Saturday, August 11, 2012

Aruba’s Junior League Base-ball team, winners of thisyear’s Latin Championshiptitle, departed for Taylor,Michigan yesterday afternoonto compete in the JuniorLeague World Series of Base-ball 2012. The players, be-

tween the ages of 13 to 15 haveproven to be a formidableteam, winning the Latin Divi-sion champion title for theLatin Division in July, duringthe play-offs in Costa Rica.

Continued on page 5

com. The mail is with refer-ence to school hours, uniformsand classroom behaviour.

Students of classes CB1,CB2, H3 and V3 should stop bythe school on August 10th tocollect their school books. The‘Boekenfonds’ is open from9:00 in the morning until 1:00 inthe afternoon. In order to be eli-gible to receive new books, eachstudent must present a valid I.D.and valid proof of payment ofbooks. Every student is kindlyrequested to bring along a largebag in which to place their newbooks for carry out.

Continued on page 5

are taking place for the CB1,HAVO-4 and HL1 classes.They have all the ne cessaryteachers, and most of the booksare in house and all the controlsare being done to ensure thatthey can begin operating opti-mally and efficiently as of thefirst day of school.

Students of Colegio SanNicolas have received emailsinforming them of what theywill be needing to begin thenew school year. In the event astudent did not receive thesemails, they should contact theschool at Tel.584-6800 or viaemail at colegiopariba@gmail.

You would recall that back inJuly, the Minister of Educationannounced that they will begina new HAVO school in SanNicolas, and that this will be afull fledge day school program.This means that what was a de-pendence or annex to the Cole-gio Aruban in Oranjestad for 35years have now become aschool on its own, and a publicschool to boot. This new HAVOSchool will be temporallycalled, Colegio San Nicolas.

The staff and teachers ofColegio San Nicolaas are busypreparing for the opening of thenew school year. Registrations

The new Colegio San Nicolas readyfor new school year

Saturday, August 11, 2012

And their off! Aruba’s Junior Leaguebaseball team off to the World Series!

Minister Visser with the team

Minister Oduber with son Jeandrick

much easier and safer. The beach will receive a

complete facelift which willbenefit both locals and visitors,and particularly those who willvisit from cruise ships. Cruiseships visitors will be withinwalking distance to enjoy thisbeach during the hours thatthey are on the island.

Just a little patience and un-derstanding and soon this areawill be ready for use in its re-furbished form with brand newpier and other facilities. It isexpected to be worth the wait-ing and patience!

complete the building of thenew ramp, and then continuewith the beautification of thebeach in front of the Gover-nor’s house. But that plan waschanged. This week the con-tractors were given the man-date to complete both projectsand to have the work done inthree weeks.

The new pier being builtwill offer much more facilitiesto users of the area. For exam-ple, they will now have a bath-room, places for food anddrinks, and they will make thelowering and raising of boats

The general public is kindly re-quested to be patient whilework is being carried out at thebeach in front of the Gover-nor’s house and at the con-struction site of the Surf Sidebeach.

The work of the beautifica-tion of the Beach at this area isin full swing, while they arealso engaged in building aramp at the Surf Side beach.The work is scheduled to becompleted within three weeks.

The government explainedthat at the outset of this Projecttheir intention was to first

Appeal for patience while construction

and decorative work is in progress

all the way to Hollandwithin the near future.

On Monday, August 13Channel 55 will beginbroadcasting EnergiaVisionon Aruba. Their program-ming will include, amongothers, an early morning talkshow, news, cultural pro-grams, programs of nature,entertainment, children’sprograms, sports, educationand lifestyle programs.

EnergiaVision will varytheir programs to promote

general development, to chal-lenge young people to excel-lence and to promote theinterchange of information.They will have 2 news seg-ments daily, with a sectionfor social concerns and anopinion program, and a showof cooking. They also intendto transmit live activities.

Aruban tele viewers arecordially invited to join theaudience of EnergiaVisionthis coming Monday at 6:00p.m. on Channel 55. Ener-giaVision will undoubtedlybring the islands closer to-gether and at the same timekeep Bonairians residing onAruba fully abreast of what ishappening on the lovely is-land of Bonaire.

EnergiaVision is a televisionstation in combination with aradio station on Bonaire. Thisis a brand new medium forBonaire which has met allstringent modern technologi-cal requirements to join theair waves. This new stationwent on the air officially inthe month of May 2012 withlocal programming onBonaire on channel 2 viacable of TELBO MiTv. Ener-giaVision’s ambition is toreach the entire DutchCaribbean region with theirprogramming. They willbegin sending their signal toAruba on Channel 55, then toCuracao on Channel 22, andthen on to St. Maarten andthe rest of the BES islands.Eventually, they plan to reach

2 Saturday, August 11, 2012

New Bonaire TV Channel

to be seen here on Aruba!EnergiaVision of Bonaire to be added to SETAR Cableprogram line up as of August 13th and on Channel 55!

Saturday, August 11, 2012 3

PALM BEACH) – Hyatt Re-gency Aruba Resort Casino& Spa (www.aruba.hyatt.com) announced yesterdaythat it will unveil two excit-ing restaurant upgrades intime for the holidays. In con-tinuation of the resort’s multi-million dollar refurbishmentsinitially completed in 2008,Hyatt Regency Aruba willwelcome a new, upscaleMexican restaurant and a re-furbished Ruinas del Mar, itssignature restaurant, by De-cember 17.

Designed by The JohnsonStudio, the new Mexican din-ing concept and refurbishedRuinas Del Mar will provideguests with two dynamic din-ing experiences. As they de-scend into the lagoon area,diners will be greeted by aninviting lounge situated on afloating deck over the exist-ing reflecting pool. Thelounge will provide a casualatmosphere upon arrival andserve as additional outdoorrestaurant seating. Sail-likeshades offer guests a retreatfrom the sun during the dayand serve as the backdrop forsoft up-lighting and illumi-nated lanterns, creating a can-dlelit dining experience atnight.

Adjoining the lounge willbe the highly-anticipated andyet-to-be-named Mexicanres taurant, which will featurea menu of bold flavors,mouthwatering classics, andsignature libations. Its ingre-dient-driven menu of freshlymade guacamole, refreshingceviches, and authentic Mex-ican cuisine will be servedwith a contemporary twist. Aglo wing bar will display anextensive tequila selectionand a sparkling shot glass

at Alfresco Lobby Bar, anddinner menus at Palms Barand Piet’s Pier Bar. Uponcompletion of the upgrades,both restaurants will be openfor dinner and Ruinas delMar will be open daily forbreakfast and SundayBrunch.

All dining options at HyattRegency Aruba now imple-ment Hyatt’s new global“Food, ThoughtfullySourced, Carefully Served”philosophy, which focuses onsourcing and providinghealthy food and beverageoptions to guests. The pro-gram’s pillars include smallerportion sizes; natural, organicand hormone-free menu op-tions; sustainable practices;and locally sourced ingredi-ents.

For more informationabout Hyatt Regency Arubacall 1-800-55-HYATT or visitwww.aruba.hyatt.com.

chandelier will entice gueststo indulge in a taste.

