Siomay Bandung

Bahan:

500 gr  daging ikan tengiri, haluskan

2 sdm   bawang merah halus

1 sdm   bawang putih halus

2 sdt     lada halus

1 sdt     chicken powder

3 sdm   gula pasir

3 sdt     garam

1 sdm   minyak wijen

3 btr     telur

400 gr  labu siam, parut kasar, tiriskan

450 gr  sagu tani

Cara membuatnya:

Aduk daging ikan halus dengan bumbu-bumbu halus, tuang telur, aduk rata.

Tambahkan labu siam, aduk rata, lalu tuangkan tepung sagu, aduk rata lagi, sisihkan.

Ambil satu lembar kulit siomay, isi dengan adonan ikan, lipat ketas, rapikan bentuk wiron. Taruh diatas loyang yg sudah dipoles minyak, kukus 20 menit.

Rebus kentang ½ matang, kupas kulitnya, belah dua. Kerat-kerat bagian yg rata, beri adonan ikan. Kukus

Potong pare, buang bijinya, isi dengan adonan ikan. Kukus 30 menit.

Potong kotak tahu, goreng sebentar, kerat-kerat dengan gapru salah satu sisinya, tempelkan adonan ikan. Kukus 30 menit.

Telur rebus belas dua, tempeli dengan adonan ikan. Kukus.

Chinese Tourism to US Growing

LOS ANGELES — In the past several years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of tourists from China visiting the United States.  They have helped boost local economies and businesses expect the growth to continue.  Some businesses in Los Angeles are catering to their needs.

Visitors to Los Angeles find countless movie studios, endless stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a constant flow of Chinese tourists.

Mark Liberman is with the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board:

“Los Angeles, we are the city in the United States that more Chinese come to than any other city in the States," said Liberman.

Liberman says there has been a steady increase in the number of tourists from China who visit Los Angeles.  Other popular destinations include San Francisco, New York,and Washington, D.C.  Economist Ferdinando Guerra, of the LA County Economic Development Corporation, says more than 1 million tourists from China visited the United States last year.

“It is a nearly 40 percent increase from 2010 to 2011," said Guerra.

Joseph Chi of Shine Tours says this year the Los Angeles company has seen an almost 30 percent increase in tour groups from China.

“All the China passport holders, they thought the United States is their dream country like to visit," said Chi.

China’s growing middle class means more can afford to travel overseas.  Like most Chinese tourists, Liu Wei Yie is with a  group. 

He says the United States is currently the world’s most powerful economy.  He says the United States was established with a spirit of independence and competition that he wants to see.

Steven Chou of Universal Studios Hollywood says the number of Chinese tourists has been increasing in the past two to three years,  but he says especially this year, after the U.S. government made the visa application faster for Chinese tourists.

“We definitely see the trend to continue.  From my perspective, and from Universal Studios Hollywood we are definitely looking for ways to enhance the experience of the Chinese guests," he said.

At Universal Studios Hollywood, there is a Mandarin movie studio tour, Mandarin speaking employees, and maps in Chinese.  The theme park also has restaurants that serve burgers and fries, and also Chinese food.

The Montage Beverly Hills also caters to its Chinese guests with Chinese tea in the hotel rooms, handwritten notes in Chinese, and Mandarin speaking staff.

General Manager Hermann Elger says his Chinese clients are businessmen and families.  Many shop on Rodeo Drive, a street famous for its luxury goods.

“And our retail partners on Rodeo tell us they are the largest segment of the shoppers as of this year," said Elger.

Economist Ferdinando Guerra says Chinese tourists like to shop, and they are big spenders when they travel.

"The Chinese actually spend more than double the average international visitor in California," he said.

Guerra says Chinese tourists are contributing billions of dollars to the U.S. economy, which translates to more American jobs.  The U.S. Commerce Department expects the number of tourists from China to double by 2016.

After 201 Countries, Man Ends World Tour in South Sudan

The 33-year-old Briton, who hails from Liverpool, has been on the road for almost four years. Remarkably, he made the journey strictly by land transportation and by sea.

“Today is the 1,426th day of the Odyssey expedition, which is my world-record-breaking attempt, which is to be the first person to visit every country in the world without flying," he said. 

