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16 Pages Number 1903st Year

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CITY TEMPERATURE OC

WEATHER FORECAST

21 - 30

24 - 32

17 - 25

19 - 31

19 - 31

DENPASAR

JAKARTA

BANDUNG

YOGYAKARTA

SURABAYA

PAGE 12

Continued on page 6

‘Two and a HalfMen’ back withnew cast, equation

Tourismimproving, foreigncurrency tradeincreasing

Now they are turning to a new set of culprits causing what United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls “a public health emergency in slow motion.” This time, germs aren’t the target: We are, along with our bad habits like smoking, overeating and too little exercise.

Next week, the U.N. General Assembly will hold its first sum-mit on chronic diseases — can-cer, diabetes and heart and lung disease. Those account for nearly two-thirds of deaths worldwide, or about 36 million. In the United States, they kill nearly 9 out of 10 people. They have common risk factors, such as smoking and sedentary lifestyles, and many are preventable.

It’s hard to fathom the suffer-ing these maladies are causing in

some parts of the world.For example, until a few years

ago Ethiopia had one cancer spe-cialist, Dr. Bogale Solomon, for more than 80 million people.

“Now three more oncologists have joined,” he said, and these four doctors struggle to treat pa-tients in a country where cancer drugs and even painkillers are in short supply.

Wondu Bekele took his 2-year-old son, Mathiwos, to that lone cancer center in Addis Ababa when the boy developed leuke-mia. The desperate father got advice from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the United States, procured chemotherapy drugs from India, and against all odds, got his son treated. Yet the little boy died because the hospital had no separate ward to protect

him from catching disease from other patients. The father founded a cancer society in his son’s name and will represent cancer groups at the U.N. meeting.

“Practically all cancer-related medicines are either nonexistent or beyond the reach of ordinary Ethio-pians,” he said. “We are struggling to make a difference here.”

Advocates may be struggling to make a difference at the U.N., too. Key officials have been unable to agree before the meeting on specific goals — reducing certain diseases or risk factors such as smoking by a specific amount and date. With the global economy in turmoil, finding money to meet any goals could be an even big-ger hurdle.

“The timing is difficult with the economy the way it is, but it should not prevent us from setting goals,” said Dr. Sidney Smith, who heads the World Heart Federation, an umbrella group of more than 200 organizations focused on heart disease.

“Many of the things we’re proposing cost very little” and

some, such as smoking cessation, even save money, said Smith, a cardiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “We’re not talking about trying to find a new magic bullet. We’re just talking about behavior and cost-effective medicines” like aspirin and generic blood pressure drugs that lower the risk of multiple diseases, he said.

This is only the second time the U.N. has taken up a health issue. The previous one in 2001 led to creation of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, with billions from governments and private groups such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Now even rich nations are cash-strapped, and it’s unclear whether private groups will step in. Asked whether the U.N. meeting would alter its focus, the Gates Founda-tion indicated it would not.

“Unfortunately, there is a lack of comparable investment in infectious diseases, which disproportionately affect the world’s poorest,” said a statement from the foundation.

New global killers: heart, lung disease and cancer

Associated Press

What’s killing us? For decades, global health leaders have focused on diseases that can spread — AIDS, tuberculosis, new flu bugs. They pushed for vaccines, better treatments and other ways to control germs that were only a plane ride away from seeding outbreaks anywhere in the world.

AP Photo

In this 2002 photo provided by the family, Wondu Bekele sits with his son Mathiwos outside the the Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He died eight months later because of cancer in September 2003 at the age of four.

InternationalThursday, September 15, 20112

Bali News

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

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

ulses, farmers would not ask for more seeds because when the outcome of crop harvest was sold the price was

said, farmers should also optimize their agricultural products and no longer be oriented in the planting process to get various commodities with limited amount of results. “This cropping pat-tern should be changed so that farmers

Farmers should no longer produce more with various types of commodi-ties, but they gave fewer results. In-stead, this would be troublesome and

is farming correctly by focusing on a single product but has a promising selling point,” he said. This pattern was better because the volume of pro-

Denpasar (Bali Post)-The second mass rabies vacci-

3 banjar in Tabanan according to Bali Livestock Agency. On the latest data, the vaccination have approached 4,351 vil-lages from 4,370 villages there

dogs from estimated popula-tion of 302,042 dogs. Until 5th September, 21,929 dogs in 431

dogs at 534 villages in Gianyar,

Klungkung, 20,245 dogs in 581 villages at Karangasem, 32,042 dogs in 342 villages at Bangli

at Buleleng, 21,257 dogs at 248 villages in Jembrana and 28,742 dogs in 810 villages at Tabanan, got vaccination.

Head of the Agency, Ir Putu Sumantra, when contacted by Bali Post last Tuesday (13/9) stat-ed the vaccination has been done door to door and the people’s respond also awareness to rabies have increased as many dog own-ers never let their dogs walkabout anymore and brought the dogs

to a rabies post to be vaccinated. “In October we will do combing where we will vaccinate dogs that haven’t been located includ-ing new born puppies as well,” Sumantra explained.

He hoped that the public will perform maximally in vac-cinating their dogs to prevent and removing rabies com-pletely also by caging, not let-ting the dogs go on their own, maintain them as well. “This is the best way to handle it es-pecially vaccination on rabies animal carriers,” Sumantra concluded. (bit)

Second Vaccination Finished September

Gilimanuk (Bali Post) –The Ancient Human Museum

in Gilimanuk got more damaged yearly as a number of unused outside buildings seen on the west side of the area. The mu-seum that used to be a place to research on fossils is now used for breeding cows instead as seen last Tuesday (13/9) on the east side of the area. These buildings were built eleven years ago by the government for the museum’s

development area. Locals think that the dam-

ages on the roofs, wood con-dition, fences surrounding the area and shattering glasses were not only because of its age but also the sea wind. Locks on fences were also gone as many people went in there including breeding cows by having fences around them. According to locals the build-ing that was planned to be an

office was not often used let alone functioned.

Head of Education, Sports, Tourism and Culture, I Nengah Alit, stated couldn’t give any statement yet as he is still in Jakarta. Meanwhile Tourism Section Head, N I Ketut Cit-rawati, stated for museum her side is only the part in promot-ing it as tourist object while the facilities and building is not

Ancient Human Museum, Roof Collapsing

IBP/Olo

The collapse roof on the Ancient Human Museum in Gilimanuk.

The program that is ongoing such as critical and management and devel-oping forestry plantation or people’s forest land (at Nusa Penida) also semi critical land management at four sub districts. For critical land, Klungkung got special allocation budget IDR 700 million which could handle 400 hectares from 10,000 hectares where trembesi, intaran, gamelina and more were planted. While for semi critical lands in year 2010 there was 10,000 mango, durian and much more trees

planted here. “For the maintenance, we handover it to the farmers and as it is economically valued, we also ask farm-ers to maintain well. From the program around 70 percent of the plants grew,” Muliarta continued.

Muliarta admitted the forest’s com-position with the housing at Klungkung is not reaching its ideal number yet where 30 percent forests and 70 per-cent housing where at most 20 percent are forests, open green zone and rice

Reforestationin Klungkung, Depending on Central’s Fund

Bali Province Clean and Green program seemed hard to get its support from regencies as most of them have limited funding includ-ing in greenery as what happened in Klungkung, the Regent, Wayan Candra, has to debt Central Government Investment almost IDR 1 trillion in maintaining the ongoing fast growing development pro-gram here. “We are totally supporting clean and green program but the budget we can only depend on from the central such as special allocation because Klungkung Budget still can’t handle it,” Head of

in marketing products duction would be maximal rather than having many kinds of products but in a small quantity. Essentially, it was meant to protect the agricultural sector. Suparsa then added that the agriculture-related programs should be evaluated to provide maximal results.

When met separately, Chairman of the Idonesian Farmers Association (HKTI) of Bali Chapter, Prof. Nyoman Suparta, said that speaking about improving the standard living of farmers, there should be a major focus in developing the ag-riculture in Bali. It could be carried out by mapping the centers of production for some existing commodities. This would be better rather than building the agricultural sector with many types of commodities, but did not focus and then the result would not be good.(bit)

3International Bali News Thursday, September 15, 2011

Impact of adverse weather early this year

Make grain production come downSingaraja (Bali Post)—

High rainfall since early 2011 has made farmers in Buleleng face a great loss. Such high rain-

Chairman of Buleleng Rice Mill-

that farmers faced crop failure inthe planting season three monthsago. He added that based on his ob-

failures in the past three months

encountered a crop failure. Suchcondition was also experienced byfarmers at Petandakan, Pegadungan

percent of farmers faced crop fail-

who replaced their plants for manytimes but the result was the same.

well,” he said.

one trigger of the crop failure earlythis year was the adverse weathercondition. High rainfall causedthe pests and diseases to prolifer-ate quickly. One of the malignant

grain production came down. Hepointed out that farmland area of5,000 square meters could only

normal weather, the same areacould produce up to 2 tons of dry

production, farmers were also hardto sell their grain. Meanwhile, therice harvest group did not dare topurchase their grain because theywere mostly attacked by diseases asthe impact of bad weather. “Threemonths ago, farmers had to harvesttheir own rice because the grainbrokers were not willing to buyas they were damaged due to badweather,” he explained.