Adjacent to the newrestaurant lies the redesignedRuinas del Mar. As the menutantalizes taste buds, guestswill revel in the restaurant’snew look. An open-hearthoven will fill the dining roomwith a sense of warmth andinvite guests to partake in theaction and energy of thekitchen. Abundant outdoorseating will give guests theopportunity to dine amidstthe waterfalls and wildlife,while vibrant draperies andhand blown glass chandelierswill create a dramatic am-biance at night.

From August 20 – Decem-ber 17, the beachfront Palmsrestaurant will be the main di -ning option, serving break-fast, lunch and dinner.Additional choices includeoceanfront dining at Foot-prints Beach Grill, a sushi bar

Also recently, the Aruba Tourism Author-ity honored a group of loyal visitors ofAruba, as Distinguished Visitors andGoodwill Ambassadors of Aruba. Thehonorees are Mr. James and Mrs. LindaPietro and their son Mr. ChristopherPietro, they received the DistinguishedVisitor certificate, and Mr. Richard andMrs. Joanne Savitz received the GoodwillAmbassador certificate. All of them areloyal members of the Casa Del Mar BeachResort and they are very much in lovewith the Island. They like our beaches andsnorkeling, the restaurants and all otheractivities that the island has to offer. Thecertificates were presented by Mr. ErnestGiel representing the Aruba Tourism Au-thority together with Ms. Xiomara repre-senting the Casa Del Mar Beach Resort.


Richard and Tina honored

at the Marriott Ocean

Vacation Club

Recently, the Aruba Tourism Authority honored Mr.Richard and Mrs. Tina Koch, from Johns Creek GA., asDistinguished Visitors of Aruba. The couple have beenvisiting our island for more than 10 consecutive years.This symbolic honorary title is presented in the name ofthe Minister of Tourism as a token of appreciation toguests who visit Aruba for 10 to 19 consecutive years.The Koch couple have the Marriott resorts as their homeaway from home and they say they are very much in lovewith the Marriott Resorts and the friendly people whowork there. They also love the Island, the friendly people,the nice climate, beautiful beaches, and diverse restau-rants. The certificate was presented to them by Mr.Ernest Giel representing the Aruba Tourism Authority in-presence of Mrs. Gail Sahit of the Marriott Ocean Vaca-tion Club.

Group of loyal visitors honored at the Casa Del

Mar Beach Resort

Hyatt Regency Aruba announces upgrades to

its culinary landscape, including a highly-

anticipated new dining conceptAruba’s premier resort will welcome a new upscale Mexican restaurant and revitalized Ruinasdel Mar by Mid-December 2012

Padres, and Detroit Tigers, willmake the difference.

Junior League World Seriesgames will begin tomorrow,August 12. Aruba will squareoff against the Asia-PacificChampions, Min-De JuniorLittle League from TainanCity, Chinese Taipei beginningat 2:45 PM. The games will bebroadcast live on ESPN 3;final title game will take placeon Saturday, August 18.

by Rosalie Klein

of Tourism Transport andLabor, Otmar Oduber. He wasthere, however, as a parent, nota politician, as his son Jean-drick will be competing on be-half of Aruba.

Minister Dr. Visser ex-pressed the hope that theweeks focused on trainingsince their return from CostaRica, with the input Arubanformer Major League playerEugene Kingsale, who waswith the Baltimore Orioles,Seattle Mariners, San Diego

The last time they won the re-gional championships was in2009; that team went on to bethe runners-up in the JuniorLeague World Series con-ducted annually at HeritagePark in Taylor, Michigan.

Aruba’s champion team,Oranjestad North, was bidfarewell by Minister of PublicHealth and Sport, Dr. RichardVisser, at the Reina BeatrixAirport. Joining him in seeingthe boys and their coaches onthe plane was Aruba’s Minister


Aruba’s Junior League baseball team off to

the World Series!Continued from page 1

ST. PETERSBURG -- Thetropics remained fairly activeyesterday, as Ernesto broke upover Mexico, Gordon is closeto forming, and a third areashows signs of developmentnear the Cape Verde Islands.

Ernesto has dissipated as itdumps heavy rain over themountains of Mexico. However,there is a chance its remnantscould manage to redevelop offMexico's Pacific coast. If thathappens, the system would berenamed "Hector," becausetropical cyclones in the Pacificuse different names than thoseused in the Atlantic.

Tropical Depression Seven,as of right now, will continue awestward movement, poten-tially strengthening as it headstoward the Caribbean.

The third area of low pres-sure near the African Coastcontinues to organize, and maybecome a depression over thenext couple of days.

Meanwhile, the tropical de-pression is moving faster to thewest. Interests in the Windwardand Leeward Islands shouldmonitor the progress this sys-tem.The depression is movingtoward the west near 23 mph,and this general motion is likelyto continue for the next coupleof days. On the forecast track,the depression will approachthe Windward and Leeward Is-lands Saturday night.

Maximum sustained windsremain near 35 mph, withhigher gusts. Some strengthen-ing is possible during the next48 hours, and the depressioncould become a tropical stormbefore reaching the Lesser An-tilles. The depression couldemerge in the Caribbean sometime early next week.

TropicalDepression7 movingtowardCaribbean,Ernestodumping rain

discuss last minute pendingmatters regarding the scheduleand other activities for schoolyear 2012-2013. On the fol-lowing day, August 16th,classes will begin at 7:45 amand will go in conformity withthe published class schedulefor each student.

Colegio San Nicolas hopesthat all students are enjoyingtheir vacation days, what’s leftof it, and that on August 15they will be ready to start thenew academic year with zealand enthusiasm!

H4 and HL1 students will re-ceive their books during thefollowing weeks.

The first day of school isAugust 15th. All students mustbe at Colegio San Nicolas by7:45am. On this first day theywill meet their school col-leagues, mentor and the classschedule (rooster). On August15th they will officially inau-gurate the new school andschool year. The first day ofschool will be a short one; itwill end at 10:45am. This is inorder to give teachers and staffthe time to meet together to

The new Colegio San Nicolas...Continued from page 1

LONDON (AFP) - Britainwill give Syrian rebels £5 mil-lion in assistance includingbody armour and communica-tions equipment for their fightagainst President Bashar al-Assad, Foreign SecretaryWilliam Hague said yesterday.

Hague said Britain wouldnot provide weapons butwould step up its contactswith opposition groups, espe-cially the Free Syrian Army,to lay the ground for a politi-cal solution if Assad falls.

"The people of Syria can-not wait indefinitely, peopleare dying," Hague told re-porters.

"In the absence of diplo-matic progress the UK will domuch more. We will expandour support to the Syrian peo-ple and the Syrian politicalopposition with an extra £5million ($7.82 million, 6.3million euros) in non-lethalpractical assistance."

that were published on hiswebsite.

"This is the request we havemade in an effort to protect MrAssange's life at all costs,"Patino added, joined at a pressconference by Assange'smother, Christine.

Christine Assange met withPatino Monday.

"I am sure the president andhis aides will make the best de-cision in this case," she toldgovernment website El Ciu-dadano.

Patino said Ecuador will re-spond to Assange's requestafter the 2012 LondonOlympics, which end on Au-gust 12.

We will take decisions thatdo not affect our relations withBritain," Patino said, explain-ing that Quito would be carefulnot to do anything that couldinterfere in any way with theOlympic Games.