On a shoestring budget funded by donations from family and friends, he says he hitchhiked, stayed on people’s couches, and only ate local food on his journey.

Wearing a cowboy hat and saddled with three small bags in tatters, Hughes said when he first announced his plans, no one was convinced he would make it this far.

“Most people thought that I was a bit mad, a lot of people thought it was impossible, a lot of people thought it could not be done.  Most of the questions involved how are you going to get to Iraq, how are you going to get to Afghanistan and Somalia, to be honest those were the easy countries to get to," he said. 

He said officials on the Turkish border waived a visa requirement and let him in to Iraq for 10 days.

It was getting to Pacific islands like Sao Tome and Nauru that were often served by only one monthly cargo ship that proved the most difficult.  But Hughes had imposed rules on himself that he had to set foot on dry land in each country to complete his task.

Highlights included watching the last space shuttle launch in the United States and traveling around Africa.  The lowlights included his detention for six days in the Democratic Republic of Congo on suspicion of being a spy.  He was also detained in Cape Verde.

But Hughes says it was the people, not places that topped the list.

“The main highlight I have to say in this trip, has just been for me, has been the reaffirmation of my faith in humanity and the fact that people I have met on the road have been so friendly and hospitable," he said. 

His low points were flying home last year after finding out his sister had a terminal illness and carrying on after she died, then breaking up with his girlfriend of 10 years in the final months.

Hughes broke a world record the first year of his trip by visiting 133 countries.  He then knocked off all 193 U.N. member states, as well as places like Palestine, Kosovo and Taiwan that are widely considered if not officially recognized as sovereign.

Hughes said his early inspiration came from British comic Michael Palin of Monty Python fame, who presented an '80 Days Around the World' TV show in the 1980s.

But Hughes says he always wanted Palin to live up to the show’s title.

“I wanted him to go everywhere, and as I grew up the more I traveled myself independently the more I realized that it was a feasible thing to do.  I thought with the right determination you could do it, and I have proved it right.  I have managed to do it," he said. 

One day, Hughes would like to settle in Liverpool.  But for now, he is not ready to hang up his travel hat in what he says has become the best job in the world.

The eurozone has agreed on a deal that will reduce Greek debt and help the nation avoid bankruptcy. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras says the deal marks a “new day” for the debt-laden country.

Following protracted negotiations, Eurozone finance ministers finally reached the agreement early Tuesday in the Belgian capital, Brussels. In the end, the ministers and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to lend Greece about $57 billion, part of its second bailout in two years.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the eurozone finance ministers’ group, said making the deal was difficult, but the outcome was right.

“Let me first say that this is not just about money," Juncker said. "This is the promise of a better future for the Greek people and for the euro area as a whole, a break from the era of missed targets and loose implementation towards a new paradigm of steadfast reform momentum, declining debt ratios and a return to growth.”

In addition to the rescue package, the eurozone ministers said Tuesday they will also take further steps to lower Greece’s debt to below 120 percent by 2022, a possible hint that in the future, some Greek loans may be written off.

On a continent faced with economic problems, Greece is proportionately the eurozone’s most indebted country. Eurozone leaders have long been negotiating ways to keep Greek debt at bay and avoid a possible collapse of the 17-nation monetary union.

Analsysts say the new deal suggests eurozone leaders are determined to keep Greece within the eurozone.

But not all of Greece welcomed the news. International bailouts for Greece, and for other European countries, are tied to strictly monitored budgets.

Greece has been forced to make major spending cuts and tax hikes, which many say have only weakened the country's economy, which has shrunk by almost 25 percent in the past five years.

Alexis Tsipras, leader of the main leftist opposition party Syriza, accused German leader Angela Merkel and IMF head Christine Lagarde of reaching a deal with little regard for what is right for Greece.

"The solution does not include Greece, or a viable plan for Greece," Tsipras says, "and that is why it is not a solution."

On the streets of Athens, the response is mixed.

Greek businessman Stephanos Tenmenis believes the decision is significant but that it doesn't help remedy immediate problems of recession because it does not help bring growth to the Greek economy.

Greek resident Kostas likewise feels little relief saying whatever happens, "Greece is done for anyway."

Greece is to receive the bailout funds in four installments, once it has met all the conditions. The first installment is due next month.

