May 10, 2012

to the podium to issue a warmwelcome to the visiting spea -kers and thank them for con-tributing their valuable time.He mentioned a commentmade by Dr. Kibbelaar abouthow the discussion of “Who isan Aruban” should be taken“out of the rumshops” and ele-vated to a national level. De-spite his joking reply “sheshould not underestimate thevalue of rumshop discussions,”he explained there was alsosincerity to his rejoinder. “Thatis where we start building thenecessary support for the con-cepts of community building,which we will support here onthe educational level at the endof these debates.” The Univer-sity will issue a paper on theconclusions of the conference.

“For us, as government,”continued the PM, “it is veryimportant that we have thisdiscussion. We started twoyears ago to reflect on the needof community building and theimportance of creating theplatform, grounds and goalswhich will unite our societyand make it interesting for ourcitizens to believe in the futureof their island, they belong tothat society, and they have a re-sponsibility, as well as a right,to be part of that society.”

Continued on page 3

An illustrious roster of interna-tional and local social re-searchers and experts gatheredin the auditorium of the Uni-versity of Aruba on Mondayafternoon to begin two days ofroundtable discussions regar -ding “Culturalization of Citi-zenship: Comparative Perspec -tives.” The purpose of programis a study and discussion of allnationalities and ethnic groupswhich now comprise theAruban population, towardsdevising a plan which willstimulate and instill a sense ofcommunity for all living onAruba, no matter their origins.

As stated by the Dean of theFaculty of Arts and Sciences,(FAS) Dr. Paula Kibbelaar, thisconference “is a natural fol-low-up” to the Happy Commu-nity Conference conducted bythe government in Decemberof last year. This is also anNWO (Dutch Scientific Or-ganization) research projectand has been conducted withinthe Kingdom of the Nether-lands, in a few European coun-tries, and the Southern He -misphere to analyze the effectsof 'culture' on migrant workers.Presently, 30% of Aruba’s per-manent resident populationwas not born on the island.

Present for the opening ofthe program was the Rector ofthe U of A, Glenn Thode, Mi -nister of Integration, Infra-structure and Environment,Benny Sevinger and PrimeMinister Mike Eman, who de-livered the keynote speech.FAS Dean Dr. Paula Kibbelaarofficially welcomed the visi -ting educators and social re-searchers. She stated theDecember Happy CommunityConference was “inspiring”but they need to continue theevent and make it more sus-tainable with various stake-holders on Aruba. Thisresulted in an invitation to oneof the keynote speakers, Dr.

Evelien Tonkens, of the Uni-versity of Amsterdam, to re-turn to be a featured participantin the current event. She citedthe belief of the organizers thatfor this conference to be trulyeffective, it needed to be an in-teractive, roundtable discus-sion platform, whileencou raging local community“thinkers” and activists to par-ticipate and provide theirinput. It is their first handknowledge that will allow thestudy to relate the NWO re-search project’s finding toAruba, and to help them under-stand “What kind of processesare taking place in Aruba thatconceptualizes who belongs toAruba and who does not-andwhy?...at some point we haveto define, “Who is an Aruban-and what does that mean tothem? How do we think andfeel towards identity? Belong-ing…inclusion and exclu-sion?”

“NWO results have shownthat the identification of ima -gined communities on a na-tional local community’s levelis constructed by nostalgia, ac-tions emotional and the func-tional. For us to survive andconnect with migrants andlocal we have to find meaningin our lives to belong and par-ticipate.”

Prime Minister Eman came

eral hours after the disappear-ance.

"We tried to send two heli-copters to search for theplane... but because of badweather and strong winds theyhad to return. We will sendthem out again tomorrow," hesaid.

Two helicopters wereforced to turn back yesterdaynight because of bad weatherand poor visibility, Daryatmosaid.

By midnight, hundreds ofrescuers had set up three postsaround the mountain.

Continued on page 6

JAKARTA (AFP) - A RussianSukhoi Superjet 100 withabout 50 people on board wentmissing in a mountainous areasouth of the Indonesian capitalJakarta during a demonstrationflight yesterday, officials said.

The plane disappeared fromradar screens 50 minutes intowhat was meant to be a briefflight and rescue teams wereheaded on foot by early todaytowards Salak mountain,where the plane went missing.

"We suspect the planecrashed, but we're not yet cer-tain," rescue chief MarsdyaDaryatmo told reporters sev-

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Culturalization of Citizenship

Conference begins at University

of Aruba

Russian jet with 50 aboardmissing in Indonesia

Peter Geschiere, Benny Sevinger, PM, Glenn ThodeEvelien Tonkens.jpg

AFP file picture taken on August 19, 2009, shows a Rus -sian Sukhoi Superjet 100 performing during the MAKS2009 international aerospace show outside Moscow.

Tower has begun to lean to theside. Based on certain testsconducted, if nothing is doneto the Tower within 5 years itwould most probably topple.For this reason everyone isvery pleased that the restora-tion has finally begun.

It is expected that by nextyear April the Water Tower’srenovation should be com-pleted. The local utility compa-nies will rent space in theTower and place a permanentexhibition in the building.

During his speech at theWater Tower, MinisterSevinger reported on otherprojects in San Nicolaas. Hementioned the work in the SintMaartenstraat which is con-fronting a few challenges. Hemade also mention of the Vil-lage Projects 2 and 3 which isdue to be submitted for financ-ing.

Both of these projects haveto do with renovations and areconnected to each other andwill culminate into a marketplace behind the San NicolaasWater Tower.

years in prison for the murderin 2010 of Stephany Flores. Heis also the prime suspect in thedisappearance of Holloway.U.S. authorities want to try vander Sloot on charges of extor-tion and wire fraud in the Hol-loway case.

"He will go to trial in theUnited States. Once he is sen-tenced, he will return to Peru tofinish serving his 28 years, andthen go back to the States toserve whatever sentence he getsthere,"Altez said last month.

In June 2010, a federalgrand jury in Alabama indictedhim after allegations that hetried to extort $250,000 fromHolloway's mother, Beth Hol-loway. Van der Sloot offered toprovide what turned out to bebogus information about thewhereabouts of Holloway's re-mains in exchange for themoney, according to the indict-ment.

He was allegedly given$25,000, which authorities sayhe used to travel to Peru for apoker tournament.

If found guilty of extortion,he could be sentenced to 25years in prison.

(CNN) -- Joran van der Sloottold a judge and prosecutoryesterday that he would preferto finish serving a 28-yearmurder sentence in Peru ratherthan be extradited to theUnited States to face chargesrelated to the disappearance ofNatalee Holloway, his Peru-vian lawyer, Maximo Altez,said.

Representatives from theU.S. Embassy and the FBI at-tended the extradition hearing,which was not open to the pub-lic, Altez added.

A conviction in the UnitedStates could affect van derSloot's chances of beingparoled in Peru, said Altez. Henoted that a long-standing ex-tradition treaty between thetwo countries means that vander Sloot will likely be extra-dited, despite his stated prefer-ence about remaining in Peru.

“The power of the UnitedStates will assure that Joranhas to face a U.S. judge and Ithink the extradition will hap-pen probably in two or threemonths,” Maximo Altez said.

Peruvian judges in Januarysentenced the Dutchman to 28

Van der Sloot challenges

extradition to U.S.

original glory of the 1930’swhen it was inaugurated to-gether with its twin sistertower in Oranjestad.

The Bureau of Monumentswill be in charge of the super-vision of the work directed byits director, Yvonne Webb.

Yvonne Webb in her speechto the crowd gathered aroundmentioned that the San Nico-laas Water Tower dates back to1939 and was a design of ar-chitect Peter Stuivenberg. TheWater Tower was the propertyof WEB NV but was bequeathto the Bureau of Monuments in1996. However, because of thehuge expense to repair it, noth-ing was done all these years.

Thanks to the National Res -toration Foundation of Hollandand our own Caribbean Mer-cantile Bank who approved thefunds, that the Bureau of Mon-uments is now able to embarkon the restoration of the Tower.

