saturday, february 23, 2013

Photo depicts the HNLMS Friesland, which arrived yesterday morning for a weekendvisit. (See story on pg 3)

Saturday, February 23, 2013

HNLMS Friesland receives a 21-gun salute in Oranjestad Harbor

CHICAGO (AFP) - The cen-tral United States was dig-ging out from a massivewinter storm Friday whileEast Coast residents werepreparing for a whopper setto strike over the weekend.

The weakened storm wasnonetheless still packing apunch, snarling traffic andcancelling hundreds of flightsas it hovered over the GreatLakes region.

A United Airlines planeslid off a runway in Cleve-land Friday morning, but of-ficials said nobody was hurt.

The National WeatherService warned that parts ofNew England could get overa foot (30 centimeters) ofsnow on Saturday and Sun-day, adding to the huge driftscaused by two other stormsthat struck in the past coupleweeks.

The southern end of thatsystem is expected to bringmajor thunderstorms andpossible flooding in Florida.

Meanwhile, ski resorts inthe northern Rockies andCascades were looking for-ward to a third system ex-pected to dump one to fourfeet of snow (30 to 120 cen-timeters) in the mountains.

The first storm beganWednesday, hindering travel

and dumping snow, sleet andfreezing rain in 18 states fromSouth Dakota to Pennsylva-nia in the north and all theway down to Texas toArkansas in the south.

Kansas was the hardesthit, with nearly two feet ofsnow (60 centimeters) insome areas, making roads im-passable and shutteringschools, businesses and gov-ernment offices.

The governor of Missourideclared a state of emergencyafter the midwestern state re-ceived a dangerous mix of more

than a foot (30 centimeters) ofsnow in some areas along withfreezing rain in others.

Hundreds of accidentswere reported from Coloradoto Arkansas as blinding snowand freezing rain createdtreacherous conditions. Onlytwo fatalities were reported -- in Nebraska and Oklahoma-- on Wednesday.

One person was killedwhen high winds knockeddown trees and damagedhomes in east Texas Thurs-day, the National WeatherService said in a storm report.

US digs out from one winter storm as another looms

2 Saturday, February 23, 2013

The Insurance Association ofthe Caribbean Inc. (IAC), onFebruary 28, 2013, will bepartnering with Liberty Inter-national Underwriters to pro-vide training in the area ofPublic and Products LiabilityInsurance.

The seminar will examinea spectrum of industries in-cluding the hospitality, man-ufacturing and constructionsectors and risks inherent

therein. Participants will beprovided with greater insightinto how liability can be in-curred, essential steps in lossprevention and control andhow to best underwrite thisclass of business.

The course, which will beheld at FATUM, a member ofthe Guardian HoldingsGroup, will be facilitatedjointly by Samuel Paw, As-sistant Vice President, Neal

Magnus, Vice President Pri-mary, Casualty Claims andChris Diebold, UnderwritingOfficer, Casualty.

The seminar aims to en-able participants to:

• Better understandthe scope of cover of thisclass of business

• Better able to iden-tify inherent industry risks

• Better able to handleclaims

• Better able to assessand control various trade haz-ards

• Better able to servicethe company’s clientele byfinding the right solutions totheir problem

Participants will receivecertificates as a testimony totheir participation.

You can register at Fatumby calling Mrs. Madel Jacop-ucci at 582-1111 or by sendingan email to [email protected].

Insurance Industry to Benefit fromUpcoming Public and ProductsLiability Insurance Course

The CEO of AHATA MrJames Hepple, on Thursdaydenied in the strongest termsthe recent statement made byMr. Diego De Cuba of STAthat the “Hotels are intimidat-ing their workers”. Mr. Hep-ple said that this was justanother example of Mr DeCuba’s misinformationspread to incite more labordisharmony which will in-evitably lead to the disruptionof Aruba’s tourism industry,the main pillar of Aruba’seconomy.

Mr. Hepple deplored thefact that Mr De Cuba was soirresponsible as to accuse twohotels of intimidation whenall that had happened wasthat in one particular hoteltwo associates had broken in-house rules and had been ver-bally disciplined bymanagement. No one was

suspended nor was suspen-sion ever considered.