QUITO (AFP) - Ecuador hasasked Sweden to take Wik-iLeaks founder Julian As-sange's testimony regardingaccusations of rape and sexualharassment in London, theSouth American nation's topdiplomat announced yesterday.

"Our ambassador in Swe-den has begun steps to ask theSwedish government to collectthe statement of Mr Assangewhere he is located, at theEcuadoran embassy in Lon-don," said Ecuadoran ForeignMinister Ricardo Patino.

Assange, 41, is seeking asy-lum in Ecuador to avoid his ex-tradition to Sweden, where heis accused of sexual assault.

The WikiLeaks founderfears he could subsequently bere-extradited from Sweden tothe United States to stand trialfor espionage, on account ofthe trove of leaked US diplo-matic cables and military logs

Ecuador asks Sweden toquestion Assange in London

region, and taken into policecustody, the public prosecutorin charge of the probe, FranckAlzingre, told AFP.

Alzingre had said earlierthat there was no evidence of alink between the latest attackand other incidents which haveoccurred on campsites in thearea since the end of June.

Although Alzingre playeddown suggestions a serialrapist could be operating in theregion, he confirmed that asquad of 50 officers has beenassigned to the case, far morethan would normally work ona single crime.

SAINT-DIDIER-SOUS-AU -BE NAS (AFP) - A man wasarrested yesterday over a se -rious sexual assault on an 11-year-old girl that stoked fearsof a possible serial attacker ina popular holiday area of cen-tral France.

Campsites in the Ardecheregion of central France hadbeen told to step up securityfollowing Wednesday's attackon the girl that has been linkedto a string of similar assaults inrecent weeks.

The 32-year-old suspectwas arrested at his home in Pri-vas, the capital of the Ardeche

statement that ended in a vowto pursue "jihad" for the rest ofhis life.

"I don't ask the court formercy because Allah is the onethat gives mercy," he declared.

Abdo was convicted in Mayof plotting to bomb a popularChinese restaurant near thebase and gun down patrons asthey fled, using a handgun fedby extended ammunition mag-azines.

At his sentencing, Abdoacted as his own attorney, giv-ing a detailed explanation ofhow he had turned from an in-fantryman to jihadist.

WACO (AFP) - A Muslim USsoldier turned conscientiousobjector was jailed for life yes-terday after being convicted ofplotting to kill troops and theirfamilies from a military base.

The court had heard thatNaser Jason Abdo, 22, plannedto attack soldiers and theirfamilies from Fort Hood, asprawling army installationnorthwest of the Texas statecapital, Austin.

Manacled and wearing amesh cover over his face be-cause he had spat blood onthree officers earlier this year,Abdo made a long, rambling

video was "obvious proof" thatthe hostages were still alive.

Sahara Media is one ofMauritania's most reliablenews organisations and oftenreports on the activities ofarmed groups such as AQIMwhich have occupied the vastdesert north of Mali for overfour months.

AQIM is holding anotherfour French hostages kid-napped from a uranium minein Arlit in northern Niger inSeptember 2010. Their abduc-tors have demanded thatFrance withdraw its forcesfrom Afghanistan in exchangefor their release.

AQIM is also holding aSwede, Dutch and SouthAfrican with British citizen-ship who were kidnapped inNovember 2011 in an attack onTimbuktu in which a Germanwas killed.

months. It was not clear whatthe medication was for.

Verdon was kidnapped inNovember with Serge Lazare-vic from Hombori in north-eastern Mali, where theyworked as geologists.

He appeals to formerFrench president NicolasSarkozy, who was beaten in asecond round election on May6 by Francois Hollande, andinternational organisations tointervene and free himself andhis colleague.

Verdon said Al-Qaeda inthe Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)was "available to negotiate".

The news agency SaharaMedia reported that the videowas taken in the last months ofSarkozy's time in office.

An intermediary betweenFrance and AQIM told SaharaMedia that negotiations werenot advancing, and said the

NOUAKCHOTT (AFP) - AMauritanian online newsagency has published a videoshowing five of six Frenchhostages kidnapped by theNorth African Al-Qaedabranch from Mali and Niger inthe past two years.

The video, seen by AFPyesterday, is a montage of im-ages filmed in different loca-tions, and shows the fivehostages separately introduc-ing themselves and leaving amessage for their familieswhile surrounded by armedand turbaned men.

One hostage, Philippe Ver-don, spoke of "difficult livingconditions" and health prob-lems, saying he had not takenhis medication for three


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

port of Coatzacoalcos onThursday, dumping heavy rainand causing flooding in theGulf coast region.

As the depression onceagain moved inland, someareas could still see up to 15inches (38 centimeters) of rainbefore skies clear, the Miami-based US National HurricaneCenter said.

Mexican civil defense offi-cials said 10 communities hadbeen cut off by flooding, al-though no major damage wasreported.

XALAPA (AFP) - Ernestokilled two people in southeas -tern Mexico, officials said yes-terday, with the weakeningstorm threatening more heavyrain and possible flooding.

A 17-year-old fishermandrowned off the coast of thetown of Centla, according toauthorities, and the body of asecond victim was found in ariver near Cunduacan.

Ernesto, which is nowdowngraded to a tropical de-pression, made landfall for asecond time near the Mexican

Storm Ernesto kills twoin Mexico

A young boy is comforted as he stands beside one the victims during the wake andvisitation service for victims of last Sunday's attack at a Sikh temple, at Oak Creek HighSchool, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin yesterday. Thousands attended the wake where thebodies of the six victims lied in repose, according to local Sikh leaders.

Five French hostages kidnapped inSahel seen alive in video

Muslim US soldier jailed forlife for bomb plot

Campsite attack brings holiday

terror to French countryside

Britain giving

Syrian rebels

body armour

can-Islamic Relations (CAIR)and 12 other Muslim and Sy -rian-American organizations.

It coincided with the UnitedStates slapping new sanctionsyesterday on Assad's regimeand its supporters, in a conflictthat has claimed 21,000 livesin the past 17 months in theheart of the Middle East.

The United States is hometo an estimated 2.6 millionMuslims, according to an esti-mate in 2010 by the PewForum on Religion and PublicLife.

Mohammed Ghanem, di-rector of government relationsfor the Syrian American Coun-cil, one of the groups behindyesterday's day of solidarity,was unable to specify the num-ber of mosques and Islamiccenters participating.

"But it's on quite a largescale," he told AFP, after thesponsoring organizations --which include the biggestMuslim organizations in theUnited States -- "got in touchwith their base and urged themto take part."

FALLS CHURCH (AFP) -Mosques and Islamic centersacross the United States cametogether yesterday to condemnSyria's brutal crackdown ondissent and raise funds forcivilians trapped in the conflict.

With the holy month of Ra-madan heading towards itsfinal week, imams used yester-day’s prayers to denounce Sy -rian President Bashar al-Assadas a tyrant and to encourageAmerican Muslims to speakout against ongoing atrocities.

"What is going on in Syriais unbelievable," Imam ShakerElsayed told more than 300noon-hour worshippers at theDar Al-Hijra mosque in FallsChurch, Virginia, a multi-eth-nic suburb of Washington.