Engineer Matthew of PlanD2 collaborated greatly withthe plans for the renovation ofthe Tower. Reportedly, the re -novation took so long that the

In a festive atmosphere, a listof dignitaries were at hand toinitiate the restoration of thelong-forgotten San NicolaasWater Tower. Among them,Vice President of ParliamentChris Dammers, Prime Minis-ter Eman, Minister of Financede Meza and Minister of Envi-ronment Benny Sevinger. Aftera long wait of 15 years, wewere finally witness to the startof the repair and restoration ofone of San Nicolaas’ most vis-ible and revered monuments.

The ALBO company wonthe Public Tender to executethe tedious and delicate workof restoring this tower to its

2 Thursday, May 10 , 2012

House in

Oranjestad

Property Land

For info call

5643713 or

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At last….San Nicolaas Water Tower

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versity of Aruba, with openingdiscussion of the principaltopic. The seminar finished onTuesday evening with a publicevening to present some of thediscussion to the community,centered around a panel dis-cussion featuring Dr.Geschiere, Dr. FrancioGuadaloupe, Dr. Luc Alofs ofAruba, and the Minister of So-cial and Economic Affairs andCulture, Michelle Hooyboer-Winklaar, chaired by Dr.Tonkens.

Other presenters duringTuesday’s roundtable discus-sions were guest speakers ProfAloksua Adamako Ampofo,Director of the Institute ofAfrican Studies, Ghana andRoger van Reekum MA Uni-versity of Amsterdam. Locallybased speakers included Min-ister Sevinger, Dr. Alofs andDRS. Martijn Balkestijn, Act-ing Director of the Central Bu-reau of Statistics.

by Rosalie Klein

He commented on how inthese modern times, attentionto career, urbanization, self-centered individualism andmaterialism, have been notedin studies to contribute to theerosion of the traditional com-munity cohesion which his ad-ministration would hope to seepreserved on Aruba, as this is-land is not immune to any ofthese elements. “It is this cohe-sion which we find so impor-tant to the people of Aruba, anenormous longing for the dayswhen neighbors really caredfor each other, when sharingwas not an issue, it was a tra-dition. It was not unusual thata fortunate individual who hadattained an education gavetheir time freely to provideclasses for the children in theneighborhood.”

“Social fibers in our com-munities are stressed, in Arubait is no different than in otherwestern countries; somewhatless perhaps, but we still seethat eroding effect of high am-bition for material wealthwhich stresses the other as-pects that make life enjoyable:friendship, solidarity within ina neighborhood, the element ofpeople really caring about eachother in the community, notjust because they are a friend,but just because we are fellowhuman beings.” He concludedthat these things need to betaught, and a sense of moralobligation needs to be instilledto bring this to bear.

Speakers for that afternoonwere Dr Tonkens and Dr. PeterGeschiere, also from the Uni-

Culturalization of

CitizenshipContinued from page 1

Dr. Francio Guadaloupe

couraged to make good use ofthis opportunity to get rid oftheir bulk debris by depositingit in these containers. The col-lected trash will then be re-moved and dumped atParkietenbos.

parking lot in front of HotelCentral. An other will beplaced behind Botica Oduberat the end of the mainstreet,and one behind Bon BiniBazaar. People living in thearea and businesses are en-

Contractors workingwith both DOW andSerlimar are parti -cipating in a plannedclean-up action whichbegan last Tuesday inthe city center of Oran-jestad. Ing. Gaby Wer-leman of the Ministryof Environment, whois in charge of environ-mental affairs, ex-plained how the workis to be carried out.Specific teams will beassigned special tasks:some will cut trees, re-move debris, and oth-ers will clean-up thestreets and side walksand parking areas.Others will fix brokenside walks, repair traf-fic signs and paintwhere necessary.

Werleman indi-cated that they areplanning to do thiswork between Tues-day and Friday to tryand give the city cen-ter a nice and cleanappea rance. The clean-up action is intendedto cover the area be-tween the Wilhelmi-nastraat and Eman -straat, and from Pea-nuts Restaurant to theHavenstraat. In the event thework progresses rapidly theymay even cover other areas.

They plan to also placelarge Serlimar trash containersat different locations. One suchcontainer will be placed on the

Thursday, May 10, 2012 3

Planned clean-up action forcity center

LOS ANGELES(AFP) - Pio-neering celebrity hairdresserVidal Sassoon died yesterdayat his California home, the LosAngeles Police Department(LAPD) said. He was 84.

Officers were called to hishome on Hollywood's storiedMulholland Drive. He ap-peared to have died of naturalcauses, said LAPD spokesmanKevin Maiberger. Familymembers were present at thetime.

Referred to by some as the"founder of hairdressing," he issaid to have pioneered the bobhaircut and, after opening hisfirst salon in London in 1954,launched a network of outletsaround the world.

Sassoon, who grew up inEngland, had reportedly beenfighting leukemia, accordingto the LA Times, although nofurther details were immedi-ately available on the cause ofdeath.

a sometime film and televisionactress, usually billed as Bev-erly Adams.

None of the children wentinto the family business. Theeldest, Catya, an actress andmodel, died in her sleep onNew Year's Day 2002 of an ac-cidental overdose.

The flamboyant hairstylist,who launched a successfulhair-care product range andhad a US television talk showat one point, was married fourtimes, the newspaper said. Hemarried his last wife Ronnieseven years ago.

Sassoon had four childrenwith his second wife, Beverly,

inner peace along with full po-tential.

“Most importantly, peoplemust understand this is not areligion,” he emphasizes, “thearts of breathing and mediationare for all, no matter yourfaith,” claims Guru DushyantSavadia, who is on island con-ducting his second four-daybasic program which beganTuesday evening and will fin-ish Friday, May 11. The Art ofLiving Foundation on Aruba isalso beginning with Youth Em-powerment Seminars, or YES,to help teenagers better copewith coming of age and find-ing their positive goals andplace in society.

Continued on page 5

Guru Dushyant Savadia, ateacher with the Art of LivingFoundation welcomed mem-bers of Aruba’s Junior Parlia-ment and the Key Club for adiscussion of the foundation’sphilosophy and teachings onTuesday afternoon.

A basic philosophy of theworldwide non-profit organi-zation founded 33 years ago bySudarshan Kriya Yogi, withcenters in 153 countries, is oneof removing stress and bring-ing joy into one’s life, and sopositively affecting the peopleand environment around us. Avery basic part of this isfounded on breathing tech-niques, known as S.K.Y, alongwith certain exercises and ad-vanced methods of achieving

4 Thursday, May 10,2012

Guru Dushyant Savadia ofthe Art of Living Foundationspeaks to island youth

Krishna Gupta acts he introduces Guru Dushyant Sava-dia

Guru Dushyant Savadia with Niti and Prakash Gupta

Police: Celebrity hairdresser VidalSassoon dead

Princess Mabel, a daughter-in-law of Queen Beatrix, has re-signed as general director ofThe Elders, a thinktank createdby Nelson Mandela in 2007.

The organisation says theprincess made the decision tostep down after her husbandPrince Friso was seriously in-jured in a skiing accident inFebruary. The prince is in acoma and is being cared for ina London hospital.

The thinktank says PrincessMabel will continue to workpart-time as a senior adviser.She and the children will con-tinue to live in London.

The princess took up thepost of general director on 1July 2008. The Elders is an in-dependent group of globalleaders, formed by NelsonMandela and including KofiAnnan, Mary Robinson andJimmy Carter, who work to-gether to promote peace andhuman rights. The organisationis chaired by ArchbishopDesmond Tutu.

THE HAGUE -- Crown PrinceWillem-Alexander andPrincess Máxima are to pay anofficial visit to Brazil towardsthe end of the year.

The government informa-tion service has announced thatthe royal visit will last from 19to 23 November. The crownprince and his wife will firstvisit the capital Brasilia, laterfollowed by Ribeirão Preto,São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

The visit is intended to re-inforce ties between the twocountries, with a focus on eco-nomic cooperation, innovationand science.