Corresponding opinion wasdisclosed by a rice milling entrepre-

-kasada Subdistrict, Made Nyiriasa.He also confessed that many farm-ers faced crop failure at his villagethree months ago on account of highrainfall. Not only farmers, grainbrokers also suffered adequatelygreat losses as the grain they pur-chased did not give optimal output.

great losses and so did businessmanbecause the output of milled grainreally declined,” he said.

planting season three months ago,one hectare of rice field could

weather was normal, the same area

Both dry grain and rice productionequally declined drastically in thelast harvest season. Previously,

rice would produce 70 kg of rice,

was the production in the harvestseason three months ago. But, inthis planting season, no farmers

in urban areas have set to harvest,”added Nyiriasa.

-ers in Northern Bali seemed to

Based on observation at a numberof locations, some subak areas had

farmer, the current harvest was quite

the current price of grain ranging

selling price, the farmer claimed to

previous harvest season. Mean-

square meters of farmland in thisharvest season was around 70-75kg. “Now, the harvest is good and

last harvest. Previously, maximal

IBP/Ole

The farmers are harvesting their crops. High rainfall since early 2011 has made farmers in Buleleng face a great loss.

Denpasar (Bali Post)—Trends in the export of wooden

handicraft products from Bali inrecent years continue to show offdeclines. This is indicated by theexport value of wooden handicraft

32.28 percent over the same periodlast year. Decline trend is also dis-cernible from the volume of exports

sluggishness of woodcraft marketwas inseparable from the imple-mentation of strict rules related tothe legality up to the process of ma-terial. Similarly, it was the impact of

in some countries against the legal-ity of the timber of origin became anobstacle to the marketing of Bali’sproducts.

our craftsmen are indeed facedwith strict rules in a number of

do not know or understand about itbecause they purchase the timberfrom a store or distributor and thensell their work to wholesalers,” hesaid.

had sought after the solution with

set up a timber stall becoming a sell-ing agency of the remaining timbersfrom Kalimantan or other regions.Later, this small shop would helptrace the origin of the timber.

“Most raw materials of woodcraft in Bali are still relying on thesupplies from outside Bali. Withthe strict legality rule of timber, its

availability in the market is wearingthin. On the other hand, produc-ers can no longer sell their workarbitrarily. Therefore, it is really indilemma,” explained Darmaja whileadding that his party supported thepreparatory efforts of craftsmen toimplement the timber legality veri-

Previously, Deputy Director for

and Forest Product Marketing,Ministry of Forestry, Maidiward,said that Bali was the window to

visited by millions of tourists, it wasalso well known for various kinds ofwooden handicrafts exported. “So,implementation of standard andlegality of products as demanded bythe market becomes very important.Moreover, it is in harmony withthe sustainable forest managementprogram,” he explained.

Based on the annual exportrealization rate, decline in woodenhandicraft had happened since

because it only recorded the export

Weakening of these export products

Basedon theMinistryofForestry,the national export value of timberand processed products continued

wooden handicraft products weresuspected to have been made from

Trend of Bali’s woodcraft export down

Mangupura (Bali Post)—Since about two months, SDN

2 Benoa primary school located at

South Kuta Subdistrict, have not gotclean water services. For the toiletneeds, the school was forced to buywater. Meanwhile, to water plants

teacher had asked each student tobring a bottle of water from theirhouse.

“Since two months, the wa-ter of Municipality Waterworks

our school. Similar condition alsooccurred to the surrounding com-munity. Sometimes they got water,sometimes not. More frequently,they did not get the water. Surpris-ingly, the hotels at the surroundingarea never lacked of water. Moresurprisingly, this area belongs tothe category that does not lack ofwater, but in fact we really do,”

said Headmaster of SDN 2 Benoa,Ketut Kadiasa, to reporter by phone

With a total of 225 students,his party found difficulty whenthe school children would like tourinate and defecate. “To resolvethis problem, we are forced to buy

he said. On that account, Kadiasaexpected relevant agencies paidattention to the school condition.

-tion the problem so it will not harmsmall community like us. Moreover,our students are in large number,”said Kadiasa.

Meanwhile, General Managerof PT TB handling the clean waterservice in South Badung, Daniel

of clean water to Sawangan regionwas caused by a leakage in the pipelocated in the south of Dewa Ruci

forced to buy water

International4 Thursday, September 15, 2011 News

Seven Afghans were killed and 15 wounded in the coordinated daylight attack, which sent foreign-ers dashing for cover and terrified the city from midday well into the night as U.S. helicopters buzzed overhead. No embassy or NATO staff members were hurt.

At daybreak Wednesday, shoot-ing could still be heard and at least one U.S. Army helicopter was firing at the top floors of a building from

which militants had attacked the heavily fortified embassy. Afghan police said at least one insurgent was believed to still be holed up in the building. Shooting and explo-sions were heard overnight from the building.

The militants’ seeming ability to strike at will in the most heavily defended part of Kabul suggested that they may have had help from rogue elements in the Afghan

security forces. The attacks also coincided with suicide bombings elsewhere in the capital — the first time insurgents have organized such a complex assault against multiple targets in separate parts of the city.

The Taliban claimed responsibil-ity for the attack, though Kabul’s deputy police chief said he thought an affiliated organization, the Haqqani network, carried it out.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed in an emailed statement that the Islamist insur-gents were in telephone contact with the gunmen and called on residents near the building to stay at home. He said the attackers would keep firing at the embassy and security personnel.

Associated Press Writer

NIAMEY, Niger — A son of Moammar Gadhafi and three of his generals were trying to gain political asylum Wednesday in this poor, landlocked nation at Libya’s feet, after a more than 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) drive across the vast desert that separates the two countries for what could be their only shot at refuge.

The generals are trying to pave the way for other Gadhafi sup-porters to follow, but one regime loyalist doubted that Gadhafi him-self ever will, saying he would be comfortable enough living in the Sahara to stay there indefinitely.

“I know the Guide well, and what people don’t realize is that he could last in the desert for years,” Aghaly Alambo said, referring to Gadhafi. “He didn’t need to create a hiding place. He likes the simple life, under a tent, sitting on the sand, drinking camel’s milk. His

advantage is that this was already his preferred lifestyle.”

He added, “He is guarded by a special mobile unit made up of members of his family. Those are the only people he trusts.”

Convoys carrying regime loyal-ists began arriving in Niger last week. The three generals, including the head of Gadhafi’s air force and two of his regional commanders, reached Niamey, the capital, over-night Monday. They were joined Tuesday by al-Saadi Gadhafi, government spokesman Marou Amadou confirmed shortly after midnight on Wednesday.

Alambo, a rebel leader from Niger who fought for Gadhafi and who led the first convoy across the desert, said the commanders were pushed to leave Libya after a total breakdown in communication with the ex-ruler. Gadhafi was last in contact with his military leaders 3½ weeks ago and his whereabouts are not known, he said.

Associated Press Writer

TOKYO — Japanese authorities questioned nine suspected North Korea defectors Wednesday, and are considering their request to be sent to South Korea after they were found in a small wooden boat off Japan’s western coast. Tokyo is ex-pected to issue a temporary landing permit for the group — three men, three women and three boys — as it weighs how to proceed with the rare defection from North Korea to Japan.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura hinted that his govern-ment was leaning toward honoring the group’s desire to be sent to South Korea. “By considering prec-edent, we would like to handle the

situation appropriately,” Fujimura told reporters, referring to a 2007 case involving a family of four North Korean defectors.

In that incident, a couple and two adult sons traveled in an open boat for six days to reach northern Japan. They were the first defectors from the country to arrive by boat in Japan in 20 years. The four said they were trying to escape extreme poverty and asked for asylum in South Korea, where they were eventually sent.

The group found Tuesday was first spotted by a local fisherman, who contacted authorities about an unfamiliar vessel in waters near the Noto peninsula, which juts into the Sea of Japan.

A senior diplomat at the South

Korean Embassy in Tokyo said Seoul will try to “smoothly handle the issue from the perspective of humanitarian-ism and based on their free will.” He would not elaborate and declined to be identified because officials were still working on the case.

According to the coast guard, the nine said they departed North Korea last Thursday. Although the boat’s engine was functioning when found, the group had run low on rations. The coast guard found a small amount of rice, some pickled vegetables and snacks. The group had run out of drinking water.

The coast guard towed the boat to the port in Kanazawa, about 180 miles (290 kilometers) west of To-kyo. The nine stayed overnight on a coast guard patrol vessel.

Japan weighs request of rare NKorean defectors

AP Photo/Kyodo News

Japan coast guardsmen escort people who were ferried by helicopter to a coast guard ship in waters off Kanazawa, northern Japan, on Tuesday Sept. 13, 2011 after they were found in a wooden boat in the Sea of Japan off Wajima, on the coast of the Noto peninsula, northern Japan.

Fighting drags on near US Embassy

AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq

An Afghan military helicopter fires on a building which is occupied by Taliban insurgents during a coor-dinated assault in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011.