"It reminds me of Pol Pot. Itreminds me of Adolf Hitler. Itreminds me of the most despi-cable characters in the historyof mankind... We have to takea stand. This movie in Syria,we've seen it before."

Spearheading the Day ofSolidarity with the Syrian Peo-ple was the Council on Ameri-

US mosques unite for

Syria 'day of solidarity'

Hezbollah, Iran and Syria.Hezbollah is a Shiite armed

faction that within Lebanonoperates as a political partyand as a "resistance" force tocounter Israel, and whichWestern powers says runs aninternational militant network.

It is backed by Damascusand Tehran, and has been ac-cused both of carrying out re-cent bomb attacks on Israelitargets in Europe and Asia andof backing Syrian strongmanBashar al-Assad's brutal crack-down on an armed revolt.

Benjamin warned Hezbol-lah might step up violent ac-tion as international economicsanctions turn the screw on itsbackers in Iran and Western-backed Syrian rebels threatento overthrow its sponsor inDamascus.

"Hezbollah maintains apresence in Europe and its re-cent activities demonstrate thatit is not constrained by con-cerns about collateral damage

or political fallout that couldresult from conducting opera-tions there," he said.

"Hezbollah believes therehave been sustained Israeli andwestern campaigns against thegroup and its primary backersIran and Syria over the pastseveral years and this percep-tion is unlikely to change," hecontinued.

"Both remain determined toexact revenge against Israeland to respond forcefully to theWestern-led pressure againstIran and Syria," he said. "Thissuggests more acts of terrorismby both Hezbollah and Iran arelikely and they will continue topose a serious threat for theforeseeable future.

"We have not detected anyoperational activity of the groupin the United States," he added."We do not have any informa-tion on any operational targetingor anything like that in the US.But, that said, it's a very ambi-tious group with global reach."

WASHINGTON (AFP) - TheUnited States fears the Iranian-backed Lebanese militantgroup Hezbollah may be plan-ning imminent attacks in Eu-rope and around the world, asenior security official inWashington said yesterday.

"Our assessment is thatHezbollah and Iran will bothcontinue to maintain a height-ened level of terrorist activityand operations in the near fu-ture," said Daniel Benjamin,the US State Department'scounter-terrorism coordinator.

"We are increasingly con-cerned about Hezbollah's ac-tivities on a number of fronts,including its stepped up terro -rist campaign around theworld," he said.

"And we assess thatHezbollah could attack in Eu-rope or elsewhere at any timewith little or no warning," hewarned, in a conference callwith reporters to announcenew US sanctions against

US warns Hezbollah may strikein Europe


iNTErNaTiONaL NEWS

Madrid : a combination of pictures released by theSpanish National Police on august 10, 2012 showsSamuel Zazueta Valenzuela (L), rafael Humberto CelayaValenzuela (2nd L), Jesus Gutierrez Guzman (2nd r),first cousin of Mexico's most notorious drug cartelleader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Jesus GonzaloPalazuelos Soto (r), four members of the Sinaloa drugcartel who were arrested in central Madrid in a joint op-eration between the Spanish police and the FBi.

aFP PHOTO

"We know the overall costof care is lower when womenhave access to contraceptiveservices," Obama said, argu-ing 99 percent of women hadrelied on birth control at somepoint and many had struggledto afford it.

He also noted the two andthree year anniversaries of hisSupreme Court picks -- femalejustices Sonia Sotomayor andElena Kagan -- and warned thenext president would likely getto make more appointments.

Obama was introduced bylaw graduate Sandra Fluke,who was caught in a fierce po-litical firestorm earlier thisyear when she publicly backedthe president's plan to requirehealth insurance firms to covercontraception.

"If Mr Romney can't standup to extreme voices in hisown party, then we know hewill never stand up for us, andhe won't defend the rights thatgenerations of women havefought for," Fluke said.

"We must remember thateven though it is 2012, we arestill having the debates that wethought were won before I waseven born."

The issue of contraceptionwas thrust into the 2012 elec-tion campaign early this yearafter Republicans claimedObama's provision requiringorganizations to offer free con-traception on employee healthplans was a war on religion.

Obama sought to defuse therow by exempting religious or-ganizations. But he stuck bythe principle that all womenshould have free access tosuch services, putting the onuson insurance firms to offerwomen working for religiousemployers such as Catholichospitals free birth controlcoverage.

grams and contraception.Obama argued that

Romney, who has vowedto repeal the historic andcontroversial health carelaw, would wipe out sev-eral important victories inthe struggle for women'shealth rights.

Women, who representabout 53 percent of theUS electorate, backedObama 56-43 percentover John McCain in the2008 election.

A recent New YorkTimes/CBS poll foundObama leading Romneyamong single women by29 points, but marriedwomen historically lean

towards Republican candi-dates.

So gender gap politics willplay a crucial role in the count-down to the November 6 elec-tion.

In Denver, Obama arguedthat contraception was notmerely a social issue, sayingthat doctors sometimes pre-scribe birth control to managevarious health conditions, andthat women should have theright to make their ownchoices.

DENVER (AFP) - US Presi-dent Barack Obama reopeneda culture war battle over con-traception yesterday, sayingMitt Romney's Republicanswould take women's preven-tive health care back to the1950s.

In a direct pitch for the votesof women, who could be cru-cial in November's election,Obama flew to Colorado totout his health care law, whichmandates coverage for preven-tive services like mammo-

Obama wages birth control fightin bid for woman vote


Health & Living

kits containing soap and chlo-rine to purify water.

Guinean health authoritiesare also running local aware-ness campaigns in a bid tostem the outbreak.

Poor water and sanitationsystems give rise to the dis-ease, an acute intestinal infec-tion caused by ingestingcontaminated food and waterwhich causes acute diarrhoeaand vomiting and can kill inhours, according to the WorldHealth Organisation.

Sierra Leone, Mali andNiger have also been hard hit,with high levels of malnour-ishment as a result of adrought exacerbating the prob-lem.

CONAKRY (AFP) - An out-break of cholera in Guinea haskilled 60 people since Febru-ary and is showing no signs ofletting up, the country's healthministry said yesterday.

Officials have registered2,054 cases, with the capitalConakry and the south-west-ern city of Forecariah worst af-fected.

Thirteen people have died inConakry and 23 in Forecariah.

The NGO Doctors WithoutBorders said in a statement ithad increased the number ofhospital beds to "soon reach600 to prepare for the height ofthe outbreak".

Two other organisations,Unicef and Action AgainstHunger, have donated hygiene

Guinea GovernmentSays Cholera OutbreakNot Letting Up

Everyday greenlifestyle tips:*If you use wrappingpaper and or are given iton a gift by someone else,salvage the paper for fu-ture gifts and collect the in-tact bows. You’ll be savingmoney, trees, and landfillspace. *Keep old squeeze bottlesfrom your kitchen to use asbottles for your hair-careand cosmetic needs. Plasticsalad dressing and cook-ing-oil bottles can becleaned and refilled withsoap, lotion, or shampoo.*Instead of using plasticbags for produce tryreusable bags-they are bet-ter for the environment &keep produce fresher.