The royal visit is promptedby the notion that Brazil is anemerging market offeringmany opportunities to Dutchbusinesses.

Willem-Alexander andMáxima will meet Brazilianministers and government offi-cials, pay working visits tocompanies and attend semi-nars.

The couple will be accom-panied by the outgoing deputyeconomic affairs minister anda large delegation of Dutchbusinessmen.

blog: http://dushyantsavadia.net/

by Rosalie Klein

Guru Dushyant and snippets ofphilosophy to integrate intoyour daily life, visit his personal

you environment regardingyour attitude? We are literallylittering the environment withnegative thinking.”

Full Art of Living seminarscost 300 Aruban florins for anintensive 4-day session in theevenings from 7:00 PM to10:30 PM. The next AOLcourse will be in Septemberwhen Guru Dushyant Savadiareturns For more informationand inscription, inquire via e-mail: [email protected] orcall 737-3743 or 562-4722. Formore tidbits of wisdom from

He explained that understandinghow negatively actively affectsan environment, creating dis-comfort and thus exacerbatingthe tension and negatively, canbe alleviated once individualsunderstand the concept and takeresponsibility for the environ-ment to which they contribute.

“Your concern about theenvironment is laudable, this isa good thing,” he told hisyoung audience, “but pollutionis not only about plastic bottlesand other physical things.What have you done to cleanse


Guru Dushyant Savadia of the Art of Living . . .Continued from page 4

PrinceWillem-Alexanderand PrincessMáxima tovisit Brazil

Dutch princess

stops working

for The Elders

PANAMA CITY (AFP) -Former Panamanian dictatorManuel Noriega was trans-ferred from prison to a hospi-tal yesterday after suffering arespiratory infection, one ofhis daughters said.

Thais Noriega, theyoungest of his three daugh-ters, said her father was takento the Santo Tomas hospitalin Panama City because hehad bronchitis and was run-ning a high fever.

"It's not a routine check-up, and he didn't have an ap-pointment. He's had a feversince yesterday, and they aregoing to keep him hospital-ized today," she said.

The 78-year-old has beenimprisoned in the El RenacerPenitentiary on the banks ofthe Panama Canal since De-cember 11, 2011 when hewas brought back to thecountry after 21 years inprison in the United Statesand France on drug traffick-ing and money launderingcharges.

Noriega, a former CIA in-former who was overthrownin a US invasion in 1989, hasbeen in and out of the SantoTomas hospital three timessince his return.

His lawyers, who say he isin poor health, have askedthat the former general be al-lowed to serve out his term ina hospital setting or at home.Panama's courts have yet torespond to the request.

Reports of the exact numberon board varied, with local res-cue officials saying it was car-rying 46 people and TrimargaRekatama, the company re-sponsible for inviting the pas-sengers, saying 50 were onboard.

Herry Bakti, head of the avi-ation division of Indonesia'stransport ministry, said Superjet

The Superjet made its firstcommercial flight last year andif a major accident is con-firmed it would be the first dis-aster to involve the aircraft.

The Superjet 100 is a newpassenger aircraft built by leg-endary Russian planemakerSukhoi in an attempt to lift thecountry's civil aviation indus-try from a post-Soviet crisis.

was on the second of twodemonstration flights, and thoseon board were invited guests.

A list of 36 passenger namesposted at Halim airport showedmost of them were Indonesianairline and aviation officials,plus five journalists and a rep-resentative of French aircraftengine maker SNECMA with aVietnamese name.

said in the interview.Obama came under increas-

ing political pressure on gaymarriage after Vice PresidentJoe Biden said on NBC's Meetthe Press on Sunday that hewas "absolutely comfortable"with same-sex marriage.

Education Secretary ArneDuncan said this week that hewas also in favor of the con-cept.

Some political analystshave warned that Obama couldbe entering a political mine-field, with some key votingblocs in swing states that hehopes to court in November'selection opposing gay mar-riage.

On Tuesday, voters in NorthCarolina, a state Obama nar-rowly carried in the 2008 elec-tion, approved a stateconstitutional amendment for-bidding gay marriages, civilunions and domestic partner-ships.

The measure was passed by61 percent to 39 percent aftersimilar state constitutionalamendments have been ap-proved in some 30 US states

The amendment solidifiesand expands already enactedNorth Carolina law forbiddingsame-sex marriage.

WASHINGTON (AFP) -Barack Obama became thefirst US president yesterday tosay publicly he was in favor ofsame-sex marriage, in a high-stakes intervention in a pre-election debate roiling Ameri -can politics.

In what supporters will hailas a historic moment in civilrights history, Obama changedhis stance, after previouslysaying he was "evolving" ongay marriage, a fiercely divi-sive issue in US politics.

"I've just concluded, for me,personally, it is important forme to go ahead and affirm thatI think same-sex couplesshould be able to get married,"Obama said in an interviewwith ABC News.

Obama, who had previ-ously backed strong protec-tions for gay and lesbiancouples, said his position hadevolved partly after talking tohis two daughters Malia andSasha who had some friendswho had same-sex parents.

"It wouldn't dawn on themthat somehow their friends'parents would be treated dif-ferently. It doesn't make senseto them and frankly, that's thekind of thing that prompts achange in perspective," Obama

6 Thursday, May 10, 2012

INTERNATIONAL NEWS Russian jet with 50 aboard missing ...Continued from page 1

Obama backs same-sexmarriage

CHILE, Santiago : A man drives his solar vehicle duringthe presentation of the Atacama Solar Challenge carrace in Santiago on May 9, 2012. The race will take placenext November 2012 in the Atacama desert in northernChile. (AFP PHOTO)

COLOMBIA, Bogotá : Venezuelan presidential candidateand Governor of Miranda state Henrique Capriles Radon-ski (C) is greeted by Venezuelans residents in Colombiaafter a meeting in Bogota on May 09, 2012 .Caprilesmade a comparison between the proposals of his al-liance of parties and Chávez's proposals. "The propos-als of this government for the next 6 years are: Threats,insults, and scaring people to death," Capriles said. "Ourproposals for a future of progress include security, qual-ity jobs for all, efficient education and health," he said inanother message posted on the social network. (AFP)

Noriega backin hospital

also," said the chief of theterror network.

"The American Cru-saders and their alliesshowed over and over againtheir hatred and envy ofIslam, the book of Islam, theprophet (of) Islam," Za-wahiri said.

He urged Muslim acrossthe world to "fight the ene-mies of Allah and the ene-

mies of His Messenger."Zawahiri delivered a simi-

lar message in March, urgingAfghans to rise up against"Crusader pigs" after USMarines were shown in an In-ternet video urinating on thecorpses of Taliban militants.

A fresh scandal has rockedthe alliance between theUnited States and the Afghangovernment every month thisyear in their joint effortsagainst Taliban insurgents.

A US soldier in March wenton the rampage and murdered17 Afghan villagers in theirhomes.

vote on June 10and 17.

Winning inJune will be cru-cial for the So-cialists as thepresident re-quires a parlia-m e n t a r ymajority tomaintain a gov-ernment -- oth-

erwise the prime minister is incharge of the cabinet.

Sarkozy's ministers werealso starting to focus on thevote, with the trade andtourism minister, FredericLefebvre, saying the centre-right UMP was confident ofclaiming a majority in parlia-ment.

"Five weeks from now isthe moment of reconquest, fiveweeks from now is the road tohope," he said.

Sarkozy indicated on Sun-day that he was retiring fromfrontline politics.

His communications advi-sor Franck Louvrier saidSarkozy was preparing to re-turn to his former life as alawyer at the Paris firm he stillpartly owns, after taking abreak with his wife CarlaBruni and their baby daughter.

Hollande is facing a packedinternational agenda after hisinauguration and pressure wasalready building on the Social-ist to stand by France's auster-ity commitments.

PARIS (AFP) - OutgoingFrench leader NicolasSarkozy's cabinet met for a lastsession Thursday as president-elect Francois Hollande begantalks with EU leaders on hisplans to refocus European pol-icy on growth.

