Saturday, February 16, 2013

The Aruba Tourism Authority"Cruise Team" of GloriaVega and Visitor Liaison Dar-line De Cuba were proud toannounce they have joinedwith Club Kibrahacha 60+and the University of Arubain a unique and stimulatingproject.

The ATA was contacted bythe Nasser-Hunter SquareDance Group, founded byNasser Shukayr and HunterKeller. Over 70 internationalmembers strong, they will becruising on the Adventure ofthe Seas this coming week,with a call in Aruba on Thurs-day, February 21.

The group, consisting ofsquare dance enthusiastsfrom the U.S., Sweden andCanada, all 60+, expressedthe desire to connect withtheir peer group on Aruba todemonstrate the joys andhealth benefits of squaredancing for all ages, but par-ticularly, retirees.

The ATA contact Club Ki-brahacha 60+ in Piedra Plat,one of the most progressivesocial foundations dedicatedto activities and education forthe elderly. The suggestionmet with enthusiastic re-sponse and Board Vice-Pres-ident, Jeffrey Matos quicklyarranged for similar organiza-

tions around the island to busin their clients so it could beenjoyed by retirees beyondKibrahacha's membership.

The Hootenanny will takeplace on from 9:00 AM until12:00 PM in the Club Kibra-hacha's social hall.

Continued on pg 3

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Hootenanny!Aruba welcomes the

Nasser-Hunter SquareDance group on Adventure

of the Seas

CARACAS (AFP) -Venezuelan President HugoChavez was seen bed-riddenbut smiling in photos re-leased Friday that gave ananxious nation a first glimpseof its leader since a fourthround of cancer surgery inDecember.

The pictures show 58-year-

old Chavez lying on his backin a Havana hospital, with histwo eldest daughters at his sideand leafing through Thurs-day's edition of the officialCuban newspaper Granma.

Chavez supporters re-joiced at the confirmationthat the president was alive.

Continued on pg 6

Venezuelareleases first photos

of sick Chavez

U of A Students and Jeff Matos of Club Kibrahacha

Official press office show Chavez with his daughters andholding Thursday's edition of a Cuban newspaper [AFP]

2 Saturday, February 16, 2013

$19.95

The Aruba prison (KIA), An-imal Rights Aruba (ARA)and the Aruba Dog Academyhas begun working on a spe-cial project which will in-volve prisoners. Theseinmates will be guided bycertified dog trainer, TitoLacle using asylum dogs.

Inmates will first learnhow to become a “packleader and teach the dogsbasic obedience.

During the process, the in-mate will develop personalsocial qualities which wouldimprove his conduct and pre-pare him for his future returnto the community. The proj-ect is slated to begin Febru-ary 18 and will last for fiveconsecutive weeks. KIA willprovide the inmates, whileARA will provide the dogs tobe trained.

KIA desires to offer in-mates a re-socialization andrehabilitation internship dur-ing their time in the institu-tion. It is important for KIAto be able to, by means of thisprogram, teach prisoners how

to do personal reflec-tion, control aggres-sion, managedisappointment andsadness, and deal withemotions and to learnsomething new. All ofthese aspects willemerge during the rela-tionship of a personwith a dog.

ANIMALRIGHTS ARUBAARA takes stray

dogs off the streets andtries to place them withfamilies as adopted an-imals, which is theirprimary objective as afoundation. In this con-text they are convinced

that a properly trained dog,who understands basic obedi-ence, will have a betterchance of being adopted intoa new family. In this way, thisproject helps to solve theproblem of stray dogs.

Natalie Booi, recognizedlocal veterinarian, and mem-ber of the board of ARA, ex-pressed great enthusiasm forthe idea. She believes thatthis program would definitelyimprove the quality of life ofanimals on Aruba.

ARUBA DOG ACADEMY

Aruba Dog Academy willprovide the training. Wellknown local personality, TitoLacle, who for the past yearand a half has been practicingthe art of dog training will bethe professionaltrainer/teacher. Lacle is offer-ing his services free ofcharge, which includes histime and knowledge. Accord-ing to Lacle, for Aruba DogAcademy, this is one way ofcontributing to the commu-

nity.CONTENTS OF THE

COURSEWith respect to the content

of the course, this will in-clude basic commands suchas “sit,” “stay,” “come,”“heel” and others. The mostimportant matter is to learn tounderstand and use the learn-ing principles for the individ-ual as well as for the dog.

The idea behind the pro-gram is originally from theUSA where various peniten-tiary institutions are usingsimilar canine programs witha focus on inmates.

Lacle has indicated thatwhile the idea presented toKIA was his own, the origi-nal concept is one that hasbeen in existence for manyyears in the USA which hasalso been extremely success-ful.

There will be many chal-lenges for our situation herewith respect to the logisticsof the project. In the USA,the dog gets to stay with theinmate so that they can create

a bond with the dog heis training. For KIA inAruba, this will not bepossible as yet. In oursituation the dogs andgroup of inmates willbe brought together ata neutral place twiceper week during thetraining process.

INDIVIDUAL BENEFITS FORTHE INMATEDuring 5 weeks the

inmates who partici-pate in the program,will experience atwice-weekly intern-ship. During this pe-riod they will not onlylearn how a dog is pos-

itively disciplined, they willalso learn to improve certainpersonal aspects. The programhas proven, internationally,that those who participatelearn to eliminate stress, re-duce aggressiveness anddemonstrate a more social at-titude. At the same time theinmate is learning somethingthat could be useful to himwhen he leaves the prison.

FINAL RESULT andthe FUTURE

At the end of the course,the participating inmate andthe dog he trained, will re-ceive a certificate from theAruba Dog Academy. Thetrained dog will then cer-tainly be ready to find anadoptive family much easiernow that he is trained.

A win-win situation foreveryone!

KIA, Animal Rights Aruba and Aruba DogAcademy to join forces

Saturday, February 16, 2013 3

Students from the Universityof Aruba studying Organiza-tional, Governance and Man-agement. Kimberly vanLoon, Geneida Geerman,Shanira Clara and Tony

Khalil have made the eventtheir class project. It prom-ises to be a rewarding morn-ing of fine dancing andinteraction between islandresidents and visitors.

The ATA has decided todemonstrate their gratitude tothe Nasser-Hunter Group bymeeting them at the terminalwith a tour bus that will takethem to Club Kibrahacha,then for a tour of the islandand lunch as guests of theATA, once they have com-pleted their dance program.ATA and Aruba Ports Author-ity officials were more thanpleased by the offer of thedance group to share theirlove for this typically Ameri-can art form, and welcomethe opportunity for cruiseship passengers to truly con-nect with Arubans and enjoysome island hospitality.

By Rosalie Klein

Aruba welcomes the Nasser-Hunter SquareDance group on Adventure of the SeasContinued from pg 1

Secundary schools on Arubaare invited to participate in aprogram dubbed, "Green'sCool."

The purpose of this educa-tional program is to makeschools sustainable and stu-dents more aware of theproblems related to energy.The program consists of acompetition for students ofsecundary schools. Thesestudents will be required towork in teams and to searchfor answers to investigativequestions. Teachers will actas their coaches.

The program is slated tobegin next week with a visitto all iterested schools. Thatsame week participatingteachers will receive a touraboard Wubbo Ockels' "Eco-lution" with its zero emissionsystem. According to Ockels,…"the world is a spatial shipmoving in space. Just like thefront of a ship is protectedfrom rough waves with a finesheet of iron, in the same wayour world is protected by afine sheet of air, the so calledozone layer." The former as-tronaut uses this comparison

to illustrate the importance ofimplementing sustainable en-ergy.