A huge cluster of floating volcanic rocks covering almost26,000 square kilometres (10,000 square miles) has beenfound drifting in the Pacific, the New Zealand navy saidFriday. The strange phenomenon, which witnesses saidresembled a polar ice shelf, was made up of lightweightpumice expelled from an underwater volcano, the navysaid. An air force plane spotted the rocks on Thursdayabout 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) offshore from NewZealand and warned a navy warship that it was headingtowards them. Lieutenant Tim Oscar said that while heknew his ship the HMNZS Canterbury was in no dangerfrom the pumice, which is solidified lava filled with airbubbles, it was still "the weirdest thing I've seen in 18years at sea". Scientists aboard the ship said the pumiceprobably came from an underwater volcano calledMonowai, which has been active recently. They said thephenomenon was unrelated to increased volcanic activ-ity in New Zealand this week, including an eruption atMount Tongariro that sent an ash cloud 20,000 feet intothe atmosphere.

victed, the paper said.Citing court documents, the

China Daily said that Wangagreed to sell his kidney aftercontacting an illegal agencyonline.

The Changsha EveningNews reported that a represen-tative of Wang was seeking2.77 million yuan in compen-sation from the five defen-dants, medical staff whoparticipated in the surgery, ahospital and a medical invest-ment company.

(AFP)- The annual Perseid meteor shower -- dubbed "the

tears of St. Lawrence" in honour of a martyred Christian

saint -- reaches its peak this weekend, astronomers said.

Cloud-free skies permitting, the show of shooting stars

should be an above-average spectacle this year as the

Moon is in a waning, crescent phase and so will cast rel-

atively little light. The Perseids are named after the con-

stellation of Perseus from which they appear to fly out.

The meteors come from dust shed by the comet Swift-

Tuttle, which swings around the Solar System every 130

years, depositing the material in Earth's orbit as it nears

the Sun. The shower is best visible in the northern hemi-

sphere, and should reach a peak between 1200 GMT and

1430 GMT on Sunday, according to the International Me-

teor Organisation


NEW YORK (AFP) - NewYork police this weeklaunched what officials say isa revolutionary camera sur-veillance system that will si-multaneously scan the streetsand call up data on suspects.

The Domain AwarenessSystem, developed with Mi-crosoft, "is an innovative toolthat has the potential to revo-lutionize law enforcement, in-telligence and public safetyoperations," the mayor's officesaid.

Unlike simpler camera sur-veillance networks, the newsystem instantly gives officersmassive amounts of informa-tion about what they are mon-itoring.

It "aggregates and analyzesexisting public safety datastreams in real time, providingNYPD investigators and ana-lysts with a comprehensiveview of potential threats andcriminal activity," the officesaid.

For example, officerswatching crime suspects via alive video feed will also imme-diately see arrest records, re-lated crimes in the area andother data that could build a

portrait of the individual underscrutiny.

Cars linked to a suspect canbe analyzed so that investiga-tors know where it has beenfor months, while officers willalso be able to rewind footagetracing who left any suspiciouspackage.

"The system is a transfor-mative tool because it was cre-ated by police officers forpolice officers," Police Com-missioner Ray Kelly said.

Mayor Michael Bloombergsaid the "cutting edge" system"capitalizes on new, powerfulpolicing software that allowspolice officers and other per-sonnel to more quickly accessrelevant information gatheredfrom existing cameras, 911calls, previous crime reportsand other existing tools andtechnology."

About 3,000 cameras areconnected to the DomainAwareness System. The ma-jority are in the financial andbusiness districts of Manhat-tan, where most of the city'sskyscrapers are located, butthe network is being expandedto other parts of New York.

New York police launchhigh-tech surveillance

Sci-Tech

BEIJING (AFP) - A surgeonand four other people are ontrial in central China over thecase of a teenager who is said

to have sold a kidney to buyan iPhone and iPad 2, statemedia reported Friday.

The state-run China Dailynewspaper said that 18-year-old Wang Shangkun is in seri-ous condition after receivingan illegal transplant operationlast year.

The five people on trialstand accused of intentionalinjury and illegal organ trad-ing over the removal and saleof the organ and face three to10 years in prison if con-

China tries surgeon in 'iPhone-for-kidney'case

Bizarre rock 'ice shelf' found

in Pacific


AUG 11 - AUG 18

O’stad :’ Botica St. Anna N.v.’ - S.N : ‘ San Lucas N.v.’

FREE Coverage on our website:

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compel US fuel producers touse grain-based ethanol in theirgasoline. Earlier this month anumber of legislators called foreasing of the rules because ofthe high price of corn.

Yesterday, FAO chief JoseGraziano da Silva urged theUnited States to stop turningcorn and other crops into bio-fuels like ethanol to mitigatethe sharp rise in food prices.

"The US drought leavesglobal markets highly vulnera-ble to any further supply sideshocks," da Silva wrote in theFinancial Times.

"At the moment, the renew-able energy production in theUS is reported to have reached15.2 billion gallons in 2012, forwhich it used the equivalent ofsome 121.9 million tons orabout 40 percent of US maize(corn) production," he said.

He called for an "immedi-ate, temporary suspension" ofa mandate to reserve somecrops for biofuels, saying thatwould provide some respite tothe market "and allow more ofthe maize crop to be channeledtowards food and feed uses."

USDA said 50 percent of theUS corn crop was rated poor orvery poor, up from 38 percentin mid-July and 16 percent ayear ago.

For soybeans, 39 percent ofthe crop was in poor or verypoor condition, up from 30percent in mid-July and just 13percent at this time in 2011.

While weather forecastersare predicting a cooling oftemperatures across the mid-west in the next week, it is un-likely to reverse those numbersas most of the crops are al-ready maturing.

US corn prices jumped afterthe announcement to hit $850a bushel before falling back tothe $822 level, while soybeanswere up sharply at $16.51 abushel.

The US drought has alreadyfed into world food prices. TheUN Food and Agriculture Or-ganization's global food priceindex jumped six percent inJuly after declining for threemonths, the FAO said Thurs-day.

The drought has also raisedquestions about US rules that

WASHINGTON (AFP) - TheUS yesterday slashed produc-tion estimates for its globallycrucial corn and soybeancrops, saying the record heatacross the country's farm belthad cut expected output to thelowest level in six years.

The curtailed productionwill likely send corn and soy-bean prices to record highs, theDepartment of Agriculturesaid.

The department predictedcorn prices would soar as highas $8.90 a bushel, compared toits July projection of $6.40.Soybean prices would hit $15-$17 a bushel, $2.00 higher thanthe USDA forecast last month.

In its key August assess-ment of major US crops, thedepartment said the world'slargest corn crop would likelycome in 13 percent smallerthan 2011's at 10.8 billionbushels. The soybean crop --also the world's largest --would be down 12 percentfrom last year at 2.69 billionbushels.

The department said the all-time record temperaturesacross the country in July leftmuch of both crops damaged,sending yields per acre on cornto the lowest level since 1995,and for soybeans, the lowestsince 2003.

The US farm belt has beenravaged by the most stiflingdrought since the 1950s, whichintensified when the country'scontiguous 48 states enduredthe hottest July on record lastmonth.

