficking in the country.

The six convicts were Na-maona Denis of Malawi, Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira of Bra-zil, Daniel Enemuo, alias Diar-rassouba Mamadou, of Nigeria, Ang Kiem Soei, alias Kim Ho, alias Ance Tahir, of the Neth-erlands, Rani Andriani, alias Melisa Aprilia, of Indonesia, and Tran Thi Bich Hanh of Vietnam. (ant)

ANTARA FOTO/Sahrul Manda Tikupadang

Suspended comissioner of the Corruption Eradication Com-mission (KPK) Abraham Samad finally met a summon for questioning at the South and West Sulawesi Regional Police headquarters on Tuesday for an alleged document falsifica-tion case.

Abraham Samad meets police’s summon

Customs foils meth smuggling attempt

Indonesia to crack down

on corporate tax avoidanceJAKARTA - Indonesia will crack down on corporate tax avoidance via transfer pricing this

year to try and recoup 200 trillion rupiah ($15.6 billion) in lost state income, mainly in the com-modities sector, the new head of the tax office told Reuters.

Wednesday, February 25, 20156 International

W RLD 11International Wednesday, February 25, 2015

The pullback claim by Eduard Basurin, a top commander for reb-els in the Donetsk region, couldn’t immediately be confirmed. Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesman for the observer mission that is monitoring the fighting in eastern Ukraine, said he couldn’t comment until receiv-ing monitors’ reports at the end of the day.

Rebels in the neighboring sepa-ratist Luhansk region also said a pullback was taking place. But Associated Press journalists saw about a dozen howitzers moving from Donetsk city through the town of Khartsyzk, about 10 kilo-meters (six miles) east of the line of conflict. Their final destination was unclear.

The peace plan that was signed

Feb. 15 calls for heavy weapons to be pulled back by each side from the front line by 25 to 70 kilometers (15 to 45 miles), depending on their caliber. The cease-fire has been troubled by violations, leading to concern that it wouldn’t solidify and that fighting would continue.

Russia denies Ukrainian and Western claims that it is supplying the rebels with troops and equip-ment, with the possible aim of a full-scale war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with state television on Monday, said “such an apocalyptic scenario is hardly possible.” A rebel website cited Basurin as saying about 100 122-mm howitzers would be moved on Tuesday.

There was no immediate com-ment from the Ukrainian side, but military officials have said that they won’t pull back weapons until a cease-fire fully takes hold.

On Tuesday, military spokes-man Lt. Col. Anatoliy Stelmakh said rebels had shelled the town of Popasna seven times and launched one barrage on the village of Lu-hanske.

Stelmakh also said rebels tried to storm Ukrainian positions near the southern village of Shyrokyne, which is near the strategic Azov Sea port of Mariupol. Concerns persists that rebels aim to take Mariupol to help establish a land corridor between mainland Russia and the Crimean peninsula that Russia an-nexed last March. (ap)

PARIS — At least five drones flew over the Eiffel Tower, the U.S. Embassy and other Paris landmarks overnight, authorities said Tuesday. It was the most audacious of several mysterious drone overflights around France in recent months. An inves-tigation is underway into who was operating the latest drones buzzing over Paris, and why. Such flights are banned over Paris skies.

The drones flew in three stag-es while the capital was under darkness, said Paris prosecutors’ spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre. First, one was spotted above the U.S. Embassy, then one at the Eiffel Tower, and then later drones were spotted over the Lou-vre Museum in central Paris, the Bastille monument to the French Revolution in eastern Paris, the Montparnasse tower in southern Paris, and the Interior Ministry headquarters, she said.

A Paris police official said at least five drones were involved. Officials with the police, gendarmes and prosecutor’s office said it’s unclear who was behind the flights

and even whether they were all co-ordinated. The U.S. Embassy would not comment on the incident.

A small drone crashed on the White House lawn last month, raising U.S. concern about the phe-nomenon. In France it is a growing worry after dozens of sightings of mystery drones over nuclear plants and military installations — and one over the presidential palace. Investigators have yet to find most of the perpetrators.

French authorities have said the drones currently present no threat, but the government is trying to find ways to counteract the devices. Some fear the drones could be spy-ing on technology or could one day be equipped with weapons.

Drone operator Jean-Luc Fourni-er, who has consulted on French drone legislation, said authorized operators condemn such rogue flights because it casts the whole industry in a bad light. He said such flights raise tension, with Paris already on edge after deadly terror-ist attacks last month by Islamic radicals. (ap)

SATELLITE BEACH — Res-cuers working late into the night freed 19 manatees that were stuck in a storm drain in central Florida. Capt. Jay Dragon of the Satellite Beach Fire Department said early Tuesday that the 19 manatees were all alive and were returned to the Indian River Lagoon System.

A manatee-rescue team from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conserva-

tion Commission, along with police and firefighters, were helping the marine mammals Monday evening. Rescuers brought heavy earth-moving equipment to the Satellite Beach neighborhood, located on a barrier island along the Atlantic Ocean.

Authorities initially said there were as many as 15 manatees stuck in the drain. (ap)

Rescuers in Florida free 19 manatees stuck in drain

Multiple drones spotted over Paris landmarks; police puzzled

AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda

Russia-backed rebels ride on an armored vehicle in the center of Debaltseve, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 23, 2015. After weeks of relentless fighting, the embattled Ukrainian rail hub of Debaltseve fell last week to Russia-backed separatists.

Ukraine rebels claim weapons pullback begins

KHARTSYZK — Howitzers were moving away from the largest rebel-held city in eastern Ukraine, heading further into separatist-controlled territory, and the rebels said they have begun a large-scale pullback of heavy weapons in line with an international peace plan. That plan aims to form a wide buffer zone between separatists’ and Ukrainian forces’ artillery.

AP Photo/Francois Mori, File

FILE - In this Monday Feb. 9, 2015 file photo, a drone Interceptor MP200, top, prepares to catch a drone DJI Phantom 2 with a net during a demonstration flight in La Queue-en-Brie, east of Paris, France.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015 7SportsWednesday, February 25, 201510 InternationalInternationalDestination

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

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

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

Barcelona hospital officials elected to keep Alonso in hospital for further observation on Monday. Alonso’s manager Luis Garcia Abad showed that there was no major cause for concern about Alonso’s condition though when he tweeted a picture of the double world champion giving the thumbs up from his hospital bed.

Fernando Alonso, hospital, F1 testing 2015

McLaren issued a statement on Monday confirming that all test results had been positive and that the Spaniard’s recovery was going well. “In hospital a thorough and complete analysis of his condi-tion was performed, involving CT scans and MRI scans, all of which were completely normal,” said the statement.

“In order to provide the privacy and tranquillity required to facili-tate a peaceful recuperation, he is

being kept in hospital for further observation, and to recover from the effects of the medication that successfully managed his routine sedation yesterday.” McLaren added that a decision on whether or not Alonso would test for the team again at Barcelona this week would be made later.

MECHANICAL FAILURE RULED OUT

The lack of video of Alonso’s crash, and the fact he had to be taken to hospital after a fairly innocuous impact, prompted wild conspiracy theories. But McLaren says that its initial investigation suggests the wind was to blame, and it ruled out talk of Alonso being overcome by battery fumes or even being electrocuted.

“His car ran wide at the entry to Turn 3 - which is a fast uphill right-

hander - allowing it to run onto the Astroturf that lines the outside of the track,” said McLaren. “A consequent loss of traction caused a degree of instability, spitting it back towards the inside of the cir-cuit, where it regained traction and struck the wall side-on.

“Our findings indicate that the accident was caused by the unpre-dictably gusty winds at that part of the circuit at that time, and which had affected other drivers similarly (eg, Carlos Sainz Jr). “We can cat-egorically state that there is no evi-dence that indicates that Fernando’s car suffered mechanical failure of any kind.

“We can also confirm that ab-solutely no loss of aerodynamic pressure was recorded, which fact indicates that the car did not suffer any aerodynamic loss, despite the fact that it was subjected to a sig-nificant level of g-force.”(net)BELGRADE - Novak Djok-

ovic’s flamboyant on-court de-meanour may be occasionally unac-ceptable but it is an integral part of his success, the world number one said. In a pre-recorded appearance on Serbian state television aired on Monday night, the 27-year old from Belgrade also confirmed he would lead Serbia in their March 6-8 Da-vis Cup first-round home clash with traditional rivals Croatia.

“Mangling my racket and an odd swearword on the court is not some-thing I am proud of and it shouldn’t happen,” said Djokovic, who won his fifth Australian Open title in Melbourne last month. “But even my coaches have told me that it’s sometimes better to let it all out, the anger inside you, because keeping it bottled would just eat you up in the long term.

“I want to be my own man. I don’t like duplicity and hence I want to be sincere and speak my mind every time. Sometimes my emotions may seem unacceptable but that’s me.” Djokovic is cur-rently in the United Arab Emirates where he faces Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the first round of the ATP 500 Dubai tennis champion-ships later on Tuesday. The world number one also dwelled on his enviable fitness which has played a crucial part in winning eight grand slam titles.

“I never once contemplated tak-ing banned substances and I could never do such a thing because I

have been brought up in a different manner. “The people around me would never mention or even think that I should consume something which would enable a quicker re-covery after matches.

“I owe a lot to my genes as my grandfather is 78 and is still able to play volleyball, but the crux of it is in various recovery techniques ranging from stretching out to ice-baths.” Adored in his native Serbia as a sports icon, Djokovic ac-knowledged longtime rivals Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were more popular among international fans. “Given their long-term success, Federer and Nadal are still the two most popular players although I am the world number one.

“But I hold nothing against anyone for that, to the contrary. It enables me to grow in a different way devoid of a certain kind of pressure.

“I wouldn’t say that I am not respected enough abroad and al-though I don’t always look back at criticism that comes my way, I am aware that it’s part of the process because it offers a different per-spective.”

Winners in 2010 and finalists in 2013, Serbia will have another shot at the Davis Cup title and Djokovic was delighted that the tie against Croatia was awarded to Kraljevo. “It will help promote tennis in Ser-bia and it’s only the second time I will play a Davis Cup match outside Belgrade.(rtr)

MOSCOW — Former NBA All Star Andrei Kirilenko has signed for CSKA Moscow in his native Russia after being waived by the Philadel-phia 76ers. Kirilenko last played on Nov. 13 for the Brooklyn Nets before being traded to the 76ers, who waived him after last week’s

trade deadline.He says in a statement that at 34,

“the time has come to think about ending my career at the professional level” and that he wants to do that at CSKA. CSKA said his contract runs until the end of this season.

Kirilenko returned to Russia

once before, spending the 2011-12 season with CSKA after leaving the Utah Jazz, although he returned to the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kirilenko played seven games this season for the Nets, averaging 5.1 minutes and 0.4 points.(ap)

REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup on the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne, February 2, 2015, a day after he defeated Andy Murray of Britain in their men’s singles final match at the Australian Open 2015 tennis tournament in Melbourne.

Sometimes I have to let it rip, says Djokovic

Kirilenko returns to Russia after being waived by 76ers

REUTERS/Albert Gea

McLaren Formula One driver Fernando Alonso of Spain drives his car during a testing session at the Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona February 20, 2015.

Alonso recovers in hospital but in doubt

for final F1 testMcLaren will decide later this week if Fernando Alonso will drive in the final Formula 1 pre-

season test, while the Spaniard continues to recover in hospital following his Barcelona crash. The Spaniard was airlifted to hospital on Sunday for observation after he crashed his McLaren in to the wall at Turn 3 shortly before the lunchtime break on the final day of testing.