Ockels is in Aruba to sup-port the Aruba government'squest for realizing their greenvision focused on makingAruba 100% sustainable bythe year 2020. Last Wednes-day Ockels spoke to a groupof teachers on how to de-velop future sustainableschools.

The former astronaut con-siders it important to makeeveryone aware of the impor-tance of sustainability.

He asserts that sustainableenergy makes people happy.For this reason he alwaystalks about happy energy.

Ockels recounted that dur-ing their long voyage be-tween the Canary Islands andthe Caribbean Islands - a dis-tance of 3 thousand kilome-ters - they did not see land for17 days! They were totallydependent on the ship, in thesame way that we are de-pendent on planet earth. Dur-ing their voyage, theygenerated a great deal of en-ergy with the help of pro-

pellers under the boat, com-parable to wind mills underwater. They generated moreenergy than they needed andall was sustainable energy.

Professor Ockels is con-vinced that we must take thepositive message of sustain-able energy to our children.He says, we ought to take themessage to our schools and togive lessons in sustainableenvironments. Schoolsshould challenge students tocome up with their own ideasas to how their schools canbecome more sustainable.Put the best ideas into prac-tice. This way the school maybe able to save money thatcould be used for things thatstudents consider important.In this manner sustainabilitycan be applied on the short aswell as long term and stu-dents can be awarded fortheir input. This in turn willmake for happy students, ac-cording to Professor Ockels.

Prof. Dr. Wubbo Ockels begins"Green's Cool" school program

2013 is a very important yearfor Aruba as national elec-tions, conducted every fouryears, will take place in Sep-tember. The island usuallyhas a very high rate of voterturnout, 85%, but membersof the "First Time VotersCommittee" of the UnitedAruba Foundation want to besure that the other 15% dotheir civic duty.

Led by Jordan Hilario,who this year, along with fel-low committee memberGershwin Lacle will be votingfor the first time, a group hasformed determined to see thatother youth, coming of age tocast their vote, also participatein this year's election.

The committee will be con-ducting their first informativeconference regarding voter'srights and responsibilities onSaturday, February 23 in thePalm Beach Ballroom of theWestin Aruba Resort. Theconference, titled "Let YourVote Count!," will be from6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and atten-dance is free. Registration andwelcome will start at 5:30 p.m.

Though this conference isaimed at stimulating thosewho have just come of age toregister and participate, it isalso takes into considerationthe many who have had theright during past elections,but not exercised it.

Continued on pg 5

Island youth aredetermined to getout the vote

Prof. Dr. Wubbo Ockels

John Croes, Jordan Hilario and Gershwin Lacle


ORANJESTAD – In Novem-ber of last year Aruba AirportAuthority N.V. (AAA)proudly opened the SculptureGarden at the airport to pro-mote contemporary local artat the Queen Beatrix Interna-tional Airport. The Sculpture

Garden contains 7 uniquesculptures made by localartists.

One artist in particular,Miriam de L’Isle wanted todisplay the use of aluminiumand stainless steel in her “Ki-netic Art” creation. KineticArt is art that contains mov-ing parts or depends on mo-tion for its effect.

“Dancing with the wind”consists of 25 aluminiumsquares encapsulated in aframe. Each square rotates in-dividually on its own axiswhile the whole sculpture

also rotates on its own axis bythe wind or by the gentle in-teraction of the observer.

The squares are painted inthe colors red, white, blue onone side and turquoise blue,white, yellow and red on theother side, symbolizing the

flag of Holland and theUS on one side andAruba on the other side.When the squares ro-tate the colors fuse intoone another becoming aspectacle of color andmovement, symboliz-ing the strong union be-tween Aruba, Hollandand the US.

The base of thesculpture is fabricatedof stainless steel and el-

evates the sculpture to a totalheight of approximately 1.50meters, thus giving the wholesculpture a monumental pro-portion.

AAA hereby invites you todrop by and visit the sculp-ture garden, where you canview all the 7 sculpturesmade by local artists. TheSculpture Garden is situatedat the airport between the UScheck-in area and the localimmigrations on the US side,right behind 14Bis Restau-rant.

The story behind “Dancing with the wind” by artist Miriam de L’Isle symbolizing

the strong union between Aruba, Holland and the USA

The sculpture can be viewed in the Sculpture Garden at

the Airport

Last Thursday evening

Valentine’s Day at the Plaza

Padu at the Paseo Herencia

was celebrated in a romantic

ambience.

The night started off with

a romantic presentation by

well-known saxophonist Paul

Carrasquilla who enthralled

everyone on the Plaza Padu

with the sweet sound of his

music.

The Restaurant and stores

were all buzzing with cus-

tomers looking for that last

minute gift for their loved

one.

Both locals and tourist en-

joyed a tremendous night,

dancing to romantic music

and a perfect closing of the

evening with the breathtaking

fantasy show directed by

Ritmo Cubano Production,

followed by the much liked

water show of Paseo Heren-

cia.

If one is looking for ambi-

ence, Paseo Herencia is the

place to be!

Valentine’s Day atPaseo Herencia was

super romantic


"This is when ordinary citizenscan do more than just complainabout what they feel is lackingin representation of their inter-ests, they can have their say ina tangible manner," stated thecommittee when announcingthe upcoming conference. Agroup of expert panelists willinform on the voting laws andanswer questions.

During this time leading tothe conference, updates and in-formation will be posted to theFirst Time Voters 2013 (FTV)Facebook page. Organizers re-quest those planning to attendplease register on their FBpage or via e-mail: [email protected]. Repre-sentatives of FTV will bevisiting the night schools toregister students and provideinformation.

A contest is also being con-ducted to stimulate interest inthe September elections and theelectoral process. Registrantsare invited to make a shortvideo answering the question"Why is it so important we ex-ercise our right to vote?" andpost it to the FTV Facebookpage. The contest is open onlyto first time voters. Invitefriends to view and like thevideo and the FB page; the threebest videos will receive prizes.

Deadline for contest entriesis February 21. Winners of thevideo contest will be an-nounced during the February23rd conference. Followingthe event at the Westin Resort,the organizers will be con-ducted an after party at LocalStore in Oranjestad with livemusic from Upgrade Band andDJ's Karixon and Nutzbeatz.

All interested parties areencouraged to visit their FTVpage to view and "like" theposted videos and keep up onelection information.

By Rosalie Klein

Islandyouth are

determinedto get outthe vote

Continued from pg 3

BERLIN (AFP) - The makersof the new DreamWorks 3-Danimated movie "TheCroods", including starsNicolas Cage and EmmaStone, said Friday they'reready to turn it into the stu-dio's next sequels juggernaut.

Following monster-hit se-ries like "Shrek", "Madagas-car" and "Kung Fu Panda",DreamWorks made "TheCroods", a prehistoric rompdirected by Kirk De Miccoand Chris Sanders that had itsworld premiere at the 63rdBerlinale.

The movie, which got awarm reception at the festi-val, features the overprotec-tive caveman dad Grug(voiced by Cage) trying toshield his family from thedangers of an unknownworld beyond their grottohideaway.

But his teenager daughterEep (Stone) has a rebelliousstreak that gets stoked by alone wolf (Ryan Reynolds)who introduces her to fireand lures her to "follow thelight" and leave her shelteredlife behind.

Asked whether "TheCroods" could be the start ofanother successful franchise,Cage said: "Yes, I would liketo see another adventure withThe Croods."