Earlier this week, the

New York: A Papa Johns pizza restaurant is seen onAugust 9, 2012 in New York City. Papa John’s chief ex-ecutive, John Schnatter, has stated that due to U.S. Pres-ident Barack obama's controversial health-care law hewill need to raise costs by 15 to 20 cents a pizza. (AFP)

Justice Department insisted ithas fiercely pursued other casesagainst financial giants.

The Senate report concludedGoldman and other banks hadsold clients collate ralized debtobligations -- investmentsbased on bundles of often riskyhome loans -- despite believingthey were likely to lose value.

The crash of 2008 wiped bil-lions of dollars off the value ofthe widely-held CDOs, andsavaged the balance sheets ofinvestors in them, especiallybanks which were overexposedto the complex financial instru-ments.

The failure of the multi-tril-lion dollar CDO market was akey factor in the financial andhousing market crash that sentthe US economy into recessionover 2008 and 2009.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - TheUS Department of Justice de-cided not to prosecute GoldmanSachs over its marketing ofhigh-risk mortgage securitiesdespite a damning report into itspractices by a Senate investiga-tion panel.

In April last year, followinga two-year inquiry, senatorsconcluded the Wall Street in-vestment banking giant misledclients ahead of the US finan-cial crash by off-loading secu-rities its traders fully expectedto lose value.

Releasing the report lastyear, the head of the investiga-tive committee, Senator CarlLevin, recommended thatcharges be brought and said:"In my judgment, Goldmanclearly misled their clients andthey misled Congress."

But yesterday, the JusticeDepartment concluded: "Thereis not a viable basis to bring acriminal prosecution with re-spect to Goldman Sachs or itsemployees in regard to the alle-gations set forth in the report."

A statement from the depart-ment said its investigators hadclosely scrutinized the Senate'sevidence and conducted in-quiries and witness interviewsof its own, and concluded itcould not prove wrongdoing.

Apparently anticipating cri -ti cism for letting one of thebanks seen as deeply at fault inthe 2008 crisis off the hook, the


Finance

YEStERDAY’S

Crossword AnswerU.S.A.

Dutch Antilles

Canada

Britiain

Switzerland

Netherlands

Sweden

Denmark

Norway

Japan

(per 100)

USD

ANG

CAD

GBP

CHF

EUR

SEK

DKK

NOK

JPY

1.77

98.00

1.77

2.71

181.65

216.42

25.62

28.37

29.07

225.15

1.78

100.00

1.79

2.76

182.37

218.39

26.34

29.09

29.79

227.21

1.80

100.20

1.81

2.82

183.17

220.59

27.14

29.89

30.59

229.49

Currency

Code

Buyingrate

banknotes

Buying

ChequesSelling

Rate

Current as

08/10-/2012

All rates for amounts up to AWG 100.00 per item.

US decides not to prosecute

Goldman Sachs

USDA: Drought cuts production of

major US crops

New York CItY : AFP photo courtesy of the New YorkStock exchange euronet shows Manchester United ex-ecutives as they ring the opening Bell at the New YorkStock exchange on August 10, 2012 in New York City.Manchester United Lists Initial Public offering on theNew York Stock exchange. Manchester United sharesbarely treaded water in debut trade in New York yester-day even after underwriters slashed the IPo price amiddoubts about the legendary British football club's finan-cial promise. Midway through trade the team's shareswere changing hands at $14.00, the price set on thurs-day for subscribers to the club's $234 million initial pub-lic offering. Analysts said underwriters were proppingup the shares on the New York Stock exchange to keepthem from dropping below the issue price

(AFP) - Lady Gaga took to Twitter August 9 to unveil her

eagerly awaited front cover for the September issue of

US Vogue. "Im so excited to post the SEPT ISSUE OF

VOGUE in 30 min! Photographed by MERT & MARCUS,"

tweeted the songstress, before posting a picture of her

stunning front cover. Sporting huge backcombed hair,

the songstress

is clad in a hot

pink fishtail

gown by Marc

Jacobs, with

styling by Grace

C o d d i n g t o n .

The moody full-

length image is

a stark contrast

to the typical

close-ups of

smiling celebri-

ties that often

make the front

cover, and it ap-

pears to have

gone down well

with Gaga's 28

million-plus fol-

lowers.

1,270-kilometre (790-mile)border in September 2006 afterdecades of territorial disputesstemming from French colonialtimes.

so-called 'Madonna' (goddamnher) even though I did not saya word about her."

At her Saint Petersburg

concert Thursday, Madonna

spoke in support of the gay

community in an often homo-

phobic nation.

She also irked authorities

Tuesday when she called for

the release of three members

of all-girl punk band Pussy

Riot, who are on trial for per-

forming a song against Presi-

dent Vladimir Putin at a

landmark Moscow church.

MOSCOW (AFP) - A Russiandeputy prime minister has saidhe did not insult Madonna onTwitter ahead of her Saint Pe-tersburg concert in which shespoke in defence of gay rights.

The outspoken lawmaker,Dmitry Rogozin, tweeted aRussian abbreviation onWednesday that was widelyinterpreted as an insult aimedat Madonna.

In his tweet, Rogozin usedthe letter "b", which can some-times refer to an offensiveRussian word for "whore."

"Every former b. seeks tolecture everyone on moralityas she gets older. Especiallyduring tours and gigs abroad,"Rogozin tweeted.

"Either take off your cross,or put on your knickers," headded.

After media outlets pickedup the comments, the formerNATO envoy said on Face-book on Thursday that hemeant no offense and the ab-breviation could refer to manythings including "goddess" or"ballerina".

"And they immediatelylinked my comments with the


Russian deputy PM saysMadonna tweet was notan insult opposition party that his gov-

ernment was allowing Vietnamto encroach on Cambodian ter-ritory.

Cambodia and Vietnam offi-cially began demarcating their

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Cam-bodian Prime Minister HunSen on Thursday said allowingthe construction of a spate ofborder casinos was part of a"secret strategy" to protect thecountry's territory from itsneighbours.

"I don't like casinos, but thebiggest goal for giving permis-sion to build casinos is to pro-tect the border," he toldparliament during a five-hourspeech addressing border de-marcation issues with Vietnam.

"One can remove bordermarkers, but one can't removefive-storey hotels. Don't be stu-pid," Hun Sen said, in responseto opposition criticism that thegambling dens were harmful tothe country.

Cambodia's border withVietnam and Thailand is dottedwith dozens of casinos and ac-companying hotels cateringmostly to foreign gamblerssince Cambodians are notlegally allowed to gamble.

Hun Sen used the marathonaddress, which was broadcastlive on television, to deny long-standing claims from the main

Casinos are 'secret strategy' to protectCambodia: PM

also have a kid’s menu withfavorites such as a Kid’sBurger, chicken fingers andMac & Cheese; most items areonly $4. One regular describedthe place as particularly “kid-friendly,” with Elina, a motherherself, having devised a num-ber of methods to keep youngones entertained. The menuhas a range to please patronswho are in the mood for some-thing simple while other canbe indulgent gourmands.

Tuesday through Saturdayevenings they have specialtynights at bargain rates. Tuesday

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Barney’s is located justnext to the huge supermarketon the Palm Beach/Noordroad, not far from the gas sta-tion. They are open from 5:00to 11:00 PM and closed onMondays. Check out their fullmenu at http://www.bar-neysaruba.com or call 586-5420 for reservations anddirections.