IBP/File Photo

Atuh Beach

98 InternationalWednesday, February 25, 2015 International Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Sp rt

He scored twice for Fulham at the Emirates in a 3-3 draw in November 2012 and, though he turned 34 in January, the Bulgarian heads back to London as Monaco’s top scorer this season. Monaco head to Arsenal buoyed by their 1-0 derby win at Nice on Friday which sees them fourth in Ligue 1 with just one defeat in their last 17 matches in all competitions.

They also won 1-0 at the Emirates last August when Radamel Falcao, now on loan at Manchester United, scored the only goal in the pre-season Emirates Cup tournament against the hosts. But there will be very little similarity between that warm-up summer run-out and the real busi-ness of the Champions League on Wednesday.

Monaco’s Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco is having treatment on a bruised right thigh while their France defender Layvin Kurzawa is also be-

MILAN — Napoli beat Sassuolo 2-0 at home to move to within three points of second-placed Roma in Se-rie A on Monday. Duvan Zapata and Marek Hamsik linked up for the goals, with both getting on the scoresheet in the second half. Napoli was forced to play the final 18 minutes with 10 men after substitute Dries Mertens was shown a straight red card less than six minutes after coming off the bench.

Napoli consolidated third spot as it went five points clear of fourth-placed Lazio in the race for the final Champi-ons League spot. Rafa Benitez’s side can move level with Roma this week-end when it plays Torino on Sunday, 24 hours before the capital side hosts league leader Juventus.

“We believe in second spot and be-ing just three points off it is good for our motivation, because we are closing in on our objective,” Benitez said. “Be-ing closer to Roma makes it also easier for me to tell the players that we can reach our target. “At the moment the pressure is on Roma. They are ahead of us, they are stronger but they are going through a difficult period. But a lot still depends on them.”

Elsewhere, Mauro Icardi was again on target as Inter Milan recorded a third successive win, with a 2-1 triumph at relegation-threatened Ca-gliari. Sassuolo had a miserable start to the match as it was forced to replace injured defenders Luca Antei and for-mer Napoli captain Paolo Cannavaro in the opening 22 minutes.

Napoli wasted a plethora of chanc-es in the first half while Domenico Berardi also went close and should have put Sassuolo ahead shortly after the interval but fired narrowly wide of the left post. Napoli broke the dead-lock in the 61st minute when Zapata latched onto Hamsik’s through ball. He slipped after his first effort was blocked by one of the four defenders surrounding him, but got back up quickly to fire in the rebound.

The two combined again nine minutes later with Zapata holding up the ball near the six-yard box before

PARMA — Parma President Gi-ampietro Manenti has vowed to do his utmost to stop the Serie A club from going bust with its financial situation growing worse daily. The players have not been paid all sea-son and last Sunday’s league match against Udinese was postponed with the club unable to pay for security and electricity.

A bankruptcy hearing has been set for March 19 but Manenti, who will meet with the city’s mayor on Tuesday to see what can be done to save the club, hopes to resolve matters before that date. “I’m not giving up on Parma,” he said. “Quite the opposite. At the moment I’m working precisely for the future of the club.

“I won’t be taking the books to court. We’re working exactly on the opposite of that. We’re prepar-ing a plan to present to the district attorney.” Parma was recently sold for the second time this season, with Manenti taking over as new owner and president from the Russian-Cypriot conglomerate which had taken control in December.

“We are trying to understand what instruments we can use, timeframes and particular problems of a Serie A club,” Parma Mayor Federico Pizzarotti said. “Seeing as there are no precedents we are trying to analyze what are the possible ways out of this. “We have to follow the situation day by day. The most im-

portant meeting will be tomorrow with Manenti, who we will ask to give us assurances. The ball’s in his court. He has to find the financial solutions or turn to the courts to sort out the club’s future.”

The club is bottom of Serie A and was deducted one point earlier this season for failing to pay players’ wages. With salaries still unpaid, an-other heftier penalty is likely soon.

Gym equipment costing around 500,000 euros ($567,325) was seized from the club center in Col-lecchio on Monday, following on from last week’s repossession of the club’s vehicles.

Confusion continues to reign. Parma said on Friday that the only way the Udinese match could be played was without fans. However, Manenti was adamant the club in-formed authorities it would be pos-sible for the match to go ahead as normal — prompting a denial by city officials later on Monday night.

Parma next visits Genoa, and captain Alessandro Lucarelli said the players will pay for their own transport if the club cannot afford a bus.

“The situation could have been avoided with a bit more care,” he said. “Now the league and the fed-eration are involved but it’s too late. We’re ready to play but we want to feel protected, we want there to be respect for Parma and not just so the championship is kept in order. (ap)

Long seen as inevitable, a 2022 World Cup in November and De-cember is now practically a done deal. A FIFA task force on Tuesday recommended playing the tourna-ment in Qatar at the end of the year in 2022 to avoid the summer heat. Temperatures in the Gulf emirate routinely top 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) when the World Cup traditionally kicks off in June.

A Dec. 23 final in Doha is possible as FIFA aims to shorten the tournament from the current 32-day schedule to ease disrup-

tion for players, clubs and leagues worldwide. The plan should be approved by the FIFA executive committee, chaired by President Sepp Blatter, at a March 19-20 meeting in Zurich.

Blatter, who is an IOC member, has long favored November-Decem-ber to avoid clashing with the Winter Olympics, scheduled for February 2022. FIFA said its task force chose the “most viable period” over other proposals to play in January, April or May, dates favored mostly by European soccer officials.

“Given that the two bidding cities for the 2022 Winter Olympics — Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Beijing (China) — pledged recently to host the winter games from Feb. 4-20, 2022; that the month of Ramadan begins on April 2 in 2022; and that consistently hot conditions prevail from May to September in Qatar, the only remaining effective option is the November-December window,” FIFA said in a statement.

European clubs and leagues op-pose FIFA’s proposal, which shuts them down for several weeks in

midseason. Compensation deals must now be agreed upon with the influential European Club As-sociation and European Profes-sional Football Leagues groups. Still, UEFA — which organizes the lucrative Champions League — finally fell into line with FIFA on Tuesday.

UEFA accepted the apparently inevitable conclusion despite its longstanding preference for a Janu-ary-February tournament, when the Champions League takes a break, some northern European leagues are

in their offseason, and others have a midwinter break.

“UEFA sees no major issues in rescheduling its competitions for the 2022-23 season,” the European soc-cer body said in a statement, adding that a World Cup “may be shortened and thus the release period of players be reduced.”

The FIFA executive committee chose Qatar as host in December 2010, when the gas-rich emirate won a five-nation bidding contest to host the tournament in the traditional June-July slot. (ap)

LISBON - Porto won at city rivals Boavista for the first time in over 10 years on Monday, late goals from top scorer Jackson Martínez and Yacine Brahimi securing a 2-0 victory that kept them in sight of leaders Benfica. The visitors ap-peared to have problems keeping their feet on the heavy synthetic

Bessa surface and it was the intro-duction of

Algerian international Brahimi just after the hour that livened up their attack. Porto made the breakthrough on 79 minutes when Christian Tello found some space on the left and centred for Jackson to nip in ahead of Carlos Santos to

score, with the defender also ap-pearing to get a final, critical touch as the ball squirmed past home goalkeeper Mika.

Brahimi sealed the points with a superb run and shot in the 88th minute. Porto are four points behind leaders Benfica who won 3-1 at Moreirense on Friday. (ap)

Porto win at city rivals Boavista to stay in touch at top

Napoli beats Sassuolo 2-0 to close in on 2nd-placed Roma

AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta

Napoli’s Mareck Hamsik, right, celebrates with teammate Duvan Zapata, left, after scoring second goal during a Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Sassuolo, at the San Paolo stadium in Naples, Italy, Monday, Feb. 23, 2015.

touching it back to Hamsik, who curled into the top far corner. Mertens was sent off moments later after going into the back of Simone Missiroli. It was a miserable week for the Belgium winger, who missed a penalty against Trabzonspor — although Napoli went on to win 4-0.

Sassuolo almost got back into the match but Mariano Andujar pulled off a fantastic fingertip save at full stretch to prevent Francesco Magnanelli’s ef-fort from flying into the top corner.

In Sardinia, Lukas Podolski missed a couple of golden opportunities in the first half but had a hand in the opener, two minutes after the break. His cross found Icardi in the penalty area and although the Argentine was closed down, the ball came through to Mateo Kovacic who drove it under the crossbar.

Cagliari stepped up a gear and had several opportunities to equalize before Icardi doubled Inter’s lead in the 68th minute, bamboozling his way past Cagliari defender Marco Capuano and firing into the top far corner. It was Icardi’s 14th goal, making him joint top goalscorer with Carlos Tevez.

On-loan Inter forward Samuele Longo got Cagliari back into the game in the 74th with a fierce strike which hit the right post and went in off Juan Pablo Carrizo’s back, going down as an own goal from the Inter goalkeeper.

Inter threw away a 2-0 lead in a 3-3 draw against Celtic in the Europa League last week and almost did so again but was helped by Cagliari’s wayward finishing. Hernanes hit the crossbar for Inter with the last kick of the game. (ap)

AP Photo/Elisabetta Baracchi, Ansa

Parma soccer club President Ermir Kodra poses poses prior to a Serie A soccer match between PArma and Cesena, at the Parma Tardini stadium Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015.

Parma President vows to stop Serie A club from going bust

REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

Monaco’s Dimitar Berbatov challenges Lyon’s Mouhamadou Dabo (14) and Corentin Tolisso

(24) during their Ligue1 soccer match at Louis II stadium in Monaco February 1, 2015.

FIFA recommends November-December for World Cup in Qatar

Monaco’s Berbatov seeks goals on London return

LONDON - Dimitar Ber-batov will be hoping for a goalscoring return against his former arch-enemies Arsenal when AS Monaco come to the red half of north London for their Champions League Round of 16 first leg match on Wednesday. The Bulgar-ian is still remembered with affection for the 46 goals he scored for Arsenal’s local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a two-year spell at White Hart Lane before a 30 million pounds ($46.05 million) move to Manchester United in Sep-tember 2008.

ing treated for bruised quadriceps.Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim

told Britain’s Sunday Sun newspaper: “Everyone considered us a gift, a lucky draw, so the luck fell to Arsenal.

“It’s normal that everyone thinks Arsenal will qualify. I too think Ar-senal are favourites but in football sometimes money and the favourites don’t win.”

SUPER TOUGHArsenal’s French manager Arsene

Wenger, who coached Monaco be-tween 1987 and 1994, has warned his players not to underestimate the visi-tors as his current team, in the last 16 for the 15th consecutive year, attempt to end a run of four successive exits at this stage. “The last 16 in recent years has been super tough,” Wenger said.

“This is a 50-50 game. We know that Monaco are very tight defensively -- they didn’t concede in the group stage against good teams.

“They came back into a good posi-tion in the league and their confidence level will be high” he told the club’s website (www.arsenal.com). Like Monaco, Arsenal are also on a good run of form with eight wins in their

last nine games despite injuries to Aar-on Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Debuchy.

They also have history on their side, having lost just twice to French teams in 20 competitive matches. Monaco have played English sides 10 times, winning five and losing two, but this is their first competitive game against Arsenal. (rtr)

98 InternationalWednesday, February 25, 2015 International Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Sp rt

He scored twice for Fulham at the Emirates in a 3-3 draw in November 2012 and, though he turned 34 in January, the Bulgarian heads back to London as Monaco’s top scorer this season. Monaco head to Arsenal buoyed by their 1-0 derby win at Nice on Friday which sees them fourth in Ligue 1 with just one defeat in their last 17 matches in all competitions.