Sanders said he thoughtthe characters -- including astunning array of now-extinctbeasts -- had "universal" ap-peal.

"I can't even tell you howmany sequences we didn't re-ally ever end up putting in thefilm so if we did have tomake another one, we couldpull it together with lots of

spare parts right now, withlots of good stuff left over,"Sanders said.

Stone, best known for"The Amazing Spider-Man"and "Crazy, Stupid, Love",said playing Eep was "one ofthe most fun things I've evergotten to do".

"The Croods has elementsof all of my favorite movieswhich is that it's not justfunny and it's not just heart-breaking, it takes you on ajourney throughout the entirefilm," she said.

Cage ready to make DreamWorks romp into franchise


CHICAGO (AFP) - Moveover Al Capone: Chicago hasdeclared Mexican drug lordJoaquin "El Chapo" Guzmanthe city's public enemy num-ber one.

The boss of the powerfulSinaloa drug cartel, whosenickname means "Shorty" inMexican slang, became just thesecond criminal to be labeled asthe Windy City's top foe.

Guzman, the ChicagoCrime Commission said, "haseasily surpassed the carnageand social destruction thatwas caused by Capone." Thekingpin is accused of usingChicago "as his drug traffick-ing hub for the Midwest."

Guzman, who has made itinto Forbes magazine's list of

billionaires, was captured inGuatemala in 1993 but es-caped from Mexican prisonin 2001 by hiding inside alaundry basket.

His cartel has allegedlytrafficked 1.5 to 2 tonnes ofcocaine through Chicago permonth, and he is wanted inChicago on charges of inter-national drug trafficking con-spiracy along with 35 otherdefendants, the commissionsaid.

Mexican Interior MinisterMiguel Angel Osorio Chongsaid Friday that capturingGuzman "is the most impor-tant objective" of the govern-ment of President EnriquePena Nieto, who took officein December.

Mexico's 'Chapo' is Chicago'snew Public Enemy No. 1

NEW YORK (AFP) - USaerospace giant Boeing saidFriday it will continue to uselithium-ion batteries, despiterival Airbus saying it wouldavoid them following two in-cidents on the Boeing 787.

"Boeing is confident in thesafety and reliability of lithium-ion batteries," said Boeingspokesman Marc Birtel.

"Our years of experienceand deep expertise confirmthat, like other technologies,when the appropriate battery,system and airplane protec-tions are in place, lithium-ionbatteries deliver significantbenefits," Birtel said.

Boeing's 787 Dreamlinerswere grounded indefinitelyworldwide in January world-wide after battery smokeforced an emergency landing

of one plane and a battery firewas reported on a parkedplane.

US air safety investigatorshave yet to determine whatcaused a short circuit in a sin-gle cell on the eight-celllithium-ion battery in a JapanAirlines 787 at Boston'sLogan airport on January 7,apparently leading to the fire.

Boeing competitor Airbusplans to avoid using lithium-ion batteries in the A350long-range liner under devel-opment, a company sourcetold AFP on Friday.

"The first planes will bedelivered with cadmium, notlithium batteries," the sourcesaid, adding that the airliner'sfirst test flights will neverthe-less take place with lithium-ion batteries.

Boeing stands bylithium-ion batteries

WASHINGTON (AFP) -Someone's famous last wordsare now likely to be famouslast tweets.A blog launched this week,thetweethereafter.com, cap-tures some of those final 140-character comments as partof an unusual tribute to thenewly departed."What do you have up yoursleeve for your love tomor-row??? #getexcited #Valenti-nesDay," was the finalmessage from ReevaSteenkamp, the model andgirlfriend of South AfricanOlympic star Oscar Pistorius,who was killed in a Valen-tine's Day shooting in whichher boyfriend is charged.Michael McWatters, a tech-nology professional, said hehad been collecting thesetweets with colleague JamieForrest, "not sure whetherour project was somethingwe really wanted to announceformally or not."But he said the "grimtragedy" in South Africaprompted them to make thesite public."In many of the tweets thereyou'll likely find no deepmeaning. In others, however,lie fascinating, inspiring,frightening, and perhapstragic insights," he said.Spanish mountain biker InakiLejarreta, 29, wrote a some-what more ominous lasttweet before being fatally in-jured by a car: "Windy morn-ing. It looks dangerous to dooutside training, so I startwith Gym and after that, we'llsee.""The site is certainly morbid,sometimes interesting, quiteoften meaningless. But wehope it makes you think a lit-tle bit," Forrest said.

Famous lasttweets captured

for posterity

The four images broke a vir-tual news blackout forVenezuelans who have beenliving in limbo without theirmedia-happy comandante -- apopulist firebrand who is themost visible face of the LatinAmerican left and who hasirked the United States byaligning himself with Iran,Syria and Cuba.

Until now Venezuelanshad not seen a photo or TVimage of Chavez, nor heardthe voice of a man usuallyomnipresent across statemedia. Sketchy governmentupdates about his health fu-eled speculation he was actu-ally dead.

Chavez's absence has alsoenraged political opponents,who wondered aloud whowas running Venezuela,which has the world's largestproven oil reserves.

He was last seen as he leftCaracas airport on December10 for treatment in Cuba.

On Thursday night, oppo-sition leader HenriqueCapriles kept up his assertionthat the government has prob-ably been lying aboutChavez's health, suggestingthe president is in worse shapethan officials have said he is.

Capriles expressed freshanger over of the release ofthe pictures and said they hadnot clarified the president'strue health condition.

However the pro-Chavezcamp was jubilant to see theirhero, and could not resist adig at the rumors simmeringon social media that Chavezwas no more.

"Wow! For a dead manyou look really good, coman-dante," tweeted @mormal-donado.

"He's alive, he's alive!Thanks be to God and to thewhole world. This is proof,"said Dora Salcedo, 67, one ofdozens of Chavez fans gath-ered in downtown Caracasafter the photos came out.

But Venezuelans will ap-parently have to wait longerfor the former commando tobreak his silence.

He has been fitted with abreathing tube in his throat,making it hard for him tospeak, Information MinisterErnesto Villegas said.

That's because of a respi-ratory infection that emergedafter the surgery. The infec-tion has been brought undercontrol but "the underlyingdisease is not without com-plications," Villegas said in atelevised speech to the na-tion.

It was Chavez's son in lawJorge Arreaza, also scienceminister, who showed theprinted photos of Chavez ontelevision.

"We wanted to share withyou now some shots from lastnight of our commander ac-companied by his two daugh-ters Rosa Virginia and MariaGabriela ... yesterday on theday of friendship, on Valen-tine's Day," Arreaza said.

The pictures are similar toeach other, and show Chavezwith the daughters, one on ei-ther side of him, lookingthrough the Cuban newspa-per. Chavez wears a whitebaseball-type jacket that goesup to his neck. The breathingtube is not visible, with theleader lying back, his facepuffy, but smiling.

These pictures "put us atease," Arreaza said in abroadcast that all radio andTV stations were ordered tocarry.

Chavez remains alert withall his mental faculties intactand is "in close collaborationwith his government teamand on top off all the issues"facing the government, Ville-gas said.

But Capriles reacted withscorn. He said that while justa few days ago governmentofficials who have been shut-tling back and forth to Ha-vana said they had spoken toChavez "now they say hecannot speak. They are mak-ing a mockery of their ownpeople," Capriles tweeted.

Chavez was first diag-nosed with cancer in 2011.After surgery and treatmenthe declared himself free ofthe disease and went on towin another term in electionslast October.