Mr. Hepple then said itwas ridiculous that Mr DeCuba called for laws to pro-tect associates affiliated witha union when there weremore than adequate laws al-ready in place to do so.

“If the associates feel theyhave a legitimate case of in-timidation then let them file acourt case and see what hap-pens. There are laws in placeto allow them to do so” saidMr. Hepple.

Mr. Hepple concluded “Itis really unfortunate that theSTA has chosen to use thisinflammatory approach to ne-gotiating labour contracts.The hotels are perfectly will-ing to work within the exist-ing processes as laid down bylaw. The hotels and AHATAare not anti-union. It is sadthat Mr. De Cuba wants tocreate this climate of conflictbased on innuendo and mis-representation. This can onlylead to enormous disruptionof the hotel sector and thetourism industry of Aruba,the main source of incomefor virtually all Arubans.”

AHATA strongly denieshotels are intimidatingworkers

$19.95

James Hepple

According to government re-leased statistics, during 2011there was a growth of 16% inthe birth of new businessescompared to 2010. DEHZIreceived 446 petitions fornew businesses. In 2012there was an increase of 64%compared to the previousyear. A total of 730 petitionsfor business licenses were re-ceived at DEHZI. This is asubstantial amount and a verypositive indication demon-strating confidence in oureconomy and the businessclimate on Aruba. The focushas been on small andmedium size entrepreneur-ship.

Another interesting devel-opment is that petitions forNV's also increased by 65%compared to last year. Also,

62 licenses were given forVBA's compared to 22 dur-ing the previous year. This isan indication that businessesare being much better regu-lated and structured.

The DEHZI has done ex-ceptionally well in process-ing many more petitionsduring the same year and en-suring that they keep up withall requests. In 2012, 1541permits were issued com-pared to the previous yearwhich was only 1002 per-mits.

In the past, clients had towait various months to re-ceive their businesses li-cense, these licenses are nowbeing issued within 4 weeks.

The department also noteda shift in the type of busi-nesses being developed. For

the first time they registered"Management Consultancy"businesses. This is exactlythe direction they want to seethe economy go...towards"knowledge economy."

Whenever there is positiveactivity and confidence in thecommercial sector, jobs arecreated. This has been con-firmed by the figures fromSVB which indicate an in-crease of 3.6% in the amountof new employees registeredwith SVB during the lastquarter of 2012.

Small and medium sizebusinesses remain the backbone of our economy. And,the government remainscommitted to supporting ourbusinesess in every possiblemanner.

Substantial growth of new businesses during 2012

Saturday, February 23, 2013 3

Honor brigades of the RoyalDutch Marines stationed onAruba gave a traditional wel-come to one of the four newHolland class vessels beingdeployed around the world tocombat piracy and smug-

gling, the HNLMS Friesland,which arrived yesterdaymorning for a weekend visit.

In October of last year,Vice Admiral Matthieu Bors-boom stopped in Aruba dur-ing an introduction of thespecially designed vessels toJoint Interagency Task Force,(JIATF) headquartered inKey West, with the maiden

voyage of the flagship, theHNLMS Holland.

Its sister ship, HNLMSFriesland, will be stationed inthe area for the next fourmonths, operating principallyout of Curacao. The vessels

are outfitted with state of theart equipment for detectingvery small vessel presence,the type most commonly usedfor illegal activities, and hasFast Raiding Interception andSpecial Forces Craft (FRISC)and an NH-90, a mediumweight helicopter for pursuit.

An honor brigade led byLt. Simon Gunneweg was

stationed at the headland ofGovernor's Beach, acrossfrom the traditional residenceof Aruba's governor. It re-turned the ship's 21-gunsalute when it entered Oran-jestad Harbor at 8:30 AM.The ship then did a quick tourof the coastline to again passby the beach where GovernorFredis Refunjol, accompa-nied by Mr. Martijn Boelenand Savaneta Marine CampCommandant Lt. ColonelEdwin Hofma, received asalute from the ship.