Associated Press Writer

KABUL, Afghanistan — Teams of insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons struck at the U.S. Embassy, NATO headquarters and other buildings in the heart of Afghanistan’s capital. Fighting raged through dawn on Wednesday, raising fresh doubts about the Afghans’ ability to secure their nation as U.S. and other foreign troops begin to withdraw.

AP Photo/Sunday Alamba

Tuareg rebel chief and Gadhafi insider, Aghaly Alambo speaks to Associated Press during an interview in Niamey, Niger, Tuesday, Sept, 13. 2011.

Gadhafi’s son, 3 generals in Niger ask for asylum

Activities Thursday, September 15, 2011 5International

Temple CeremonyCalendar Event for August 31 through October 5, 2011

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

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

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

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

Balinese Temple Ceremony

31 Aug Buda Umanis Tambir Sari Bankar Titih Temple Kapal

12 Sep Purnama Ketiga Gunung Sari Temple LombokPauman Bhujangga Tonja DenpasarKawitan Arya Gajah Para Tianyar KarangasemPedarman Arya Telabah BesakihBukit Mentik TempleGunung Lebah Batur Kintamani

14 Sep Buda Keliwon Matal Village Temple SukawatiMerajan Agung Batuyang - batubulanPasek Gelgel Bebetin Temple Sawan - bulelengMaspahit Temple Sesetan - Denpasar SelatanPasek Bendesa Manik Mas Dukuh Kendran - TegalalangPanti Pasek Gaduh Temple SesetanMerajan Pasek Kubayan Wangaya GedePedarman Arya Kanuruhan Besakih

24 Sep Tumpek Kandang Puseh Temple GianyarLuhur Dalem Sagening Kediri - TabananMerajan Pasek GelgelTegal Gede Badung

27 Sep Tilem Ketiga Ulun Kulkul TempleUlun Kulkul Besakih

28 Sep Buda Wage Menail Tarukan Temple Cemenggaon SukawatiMr. Pasek Dangke Bambang - BangliPenataran Dalem Ketut Pejeng Kaja - GianyarPuseh Menakaji Temple Peninjoan - BangliMerajan Agung Temple Blangsinga - BlahbatuhKawitan Gusti Agung Blangsinga Blahbatuh GianyarKawitan Gusti Celuk Kapal Mengwi

4 Ock Anggar Kasih Perangbakat Bukit Buluh Temple Gunaksa - KlungkungTirta Sudamala Temple Bebalang - BangliPaibon Pasek Bendesa Sangsit - sawan - BulelengPasek Gelgel Temple Pangi Dawan - KlungkungGunung Tengsong LombokDalem Benawah Temple Benawah - GianyarDalem Temple Bitra - GianyarDalem Temple Banyuning Timur - BulelengDalem Pauman Batan Getas Pauman Batan Getas Titih DenpasarTengah Padang TegalalangMerajan Pasek Gelgel Desa Sande - Pupuan TabananKawitan Tangkas Kori Agung Desa Adat Pagan DenpasarHyangaluh/Jenggala BesakihMerajan Pasek Lurah Tutuan GunaksaMr. Pasek Gelgel SelulungMerajan Pasek Subrata MedahanMerajan Pasek Munggu MungguTengkulak Temple Tulikup - GianyarPenataran Badung Ogang Sidemen

5 Ock Buda Umanis Perangbakat Puri Agung Dalem Tarukan Pejeng Tampak SiringRambut Siwi Temple JembranaBatu Bolong Temple Canggu - KutaPasek Marga Klaci Temple TabananAgung Pasek Temple Dauh Waru JembranaRatu Pasek Temple Sangsit Sawan - BulelengPasek Tangkas Darma R. TabananVillage Temple Banyuning BulelengSrijon Temple TabananMr. Pasek Gelgel Lebah PangkungMerajan Pasek Gelgel PatemonTirta Anom Padang Sigi Sading - Tampak SiringDadi Agung Pasek Bendesa Dukuh Manuaba TegalalangPedarmaan Batursari Ngilis Jegu Penebel TabananPuncak Mundi Nusa Penida

IBP

Jimbaran - Ayana Resort and Spa Bali, which was recently listed on the World’s Hottest Celebrity Spas by FoxNews.com, has launched three new cosmetic treatments for guests wanting natural, non-surgical face lifts and slimming procedures.

The new treatments use 100 persen natural slimming and anti-aging technology by LPG, the world leader in cellular stimula-tion, with patented scientifically-proven technologies available in over 110 countries worldwide.

Ayana’s Spa Director, Michi Sonoda, said demand for such treatments has increased as guests seek more responsible and efficient ways to preserve beauty and enhance health.

“LPG’s products are renowned worldwide for their success in clarifying complexion, replenish-

ing wrinkles and firming skin, all without invasive surgery,” Michi said.

We have partnered with them for many years and are pleased to expand the range of treatments using LPG’s latest and most in-novative products, administered by professional therapists.

Reduce signs of ageing with this intensive facial, starting with cleansing, toning, peel, steam and mask to exfoliate dead skin cells, open pores and nourish your skin, before a 35-minute LPG6 facial massage designed to restart col-lagen and elastin production and release expression lines in the face, neck and décolleté.

A seaweed and caffeine slim-ming wrap will cleanse and soften your skin before your ther-apist applies a cellu contouring serum to fatty tissue and a cellu smoothing gel to toned areas to aid the fat-burning process and

improve circulation. A 45-minute session with the LPG Cellu M6 ST Endermologie machine will reactivate deep dormant cel-lular activity by mechanically stimulating the skin (mechano-stimulation) which is painless and noninvasive, to reactivate the removal of stored fat.

Flatten and firm your stom-ach for an overall slimmer and smoother appearance. Your therapist will lead you through breathing exercises before a fruit and flower petal scrub to elimi-nate dead skin cells and a wrap made from glycerin, seaweed, extract of caffeine and mineral elements to smooth your epider-mis and stimulate metabolism. Enjoy a relaxing foot massage while the mask is setting, and afterwards a massage to firm and shape your stomach using a Body Bust Vitality Cream or Body-lift Contouring Serum.

Ayana Resort Launch New Cosmetic Treatments

Thursday, September 15, 20116 News International

The shocking accident, capturedon video, came as little surprise tomany in Buenos ires, where 0people and 5 vehicles were hitby trains last year, causing a totalof 2 deaths.

n the latest accident, the bus

before an oncoming passenger traincrushed it against a concrete stationplatform. The collision forced the

View of a crash between two pas-senger trains and a bus in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011. At least seven people were killed and over 162 injured in a rush-hour crash involv-ing two trains and a bus whose driver drove around barriers in an at-tempt to beat them across the tracks, Argentine authori-ties said.

AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano

Bus-train crash kills 11, injures 212 in Argentina

Associated Press Writer

B ENOSA RES Argentina A us driver gam led and tried to rush across railroad trac s

and into another locomotive thatwas leaving the station in the otherdirection.

The bus driver was among thosekilled, and 2 2 were injured, in-cluding about 20 people in criticalcondition, said lberto Crescenti,director-general of rgentina’semergency medical system. Ninepeople died at the scene, police said,and two others in hospitals, accord-ing to the city’s health ministry.

The engineer in the train that hitthe bus was trapped in the crumpledmetal, and rescuers had to break hisleg to get him out. He also brokea hip and his chest was crushed,though he is expected to survive,union leader Omar Maturano toldThe ssociated Press. The othertrain’s engineer was operated onfor a foot injury.

Maturano blamed “how we areas rgentines, that we immediately

lift the barriers and cross despite

“ t’s a cultural problem. Thereare many people who are accus-

said. mergency officials werestill trying to extricate bodiesfrom under the wreckage hoursafter the crash.The collision hap-pened at : 5 a.m. during thebusy morning rush hour in thecapital’s densely populated Floresneighborhood, when many parentsuse public transportation to taketheir children to school. Childrenwere among the injured, accord-ing to rgentine TransportationSecretary .P. Schiavi.

There are hundreds of street-lev-el train crossings in the rgentinecapital, and their danger increasesat rush hour, particularly next to sta-tions, where trains can arrive everyfour minutes so frequently thatthe crossing barriers remain downmost of the time.

While a train is pausing forpassengers at a station, there is noway for a driver or pedestrian toknow whether the adjacent barrier

that train, or because another trainis rushing in from the oppositiondirection. Buildings line the tracks,making it impossible to see what’scoming.

“Our priority will continue to beinvesting in cost-effective treatments

in a gap where other resources are

However, advocates say there aredisparities in chronic diseases, too.

“The common belief that canceris a problem of rich countries is a

Cazap, president of the nion Fornternational Cancer Control.

Dr. la lwan, assistant director-general of the World Health Organi-zation, agreed.

“Most countries in frica arecurrently overwhelmed with their

patients, and the region also has the

New global killersFrom page 1 highest rates of stroke and high blood

pressure in the world, lwan said.n Ghana, 23 million people are

served by two oncology centers thecountry has four cancer doctors andno specialist cancer nurses, said Dr.

llen Lichter, C O of the mericanSociety of Clinical Oncology, an or-ganization of cancer specialists. Thesociety has trained more than 2,000doctors in developing countries oncancer care and plans to do more.

frica also remains the only re-gion in the world where infectiousdiseases, maternal-infant healthproblems and poor nutrition still killmore people than noncommunicablediseases do.