They also won 1-0 at the Emirates last August when Radamel Falcao, now on loan at Manchester United, scored the only goal in the pre-season Emirates Cup tournament against the hosts. But there will be very little similarity between that warm-up summer run-out and the real busi-ness of the Champions League on Wednesday.

Monaco’s Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco is having treatment on a bruised right thigh while their France defender Layvin Kurzawa is also be-

MILAN — Napoli beat Sassuolo 2-0 at home to move to within three points of second-placed Roma in Se-rie A on Monday. Duvan Zapata and Marek Hamsik linked up for the goals, with both getting on the scoresheet in the second half. Napoli was forced to play the final 18 minutes with 10 men after substitute Dries Mertens was shown a straight red card less than six minutes after coming off the bench.

Napoli consolidated third spot as it went five points clear of fourth-placed Lazio in the race for the final Champi-ons League spot. Rafa Benitez’s side can move level with Roma this week-end when it plays Torino on Sunday, 24 hours before the capital side hosts league leader Juventus.

“We believe in second spot and be-ing just three points off it is good for our motivation, because we are closing in on our objective,” Benitez said. “Be-ing closer to Roma makes it also easier for me to tell the players that we can reach our target. “At the moment the pressure is on Roma. They are ahead of us, they are stronger but they are going through a difficult period. But a lot still depends on them.”

Elsewhere, Mauro Icardi was again on target as Inter Milan recorded a third successive win, with a 2-1 triumph at relegation-threatened Ca-gliari. Sassuolo had a miserable start to the match as it was forced to replace injured defenders Luca Antei and for-mer Napoli captain Paolo Cannavaro in the opening 22 minutes.

Napoli wasted a plethora of chanc-es in the first half while Domenico Berardi also went close and should have put Sassuolo ahead shortly after the interval but fired narrowly wide of the left post. Napoli broke the dead-lock in the 61st minute when Zapata latched onto Hamsik’s through ball. He slipped after his first effort was blocked by one of the four defenders surrounding him, but got back up quickly to fire in the rebound.

The two combined again nine minutes later with Zapata holding up the ball near the six-yard box before

PARMA — Parma President Gi-ampietro Manenti has vowed to do his utmost to stop the Serie A club from going bust with its financial situation growing worse daily. The players have not been paid all sea-son and last Sunday’s league match against Udinese was postponed with the club unable to pay for security and electricity.

A bankruptcy hearing has been set for March 19 but Manenti, who will meet with the city’s mayor on Tuesday to see what can be done to save the club, hopes to resolve matters before that date. “I’m not giving up on Parma,” he said. “Quite the opposite. At the moment I’m working precisely for the future of the club.

“I won’t be taking the books to court. We’re working exactly on the opposite of that. We’re prepar-ing a plan to present to the district attorney.” Parma was recently sold for the second time this season, with Manenti taking over as new owner and president from the Russian-Cypriot conglomerate which had taken control in December.

“We are trying to understand what instruments we can use, timeframes and particular problems of a Serie A club,” Parma Mayor Federico Pizzarotti said. “Seeing as there are no precedents we are trying to analyze what are the possible ways out of this. “We have to follow the situation day by day. The most im-

portant meeting will be tomorrow with Manenti, who we will ask to give us assurances. The ball’s in his court. He has to find the financial solutions or turn to the courts to sort out the club’s future.”

The club is bottom of Serie A and was deducted one point earlier this season for failing to pay players’ wages. With salaries still unpaid, an-other heftier penalty is likely soon.

Gym equipment costing around 500,000 euros ($567,325) was seized from the club center in Col-lecchio on Monday, following on from last week’s repossession of the club’s vehicles.

Confusion continues to reign. Parma said on Friday that the only way the Udinese match could be played was without fans. However, Manenti was adamant the club in-formed authorities it would be pos-sible for the match to go ahead as normal — prompting a denial by city officials later on Monday night.

Parma next visits Genoa, and captain Alessandro Lucarelli said the players will pay for their own transport if the club cannot afford a bus.

“The situation could have been avoided with a bit more care,” he said. “Now the league and the fed-eration are involved but it’s too late. We’re ready to play but we want to feel protected, we want there to be respect for Parma and not just so the championship is kept in order. (ap)

Long seen as inevitable, a 2022 World Cup in November and De-cember is now practically a done deal. A FIFA task force on Tuesday recommended playing the tourna-ment in Qatar at the end of the year in 2022 to avoid the summer heat. Temperatures in the Gulf emirate routinely top 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) when the World Cup traditionally kicks off in June.

A Dec. 23 final in Doha is possible as FIFA aims to shorten the tournament from the current 32-day schedule to ease disrup-

tion for players, clubs and leagues worldwide. The plan should be approved by the FIFA executive committee, chaired by President Sepp Blatter, at a March 19-20 meeting in Zurich.

Blatter, who is an IOC member, has long favored November-Decem-ber to avoid clashing with the Winter Olympics, scheduled for February 2022. FIFA said its task force chose the “most viable period” over other proposals to play in January, April or May, dates favored mostly by European soccer officials.

“Given that the two bidding cities for the 2022 Winter Olympics — Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Beijing (China) — pledged recently to host the winter games from Feb. 4-20, 2022; that the month of Ramadan begins on April 2 in 2022; and that consistently hot conditions prevail from May to September in Qatar, the only remaining effective option is the November-December window,” FIFA said in a statement.

European clubs and leagues op-pose FIFA’s proposal, which shuts them down for several weeks in

midseason. Compensation deals must now be agreed upon with the influential European Club As-sociation and European Profes-sional Football Leagues groups. Still, UEFA — which organizes the lucrative Champions League — finally fell into line with FIFA on Tuesday.

UEFA accepted the apparently inevitable conclusion despite its longstanding preference for a Janu-ary-February tournament, when the Champions League takes a break, some northern European leagues are

in their offseason, and others have a midwinter break.

“UEFA sees no major issues in rescheduling its competitions for the 2022-23 season,” the European soc-cer body said in a statement, adding that a World Cup “may be shortened and thus the release period of players be reduced.”

The FIFA executive committee chose Qatar as host in December 2010, when the gas-rich emirate won a five-nation bidding contest to host the tournament in the traditional June-July slot. (ap)

LISBON - Porto won at city rivals Boavista for the first time in over 10 years on Monday, late goals from top scorer Jackson Martínez and Yacine Brahimi securing a 2-0 victory that kept them in sight of leaders Benfica. The visitors ap-peared to have problems keeping their feet on the heavy synthetic

Bessa surface and it was the intro-duction of

Algerian international Brahimi just after the hour that livened up their attack. Porto made the breakthrough on 79 minutes when Christian Tello found some space on the left and centred for Jackson to nip in ahead of Carlos Santos to

score, with the defender also ap-pearing to get a final, critical touch as the ball squirmed past home goalkeeper Mika.

Brahimi sealed the points with a superb run and shot in the 88th minute. Porto are four points behind leaders Benfica who won 3-1 at Moreirense on Friday. (ap)

Porto win at city rivals Boavista to stay in touch at top

Napoli beats Sassuolo 2-0 to close in on 2nd-placed Roma

AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta

Napoli’s Mareck Hamsik, right, celebrates with teammate Duvan Zapata, left, after scoring second goal during a Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Sassuolo, at the San Paolo stadium in Naples, Italy, Monday, Feb. 23, 2015.

touching it back to Hamsik, who curled into the top far corner. Mertens was sent off moments later after going into the back of Simone Missiroli. It was a miserable week for the Belgium winger, who missed a penalty against Trabzonspor — although Napoli went on to win 4-0.

Sassuolo almost got back into the match but Mariano Andujar pulled off a fantastic fingertip save at full stretch to prevent Francesco Magnanelli’s ef-fort from flying into the top corner.

In Sardinia, Lukas Podolski missed a couple of golden opportunities in the first half but had a hand in the opener, two minutes after the break. His cross found Icardi in the penalty area and although the Argentine was closed down, the ball came through to Mateo Kovacic who drove it under the crossbar.

Cagliari stepped up a gear and had several opportunities to equalize before Icardi doubled Inter’s lead in the 68th minute, bamboozling his way past Cagliari defender Marco Capuano and firing into the top far corner. It was Icardi’s 14th goal, making him joint top goalscorer with Carlos Tevez.

On-loan Inter forward Samuele Longo got Cagliari back into the game in the 74th with a fierce strike which hit the right post and went in off Juan Pablo Carrizo’s back, going down as an own goal from the Inter goalkeeper.

Inter threw away a 2-0 lead in a 3-3 draw against Celtic in the Europa League last week and almost did so again but was helped by Cagliari’s wayward finishing. Hernanes hit the crossbar for Inter with the last kick of the game. (ap)

AP Photo/Elisabetta Baracchi, Ansa

Parma soccer club President Ermir Kodra poses poses prior to a Serie A soccer match between PArma and Cesena, at the Parma Tardini stadium Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015.

Parma President vows to stop Serie A club from going bust

REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

Monaco’s Dimitar Berbatov challenges Lyon’s Mouhamadou Dabo (14) and Corentin Tolisso

(24) during their Ligue1 soccer match at Louis II stadium in Monaco February 1, 2015.

FIFA recommends November-December for World Cup in Qatar

Monaco’s Berbatov seeks goals on London return

LONDON - Dimitar Ber-batov will be hoping for a goalscoring return against his former arch-enemies Arsenal when AS Monaco come to the red half of north London for their Champions League Round of 16 first leg match on Wednesday. The Bulgar-ian is still remembered with affection for the 46 goals he scored for Arsenal’s local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a two-year spell at White Hart Lane before a 30 million pounds ($46.05 million) move to Manchester United in Sep-tember 2008.

ing treated for bruised quadriceps.Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim

told Britain’s Sunday Sun newspaper: “Everyone considered us a gift, a lucky draw, so the luck fell to Arsenal.

“It’s normal that everyone thinks Arsenal will qualify. I too think Ar-senal are favourites but in football sometimes money and the favourites don’t win.”

SUPER TOUGHArsenal’s French manager Arsene

Wenger, who coached Monaco be-tween 1987 and 1994, has warned his players not to underestimate the visi-tors as his current team, in the last 16 for the 15th consecutive year, attempt to end a run of four successive exits at this stage. “The last 16 in recent years has been super tough,” Wenger said.

“This is a 50-50 game. We know that Monaco are very tight defensively -- they didn’t concede in the group stage against good teams.

“They came back into a good posi-tion in the league and their confidence level will be high” he told the club’s website (www.arsenal.com). Like Monaco, Arsenal are also on a good run of form with eight wins in their

last nine games despite injuries to Aar-on Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Debuchy.

They also have history on their side, having lost just twice to French teams in 20 competitive matches. Monaco have played English sides 10 times, winning five and losing two, but this is their first competitive game against Arsenal. (rtr)

Wednesday, February 25, 2015 7SportsWednesday, February 25, 201510 InternationalInternationalDestination

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

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

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

Barcelona hospital officials elected to keep Alonso in hospital for further observation on Monday. Alonso’s manager Luis Garcia Abad showed that there was no major cause for concern about Alonso’s condition though when he tweeted a picture of the double world champion giving the thumbs up from his hospital bed.

Fernando Alonso, hospital, F1 testing 2015

McLaren issued a statement on Monday confirming that all test results had been positive and that the Spaniard’s recovery was going well. “In hospital a thorough and complete analysis of his condi-tion was performed, involving CT scans and MRI scans, all of which were completely normal,” said the statement.