Sarkozy's cabinet meetingwas "emotional", participantssaid, with ministers giving theoutgoing president a standingovation after he told them hewished Hollande "good luck"following his election win.

"Nicolas Sarkozy's maincommitment in 2007, to putFrance on the move, has beenmet," Prime Minister FrancoisFillon said after the session.

Government spokeswomanValerie Pecresse said Fillonwould tender the cabinet's res-ignation on Thursday and that itwould take effect when Hol-lande is inaugurated on May 15.

Hollande meanwhile metwith senior party officials athis campaign headquarters,where talks focused on secur-ing the Socialists a majority inthe two-round parliamentary

convoy but escaped unharmedalong with 11 other observersand his spokesman, NeerajSingh, said an AFP photogra-pher travelling with them.

The Norwegian generalsaid the attack was "a graphicexample of violence that theSyrian people" were sufferingon a daily basis.

The opposition Syrian Na-tional Council accused theregime of being behind theblast, the latest breach of amonth-old ceasefire agreementbrokered by UN-Arab Leagueenvoy Annan.

DARAA (AFP) - A roadsideblast hit troops escorting UNobservers in Syria's south, aday after envoy Kofi Annanwarned that his peace plancould be the last chance toavoid civil war.

The bomb, apparentlyplantedunderground, woundedsix Syrian soldiers escortingthe convoy as it entered thecity of Daraa, cradle of a 14-month uprising against Presi-dent Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Major General RobertMood, the head of the UN mis-sion, was in the four-vehicle


Blast hits UN observerconvoy in Syria

International News

Sarkozy holds 'emotional'last French cabinet meet

Korans had been confiscatedfrom prisoners as they usedthem to communicate betweeneach other. The incident ledUS President Barack Obamato apologise for what he de-scribed as an error.

In Wednesday's videowhich the US-based SITE saidwas posted on extremist fo-rums, Zawahiri criticisedObama's apology.

"After each of their crimes,they pretend to be sorry, andthey claim they will investi-gate what happened, which isa silly farce that Obama andhis secretary repeated this time

DUBAI (AFP) - Al-Qaedahead Ayman al-Zawahirirejected the US apologyover the burning of Korancopies at a base inAfghanistan, urging allMuslims to support theTaliban, SITE IntelligenceGroup reported Wednes-day.

"The Crusaders onceagain repeated their crime byinsulting the holy Koran, andonce again mocked the mes-senger of Allah," Zawahiri saidin a SITE English-languagetranslation of his nearly seven-minute message.

In February, thousands ofAfghan protesters attacked thebiggest US military base intheir country, at Bagram nearKabul, reacting to reports thattroops inside had burnedcopies of the Koran.

Around 40 people werekilled in several days of vio-lent protests.

American officials say the

Qaeda chief slams US sorry for Koranburning

Approached for comment,Sanjay Kinra, an obesity ex-pert and researcher at LondonSchool of Hygiene and Tropi-cal Medicine, urged caution.

"It is quite possible that adrug that is improving themood of middle-aged peopleover a period of time willlikely make them a bit moreactive and help them lose a lit-tle bit of weight, but it is a se-rious drug, testosterone, and itcauses serious health effects,"he told AFP.

Testosterone, a steroid hor-mone secreted by the maletestes and to a lesser extent bythe female ovaries that affectsbrain development and sexualbehaviour, has been linked bysome researchers to prostatecancer and heart disease.

Kinra said there were "hun-dreds of things out there" thatcould make people lose weightin the short term, but only achange of lifestyle would en-sure a long-term thinner self.

"As a mass treatment ofobesity it (testosterone) is notmeaningful because you arenot going to trade off your riskof getting prostate cancer orheart disease for a bit ofweight loss that is not going tobe lifelong anyway, it will onlyremain for the time that youare on testosterone."

PARIS (AFP) - Obese oldermen with low testosterone lev-els can lose weight by takingsupplements of the male hor-mone, according to the find-ings of a study released.

In a test group of 115 testos-terone-deficient men with amean age of 61, hormone in-jections over five years yieldedan average weight loss of 16kilograms (35 pounds), saidthe study presented to the Eu-ropean Congress on Ovesity inLyon, France.

The mean waist circumfer-ence fell from 107 centimeters(42 inches) to 98 cm (38.5inches).

"Raising serum testosteroneto normal reduced bodyweight, waist circumferenceand blood pressure, and im-proved metabolic profiles,"said a statement on the studyled by Farid Saad of Germanpharmaceutical giant BayerPharma.

The improvements wereprogressive over the five yearsof the study.

"Increased testosterone lev-els improve energy and moti-vation to do physical exerciseand more movement in gen-eral; testosterone also in-creases lean body mass (fatfree mass), increasing the en-ergy used by patients," thestatement said.


Health & Living

Testosterone injectionscan aid weight loss

The United States is spon-soring programmes in severalAfrican countries with a goalof circumcising four millionmen by 2013.

Results so far are patchy.Although Kenya is close toreaching its target of 80 per-cent of sexually active men,Uganda has achieved less thanfive percent of its target.

"We need the military totake up some of these circum-cisions," said Caroline Ryanof the US Global AIDS Coor-dinator's Office.

One issue she said, is thatthe surgery requires soldiers torecuperate for two to fourdays, meaning time off fromthe army.

Another concern, raised bySouth Africa, was how tomarry traditional coming-of-age rites with the need for cir-cumcisions to be carried outunder surgical conditions.

"Traditional circumcisionis part of the path to manhood.For us it is critical to be givenstrategies to deal with theirconcerns," South AfricanBrigadier General SnowyMoremi.

Little data exists on HIVrates among soldiers. Fewcountries are willing to di-vulge statistics, fearing theywill be perceived as weak.

(AFP) - Male circumcision isthe best way to prevent newHIV infections in the military,the head of US anti-AIDS ef-forts told a gathering of toparmy brass from Africa, East-ern Europe and central Asia.

"We believe male circum-cision is a highly significant,lifetime intervention. It is agift that keeps on giving. Itmakes a lot of sense to put ex-traordinary resources into it,"US global AIDS coordinatorEric Goosby told the 400 del-egates.

The meeting on AIDS andthe military gathered officialsfrom 80 countries, includingmost of Africa but also coun-tries from Surinam to Georgiaand Estonia.

Studies show that circum-cision can dramatically reduceHIV infections. One study inSouth Africa last year foundnew infections fell by 76 per-cent after a circumcision pro-gramme was launched in atownship.

In 2006, trials in Kenya,Uganda and South Africafound foreskin removal morethan halved men's risk of HIVinfection. Longer-term analy-sis has found the benefit to beeven greater than thought,with a risk reduction of around60 percent.

US urges circumcisionfor soldiers to fight HIVin Africa

Beijing to get ridof 1,200 pollutingenterprises Beijing (AFP) - Authorities inBeijing said they plan to get ridof 1,200 high-polluting enter-prises such as foundries, chem-ical plants and furniturefactories by 2015 to improveair quality in the Chinese cap-ital, one of the world's mostpolluted cities.

The move follows a publicbacklash over the heavy smogthat often envelops Beijing --sometimes so thick that it de-lays planes and trains going toand from the city -- sparkinghealth concerns among thegeneral population.

Air quality in the capital hasbeen bad for years, but neti-zens focused on it late last yearafter the US embassy startedpublishing its own pollutionreadings, which are oftenalarming.

The embassy measuresPM2.5 -- the smallest, mostdangerous pollution particlesin the air -- and posts the re-sults on a Twitter feed. Theyoften rank as "very unhealthy"or "hazardous".

Beijing's government even-tually caved into online pres-sure and said it would startpublishing its own measures ofPM2.5, as opposed to basinginformation on particles of 10micrometres or larger, knownas PM10, which are less harm-ful.It has also set up bicycle rentalkiosks in the city in a bid toease traffic congestion -- an-other source of pollution. Au-thorities are also mulling newbike lanes.


PARIS (AFP) - Women instilettos and ostriches have un-wittingly contributed to scien-tific advancement by showingresearchers how to design aprosthetic leg better adaptedfor walking.