A few months ago, PalmBeach welcomed a cozy newplace that offers good food,great prices and a uniquelywarm, welcoming ambiancethat makes patrons feel as ifthey are visiting with friendsrather than just eating out.Even the name, “Barney’s”,which was inspired by BarneyRubble of the Flintstones, isan expression of the goodhumor of its owners and yourhosts, Ron and Elina.

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They are particularly pop-ular for their “Build YourOwn Barney Burger” usingspecially imported organicbeef from Holland, guaran-teed to have been raised with-out steroids or antibiotics,only $9.50 with fries andcoleslaw. Patrons are handeda special hamburger checklist,which features a full menu oftoppings, sauces and cheesesto customize your order tocreate the ideal burger. Onecan also opt for a second orthird hamburger patty for avery nominal cost.

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LONDON (AFP) - Hot favourites Russia won synchro-nised swimming team gold on Friday to maintain theirtotal domination of the sport stretching back to the Syd-ney Games in 2000. The Russians, with a total score of197.030, were completing their fourth consecutiveGames clean sweep after lifting the duet title on Tues-day. China, third in the duet, took second, with Spainclaiming the bronze medal. Russia's triumphant teamcomprised Anastasia Davydova, winning her fifthOlympic gold, Maria Gromova, Natalia Ishchenko, ElviraKhasyanova, Daria Korobova, Alexandra Patskevich,Svetlina Romashina and Anzhelika Timanina. I am veryhappy that we managed to get the result with the girlsand that we carried on the tradition of synchronisedswimming, winning four Olympic Games in a row," saidDavydova. On the secret of Russia's success sheadded: "We train children from three years of age atschool. By 15 they are already ahead and competing."The last time Russia failed to win the gold at a majorchampionship was at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Gameswhen they finished fourth to the United States, not rep-resented in this final. Great Britain came in sixth of theeight finalists on their first appearance in the teamevent.

who successfully defended her100m title earlier in theGames, said the Americanswere the better quartet butcould not resist a dig at theirexpense.

The oldest women's worldrecord on the books is JarmilaKratochvilova's 800m mark of1:53.28, set in 1983.

since the 1996 Atlanta Gamesand only their first medal sincethe 2000 Sydney Games,where they took bronze.

The Jamaicans were gra-cious in defeat, satisfied tohave run a national record andaccepting that the Americanswere too strong this timeround.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce,


LONDON (AFP) - The UnitedStates smashed one of the old-est world records on Fridaywhen they won the women'sOlympic 4x100m relay title in40.82sec.

The quartet sliced morethan half a second off the 27-year-old record of 41.37sec setby the former East Germany in1985, four years before theBerlin Wall fell.

The Americans beat homearch-rivals Jamaica, whotimed 41.41sec, while Ukrainetook bronze in 42.04sec.

The 100m silver medalistand 200m bronze medallistCarmelita Jeter anchored theteam to gold with a devastat-ing burst down the final stretchand screamed for joy after shecrossed the line.

Jeter, the 32-year-old whohas become a leading sprinterlate in life under the auspicesof legendary coach JohnSmith, said she had no doubtsabout the ability of her threeteammates.

"I knew that if we got thestick around then all I had todo was to bring it home."

It was a second gold at theLondon Games for 200mchampion Allyson Felix whileTianna Madison and BiancaKnight completed the quartet.

"It's an honour to be part ofthis team. Who would havethought that we would havehad a world record tonight?It's amazing," beamed Felix,who had ended her drought inthe Olympic 200 metres at thethird attempt.

It was the United States'first Olympic gold in the event

USA women break world recordto take relay gold

Summer Olympics:

July 27 - August 12

LONDON (AFP) - Jordan Burroughs, the poster boy ofAmerican wrestling, lived up to all the pre-London 2012hype by adding Olympic gold to his world title in themen's 74kg freestyle category . The 24-year-old fromNew Jersey, whose Twitter handle is àalliseeisgold, wastoo fast for Iran's Sadegh Gourdazi at the Excel Arena,saving his best for last as he won 3-0 in a repeat of lastyear's world championship final. Burroughs, who onlystarted competing at international level two years ago,confirmed he was now set to receive a cheque for$250,000 from USA Wrestling, the reward promised byofficials, if he won in London. Sporting contests be-tween the United States and Iran have often had an extraelement of tension because of the fraught political rela-tions between the two countries for the past 30 years. But there were no signs of nerves as Burroughs strucklate in both periods, leaving Gourdazi with just secondsto spare in which to come back -- a task that proved be-yond the Iranian.

Russia mantain synchrostranglehold with teamgold

Russia

Spain

LONDON (AFP) - Former world champion Mariana Pajonof Colombia won gold in the women's BMX final afterfinishing ahead of New Zealand's Sarah Walker andDutchwoman Laura Smulders on Friday. Walker took thesilver medal with Smulders winning the bronze. Pajonburst down the start ramp and took the lead from theoutset on the 440m women's circuit and was never indanger of being overtaken. Pajon, at 20 years old thesecond youngest in the final behind 18-year-old Smul-ders, was one of the stand-out performers in the wholecompetition having won all three her semi-final races onthe way to the final. "I can't believe it. It's like a dreamcome true," said Pajon, who claimed the women's worldtitle in Copenhagen in 2011. "My whole life I am tryingto win this. I want to win it again.

ROME (AFP) - Italian anti-drugs officers on Fridaysearched the home of dis-graced 2008 Olympic 50kmwalk champion AlexSchwazer as part of a widerprobe into doping in sports.

Schwazer did not defend histitle at the London Gamesafter he was withdrawn fromthe Italian team before theOlympics for failing a drugstest.

Police carried out a searchof the rider's home at Calice,near Bolzano in northern Italyon Friday in the 27-year-old'spresence and seized comput-ers and other documents.

Prosecutor Guido Rispolisaid that the aim was to "es-tablish contacts betweenSchawazer and Dr MicheleFerrari".

Dr Ferrari is accused ofhelping riders take perform-ance-enhancing drugs, and hasfor several years been the cen-tral figure in an Italian dopingprobe.

Schwazer's name appears inone of the dossiers relating tothis enquiry.

Schwazer tested positive for

the banned blood booster EPOduring a test conducted by theWorld Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) on July 30, and thecourt in Bolzano on Wednes-day opened an investigationinto sporting fraud against therider.

Schwazer was a bronzemedallist at the 2005 and 2007World Championships beforestriking gold at Beijing fouryears ago.

He had been one of Italy'sbest medal hopes in Londonafter a solid start to the seasonwhich saw him clock thefourth best time of his career.

utes to make the second. Thismeant that the Dutch knew, ifthey continued to pass the ballwith control in a match withfew openings, they would re-tain the Olympic title.

Dirkse van den Heuvel's shotwas too fierce to control andPaumen pounced on the re-bound with a predator's in-stinct, undeterred either by theangle or the fact that she wasleaning backwards.

The second was quite differ-ent -- a brilliant shot from theedge of the penalty circlewhich needed to find the topcorner to avoid the goal-keeper's dive. It did just that.