“In order to provide the privacy and tranquillity required to facili-tate a peaceful recuperation, he is

being kept in hospital for further observation, and to recover from the effects of the medication that successfully managed his routine sedation yesterday.” McLaren added that a decision on whether or not Alonso would test for the team again at Barcelona this week would be made later.

MECHANICAL FAILURE RULED OUT

The lack of video of Alonso’s crash, and the fact he had to be taken to hospital after a fairly innocuous impact, prompted wild conspiracy theories. But McLaren says that its initial investigation suggests the wind was to blame, and it ruled out talk of Alonso being overcome by battery fumes or even being electrocuted.

“His car ran wide at the entry to Turn 3 - which is a fast uphill right-

hander - allowing it to run onto the Astroturf that lines the outside of the track,” said McLaren. “A consequent loss of traction caused a degree of instability, spitting it back towards the inside of the cir-cuit, where it regained traction and struck the wall side-on.

“Our findings indicate that the accident was caused by the unpre-dictably gusty winds at that part of the circuit at that time, and which had affected other drivers similarly (eg, Carlos Sainz Jr). “We can cat-egorically state that there is no evi-dence that indicates that Fernando’s car suffered mechanical failure of any kind.

“We can also confirm that ab-solutely no loss of aerodynamic pressure was recorded, which fact indicates that the car did not suffer any aerodynamic loss, despite the fact that it was subjected to a sig-nificant level of g-force.”(net)BELGRADE - Novak Djok-

ovic’s flamboyant on-court de-meanour may be occasionally unac-ceptable but it is an integral part of his success, the world number one said. In a pre-recorded appearance on Serbian state television aired on Monday night, the 27-year old from Belgrade also confirmed he would lead Serbia in their March 6-8 Da-vis Cup first-round home clash with traditional rivals Croatia.

“Mangling my racket and an odd swearword on the court is not some-thing I am proud of and it shouldn’t happen,” said Djokovic, who won his fifth Australian Open title in Melbourne last month. “But even my coaches have told me that it’s sometimes better to let it all out, the anger inside you, because keeping it bottled would just eat you up in the long term.

“I want to be my own man. I don’t like duplicity and hence I want to be sincere and speak my mind every time. Sometimes my emotions may seem unacceptable but that’s me.” Djokovic is cur-rently in the United Arab Emirates where he faces Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the first round of the ATP 500 Dubai tennis champion-ships later on Tuesday. The world number one also dwelled on his enviable fitness which has played a crucial part in winning eight grand slam titles.

“I never once contemplated tak-ing banned substances and I could never do such a thing because I

have been brought up in a different manner. “The people around me would never mention or even think that I should consume something which would enable a quicker re-covery after matches.

“I owe a lot to my genes as my grandfather is 78 and is still able to play volleyball, but the crux of it is in various recovery techniques ranging from stretching out to ice-baths.” Adored in his native Serbia as a sports icon, Djokovic ac-knowledged longtime rivals Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were more popular among international fans. “Given their long-term success, Federer and Nadal are still the two most popular players although I am the world number one.

“But I hold nothing against anyone for that, to the contrary. It enables me to grow in a different way devoid of a certain kind of pressure.

“I wouldn’t say that I am not respected enough abroad and al-though I don’t always look back at criticism that comes my way, I am aware that it’s part of the process because it offers a different per-spective.”

Winners in 2010 and finalists in 2013, Serbia will have another shot at the Davis Cup title and Djokovic was delighted that the tie against Croatia was awarded to Kraljevo. “It will help promote tennis in Ser-bia and it’s only the second time I will play a Davis Cup match outside Belgrade.(rtr)

MOSCOW — Former NBA All Star Andrei Kirilenko has signed for CSKA Moscow in his native Russia after being waived by the Philadel-phia 76ers. Kirilenko last played on Nov. 13 for the Brooklyn Nets before being traded to the 76ers, who waived him after last week’s

trade deadline.He says in a statement that at 34,

“the time has come to think about ending my career at the professional level” and that he wants to do that at CSKA. CSKA said his contract runs until the end of this season.

Kirilenko returned to Russia

once before, spending the 2011-12 season with CSKA after leaving the Utah Jazz, although he returned to the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kirilenko played seven games this season for the Nets, averaging 5.1 minutes and 0.4 points.(ap)

REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup on the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne, February 2, 2015, a day after he defeated Andy Murray of Britain in their men’s singles final match at the Australian Open 2015 tennis tournament in Melbourne.

Sometimes I have to let it rip, says Djokovic

Kirilenko returns to Russia after being waived by 76ers

REUTERS/Albert Gea

McLaren Formula One driver Fernando Alonso of Spain drives his car during a testing session at the Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona February 20, 2015.

Alonso recovers in hospital but in doubt

for final F1 testMcLaren will decide later this week if Fernando Alonso will drive in the final Formula 1 pre-

season test, while the Spaniard continues to recover in hospital following his Barcelona crash. The Spaniard was airlifted to hospital on Sunday for observation after he crashed his McLaren in to the wall at Turn 3 shortly before the lunchtime break on the final day of testing.

IBP/File Photo

Atuh Beach

Wednesday, February 25, 20156 International

W RLD 11International Wednesday, February 25, 2015

The pullback claim by Eduard Basurin, a top commander for reb-els in the Donetsk region, couldn’t immediately be confirmed. Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesman for the observer mission that is monitoring the fighting in eastern Ukraine, said he couldn’t comment until receiv-ing monitors’ reports at the end of the day.

Rebels in the neighboring sepa-ratist Luhansk region also said a pullback was taking place. But Associated Press journalists saw about a dozen howitzers moving from Donetsk city through the town of Khartsyzk, about 10 kilo-meters (six miles) east of the line of conflict. Their final destination was unclear.

The peace plan that was signed

Feb. 15 calls for heavy weapons to be pulled back by each side from the front line by 25 to 70 kilometers (15 to 45 miles), depending on their caliber. The cease-fire has been troubled by violations, leading to concern that it wouldn’t solidify and that fighting would continue.

Russia denies Ukrainian and Western claims that it is supplying the rebels with troops and equip-ment, with the possible aim of a full-scale war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with state television on Monday, said “such an apocalyptic scenario is hardly possible.” A rebel website cited Basurin as saying about 100 122-mm howitzers would be moved on Tuesday.

There was no immediate com-ment from the Ukrainian side, but military officials have said that they won’t pull back weapons until a cease-fire fully takes hold.

On Tuesday, military spokes-man Lt. Col. Anatoliy Stelmakh said rebels had shelled the town of Popasna seven times and launched one barrage on the village of Lu-hanske.

Stelmakh also said rebels tried to storm Ukrainian positions near the southern village of Shyrokyne, which is near the strategic Azov Sea port of Mariupol. Concerns persists that rebels aim to take Mariupol to help establish a land corridor between mainland Russia and the Crimean peninsula that Russia an-nexed last March. (ap)

PARIS — At least five drones flew over the Eiffel Tower, the U.S. Embassy and other Paris landmarks overnight, authorities said Tuesday. It was the most audacious of several mysterious drone overflights around France in recent months. An inves-tigation is underway into who was operating the latest drones buzzing over Paris, and why. Such flights are banned over Paris skies.

The drones flew in three stag-es while the capital was under darkness, said Paris prosecutors’ spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre. First, one was spotted above the U.S. Embassy, then one at the Eiffel Tower, and then later drones were spotted over the Lou-vre Museum in central Paris, the Bastille monument to the French Revolution in eastern Paris, the Montparnasse tower in southern Paris, and the Interior Ministry headquarters, she said.

A Paris police official said at least five drones were involved. Officials with the police, gendarmes and prosecutor’s office said it’s unclear who was behind the flights

and even whether they were all co-ordinated. The U.S. Embassy would not comment on the incident.

A small drone crashed on the White House lawn last month, raising U.S. concern about the phe-nomenon. In France it is a growing worry after dozens of sightings of mystery drones over nuclear plants and military installations — and one over the presidential palace. Investigators have yet to find most of the perpetrators.

French authorities have said the drones currently present no threat, but the government is trying to find ways to counteract the devices. Some fear the drones could be spy-ing on technology or could one day be equipped with weapons.

Drone operator Jean-Luc Fourni-er, who has consulted on French drone legislation, said authorized operators condemn such rogue flights because it casts the whole industry in a bad light. He said such flights raise tension, with Paris already on edge after deadly terror-ist attacks last month by Islamic radicals. (ap)

SATELLITE BEACH — Res-cuers working late into the night freed 19 manatees that were stuck in a storm drain in central Florida. Capt. Jay Dragon of the Satellite Beach Fire Department said early Tuesday that the 19 manatees were all alive and were returned to the Indian River Lagoon System.

A manatee-rescue team from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conserva-

tion Commission, along with police and firefighters, were helping the marine mammals Monday evening. Rescuers brought heavy earth-moving equipment to the Satellite Beach neighborhood, located on a barrier island along the Atlantic Ocean.

Authorities initially said there were as many as 15 manatees stuck in the drain. (ap)

Rescuers in Florida free 19 manatees stuck in drain

Multiple drones spotted over Paris landmarks; police puzzled

AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda

Russia-backed rebels ride on an armored vehicle in the center of Debaltseve, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 23, 2015. After weeks of relentless fighting, the embattled Ukrainian rail hub of Debaltseve fell last week to Russia-backed separatists.

Ukraine rebels claim weapons pullback begins

KHARTSYZK — Howitzers were moving away from the largest rebel-held city in eastern Ukraine, heading further into separatist-controlled territory, and the rebels said they have begun a large-scale pullback of heavy weapons in line with an international peace plan. That plan aims to form a wide buffer zone between separatists’ and Ukrainian forces’ artillery.

AP Photo/Francois Mori, File

FILE - In this Monday Feb. 9, 2015 file photo, a drone Interceptor MP200, top, prepares to catch a drone DJI Phantom 2 with a net during a demonstration flight in La Queue-en-Brie, east of Paris, France.

Indonesia Today Wednesday, February 25, 2015 5InternationalWednesday, February 25, 201512 International

BUSINESS

BRASILIA - Brazilian states and cities are scrambling to raise taxes and cut spending after years of excesses, nudging an already weak national economy closer to recession.

Growing budget deficits, the biggest in more than a decade, have prompted some states to temporarily suspend payments to suppliers and freeze billions of reais in ser-vices and infrastructure projects, from road maintenance to healthcare facilities.

The measures rippling through rich and poor, big and small states mirror President Dilma Rousseff’s own efforts to regain cred-ibility with investors at the federal level after years of lavish government spending and tax breaks for select industries.

While a return to fiscal rigor in states and cities may help Brazil keep its coveted investment grade credit rating, it could seri-ously hamper investment crucial for Latin America’s largest economy to avoid a painful recession this year.

States and cities posted a primary budget deficit of 7.8 billion reais ($2.7 billion) in 2014, the first since 1998. Twenty-one of Brazil’s 27 states saw payrolls as a percent-age of net revenues rise in the past four years, and 17 are close or beyond a legal limit for their staffing bill.

States’ outstanding net debt grew by 21 percent between 2010 and 2014 to nearly half a trillion reais, driven by a surge in public spending and federal government efforts to relax debt limits to increase investments.

To be sure, states haven’t replicated the reckless spending that triggered fiscal cri-ses in the 1980s and 1990s. That traumatic period led Brazil to pass a landmark Fiscal Responsibility Law in 2000 that placed strict limits on the ability of states and cities to take on new debt without federal govern-ment approval.

While Rousseff’s government has agreed to some requests to ease those limits, ratings agencies say debt levels remain manage-able.