The best prosthesis forabove-knee amputees, and forhumanoid robots, would worknothing like the human leg,scientists found, -- but like thatof an ostrich or the syntheticlimbs used by South Africanamputee sprinter Oscar Pisto-rius.

"It now appears that makingprosthetic feet -- for walkingat least -- copying human feettoo closely can be a mistake,"study author Jim Usherwoodof the Royal Veterinary Col-lege in London told AFP.

"If you want to make a goodprosthetic foot but don't carewhat it looks like, you shouldput the motor -- in this case theankle -- as far up the leg aspossible."

Higher up, the ankle "canprovide the power withoutmaking the feet heavy andhard to swing backwards andforwards," he added.

Usherwood and his teamfound that the human way ofwalking -- crashing on theheel, vaulting over the station-

ary leg and then pushing offwith the toes, was the mosteconomic given the shape ofour foot -- a design which insome ways "does not makesense".

This walking method was"very unusual" outside thehominoidea family of apesand humans. Other bipedalanimals like ostriches haveno ground-striking heels, butrather extensive tendons thatact as springs.

The human foot designevolved to accommodate ourearly survival needs to bothwalk and run quickly, and re-mained unchanged even afterwe lost the requirement forsprinting to catch prey or

evade predators, according tothe study published in theJournal of the Royal SocietyInterface.

The scientists observed thatwomen in heels had to wiggletheir bottoms to allow them tokeep walking in the "crash,vault, push" pattern.

"The normal human footand heel-sole-toe stance ... hasthe advantage that it allowsthose muscles powering theshove (calf) and absorbing thecrash (shin) to be largely un-loaded during the vault," saida statement.

"This is a benefit as musclesuse energy when opposingforce. But motors don't -- soprosthetics and roboticsshould not copy human feet."

The study concluded that"less human-like feet wouldallow the benefits of more nat-ural human walking, in whichsteps are taken relativelyquickly allowing relativelyshort steps and high walkingspeeds".

Double amputee Pistorius,dubbed the Blade Runner, hasbeen at the centre of contro-versy with critics claiming hiscarbon fibre prosthetic legsgave him an advantage overable-bodied athletes in mixedcompetitions.

Small step in highheels; a giant leapfor prosthetics?

Sci-Tech

user, Malcolm Harris, who isbeing prosecuted for disor-derly conduct in connectionwith the Occupy Wall Streetprotest on the BrooklynBridge last year.

The American Civil Liber-ties Union on Tuesday ap-plauded Twitter's action,saying the company wasstanding up for free speech.

"Law enforcement agen-cies, both the federal govern-ment and state and cityentities, are becoming increas-ingly aggressive in their at-tempts to obtain informationabout what people are doingon the Internet.

"And while the individualInternet users can try to defendtheir rights in the rare circum-stances in which they find outabout the requests before theirinformation is turned over,

(AFP) - Twitter is challenginga court order to turn over tolaw enforcement data on oneof its users involved in OccupyWall Street in a case describedby a civil liberties group as amajor test of online freedom ofspeech.

The motion filed in a NewYork state court said the orderwould require Twitter to vio-late federal law and denies theuser the ownership rights to hisTwitter messages.

The case involves a Twitter

that may not be enough."Last month, a judge denied

a motion by Harris to quashthe subpoena, saying he lackedlegal standing. The judge saidthe data stored on the Internetis not physical property andtherefore does not have thesame protection,

"As a user, we may thinkthat (Internet) storage space tobe like a 'virtual home,' andwith that strong privacy pro-tection similar to our physicalhomes," Judge Matthew Scia-rrino said in his April 20 rul-ing.

The judge also said thatwhile a Twitter user's informa-tion and tweets contain a con-siderable amount ofinformation about the user,"Twitter does not guaranteeany of its users complete pri-vacy."

Twitter challenges US subpoenaseeking user data


MAY 05 - MAY 12

O’stad :’ Kibrahacha N.V. .’ - S.N : ‘ Serv. Seroe Preto N.V.’

FREE Coverage on our website:

www.themorningnewsaruba.com

part in the constitutionalprocesses," he added.

It will now be Socialistleader, Evangelos Venizelos,whose party came third in Sun-day's elections, to attempt toform a government.

"I will receive a mandate(to form a government) andcontinue the national effort,"the Pasok leader said aftermeeting Tsipras.

ATHENS (AFP) - Greek polit-ical parties yesterday failed toform a viable governmentamid warnings by creditorsthat a loan to be paid todaycould be the last if Athensfailed to honour repaymentcommitments.

The warnings came afterthe leader of the radical left-wing party, who had beencharged with forming a go -vernment, told internationallenders that any cabinet heheads would renege on theterms of the 240-billion-euro($311 billion) bailout.

Late yesterday, AlexisTsipras said however that hewas giving up efforts to form acoalition government.

"We cannot make true ourdream of a left-wing govern-ment," he told his Syriza par-liamentary group which camesecond in the weekend elec-tion. "Tomorrow I shall handback the mandate given to meby the president of the republicand we shall continue to take

more flights in connectionwith Carnival, which thisyear was in February com-pared to March last year. TheNorth American and Euro-pean market remained practi-cally unchanged. The numberof cruise visitors grew by3,850 passengers (+4.3 per-cent) to 94,234 passengers inthe month of February 2012compared to the same monthof the previous year. Despitethe expansion in cruise pas-sengers, the number of shipcalls dropped to 44 in Febru-ary 2012 compared to 50 inFebruary 2011.

Registered tax revenue forthe month of February 2012totaled Afl. 67.7 million,which is a reduction of Afl.5.1 million (-7.0 percent)compared to the same monthof the previous year, duelargely to an Afl. 4.7 million(-17.3 percent) drop in re-ceipts from income and profittax. Small decreases wererecorded in the revenuesfrom the foreign exchangetax and the turnover tax(BBO), while slight increaseswere registered in incomefrom taxes on commodities,taxes on property, and taxeson services. Non-tax revenueposted an Afl 7.2 million de-crease in February 2012when compared to the samemonth of last year.

1.3 percent) and Afl 1.1 mil-lion (-0.2 percent), whilehousing mortgages grew byAfl 2.3 million (+0.3 percent).

The consumer price index(CPI) for February 2012 reg-istered a 5.6 percent increase,compared to the same monthof 2011. The main contribu-tory components were hous-ing, transport, and fooditems. When excluding theeffect of food and energy(which partly affects thehousing and transport com-ponents), the resulting coreCPI shows a 1.4 percent risecompared to February 2011,which was brought about byincreased prices of transportcomponents excluding gaso-line and diesel (i.e., airlinetickets and new cars), recre-ation and culture (i.e., cablesubscription), and restaurantand hotels (i.e., food and bev-erage consumption outsidethe home). The 12-month av-erage inflation rate reached5.2 percent in February 2012.

The number of stay-overvisitors totaled 72,656 inFebruary 2012, which is 5.7percent higher compared toFebruary 2011. This hike wasmainly caused by a 42.5 per-cent (+ 3,536) growth in vis-itors from Latin America,attributed mostly to an in-crease of 2,496 visitors fromVenezuela, due largely to

ORANJESTAD -- The Cen-trale Bank van Aruba (CBA)concludes in its Monthly Bul-letin of February 2012 thatthe money supply grew byAfl. 30.4 million to Afl.3,233.9 million, resultinglargely from an Afl. 28.7 mil-lion increase in net foreign as-sets (excluding revaluationdifferences of gold and for-eign exchange holdings) toAfl. 1,373.2 million at the endof February 2012. The do-mestic component of themoney supply also noted aslight rise of Afl. 1.6 millionassociated with an Afl. 27.3million rise in domestic creditand an Afl. 25.6 million de-cline in the non-credit relatedbalance sheet items. The latterwas due largely to clearingtransactions. Domestic creditgrew because Afl. 40.9 mil-lion in net claim of the publicsector on the banking sectorrecorded at the end of January2012 turned into an Afl. 0.5million net liability of thepublic sector to the bankingsector at the end of February2012, following an Afl. 41.4million decline in governmentdeposits. In contrast, claimsof the banking sector on theprivate sector decreased byAfl. 14.1 million, reflectingdeclines in commercial loansand consumer credit of, re-spectively, Afl. 13.8 million (-

Commercial Bank of China tobuy a majority stake in the USsubsidiary of Bank of EastAsia, a deal that would make itthe first Chinese state-con-trolled bank to acquire retailbank branches in the UnitedStates.