The other ships in this spe-cialized fleet are the HNLMSZeeland and Groningen, oneof which will likely replacethe HNLMS Friesland afterits four-month tour of duty inthe region. The ships, aside

from their primary task ofcombating drug smuggling,human trafficking, weaponssmuggling and piracy, willalso provide aid for searchand rescue and disaster assis-tance during major storms. Itwill patrol not only the ABCislands, but also the otherDutch islands of St. Maarten,St, Eustatius and Saba.

By Rosalie Klein

HNLMS Friesland receives a21-gun salute in Oranjestad

Harbor

In December Aruba had a regis-tered amount of 17.141 citizenscollecting the Government's OldAge Pension (AOV). These per-sons either receive only theAOV or also collect an addi-tional pension. In order for oneto receive the complete AOV,the person must have lived andworked on Aruba for at least 40years. A widowed person or pen-sioner living alone who livedand worked here their entire life,has the legal right to receive apension of Afls.1057 per month,whereas a couple will receiveAfls.1780 per month.

The government is aware ofthe fact that the cost of livingis a major issue for our seniors.They are committed to allevi-ating the situation especiallyfor those most vulnerable, suchas those on well fare, withminimum wages and those liv-ing on pension.

Specifically in the case ofpensioners, the government hasdecided to introduce the socalled "Reparatietoeslag," an"Assistance Stipend" of Afls.50in order to give pensioners a bitmore spending money.

Continued on pg 5

Government's focus onpensioners and cost ofliving

Governor Refunjol and Martijn Boelen of the Cabinet ofMinisters greet the ship

A 21 gun salute


Peter Balliere, founder ofClown Doctors Aruba, wel-comed island media to Tasteof Belgium to officially an-nounce the foundation's 2013fundraising campaign, JulienCollot's Traveling Bear.Clown Doctors is an organi-zation dedicated to visitingand entertaining hospitalizedchildren, to relieve their bore-dom and fears from what isoften a very terrifying expe-rience.

This year, the foundationoffers a most unique and in-teresting campaign to notonly raise funds for theirwork, but also bring aware-ness for children with cancer,and hopefully donations toadvance research for a cure.The focus of interest is anadorable blue bear, garbed inan official Aruba logo tee

shirt, and travelers fromAruba are encouraged to in-vite this bear to be their com-panion during trips over thenext year.

Rona Coster explained theorigins of this very specialbear. He was a favorite of ayoung man named JulienCollot, who battled AdultADL Leukemia for morethan half his life, triumphingover the cancer, but suc-cumbing to Graft V. Hosts

Disease at the age of eight.This was an unfortunate, butnot uncommon, catastrophiccondition brought on by thetwo bone marrow transplantshe needed.

Julien's mother, Jacque-

line, had moved to Arubafrom the U.S., becoming an"Americana/Arubiana," withher heart always in the island.She had a strong network offriends and her relationshipwith her adopted homelandremained even after she mar-ried and returned to the Statesto live and raise a family. Herfriends on Aruba shared herjoy at the birth of her son, andJulien spent a great deal ofhis young life on Aruba, sur-

rounded by friends who wereenchanted by the exception-ally bright and precociousyoungster.

These friends sharedJackie's pain over the years,and when he died. Jacqueline

and Thierry Collot havekindly consented to loanthe Clown Doctors foun-dation Julien's favoriteplush blue bear for thisnew campaign to raisefunds and awareness

Julian's Bear has al-ready enjoyed a tripfrom Holland with somemajor European celebri-ties, which are posted onthe Facebook Page:Julien Collot Traveling

Bear. Jodi Tobman, founderof Salamander Holdings ofAruba, has already commit-ted to a trip with the bear,destination undecided. Hewill soon depart for Paris,which will be documented ontheir FB page. Maduro TravelAgencies has also agreed toencourage its clients to takethe bear with them whenbooking an excursion. Hecomes with his own specialtravel bag.