Still, the belt-tightening could not come at a worse time for the economy, which is

already on the brink of recession and could shrink as much as 2 percent this year, accord-ing to recent market forecasts.

“This will certainly have an impact on activity and push the economy further into negative territory,” said Rafael Bistafa, economist with Sao Paulo-based consul-tancy Rosenberg. “But you can’t keep raising states’ debt limits. It is not sustainable.”

Obliged to follow strict spending rules on healthcare, education and other essential ser-vices, states and cities have little option but to cut back on investments, public-finance expert Mansueto Almeida said.

State governors have sought to reassure voters that key projects will remain on schedule.

There have been no cuts to the budget for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the state governor insists the city will be ready to host the event.

But analysts say many initiatives, such as a flagship project to build “pacification” police units in Rio’s slums, will need to be scaled back.

Fiscal discipline that limits services and wages could also fuel the same popular dis-content that led to massive street protests in 2013 and rattled the government.

Earlier this month, the governor of the southern state of Parana backtracked on a series of tax hikes and tougher pension rules after teachers stormed the local assembly in protest.

Doctors and trash collectors in the capital Brasilia went on strike in January because of salary delays, but returned to work after they were paid. Teachers are threatening to prolong their strike if they are not paid late wages.

Spending by states and cities grew as salaries rose above already-high inflation and incumbent governors ramped up outlays ahead of last October’s elections.

Rousseff also encouraged states to bolster investments for last year’s soccer World Cup and to try to jumpstart the stagnant economy. (rtr)

MAKASSAR - Suspended comissioner of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Abraham Samad finally met a sum-mon for questioning at the South and West Sulawesi Regional Police headquarters on Tuesday for an al-leged document falsification case.

Samad showed up at the police precinct, accompanied by his friend named Upi Asmaradana and team of lawyers, at about 12.45 pm lo-cal time.

During the questioning, a staff member of the antigraft body named Indra Mantongbati accom-panied him. “I am accompanying him during the questioning,” Man-tongbati said.

The Indonesian Legal Aid (YLBHI) office has provided him with a team of lawyers, who consist of, among others, Abraham Abdul Aziz, Adnan Buyung Aziz, Abdul Kadir Wakonubun, Dahlan, Mu-hajir, Mursal, Zulkifli Hasanuddin, Budi Wijardjo and Ridwan Bakar.

Abraham Samad’s lawyer, No-ersjahbani Katjasungkana, told journalists in Jakarta a week ago that he would not meet the sum-mons of the South and West Su-lawesi Regional Police command for questioning.

He was named a suspect in the alleged document falsification case by the South and West Sulawesi Regional Police on February 9, 2015.

Spokesman of the South and West Sulawesi Police Senior Com-missioner Endi Sutendi recently said Samad was named a suspect for allegedly falsifying a residence administration document based on a report by Feriyani Lim.

In this case, the police investiga-

tors accuse Samad of helping Feri-yani falsify copies of the Family Card and Identity Card when she was applying for the issuance of a passport in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi Province, in 2007.

In response to the legal case he is facing, Abraham Samad has called on the Indonesian people to pray for him.

“I do believe that I am not guilty. I hope the people kindly pray for me and support me so that this case can soon be resolved,” he said.

The police named Samad a sus-pect amid the antigraft body-police conflict. President Joko Widodo then resolved the conflict between the KPK and police on February 18, 2015 by nominating Commissioner General Badrodin Haiti as the po-lice chief candidate and selecting three acting KPK commissioners.

The figures that Presiden Joko Widodo chose to replace Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto (the KPK commissioner who was named in the Kotawaringin Barat election dispute case) and to fill a vacant commissioner position were Taufiequrrahman Ruki (former KPK chairman), Indriyanto Senoaji (the University of Indonesia’s law expert), and Johan Budi (KPK’s prevention unit head).

The KPK-Police conflict sur-faced after the anti-graft body named Budi Gunawan, the sole candidate for police chief, in a cor-ruption case on January 13, 2015.

KPK investigators accused Budi Gunawan of receiving bribes through suspicious transactions when he headed the Police Head-quarters’ Career Planning Bureau during 2003-2006 and held other posts in police. (ant)

US benchmark West Texas In-termediate (WTI) for April delivery was down 29 cents to $49.16. Brent crude for April fell 17 cents to $58.73 in afternoon trade, reversing gains in the morning.

WTI shed $1.36 in New York and Brent lost $1.32 in London the day before as US crude stockpiles

lingered at historic levels, contrib-uting to a global oversupply.

A closely watched report on US weekly crude stockpiles is next due on Wednesday, with a Bloomberg News survey saying inventories are expected to rise by 3.75 million barrels.

US oil stockpiles are already at

their highest level on record at this time of year.

Globally, crude supplies are also being boosted after oilfields in east-ern Libya resumed pumping to the port of Hariga after a pipeline was repaired, and oil producer Oman plans to ramp up output to 980,000 barrels a day this year, according to

Bloomberg.Crude prices lost about 60 per-

cent of their value to about $40 between June and late January owing to an oversupply in world markets, a weak global economy and a strong dollar.

Prices have risen above multi-year lows following a slowdown in US oil drilling activities, but analysts say volatility is likely to continue for some time.

“It is apparent by now that drill-ing in the US will slow, global production growth is expected to be lower, and demand, at least in the US, is reacting positively to lower prices,” British bank Barclays said in a report.

“In short, the market is forecast to remain oversupplied for most of 2015, but expectations beyond that are for more balanced fundamen-tals.” (afp)

Oil turns lower in Asia, US crude stays below $50

SINGAPORE - Oil turned lower in Asia Tuesday as a feeble rebound failed to take hold, with prices under pressure in an oversupplied market.

As states tighten belts, Brazil edges closer to recession

REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

A man works on a gasoline pump at a petrol station in Diadema February 2, 2015. Brazilian states and cities are scrambling to raise taxes and cut spend-ing after years of excesses, nudging an already weak national economy closer to recession.

President Joko Widodo’s ad-ministration, which took office in October, is planning to double its infrastructure spending this year to build ports, power plants and other projects, and the tax of-fice figure for lost income would cover more than two-thirds of that spending.

As a proportion of gross do-mestic product (GDP), Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, has one of the lowest tax takes in the region, trailing behind Ma-laysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, according to the World Bank.

Sigit Priadi Pramudito, the country’s director-general of taxes, said in an interview late on Monday that many Indone-sian companies, particularly in the coal, palm oil, cocoa and other commodities sectors, were avoiding corporate taxes by using transfer pricing.

He declined to give names, but said some of them were major companies.

Under the transfer pricing method, an Indonesian company sells its goods to a subsidiary in another country below market prices, and the subsidiary in turn sells them to the market.

This effectively reduces profits in Indonesia and increases them in that foreign country.

“There’s a lot of potential in this area. We suspect that all along, they have been using the transfer pricing method,” Pra-mudito said. “This year we will chase them.”

The tax office has the authority to adjust the tax bill of a company if it suspects that a sale to a related entity is under-priced.

In the past, it was difficult to prove companies had under-priced their goods as the tax office lacked comparable data on market prices, Pramudito said.

But now it has collected more comprehensive data and is in-creasing its number of officers, he said, adding that it could take such companies to a tax court and in-deed had won some such cases.

Widodo plans to add 4,000 tax-men per year to its existing 36,000 to help achieve an ambitious tax revenue target of 1,489.3 trillion rupiah this year, up 30 percent from last year’s collection.

During his presidential cam-paign last year, Widodo pledged to increase tax collection to 16 percent of GDP from about 12 percent, and the tax office is keen

to close any loopholes.The tax crackdown on the

resources sector comes at a time when the prices of commodities have fallen to multi-year lows due to slowing global economic growth and ample supplies, setting the stage for a showdown with these companies.

Even so, many of them are still making big profits, Pramudito said.

“The prices of commodities have dropped, but the costs are still cheap. The fact is, their profits are still tremendous, and using that method (transfer pricing) adds to the profits.”

Indonesia’s finance minister has said Southeast Asia’s largest economy will review its tax trea-ties with dozens of countries and may suspend those it concludes are being abused for tax avoid-ance.

When asked whether the tax crackdown will hurt the invest-ment climate in Indonesia, Pra-mudito said the country’s hope to boost investment should not come at the expense of tax com-pliance.

“How can you build an invest-ment climate on the basis of tax avoidance?” (rtr)

TANGGERANG - The Soeka-rno-Hatta International Airport’s customs and excise authority has foiled an attempt to smuggle 2.148 kilograms of crystal meth-amphetamine from Hong Kong, a customs officer said.

The smuggled crystal meth was packed inside a ceramic statue of frog being stored in the airport’s PJT warehouse, Chief of the airport’s customs office Okto Irianto said on Tuesday.

An Indonesian man, only identified with an initial Z, was arrested, he said without reveal-ing when his men succeeded in foiling the attempt to smuggle the

drug worth Rp2.8 billion.“The drug smuggling attempt

can be foiled after the customs and excise officers suspected a ceramic statue of frog being stored in the PJT warehouse. They then checked the ceramic, sent from Hong Kong to someone in West Jakarta, and found the crystal meth inside,” he said.

The evidence has been handed over to the local police for further investigation, Okto Irianto said.

Indonesia has become one of the main targets of drug traf-fickers in Southeast Asia due to its big market. As a result, the country declares a war on the

drug trafficking and executes those found guilty and sentenced to death by court.

Indonesia had recently ex-ecuted six drug convicts as part of its serious efforts to combat drug trafficking in the country.

The six convicts were Na-maona Denis of Malawi, Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira of Bra-zil, Daniel Enemuo, alias Diar-rassouba Mamadou, of Nigeria, Ang Kiem Soei, alias Kim Ho, alias Ance Tahir, of the Neth-erlands, Rani Andriani, alias Melisa Aprilia, of Indonesia, and Tran Thi Bich Hanh of Vietnam. (ant)

ANTARA FOTO/Sahrul Manda Tikupadang

Suspended comissioner of the Corruption Eradication Com-mission (KPK) Abraham Samad finally met a summon for questioning at the South and West Sulawesi Regional Police headquarters on Tuesday for an alleged document falsifica-tion case.

Abraham Samad meets police’s summon

Customs foils meth smuggling attempt

Indonesia to crack down

on corporate tax avoidanceJAKARTA - Indonesia will crack down on corporate tax avoidance via transfer pricing this

year to try and recoup 200 trillion rupiah ($15.6 billion) in lost state income, mainly in the com-modities sector, the new head of the tax office told Reuters.

International4 Wednesday, February 25, 2015 Wednesday, February 25, 2015 13InternationalBali News

“From now until 2018, there will be no permission to build (the dam),” said Hun Sen, whose mandate as prime minister ends in 2018. “Now I beg you to stop talking about it.” Gonzalez-Davidson was a co-founder of non-governmental group called Mother Nature, which has vo-cally opposed construction of the hydropower dam in southwestern Cambodia’s Koh Kong province. Cambodia has signed a deal to build the mega-dam with China’s state-owned Sinohydro, but both sides have said more studies were needed before any construction begins.

The project, one of several dams

being built by Chinese companies in Cambodia, sparked strong disap-proval from the political opposition and environmental groups.

In September, Gonzalez-David-son led a protest that briefly blocked a government convoy from driving to the proposed site of the dam, in the Areng Valley of the Cardamom Mountains.

Environmental groups say the dam would destroy the natural habitat across a vast expanse of one of Southeast Asia’s last great wilderness areas, which contains some of Cambodia’s most profuse wildlife, including the world’s largest population of almost extinct Siamese crocodiles.