We saved the best to last. Itwas like we were playing inHolland -- the whole crowdwas orange," said Paumen,who now has a record 14 goalsin all Olympics.

It took fully 45 minutes tomake the first breach in Ar-gentina's defence, and 53 min-

LONDON (AFP) - TheNetherlands beat world cham-pions Argentina 2-0 to retaintheir women's Olympichockey title Friday, raising theprospect of a Dutch doublewith their men set for a goldmedal match against Germany.

The reigning championstook a long time to breakdown their nearest rivals, buteventually were a little moreincisive in front of goal,thanks to their captain MaartjePaumen.

Surprisingly Paumen hadnot scored at all in the earliermatches, saying that she wassaving her goals for the final -- and she delivered magnifi-cently.

The first came when Carlien


Netherlands beat Argentina toretain women's hockey crown

Police search homeof disgraced walkerSchwazer

Pajon of Colombiawins women's BMXgold

Strombergsdefends men'sBMX title LONDON (AFP) - Maris

Strombergs of Latvia success-

fully defended his Olympic

men's BMX title here on Fri-

day.AustralianSam Willoughby

finished second for the silverwith Carlos Oquendo ofColombia taking the bronze.

Strombergs claimed themaiden Olympic men's BMXgold when the sport made itsdebut in Beijing fuor yearsago.

And despite coming upagainst a handful of youngerriders who had shown theirmettle in the unforgivingquarter-finals and semi-finalraces, the Latvian stepped upwhen it mattered most.

He shot off the eight-metrehigh ramp and had quicklybuilt a slight lead on the restof the eight-man field.

Willoughby was hot on hisheels but with several jumpsand berms to negotiate, nei-ther rider was free of danger.

British gold medal hopeLiam Phillips came down onthe penultimate berm andstruggled to rejoin the fieldafter he could not clip his footback on to his pedal.

It left the hosts without amedal as only minutes earlierShanaze Reade could onlyfinish sixth in the women'sfinal.Despite Willoughby'sattempt at a late fightback onthe closing bumpsStrombergs held on to tri-umph.

Brazil crush Italy to

reach final in

VolleyballLONDON - Brazil reached

their third straight Olympic

men's volleyball final as they

romped past Italy 3-0 on Fri-

day.

The world's top ranked

team, who won gold in Athens

before picking up silver in

Beijing, will face Russia on

Sunday after demolishing their

semi-final opponents 25-21

25-12 25-21 in front of a rau-

cous crowd at Earls Court.

It was a tight first set with

both teams going toe-to-toe

before Brazil stepped it up in

the second.

Italy briefly threatened to

come back into the match in

the third, but Brazil kept their

composure on the big points to

close it out comfortably.

Italy, who were a surprise

package in the last four after

beating defending champions

the United States in the quar-

ters, will face Bulgaria in the

bronze-medal match.

Krzyzewski as coach.The US NBA multi-mil-

lionaires had defeated Ar-gentina 126-97 in apreliminary group match fourdays earlier, a physical con-test in which Carmelo An-thony was hit in the groinwhile shooting by Argentina's

Facundo Campazzo.While there were a few

physical fouls, there was nosign of such antics this timearound.

NBA San Antonio Spursstar Manu Ginobili, who ledArgentina with 18 points,sank a 3-pointer at the half-time buzzer and another toopen the third quarter as partof a 14-6 Argentina run topull the South Americanswithin 47-43 just 21 secondsinto the second half.

LONDON (AFP) - KevinDurant scored 19 points andLeBron James added 18 tolead the United States teamof NBA stars over Argentina109-83 on Friday and into theOlympic men's basketballgold medal final againstSpain.

The Americans booked arematch of the 2008 Olympicfinal and reached the goldmedal game for the 15th timein 17 attempts, having missedout in 1988 and 2004 andskipped the 1980 MoscowOlympics in a boycott.

The US men, who also had18 points from Carmelo An-thony, seek their 14th goldmedal against a Spanish sidefilled with NBA standouts,one that battled the US to theend before falling 118-107 inthe 2008 Beijing final.

Spain defeated Russia 67-

59 in Friday's other semi-final. Argentina will playRussia on Sunday for thebronze medal.

Argentina ousted the USsquad in a 2004 AthensOlympics semi-final on theway to capturing gold but theAmericans returned thefavour in Beijing.

The US team improved to61-1 since settling frombronze at the 2004 Olympicsand revamping the nationalteam program with Mike

Reigning NBA scoringchampion Kevin Durant sanktwo 3-pointers in a 8-0 USrun to give the NBA stars a59-46 edge, their largest ofthe game to that point, beforeArgentina fought back within59-51.

That's when LeBron Jamesdrove to the basket, leapedhigh into the air and slammedin a dunk that produced a roarfrom the sellout crowd of20,000 and touched off a 13-2 US run that separated theUS stars from Argentina forgood.

Durant had back-to-back3-pointers and James addedfive more points in the keyspan, which left the Ameri-cans on top 72-53 and Ar-gentina never threatenedagain.

Kobe Bryant scored eightpoints in a 15-2 US run thatproduced an 18-6 lead for theAmericans only 4:19 into thegame, the Los Angeles Lak-ers star guard sinking a 3-pointer to conclude thestreak.

Spain answered by scoring11 of the next 12 points topull within 19-17 but Jamessparked a 17-8 US run earlyin the second quarter, scoringnine points including a 3-point play to push the earlyUS edge to 41-29.


CHARLOTTE (AFP) - TheLos Angeles Lakers have fi-nalized a deal to acquire all-star centre Dwight Howard ina 12-player, four-team deal,the National Basketball Asso-ciation team announced onFriday.

The deal also sees Lakerscentre Andrew Bynum go tothe Philadelphia 76ers.

In addition to Howard, theLakers receive Chris Duhonand Earl Clark from Orlandowhile sending JoshMcRoberts, Christian Eyengaand a future first round andsecond round draft pick toOrlando.

Orlando also shippedguard Jason Richardson toPhiladelphia for centreNikola Vucevic and first-round draft pick Moe Hark-less, while also acquiringguard Arron Afflalo and for-ward Al Harrington fromDenver.

The Nuggets picked upforward Andre Iguodala fromPhiladelphia and Bynum.

A total of five draft picksover the next five years will

go to Orlando. The Magicwill receive a second-roundpick from Denver in 2013, afirst-round pick from eitherDenver or New York in 2014,a conditional first-round pickfrom Philadelphia and thetwo conditional picks fromthe Lakers.

Howard is a five-time firstteam all-star and is the firstplayer in NBA history to winthree straight DefensivePlayer of the Year Awards,beginning in 2009.

Bynum was the Lakers10th overall pick in the 2005NBA entry draft. Last season,he averaged 18.7 points, 11.8rebounds and 1.93 blocks.

Bynum won two NBA ti-tles with the Lakers but hadrecently fallen out of favourwith some of teammates andthe club's fan base.

Howard was a member ofthe USA's gold medal win-ning team at the BeijingOlympics. In 54 games lastseason, he averaged 20.6points, 14.5 rebounds and2.15 blocked shots. His re-bound total was a career best.

NBA:

Lakers acquireHoward from Magicin four-team trade

US NBA stars defeat Argentinato reach final

Documents

Saturday, August 11, 2012