Funds are raised by travel-ers agreeing to donate a de-signated amount for each

mile of their journey. Mini-mum donation is 25 cents(U.S.) for individuals travel-ing to common destinationsin the Western Hemisphere,such as Miami and NewYork. It is 10 cents in Arubanflorins for trips to Europe,which are a much greater dis-tance. The committee ex-pressed the hope thatcompanies would pledgemore generous donations, de-pending on their journey.

Individuals who cannot af-ford to donate large sums arewelcome to take the bear fortrips around the is-land and photographhim at such loca-tions as the top ofJamanota or NaturalPool. "he is a verysocial being andwould love to be atraveling companionto anyone wishingto help the ClownDoctors foundationwith their importantwork," reportsRona.

To schedule a tripwith Julien Collot'sbear, contact Esmer-alda at the founda-tion’s emailaddress:

[email protected] via their website.

This is also where to sendpictures and stories of histrips. Interested parties arewelcome to contact Peter per-sonally [email protected].

Mario Arends of theAruba Tourism Authoritywas on hand to express thestaunch support of the is-land's tourism entity for thepoignant campaign. A link tothe FB page will also beplaced on the officialAruba.com tourism websiteto encourage participation.

The campaign's FB pagehas a very brief, inspiringvideo of Julien made whenhe was just six, with the be-lief that "I am a survivor," be-fore complications took hislife. It is a touching homageand recommended viewing.

Organizers of thefundraising effort encourageisland travelers to contactthem and have his little blue"Ambassador of Hope" jointhem on their journey.

By Rosalie Klein

Julien Collot's Traveling Bear

Share a journey with a very special traveling companionfor Clown Doctors Aruba

Rona Coster, Peter Balliere, Mario Arends, Esmeralda withClown Puruchi


This Assistance Stipend is es-pecially for those collecting amaximum of Afls.1.057 permonth.

Persons who lived onAruba and then left and livedin another part of the DutchKingdom territory, are re-quired to submit the so called"Attestatie de Vita" periodi-cally to prove that they arealive in that country and are el-igible for continuing to receivethe monthly pension. Thisgroup of persons may alsomake use of the opportunityoffered by SVB to register inorder to receive the AssistanceStipend.

There are 8 registrationpoints around the island. Thepensioner must simply fill in asimple form and submit this toSVB before March 15th. In themonth of April the pensionerwill receive his regular pen-sion payment along withAfls.200 more to correspondto the first four months of theyear (Afls.50 per month). Thefollowing month he will re-ceive the Afls.50 extra andthen consecutively thereafter.It is estimated that some 10 to11 thousand pensioners willhave rights to receive this As-sistance Stipend.

Pensioners who submit theform after March 15, but be-fore April 1st, will receivetheir Assistance Stipend ofJanuary to May together withtheir pension payment in May2013. Any pensioner who failsto apply before April 1st, willnot receive any AssistanceStipend for Fls.50 per monthfor the rest of this year. All reg-istered pensioners, registeredwith SVB as of December2012 have received a letter athome along with the registra-tion form.

The following places aredesignated for receiving theforms: as of February 24th,from 12 noon to 8:00pm:Oranjestad - Centro di BarioPlaya Pabao; Dakota - Centrodi Bario Dakota; San Nicolaas- Santa Teresita Center; Noord- Centro di Bario Noord; TankiLeendert - Centro di BarioTanki Leendert; Savaneta -Centro di Bario Savaneta;Centro di Bario Piedra Plat;Piedra Plat y Paradera; y SantaCruz - Club Estrella. Nextweek, from Monday, February25 to Sunday, March 15, thecenters will be open from 4:00in the afternoon to 8:00 in theevening.

The government takespleasure in affording pension-ers some improvement in theirbenefits for their many yearsof contributing to the develop-ment of our island.

Government's focuson pensioners andcost of living

Continued from pg 3

Recently, RBC Royal Bank(Aruba) N.V. held a jubileefor six employees who to-gether celebrated 75 serviceyears at the bank. RBCRoyal Bank congratulates:Mr. Giancarlo Arendsz, Mrs.Elizabeth Baarh, Mr. RandallAngela, Mrs. Jessica Klepper,Mr. Romulo Martis and Mr.Angelo Figaroa, in celebra-tion of their 12 years and ahalf years. Photo depict thehonorees together with man-agers of their respective de-partments.