Worldwide, stroke andheart-relat-ed diseases account for nearly half ofall noninfectiousdiseasedeaths 7

million in 2008 alone, WHO says.Next is cancer 7. million deaths ,followedby respiratorydiseases suchas emphysema .2 million . Diabe-tes caused .3milliondeaths in2008,but that’s misleading most diabet-ics die of cardiovascular causes.

The .N. chose to focus on thosefour diseases and their common riskfactors: tobacco use, alcohol abuse,unhealthy diets, physical inactivityand environmental carcinogens.

ohn Seffrin, C O of the meri-can Cancer Society, said the .N.

andmoremoney, or a chance tomakea difference with these diseases maybe lost for decades.

he said. “ resolution alone is insuf-

Agence France Presse

P R S Paris appeals court has acquitted former Prime MinisterDominique de illepin of charges he took part in a smear campaign againsthis rival, President Nicolas Sarkozy, a fellow conservative.

illepin was acquitted last year of charges of complicity in slander inthe so-called Clearstream affair.

The prosecutor appealed, leading to the proceedings that concludedwith Wednesday’s acquittal. Prosecutors had been seeking a 5-monthsuspended sentence against illepin.

The six-year-long scandal is widely seen as having hurt illepin’spolitical fortunes ahead of next year’s presidential election.

illepin is perhaps best known abroad for a forceful 2003 .N. speechurging the nited States not to invade raq.

Paris appeals court acquits ex-PM in

slander case

Thursday, September 15, 2011 7Indonesia Today International

Antara

JAKARTA - Indonesia has been Toyota`s priority for auto-motive investment and business development in the developing countries in view of its growth and market potentials.

“Indonesia has been our main priority. Among the developing countries Indonesia has been positioned as a market growth leader and our hope is big,” Toyota Motor Corporation president director Akio Toyoda said at a press conference here on Tuesday.

The third generation of Toyoda family said Indonesia has contributed a lot to TMC especially at the time of automotive market slump in the US and Europe.

“We have been vigor and energy (by the automotive market growth in Indonesia). This is a huge contribution,” he said.

In view of that he said he would develop cars that match with road conditions in the country. The cars would go be-yond customers` and the world`s expectations, he said.

With regard to Toyota car production in Indonesia he said it would not only be aimed at domestic but also export markets, he said.

The president director of PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN), Masahiro Nonami, meanwhile said the company plans to build a second plant in Karawang, West Java, with a capacity of 70,000 cars a year, which is expected to be finished in 2013.

“Combined with present TMMIN capacity reaching 110,000 cars a year total production capacity in 2013 would

“Without determining the cur-rent high BI rate that had reached 6.75 percent, the rupiah is still strengthening. At least the central bank can lower the interest bench-mark rate 50 points to 6.25 percent,” an economist of the Diponegoro University, Semarang, Nugroho SBM said here Tuesday.

The financial crisis that caused

European and the U.S. economic slowdown has made capital flowing into Asia, including Indonesia.

Nugroho also said that the set-ting of a high interest rate would only encourage the flow of foreign capital into short-term investments, such as in capital markets and de-posits which are more secure, and promising high profits.

“In Europe and Japan, the deposit rate could reach almost zero percent, but in Indonesia, banks provide an av-erage of 4-5 percent per year. Higher interests with tens of billions of dol-lars in balance accounts,” he said.

Nugroho was concerned about the capital flow into Indonesia in short term investments, such as stock mar-kets or deposits, whereas the country requires large direct investments for the real sector to spur growth.

The real sector can grow rapidly with the support of adequate infra-structure, efficient bureaucracy, and clean governance, he said.

“One more thing, low-interest loans can also promote business competitiveness,” he said.

However, Indonesia is still strug-gling with a chaotic infrastructure, inefficient bureaucracy, and corrup-tion in many sectors.

These factors are considered to affect Indonesia`s competitiveness in the business world, and worsen with a high interest rate, he said.

State banks should act as pio-neers to lower interest on loans if the central bank reduce its Bank certificates, based on previous expe-rience, many state-owned banks are

reluctant to cut interest rates even though BI has lowered its rates.

“State-owned banks are targeted to deposit profits in the state trea-sury (state budget). As long as they can still sell high-interest credits, they did not always follow reduced BI rates. They (state-owned banks) as business entities also demanded higher profits,” he said.

However, the lower central bank`s benchmark rate would at least force the banks to review their current loan rates, which is about 13-14 percent per year (effective rate).

Antara

JAKARTA - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has reminded all levels of the society against forgetting their self identity and the nation`s cultural heritage by making noise, riots, and violence.

The president made the statement at the so-called Ani Yudhoyono Halal Bihalal friendship gathering with the United Indonesia Cabinet Wives Solidarity at the State Palace on Tuesday.

Indonesia, according to President Yudhoyono, is mov-ing towards a nation that has freedom with a flourishing democracy.

But he added that the freedom should not necessarily mean that the people are free to make noise, intolerant acts, violence, and conflicts among various group of people in the community.

“If it happened, we would forget our identity of unity and hospitality, and be rooted out form the cultural heritages and values of our predecessors,” the president said.

President Yudhoyono said a developed and democratic country with a mastery of science and technology should be able to maintain a balance between freedom, responsibility and obligations.

Related with the last condition in the city of Ambon, Security Minister Djoko Suyanto said the security situation has slowly returned to normal.

Djoko reiterated that the people in Ambon should not easily be provoked by misleading information that would lead to wider conflict in the city.

“With the appeal from religious leaders and commu-nity and youth leaders for the local people not be easily provoked, we hope the security situation in Ambon will permanently conducive,” Djoko said.

Religious leaders of Maluku have called on the local community, especially in Ambon city, not be easily pro-voked by misleading issues which could lead to communal conflicts.

The written call, signed by Muslim, Christian, Catholic, Buddhist leaders and the chairman of Religious Harmony Forum of Maluku, was read out here on Tuesday by Maluku Provincial Office of the Ministry of Religion head Moham-mad Atamimi.

According to the call, the people in Ambon, capi-tal of Maluku province, should not be provoked too easily by baseless information from irresponsible people, but try to refrain from the adverse effects of provocation.

Time to lower BI rateAntara

SEMARANG - The recent strengthening of the rupiah against the US dollar is considered timely for Bank Indonesia (Central Bank) to lower its interest rate (BI rate), an economist said here Tuesday.

President reminds people against forgetting self identity

Indonesia, Toyota`s priority in developing countries

FOTO ANTARA/Widodo S. Jusuf

Akio Toyoda met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

reach 180,000 cars a year,” he said.To develop the second plant the company would invest

Rp2.9 trillion, he said. “We will continue increasing local contents and develop human resources,” he said.

He estimated the new plant would create new jobs for around 15,000 people including the chain effects of parts industry development and sales network.

Toyota at present is the market leader in Indonesia con-trolling 15 percent market share.

The President Director of PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM), Johny Darmawan, said the production capacity could still be increased by 20 to 25 percent through overtime work. “The 180,000 capacity is under normal conditions. It may be higher if overtime work is carried out,” he said.

The chief of the ATM which is also the sole distributor of Toyota said TMC`s planned investment in Indonesia has been seriously considered based upon the country`s domestic market growth which is very high.

“The market is huge in terms of its potential. Our market is bigger than Thailand`s because the Indonesian population is larger,” he said.

Therefore he hoped infrastructure in Indonesia could be continuously improved so that Toyota`s investment would continue to increase.

Johnny said Akio Toyoda visited Indonesia in connec-tion with the 40th anniversary of Toyota`s presence in the country. During the visit he also met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono.

8 InternationalThursday, September 15, 2011

Bali TodayTourism improving, foreign currency trade increasing

IBP

enpasar The condition of tourism in Bali is recoveringand is also affecting the foreign currency trade. The num erof trade is increasing greatly and it is dominated y Europeanand Taiwan tourists. The statement was said y the CEO ofMandiri Ban area Benny ustanto accompanied y the

ice resident eputy Regional Manager awandri o riwar-dono on ednesday Septem er 1 2011.

ccording to Benny, the for-eign currency trade is dominatedby bank note followed by exportand import transaction. n MandiriBank alone, the trade is increasing

-ing of the bank area in 200 .

t that time, the foreign trade inMandiri Bank was only 800,000a day but now, the number up to7 million. Benny said that for

the transaction, uro is the highestfollowed by Taiwan dollar, Russiancurrency and Renmimbi which isChinese currency.

“The trigger of this condition is

the increasing number of touriststo Bali,” he added. Benny also saidthat the high number of export andimport also play important role.Meanwhile, the Business Develop-ment Manager area in MandiriBank, ke Laura Krisna said that theeconomic in Bali is very unique.

t is because tourism is the mainsource to develop the economy.This make the economic conditiondepend on the tourism so if the tour-ism is developing so the economyis also improving. “Bali is differentto other region due t o this uniquecondition,” she added. Kmb 8

IBP/Eka Adhiyasa

Tourists spending their holiday on Kuta beach.