US Targets Traffickers as Rhino Horn Value Soars

KONG — By prioritizing the arrest of rhino-horn traffickers, the United States is signaling its ongoing commitment to the eradication of wildlife-related crime. Through stiff prison sentences and tactics like seizure of financial assets, authorities are moving aggressively to protect the world’s endangered rhino.

For those who may dismiss the seriousness of wildlife smuggling, U.S. special agent Edward Grace has a startling figure. He says the value of wildlife crime is estimated at up to $8 billion a year, making it the most lucrative illegal activity after arms and drugs trafficking.

Deputy chief of law enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grace says the same criminal syndicates peddling weapons and narcotics are driving species such as the rhino toward extinction.

Dwindling species

Rhino poaching in South Africa, 2007-2012

​​“Criminals see the wildlife trade as low risk, high profit," said Grace. "Get caught smuggling a kilo of heroin, you will probably go to jail for the rest of your life if; smuggle a kilo of rhino horn, which nowadays is worth more than heroin or gold, in several countries worldwide you may only go to jail for a couple of years."

The plights of Africa’s Black and White rhinos are well known. In Asia, Vietnam lost its last Javan rhino in 2010, and it now is believed that fewer than 200 of the Sumatran subspecies have survived.

In response, the U.S. recently launched Operation Crash — "crash" is the collective noun for rhinos — in which more than 200 federal agents are targeting illegal commerce of the animal’s horn.

“When organized crime gets involved in any wildlife trade, they have the resources and the networks," said Grace. "So we make it a priority to go after these networks because they have the ability to do a lot of damage in a very short period of time."

Tougher sentencing

Criminals dealing rhino horn are on notice that soft-sentencing is a thing of the past. In the last few weeks alone, two men with links to Vietnam were successfully convicted after an Operation Crash sting.

Jimmy and Felix Kha — found guilty of procuring horn, tax evasion and other offenses under the Lacey Act, one of the world’s oldest wildlife protection laws — are both facing up to 20-year terms in prison.

“We will continue this effort for as long as it takes to identify, apprehend and jail every bad guy engaged in this illicit trade in rhino horn," said Joseph Johns, chief of the environmental crimes section in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, California. "And we do expect more very significant arrests and sweeps to take place with regard to Operation Crash  in the next year.”

Targeting profits

To improve the odds of saving the rhino, Operation Crash is not simply targeting low-paid middlemen and couriers. Instead, Johns explains, agents are pursuing the bosses behind the trade, seizing their cars, homes and gold deposits, and draining their bank accounts of millions of dollars in cash.

“The goal is not just to punish the crime, but take the profit out of it," he said. "We want to eliminate this [crime] in this generation. We call them endangered species for a reason. We cannot just wait and sit on our hands.”

The U.S. has a proven record helping the recovery of species on the verge of extinction. In the 1980s, federal agencies were key players in eradicating the illegal caviar trade, saving the Caspian sturgeon.

However, the U.S. also is the world’s second largest wildlife market after China. As such, Johns says the country needs to be doubly committed to protecting endangered animals.

“It is ironic. On one hand, developed nations have the luxury to put in place environmental regulations and actually enforce them, protecting endangered species. But the flip side of that is that individuals in developed nations also have the monetary wealth to acquire and consume endangered species,” he said.

Saving African Elephants: The Global Debate

African elephants splash in ponds of water deep inside the Dzanga Sangha Reserve in the Central African Republic.

Andrea Turkalo, a scientist for the World Conservation Society, travels through the park, first by car, then on foot, hacking a path through the jungle with a machete.

About 50 elephants mill about. The majestic and iconic creatures appear safe here, but Turkalo says the threat has never been greater. “It’s bad news everywhere. They’re being poached everywhere. And I think people have to realize that. That whole situation has changed," he said.

But why has poaching for elephant ivory skyrocketed in recent years? The commodities have always been prized in Asian countries, where the appetite for them has also surged.

This will be a central question during a March gathering of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES.

CITES was formed more than 30 years ago to ensure that international trade does not threaten the survival of wild animals and plants.

Nations voluntarily sign onto the convention. CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon says parties have legal obligations and if they do not comply with the convention they face possible suspension in the trade of some 35,000 species.

“So it is very much a hard law international convention and in fact it stands out amongst all of the conventions dealing with the environment for the teeth that it has,” he said.