Gonzalez-Davidson’s visa ex-pired Friday and the government refused to extend or renew it. On Monday, Prime Minister Hun Sen publicly appealed to Gonzalez-Davidson to leave the country and he was deported Monday evening.

“His visa had expired and he re-fused to leave Cambodia as ordered from the ministry, therefore we had no choice but to deport him,” said Gen. Khieu Sopheak, an Interior Ministry spokesman.

Without naming the activist, Hun Sen said Tuesday that foreigners should not give advice to Cambodia on forest conservation or the con-struction of dams.(ap)

LONDON — British police are defending their actions as the search continues for three British teenage girls believed to have traveled to Turkey and to be heading to Syria to support extremists.

The case has generated wide attention. Turkish officials have complained that British officials waited three days before seeking help in the case, losing valu-able time. But the Metropolitan Police said Tuesday they noti-

fied Turkish officials one day after the girls went missing last week.

“Once we established that the girls had traveled to Turkey, police made contact with the foreign liaison officer at the Turkish Embassy in London on Wednesday, 18 February,” police said in a statement.

The families of Shamima Be-gum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, have implored them to return home.(ap)

BERLIN — German police are raiding premises linked to biker gang Satudarah after authorities issued a ban against the group. Satudarah Maluku MC originated in the Netherlands but has chapters in more than half a dozen countries in Europe and Asia.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere early Tuesday banned the group from carrying out any activity in Germany, saying it poses a serious danger to the general public.

The raids began at 6 a.m. (0500 GMT) in five western Ger-man states: North-Rhine Westphalia, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Lower Saxony and Bremen.(ap)

AP Photo/Metropolitan Police

This is a still taken from CCTV issued by the Metropolitan Police in London on Monday Feb. 23, 2015, of 15-year-old Amira Abase, left, Kadiza Sultana,16, centre, and Shamima Begum, 15, going through Gatwick airport, south of London, before they caught their flight to Turkey on Tuesday Feb 17, 2015.

UK police defend actions in missing

girls case

Germany bans Dutch biker gang Satudarah,

raids premises

Cambodia PM says work on mega-dam will not

start until 2018PHNOM PENH — Construction of a massive dam in southwestern Cambodia will not start

until at least 2018, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday, in an apparent effort to stop heavy opposition to the project which has focused criticism on him. Hun Sen’s comments came a day after Spanish activist Alex Gonzalez-Davidson, who had campaigned against the dam, was de-ported for overstaying his visa.

AP Photo/Heng Sinith

A farmer is silhouetted as he drives his water buffalo cart loaded with rice hay after his day’s work at a paddy field in Samroang Kandal village on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia Monday, Jan. 26, 2015.

According to Chief of Kuta Police, Ida Bagus Dedy Januartha, after receiving the report of the case, Chief of the Criminal Inves-tigation Unit, Dewa Tagel Wijarsa, and his staff immediately conducted an investigation. On Sunday around mid-day, police arrested nine sus-pects with an average age of 17 with the initials GA, BP, AS, AKP, OR, MW, GE aka TD, RA and PP. “The

suspects are from East Denpasar and Abiansemal, Badung” he said.

Results of the examination, added Dewa Tagel, revealed that on Saturday (Feb. 21) around 7:00 p.m., the GMBJ members had a dinner party at the home of TD for his birthday. The feast went on until 10:00 p.m. The youth were not satisfied by the feast and continued with arrack party in the area of

Renon, East Denpasar. “There were a total of 14 people, who went to Sanur to buy arrack” added Dewa Tagel.

On Sunday at approximately 1:30 p.m., the group split up. Some of the motorcycle gang members moved on to Jalan Hayam Wuruk, Denpasar to meet up with two other members who had been waiting for them before they all headed

to Kuta.The Circle K mini market on

the corner of Jalan Raya Kuta and Jalan Legian became the target of the young gang, where a few gang members stole a box of chocolates, cigarettes and 8 boxes of chocolate milk from the 24 mini market. To distribute to their friends who waited outside.

At the second Circle K, they committed a similar crime, this time ruffling some merchandise and grabbed chocolates and soft drinks. Once outside, they pushed over a refrigerator at the stall adjacent to the Circle K. At the third Circle K,

the gang took a lighter and three packs of cigarettes. Attendants of the Circle K were angry, but their protest were met with shouting from the offenders” he said.

They then went on to rumaged through another mini market where they stole perfume, and 15 packs of cigarettes. The suspect with the initials MW smashed in a car window with a glass bottle. One of them also squeezed the breast of the mini market attendant. After comit-ting such brutal actions, they ate at Kreneng Market. They were later arrested at their respective home” said Dewa Tagel. (kmb36)

SEMARAPURA - The price of rice at Galiran Market, Klungkung recently started to rise. Surely it began to be complained by residents. Moreover, the average of rice price hike in the market reached IDR 1,500 per kilo-gram. Such price hike is seen to happen to C4 rice variety with less good qual-ity from IDR 9,000 to IDR 11,000 per kilogram. “The increase in the price of rice has been going on since the past one week. It is the first time for me to see such high price hike,” said one of the rice traders, Ketut Suniarti, Monday (Feb. 23).

According to Suniarti, the price hike of rice was very influential on the trader’s results of sales. Since the price of rice went up, her rice sales de-creased. Moreover, the price of rice per sack containing 25 kg was formerly sold for only IDR 230,000. It was unknown why it rose to IDR 250,000 per sack. “Ordinarily we can retail up to 50 kg each day. But today we just could sell 20 kilograms,” she said.

Suniarti herself did not know the cause of the price hike of rice. How-ever, she just hoped the government could stabilize the rice price in the market. If the price of rice was not stable, it was feared to affect the in-crease in the price of other goods. “It is said the government wants to lower

the price of rice, but so far it even re-mains expensive. How can we sell to consumers?” asked Suniarti.

Similar opinion was also revealed by one of the rice wholesalers named Kadek Susilawati. According to her, the rice supply from Java had run thin. As a result, she claimed to have no rice stock obtained from outside Bali. “The supply continues to diminish. Even, today there is no delivery at all. So, our stock has run out,” she said. Susilawati also recognized that she usually got supply from West Java. But at that time the rice supply from West Java was empty. Such condition was alleged to occur as a result of flooding. “Meanwhile, the rice supply of Bali is also minimal. Maximally the traders only get 2 tons and she must scramble with other rice wholesaler,” she said.

Other than the price of rice, the price of chili also rose. As said by Ayu Komang, a chili trader from Besakih, Karangasem, the current price already reached IDR 11,000 per kilogram. Actually the previous price of large chili in the market was only IDR 7,000 per kilogram. The price had increased since Sunday (Feb. 22). She estimated the chili price increased due to the reduction in production as many chili plants died after the recent continuous rain. (119)

BANGLI - The price of Kinta-mani tangerines has decreased since last week. Previously they were be-ing sold in the range of IDR 5,000 to IDR 6,000 per kilogram, now the price has dropped to only IDR 4,000. The drop in price was caused by a decreased demand from Java due to the rainy season.

As expressed by tangerine farm-

er Ketut Sandia from Manikliyu village, Kintamani, on Monday (Feb. 23), the price of Kintamani tangerines was becoming unfriend-ly to farmers with a price of only IDR 4,000 per kilogram. The price suddenly decreased as much as IDR 2,000 from the week before. Sandia added that the current price for Kintamani tangerines does not

allow farmers to cover their costs. Disease is also increasingly affect-ing the tangerine crops.

Sandia suspected that he declin-ing price of Kintamani tangerines at this time is due to the influence of rains that have marked impact on the price of tangerines, as deliver-ies to Java can no longer be made regulalry.

“I believe the declining price occurred because deliveries to Java could not be made. But even, if there were regular deliveries to Java, the demand there is not very high when it rains this much. Maybe because of flooding in java or maybe people just don’t like to eat tengeriens when it is raining” he said. The Kintamani tangerine crops

are therefore mostly purchesed in local markets in the area.

Kintamani tangerines, have however been produced with a much larger market in mind, par-ticularly neighbouring Java, where tons of tangeriens are shipped, when harvests permit. These ship-ments usually cause the price of tangerines to increase. (ina)

Motorcycle gang pillages goods from mini market

MANGUPURA - In Bali, motorcycle gangs continues to commit menacing actions such as those committed by the Bulu Jaum Motorcycle Gang (GMBJ) early Sunday morning (Feb 21). The gang pillaged goods from 3 Circle K mini market outlets and another mini markets located on the corner of Jalan Raya Kuta and Jalan Legian. In addition, they also committed an act of aggression towards a female attendant of one of the mini markets.

Rainy season, price of Kintamani tangerine decreases

Price of rice increases IDR 1,500 per kilogram

IBP/Sos

The rice seller is seen in the picture

3Wednesday, February 25, 201514 InternationalInternational Bali NewsTechnology Wednesday, February 25, 2015

The “Robear” has a cub-like face with big doey eyes, but packs enough power to transfer frail pa-tients from a wheelchair to a bed or a bath, Japan’s Riken institute said Tuesday.

“The polar cub-like look is aimed at radiating an atmosphere of strength, geniality and cleanli-ness at the same time,” research leader Toshiharu Mukai told AFP.

“We voted for this design among options presented by our designer.

We hope to commercialise the ro-bot in the not-too distant future,” he added.

A historically low birth rate and ever-increasing life expectancy means Japan’s population of el-derly people is growing, while the pool of youngsters to look after them is shrinking.

A reluctance to accept large-scale immigration means an increasing reliance on robots, especially to perform physically difficult work.

This frequently combines with the country’s love of all things cute, to produce machines with disarming faces and child-like voices.

“As Japan is ageing with fewer children, the problem of a short-age in caregivers for the elderly is getting serious,” Riken said in a statement.

“Expectations are high that robotics will help resolve this problem,” it said. (afp)

NEW YORK - Is the future of the US car industry in Silicon Valley? Af-ter Tesla and Google, Apple appears to be readying for a plunge into the industry long rooted far away in the steel belt of the US upper Midwest.

According to various media re-ports, the maker of iPhones and iPads has created a special unit baptized “Titan” with hundreds of staff to begin developing an electric car, with 2020 the target date.

Apple remains silent on the proj-ect, but the reports were partially backed up by a lawsuit filed against the tech giant. Battery maker 123 Systems has accused Apple of ag-gressively poaching its staff.

But it puts Apple in line with Tesla, the current champion of the electric car, and Google, the online giant which is focused on the self-driving, also-electric Google Car.

The Big Three US automakers -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler (now a part of Fiat Chrysler Automo-biles, FCA) -- are taking the threat from the Detroit outsiders seriously.

“Given the company’s (Apple’s) tremendous capabilities, that is no surprise to anyone,” GM spokesman Dan Flores told AFP.

At Chrysler, spokesman Eric Maynes said: “We can’t comment on something we haven’t seen.”

Ford too had no comment on Apple’s plans, but the number two automaker recently opened a research center in Palo Alto, the heart of Sili-con Valley, as it looks to the future of self-driving automobiles.

Bill Visnic, an analyst at industry specialist Edmunds.com, said that given the seven-year average time frame to develop and bring a car to the mass market, the Detroit giants are not under serious pressure yet.

Even with the unexpected success of Tesla, for instance, the company still sold less than 35,000 cars last year in an national market of more than 16 million units. And Tesla’s cars are confined to a very high-end niche market.

“Apple is not an immediate threat to the US auto industry. I don’t think you’ll see the volume there, the number of cars won’t really begin to approach anything like Detroit is

making right now at any time soon,” said Visnic.