Balinese Characters:From Palm-leaf to Keyboards

Probably, you have watchedor are going to watch arja oper-etta or Ramayana Ballet duringthe visit in Bali. t would bemore convenient if it is enjoyedwhile having dinner of Balinesecuisine. t the same time, youwatch the beauty of culture andtaste the delicacy of local culi-nary. You may hear the languagespoken by players or puppeteerwas not understandable. Ofcourse, it is Balinese language.

s apanese and Chinese,Balinese language also has itsown characters. They consistof some 8 main characters and0 vowel sounds. Ordinarily,

Balinese characters are usedto write palm-leaf manuscriptor lontar. Such characters areincised with sharp knife orstylus. When the writing workshave completed, they should berubbed with a blend of oil andlamp shoot to blacken them. Sothey are visible easily. Since theworks were performed manually,the copying of a manuscript tooka long time.

t a glance, Balinese char-acters look like Old avanese,Tamil ndia . t is inseparablefrom historical aspect wherethey had similarity of genea-logical lines. Today, Balinesecharacters still have restricteduse, namely at school for lo-cal subject from elementaryschool to senior high school. tis becoming the responsibilityof local government to preserveand develop Balinese languagein order it could survive in themidst of the growth of otherlanguages like Bahasa ndonesiaand foreign languages.

Balinese language poses amedium and spirit of Balineseculture. To preserve Balineseculture should also simultane-ously maintain and use of Ba-linese language in daily life. nother words, speaking Balineselanguage also characterizesone of the identities as a Bali-nese. mong the use of otherlanguages, Balinese languageshould remain to give a spaceto grow and develop. Other

than speaking and teaching it atschools, it should also accom-modate the need of modern com-munity or use in wider functionsof language.

Balinese community receivesabundant heritages of lontar orpalm-leaf manuscripts from thepredecessors retained by indi-viduals and museums. They car-ry many aspects of knowledge,ranging from philosophy, localhealing, literature, architecture,agriculture, herbal practice, as-trology and so forth. Therefore,if they could be interpreted andpresented in popular language,they could become attractive in-formation for young generationand saleable books for commer-cial needs. Today, there is alsoa trend of poising the traditionwith modern science namely byre-interpreting the indigenouswisdoms that are relevant to thecurrent time. People will get bal-anced inputs from the past andcurrent orientation.

Of course, such treasures will-

tion and future development ofBalinese culture because it staysin touch with its original roots.Young generation should be in-troduced to these roots at earlystage. Later, they will not losetheir identity and even could feelproud of it. Moreover, it couldgive them inspiration in making

arts, performance, traditionalarchitecture or herbal healings.

Thanks to modern technol-ogy, the writing of Balinesecharacters now can be madeeasy by Bali Simbar font. tis the innovative thinking of

Made Suatjana 8 liesbehind the composing of thisfont. His work has helped thewriting of Balinese charactersin word processing applicationlike Microsoft Word. Hope-fully, there would be morecreative software helping thedevelopment and learning ofBalinese language so it wouldnot come into extinction or befar left behind with the modernlife. BTN punia

Antara

The Head of Tourism Division Gi-anyar, nak gung Brahmanta saidhis side had formed a team to continuedevelopment plan of “water boom” withBalinese nuance in recreation area, atiHill. “We had formed a team.

They are working to continue devel-opment project of water boom’,” saidthe Head of Tourism Division Gianyar

nak gung Brahmanta, in Gianyar onMonday.

He said this water recreation willbuild on former swimming pool loca-tion. “We wished this water tourismable to attract both foreigners and do-mestic visitors,” said him. He is not yetconvinced about the project start. “Ourteam is still communicating with inves-tor,” said him.

The Head of ati Hill Tourism Object,da Bagus Rai predicted this Balinese

“water boom” will finish on 20 2.

Gianyar Planned for ‘Water

Boom’ Building

Balinese Culture

9International Thursday, September 15, 2011

Tambusan Be Pasih(Diced Fish Roasted in Banana Leaf)

OVERVIEW:The spicy fish dish is excellent for barbeques.

INGREDIENTS:600 gr (1¼ 1lb) boned mackerel fillets, skin removed

and cut in 2.5 cm (1in) cubes½ cup basic marinade1 heaped tbsp tamarind pulp, soaked in¼ cup warm water and juice extracted1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed1 ½ tsp salt3 lemon leaves, cut in hair like shreds3 tbsp oil2 salam leaves2 square of banana leaf 30x30cm(10x10 in)PREPARATION:In deep bowl combine mackerel cubes, spice paste,

tamarind juice, crushed black pepper, salt, lime leaf and oil, and mix very well in order to coat fish evenly. Cover and marinate in cool place for 2 hours. Place one salam leaf in center of each piece of banana leaf. Top with half of seafood mix and fold the same way as for Tum Bebek. Place parcels directly onto moderately hot charcoal and roast very slowly for one hour. Alternatively, bake on rack in a moderate oven or under a grill for about 30 minutes. Serve with Sambal Matah, Sambel Tomat, wedges of lime and steamed rice. (www.baliguide.com/balifood)

Base Gede(Basic Spice Paste)

INGREDIENTS:300 gr large red chili halved, seeded and chopped100 gr garlic, peeled and chopped75 gr ginger, peeled and chopped500 gr shallot, peeled and chopped75 gr laos, peeled and chopped100 gr kencur root, peeled and chopped175 gr fresh turmeric, peeled and chopped2½ tbsp dried shrimp paste, roasted2½ tbsp coriander seed crushed75 gr candlenut1¼ tbsp black pepper corn crushed2½ pinch nutmeg, freshly grated8 cloves150 ml coconut oil250 water¾ tbsp salt

PREPARATION:Combine all ingredients except water in food

processor and grind coarsely. Place in heavy sauce pan, add all remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat for approximately 60 minutes or until all water is evaporated and marinade changes to golden color.

Spiritual Farming:From One Green to Some other Greens

Green revolution occurred be-tween 1943 and 1970s through theimplementation of chemical fertil-izer and good irrigation system hasconjured up the rice production. In

medicine to resolve the famine intropical countries. Few decadeslater, it had an impact on the reduc-tion of environmental quality, likepollution in water, land and others.

part from the impact on the envi-ronment, it was also had an impacton human health like the rise ofsome new cancers.

Realizing these facts, now Balihas an initiative to become a greenprovince and implement the inte-grated farming system Simantri .Hopefully, implementation of thesystem could realize the Bali Or-ganic plan and consequently mini-mize the environmental destruction.

Advancement of science of technology does not answer all pro lems encountered y humanlife. n agriculture for instance modern farmers can now have oosted the uantity of produc-tion even in multiple amounts. On the one hand it’s a great success ut on the other hand itstill leaves a pro lem on the decline of environmental and human health uality.

Green province campaign includessome aspects, namely green culture,green economy and Bali green andclean. Green culture is intendedto change the societal behavior inmanaging their waste managementand environment. Green economyhints that all economic activitiesshould be in the eco-friendly ori-entation. These two aspects willempty out into the initiative of BaliOrganic.

One of the aspects is appliedin the agricultural field. So-cialization has been intensifiedwhile establishing farmer groups.Through breeding local cows, forinstance, farmers are expectedto get maximal benefits. Otherthan increasing the number ofcows, they will be able to takeadvantage the cow dung andurine for organic fertilizers. n

the long run, it will reduce the useof chemical fertilizers and pesti-cides. Of course, this endeavorwill reduce the production costthat should be spent by farmersand at the same time increase thequality of rice as well as improvethe environmental quality.

s a matter of fact, simplepractice of this concept could havebeen seen around 70s. Farmersusing cows to cultivate their landcould also take advantage of theircow dung. t was spread out onto

last for at least for two planting

could uniquely be managed byestablishing a cowshed in the up-per stream. Later on, the collecteddry cow dung was channeled to

BTN punia

Thursday, September 15 , 201110 InternationalDestinations

IBP

This Museum of Statue is a field archeological mu-seum. It has been built since 1960 under the supervision of Bali’s Archeological Regional Office and was opened for public in 1974.

In this building there is a collection of archeological remains dated back at pre-History of Bali.

This Museum is located between Pejeng and Bedulu village, by the side of the road to Tampak Siring. The distance from Penataran

Sasih temple to the Museum is about 400 m.

There are a lot of do-mestic and foreign tourists visiting this museum. They visit this place in order to look at the archeological remains or for doing a re-search.

Among the collection of pre-Historical remains, there are also some stuff made of stones, bones and so forth, the most attractive sight is some sarcophaguses originating from several places in Bali. In general the sarcophagus as are in the form of turtle, having bulges at its sides and deco-rated with a mask showing a big overlooking eyes, open mouth or joking with its tongue coming out. Other collection, among other things is some bronze stat-ues, etc.

Bedulu Museum

Thursday, September 15, 2011, 11

BUSINESSInternational

With one eye on escalating debtturmoil in urope and another ona stubbornly high . percent .S.unemployment rate, the Fed, whosepolicy panel meets next Tuesdayand Wednesday, looks set to beginshifting the composition of its bal-ance sheet to weight it more heavilywith longer-term securities.

Having taken short-term interestrates to near zero and bloated itsbalance sheet with bond purchasesthat topped 2 trillion, analysts saythe .S. central bank is looking forsmaller-bore ways to increase itssupport, such as shifting its hold-ings away from shorter-term debt.