The US unit of Bank ofEast Asia operates 13 branchesin New York and California.

ICBC has been the most ag-gressive of China's "big four"banks in expanding overseas.

ICBC has total assets ofroughly $2.5 trillion and theChinese government ownssome 70 percent of its shares,the Fed said.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - TheFederal Reserve announcedyesterday that three major Chi-nese banks have won approvalto enter the US banking mar-ket.

ICBC, China's biggestbank; Bank of China; andAgricultural Bank of Chinahave been cleared to havebranches in the United States,the Fed said.

The Fed authorized Bank ofChina to set up a branch inChicago, and AgriculturalBank of China to establish onein New York City.

The board approved an ap-plication from Industrial and

thursday, May 10, 2012 11

Finance

YEStERDAY’S

Crossword Answer

U.S.A.

Dutch Antilles

Canada

Britiain

Switzerland

Netherlands

Sweden

Denmark

Norway

Japan

(per 10,000)

USD

ANG

CAD

GBP

CHF

EUR

SEK

DKK

NOK

JPY

1.77

98.00

1.75

2.80

191.89

228.56

24.90

30.06

29.53

221.92

1.78

100.00

1.77

2.85

192.61

230.65

25.62

30.78

30.25

223.95

1.80

100.20

1.79

2.91

193.41

232.96

26.42

31.58

31.05

226.20

Currency

Code

Buying

rate

banknotes

Buying

ChequesSelling

Rate

Current as of:

05/09/2012

All rates for amounts up to AWG 100,00 per item.

3 big Chinese banks to

enter US banking market

Summary of the Monthly Bulletin of February 2012 indicates

Aruba Net Foreign Assets increases

Greece gets more cash ascoalition talks fail

He entered the contest inhopes of moving beyond hisreputation as a backing vocal-ists for Keys, Mary J. Bligeand Joss Stone.

Taking second place wasCalifornia songstress JulietSimms, the lone femaleamong the four finalists on theshow, an American adaptationof a Dutch reality TV contestwith contestants mentored bycelebrity coaches and ratingsthat rivaled the more estab-lished "American Idol."

Tony Lucca placed third infront of Chris Mann in a closevote.

Javier Colon, the Latinowinner of series one in 2011,went on to record an albumthat spent just a week on theBillboard 200 charts. Seriesthree is due to air in a fewmonths.

$100,000 prize and a record-ing contract.

(AFP) - A former backupsinger for the likes of AliciaKeys moved up to the centerstage of US pop music whenhe emerged the winner of sea-son two of the popular,viewer-voted NBC reality tal-ent show "The Voice."

Jermaine Paul, an R&B vo-calist coached during the se-ries by country star BlakeShelton, wiped back tears andhugged family members onstage before bringing the cur-tain down on the show with acover of R. Kelly's "I BelieveI Can Fly."

"I want to say thank you toeverybody that voted for me,"said Paul, who collects a


Former backup singer wins 'Voice'honors

made an exceptional contribu-tion to "affirming life's spiri-tual dimension, whetherthrough insight, discovery, orpractical works".

Established in 1972, it isone of the world's largest an-nual monetary awards given toan individual.

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14thDalai Lama, will receive theprize from John M. Templeton,son of the prize's founder.

"This is another sign ofrecognition about my littleservice to humanity, mainlynon-violence and unity arounddifferent religious traditions,"the 76-year-old said.

"I totally dedicated my lifeto bring a more close under-standing among these differentreligious traditions.

LONDON (AFP) - The DalaiLama will receive the 2012Templeton Prize, one of theworld's biggest monetaryawards, in a ceremony at SaintPaul's Cathedral in London onMay 14, organisers saidWednesday.

The exiled Tibetan spiritualleader will receive the £1.1million ($1.8 million, 1.4 mil-lion euro) prize for his work inencouraging scientific researchand harmony among religions.

The event will be attendedby thousands and broadcast onthe Internet. The Dalai Lamawill announce where themoney will go at the cere-mony. It will be the first timethe Buddhist monk has visitedthe cathedral.

The Templeton Prize hon-ours a living person who has

Dalai Lama to receive$1.8m spiritual prize inLondon

Last four finalist from left to right- Jermaine Paul - ChrisMann - Juliet Simms and Tony Lucca

dustry. An international blendwould include Ceylon tea to-gether with cheaper teas fromseveral countries.

Kuruppu said any imports oftea for blending would beclosely monitored to ensurehigh standards were main-tained and that the reputation ofthe island's tea industry waspreserved.

Sri Lanka sold 323 millionkilos (710 million pounds) lastyear and earned $1.49 billion,but Kuruppu said the countrycould substantially increaserevenues through more valueaddition by way of blending.

Sri Lankan tea is used in in-ternational blends of multi-na-tional companies whichoperate tea processing facilitiesin the Middle East and Europe.

Indian consumer goodsgiant Unilever had planned toset up a processing plant in SriLanka in the late 1990s butshifted to Dubai as Colombodid not allow the import of teafor blending, fearing that sucha move would dilute the imageof the local product.

(AFP) - Sri Lanka Tea Boardchief Janaki Kuruppu said theywere studying proposals toallow imported teas to bemixed with the more expensiveSri Lankan tea, better knownby the country's former Britishcolonial-era name "Ceylon".

She said the blending oper-ation could boost overall tearevenue which is one of themain foreign exchange earnersfor the country.

Since tea was introduced toSri Lanka in 1849 by a Scots-man, it has been a primary ex-port but companies abroad areknown to blend it with cheaperteas from several countries likeKenya, Indonesia and China,and sell it for less.

Kuruppu said Sri Lankaneeded to take a "realisticview" of the global market andcapitalise on the lucrativeblending operations withoutlosing the country's reputationas a source of highly aromatictea.

Pure Ceylon tea is more ex-pensive and is compared to the"single malt" of the whisky in-

Sri Lanka may start blendingits pure Ceylon tea


mail link at their website,www.aruba-latrattoria.com,where you can peruse their lat-est menu, as Chef Alberto isalways devising some tastynew specialty to take advan-tage of what is fresh for theseason.

conditioned dining room, ifyou prefer) and fine foodmakes La Trattoria El Faro thesingle dining experience thatmust not be missed before de-parting Aruba. Reservationscan be made by calling 586-0786 or 586-0787, or via e-

Over twenty years ago, a veryclever person had the idea ofplacing a cozy little restauranton the top of the cliff adjacentto the California Lighthouse,offering the most stunningview of Aruba imaginable. LaTrattoria el Faro Blanco tookover the location some yearsago, and the restaurant’squaint trappings, superb se-lection and amenable staff hasmade it a one of the island’smost popular dining spotsever since.

Savoring the sight of aspectacular Aruban sunset andthe tiered layout of the eateryalso makes it the ideal spot formarking a special occasion,such as an anniversary or amarriage proposal, as well asa perfect venue for weddingsor a celebratory party. An ex-tensive and diverse menu andwine list allows those plan-ning a special festivity will beable to devise a memorableevent and management isready and willing to help youstay within your budget.

Many have taken note ofthis singular location as theplace to go for that memo-rable romantic meal, and theirreservation staff reports awaiting list for the rail tablesthat offer the best unob-structed view, recommendingreservations well in advanceif this is important to you.

The restaurant is now openfrom early in the day for re-freshments, and is the perfectlunch stop while touring, ser -ving from 11:00 AM to 3:00PM, after which visitors canenjoy a light snack from theirPizza Mini Menu until 6:00PM when they officially openfor dinner, until 11:00 PM.