Alec Gutierrez, a market analyst at Kelley Blue Book, said Apple’s strength is its role as a “disruptor” in industries, and that the “comprehen-sive ecosystem” of its popular con-sumer electronics could be extended to an “Apple car”.

Apple has the money to put into a new car -- some $180 billion in capital built up to invest in new proj-ects. Even so, said Gutierrez, given the costs and competition in the auto industry, “it’s fraught with risk.”

“The automotive space is so high-ly competitive today, and margins in new car sales are extraordinarily thin, which is something Apple is not used to.”

“How many companies have totally failed into trying to enter the automotive industry? It’s a tough thing and it’s very expensive,” added Brett Smith, program director at the Center for Automotive Research.

He pointed to Tesla continuing to lose money despite its success in marketing its luxury cars with bat-tery systems superior to any offered by Detroit.

And the major automakers are all working hard on making more and better hybrid and all-electric vehicles.

That sets a high bar for any new entrant, notes Smith.

“Does Apple have better tech-nologies than Mercedes or Ford or GM or Toyota to build a car? I really doubt it.”

What Apple could bring to the industry is what Google brings: ways to process and use data.

Google is focused not on the physical car itself but on the technol-ogy that will allow cars to run them-selves. Its self-driving vehicles, in the guise of various car models, have already driven hundreds of thousands of miles (kilometers) on California roads in test runs.

Apple already has something to of-fer the industry, notes Visnic. It could become a key supplier of connectivity technology for cars, putting its oper-ating systems up against Google’s Android, already being installed in many car models. (afp)

NEW YORK - Google said Monday it was teaming up with the mobile phone payment firm Softcard to ramp up its efforts to counter Apple Pay in the emerging sector.

The California tech giant an-nounced Google Wallet would become a pre-installed “tap to pay” app on Android smartphones sold in

the US market by AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, as part of the deal with the carriers’ mobile payments company Softcard.

The aim is “to help more An-droid users get the benefits of tap and pay,” said Google Payments vice president Ariel Bardin.

“We’re also acquiring some ex-citing technology and intellectual

property from Softcard to make Google Wallet better.”

The move gives Google and its large base of Android smartphones a stronger position to challenge Apple Pay, the mobile payments system introduced on the latest iPhones last year.

A statement from Softcard -- which was founded by the three

carriers last year in a push for mobile payments -- said the deal with Google would “bring together leading technologies to advance mobile wallets.”

“For now, Softcard customers can continue to tap and pay with the app,” the statement said.

LoopPay technology is compat-ible with approximately 90 percent

of retail terminals to let customers tap their phones for payment with registered credit cards, according to Samsung.

LoopPay has been built into smartphone cases as well as into fobs, or dongles, and transmits credit card data using magnetic fields to point-of-sale terminals to effectuate transactions. (afp)

Tesla, Google, Apple: is Silicon Valley the future of the US car?

Google Wallet partners up to battle Apple Pay

Japan’s Robear: Strength of a robot, face of a bear

TOKYO - Forget the frightening androids of dystopian sci-fi, the future of robots is cute polar bears that can lift elderly people into and out of bed.

IBP/Net

The “Robear” has a cub-like face with big doey eyes, but packs enough power to transfer frail patients from a wheelchair to a bed or a bath, Japan’s Riken institute said Tuesday.

“We are ready for that (provide security for Bali Nine transfer),” Commander of Ngurah Rai Air Base Colonel Sugiarto P.W. said.

The authorities will provide security cover to the two convicts during their transfer through a special gate at the Ngurah Rai International Airport.

No details have been made available regarding the time when the two convicts will be trans-ferred.

Currently, three Sukhoi jet fight-ers have been stationed at the Ngu-rah Rai Operation Base. However, Sugiarto emphasized that the main task of the jet fighters is to secure the border area.

“The Sukhoi jet fighters are meant for securing the airspace in the border area. It is routinely conducted every year,” he said.

The three Russian-manufac-

tured jet fighters were flown in from the Makassar Air Base, South Sulawesi, on Sunday (Feb. 22) and scheduled to be on standby at Ngu-rah Rai until March 1, 2015.

Apart from securing the airspace in the border area, it does not rule out the possibility of jet fighters be-ing used to provide security cover to the convoy during the transfer of the Bali Nine convicts to the Nusakambangan Penitentiary in Central Java Province.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Su-kumaran were sentenced to death by firing squad.

The two were arrested along with seven other Australians while they were attempting to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin from Bali to Sydney, Australia, in 2005. Pres-ident Joko Widodo had recently rejected Sukumaran’s clemency petition. (ant)

AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati

New Zealand’s Anthony Glen de Malmanche, foreground, walks out of a prison to the Denpasar District Court before his hearing trial in Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. Indonesian police arrested the New Zealander on Dec. 1, 2014 for allegedly smuggling methamphetamine onto the island.

DENPASAR - The penitentiary in Denpasar, Bali, has provided psy-chologists to help in case death con-victs from Australia Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran need their counseling ahead of their execution.

Ngurah Rai air base prepared for Bali Nine duo’s transfer

KUTA - Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport is ready to secure and guard the transfer of Australian convicts Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukuraman, who are members of the Bali Nine group on death row, to another facility.

ANTARA FOTO/Nyoman Budhiana

The Sukhoi jet fighter flown above Kerobokan Jail on Tuesday. Currently, three Sukhoi jet fighters have been stationed at the Ngurah Rai Operation Base. However, Sugiarto empha-sized that the main task of the jet fighters is to secure the border area.

Penitentiary provides psychologist for Chan, Sukumaran“We have prepared psychologists

from local state Udayana University and Sanglah regional hospital for the two death convicts,” head of the peni-tentiary, Sudjonggo, said on Tuesday.

He said psychological counseling

would be given in case the convicts need it.

Right now however psychological conditions of the two convicts are still normal and they still conduct activi-ties as usual. “In case development

happens disrupting their mental state before their transfer we will conduct examination,” he added.

Ahead of their transfer to a maxi-mum security prison on the island of Nusakambangan off Central Java be-fore execution is done the Indonesian military (TNI) has prepared its Sukhoi fighter planes to escort their transfer.

“We have also prepared Raiders and Cavalry troops to assure the se-curity of the two death convicts - An-drew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran - during the transfer from Kerobokan penitentiary to Ngurah Rai airporot,” the commander of the 9th Udayana Military Command, Major General Torry Djohar Banguntoro said.

He made the statement when asked regarding TNI’s preparations with regard to the transfer of the Bali Nine drug ring members from Bali to Nusakambangan.

“There has been an order coming from the TNI commander for him to help secure the process of transfer of the death convicts. A squadron of Sukhoi planes have been made ready to escort the Hercules plane that would be used to take the death convicts. There will also be a patrol in the sea and land security operations,” he said after meeting with House Commis-sion I members in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, recently.

Indonesia plans to execute 11 death row convicts, including two narcotic drug convicts from Australia, Andrew

Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, soon.Australia has already appealed to

Indonesia to cancel the executions, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott even invoking Australia’s aid to 2004 tsunami victims in Aceh. (ant)

International2 Wednesday, February 25, 2015 15International Activities

Bali News

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

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

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

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

Balinese Temple Ceremony

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

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

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

“We celebrate the moment of Valen-tine’s Day to share our love to the children of this orphanage who are in need of our help,” said Deden Agoes Rifana, Human Resources Manager. “We really appreci-ate all the efforts this wonderful team gives to the children. We wish that there will be more and more people who are willing to do this noble job,” he added.

This orphanage visit is one of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes of HARRIS Hotel Bukit Jimbaran. Within a year, the company

has planned some events, from visiting the orphanages, blood donation, cleaning blitz, and etc.

Ni Made Gunasih, the Chief Caregiver of Panti Asuhan Semara Putra Klung-kung, spoke on behalf of the foundation and the orphanage, was very thankful for the visit. She said that every help they get is a great support to provide better future for the kids.

Semara Putra Orphanage under Kri-pana Putra Dharma Foundation was established with good cause to foster

and nurture children with disabilities and unfortunate ones. Today, Semara Putra Orphanage is taking care of 125 foster children, from the age of elementary school to university student. From this number, 85 of them are disabled; blind, deaf, mute, physical or mental disabled and autism. The disabled children are sent to special school for disabled (SLB) in front of the orphanage. The rest 40 children are normal, but they are or-phans or abandoned or come from poor families. (r)

Without having a culinary adventure, your leisure holidays in Bali seem incomplete. Aside from offering unique tourism charms, Bali also has a wide range of intriguing food delicacies worth tasting. Therefore, the food business opportunities on this bijou island are always crowded and very promising. One of them is seafood.

“Within the past 2-3 years, the development of culinary business in Bali takes place very fast. It encourages us to open a venue to eat offering seafood delicacies on Kuta Beach area,” said the woman named Sylvia Fatono.

Sylvia felt to have many advantages in opening the food business. Apart from situat-ing at strategic location, especially on beauti-ful beach, it also had a broad market segment ranging from domestic tourists, foreign tourists

to local communities. “Our premises ap-ply the concept of full bars both indoors and outdoors that does not only give a pleasure of dining, but also a new atmosphere like being on the quay dock,” she said.

Not only that, added the woman who graduated from a business study in Australia, her restaurant also applied the concept of dining on the beach by featur-ing the room in blue and white domination. Uniquely, it was also equipped with typical marine trinkets. “We also provide menus with special flavor options of the best quality, including the best service,” she added. (kmb)

IBP/Courtesy of Harris Hotel

Sharing Love with the Kids

Semara Putra Orphanage received visit from HARRIS Hotel Bukit Jimbaran

SEMArAPUrA - It was 13 February 2015, a bright Thursday morning, when two orange cars ar-rived at Semara Putra Orphanage, Klungkung. From the cars, came out people in orange shirts bring-ing some daily supplies. They were the players of HArrIS Hotel Bukit Jimbaran. They were greeted by the caregivers and joyful kids. It wasn’t long before the kids noticed the HArrIS Mascot: Dino. They laughed happily and run to him in no time. Dino hugged them and it was like meeting an old friend. It was a heartfelt moment that began the orphanage visit from the company.

IBP/kmb

Profile

Sylvia FatonoCarefully read market opportunitiesDENPASAR – The punish-

ment given out to top officials, former officials and employees at the Denpasar Corruption Court, was indeed very striking. Allega-tions of corruption related to the procurement of heavy equipment including generators, a sound system, lighting and CCTVs at the Bali Art Center, Denpasar, public prosecutor, Made Tangkas et al., charged defendants Ketut Suastika and Mantara Gandi with only 1.5 years without obligation to repay

losses to the state.In the prosecutor’s indictment it

was clearly stated that the defen-dants had caused state loses worth more than IDR 800 million.

Meanwhile, in the case of trea-surer of the Jembrana Electoral Commission, Kadek Ari Komala Sari, who was alleged to have harmed the state by incurring losses worth just IDR 61 million, the punishment was a sentence of 4 years in prison She was also obliged to repay the financial

losses to the state through joint and several liabilities. Secretary, I Gede Putu Wigraha, who was also involved in the case, was sentenced to two years.

“Based on my observations, the sentence for the Art Center case is rather strange and questionable, particularly because there has been no refund of the grafted money, nor any obligation to provide the amount lost to corruption. Aspisus of the prosecutor’s office only a confiscation IDR 296 million,”

said legal practiononer Ketut Ri-nata, on Monday (Feb. 23).