RBC Royal Bank (Aruba) N.V. honor their employees


CARACAS (AFP) - Thegrowing presence of VicePresident Nicolas Maduro onstate-run television, normallyfocused on ailing PresidentHugo Chavez, is giving ana-lysts a sense that a transitionis afoot in Venezuela.

With Chavez bed-riddensince December due to can-cer surgery, Maduro has at-tended international summits,led military parades and inau-gurated public works shownin countless broadcasts.

In recent days, official tel-evision featured old footageof Maduro taking part in Bo-livarian revolution events asa young man, the type of bi-ographical coverage usuallyreserved for Chavez.

Meanwhile, the voice ofthe once omnipresent andgarrulous Chavez has notbeen heard since he went toCuba in December to un-dergo his fourth round of can-cer surgery in 18 months.

The only images ofChavez were shown lastweek, showing him in bedbut smiling, flanked by histwo daughters. And then hetweeted on Monday to an-nounce his surprise return toCaracas after two months oftreatment in Cuba.

He is now convalescing ina heavily-guarded militaryhospital here but the latestmedical report on Thursdayhad a pessimistic tone.

After 14 years of Chavezin power, the report eitherseeks to "raise the emotionalconnection" between Chavezand his loyal followers "orprepare them little by littlefor bad news," Luis VicenteLeon, analyst at the firmDatanalisis, told AFP.

The medical report readby the information ministersaid that Chavez was still suf-fering from respiratory prob-

lems and that the evolution"has not been favorable." Hehas been fitted with a trachealtube to help him breathe.

The government is "open-ing more the path towards apolitical change," historianMargarita Lopez Maya toldAFP.

The transition, she said,began on December 8 whenChavez stunned his nation byannouncing that he was re-turning to Cuba for more sur-gery and appointed Madurohis political heir in case hewas unable to return topower.

If Chavez is forced to giveup the presidency, electionswould have to be held within30 days, and Maduro wouldbe his ruling socialist party'scandidate.

Maduro's presence in offi-cial media increased afterChavez was unable to attendhis inauguration on January10, three months after he wasre-elected to a new six-yearterm, Lopez Maya said.

"The government needs asense of command, cohesionand unity. The strategy is towin support in the Chavista

base," she said."That is why he has this

presence in the media and hemaintains a radical messageagainst some media and theopposition," the historianadded.

Although Maduro lacksthe charisma and public aurathat Chavez is known for, hehas adopted some of his men-tor's hardline rhetoric.

Maduro is a one-time busdriver who became a unionleader and rose to the rank offoreign minister underChavez. He was named vicepresident after the leftistleader's re-election in October.

With Chavez sick, heirapparent Maduro raiseshis profile

ROME (AFP) - Italy held itsfinal day of campaigning onFriday ahead of crucial elec-tions, as international in-vestors warned an unclearoutcome could shake theeconomy and set off shock-waves throughout Europe.

Italians will cast their bal-lots on Sunday and Mondayas they grapple with thelongest recession in twodecades and austerity cutsthat have caused deep resent-ment in the eurozone's thirdeconomy.

The most likely outcomeis a centre-left governmentled by Democratic Partyleader Pier Luigi Bersani, a

former communist with adown-to-earth manner whonow espouses broadly pro-market economic views.

But the result is by nomeans certain and whetherBersani can form a stablecoalition with a majority inboth houses of parliament isin serious doubt, putting thefinancial markets on edge.

Outgoing premier MarioMonti wrapped up his cam-paign in Florence, accusingthe left of being "a prisoner inits ideological straitjacket"and condemning ex-premierSilvio Berlusconi's "vulgar-ity" against women.

Uncertainty as Italian electioncampaign wraps up

WASHINGTON (AFP) -President Barack Obama onFriday said the United Statesand Japan are committed to"strong actions" in responseto North Korea after the com-munist state defiantly carriedout a nuclear test.