But he suffered a relapse,and after the latest surgery hewas still too sick to comeback to Venezuela for hisscheduled inauguration onJanuary 10. It has been post-poned indefinitely, and VicePresident Nicolas Madurohas essentially been runningVenezuela.

The government has neversaid where Chavez's cancer islocated or how serious it wasor is.

Opposition parties insistChavez's term ended January10 and that if he cannot starta new one in person, an in-terim president should benamed pending a decision onwhether Chavez should bedeclared incapacitated, inwhich case a new electionwould be called quickly.

Venezuelareleases first photos

of sick Chavez Continued from pg 1

It handles imports from var-ious European countries anddelivers to retailers, meatwholesalers, butchers, themeat processing industry andsupermarkets throughout Eu-rope.

The plant was probed aspart of a criminal investigationby the prosecutor's office andthe government's NVWA foodand consumer watchdog. It issuspected of fraud and moneylaundering, the prosecutor'soffice said.

Officials seized companypaperwork during the raid,which came as the EuropeanUnion agreed to launch testsfor horse DNA in meat prod-ucts as part of a plan to battlefood fraud following the erup-tion of the horsemeat scandal.

Since the problem was firstdiscovered in Ireland in Janu-ary, governments have scram-bled to figure out how andwhere the mislabelling of themeat happened in the sprawl-ing chain of production span-ning abattoirs and meatsuppliers across Europe.

THE HAGUE (AFP) - Dutchofficials on Friday raided ameat processing plant in thesouth of the Netherlands be-lieved to be mixing horsemeatand beef and selling it on aspure beef, the public prosecu-tor said.

The plant in North Brabantprovince allegedly boughthorse carcasses from theNetherlands and Ireland whichwere shredded and mixed withbeef and sold on as pure beef,the prosecutor's office said ina statement.

It was not clear whether theplant in question was con-nected with the horsemeatscandal sweeping through Eu-rope and it was not knownwhere the allegedly mixedmeat was eventually deliv-ered, the statement said.

Dutch media said the plantbelonged to Willy Selten andwas in the city of Oss.

The website of Selten'swholesale meat company saysit is "an internationally operat-ing company, specialising inboning and cutting beef" thatemploys about 100 people.


Dutch meat wholesalerraided for 'mixing horseand beef'

International News

sius (zero degrees Fahrenheit).The Russian Academy of

Sciences said in a statementthat it estimated the body to beseveral metres long andweighing several dozentonnes. "It burned up at aheight of 30-50 kilometres...but pieces could have fallen toEarth as meteorites."

The meteor explosion ap-pears to be one of the moststunning cosmic events aboveRussia since the 1908 Tun-guska Event, when a massiveblast most scientists blame onan asteroid or a comet impactripped through Siberia.

With the meteor already be-coming a leading trend onTwitter, locals posted amateurfootage on YouTube showingmen swearing in surprise andfright, and others grindingtheir cars to a halt.

The Chelyabinsk region isRussia's industrial heartland,filled with smoke-chuggingfactories and other huge facil-ities that include a nuclearpower plant and the massiveMayak atomic waste storageand treatment centre.

A spokesman for Rosatom,the Russian nuclear energystate corporation, said that itsoperations remained unaf-fected.

The emergencies ministrysaid radiation levels in the re-gion also did not change andthat 20,000 rescue workershad been dispatched to helpthe injured and locate those re-quiring help.

news agency, said 950 peoplewere injured, with two-thirdsof the injuries light woundsfrom glass shards and othermaterials blown out by theshockwave.

Windows were blown outby the shockwave across thecity's region with the ministrysaying almost 300 buildingswere damaged includingschools, hospitals, a zinc fac-tory and even an ice hockeystadium.

The office of the local gov-ernor said that a meteorite hadfallen into a lake outside thetown of Chebarkul in theChelyabinsk region and televi-sion images pointed to a six-metre (20-foot) hole in thefrozen lake's ice.

However it has yet to be fi-nally confirmed if meteoritefragments made contact withthe Earth and there were no re-ports that any locals had beenhurt directly by a falling pieceof meteorite.

Schools were closed for theday and theatre shows can-celled across the region afterthe shock wave blew out win-dows amid temperatures aslow as minus 18 degrees Cel-

MOSCOW (AFP) - A plung-ing meteor exploded with ablinding flash above centralRussia on Friday, setting off ashockwave that shattered win-dows and hurt almost 1,000people in an event unprece-dented in modern times.

Experts insisted the me-teor's fiery entry into the at-mosphere was not linked to theasteroid 2012 DA 14 which isexpected to pass about 17,200miles (27,700 kilometres)above the Earth later Friday inan unusually close approach.

But the extraordinary eventbrought morning traffic to asudden halt in the Urals city ofChelyabinsk as shocked driv-ers stopped to watch thefalling meteor partially burn-ing up in the lower atmosphereand light up the sky.

The fall of such a large me-teor estimated as weighingdozens of tonnes was ex-tremely rare, while the numberof casualties as a consequenceof its burning up around aheavily-inhabited area was un-precedented.

Chelyabinsk regional gov-ernor Mikhail Yurevich,quoted by the RIA Novosti

Meteor strike in Russia hurtsalmost 1,000

BEIJING (AFP): A Traditional Chinese New Year sweet

soup is made from berries, at the Dongyue Temple in

Beijing on February 15, 2013. China is welcoming the

Year of the Snake and tradition proclaims that a snake

in the house is a good sign because it means the family

will not starve and children born in the Year of the Snake

will be cunning, intelligent and wise

The meteorite trail is seen above a residential apartmentblock in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk.

The photo on top shows larvae of Aedes mosquitoes, re-sponsible for dengue infection, swimming in rainwater ac-cumulated in a discarded pot.

checked for complications.Preventing Dengue Fever

There is no vaccine to pre-vent dengue fever. The bestway to prevent the disease is toprevent bites by infected mos-quitoes, particularly if you areliving in or traveling to a trop-ical area. This involves pro-tecting yourself and makingefforts to keep the mosquitopopulation down.

To reduce the mosquitopopulation, get rid of placeswhere mosquitoes can breed.These include old tires, cans,or flower pots that collect rain.Regularly change the water inoutdoor bird baths and pets'water dishes.

If someone in your homegets dengue fever, be espe-cially vigilant about efforts toprotect yourself and other fam-ily members from mosquitoes.Mosquitoes that bite the in-fected family member couldspread the infection to othersin your home.

People with weakened im-mune systems as well as thosewith a second or subsequentdengue infection are believedto be at greater risk for devel-oping dengue hemorrhagicfever.Diagnosing Dengue Fever

Doctors can diagnosedengue infection with a bloodtest to check for the virus orantibodies to it. If you becomesick after traveling to a tropi-cal area, let your doctor know. Treatment of Dengue Fever

There is no specific medi-cine to treat dengue infection.If you think you may havedengue fever, you should usepain relievers with acetamino-phen and avoid medicineswith aspirin, which couldworsen bleeding. You shouldalso rest, drink plenty of flu-ids, and see your doctor. If youstart to feel worse in the first24 hours after your fever goesdown, you should get to a hos-pital immediately to be

- - D e n g u e ( p r o n o u n c e dDENgee) fever is a painful,debilitating mosquito-bornedisease caused by any one offour closely related dengueviruses. These viruses are re-lated to the viruses that causeWest Nile infection and yellowfever.