Rinata added that there were other aspects of this case that also needed to be looked into, particularly details regarding a certain Exaudi Gultom. “This fig-ure remains a mystery that needs be further explored. The trial has already revealed many facts that lead to Exaudi Gultom so, if these avenues are not pursued, the case would not be resolved given that Gultonm appears to be the primary

defendant,” said Rinata.Normally, the prosecutors and

judges should be pursuing this mystery during the cross-examina-tion of the defendants PA and KPA because they were both directly involved in the case. “It is impos-sible that PA and NAC did not know the contractor of the IDR 21 million project. If the defendants are honest, objective and transpar-ent, everything will be revealed in the trial,” he said in a loud voice. (kmb37)

Head of the Denpasar Public Works Agency, Ketut Winarta, said on Monday (Feb. 23) that the fact that the pools of rainwater subsided relatively quickly was proof that the drainage channesl in Denpasar were generally func-tioning properly. If the drainage system was unable to function optimally at certain points, it was because the Teba River had stag-nated. This, coupled with heavy rains, made flooding inevitable. “For this reason, we are working with the national and provincial governments to deal with the problem on the main channel” he said briefly.

He added that the city of Den-pasar, was still working on fixing the problem of drainage channels. Gradually, the precast concrete u-ditch system would be applied to drainage channels falling under the authority of the city of Denpasar. The use of the u-ditch is considered more effective in running water downstream smoothly.

Meanwhile, an academic from Udayana University (Unud), Dr. Rumawan Salain, said that the flooding that recently occurred at some points in Denpasar should used as a learning experience for both the government and society at large. Heavy rainfall caused the existing watershed to be unable to accommodate the overflowing rainwater in residential areas.

According to Salain, geograph-ical factors are to be considered. The city of Denpasar receives runoff water from Badung, Ta-banan, and Gianyar Counties whose excess water flows towards Denpasar. Not all floodgates lo-cated in the city of Denpasar fall under the sole authority of the municipality of Denpasar., many are also the responsibility of ad-jacent counties.

Salain explained that the Bali Government, needs to coordinate with relevant counties along with the municipality of Denpasar in order to effectively address this

Hundreds of millions grafted from corruption only sentenced to 1.5 years

Main drainage system less than optimal

Academic stresses importance of provincial govt in preventing floodsDENPASAR – Recent flooding Denpasar has been assessed

to be due to the impact of heavy rainfall and less than optimal drainage systems at some points. A number of drainage chan-nels, especially the main drainage system, were unable to ac-commodate the flarge low of water.

issue. All drainage systems in-cluding the primary, secondary and tertiary should be properly connected and free from obstacles so that flooding can be avoided.

Regarding garbage as the main

cause of flooding, Salain revealed that although it is a contributing factor, the responsabilty of waste disposal does not rest solely with the residents of the City of Den-pasar. In order to truly deal with

the issue of garbage in the gutters, the provincial government needs to coordinates with the counties and municipalities in developing intergrated waste management. (kmb25)

IBP/File

The flood which happen a few days ago in Denpasar.

Page 13

Cambodia PM says work on mega-dam will not start until 2018

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

President Joko Widodo has de-nied clemency to the convicts de-spite repeated pleas from Australia, Brazil and France, who have citizens due to be executed soon by firing squad.

“The first thing I need to say firm-ly is that there shouldn’t be any in-tervention towards the death penalty because it is our sovereign right to exercise our law,”

President Joko Widodo told reporters.

Wido-do said

h e

took calls from the leaders of France, Brazil and the Netherlands about the death penalty but made no mention of Australia. Two Australians are among the 11 on death row.

Indonesia has harsh penalties for drug trafficking and resumed execu-tions in 2013 after a five-year gap.

Shortly before Widodo spoke, a court in Jakarta

threw out an appeal by the two

Australians a g a i n s t

Widodo’s rejection of their request for presidential clemency.

Australia has been pursuing an eleventh-hour campaign to save the lives of Myuran Sukumaran, 33, and Andrew Chan, 31, two members of the so-called Bali Nine, convicted in 2005 as the ringleaders of a plot to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia.

“According to the judge, the president’s rejection of (the) clem-ency petition is not an administrative act so this court does not have the jurisdiction to accept our case,” said Todung Mulya Lubis, a lawyer for the two men.

“We plan to appeal to-day’s court decision. We

have two weeks to file an appeal. If the law is respected, the execution should be postponed until the legal process is over.”

Australia, which has long had rocky relations with its northern neighbour, has said it would con-sider recalling its ambassador to Indo- n e s i a i n p r o - test if the e x - ecutions take place.

It i s n o t c l e a r w h e n

t h e p a i r w i l l be put to

death, al-

though the head of the prosecutor’s office in Bali, where they are in prison, previously said it is “very likely” that they will be transferred this week to an island off Java where the executions will take place. Au-thorities have to inform death row convicts 72 hours before they are executed.

The looming executions have dramatically heightened tensions between Australia and Indonesia, fraying ties that were only just re-covering from a spying row.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has made repeated pleas for the men to be spared and even urged Indonesia to remember Canberra’s significant help in dealing with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

However, the remarks sparked anger in Indonesia, with several groups organising collections of coins to return the aid to Aus-tralia, and Vice President Jusuf Kalla saying the money would be given back if Canberra did not consider it “humanitarian”. Brazil and the Netherlands have already pulled their ambassadors after Indone-sia executed two of their citizens on drug offences last month.

Brazil took the further step of refusing to allow Indonesia’s new am-bassador to take part in a credentials cer-emony, prompting the Southeast Asian country to recall

him back to Jakarta in protest. (rtr/afp)

ANTARA FOTO/Nyoman Budhiana

Brother of death convicted, Myuran Sukumaran, Chintu Sukumaran (right) and his mother Raji Sukumaran (left) visited Myuran in Kerobokan Jail on Tuesday. An Indonesian judge has rejected an appeal from two Australian men due to be executed in Indonesia after President Joko Widodo denied them clemency.

Executions won’t be delayed despite mercy pleas

JAKARTA - President said on Tuesday the planned execution of 11 convicts on death row, most on drugs charges, would not be delayed, warning foreign countries not to intervene in Jakarta’s right to use capital punishment.

NEW YORK — Oscar viewer-ship was down 16 percent from last year and reached its lowest point since 2009, with 36.6 million people watching the Neil Patrick Harris-hosted awards show on ABC Sunday night.

The Nielsen company’s prelimi-nary estimate of U.S. viewership was down from the 43.7 million people who watched last year, a feel-good show where host Ellen DeGeneres at-tracted attention for posting a “selfie” with various movie stars and having pizzas delivered to the audience.

Last year’s show, which also had the star power of “Frozen,” Matthew McConaughey and U2, reached the biggest audience for any Academy Awards show since 2000.

The Oscars tend to be the most-

watched entertainment program of the year on television, often second only to the Super Bowl. But viewer-ship can be affected by the relative popularity of the movies up for big awards, and best picture winner “Birdman” wasn’t a particularly big box office draw. “American Sniper” was the most popular movie, but re-ceived one relatively minor award.

There was also a movement among black viewers to boycott the awards show because all of the major acting nominees were white. There’s no way to immediately tell whether this had an impact on the decrease in viewers since Nielsen did not have an immediate breakdown of ethnic viewership.

This year’s Oscars audience was the lowest since 36.3 million watched

in 2009, when “Slumdog Millionaire” won best picture. After a couple of years where awards show ratings in general were going up — a reflection of the desire among viewers for live programming — they appear to have flattened.

Nielsen also said there were 5.9 million messages about the Academy Awards sent out through Twitter in the U.S. That’s roughly half the 11.2 million tweets sent out last year, when DeGeneres’ selfie replicated like wildfire online. Facebook said there were 58 million interactions worldwide on the Oscars, including posts and “likes.”

The biggest individual moment for Twitter and Facebook was the same: Lady Gaga’s medley of songs from “The Sound of Music.” (ap)

LONDON - Eddie Redmayne -- the latest British actor to crack Hol-lywood -- is set to see his profile go cosmic after clinching the Oscar for his poignant and physically chal-lenging portrayal of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking.

Having already won a BAFTA and Golden Globe for playing the disabled British scientist in “The Theory of Everything”, the 33-year-old actor completed the trio on Oscar night.

He bested “Birdman” star Mi-chael Keaton, the other main favou-rite, as well as his friend and fellow countryman Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Imitation Game”), Steve Carell (“Foxcatcher”) and Bradley Cooper (“American Sniper”).

“This belongs to all of those peo-ple around the world battling ALS,” a visibly humbled Redmayne said, referring to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, from which Hawking suf-fers.

“It belongs -- it belongs to one exceptional family -- Stephen, Jane, Jonathan and the Hawking children.”

Redmayne built his reputation on the stage, television and as a supporting actor in several major films, but his first leading role as Hawking has elevated him to Hol-lywood’s A-list.

The film is based on a memoir by Hawking’s wife Jane, played by fellow Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, and recounts their doomed love story.

The couple started dating in the 1960s at Cambridge University -- before Hawking was diagnosed at the age of 21 with ALS.

The film charts their relationship as his health declined and fame grew, until their marriage fell apart in the early 1990s. Redmayne could have been left waiting for his first

leading role had it not been for a beer-fueled evening with director James Marsh.

Despite having someone else in mind for the role, Marsh was convinced by Redmayne during a pub chat without the need for an audition.

He then spent four months vis-iting people with motor neurone disease at a clinic in London and reading everything he could by Hawking.

The result is a physical transfor-mation that has been compared to Daniel Day-Lewis’s Oscar-winning performance in “My Left Foot”.

Hawking has reportedly said there were moments watching the film when he thought he was watch-ing himself, and was so impressed he allowed the director to use his trademark computerised voice.

The son of a London banker with four siblings, Redmayne took act-ing classes from a young age and was a child extra in the West End production of “Oliver!”

He attended the elite Eton school alongside Prince William and stud-ied art history at Cambridge -- the same university where Hawking still works.

Barely a year after graduating, Redmayne had a part in an all-male production of “Twelfth Night” by Shakespeare’s Globe theatre, and by 2004 had won his first theatre award.

He has also appeared in a num-ber of hit films including “The Good Shepherd”, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” and “The Other Bo-leyn Girl”. He also played Marius in the Oscar-winning 2012 musical “Les Miserables”.

Like Cumberbatch, Redmayne is blessed with chiselled good looks and has modelled for luxury brand Burberry. (afp)

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, or IFPI, said that Swift was the world’s most popular recording artist last year when accounting for physical sales, downloads and streaming.

Swift dominated US charts in late 2014 but the group said that she was also among the top five artists in the next largest markets of Germany, Japan and Britain.

B u t t h e IFPI said that the blockbuster soundtrack to the Disney film “Fro-zen” would have topped Swift. The industry group, which did not give exact sales figures, awards the top rank solely to an indi-vidual artist.

British boy band One Direction, which topped the list in 2013 year, was number

two, followed by British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and then more established acts Coldplay and AC/DC. Michael Jackson was sixth, even though the King of Pop died in 2009.

Swift’s album “1989” last year sold 1.2 million cop-ies in its first week in the United

States, the top haul since Eminem’s “The Eminem Show” in 2002 when overall music sales were far higher.

Swift has topped the charts, which now fac to r i n streaming services, despite her high-profile fight with Spotify. Swift last year pulled her music from the growing Swedish streaming site, urging it to pro-

vide more compensation to artists. (afp)

Nielsen: Oscars viewership down 16 percent

Taylor Swift officially world’s top seller in 2014

NEW YORK - Taylor Swift was crowned the world’s top-selling artist in 2014 on Monday, although an industry group said that the Disney soundtrack “Frozen” would have beaten her.

Redmayne completes journey to stars with Oscar glory

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Redmayne completes journey to stars with Oscar glory