“That sends a signal the Fed is

said Michelle Meyer, an econo-mist for Bank of merica MerrillLynch.

torrent of weak .S. economicdata has dashed hopes for a robustsecond half of the year after a dis-appointingly weak start, casting ashadow over the meeting.

.S. growth advanced by lessthan a percent annual rate in the

have acknowledged a need to down-grade their forecasts.

s prospects for a robust re-covery crumbled over the sum-mer, Fed Chairman Ben Bernankeannounced in late ugust thatpolicymakers would expand theirSeptember meeting from one day

haggle over what, if any, action totake to prop up the recovery.

n the nited States, a debtdowngrade after a bruising politi-cal battle over raising the nation’sborrowing limit has chilled business

-ers added no jobs on net in ugust,a blow to hopes for an upswing inhiring.

t the same time, urope’s debt-

ropean banks and scaring investorsaway from risk around the world.

.S. President Barack Obama on

Tuesday pressed the euro zone’smajor countries to take firmercontrol of the situation, and Trea-sury Secretary Timothy Geithnerannounced plans to attend a euro

Wroclaw, Poland on Friday.Other central banks have had to

shift their policy focus in responseto the dimming outlook. The uro-pean Central Bank took no actionlast week after a series of rate hikes,while the central banks of Canada,South Korea and ndonesia, amongothers, opted against removing anypolicy stimulus.

With storm clouds looming, Fedsentiment looks to have coalescedaround some form of reshaping theFed’s 2.8 trillion balance sheet tohold more longer-term securities.

Officials hope the move willpush down longer-term interestrates, helping encourage home

By lowering long-term yields on.S. debt, the Fed may also push

investors to seek higher returnsby shifting to stocks or corporatebonds.

Policymakers are likely to dis-cuss some more extreme alterna-tives -- such as targeting desirablelevels for employment or growth,or adopting a policy that would

target -- but those options wouldlikely be reserved in case theeconomic situation turns evenmore dire.

However, Fed officials aresharply divided over the need formore action. ny easing, includingthe smaller step of reweighing theportfolio, is likely to draw threedissents, as did the Fed’s ugustdecision to say it expected to holdinterest rates ultra-low at least untilthe middle of 20 3.

While Bernanke would probablylike to show the greatest possibleFed unity for any action, analystsdo not see the prospect of dissentsas an impediment to action.

The move to buy longer-datedgovernment debt has a history:Operation Twist, which ran from

0 to 5. That program wasan effort to both tackle a recession

but was not an effort to expandmonetary policy.

how bold they will be with Twist. modest approach would be for

the Fed to simply replace maturingsecurities with longer-term ones. nalternative approach would have theFed actively selling short-term se-curities to buy longer-dated debt.

Because the roll-off of assetsfrom the Fed’s balance sheet isvariable and depends on mort-gage markets, some analyststhink the Fed will opt for salesand purchases to provide regular-ity and predictability.

“They would want to announce

Levenson, chief economist for T.Rowe Price.

The more dramatic step ofbuying more bonds outright,while likely to be criticized forrisking inflation, cannot be ruledout entirely either.

“You wouldn’t want to do thatuntil you’re so desperate you

ric Green of TD Securities.full-blown debt default crisisin urope might be just such acatalyst, he said.

Fed set to give economy therapyReuters

ReutersM N L - The sian Develop-

ment Bank trimmed most of its20 and 20 2 growth forecasts forthe region while noting that sia’semerging economies are showingresilience in the face of the darken-ing global environment.

Fundamentals including soundbudgets and high reserves offer abuffer for emerging economies, butthere is no room for complacency,the Manila-based DB warned inthe update of its sian DevelopmentOutlook on Wednesday.

The update of the DevelopmentOutlook, which was released in

forecasts for this year.

could be temporary if global growthpicks up, and authorities have to beready to resume tightening mon-etary policy. olatility in capital

-ing, the DB said.

Despite global woes, growthwill remain healthy across the

region, the DB said. Developingsia -- made up of 5 countries in

Central sia, ast sia, South sia,

expected to grow 7.5 percent in20 and 20 2.

That is down from pril fore-casts of 7.8 and 7.7 percent respec-tively, and growth of .0 percentin 20 0.

DB President Haruhiko Kuro-da noted the tentative recovery inmajor industrial economies earlierthis year had been undermined bythe ratings downgrade of the nitedStates, urope’s debt problems andapan’s triple disaster in March.

“Yet developing sia’s econo-mies are continuing their steady

“ lthough led by the People’sRepublic of China and ndia, mo-mentum is felt across the whole

The DB said China is expectedto grow .3 percent in 20 and .percent next year, compared withthe pril forecasts of . and .2

respectively. ndia is now likely togrow 7. percent and 8.3 percent -lower than forecasts made in prilof 8.2 percent for this year and 8.8percent for 20 2.

-cerns have eased as commodityprices have come off their 20peaks and worries about the globaleconomy have grown. But the DBsaid the prices could spurt higheragain.

forecast at 5.8 percent this year,compared with the pril projectionof 5.3 percent, while the outlookfor 20 2 was unchanged at .percent.

“ f commodity prices resumetheir climb and the current weak-ness in the global recovery turnsout to be temporary, regional centralbanks will have to speed up theprocess of monetary tightening,

Many of sia’s central bankshave paused their rate-hiking cycles

as global uncertainties grow. Chinamay put further tightening on hold

ugust while some analysts sayndia is expected to hike rates only

once more by year-end as outputgrowth falters.

The DB said allowing someexchange rate appreciation couldhelp contain inflation by lower-ing import prices, and that couldbe combined with temporarycapital controls designed to curbunwanted hot money flows whichhave been preventing some poli-cymakers from raising rates in theinflation fight.

“With real interest rates havingturned negative in several coun-tries, more monetary tighteningis necessary to control inflationboth over the next 2 years and themedium term, when the globaleconomy will regain momen-

The outlook for capital flowswas uncertain, according to the

DB. t said that while sia’s

strong economies and higherinterest rates attract capital, intimes when risk aversion rises,investors tend to retreat to ad-vanced economies, so policy-makers needed to prepare forvolatility.

nflows to sia have moder-ated as concerns over the globaleconomy have grown this year,the DB said.

There were two main concernsabout a surge in short-term flows.First, cash flowing in can compli-cate efforts to cool economies,and can weaken the effectivenessof monetary policy. Second, in-flows can be followed by a desta-bilizing reversal of cash.

“Regional policy makers maytherefore find it appropriate touse well-targeted measures toimprove their financial super-vision and regulatory rules, asthe recent short-term flows aredominated by those coming

the DB said.

ADB trims Asia growth outlook, warns

Entertainment InternationalThursday, September 15, 201112

“It’s nice,” offered Cryer, add-ing a query to Jones: “But that’s not your hand, is it? I believe they had too big a black spot there and they photoshopped in a hand.” “That’s not my head, is it?” said Kutcher.

Oh, those kidders. But the silliness carries a message: The three actors are a comfortable fit with each other and for the revamped “Two and a Half Men,” which returns Sept. 19 at 9 p.m. EDT for its ninth season, mi-nus the fired Sheen. Executive producer Chuck Lorre and the Warner Bros. studio clashed

bitterly with their erratic, hard-partying star before dumping him last March and cutting the season short. The task now is to salvage what has reigned as TV’s top-rated comedy.

Kutcher, who carries the weight of replacing Sheen as newly introduced character Walden Schmidt, diligently ticks off reasons the sitcom can remain a hit. “The series has momentum. It has fans that are built in,” he said. “I think the great thing the writers have done is they haven’t lost the sensibility of the show. ... It’s going to offend people just

as much as every episode has offended people.”

“Two and a Half Men” ac-complished that by trafficking in sexual jokes and innuendo as it detailed the antics of fast-living womanizing cad Charlie Harper (Sheen). More fodder came from his roommates, Charlie’s neurotic, divorced brother Alan (Cryer) and young nephew Jake (Jones).

The shake-up has given the show the chance to push the en-velope in a new direction: laugh-ing in the face of death, with Sheen’s character jettisoned in a fatal accident. Kutcher fills the vacuum playing an Internet ge-nius who is wealthy but unlucky in love and who moves in with Alan and Jake, creating a new buddy triangle. Judy Greer plays the heartbroken Walter’s ex.

Producers have been trying,

Associated Press Writer

TORONTO — Even though they’ve now been released, the three men known as the “West Memphis Three” are still getting support from Eddie Vedder and the rest of Pearl Jam. The three men were convicted in the slayings of three Cub scouts nearly two decades ago, but were recently released — after spending 18 years behind bars — after years of questions about the evidence in the case.

“Now we are helping them regain their footing, and it’s fascinating to see them on the outside world. It’s a real joy,” Vedder told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin were convicted in 1993 for the mur-ders of three 8-year-old boys found naked and hogtied in West Memphis, Ark. Steve Branch and Michael Moore drowned in a drainage ditch in about 2 feet of water; Christopher Byers bled to death, and his genitals were mutilated and partially removed.

Misskelley confessed, but his lawyers said later he was coerced, and the men have proclaimed their innocence. Their story was told in the 1996 HBO documentary “Paradise Lost,” which brought attention to the trial and made a case that the guilty verdicts were unjust. Echols was sentenced to death, while the others got life sentences.