All these aspects of charm-ing surroundings, dining alfresco with a breathtakingview (or in their enclosed air-

Excellent dining, charming ambiance

and a breathtaking view found only

at La Trattoria El Faro Blanco

Stunning sunset

Risotto Frutti de Mare

edge following a January up-rising that toppled long-serv-ing dictator Zine El AbidineBen Ali.

Tunisia's moderate Is-lamist Ennahda party thatwon October elections haspledged to protect the inter-ests of the Jewish minority.

But the country has seen arise in demonstrations by ad-herents of extreme-conserva-tive Salafist strand of Islamwho have called for the cre-ation of a more rigid Islamicstate in post-Ben Ali Tunisia.

"I was a bit reluctant, thenI decided to come and I amdelighted to be here today,"said Cathy Koher, a FrenchJew of Polish origin whotravelled to the island aboutroughly 500 kilometres (300miles) from Tunis.

Tunisian President Mon-cef Marzouki last monthcommemorated the 10-yearanniversary of Al-Qaeda at-tack, which Jewish groupssaid was the first time a pres-ident had officially noted theoccasion.

The synagogue dates back2,500 years and, legend hasit, was built by fleeing Jewsfollowing the destruction ofSolomon's Temple.

DJERBA (AFP) - A Jewishpilgrimage to the oldest syn-agogue in Africa on Tunisia'sDjerba island began Wednes-day under tight security afterit was cancelled last year fol-lowing the revolution.

About 500 Jews from Eu-rope and 1,000 JewishTunisians started gatheringon the Mediterranean islandbefore heading to the 2,500-year-old Ghriba synagogue,said Perez Trabelsi, head ofthe Tunisian Jewish commu-nity.

There were an estimated100,000 Jews living inTunisia when the northAfrican country gained inde-pendence in 1956, but thevast majority quickly relo-cated to France, the formercolonial power.

But, with roughly 1,500members, Tunisia still hasone of the largest Jewishcommunities in the Arabworld.

The pilgrimage previouslyattracted tens of thousands ofvisitors, but turnout declineddramatically following anApril 2002 attack at Ghribaclaimed by Al-Qaeda thatkilled 21 people.

The event was cancelledlast year with the country on

Jews stage pilgrimageto ancient Tunisia synagogue

and all teams, especially dur-ing the group stage, will doeverything to try to beat us."

Spain coach Vicente delBosque has said he will releasea provisional line-up on May15 for the team going toPoland and Ukraine and a de-finitive list on May 27.

Spain, who are defendingtheir European title, play theirfirst game on June 10 againstItaly.

onship again," the 30-year-oldReal player said.

"This time we are not in thesame position as four yearsago. At that time people ex-pected that Spain would go asfar as possible, and the teamstarted to believe in its playingstyle, in its way of facing its ri-vals, and in the end we wonthe title.

"Now we will present our-selves as the world champions

Blanc left out of the squadveteran strikers Djibril Cisse -who has had a poor spell atQPR marked by two sendingsoff - and the injury-proneLouis Saha.

Foreign-based players se-lectedP h i l i p p e M e x e s ( A CMilan/ITA), Adil Rami (Valen-cia/ESP), Patrice Evra (Man-chester United/ENG), GaelC l i c h y ( M a n c h e s t e rCity/ENG), Laurent Koscielny( A r s e n a l / E N G ) , Yo u n e sKaboul(Tottenham/ENG), Flo-rent Malouda (Chelsea/ENG),Samir Nasri (ManchesterCity/ENG), Hatem Ben Arfa(Newcastle/ENG), YohanCabaye (Newcastle/ENG),Franck Ribery (Bayern Mu-nich/GER), Karim Benzema(Real Madrid/ESP).

ture, he is conscious of his tal-ent but that he has to transfer itinto benefiting his team andnot just for himself.

"These players (like BenArfa) who are extremely tal-ented find it hard to think thatthey are so good.

Ben Arfa has been reunitedwith his fellow 'golden gener-ation' of players born in 1987and later part of the team thatwon the European Under-17championship, Karim Ben-zema and Samir Nasri

Paris Saint Germain star Je-remy Menez is likely to benamed by Blanc next weekwhen he announces his 12France-based players.

PARIS (AFP) - Hatem BenArfa's outstanding season withNewcastle United earned hima call-up by France coach Lau-rent Blanc on Wednesdaywhen he named the 12 foreign-based players he will take tothe European Championship.

Ben Arfa, whose Newcastleteam-mate Yohan Cabaye hasalso been selected after a finedebut season following hismove from Lille, has notplayed for France since win-ning his eighth cap in afriendly in August 2010.

"I believe that he hasreached a new level, both asmuch as a player as a person,"said Blanc. "He is more ma-


Blanc recalls Ben Arfa for Euro

MADRID (AFP) - TalismanicBarcelona defender CarlesPuyol's likely absence fromthe Spanish national team dueto injury is a big setback butthe squad can still win Euro2012, Spain captain and goal-keeper Iker Casillas saidWednesday.

Earlier Wednesday Puyol,whose header against Ger-many famously took Spaininto the final of a victorious2010 World Cup campaign,said he expects to undergoknee surgery over the weekendthat will rule him out of Euro2012.

Asked about Spain'schances at the tournament inPoland and Ukraine, Casillassaid he believed the squadcould retain their Euro title.

"We have the ability to winit, I say this emphatically.Spain can win this champi-

Spain can win Euro 2012 without Puyol -Casillas

racially abused Ferdinand'syounger brother Anton duringQPR's victory over Chelsea inOctober.

Tottenham Hotspur mid-fielder Scott Parker captainedEngland in caretaker managerStuart Pearce's lone match incharge, a 3-2 friendly interna-tional defeat by the Nether-lands at Wembley in February.

The England squad willmeet up on Monday, May 21and travel to Spain for a train-ing camp.

They will fly from Spain toOslo for the Norway friendlyon May 26 and then be giventwo days off before meetingup again on May 29 to beginpreparations for the matchagainst Belgium on June 2.

Another two-day break isscheduled before the squad re-convene on June 5 and thentravel to their Euro 2012 basein Krakow, Poland, the follow-ing day.

LONDON (AFP) - New Eng-land manager Roy Hodgsonwill name his squad for Euro2012 next week, well in ad-vance of the tournament dead-line, as he looks to make hismark ahead of the tournamentin Poland and Ukraine.

Hodgson could have de-layed naming his first Englandsquad until the UEFA deadlineof May 23 but has decided todo so next week in a bid to cre-ate a measure of certaintyahead of a pre-tournamenttraining camp in Spain andfriendlies against Norway inOslo and Belgium at Wemb-ley.

One issue confrontingHodgson is to decide whetherChelsea's John Terry and Man-chester United's Rio Ferdi-nand, long regarded asEngland's premier central de-fensive pairing, can still playtogether in light of allegations,due to be heard in court afterEuro 2012 on July 9, Terry

Hodgson to name Englandsquad ahead of deadline

Police said they had beentracking the suspects since apitched battle between dozensof the clubs' fans in November2010, with all of them menaged between 20 and 40 whotrained daily in martial artsand bodybuilding.

If tried and found guilty,they could face three years inprison.

Polish police estimate thatthe nation of 38 million has ahooligan hardcore of up to5,000.

After last May's cup finaltrouble, away supporters of allPolish clubs were banned fromthe remaining matches of theseason, and ad hoc bans for in-dividual games have been im-posed this term.

WARSAW (AFP) - Poland'spolice have arrested 35 indi-viduals suspected of takingpart in organised fights be-tween football-fan gangs, asthe Euro 2012 co-host nationcontinues a crackdown onhooliganism.

The Central InvestigationBureau said on Wednesdaythat the suspects were snaredin a sweep involving some 300officers who raided 50 homesover two days.

The individuals are be-lieved to have been involvedin "ustawki", the notoriouspre-arranged fights betweenrival teams' fans which haveclaimed several lives in Polandover recent years.

Polish police bust hooliganbattle suspects

prevent the two men fromtrading verbal insults, if not ac-tual punches.