Dengue fever is transmittedby the bite of an Aedes mos-quito infected with a denguevirus. The mosquito becomesinfected when it bites a personwith dengue virus in theirblood. It can’t be spread di-rectly from one person to an-other person.Symptoms of Dengue Fever:

Symptoms, which usuallybegin four to six days after in-fection and last for up to 10days, may include

*Sudden, high fever*Severe headaches*Pain behind the eyes*Severe joint and muscle

pain*Nausea*Vomiting*Skin rash, which appears

three to four days after the onset of fever

*Mild bleeding (such a nosebleed, bleeding gums,or easybruising)

Sometimes symptoms aremild and can be mistaken forthose of the flu or another viralinfection. Younger childrenand people who have neverhad the infection before tendto have milder cases than olderchildren and adults. However,serious problems can develop.These include dengue hemor-rhagic fever, a rare complica-tion characterized by highfever, damage to lymph andblood vessels, bleeding fromthe nose and gums, enlarge-ment of the liver, and failure ofthe circulatory system. Thesymptoms may progress tomassive bleeding, shock, anddeath. This is called dengueshock syndrome (DSS).

Dengue Fever:


Health & Living

be the subject of a validpatent," his judgement con-cluded. DNA and RNA aretypes of nucleic acid.

"However, the disputedclaims do not cover naturallyoccurring DNA and RNA asthey exist inside such cells.

The decision is the first inthe country to considerwhether isolated DNA or RNAsequences can be patented andlawyers for Cancer VoicesAustralia, which brought thecase, have argued it raises eth-ical issues about the commer-cialisation of the human body.

The judgement is a blow tothe cancer campaigners, withthe woman who brought thecase, Yvonne D'Arcy, leavingthe court in tears.

"To tell the truth I'm verydisappointed," she told re-porters. "We were doing thisfor future generations, and I'mjust so disappointed."

Cancer Voices Australia alsoexpressed its disappointmentin losing the case which it saidwas for people with all dis-eases with genetic markers.

SYDNEY (AFP) - An Aus-tralian court Friday dismisseda challenge against the patent-ing of human genetic materialin a landmark case which hasdevastated a cancer group thatsays it could stifle research.

The case hinged on whethera valid patent can be granted tocover naturally occurring nu-cleic acids, the building blocksof living organisms -- in thiscase the so-called breast can-cer gene BRCA1.

Federal Court Justice JohnNicholas rejected the argumentthat BRCA1, a genetic muta-tion associated with an in-creased risk of breast andovarian cancer in women,could not be patented becauseit was a naturally occurringsubstance.

He ruled instead in favour ofthe two medical research com-panies that hold the patent,US-based Myriad Geneticsand Melbourne-based GeneticTechnologies Ltd.

"There is no doubt that nat-urally occurring DNA andRNA as they exist inside thecells of the human body cannot

Challenge to cancer genepatent fails in Australia

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US regulators approved a so-called bionic eye on Thursday, giving hope to people witha rare genetic disease. Developed by California-basedSecond Sight Medical Products, Inc., the Argus II RetinalProsthesis System is the first retinal implant for adultswith advanced retinitis pigmentosa that results in thegradual loss of vision and can lead to blindness. The de-vice includes a small video camera and a transmittermounted on a pair of glasses, as well as a video process-ing unit and an implanted retinal prosthesis that replacesthe function of degenerated cells in the retina. Alreadygreenlighted by European regulators, the FDA approvedthe Argus II as a humanitarian use device, which is lim-ited to instruments that treat or diagnose fewer than4,000 people in the United States annually.

'Tokyo to' in Japanese, or etxebat - 'house a' in Basque), andthe pitch of the content word ishigher.

The test involved famil-iarising the infants, throughrepetition, to one of two fakelanguages -- one with therhythm of the English group oflanguages, the other resem-bling the Japanese group.

"Phrases" were then playedfor the kids over hidden speak-ers, both in the language theylearnt and the one they did not,measuring the time theylooked in the direction of each.

The bilingual babies"looked several secondslonger" in the direction of thelanguage they had been ex-posed to -- a scientific measureof recognition, study co-authorJanet Werker told AFP.

When the same test wasdone with monolingual infantsgrowing up in English homes,they made no distinction.

"Our study showed... thatinfants growing up bilingual inlanguages that have a differentword order are able to usethese word duration and pitchcues, whereas infants growingup monolingual are not," saidWerker.

"If you speak two lan-guages at home, don't beafraid, it's not a zero-sumgame. Your baby is veryequipped to keep these lan-guages separate and they do soin remarkable ways."

The team said their workdemonstrated how studyingbilingual infants can revealmechanisms of language ac-quisition.

"As the majority of theworld's population today is ex-posed to multiple languagesfrom birth, a better under-standing of their early cogni-tive development might haveconsiderable impact on socialand educational policiesworld-wide," they wrote.


BOSTON (AFP) - A closelytracked asteroid, about 150-feet(45-meters) wide, whizzedsafely past Earth on Friday, thesame day a much smaller, pre-viously undetected meteor hitRussia, injuring nearly 1,000people.

Live images from a tele-scope at the Gingin Observa-tory in western Australiashowed the asteroid lookinglike a white streak, movingacross against a backdrop ofblack sky.

Astronomers said the ob-ject's speed and proximitymade it a challenge to track, be-cause telescopes had to beaimed precisely or risked miss-ing it.

The asteroid, dubbed 2012DA 14, passed around 17,200miles (27,000 kilometers) abovethe Earth at the time of closestapproach, about 2:25 pm EST(1925 GMT), NASA said.

The US space agency hadsaid in a statement on its web-site that this was "the closest-ever predicted approach to

Earth for an object this large."The asteroid isn't nearly as

large as the 10-kilometer (six-mile) wide object that took outthe dinosaurs, but astronomerssaid it was large enough that, hadit struck the Earth's surface, itcould wipe out a large urban area.

However, the asteroid's pathkept it well away from Earthand from the ring of communi-cations satellites in Earth'sorbit, and NASA said the ob-ject's orbit would keep it furtherfrom the planet in the foresee-able future.

NASA said the flyby pro-vided a "unique opportunity forresearchers to study a near-Earth object up close."

The 2012 DA 14 was dis-covered by chance by as-tronomers after passing nearbylast February.

NASA estimates a smallishasteroid such as 2012 DA 14flies close to Earth every 40years on average, but only hitsour planet once every 1,200years.

Asteroid whizzessafely past Earth

Sci-Tech

PARIS (AFP) - Even beforethey can talk, infants as youngas seven months who grow upin bilingual homes acquire aspecial ability to distinguishbetween languages, re-searchers said.

Scientists are still baffled bythe mechanics of languagelearning, and how bilingual in-fants master their mothertongues as efficiently asmonolinguals do.

A new study to shed lighton the subject revealed thatchildren who learn two lan-guages at the same time de-velop the ability, which

monolinguals do not, to iden-tify a language through the du-ration and pitch of words, andtheir position in a sentence.

The study, reported in thejournal Nature Neuroscience,examined seven-month-oldchildren who grow up withtwo languages with inverseword orders -- such as Englishand Japanese.

In languages like English,Italian or Spanish, preposi-tions and articles typicallyprecede "content words" likenouns (to London/the house)while in other tongues theyfollow them (Tokyo ni -

Stereo learning: infants distinguishbetween languages

DAYEUHKOLOT (AFP) : Residents use inflatable boatsto evacuate from the flooded district of Dayeuhkolot, inBandung regency in West Java province on February 15,2013. Several areas of Bandung regency were sub-merged by floodwaters after heavy rains and the Citarumriver overflowed. Hundreds of residents evacuated tohigher grounds.