Vedder says Pearl Jam’s efforts for their release began at least 15 years ago. He just decided to keep it “under the radar, because the last thing that they needed was a rock band supporting them.”

He even visited them in prison. “It was re-ally difficult to visit someone in prison, and then have to leave, and knowing how they were

Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK — The title says it all — “Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway.” The Tony Award-winner plans to bring his one-man show to the Broadhurst Theatre on 44th Street from Oct. 25 to Jan. 1. Jackman will be accompanied by an 18-piece orchestra and will perform his favorite mu-

sical numbers. He’s already fine-tuned the show in San Francisco and

Toronto.Jackman was in Rodgers

& Hammerstein’s “Oklaho-ma!” at the National Theatre

in London and made his Broadway debut portray-ing the 1970s singer-songwriter Peter Allen in “The Boy From Oz,” for which he received the 2004 Tony.

The actor, who plays Wolverine in the “X-Men” movie

franchise, was last on Broadway in 2009

with Daniel Craig in “A Steady Rain.”

‘Two and a Half Men’ back with new cast, equation

Associated Press Writer

BURBANK, Calif. — The stars of CBS’ “Two and a Half Men” are scrutinizing a publicity photo depicting them as a tuxedo-clad trio sharing a vintage microphone. Ashton Kutcher is in the center of the shot, flanked by Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones on the other. Charlie Sheen, of course, is out of the picture.

AP Photo/CBS, Jeffrey R. Staab

FILE - In this May 18, 2011 file publicity image released by CBS, the cast of “Two and a Half Men,” from left, Jon Cryer, Ashton Kutcher, and Angus T. Jones are shown during their presentation at CBS’ Upfront at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Pearl Jam support for West Memphis Three continues

still going to be there,” Vedder said.Vedder, along with other high profile enter-

tainers who included Johnny Depp, the Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines, Peter Jackson, and Henry Rollins, advocated their release and raised money for their defense. Vedder says the idea of musicians and actors coming together to change the system intrigues him: He sees music as a source of power for good. “It can throw a monkey wrench into forms of tyranny we have around us,” he said.

AP Photo/Brian Chilson, file

FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2010 file photo, singer Eddie Vedder of the band Pearl Jam par-ticipates in a news conference before the Voices for Justice concert in support of the West Memphis Three in Little Rock, Ark.

Hugh Jackman to return to Broadway with old songs

In this theater im-age released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown, actor Hugh

Jackman is shown. Jack-man will return to the New York stage next month in “Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway,” playing Oct. 25

AP Photo/Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Joan Marcus

International Thursday, September 15, 2011 13Science

Previous studies had hinted at a causal link between hibernation and longevity, but this is the first one to show the biologi-cal mechanism that may account for it.

In the laboratory, researchers led by Christopher Turbill of the Institute for Wildlife Ecology in Vienna created an artificial environment for 25 adult virgin female hamsters, offering only eight hours of light per day. The faux-winter conditions were designed to trigger a hi-bernation response, according to the study, published Wednesday by the British Royal Society in the journal Biology Letters.

For 180 days, half the rodents basked in a relatively balmy 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), while the others half lived in a chillier clime, about 9.0 C (48 F). Both groups enjoyed all-you-can-eat buffet. In measuring the results, the researchers distinguished between shal-low torpor, when body temperature dipped below 29 C (84 F), and deep torpor, when temperature dropped under 25 C (77 C),

nearly 10 C (18 F) below normal.They inserted micro-transponders un-

der the animals’ skin to keep track of the changes. Turbill and colleagues suspected that the energy-saving, coma-like state had an impact on telomeres, which sit like tiny caps on the ends of chromosomes, protect-ing the precious strands of genetic code. Telomeres and telomerase, the enzyme that control them, are a key agent in age-ing and longevity.

Every time a cell divides, the telomeres get worn down a little bit. The enzyme’s job is to partially rebuild them. Eventu-ally, when the telomeres are worn beyond repair, cell death is triggered.

Agence France Presse

A Japanese research team on Wednesday unveiled a headset they say can measure activity in the brain and could be used to improve performance in the classroom or on the sports field. Engineers from Hitachi working with university scientists say the lightweight headset will accurately measure minute changes in the amount of blood in the brain -- a key indicator of how hard the organ is working.

They said numerous wireless devices could be run simultaneously, with the data displayed on a screen in real time, allowing researchers to monitor the performance of up to 20 people, or a whole sporting team, at once. The Japanese electronics giant said it currently has no plans for a commercial launch of the equipment, which uses near-infrared light to detect the amount of blood in the brain.

Scientists studying cognitive performance have previously had to use highly artificial environments, such as laying people in a dark tube and keeping their heads still, said Ryuta Kawashima, head of the research team. But the newly developed gear will allow them to take measurements in real-life situations where human brains are interacting in complicated social situations, said Kawashima, of Tohoku University.

Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES — The setting sun splashes warm hues across a ripening cornfield as a man and his daughter wander through rows of towering plants. Like any parent, the dad says in the television commercial, he was concerned about high fructose corn syrup. But medical and nutrition experts reassured him that in essence, it’s the same as cane sugar.

“Your body can’t tell the difference,” he says. “Sugar is sugar.” That key claim, made last year by the corn industry as it tries to rebrand high fructose corn syrup as simply “corn sugar,” was weighed for the first time by a federal judge Tuesday after a group of sugar farmers and refiners sued corn processors and a lobbying group.

Their lawsuit alleges the father-in-the-

cornfield advertisement and other national television, print and online commercials from the corn industry amount to false advertising because sugar is not the same as high fructose corn syrup, the sweetening agent now found in the bulk of sodas and many processed foods.

Sugar makers say there are numerous differ-ences between the white, granular product and the sticky liquid that is high fructose corn syrup. Attorney Adam Fox claimed the syrup industry has even acknowledged as much in the past.

At a hearing on the corn industry’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Fox showed U.S. Dis-trict Judge Consuelo Marshall the papers from a case in Mexico filed by the Corn Refiners Association that carefully outlined how sugar and high fructose corn syrup are different. That case in 1997 was related to the export of high fructose corn syrup to Mexico.

Do lazy mammals live longer?Agence France Presse

Small furry mammals partial to a daily dose of hibernation in winter are prob-ably extending their lifespan at the same time, according to a study published Wednesday. Experiments with Djugarian hamsters native to Siberia showed that when the tiny rodents temporarily lower their metabolism and body tempera-

Small furry mammals partial to a daily dose of hibernation in winter are

probably extending their lifespan at the same time, according to a study

published WednesdayIBP/afp

Hitachi engi-neer Takeshi Ogino dispays a portable ‘brain-machine’ interface’ equipped with an optical sen-sor in a head-set to measure prefrontal bloodstream, at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo on Sep-tember 14.

IBP/afp

Hitachi unveils headset to study brain activity

Sugar and corn syrup makers in bitter clash

AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File

FILE - This file photo taken Aug. 30, 2011, in Central Illinois shows farmer Jason Podany using a combine to harvest corn near Farmingdale, Ill. A bitter battle over whether high fructose corn syrup should simply be called “corn sugar” is headed for a federal courtroom in Los Angeles.

Thursday, September 15, 2011, 14 InternationalSport

Once ahead they quickly settledinto a rhythm, enjoying almost 70percent of possession, but failed tokill off the seven-times championsand surrendered the lead for a sec-ond consecutive game followingSaturday’s 2-2 La Liga draw at RealSociedad.

Their disappointment was com-pounded by the news that mid-

for around four weeks after tear-ing a leg muscle shortly before

penetrate the opponent’s penaltyarea crowded with eight defenders,”Barca coach Pep Guardiola told anews conference.

“We tried but at the end theylevelled from a corner. What Milandid has a lot of merit. They madeit as far as our goal two and a halftimes and they came away with apoint.”

into a sultry Nou Camp were

Milan snatch 2-2 draw at holders Barcelona

Reuters

BARCELONA - Thiago Silva powered home a header inthe second minute of stoppage time to steal a 2-2 draw for ACMilan at holders Barcelona in the heavyweight pair’s Champi-ons League Group H opener on Tuesday. Barca had recovered

stunned into near-silence secondsafter the start when Brazil strikerPato left the home defence for dead

with a low shot. With captain Carles

after knee surgery and his partnerin central defence Gerard Piquesidelined, Guardiola deployed mid-

Mascherano at the back.The decision immediately ap-

Brazil striker Pato exposed theirobvious lack of pace. StraightawayBarca created a slew of chances foran equaliser before World Player oftheYear Lionel Messi, after strikinga curling freekick against the post,once again came to the rescue.

scorer in the competition the pastthree seasons, danced through theMilan defence to the byline andsquared for Pedro to rifle home

stranded. Barca had recovered theircustomary poise and a goal had long

to crack the ball into the top cornerfrom 30 metres.

The home side were in totalcontrol without really threatening

corner, although the France in-ternational claimed he had been

Seedorf swung the ball over forSilva to claim an unlikely point.

“When they score an equaliser

in the last minute you are leftlooking a bit stupid,” Barca’s

Spanish television. “We haveto pick ourselves up and keepworking.”