Meeting Japanese PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe, Obama

said the two leaders spokeabout "our concerns about theprovocative actions that havebeen taken by North Koreaand our determination to takestrong actions in response."

Abe, who is known for hishard line on North Korea,said that he agreed withObama on the need to pressfor a new UN Security Coun-cil resolution condemningPyongyang.

"We just cannot toleratethe actions of North Koreasuch as launching missilesand conducting a nucleartest," said Abe, sitting next toObama in the White House'sOval Office.

"We agreed that we wouldcooperate with each other indealing resolutely with NorthKorea," he said.

US, Japan vow 'strong action'on N. Korea: Obama

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - PopeBenedict XVI's final Sundayprayers in St Peter's Squarewill signal the start of a weekin the Vatican that will makehistory with the first voluntarypapal resignation in more than700 years.

Tens of thousands of pil-grims have gathered in Romefrom around the world follow-ing the ageing pope's shock an-nouncement that he would stepdown because he no longerhad the strength of body andmind to govern the CatholicChurch in modern times.

Crowds are expected to turnout in the Vatican on Sundayand again on Wednesday whenthe leader of the world's 1.2 bil-lion Catholics will bid a finalfarewell to ordinary Catholicsat a general audience in theVatican's 17th-century plaza.

On Thursday, the pope willmeet his cardinals in the morn-ing and take a helicopter to thepapal summer residence ofCastel Gandolfo in the after-noon.

At 1900 GMT that sameday, Benedict will becomeonly the second pope in theChurch's 2,000-year history toresign of his own free will.

Speculation has been rife inrecent days over what mighthave triggered the pope's deci-sion, with the Panoramaweekly and the Repubblicadaily saying it was linked to anexplosive report with allega-tions of blackmail against gayVatican clergymen.

Other recent reports say theresignation was due to thepope's health condition, whichthey say may be more seriousthan the Vatican has revealed.

Historic weeklooms for Vaticanwith papalresignation

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Nicolas Maduro

doctor gave him an injection tosedate him.

But they realised he was nolonger moving and efforts to re-vive him failed.

In February, the Belgian judi-ciary ruled the head of the clinicand a psychiatrist who refused totake him in should be tried alongwith the officer responsible forthe fatal blows.

3.5 metres square.A video camera in the police

station shows six helmeted po-lice, armed with shields and ba-tons, creeping quietly towardsthe cell door before hurling astun grenade inside. All six thenpinned him down on the bed ashe curled up in terror to shelter.

One of the officers thenlanded several punches before a

fering from withdrawal.After asking a police patrol for

help, he was taken to a psychiatricclinic but once there refused to belocked up and threatened the offi-cers with his fists.

Fearing violence, the clinicrefused to take him in so the of-ficers drove the young man --who by then had stripped naked-- to a police-station where hewas locked in a tiny cell about


International

News

GUATEMALA CITY(AFP) -Guatemalan authorities saidlate Thursday they had noproof that a clash between traf-fickers that was rumored tohave killed Mexican drug car-tel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo"Guzman had actually takenplace.

Earlier officials said theywere investigating whetherGuzman, Mexico's mostwanted man, had been killed ina shootout in a jungle area ofthe Peten department.

But Interior MinisterMauricio Lopez told AFP that"we are ending the night patrolbecause we have not found anyevidence that tells us that therewas a confrontation."

Calling the possible deathGuzman a "chaotic rumor gen-erated by all sides," he said se-curity forces were poised tosurvey the area, located nearMexico's border, by air.

Earlier Lopez cautionedthat although authorities couldnot be "100 percent" certain,"the first information we haveis that it could be him."

Confusing the situation fur-ther is that even state-runGuatemalan news agency,Agencia Guatemalteca deNoticias, said that securityforces preliminarily reportedthe death of two people and thediscovery of vehicles andweapons in the hamlet of SanValentin, about 500 kilometersnorth of Guatemala City.

Guatemalachecking ifMexicodrug lordkilled

evision network in a documen-tary late Thursday.