"He is the ideal opponentfor me," Haye said. "I am soglad he has got a good chin be-cause if he didn't have a goodchin he would be blasted out infirst round. This means I willgive him a nice, slow, concus-sive beating."

Chisora responded by say-ing: "I don't like him. David,you need to get style. Yourcorn rows are out of fashion.

Meanwhile Warren said:"This is not the end of Britishboxing. "I believe it will be asell out, a huge event. Thereare far far worse things hap-pening in sport than what'shappening here.

The fight is likely to be thebiggest British heavyweightbout since Lennox Lewisfought Frank Bruno in 1993.

Rousseff's government wouldtake over the organisation wastaken "because it was per-ceived that it didn't make sensethat those who paid the billswere not represented in theLOC," sports commentatorJuca Kfouri from the daily OEstado de Sao Paulo told AFP.

It is the second time in his-tory that a government has in-tervened in the organisation ofa World Cup, after the previ-ous edition in South Africa.

"Brazil is an emergingpower but it is a poor country,with deep economic problems,and FIFA have high expecta-tions. The Cup has to meetuniversal criteria and Brazilisn't in a position to do this ifthe government isn't part of theorganisation," said anothersports expert Marcos Guter-man.

During the meeting it wasalso decided that Marco Polodel Nero, a Brazilian represen-tative at FIFA, would also jointhe LOC, and that the FIFAcommittee would meet everysix to eight weeks until 2014.

FIFA president Joseph Blat-ter, clarified that the only inter-mediaries would be the SportsMinister Aldo Rebelo andFIFA secretary general JeromeValcke.

Valcke had just months agocaused uproar over his com-ments that the Brazilian organ-izers needed a "kick up thebackside" to hasten laggingpreparations for the event.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) -The appointment of an ally ofBrazilian president DilmaRousseff to the organisingcommittee of the 2014 WorldCup was widely seen by sportsexperts in the South Americancountry as a last ditch effort toavoid the tournament collaps-ing.

World governing bodyFIFA announced in Zurich thatthe Brazilian governmentwould have a representative onthe Local Organising Commit-tee (LOC), which had untilnow been headed by BrazilianFootball Confederation (CBF)president Jose Maria Marinand ex-football stars Ronaldoand Bebeto.

The executive-secretary ofthe Ministry of Sport, LuisFernandes, has been appointedas an LOC representative,which will start meeting everysix to eight weeks to discusspreparation.

Despite pouring millions ofdollars into the constructionand modernisation of stadi-ums, airports, roads and publictransport for the World Cup,work is seriously behindschedule.

FIFA fear that some stadi-ums - including the mythicalMaracana in Rio where thefinal will be played - will notbe ready to host the Confere-dations Cup in June 2013, con-sidered as a test run for theWorld Cup.

The decision that FIFA and

test, saying in a statementWednesday: "Those behindthis proposal are not concernedwith the interests of the sportof professional boxing.

Although the board's threatis unlikely to mean much to ei-ther Haye or Chisora, who areboth without a licence, if fol-lowed through it could haveimplications for Warren, oneof British boxing's leadingpromoters.

As both Haye and Chisoraare unlicensed rather thanbanned, it is easier for the Lux-embourg Boxing Federation,under the rules of the Euro-pean Boxing Union, to sanc-tion the contest.

Haye and Chisora's campswere separated by a seven-footsteel fence at a press confer-ence to announce the bout onTuesday.

But the wire barrier did not

LONDON (AFP) - Britishboxing's governing body hascondemned the proposed'grudge' match between formerworld heavyweight championDavid Haye and DereckChisora and threatened sanc-tions towards anyone involvedin the contest.

Chisora's licence to box waswithdrawn "indefinitely" bythe British Boxing Board ofControl (BBBoC) in Marchafter an ugly press conferencebrawl with Haye following hisunsuccessful heavyweight titlechallenge against reigningworld champion Vitali Kl-itschko in Munich the previousmonth.

Haye does not hold a validlicence to box in Britain afterannouncing his retirement lastyear following his defeat byWladimir Klitschko.

But although the clash be-tween the British boxers isscheduled to take place at WestHam football club's UptonPark stadium in east Londonon July 14, it is doing so underthe auspices of the little-known Luxembourg BoxingFederation rather than theBBBoC.

Chisora's promoter FrankWarren has insisted he is nottrying to undermine theBBBoC but the board areadamantly opposed to the con-

thursday, May 10, 2012 15

Boxing: British boxing chiefscondemn Haye-Chisora bout

football: Brazilian govtstep in to avoidWorld Cup collapse

BaLtiMore

taMPa

yankeeS

toronto

BoSton

cLeveLand

detroit

chicaGo

kanSaS

MinneSota

W L Pct GB19 11 .633 --

19 11 .633 --

16 13 .552 2.5

16 14 .533 3.0

12 17 .414 6.5

17 12 .586 --

15 14 .517 2.0

14 17 .452 4.0

10 19 .345 7.0

8 21 .276 9.0

20 10 .667 --

16 14 .533 4.0

14 18 .438 7.0

13 18 .419 7.5

18 11 .621 --

19 12 .613 --

17 13 .567 1.5

15 15 .500 3.5

14 17 .452 5.0

19 11 .633 --

15 14 .517 3.5

14 16 .467 5.0

13 16 .448 5.5

13 17 .433 6.0

12 18 .400 7.0

19 11 .633 --

15 15 .500 4.0

14 17 .452 5.5

12 17 .414 6.5

11 20 .355 8.5

american League

east

central

texaS

oakLand

SeattLe

La anGeLeS

West

national League

WaShinGton

atLanta

ny MetS

MiaMi

PhiLadeLPhia

St. LouiS

cincinnati

houSton

PittSBurG

MiLWaukee

chicaGo

east

central

La dodGerS

San franciSco

arizona

coLorado

San dieGo

West

MLB Standings

x-Clinched Playoff Spot; y-Division Champ

W L Pct GB

SPORTS

100m free 58.31 and theclassification time was 56.48(-1.83 sec)

For Ally:50m free 26.66 and the

classification time was 26.15(-0.51 sec)

quired time set by the OlympicGames is 26.15.

On Sunday, again Sallycame very close to her per-sonal record when she swam atime span of 58.31 in the100m. Her personal recordwas 58.30!

In her final attempt in the50m free, Allyson swam 26.66and broke her personal record,bringing her closer to the clas-sification time.

Contrary to Jemal, Allysonstill has one try-out competi-tion to determine whether shewould still classify for the2012 London Olympic Games.Both athletes performed fabu-lously during the two days ofcompetition. They are obvi-ously improving greatly. Weare certain that soon they willbe able to classify. We wishthem much luck and God’sspeed in the upcoming try-outs.

Here is an overview of theirtimes:

For Jemal:50m free 24.23 and the

classification time was 22.88(- 1.35 sec)

100m free 51.99 and theclassification time was 50.53(- 1.46 sec)

time. With that time, he brokehis own personal record,swimming at 51.99. Despitethis excellent performance,Jemal did not reach the re-quired classification time setby the 2012 London OlympicGames, which is 50.53. Jemalundoubtedly came very closeand still stands a chance toachieve this in the 2 try-outcompetitions yet to come.

On the other hand, our ath-lete of the year, Allyson Pon-son, achieved a 26.83 on herfirst 50m free. Allyson camevery, very close with a time of26.88. However, like Jemalshe too did not achieve the re-quired time to classify. The re-

Spectacular Aruban swim-mers, Jemal Le Grand andAllyson Ponson, presented amagnificent performance dur-ing the classification try-outsfor the 2012 London OlympicGames. Despite their tremen-dous performance and break-ing their own records, theycame short of classifying forthe 2012 Games.

During the Internationalcompetition, organized byStingway Swimming, Jemaland Ally competed with theireyes and hopes on classifyingfor the 2012 London Games.

Jemal Le Grand’s swim-ming time on Saturday in the100m free was 52.39…his best


Allyson Ponson

Despite magnificent performance, Jemal & Allysoncomes short!

Jemal Le Grand

Documents

May 10, 2012