FEB 16 - FEB 23

O’stad : ‘ Botica Central ’ - S.N. ‘ San Nicolas ’

FREE Coverage on our website:

www.themorningnewsaruba.com

NEW YORK(AFP) - Oilprices lurched lower Friday inNew York as traders took prof-its ahead of a holiday weekendin the US.

A barrel of West Texas Inter-mediate settled at $95.86,down $1.45 on the New YorkMercantile Exchange.

In London, a barrel of Euro-pean benchmark Brent crudesettled at $117.66, 34 centslower.

Friday's move followed arally earlier this week duringwhich the WTI price hit$98.11 a barrel Wednesday.

Kyle Cooper, managingpartner at Houston consultancyIAF Advisers, said Friday'seconomic data was neutraloverall, as a weak number forUS January industrial produc-tion was offset by strong re-sults in a leading consumerconfidence index and a better-than-expected Empire StateManufacturing report.

It is "a little difficult to as-certain" the reason for the dropin oil prices, said Cooper. "Itappears to be a little moreprofit-taking rather than any-thing" in particular.

Andy Lebow, senior vicepresident for energy futures atJefferies Bache, said the weakJanuary industrial productionnumber was "a catalyst" forthe drop.

"Industrial production issomething that oil traderswatch pretty closely. As indus-trial production increases, sodoes demand for petroleumproducts," Lebow said.

Phil Flynn, analyst at PriceFutures Group in Chicago,pointed to a "heavy" market incrude characterized by copioussupply and tepid demand. Thiswas evident because crude did-n't rally despite a run-up of 15cents in US gasoline pricesover the last two days.

"We had a big move in gaso-line that crude didn't reallyreact to," Flynn said. "That's asign that the market is prettywell supplied on the oil front."

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -Facebook on Friday said it isletting users pay to ensurethat messages posted byfriends at the leading socialnetwork get more attention.

The feature is being rolledout globally and comes lessthan four months after Face-book began letting memberspay to have personal postsget priority in feeds seen byfriends.

"Now, in addition to pro-moting your own posts, youcan promote a friend's post,such as a fundraising or cele-bration announcement,"Facebook said in a blog post.

"It's important to know thatthis feature respects the pri-vacy of the original poster - itwill promote to everyonewho originally saw it."

A list of popular use casesincluded spotlighting afriend's efforts to raise moneyfor charity; a move to a newcity, or accomplishments

such as job promotions orcollege graduations.

The feature is only avail-able for people with fewerthan 5,000 friends at the so-cial network, according toFacebook.

The California-based firmhas been seeking new waysto generate revenue since itmade a dismal stock marketdebut in May of last year.

Shares sank after making adebut at $38 dollars but haveregained some of the ground,trading at $28.21 on the Nas-daq exchange mid-day Fri-day.

Facebook users canpay to promotefriends' posts

Oil prices fall on profit-taking


Finance

YESTERDAY’S

Crossword Answer

LA CILIA (AFP) - Released Colombian police officer Victor Alfonso Gonzalez (L) isgreeted by former Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba in the village Montealegre,Cauca department, Colombia, on February 15, 2013. Leftist Colombian guerrillas onFriday released two police officers they had held for three weeks, the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross said. The men were released in a rural area in Cauca de-partment in southwestern Colombia and were in good health, the ICRC said in a state-ment.

Spain planstown hall cut-backs to save 7 bn eurosMADRID (AFP) - Spain'sgovernment unveiled Fridayplans to cut the salaries ofsmall-town mayors and coun-cillors in a drive to save sevenbillion euros in its crisis cost-saving campaign.

Budget Minister CristobalMontoro said the savingsmade by cutting payments andslashing layers of "doubling-up" between regional andprovincial bodies would saveSpain 7.129 billion euros ($9.5billion) between 2013 and2015.

Control of certain health,education, housing and socialsecurity services will beshifted to the bigger regionalauthorities and various munic-ipal and small local groupingswill be scrapped, he added.

Under the reform, yet to beapproved by judicial authori-ties, 82 percent of councillorsand mayors of towns withfewer than 1,000 inhabitants"will carry out their politicalactivities without being paidfor them", he said.

Mayors of big cities willhave their salaries capped sothey do not exceed those ofjunior ministers, Montoro tolda news conference.

Spain's conservative gov-ernment is fighting to stabilisethe country's finances by low-ering its public deficit. It hassaid it aims to make total sav-ings of 150 billion euros be-tween 2012 and 2014.

A recession brought on bythe collapse of a buildingboom in 2008 has drivenSpain's unemployment rateabove 26 percent.

Walmart 2.2%

drop pulls US

stocks lowerNEW YORK (AFP) - A

sharp fall in shares of the

world's largest retailer Wal-

mart pulled stocks lower

Friday, though steep losses

were averted by a final-

hour rebound.

At the closing bell the

broad-based S&P 500 was

down 1.59 points (0.10 per-

cent) to 1,519.79.

The Dow Jones Industrial

Average added 8.37 points

(0.06 percent) at 13,981.76,

while the tech-rich Nasdaq

Composite slid 6.63 points

(0.21 percent) to 3,192.03.

Walmart shares lost 2.2

percent to $69.28 after a

news report cited company

documents saying the com-

pany's sales so far in Febru-

ary were a "disaster."

PARIS (AFP) - A simplediamond and sapphireengagement ring thatNapoleon Bonaparte of-fered to his first wifeJosephine goes on auc-tion near Paris nextmonth, the auctionhouse Osenat said onFriday. The gold ring istopped by two pear-shaped stones and isestimated to fetch up to12,000 euros ($16,000) atthe March 24 auction in Fontainebleau, south of Paris.Napoleon married Josephine, the widow of French aris-tocrat Alexandre de Beauharnais, on March 9, 1796 justdays after announcing their engagement. The marriagewas not well received by Napoleon's family who wereshocked he had married an older widow with two chil-dren. Two days after the wedding Napoleon left to leadthe French army in Italy. The couple divorced in 1810due to Josephine's inability to bear Napoleon a child.Despite numerous affairs, remarriage and then exile,Napoleon never forgot her and his last words, accordingto those near him on his death bed, were: "France. Thearmy. The head of the army. Josephine."


--Everyone was seeing redwhile enjoying a wonderfulValentine's Day event that hasbecome an annual tradition,the fundraising Sweetheart'sDinner Dance conducted bythe Friends of the Handi-capped foundation on Thurs-day evening.

For more than ten yearsnow, this has been the choiceof how to best spend this spe-cial day with your significantother for many Arubans andvacationers. The volunteertourists who organize theevent spend their winters onAruba, during which they ded-icate their time to raisingfunds for local foundations as-sisting the physically andmentally challenged.

Many attending the eventtook the holiday to heart, em-bracing red as the fun themefor the evening, some fromtop to toe! The Radisson Re-sort provided an excellent 4course dinner as always, underthe personal supervision ofExecutive Chef Kien-Fat Lie-Kwie. Nearly 200 dined anddanced the night away to themellow music of NBO Band,when they weren't jumping tocarnival music.

Friends of the Handicappedvolunteers expressed theirgratitude to all the vendorswho provided door prizes forthe event, along with NobleJeweler's, which annually do-nates a gorgeous piece offeredas one of the main prizes ofthe auxiliary fundraising raf-fle. They are very pleasedwith the warm response fromislanders and visitors to thisannual effort to make Valen-tine's Day something reallyspecial, while assisting manyworthy foundations on Arubain their continued efforts toprovide for the handicappedcommunity.

by Rosalie Klein

Red rules the night at the Friends of the Handicapped Sweetheart's Ball

Napoleon's engagementring on auction in Paris

The Quality Apartments Crew

Emil wins a dinner for two

Volunteers of Friends of the Handicapped


without a doubt, this is the wayto truly eat like a local. Theyare open from 11:00 AM to11:00 PM, daily, offering in-door and outdoor dining.Aside from an extensive menuthey also have daily specialsmade from whatever is in sea-son and Mama Luisa is in themood to prepare, so don’t for-get to ask about what isn’t onthe menu!

sels. Meat dishes such as BBQChicken and Ribs or GrilledTenderloin, each including achoice of 2 side dishes; allquite yummy and bargain-priced to boot!

The Queen’s is located onthe second level of PalmBeach Plaza, tucked into acozy corner at the front of themall. If you have a mind to trythe real deal in Aruban food,

Cheese.” This is a tasty, fillingstew of chicken, with other in-gredients that are handy thatday, all incased in a thick skinof melted Gouda. It was verysatisfying and particularlymemorable paired with TheQueen’s garlic bread and veryspecial Pica, a mix of choppedonions and the famous localhot pepper, Madame Janette.Not overly spicy, it lends thatperfect bit of tang to this deli-ciously picturesque meal.

One of the distinctions ofAruban cuisine is incorporat-ing unique indigenous ingredi-ents such as in Wild CucumberStew and a particular light fishchowder accompanied by thelocal specialties pan bati (cornmeal pancake) and funchi (thelocal version of polenta.)

Seafood main courses ofCatch of the Day Aruban Styleto shrimp and a mixedseafood platter with shrimp,fish, squid, scallops and mus-

this charming eatery theirloyal clientele. Varella’s mom,Luisa, is still in the kitchen,conjuring up the deliciousdishes that have been in herfamily for generations, ac-knowledged on the menu withitems such as “Carni Stoba diMamachi”-“Grandma’s BeefStew,” and their ArawakSteak, along with local delica-cies like Keshi Yena -“Full

An elegant décor with abreezy terrace overlookingPalm Beach welcomes gueststo Varella Innocencia’s verypopular restaurant showcasingauthentic local cuisine:

The Queen’s.They may have moved

from Oranjestad to hipper newdigs in Palm Beach Plaza, butthe food and prices are strictlynative, which is what first won

Eat like a local at The Queen’s restaurant at Palm Beach Plaza

Varella, Luisa and the next generation of chefKeshi Yena with plaintains, vegetables and pica

Whether you’re a first time visitor to the island, or you vaca-tion with us every year we invite you to enjoy one of the mostmemorable vacation destinations of your life. We know,we’re Divi Resorts and Aruba has been our home for over 40years.

Divi Resorts has 5 resorts in Aruba, in addition to The Linksat Divi Aruba golf course, and the Alhambra Casino. For yearswe’ve offered high quality all inclusive and timeshare vaca-tions; and over 40,000 members actively participate in the DiviVacation Ownership Program.

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For more information about The Residences, visit our salesoffice located in the golf clubhouse at the Divi Village Golf &Beach Resort.

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But the Swiss stirred to life ashe broke back to love for 3-4.

Federer then levelled at fourgames apiece before Ben-neteau saved three breakpoints to hold for 6-5.

A game later, it was done,with Federer donating a dou-ble-fault for a match point andthen missing the far cornerwith a backhand which wasconfirmed by electroniclinecalling.

Second seed Juan Martin delPotro cruised into the semi-fi-nals with a victory in straightsets against Finland's JarkkoNieminen.

The Argentine won 6-3, 6-4,and will now face unseededBulgarian Grigor Dimitrovwho came from a set down tobeat Marcos Baghdatis.

Del Potro took just under 90minutes to go through, rackingup 10 aces along the way be-fore sealing victory on his sec-ond match point as the Finn

of the circumstances of thisterrible, terrible tragedy."

Steenkamp, 29, was shotfour times at Pistorius's up-market Pretoria home in theearly hours of Thursday.

She had been due to appearin a celebrity reality showfilmed in Jamaica from thisweekend and producers saidits broadcast would go aheaddespite her death.

Steenkamp was killed witha 9mm pistol registered toPistorius, suffering woundsto the head and hand anddying at the scene.

The Beeld newspaper saidFriday the shots that killedSteenkamp were firedthrough a bathroom door butthere was no police confirma-tion.

Steenkamp's death and Pis-torius's apparent fall fromgrace captured the attentionof millions, with press fromaround the world crammingthe courtroom to coverevents.

Better-known as "BladeRunner" because of his car-bon fibre prostheses, Pisto-rius became the firstdouble-amputee to competealongside able-bodied ath-letes at the Olympics. sug-gesting that Pistorius had shotSteenkamp, his girlfriendsince late last year, after mis-taking her for a burglar.

PRETORIA (AFP) -Olympic star Oscar Pistoriusbroke down in tears in thedock on Friday as he wascharged with the Valentine'sDay murder of his modelgirlfriend, a charge he denied"in the strongest terms".

The 26-year-old SouthAfrican Paralympian goldmedallist sobbed as Pretoriamagistrate Desmond Nair an-nounced a single charge ofkilling his lover, blonde cov-ergirl Reeva Steenkamp.

The double amputee wasan inspirational hero of lastyear's London Olympics, buton Friday he sat hunched andsobbing as the court heardthat prosecutors will arguethe murder was premeditated,meaning he could face a lifesentence.

He was to remain in cus-tody after a bail hearing wasdelayed until Tuesday toallow the defence more timeto prepare.

In a statement issued byPistorius's family and man-agement company after thecourt appearance, the fallenstar said "the alleged murderis disputed in the strongestterms."

He also offered his condo-lences to those close to hisformer lover.

"Our thoughts and prayerstoday should be for Reevaand her family -- regardless

Weeping Pistoriusdenies girlfriend'smurder


Sport

ROTTERDAM (AFP) -Frenchman Julien Benneteausent defending championRoger Federer crashing out ofthe Rotterdam World Tennistournament on Friday with astunning 6-3, 7-5 quarter-finalupset.

Federer, who lifted the tro-phy in his last two appearancesin 2005 and 2012, last suffereddefeat in the event against TimHenman in 2004.

"This was a dream match,and I played like a dream,"said the 39th-ranked Ben-neteau, who earned a semi-final against either fifth-seededcompatriot Gilles Simon orSlovak Martin Klizan.

"This is for sure my biggestwin. He was the favourite, butmaybe he played a bit tight.I've been playing well allweek, improving with eachmatch.

"I've had a great week hereso far and I hope it's not fin-ished."

Federer was clearly off theboil from the start, beginningwith an ace but losing the firstgame.

He was broken three timesin the first set in a shockingdisplay from the top seed andheavy crowd favourite at theAhoy stadium.

The French challengerwrapped up the opening setand went up a break at 3-1 inthe second as Federer's gamecontinued to suffer.

returned long."It was a difficult win, he's a

lefty and hit his shots differ-ently. He was fighting all thetime and I had to play my bestgame to go through," said the2009 US Open champion.

"It feels good to be in thesemi-finals, I'm trying to re-peat what I did last year (final)and go even farther.

"Dimitrov has a very goodfuture. He's playing fantastictennis, the match will be closefor both sides."

Dimitrov beat Baghdatis 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/0), 6-3 in a per-formance that showed he isreturning to the kind of formhe produced at the start of theyear, when he reached the finalin Brisbane before losing toAndy Murray.

The Bulgarian had alsobeaten Baghdatis in three setsin that tournament, and he re-peated the feat on Friday.

Tennis: Benneteau stunsFederer in Rotterdam


All-Star Game on Sunday inHouston.

Thursday's contest was thefirst of a four-game road tripfor Miami and the last gamebefore the all-star break.

Kevin Durant had 40 pointson 12-of-24 shooting, whileRussell Westbrook finishedwith 26 points, 10 assists andfive rebounds for the Thunder,who had their seven-game winstreak at home snapped Thurs-day.

At one point, Durant fell tothe floor and landed with aheavy thud. He struggled earlyin the game and didn't makehis first field goal until justover four minutes left in thesecond quarter.

James said double teamingDurant on defence was one ofthe keys to the win.

It marked just the fourthloss at home for OklahomaCity to go with 23 wins.

The Thunder were elimi-nated by the Heat in the play-offs and lost the first regularseason rematch, 103-97, onChristmas Day in Florida.

Durant and Westbrook willrepresent the Thunder in theall-star showdown.

FLORIDA (AFP) - TorontoBlue Jays outfielder MelkyCabrera said Friday that he iscooperating with MajorLeague Baseball's probe into aMiami clinic that allegedlygave players performance-en-hancing drugs.

But the 28-year-old Domini-can, banned 50 games for dop-ing last year, was otherwisesilent about ties to the Biogen-esis clinic made public lastmonth in a Miami New Timesstory based on records ob-tained from a former clinicworker.

Cabrera joined the Blue Jaysafter playing for World Serieschampion San Francisco lastseason but being dropped fromthe playoff roster after beingbanned for 50 games last Au-gust for a doping violation.

Cabrera was last year's All-Star Game Most ValuablePlayer and led the NationalLeague in batting at .346 with11 home runs and 60 runs bat-ted in over 113 games beforebeing hit with the ban.

"Last season ended for mewhen I admitted taking abanned substance and ac-cepted and served my punish-ment of a 50-gamesuspension," Cabrera said.

"Since that day, my goalshave been to serve my punish-ment and to put that mistakebehind me, and to work hard tobe the best baseball player Ican be.

"I also accepted the Giants'decision not to bring me backfor the playoffs after I servedmy punishment. Instead, I con-tinued to work hard so I couldbe ready for the 2013 season. Ihoped and expected that Iwould be allowed to put mymistake behind me and to startthis season fresh.

Cabrera has a .284 careerbatting average with 69homers and 417 runs batted inover 984 major-league gameswith the Giants, New YorkYankees, Atlanta Braves andKansas City Royals.

Baseball: Cabreraworking with MLBdoping probe

OKLAHOMA CITY (AFP) -LeBron James powered theMiami Heat to a 110-100 winover the Oklahoma City Thun-der on Thursday, but fell justshort of extending a record-breaking scoring run.

James finished with 39points and shot 58 percentfrom the field in a rematch oflast year's NBA finals whichthe Heat won in five games.

In Miami's six previouswins, James did what noNBA player had everachieved -- scoring at least30 points each game whileshooting at least 60 percentfrom the field.

The reigning playoffMVP was his usual domi-nant self Thursday at Chesa-

peake Energy Arena as hegrabbed 12 rebounds and hadseven assists, leading the Heatto their seventh consecutivewin.

He appeared to be headingfor his seventh straight 30-60game but failed to connect ona three-point shot in the fourthquarter and had to settle for14-of-24 shooting from thefield.

Chris Bosh finished with20 points and 12 rebounds,while Dwyane Wade had 13points and eight assists for theHeat, who have won sevenstraight and 12 of their last 14.

James, Wade and Bosh willrepresent Miami in the 62nd

NBA: LeBron ends record run, Heatbeat Thunder

WOLFSBUTRG (AFP) - : Bayern's Arjen Robben of the

Netherlands (2nd,R) scores past Wolfsburg keeper Diego

Benaglio (R) during the German first division Bundesliga

football match VfL Wolfsburg vs FC Bayern Munich in

Wolfsburg, northern Germany, yesterday. Bayern Munich

went 18 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with a

2-0 victory

Heinsohn, five-time Women'sNBA All-Star Dawn Staleyand three-time US women'scoach of the year SylviaHatchell.

Other finalists are four-timeNBA All-Stars MauriceCheeks, Bernard King andSpencer Haywood and UScollege coaching legendsJerry Tarkanian, Guy Lewisand Rick Pitino.

"It will be a difficult deci-sion for the honors committeeto select the final class mem-bers from this prestigiousgroup of individuals, each ofwhom has given so much tothe game," said Hall of Famechairman of the board Jerry

HOUSTON (AFP) - Nine-time NBA All-Star Gary Pay-ton and six-time NBA All-StarMitch Richmond were among12 finalist nominees named onFriday for induction this yearinto the Basketball Hall ofFame.

Payton and Richmond wereamong six first-time finaliststo join the honor shrine at cer-emonies on September 8. Fi-nalists need 18 of 24 votesfrom the honors committee tobe among the inductees an-nounced on April 8.

Other first-time finalists in-clude five-time NBA All-StarTim Hardaway, two-timeNBA champion coach Tom


Brazilian Basketball Legend -Oscar Schmidt

Colangelo.Payton, known as "The

Glove" for his defensive skills,was the 1996 NBA DefensivePlayer of the Year and playedon US Olympic gold medalteams in 1996 and 2000. Hewon an NBA title with Miamiin 20006. He retired fourth onthe NBA all-time steals listwith 2,445 and eighth in as-sists with 8,966.

Richmond, the 1989 NBARookie of the Year and 1995All-Star Game Most ValuablePlayer, scored 20,497 pointsover 14 NBA seasons, win-ning a title with the Los Ange-les Lakers in 2002 and anOlympic gold medal in 1996.

Brazilian legend OscarSchmidt, a three-time Olympicscoring champion and 1980sItalian league star, was alsoamong five people announcedas inductees to the BasketballHall of Fame.

Schmidt, Russ Granik,Roger Brown, Richard Guerinand Edwin Henderson will beamong those inducted in Sep-tember at the Hall of Fame inSpringfield, Massachusetts.Other inductees will be an-nounced on April 8.

DOHA (AFP) - SerenaWilliams was in tears on Fri-day after snatching an historicvictory at the Qatar Openwhich ensured that she wouldbecome the oldest woman tohold the WTA Tour's worldnumber one ranking.

The 31-year-old American's3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over PetraKvitova in the quarter-finalsput her back on top of theworld after an interval of twoand a half years during whichshe sometimes thought shemight never play again.

Williams had been 1-4down in the final set of an out-standing match against theCzech, and her relieved smile,heavenward gesture and tearsin her moment of triumph gavelie to her earlier statement that

the number one position nolonger mattered.

The victory, which was dueto her very special competitivespirit and instinct for finding away when no clear direction isevident, earns her the top spotat an age six months older thanher fellow American ChrisEvert did at 30 years and 11months.

That was more than 27years ago, underliningWilliams' status as one of theall-time greats, and possiblythe finest woman player therehas ever been.

That's a total only betteredby Steffi Graf (377), MartinaNavratilova (332), Evert (260),Martina Hingis (209) andMonica Seles (178).

Tennis: Tearful Serena

becomes oldest world

number one

NBA: Payton, Richmond amongHall of Fame nominees, Brazillegend Schmidt elected to HOF

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Saturday, February 16, 2013