Reuters

-chael Ballack cheered when his teamwere drawn with his former club Chelsea

season. His return to Stamford Bridgeon Tuesday, however, left the formerGermany captain with a bittersweetaftertaste.

Ballack, who will be 35 later thismonth and had spent four seasons at Chel-

title, was honoured by the London clubprior to the game on Tuesday.

But that was the last bit of good newshe would have for the evening, missinga huge chance for the lead in the 57thminute and being taken off a little later,37 seconds before his team conceded the

been completely different for us,” the

go in and nothing can change that.” Bal-

lack was a surpriseinclusion in the squad after being mainlyrelegated to the bench this season.

His experience and knowledge ofChelsea seemed to have worked in hisfavour when coach Robin Dutt compiled

champions League game in more than six

himself inside the box on 57 minutes withthe score 0-0 and only goalkeeper PeterCech to beat.

Ballack, whose long career includeslosing a Bundesliga title on the last match

with Leverkusen and Chelsea, failed toelude Cech and Chelsea went on to scoretwice and win the game.

despite a very good performance, Duttsaid: “He was tired.” “No, not really,”

good. But that is the coach’s decision and

Ballack enjoys bittersweet return to Stamford Bridge

AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza

AC Milan’s Pato from Brazil celebrates after scoring against FC Barcelon during his group H Champions League soccer match at the Camp Nou stadium, in Bar

Thursday, September 15, 2011, 15International Sport

Federer and Stanislas Wawrin-ka will be expected to carry Swit-zerland’s hopes in the singles atRoyal Sydney Golf Club against

ustralia’s former world numberone Lleyton Hewitt and risingtalent Bernard Tomic. Federerlooked relaxed in a practicesession on Wednesday on thegrasscourts at the tie’s venue,the 30-year-old training in bothsingles and doubles againstpractice partners in a possiblepreview of his participation overthe weekend.

Wawrinka, who suffered aleg injury during the .S. Open,appeared in no discomfort during

his training session and is likely tobenamedalongwithFederer in thesingles when the draw is releasedon Thursday. ustralia have theirown injury concerns, with LleytonHewitt forced to withdraw fromthe .S. Open after failing to re-cover from an injured toe that hasbothered him for months.

“ wouldn’t be putting a lotof money that will be playinganything after this event,” Hewitttold reporters on Tuesday. “Rightat the moment, ’m just focus-ing on getting through this tie.”

ustralia, a former Davis Cuppower with 28 titles, second onlyto the nited States’32, have lost

all three of their World Groupplayoffs in the past three yearsand face a mammoth task to beatthe Federer-led Swiss.

“Roger is the main guy in thetie and he’s the guy with the mostform and the best form comingin,” said Hewitt, whose rankinghas plummeted to th amid hisinjury struggles.

“He’s not only a great singlesplayer, he’s a great doublesplayer as well, so think he gives

“ think Stan Wawrinka sort oflifts a bit when Roger’s around aswell, so it’s not going to be easyfor all our guys.”

Reuters

-ing out of two tournaments in ugust and September, the GTO Tour said onWednesday. The -year-old withdrew from the Kansai Open and last week’sToshin tournament, which he missed for the second year running, citing a soreshoulder.

But apan’s GTO Tour took a dim view of shikawa’s decision to pull out

as punishment. “Rules are rules,” the tour’s executive director ndy Yamanakatold Reuters. “They are put in place to protect the tournaments. They are not rulesonly for Ryo.”

Yamanaka insisted the apanese tour would not make any special concessionsto shikawa’s enormous celebrity in apan, where his grinning face looks downfrom giant billboards and appears frequently on T commercials. “Yes he’s asuperstar but he is also one of 200 GTO members and everyone plays underone set of rules. You should not change rules for one person.”

GTO chairman Tadashi Koizumi said the organisation would “get tough” nextyear to tighten the rules and prevent players suddenly pulling out of tournaments.“We want the players to support the apanese tournaments,” saidYamanaka. “Theycan’t just pay money and take time off, so we want to amend the rulebook.

“ ven if shikawa goes off and plays on the merican PG Tour he will stillhave to abide by our rules.” shikawa apologised and produced a doctor’s note.“My left shoulder felt like it was about to dislocate,” apan’s brightest hope fora future men’s major champion told the Nikkan Sports.

so made the tough decision to withdraw. “Last year was playing in urope sohad to pull out. t’s bad timing.”

Little tune-up time for Federer ahead

of Davis CupReuters

S NE - Roger ederer has only two days to tune up for Swit erland’s id to reainto the avis Cup elite when they clash with Australia in their orld Group playoffstarting on riday. The 1 -times grand slam champion whose last match was a ta ing

-ows arrived in Sydney on ednesday days after his team mates.

IBP/rtr

Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a ball during a practice session in Sydney

Japan’s Ishikawa

IBP/ist

Ryo Ishikawa

Reuters

LONDON - rgentina willreturn to the MotoGP calendarfrom 20 3 with a race at theTermas de R o Hondo circuit inSantiago del stero province,series promoters Dorna said on

Tuesday.rgentina last hosted a motor-

cycle grand prix in Buenos iresin , with the top 500cc racewon by merican Kenny Robertsjunior.

-site said the three-year deal was

signed in Paris in the presenceof rgentine president CristinaFernandez and Dorna C O Car-melo zpeleta.

The deal was subject to nec-essary renovations being carriedout to bring the circuit up tosafety standards.

Argentina to host MotoGP race in 2013

Thursday, September 15, 201116 SportI N T E R N A T I O N A L

Vettel could seal the title in the next race in Singapore if the results favour him. Despite that, the German insists he is not thinking about the points or the gap, but just about doing a good job there. “Looking at the championship obviously there is still some way to go,” said Vettel. “We are in a very strong position, which I think we deserve to be in because we’ve been working very hard with very few mistakes. We’ll see.

“I don’t really think about the points and the gaps and the possibilities in the next race. As long as we come out with a bigger lead after the next race I think we have done a good job.” Team boss Chris-tian Horner, whose team dominated the race at Monza, believes Singapore will be a very tough challenge for the team despite its current form.

“Maybe we should run with no down-force, because it worked at Monza,” joked Horner. “It’s a completely different chal-lenge, it’s the bumpiest, toughest track

on the calendar coming up, physically demanding, hot, more corners than any circuit so its going to be a big challenge.

“It’s high downforce. We finished a very close second to Fernando Alonso last year. It’s a race we haven’t won and one we would dearly love to. “The weather can be inclement there, we haven’t had a wet race there which has been remarkable. Ideally we would achieve the same result as Monza, but we will go there and attack the race.”

He added: “The RB7 was so effective at Monza I think because of the amount of effort that was put into the low downforce configuration.

“It’s a track that, when we were plan-ning for the year, we decided ‘right lets put an awful lot of effort into Monza, come up with something bespoke for the venue. The aerodynamic group have done a phe-nomenal job. Of course we went highly aggressive in our set-up and our choice of gear ratios for the race itself.”

HIROSHI Aoyama has urged his MotoGP compatriots to trust the reports that have declared the Japanese Grand Prix as a safe event to attend in order for them to ‘cheer up the people that are suffering inside’. As Japan’s only rider competing in the MotoGP class, Aoyama has been steadfast in supporting the Motegi event, which was rescheduled for October 2nd in the wake of the tsunami and earthquake that devastated the country in March.

However, it is Motegi’s proximity to the Fukushima Nuclear plant, which was damaged in the disaster, that has raised con-cerns among riders, with many still uncertain as to whether it is safe to race in Japan as a result.

Despite this, Aoyama has always maintained he will race on home soil regardless, the Gresini Honda rider insisting it is important to understand that life in Japan, and around the affected area, is continuing without worry. Even so, Aoyama says he understands the trepidation of his counterparts.

“We were a very lucky country and I would say thanks to all the people who supported the Japanese people in Japan,” he said. “And what I can do now is still try to race and try to give my best in the race and show good news. And cheer up the people who are still suffering inside. And so because of this, I would say let’s go to Japan to make a MotoGP race.

“You know, we checked, the independent company (ARPA) checked the situation of Japan, so they said it’s OK, we can go. So now the race is going on. I’m very happy about that. But still some people are doubting or thinking - I fully understand the situation - but if they would go to Japan to race, I am very happy and I appreciate all the guys who go to Japan.”

Touching on a document that was signed by every MotoGP rider – except for Aoyama - at Mugello asking for more infor-mation on the situation, the former 250GP champion says it is important for riders to trust what they are now being told.

“I know everything is OK and we can go. And Japanese government said it’s OK. And afterward also Italy, Spain,

America, they say you can travel to Japan. So that means it’s OK

and I trust this.“ I t ’s a difficult s i t u a -tion for

Europe-an people.

I am Japanese, so anyway, I have a house there so I go home, even in a disaster situa-

tion. It’s a com-pletely different

situation. And if I’m in a different

situation, like the other side, for sure I would think

about it.

Sebastian Vettel says there is still “a long way to go” in the championship despite his huge gap in the standings. The Red Bull driver scored his eighth win of the season at Monza last weekend to increase his lead in the standings to 112

points over Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

Red Bull driver Sebas-tian Vettel of Germany celebrates in the pad-dock after winning the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Monza racetrack, in Monza, Italy, Sunday, Sept.11, 2011. AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati