Monday, January 7, 2013

being the youngest to everwin a gold medal in Women’sFreestyle.

“The Girl with Big Hair,”as she was known on the in-ternational circuit, deliveredon the promise of her poten-tial by becoming the youn -gest wo men’s world cham -pion ever at the age of 17, in2008. She defeated and un-seated the Moreno sisters,who had long dominatedwomen’s freestyle windsur -fing.

Continued on page 5

Aruba has several dynamicyoung athletes proving them-selves to be of extraordinarytalent, discipline and skill inthe world arena. PaseoHerencia shopping centermade it a policy to recognizetheir discipline and determi-nation with a “Wall ofFame,” which was installedlast year. The wall now hon-ors the images and efforts ofyoung Aruban baseball play-ers, Olympic swimmers andsynchronized swimmers. ABMX bicycle champion, and

on Friday, January 4, the mallproudly unveiled the most ac-complished young athlete inthe island’s history, SarahQuita-Offringa.

Sarah-Quita joined theranks of professional wind-surfers at only 12 years old,along with her brotherQuincy, also a talented ath-lete. They competed on theProfessional Windsurfing As-sociation (PWA) circuit, butin only a short time, Sarah-Quita proved an outstandingathlete attrac ting the attentionof judges and journalists, by

Paseo Herencia installs Sarah-Quita

Offringa to their athletic “Wall

of Fame”

craft, which went missing lateFriday on a flight from the LosRoques islands to Caracas.

The National Guard,backed by volunteers with pri-vate aircraft and boats, have sofar covered more than 360square nautical miles in asearch and rescue operation in-volving more than 385 people,AVN said.

Continued on page 3

CARACAS (AFP) - Authori-ties said they have intensifiedthe search yesterday for asmall plane that disappearedoff the coast of Venezuela withsix people aboard, includingthe scion of Italy's Missonifashion family.

The state-run AVN newsagency, which said the familywas briefed, reported noprogress in locating the air-

Monday, January 7, 2013

Search for plane with

Missoni scion intensifies

Unveiling her place of honor

Sarah Quita shows off her famous smile

with proof that the energy useis aHRi certified

Other cooling equipmentof the Variable RefrigerationFlow (VRF) system and theVariable speed Compressor(VsC) system.

2. Refrigerators and Freez-ers:

a. all of the equipmentwhich prove to be energy ef-ficient and bare the eN-eRGY staR label

b. Refrigerators for house-hold use which prove to beenergy efficient and bare theeNeRGY staR label

c. Freezers with a capacityof 800 liters and freezers ofthe 900 liter capacity whichprove to be energy efficientand bare the eNeRGY staRlabel

d. all other cooling orfreezing furniture whichprove to be energy efficientand bare the eNeRGY starlabel

3. Boilers and other waterequipment operating on solarenergy and other apparatusoperating on solar power

4. machines with thecapa city of more than 10kgas dryers, to include fully au-tomated dryers equipped withbuilt-in centrifuge and ma-chines with a capacity of10kg such as electric dryerswhich prove to be energy ef-ficient and bare the eN-eRGY staR label

5. Compact Fluorescentlamps, “CFl” and ledlamps with a cos phi of 0.85or higher

Vehicle and Boat taxes:in conformity with the objec-tives and intention of the gov-ernment to make aruba fully“green” by 2020, the decisionhas been made to introduce aseries of initiatives to stimu-late the further reduction offossil fuel use.

Continued on page 3

afls.3.500 for pensioners re-ceiving only the aOV in-come and have an income ofmaximum afls.35.000. thismeasure is to become effec-tive as of January 1st, 2013.

Special Tariff:With respect to the currenteconomic situation, the gov-ernment has decided to re-duce the tariff for incometaxes for those receivingworkers’ terminations or forthe purchase of pension plansto 15%. Hence, as of January1st, 2013, the income tax forworkers termination payoutswill carry a tariff of 15%.

Import Duties:Pursuant to decisions arrivedat in the National dialogues;the government has decidedthat in an effort to stimulatethe use of more efficient en-ergy apparatus, to introduceseveral fiscal benefits. Hence,as of January 1st, 2013, thefollowing goods will be re-duced to a 2% import dutytariff:

1. machines and apparatusto regulate climate manufac-tured with an inverter and an18 seeR rating or higher

ORaNJestad -- the go -vernment of aruba has pub-lished a bulletin informingthe community concerning aseries of decrees to be en-acted pursuant to delibera-tions and decisions resultingfrom the National social di-alogues held during the pe-riod august 7 to 10, 2012 andaugust 21 to November 9,2012. the government is in-tent on introducing these de-cisions as of January 1st,2013. Hence, in anticipationof the formal decrees pertain-ing to the “repara tietoeslag”(adjustment stipend), incometax tariff, and the vehicle andboat tax ordinance, the fol-lowing, so-called, Preferen-tial Policy (“Begunstigendbeleid”) will take effect as ofJanuary 1, 2013:

The Cost of livingadjustment Stipend:

Workers representatives andthe government decided inthe social dialogues that asan impulse for buying powerfor workers in the private sec-tor they will increase the costof living adjustment stipendby Fls.25 per month for thoseearning at least the minimumwage (afls.1.604,60) or atleast less than afls.2.500 permonth. For those earningonly the old-age pension withno other source of income,the cost of living adjustmentstipend will increase fromafls.50 per month toafls.100 per month. this willbe made effective as of Janu-ary 1st, 2013.

Income Taxes:Old age deduction: Pursuantto decisions arrived at in theNational dialogues, the go -vernment has decided to, as ameans of improving the buy-ing power, and as a compen-sation for the loss of buyingpower, to introduce an addi-tional deduction of

Aruba Government announces

preferential policy

leading provider of General in-surance products and servicesin the dutch Caribbean, whichis key to the strategic objec-tives of Fatum. this acquisi-tion will consolidate ourposition as the leading com-pany in the general insurancesector, a position with whichwe are very comfortable.”

Fatum is fully owned byGuardian Holdings limited(GHl), the largest Financialservices and insurance Groupserving the english & dutchCaribbean. in addition to Fa -tum, GHl also owns GuardianGeneral insurance Companylimited (GGil), which itselfis the largest indigenous ge -neral insurance company ser -ving the english Caribbean.according to GHl GroupChief executive Officer, mr.Jeffrey mack “with the addi-tion of Rsa antilles to ourgeneral insurance portfolio,and the acquisition last monthof Globe insurance Companyin Jamaica, GHl now has anunassailable market leadershipposition in the general insu -rance sectors across all of ourcore markets, fulfilling ourstrategic objective and demon-strating our confidence andcommitment to the people andeconomies of the Caribbean”.

Willemstad -- FatumHoldings N.V. (Fatum), an-nounced on december 19th,2012 the acquisition by Fatumof 100% of the issued sharecapital of Royal & sun allianceinsurance (antilles) N.V. fromthe Rsa Group and maduro &Curiel’s Bank (mCB). the fi-nancial terms of the transactionare not being disclosed at thistime. the successful comple-tion of this transaction is sub-ject to all necessary approvalsfrom the Regulators in Curacao,sint maarten, aruba and the is-lands of Bonaire, sint eustatiusand saba.

Rsa (antilles) is a majorprovider of General insuranceproducts and services in thedutch Caribbean, and is jointlyowned by the Rsa Group, oneof the world’s leading multina-tional listed insurance groupswith major operations in theUK, scandinavia, Canada, ire-land, asia, Central & easterneurope, middle east and latinamerica, and mCB, the largestcommercial bank in the dutchCaribbean.

according to Fatum’s Pre -sident & Chief executive Offi-cer, mr. steven martina, “theacquisition of Rsa antillesfurther strengthens and en-dorses Fatum’s position as the

2 Monday, January 7, 2013

Fatum Holdings N.V.Acquires Royal & SunAlliance (Antilles) N.V.

L.- r.: Alejandro Nino of Royal & Sun Alliance (Antilles),Steven Martina of FATUM and Lionel ‘Chicu’ Capriles ofMaduro & Curiel’s Bank.

Minister of Finance, Com-munications, Utilities and

Energy, Mike de Meza

remained in the family home,according to Italian media.

Venezuelan interior mi nis tryspokesman Jorge Galindo iden-tified the other passengers asGuido Foresti and Elda Scal-venzi. Pilot Hernan Merchanand copilot Juan Carlos FerreMilano were also on board.

The Italian foreign ministrywould only confirm that fourItalian citizens had gone miss-ing in Venezuela, without iden-tifying them.

A similar disappearancetook place exactly five yearsago, on January 4, 2008.

At the time, a plane carry-ing 14 people, including eightItalians, went missing in thesame area as it flew from Cara-cas to Los Roques. No trace ofthe aircraft or its passengerswas ever found.

The Missoni fashion housewas founded in 1953 by Ot-tavio Missoni and his wifeRosita. It now sells ready-to-wear attire for men, womenand children, as well as hautecouture and perfume.

Missoni has also createdauto interiors for Mazda carsand designed interiors for twoluxury hotels, in collaborationwith the Rezidor Hotel Group.

Los Roques is an archipe -lago of 350 islands that attractstourists from all over the worldfor its deep turquoise sea andthe large number of exoticspecies that live there.

Shortly after news broke ofhis brother's disappearance,Luca went to Venezuela to getinformation first hand.

Vittorio's parents and sister

siblings Luca and Angela. Vit-torio is marketing director, hisbrother Luca is technical direc-tor and his sister Angela is thedesigner.

another Italian couple and twoVenezuelan crew members.

Missoni runs the companyknown for its knitwear andiconic zigzag patterns with his

The plane was carrying Vitto-rio Missoni -- the son of theeponymous fashion label'sfounder Ottavio Missoni -- andhis wife Maurizia Castiglioni,

Hence, the decision is to in-troduce reduced tariffs formotor vehicle registration(number plates) for certaintypes of vehicles which obvi-ously are in the trend of betterfuel consumption and energyefficiency, namely:

1. Motor vehicles with anelectric powered engine

Afls. 75,-2. Motor vehicles with a

hybrid engineAfls. 150,-

3. Motor vehicles with amixture of gasoline and

maximum 85% ethanol(flex fuel)

Afls.225,-All of these measures will

be enacted as of January 1st2013 in anticipation of theforthcoming formal decrees.

Aruba

Government

announces

preferential

policyContinued from page 2

sibility to be manipulated bythe inmates and to neverallow their integrity to falteras this would seriously jeop-ardize their career forever.He encouraged them to takethe opportunity they haveand make good use of it togrow in their career in ourjustice system at KIA.

lously selected. He sharedthat the job of a prison guardis one with great responsibil-ity and an admirable profes-sion because they will becontributing to the process ofjustice which also includesthe rehabilitation of de-tainees.

He implored the young-sters to be aware of the pos-

rity team at KIA (localprison). The Minister em-phasized how importanttheir personal integrity is tomeet the challenge ahead ofthem.

According to Dowers,many have the desire to getthe opportunity they re-ceived. But they are now partof a group that was meticu-

On January 3rd, during ashort ceremony, the Ministerof Justice, Arthur Dowers,presented 20 young peoplewho are to join the team ofjustice on Aruba. Theseyoung people, who begantheir course of training lastWednesday, after completingthe rigorous course will be-come members of the secu-

Monday, January 7, 2013 3

Twenty young people to join the KIA team

Search for plane with Missoni scion intensifiesContinued from page 1

their greatest Caribbean cul-tural event.

Rosalie Klein

tests and queen electionswhich will end at midnighton February 12, with the oc-currence of Ash Wednesday.Until then it will six hecticweeks of sumptuous cos-tumes, lively music anddancing in the streets, as is-landers celebrate life and

pagne, followed by Royal,T.O.B., Dushi, Majestic,Pleasers and Teasers, OPC andbringing up the rear, XC-LanzCarnival Group. Regally resid-ing over all was Aruba’s 58thCarnival Queen, Lynette DoNascimiento, of ChampagneCarnival Group, who will turnover her crown to the newqueen on February 1. Over6400 participants made theirway from the west end of Oran-jestad to the east side. Intermit-tent showers did not dampenthe energy or extinguish thebrilliance so the evening.

The Torch Parade heraldsweeks of parades, parties, con-

Aruba’s Meteorologi-cal Office sent out awarning on Fridayevening of a wet week-end to come, and theskies decided to delivertheir aqueous bountyjust as costumed revel-ers began making theirway down L.G. SmithBoulevard for the firstmajor parade of Carni-val 59, on Saturdayevening, January 5.

The Torch Parade isan ebullient affair, withcasual costumes reveal-ing the individual cre-ativity of participants. Itis remarkable as to whatcan be achieved with alogo tee shirt and a fewleftover holiday lights!

Eight carnivalgroups participated, be-

ginning with Cham-


Light showers can’t douse the high spirits of Carnival59 Torch Parade!

lerie Pietersz-Camacho, “but,unfortunately, Sarah-Quita’sbusy schedule of competitionand schooling just didn’tmake it possible to do whileshe was here.”

Despite all the awards andhonors she has received inter-nationally, Sarah-Quita ad-mitted the recognition of herfellow Arubans is alwayssomething that particularlytouches her heart.

Rosalie Klein

the unveiling ce remonyadding Sarah-Quita to their“Wall of Fame.” Aruba’sMinister of Public Health andSport, Dr. Richard Visser wasvery pleased to perform theunveiling with Parliamentar-ian Donny Rasmijn, in thepresence of her proud pa -rents, Esther and Ruud, OmaDorothy, and a host of admi -ring friends and fellow wind-surfers.

“We would have done thismuch sooner,” claimed Va-

obtain it shortly, and intendsto study and gain a Mastersdegree, within the intentionof returning to assist Aruba inachieving the sustai nabilitypractices that will make it atruly “green” island.

For all these reasons,Paseo Herencia GeneralManager Valerie Pietersz-Ca-macho and Marketing Man-ager Candy Rasmijn wereexceptionally proud to host

Slalom Champion title aswell.

Despite being a supremeathlete, Sarah-Quita has al-ways been a sweet, humblegirl, and very conscious ofher place as a role model forother Aruban youth. For thisreason, she has been dedi-cated to her studies, and forthe last two and a half yearsis pursuing a degree in Sci-ence and Innovation Manage-ment at the University ofUtrecht, Holland. She will

Though pundits had pre-dicted she would come inthird that year, she provedevery year since then that sheis every inch (and being thetallest person in the room thatis a lot of inches,) a cham-pion. She has successfullydefended her title as PWAWomen’s World FreestyleChampion for four consecu-tive years. In 2011, sheproved to be the “fastestwoman on the water” by alsoclaiming the Women’s World


Paseo Herencia installs Sarah-Quita Offringa . . .Continued from page 1

With Valerie Pietersz (l.) and Candy Rasmijn (r.) of Paseo

Herencia

With Oma Dorothy

Sarah-Quita with Minister Visser and proud parents Es-

ther and Ruud

ting director Michael Morelland counter-terrorism adviserJohn Brennan seen as the fron-trunners, CNN said.

Despite the fact that Hagelis a fellow Republican, partyheavyweights scenting bloodin bitterly-divided Washingtonhave accused him of hostilitytoward Israel and naivety onIran, auguring a tough nomina-tion process ahead.

If confirmed by the Senateas Pentagon chief, Hagel willhave to manage major cuts tomilitary spending while wrap-ping up the US war effort inAfghanistan and preparing forworst-case scenarios in Iran orSyria.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - USPresident Barack Obama is ex-pected to nominate ChuckHagel as his new defense se -cretary today and Republicansare signaling a fierce confirma-tion fight even though he isone of their own.

Obama has decided hewants the 66-year-old formerRepublican senator to succeedLeon Panetta at the Pentagonand will make his announce-ment today, a Democratic aidetold AFP, confirming earlierUS media reports.

Obama is also expected toannounce who he has chosento replace David Petraeus atthe helm of the CIA, with ac -

shootings in US history.On December 14, a 20-

year-old disturbed local mankilled his mother in their New-town home before embarkingon a horrific shooting spree atthe Sandy Hook ElementarySchool and shooting dead 20six- and seven-year-old chil-dren and six adults with a mil-itary-style assault rifle beforetaking his own life with ahandgun as police closed in.

However, the NRA, themost powerful gun lobby in theUnited States, stands firmagainst any additional restraintson firearms and ammunitionsales -- despite a national out-cry in the wake of the SandyHook school massacre.

ning mental health checks, andstiffening penalties for carry-ing guns near schools or givingthem to minors.

To push these measuresthrough Congress, the WhiteHouse is developing strategiesto work around the NationalRifle Association, the reportsaid. According to the paper,they could include rallyingsupport from Wal-Mart andother gun retailers as well asregular contact with advisers toNew York Mayor MichaelBloomberg, an outspoken gun-control advocate.

The proposals are a re-sponse to last month's tragedyin Newtown, Connecticut, thesite of one of the worst school

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Theadministration of PresidentBarack Obama is consideringa broad array of measures tocurb the nation's gun violence,including more than just a re-instatement of a ban on assaultweapons and high-capacityammunition, The WashingtonPost reported yesterday.

Citing multiple people in-volved in the administration'sdiscussions, the newspapersaid a working group led byVice President Biden is seri-ously considering severalmeasures: universal back-ground checks for firearm buy-ers, tracking the movementand sale of weapons through anational database, strengthe -

candidate. Chavez, who was diag-

nosed with an undisclosedform of cancer in his pelvicarea in mid-2011, has not beenseen in public nor heard fromin more than three weeks.

Officials say the 58-year-old is in delicate condition andhas suffered multiple compli-cations since the December 11surgery, including unexpectedbleeding and severe respiratoryproblems.

dent's red-clad supporters gath-ered outside parliament hoursbefore the vote, many chan -ting: "We are all Chavez! Ourcomandante will be well! Hewill return!"

If Chavez had to step down,or died, Cabello would takeover the running of the countryas Assembly president and anew election would be orga -nized within 30 days. Chavez'sheir apparent, Maduro, wouldbe the ruling Socialist Party

CARACAS - Venezuelan law-makers re-elected a staunchally of Hugo Chavez to headthe National Assembly on Sa -turday, putting him in line to becaretaker president if the so-cialist leader does not recoverfrom cancer surgery.

By choosing the incumbent,Diosdado Cabello, the "Cha -vista"-dominated legislature ce-mented the combativeex-soldier's position as the thirdmost powerful figure in thegovernment, after Chavez andVice President Nicolas Maduro.

"As a patriot ... I swear tobe supremely loyal in every-thing I do, to defend the father-land, its institutions, and thisbeautiful revolution led by ourComandante Hugo Chavez,"Cabello said as he took theoath, his hand on the constitu-tion.

He had earlier warned op-position politicians against at-tempting to use the NationalAssembly to "conspire"against the people, saying theywould be "destroyed" if theytried.

Thousands of the presi-

Venezuela lawmakers elect Chavezally as Assembly chief

Health.Japan, South Africa, South

Korea, Taiwan and China havesuspended all beef importsfrom Brazil in connection withan atypical case of bovinespongiform encephalopathy(BSE) that was confirmed lastmonth in an animal that died in2010 in the southern state ofParana.

Five other countries haveimposed some restrictions onbeef over the same case.

Brazilian officials insist thecase poses no risk whatsoeverto public health or to animalhygiene and have not ruled outcomplaining to the WorldTrade Organization over therestrictions.

BRASILIA (AFP) - Brazil'sagriculture ministry an-nounced yesterday a top-to-bottom "audit" of its cattleindustry as the world's top beefexporters tries to stave off agrowing crisis over a case ofmad cow disease.

"We will review all proce-dures to be sure we are doingeverything necessary," CelioPorto, international relationssecretary for the agricultureminister, told the Folha de SaoPaulo newspaper.

"It's like an audit by theministry of agriculture on stateservices," Porto said, addingthat it would follow guidelinesset by the Paris-based WorldOrganization for Animal


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Brazil announces 'audit' tocurb mad cow fears

Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro (L) listens toNational Assembly President Diosdado Cabello during theassembly inauguration in Caracas.

Report: Obama considers broad arms

sales restrictions

Obama set to nominate

Hagel as defense secretary

MOSCOW(AFP) - Frenchactor Gerard Depardieu, whohas threatened to quit hishomeland to avoid highertaxes, has received a Russianpassport and yesterday an offerof residence in a central Russiaregion known for Stalin-eraGulag labour camps.

The former Oscar nomi-nee travelled to snow-coveredMordovia after he met Satur-day with strongman PresidentVladimir Putin.

Depardieu was seen onRussian television beinggreeted with folk songs andshowing off his new red pass-port to his Mordovia hosts inSaransk, the regional capitalof around 300,000 people lo-cated about 600 kilometers(370 miles) southeast ofMoscow.

begin using "State of Pales-tine" in official correspon-dence.

Previously, official docu-ments issued by Abbas's gov-ernment, including passportsand other identification docu-ments, had been labelled as is-sued by the PalestinianAuthority, which he heads.

Israel has criticised thePalestinians for their success-ful bid for enhanced UN status,saying Palestinian statehoodcan only be achieved throughbilateral talks with the Jewishstate.

The Israeli foreign ministrydeclined to comment on thelatest Palestinian move.

The Palestinians say theUN upgrade will strengthentheir position in negotiationswith Israel and is a comple-ment to any future talks.

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Ter-ritories (AFP) - Palestinianpresident Mahmud Abbas yes-terday gave orders for work tobegin on new passports, IDcards, drivers' licences andstamps reading "State of Pales-tine," official media said.

The decree, carried by theofficial WAFA news agency,came in the wake of the Pales-tinians' successful bid late lastyear for non-member observerstate status at the United Na-tions over intense Israeli andUS opposition.

Abbas said the changed lan-guage on official documentswould help strengthen thePalestinian state "on theground and build its institu-tions... and its sovereignty overthe its land."

Already last week, he or-dered the foreign ministry andembassies around the world to

Abbas orders official use

of 'State of Palestine'

tempts by the rebels to infil-trate.

With the Seleka rebel coali-tion threatening to march onBangui, Gabon, Congo andCameroon in recent days haveeach sent 120 troops, accor -ding to a source with the multi-national African peacekeepingforce FOMAC.

They will join 400 Chadiansoldiers already deployed toprotect Damara, the last townon the rebels' road to Bangui,the source said.

tion processes", it added.Earlier a military source

said at least 200 South Africansoldiers had arrived in the ca -pital Bangui to try to secure itfrom advancing rebels.

"This well-equipped SouthAfrican contingent arrived inthe middle of the week. ... Itsmission is to secure the CentralAfrican capital," the sourcetold AFP.

The troops, based not farfrom the neighbourhood hous-ing the residence of PresidentFrancois Bozize, "joins in Cen-tral Africa a South African mi -litary contingent alreadydeployed as part of military co-operation", the source added.

After the South Africantroops arrived, the coordinatorof the Citizens Coalition Op-posed to the Armed Rebels,Levy Yakite, appealed yester-day on national radio for hismovement to remove road-blocks set up to prevent at-

BANGUI, Central African Re-public (AFP) - South Africahas authorised the sending of400 soldiers to Central AfricanRepublic (CAR) where gov-ernment and regional troopsare battling a rebel insurgency.

"President Jacob Zuma hasauthorised the employment of400 South African NationalDefence Force personnel to theCentral African Republic, torender support in fulfilment ofan international obligation ofthe Republic of South Africatowards the CAR," Zuma's of-fice said in a statement.

Their mandate is throughMarch 2018, it added.

The South African presi-dency said the soldiers wouldhelp with capacity-building ofthe Central African Republicdefence force.

It "will also assist CARwith the planning and imple-mentation of the disarmament,demobilisation and re-integra-

SAfrica authorises 400 soldiers for

Central African Republic

The revered leader has beenrecuperating at his Johannes-burg home since he was dis-charged from hospital the dayafter Christmas, which was thelongest he had been hospi-talised since his release from27 years of apartheid prison in1990.

"He had undergone an oper-ation to remove gallstones lastmonth and was also troubledby a recurring lung infection,"said the presidency.

"He continues to receivehigh care at his Houghtonhome and his daily routine isbeing gradually re-estab-lished."


INteRNatIONal NeWs

CAPE TOWN (AFP) - NelsonMandela has "recovered" fromrecent surgery and a lung in-fection, a health scare that hadput South Africa on edge as theanti-apartheid hero spentnearly three weeks in hospital,the presidency said yesterday,citing his doctors.

The 94-year-old Mandela"has recovered from his surgi-cal procedure and the lung in-fection, his doctors said today,"said a statement from PresidentJacob Zuma's office.

"The medical (examination)said president Mandela hasmade steady progress and thatclinically, he continues to im-prove," it said.

Presidency: Doctors sayMandela has 'recovered'

Depardieu gets

Russian

passport amid

French tax row

Belfast: afP photo shows loyalists, flying BritishUnion flags, marching outside Belfast City Hall inprotest over Belfast city council's decision to restrict thenumber of days the Union flag that can be flown overthe city hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Politicians andchurch leaders in Northern Ireland held talks yesterdayin a bid to stop the violence over the flying of the Britishflag. after three nights of rioting and attacks on police,Northern Ireland's chief police officer Matt Baggott said52 officers had been injured, but he warned his forcewould deal firmly with the violence for as long as it wasnecessary. Police used water cannon and fired batonrounds in Belfast yesterday as they confronted morethan 100 loyalist protesters who were throwing fireworksand bricks.

Peace talks but no end in

sight to N.Ireland violence


GERMANY, Leipzig : Six-year old Lucas (C) cuts thebirthday cake for his one-year old sisters, identical quadru-plets (L-R) Jasmin, Sophie, Laura and Kim, as their par-ents Janett and Marcus Mehnert look on, January 6, 2013in Leipzig, eastern Germany. Experts estimate the chanceof identical quadruplets at 1:13 million. (AFP PHOTO)

What are the odds?

VIENNA (AFP) - Austrianpolice have made an appealto the public for help over atourist thought to be Germanlanguishing in the country forthe past seven weeks who haslost his memory and has noidentification papers.

All police know is that theman arrived in the Germantown of Lindau on Lake Con-stance by train on November19 wearing hiking gear, wentto the tourist office andwalked over the border to

nearby Bregenz.Since then the man, aged

around 50 and who on ac-count of his "High German"accent is strongly believed tobe a German, cannot remem-ber his name or where hecomes from, police said.

"We have had 10 leads sofar, and we will examinethem all," a policespokesman told Sunday's edi-tion of the Kronen-Zeitungdaily. "He has good days andbad days."

Memory-loss touristpuzzles Austrian police

TEHRAN (AFP) - Air pollu-tion in Tehran has left 4,460people dead in a year, anIranian health official said inreports Sunday, with anothersounding the alarm over highdose of carcinogens in do-mestically-made petrol.

Hassan Aqajani, an ad-viser to the health minister,made the announcement onstate television, and said theTehran residents died in ayear-long period since March2011.

High air pollution is a con-stant woe for the eight millionresidents in Tehran. It forcedthe city's closure on Saturday,

the second time in a month.Tehran's pollution is

mainly blamed on bumper-to-bumper traffic in a citywedged between two moun-tains which trap fumes. Butmajor Iranian cities alsostruggle with pollution on aseasonal basis.

Pollution is also exacer-bated by increasing relianceon domestic production ofpetrol of a lower grade, andtherefore more polluting, abyproduct of Western sanc-tions on Iran's fuel imports.

Youssef Rashidi, directorof Tehran's air quality moni-toring services, on Sunday

warned carcinogens in Iran-ian-made petrol is higherthan international standards.

The level of sulfur in thepetrol is three times higherthan the standard, he said.

Iran produces around 60million litres of petrol on adaily basis, correspondingroughly to its national con-sumption, according to fig-ures from the oil ministry.

Officials have promised toincrease the production ofhigher grade petrol with Euro4 and 5 standards, used inEuropean countries, fromnine million litres per day toaround 25 million by March

Tehran air pollution leaves 4,460 dead:health official

HEALTH & LIVING

Health Tip: Eat BreakfastHow are you supposed to have energy and a function-

ing mind if you are not feeding your body?

Eating breakfast is one of the most important steps to

losing weight and being healthy. Skipping breakfast

causes hunger pains, binge eating and irritability. Even

if all you eat is a piece of toast with peanut butter on it

as you run out the door, the fuel you give your body in

the morning will help you function better all day long.


BEIJING (AFP) - China hasresumed construction on a"fourth generation" nuclearpower plant, suspended afterthe 2011 Fukushima disaster,which will be its biggest-evernuclear facility, state mediasaid Saturday.

Construction on thecoastal Shidao Bay nuclearplant in Rongcheng, a city ineastern China's Shandongprovince, resumed lastmonth, the state-run ChinaInternet Information Centerreported, adding that theplant is "China's biggestplanned nuclear project".

The plant, which will becooled by high temperaturegas, will become "the world'sfirst successfully commer-cialised fourth generation nu-clear technologydemonstration project", the

report said.It is designed to be safer

and cuts down on costs, thereport quoted a spokesmanfrom the China HuanengGroup, the biggest investor inthe plant, as saying.

The plant, expected tobegin supplying electricity tothe grid by 2017, will have afinal generating capacity of6,600 megawatts, the reportsaid, adding initial invest-ment in the project will bethree billion yuan ($480 mil-lion).

The Shidao Bay plant "hasbeen developed and designedsolely by Chinese re-searchers", the state-runChina Radio Internationalsaid, quoting a China Hua-neng Group researcher assaying the company hopes toexport the design.

China in October lifted aban on new nuclear powerstations imposed in 2011after Japan's Fukushima nu-clear plant meltdown, whenthe facility was struck by atsunami, and will allow con-struction of a "small number"of coastal nuclear powerplants, according to an offi-cial report.

Construction on the Shi-dao Bay plant began in 2011but was suspended in thewake of the Fukushima cri-sis, the China Internet Infor-mation Center said.

There are 15 operationalcommercial nuclear reactorsin China, which has ambitiousplans to expand its nuclear in-dustry, with 27 reactors underconstruction near coastalareas, according to the WorldNuclear Association.

China's Ministry of Envi-ronmental Protection said ina report in October that thecountry's nuclear safety situ-ation was "not optimistic",and that the use of differingtypes of reactors in Chineseplants made the sector "diffi-cult to manage".

China 'biggest' nuclearplant constructionresumes

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -Google is letting people pegtheir New Year's resolutionsto an online map and seewhat promises others aroundthe world have set out to keepin 2013.

By Friday, a resolutionssection at the California In-ternet giant's 2012 Zeitgeistwebsite had logged half amillion entries, more than athird of which involved de-sires to love or be loved.

Vows to improve personalhealth were rife in the UnitedStates, while Russia was atthe head of the class when itcame to education-focusedresolutions, according toGoogle.

Pledges mapped atgoogle.com/zeitgeist/2012/re

solutions were divided intocategories that included love,health, finance, career, edu-cation and family.

One person in Brazil, forexample, wants to "find awoman for dating", while an-other in Japan wants to "workthree times faster."

It can take 24 to 48 hoursfor the resolution to appear,so be patient.

Google maps New Year's resolutions around the world

SOUTH AFRICA, Cape Town : Photo depicts Cape Town. Explorers Sir Ranulph Fiennes(L) and Anton Bowring before starting off their expedition to complete the last great polarchallenge - crossing Antarctica in winter - on January 6, 2013, in Cape Town. Fiennesand Bowring are leading a team of explorers in this journey to cross Antarctica in thewinter. Their attempt aims at raising 10 million US dollars for Seeing is Believing, an or-ganization tackling avoidable blindness. The challenge will take six months - mostly incomplete darkness - for more than 2,000 miles. In total, the team will spend an estimated273 days on the ice, and once under way, travel at an average of 35km per day. The teamof six men, including a doctor and two technicians, could face temperatures as low asminus 90C (-130F) during expedition, which has been called The Coldest Journey.

The Last Great PolarChallenge

SCI-TECH


JAN 5 - JAN 11

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

FREE Coverage on our website:

www.themorningnewsaruba.com

spent much of the year press-ing for higher taxes on thewealthy.

5. Ingvar Kamprad. TheIKEA founder, 86, is theworld’s fifth-richest personwith a $42.9 billion fortune.The complex ownership struc-ture behind IKEA, the world’slargest furniture retailer, be-came more transparent in Au-gust after IKEA’s franchisorpublished its financial per-formance publicly for the firsttime. His net worth rose 16.6percent in 2012.

2. Bill Gates. U.S. softwaremogul Gates, 57, ranks secondon the list, trailing Slim by$12.5 billion. The Microsoftco-founder added $7 billion tohis net worth as shares of theRedmond-based company rose2.9 percent. Microsoft stockaccounts for less than 20 per-cent of the billionaire’s for-tune.

3. Amancio Ortega, theSpaniard who founded retailerInditex SA, was the year’sbiggest gainer. The 76-year-oldtycoon’s fortune increased$22.2 billion to $57.5 billion,according to the index, asshares of Inditex, operator ofthe Zara clothing chain, rose66.7 percent.

4. Warren Buffet. WarrenBuffett, 82, lost his title as theworld’s third-richest man toOrtega on Aug. 6. The Berk-shire Hathaway chairmangained $5.1 billion during theyear, even after donating 22.3million Berkshire Class Bshares in July to charity. Thebillionaire, who has pledged togive away most of his fortune,

NEW YORK – The richestpeople on the planet got evenricher in 2012, adding $241billion to their collective networth, according to theBloomberg Billionaires Index,a daily ranking of the world’s100 wealthiest individuals.

The aggregate net worth ofthe world’s top moguls stood at$1.9 trillion at the market closeon Dec. 31, according to theindex.

Retail and telecommunica-tions fortunes surged about 20percent on average during theyear. Of the 100 people whoappeared on the final rankingof 2012, only 16 registered anet loss for the 12-month pe-riod.

The Bloomberg BillionairesIndex takes measure of theworld’s wealthiest peoplebased on market and economicchanges and Bloomberg Newsreporting. Each net worth fig-ure is updated every businessday at 5:30 p.m. in New York.The valuations are listed inU.S. dollars.

TOP FIVE WORLDWIDE

1. Carlos Slim. Slim, thetelecommunications magnatewho controls Mexico’s Ame -rica Movil SAB, maintainedhis title as the richest person onEarth for the entire year. The72-year-old’s net worth rose$13.4 billion – or 21.6 percent– through Dec. 31, making himthe second-biggest gainer bydollars.

Republicans are smartingafter accepting a deal to avertthe fiscal cliff that imposed atax hike on the richest Ameri-cans -- a major concession forconservatives -- but delayedany move on the spending cutsthey sought.

The measure, signed intolaw by Obama on Wednesday,dodged across-the-board taxhikes and automatic spendingcuts that had threatened to un-leash economic turmoil andperhaps drive America backinto recession.

Republicans will have sev-eral more chances to try to getthe spending cuts they desireand are already demandingconcessions from Democratson expenditures in return forallowing the debt ceiling torise.

"What I'm willing to say is,if the president won't lead ushere in the direction of reduc-ing this massive spending ad-diction that we have, then wehave to use whatever leveragewe have," McConnell toldCBS's "Face the Nation" pro-gram.

"And there are some exam-ples of leverage coming alongand the debt ceiling is one ofthem."

Obama insists he will notallow a repeat of the 2011 cri-sis, when the United Statescame perilously close to de-faulting on its debts as Repub-licans sought deep spendingcuts in return for more govern-ment borrowing.

The United States hit thedebt ceiling again on Decem-ber 31.

The Treasury said it wouldadjust its handling of civilservice pensions to keep oper-ating under the borrowing limitwithout slashing federal spend-ing, suggesting it could do thisat least until the end of Febru-ary.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Thetop Republican in the US Se -nate warned President BarackObama yesterday that he iswilling to use the debt ceilingas "leverage" to end the admi -nistration's "massive spendingaddiction."

Mitch McConnell's remarksset the stage for another roundof high-stakes political brinks-manship over the US economyjust as jittery markets recoverfrom the tense end-of-yeardrama over the so-called "fis-cal cliff."

Obama has warned Repub-licans against playing a "dan-gerous game" with the debtceiling, arguing that raising the$16.4 trillion borrowing limitto pay the country's outstan -ding bills should not be a po-litical football.

If Congress fails to clinch adeal to allow more governmentborrowing, it risks causing theUnited States to default on itsbills and financial obligations.

Republican challenges

Obama on US debt ceiling

since January 2009.Air France-KLM has of-

fered shareholders a 20 percentpremium on what they paid forthe airline in 2008, the news-paper said, probably in AirFrance-KLM shares. CAI paida little more than 1 billioneuros to take over Alitalia fiveyears ago.

An Air France-KLMspokesman in Paris declined tocomment on the report. Offi-cials at Alitalia did not answerrepeated phone calls.

But four-time Prime Minis-ter Silvio Berlusconi, whoscuppered Air France-KLM'slast attempt to buy Alitalia,said he was still against the air-line's sale

ROME - Franco-Dutch carrierAir France-KLM (AF.PA) is in"advanced" talks to take con-trol of Italy's flagship airlineAlitalia by the summer,Rome's Messaggero newspa-per reported yesterday withoutciting its sources.

Alitalia is owned by CAI, aconsortium of investors thatbought the then-bankrupt air-line in 2008. CAI is alreadypartly owned by Air France-KLM. Alitalia's shareholderscan exercise options to tradetheir shares when a lock-up pe-riod ends on January 12.

In May, Air France said itwould probably wait until atleast 2014 before using its op-tion to take control of Alitalia,in which it has held 25 percent


SAtURDAY’S

Crossword Answer

FINANCE

U.S.A.

Dutch Antilles

Canada

Britiain

Switzerland

Netherlands

Sweden

Denmark

Norway

Japan

(per 10,000)

USD

ANG

CAD

GBP

CHF

EUR

SEK

DKK

NOK

JPY

1.77

98.00

1.77

2.80

191.71

230.59

25.91

30.23

30.67

214.88

1.78

100.00

1.79

2.85

192.43

232.69

26.63

30.95

31.39

216.84

1.80

100.20

1.82

2.90

193.02

234.08

27.70

31.63

32.31

203.62

Currency

Code

Buying

rate

banknotes

Buying

ChequesSelling

Rate

Current as of:

01/06/2013

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

Report: Air France-KLM inadvanced talks for Alitalia

Billionaires seek 2013 global

advantage

Carlos Slim

Bill Gates

Amancio Ortega

Ingvar Kamprad


PARIS (AFP) - From MarcJacobs to Alexander Wang,star alumni of New York'sParsons design school havelong made inroads in Paris.But now the faculty isgoing a step further, open-ing a full-fledged branch inthe world capital of fashion.

Many of the industry'smost sought-after nameslearned the ropes at ParsonsThe New School for De-sign, from Tom Ford toProenza Schouler's LazaroHernandez and Jack Mc-Collough, Jacobs or Wang,newly named at the houseof Balenciaga.

Joel Towers, ExecutiveDean of Parsons, says theschool learned how to useNew York city as a "labora-tory", and hopes to achievethe same in Paris, picked asa European hub of art, craftand heritage.

Paris is destined to be-come one of a network ofteaching hubs, with Parsonsprogrammes in the pipelinefor Mumbai, Shanghai, andLatin America, allowing aninternational student corpsto draw on the resources ofeach.

"We are not just runningafter where the money is --we are not going to Qatarand Abu Dhabi," said TimMarshall, Provost of theNew School university towhich Parsons belongs.

"These are global cities,cities that make sense as acomparative set."

"It's also about themovement of ideas," addedTowers.

The century-old NewYork school first set upshop in Paris in 1921, butties with its French offshootdwindled over time to littlemore than a licensing deal,now expired.

"We want a much moreembedded school, inte-grated into the local culture,that is drawing on the realdesign talent here," ex-plained Marshall.

From September, Par-sons Paris will welcome150 students to its newpremises a stone's throwfrom the Louvre, deliveringUS undergraduate andgraduate degrees in fashiondesign, design managementor history of the decorativearts.

Parsons' students in Pariswill pay around 38,000 dol-lars (about 30,000 euros)per annum.

Design with adifference:

Parsonsschool comes

to Paris

TOKYO (AFP) - A monsterbluefin tuna sold for a record-breaking $1.8 million in theyear's first auction at Japan'sTsukiji fish market on Satur-day, nearly three times theprevious high set last year.

The 222-kilogram (488-pound) fish, caught offJapan's northern city of Oma,fetched a winning bid of155.4 million yen (about $1.8million), said an official atthe Tokyo fish market.

The figure dwarfs the pre-vious high of 56.49 millionyen paid at last year's inaugu-ral auction at Tsukiji, a huge

working market that featureson many Tokyo tourist itiner-aries.

Saturday's winning bidderwas Kiyoshi Kimura, presi-dent of the company that runsthe popular Sushi-Zanmaichain, who also won the auc-tion for last year's record-breaking bluefin.

"I wanted to meet expec-tations of my customers whosaid they wanted to eatJapan's best tuna again thisyear," Kimura was quoted byJiji Press as saying after theintense pre-dawn bidding.

"With this good tuna, I

hope to help cheer up Japan,"Kimura said.

Based on the price paid --around 700,000 yen per kilo-gram -- a single slice of sushifrom the monster fish wouldcost diners as much as 30,000yen.

But Kimura plans to sell itat a huge loss, for a more re-alistic price of up to 398 yenper portion, local media re-ported.

Bluefin is usually the mostexpensive fish available atTsukiji.

Decades of overfishinghave seen global tuna stockscrash, leading some Westernnations to call for a ban oncatching endangered Atlanticbluefin tuna.

Japan consumes three-quarters of the global bluefincatch, a highly prized sushiingredient known in Japan as"kuro maguro" (black tuna)and dubbed by sushi connois-seurs the "black diamond"because of its scarcity.

A piece of "otoro" or fattyunderbelly can cost some2,000 yen at high-end Tokyorestaurants.

Giant tuna sells for record $1.8million in Japan

WASHINGTON (AFP) -Bloody interrogations likethose depicted in Holly-wood's take on the hunt forOsama bin Laden "Zero DarkThirty" never really hap-pened, according to the for-mer CIA official who ransuch programs.

"The truth is that no onewas bloodied or beaten in theenhanced interrogation pro-gram which I supervisedfrom 2002 to 2007," Jose Ro-driguez wrote in a Washing-ton Post article headlined:"Sorry Hollywood. What wedid wasn't torture."

The former CIA officialwas weighing in on the con-troversy over the depiction ofUS intelligence practices in"Zero Dark Thirty," whichhits most US theaters on Jan-uary 11.

Directed by AcademyAward-winning KathrynBigelow, the movie tells thestory of the decade-longsearch for Bin Laden after the9/11 attacks, climaxing in thedramatic, deadly raid in May2011 on his hideout in Abbot-tabad, Pakistan.

Already generating majorOscar buzz, "Zero DarkThirty" begins with a sceneshowing the torture of de-tainees, who eventually pro-vide critical information forlocating bin Laden.

But Rodriguez said thetorture scenes were pure fic-tion.

"Nobody was hung fromceilings. The filmmakersstole the dog-collar scenesfrom the abuses committedby Army personnel at AbuGhraib in Iraq. No such thingwas ever done at CIA 'blacksites,'" he said, highlighting

careful monitoring of the in-terrogations.

"To give a detainee a sin-gle open-fingered slap acrossthe face, CIA officers had toreceive written authorizationfrom Washington," Ro-driguez said.

"Detainees were given theopportunity to cooperate. Ifthey resisted and were be-lieved to hold critical infor-

mation, they might receive --with Washington approval --some of the enhanced tech-niques, such as beinggrabbed by the collar, de-prived of sleep or, in rarecases, waterboarded."

But even the last tech-nique, a form of simulateddrowning and a subject ofmajor controversy, was not asextreme as the on-screen ver-

sion and was never used after2003, Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez defended theuse of secret detainment cen-ters around the world, so-called "black sites," sayingthey allowed agents "to re-peatedly go back to the de-tainees to check leads, askfollow-up questions and clar-ify information."

Bin Laden film torture is fiction: ex-CIA official

President of sushi restaurant chain Sushi-Zanmai,Kiyoshi Kimura, displays the 222kg bluefin tuna at hismain restaurant


ables developers to offer cus-tom options allowing buyersto individualize their homes.An elegant and chic furniturepackage is available or islanddesigners will assist owners infinishing the décor to theirspecific tastes.

There are many aspects topurchasing property; not theleast is the future value of theinvestment. To further en-hance this, Gold Coast man-agement have inaugurated anumber of in-house servicesand have recently become af-filiated Interval International,the world’s largest network ofvacation ownership propertieswhich provides an unlimitedinternational pool of investorsto tap for ownership and rentalprospects. Property exchangefor a vacation in another desti-nation is also availablethrough the Interval Interna-tional affiliation. Gold Coast’sown rental services have alsoproven highly successful in as-sisting owners in renting theirvillas; 24-hour security andmaintenance services also tipthe scales when it is time tomake a decision. Aside fromall this, housekeeping, childcare, catering services , carrental through its partnershipwith AVIS car rental are alsoavailable as well as pre-shop-ping services so cupboardsand refrigerators are stockedupon arrival, which can alsobe arranged through theirproperty management depart-ment. Personnel are also avail-able to assist in arrangingrestaurant reservations and is-land activities.

Visit their website: www.goldcoastaruba.com formore details and availabilityor call 586-2200 to arrange apersonal tour.

crown,” observes Fito. “Wewere very excited about thisproject and the scope of actualand planned facilities andamenities. We have spoken tocountless island visitors to findout what they would reallywant in a permanent residenceon Aruba, and took fromthere.”

Input from frequent vaca-tioners who have dreamed oftheir own home in Aruba con-tributed to the realization ofGold Coast Aruba which whencomplete will be a communityof 260 town homes, villas andcondominiums with a stunningclubhouse complemented bytwo additional communitypool areas , The Clubhouse isabout to start construction andwill offer to the communityhomeowners and visitors 2tennis courts, full service spaand fitness center as well as astunning pool area and is ex-pected to be complete by early2013. It will also house arestaurant and mini-market.

Owners who purchasedupon the groundbreaking onlya few short years ago, are al-ready enjoying a nearly 50%appreciation on their invest-ment, particularly those takingadvantage of the on site man-agement’s rental services pro-gram. There is always a greatdemand for Aruba and facili-ties such as those at GoldCoast, make it easy for someowners to see a valuable returnon their investment.

The design of the resi-dences and public areas isopen, airy and spacious, takingfull advantage of the island en-vironment, with quality con-struction and finishingavailable. Partnering with twoof Aruba’s top providers ofkitchens and bathrooms en-

-- Management of Gold CoastAruba, the island’s newest andmost innovative gated commu-nity, reports that sales havebeen very good and encourag-ing as the global economy re-covers and people looking topurchase vacation homes havefound that Gold Coast is anoutstanding investment value.Director of Sales, Fito Croeshas noticed a surprising per-centage of owners in reality donot spend a great amount oftime personally to use the vil-las or town homes they pur-chase, but are taking advantageof Gold Coast’s rental servicesto turn their investment intoready income.

“The greater portion ofhome owners are using their“home away from home” inAruba to escape the wintermonths, or spend holidays withthe family on the island,” he re-marked, “but I am gratified byhow many are buying becausethey felt secure with real estateinvestment on Aruba. They re-ally study the history and econ-omy of the island and areimpressed with the politicalstability and continually in-creasing value of prime loca-tions. Gold Coast is in the heartof Malmok, consideredAruba’s most exclusive com-munity where the value ofproperties has only increasedover time. It is only minutes tothe best beaches and all the ac-tion, and yet offers a quiet andsecluded getaway; we are verypleased by the response to ourconcept.”

Fito, with his sister Mayrinand brother Rudy operate CasBon, which has been construct-ing homes and building devel-opments for all budgets fornearly twenty years. “GoldCoast Aruba is the jewel in our

Gold Coast Aruba: This

is the time to invest

and using no fats or oils. Fishin particular is excellent; ex-tremely moist and tasty. Athick cut of filet mignon usu-ally requires cutting intosmaller sections to cook fully,especially if your preferenceis medium-well to well done.

Le Petit Café is particu-larly well known for its“Land and Sea” specialty,filet mignon and lobster tail;a gourmet treat when servedin their signature fashion. Therestaurant also offers a di-verse menu of pastas andtempting gourmet appetizerssuch as seafood crepes,crispy calamari, and escargot.For family members in themood for something differentthere are several dishes tochoose from, such as chickenparmesan, so a large familywith different ideas of whatthey want for dinner can eas-ily be accommodated.

We all know that breakfastis the most important meal ofthe day, and Le Petit Café hasalso long been famous for thebest value for breakfast onAruba. They still offer a fullbreakfast buffet for $9.95, an-other unbeatable value!

Le Petit Café is also lo-cated in the Paradise BeachVillas, so whether you arestaying in Oranjestad, PalmBeach or Eagle Beach, a LaPetit Café restaurant can befound only a short stroll awayfrom you resort, a perfect wayto begin or end your day!

In a time when diningchoices and critiques arebased on value for your dol-lar, an old favorite, Le PetitCafé, still offers one of thebest values not only in price,but quality, quantity and am-biance.

Le Petit Café in PalmBeach offers charming sur-roundings reminiscent of aEuropean outdoor café. Sur-rounded by Old Worldgaslights and an abundanceof flora, it provides a delight-ful and romantic setting. InOranjestad, diners can enjoya breathtaking view of theharbor; particularly as the sundips over the horizon and thelights of town set the watersaglow. Taking advantage oftheir Early Bird Special notonly offers a great price for adelicious meal, but put you inthe right place at the righttime to enjoy Aruba’s mostspectacular daily perform-ance; our stunning sunsets.

The Early Bird special of-fers a choice of a full sizedchicken breast, a hefty portionof filet mignon or freshgrouper fillet accompanied bya well-stuffed baked potato,rice or french fries. There is achoice of soup or salad as astarter, and ice cream fordessert, all for a modest$24.95; an unbeatable pricefor a great meal on Aruba!

Cooking your main courseon the stone is a supremelyhealthy method of prepara-tion, seasoned to perfection

Steak on a Stone-Le

Petit Café’s specialty


SPORTS

MADRID, Jan 6, 2013(AFP) - Goalkeeper IkerCasillas came off the benchfor 10-man Real Madrid whoneeded a second half doublefrom Cristiano Ronaldo tobeat Real Sociedad 4-3 whileleaders Barcelona cruised toa 4-0 win over Espanyol.

Barcelona, whose goals allcame in the first-half againsttheir city neighbours, remain16 points clear of their bitterrivals and 12 ahead of sec-ond-place Atletico Madrid,who play Mallorca later Sun-day.

Madrid captain Casillaswas left out for the secondconsecutive game but wascalled upon after just fiveminutes following a penaltyconceded by his replacementAdan Garrido who was redcarded.

Xabi Prieto, who was tograb a hat-trick, scored fromthe spot-kick to equalise afterKarim Benzema had putMadrid ahead in the secondminute with Sami Khedirathen restoring the lead forJose Mourinho's side after 35minutes.

Prieto struck again beforehalf-time before Ronaldocame to the rescue with abrace after the restart.

Prieto hit his third with 14minutes to go but Sociedadalso finished with 10 men asDaniel Estrada was given asecond yellow card.

After the game Mourinhosaid he was unconcernedabout receiving abuse fromthe crowd.

"Perfect. Let them whistleme before the match and thensupport the team as they are

doing. I think the whistles arefor leaving Casillas out andalso because we are notachieving our aims in thechampionship," he said.

Madrid faced an injurycrisis at the back with Pepe,Fabio Coentrao, Marcelo andRaul Albiol all injured andSergio Ramos suspended.

They got the perfect startwith Khedira finding Ben-zema in space in the centre ofthe penalty area and he foundthe corner with a clinical fin-ish.

But if the Bernabeu crowdwere expecting to then see acomfortable victory aftersuch an inconsistent seasonthey were badly mistaken asonly three minutes later Adanconceded the penalty for thevisitors to draw level.

Adan's poor pass to Ri-cardo Carvalho went to Car-los Vela who bore down ongoal and was upended by theshot-stopper. The refereepointed to the spot and alsodismissed Adan which meantCasillas would play after all.

The player nicknamed'Saint Iker' by Spain fans forhis exploits in the recent suc-cesses of the national sidewas unable to make the per-fect start as Prieto fired homethe penalty.

Madrid went back aheadwith Khedira flicking in ashot by Carvalho from theedge of the area but theywere never comfortable at theback and Prieto got his sec-ond when a Vela strike fell tohim and he drove the ballpast Casillas.

After the break the gamehit a lull before Ronaldo re-

sponded with a double.At the Camp Nou, Pedro

Rodriguez hit a double withXavi Hernandez and LionelMessi also scoring in a ram-pant first half as Barca wel-comed coach Tito Vilanovaback after cancer surgery.

Vilanova chose to playAndres Iniesta in his three-man attack and leave AlexisSanchez and David Villa onthe bench against Espanyolwho were unbeaten in fourgames under new coachJavier Aguirre.

Iniesta crossed for an un-marked Xavi to put Barcaahead after 10 minutes andCesc Fabregas pulled the ballback for Pedro to score fromclose range.

Pedro produced a neat fin-ish to beat Casilla midwaythrough the first half and thenMessi struck from the penaltyspot after Fabregas was felledby the keeper.

Espanyol wasted a greatchance to get a consolationthrough Juan Albin witheleven minutes to go and thenMessi hit the woodwork witha free-kick.

Ronaldo rescues Madrid, Barcacruise to victory

ZAGREB (AFP) - Austrianstar Marcel Hirscher won histhird World Cup slalom of theseason here on Sunday settinga new World Cup record ofnine successive podium fin-ishes in both this disciplineand the giant slalom.

The 23-year-old - who wasrecording his 15th careerWorld Cup win - timed 1min56.17sec over the two legs tobeat Sweden's Andre Myhrerby 57hundreths of a secondwhile another Austrian MarioMatt was third, 1.09sec adrift.

Hirscher, who was winninghere for the second successiveseason, said that he had beenparticularly touched by com-pliments paid to him by Croatgreat Ivica Kostelic.

"I have a lot of respect for

him," said Hirscher."He is 33 years old and still

skies with as much intensitydespite his numerous injuriesand operations (a dozen).

"It means a lot to me thathe has said that I am the skierof the future, to be displayedin the manuals and the skischools.

"But as you know, that canall change. And in five yearsone will say the same thingabout a younger skier."

Hirscher, who extended hislead at the top of the slalomstandings, returned to the topof the race for the overallWorld Cup champion taking a51-point lead over Norwegianveteran Aksel Lund Svindal,who did not compete here.

Hirscher wins slalom toset new record

MILAN (AFP) - AC Milanhave called for football's au-thorities to take an officialstand against racism in thesport as the controversy sur-rounding Kevin-PrinceBoateng's walk-off continuedon Sunday.

Boateng hit the headlineslast week when he respondedto racist chants by a smallgroup of fans during afriendly against fourth divi-sion side Pro Patria by storm-ing off the pitch.

He was followed by histeam-mates, prompting aglobal outpouring of applause

for the German-born Ghana-ian international's decision.

World football's rulingFIFA had yet to make an offi-cial statement about the inci-dent but in an interview fromthe United Arab Emirates onSunday FIFA president SeppBlatter said Boateng was"wrong" to have walked offthe pitch.

Both FIFA and UEFA havepreviously warned againstplayers walking off the pitchin protest, and Blatter told TheNational newspaper: "Walkoff? No. I don't think that isthe solution.

"I don't think you can runaway. This issue is a verytouchy subject, but I repeatthere is zero tolerance ofracism in the stadium; wehave to go against that."

Milan reacted quickly, de-claring: "AC Milan reiteratesits firm stance against racism,in whatever shape or form,and calls on the national andinternational sports bodies toadopt and implement neces-sary and effective measures."

In the wake of the Boatengincident some observers, in-cluding former AC Milan starClarence Seedorf, had warnedthat the decision to leave thepitch threatened to "em-power" a racist minority.

At Rome's Olympic sta-dium on Saturday Seedorf'sfears rung true when somesections of Lazio's crowdwere heard making monkeynoises at Cagliari's Colombianstriker Victor Ibarbo.

Although the majority ofthe home crowd jeered andwhistled to drown out theracists, Cagliari's director gen-eral Francesco Marroccu wasforced eventually to informthe fourth official.

The referee halted playmomentarily to speak to bothteam captains and order amessage to be relayed overthe tannoy to warn fans thegame would be suspended ifthe chants continued.

Milan call on football powersto act on racism


BALTIMORE, Maryland(AFP) - The BaltimoreRavens, with emotional teamleader Ray Lewis back frominjury, beat the IndianapolisColts 24-9 on Sunday toreach the second round of theNFL playoffs.

Lewis, playing for the firsttime since he tore his righttriceps in mid-October -- anddays after saying he wouldretire at the end of the season-- notched 13 tackles to leada Ravens defense that heldthe Colts to three field goalsby Adam Vinatieri andspoiled the post-season debutof rookie quarterback An-drew Luck.

Ravens defender PaulKruger also excelled, regis-

tering 2 1/2 of the Ravens'three sacks of Luck and caus-ing one of three turnovers byforcing a fumble.

Baltimore signal-callerJoe Flacco threw a pair oftouchdown passes, and An-quan Boldin amassed 145yards and a touchdown.

The defeat was the end ofan emotional season for theColts, who thrived despite theinexperience of Luck and thelengthy absence of headcoach Chuck Pagano as heunderwent treatment forleukemia.

Pagano, who spent fouryears as an assistant coach inBaltimore, returned to thesidelines in time for the finalregular-season game and theplayoff contest against his oldteam.

The Ravens, who hadbeen unable to beat the Coltsin the playoffs in the yearsthat the Indianapolis offensewas run by quarterback greatPeyton Manning, earned asecond-round meeting withManning and his new team --the American Conference topseeds Denver.

Ravens down Colts,set up meeting withBroncos

MINNEAPOLIS, Min-nesota, Jan 5, 2013 (AFP) -Minnesota Timberwolvesforward Kevin Love hasbroken a bone in his righthand, the same hand thatwas broken during the NBApre-season.

An MRI exam on Satur-day showed a break in thethird metacarpal -- one ofthe two bones that he brokeduring the pre-season in Oc-tober.

The most recent injury tohis shooting hand appar-ently occurred during thethird quarter of Thursday's101-97 victory over theNuggets in Denver.

T-Wolves' Lovebreaks hand again

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin(AFP) - Aaron Rodgers andthe Green Bay Packers tookfull advantage of the depletedMinnesota Vikings Saturday,cruising to a 24-10 victory inthe first round of the NFLplayoffs.

Rodgers connected with10 different pass receivers --matching an NFL post-seasonrecord -- as he threw for 274yards and one touchdown.

John Kuhn rushed for onetouchdown and caught ascoring pass for Green Bay,who advanced to a second-round National Conferencemeeting with the San Fran-cisco 49ers next weekend.

In Saturday's AmericanConference contest, theHouston Texans defeated theCincinnati Bengals 19-13 tobook a meeting with the NewEngland Patriots.

Already the underdogs,the Vikings went into theircontest without starting quar-terback Christian Ponder,who was inactive with a rightelbow injury.

Ponder was hurt last Sun-day in the Vikings' 37-34 winover the Packers in the teams'regular-season finale. Hetested his arm in pre-gamewarm-ups but was declaredinactive.

Backup Joe Webb, whohad taken just three snaps allseason, got the start in place

of Ponder. He threw a 50-yard touchdown pass in thefourth quarter, but wassacked three times and nevergot the offense clicking.

"They kind of threw himin the fire," Packers line-backer Dezman Moses said."It's tough when it's the lastminute, you're thrown in, youhave to start and it's the play-offs."

Star Minnesota runningback Adrian Peterson -- whogained more than 400 totalyards against the Packers intwo regular-season games --was held to 99 yards.

In Houston Arian Fosterrushed for 140 yards and atouchdown as the Texansousted the Bengals in the firstround, for the second time inas many seasons.

Foster added eight catchesfor 34 yards and became thefirst player in NFL history torush for at least 100 yards in

the first three post-seasongames of his career.

Texans quarterback MattSchaub, who missed last sea-son's 31-10 playoff win overCincinnati with a foot injury,completed 29-of-38 passesfor 261 yards with one inter-ception, in the first post-sea-son start of his career.

"I'm excited about whatwe did today," said Schaub,whose team opened the sea-son 11-1 but lost three oftheir last four regular-seasongames.

"To do it in front of ourhome crowd after the waythings have gone the lastmonth, to right the ship andcome up with a victory."

Houston's defense playeda key role, holding Bengalsquarterback Andy Dalton tojust 127 passing yards withone interception.

Houston's defense forcedCincinnati to go 0-for-9 onthird down. Standout defen-sive performers included cor-nerback Jonathan Joseph,who intercepted Dalton, andJJ Watt -- who had a sack,two tackles for loss of yards,two quarterback hits and twodeflections of passes.

"It's fun to be part of thisdefense," Watt said, butadded that the Texans haveevery intention of building onthe opening-round victory.

"It's a playoff game win.That's tough to accomplish inthis league. But we have big-ger things on our mind."

Packers, Texans win playoff openers


BRISBANE, Australia (AFP)- Scotland's Andy Murraycalled on all his experience todefeat rising Bulgarian starGrigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7/0), 6-4 and retain his Brisbane In-ternational title on Sunday.

In a high-class final, Mur-ray came from 4-1 down inthe first set and a break in thesecond to subdue the chal-lenge of the talented Dim-itrov.

"I thought the standard oftennis was good today," Murraysaid, admitting he had to changetactics during the first set afterDimitrov's lightning start.

"There were a lot of high-quality rallies and I had tochange a few things. Hestarted the match off verywell and was extremely ag-gressive.

"I needed to change things

around a little bit and I man-aged to start dictating a lot ofpoints and use my forehandwell. So my groundiesworked well today."

The 87-minute victorygave Murray his 25th ATPcareer title and was the per-fect preparation for the Aus-tralian Open beginning in justover a week.

But he was made to workhard for the win by Dimitrov,whose playing style and clas-sical one-handed backhandhas drawn comparisons withthe great Roger Federer.

It was Dimitrov's back-hand that initially causedproblems for the reigning USOpen champion, who hadtrouble dealing with theamount of slice the Bulgarianwas getting on the ball.

Murray beats Dimitrov to winBrisbane title

NEW YORK (AFP) - TheNHL and players havereached agreement on a"framework" of a deal to endtheir lockout and salvage theseason, NHL comissionerGary Bettman said Sunday.

The announcement cameafter a marathon 16-hour ne-gotiating session that in-cluded both Bettman andNHL Players' Associationchief Don Fehr that started onSaturday and spilled overinto Sunday.

"Don Fehr and I are hereto tell you that we havereached an agreement on theframework of a new collec-

tive bargaining agreement,the details of which need tobe put to paper," Bettmansaid.

"We have to dot a lot of I'sand cross a lot of T's. Thereis still a lot of work to bedone, but the basic frame-work has been agreed upon.We have to go through a rati-fication process and theBoard of Governors has toapprove it from the leagueside and, obviously, the play-ers have to approve it aswell."

With a deal, the NHL canavoid losing an entire seasonfor the second time in its his-tory. All of the 2004-05 cam-paign was lost to a similarbitter battle over financial is-sues.

Bettman had pinpointedJanuary 19 as the essentialstart date to save a shortenedseason. On Sunday, with awritten agreement still to bedrafted, he said he could notyet offer information about aschedule.

"We will be back to youvery shortly, hopefully, latertoday with more informationin that regard," he said.

The league has cancelled625 games -- up to January14 -- just over half theplanned schedule that was tohave started in October.

Tentative deal to

end NHL lockout

CHENNAI, India (AFP) -Four former Major winnersare expected to take part in anew franchise-based golftournament in India nextmonth, an organiser said.

Darren Clarke, AngelCabrera, Michael Campbelland Rich Beem are amongMajor champions who haveconfirmed their participationin the event, according to In-dian golfer Shiv Kapur, oneof the event organisers.

The $400,000 tournament,

christened the Golf PremierLeague, will be played overthree days from February 8 atthe Aamby Valley golf coursenear the western city of Pune,Kapur said.

Eight city-based fran-chises will hire four golferseach, both foreign and In-dian, in an auction in late Jan-uary to play three roundsover 14 holes, Kapur said.

Each team will comprise aMajor winner, an Indian whoplays on the professional cir-

cuit, an Asian tour star and alocal player.

"Its a great way to haveour young golfers learn fromsome of the world's leadingplayers. It will also help topopularise the sport in India,"Kapur told AFP.

Among the five franchisesalready finalised is one fromColombo that is promoted bySri Lanka's cricket captainMahela Jayawardene.

The tournament, to betelecast live, will have a win-ner's purse of $250,000.

India to host new franchised golf league

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Monday, January 7, 2013