Jonathan Jacob (26), whoselast hours were reported in a longdocumentary on the televisionchannel, died in the cell January6, 2010, after the incident.

A body-building fanatic witha love of horses, according to hisfather, Jacob used amphetaminesand on the night of his encounterwith police appeared to be suf-

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Footage ofa young man in psychologicaldistress who asked for policeprotection but later died afterbeing brutally battered by acrack six-man police unit causedshockwaves across Belgium.

The disturbing scenes of po-lice brutality that took place inearly 2010 in the suburbs of theport city of Antwerp were airedon the VRT Dutch-speaking tel-

Belgium in shock over police brutality video

*Hold that position for 15seconds then slowly dropdown to your knees.

*Repeat three times.5. Jumping jacks/star jumps

*Find a flat even surfaceand stand straight with yourarms hanging to your side.

*Jump and bring your feetout sideways from your body(slightly wider than your hips)and simultaneously bring yourarms up (also sideways) andclap your hands above yourhead.

*Return to your starting po-sition.

*Repeat as many times asdesired.

*Try doing it during a wholead break or every time youstand up from chair.

*As always, please checkwith your health provider orgo before engaging in any newfitness regime.

from your toesto your shoul-ders, lower yourbody down (aslow as you feelcomfortable) bybending your el-bows bringingyour chest orforehead to thewall/counter.

*Pause andpush yourself upto your startingposition.

*Keep yourelbows in or dothe exercise onthe floor to in-crease intensity.

*You mightwant to do 10 ofthese during adbreaks of yourfavourite shows.3. Step-ups

*Using astool (bracedagainst some-thing stable,such as a wall) or set of stairs,step onto the stool or secondstep with one leg at a time thenstep down.

*Repeat, changing legs. Usethe top leg to bring your wholebody up.

*Do 20 step-ups at a time.*Speed up steps to increase

intensity.4. Bridge/plank

*Find a flat even surface.Lying face down, supportyourself on your elbows andforearms and knees and toes.Elbows should be directly un-derneath shoulders and kneesand feet, hip-width apart.

*From there straighten outyour body so your spine is par-allel to the ground.

*Activate your core bysucking your belly button inthen come up to your toes.

--One the best things you cando to improve your health andfitness is to increase your dailyactivity level. This doesn'tmean you have to spend hoursat the gym or run a marathoneach day.

Simply adding little activi-ties throughout your day canhave a positive effect on yourhealth. Here are five simpleexercises you can easily incor-porate into your routine and at

home.

1. Alternate lunges*Standing straight, step for-

ward with one leg until theback heel comes off theground. Then lower yourselfby bending at the knees, pausedown the bottom and then stepback and up to your startingposition.

*Repeat for the other leg.*Increase intensity by doing

multiple repetitions on one legbefore switching.

*You can add this into yourroutine when vacuuming bylunging every step instead ofjust walking.2. Wall or counter push-ups

*Find a wall or counter topin the house.

*Stand an arm's length fromthe wall/counter and placehands on wall/counter shoul-der width apart and lean soyour weight is on your arms.

*Keeping the body straight

Try these five top exercises:

The drug can also causelife-threatening birth defects.

In clinical trials, patientswho took the drug, known dur-ing its development process asT-DM1, survived an averageof 30.9 months, comparedwith 25.1 months in a controlgroup.

"Kadcyla delivers the drugto the cancer site to shrink thetumor, slow disease progres-sion and prolong survival,"said Dr Richard Pazdur, direc-tor of the FDA's office ofhematology and oncologyproducts. "It is the fourth ap-proved drug that targets theHER2 protein."

WASHINGTON - The Foodand Drug Administration an-nounced that it had approvedKadcyla (ado-trastuzumabemtansine) as a new therapyfor patients with HER2-posi-tive, late-stage (metastatic)breast cancer. An advantage ofKadcyla is that it is less harm-ful to normal cells; however,major side-effects can occur.

The drug Kadcyla fromRoche combines the estab-lished drug Herceptin with apowerful chemotherapy drugand a third chemical linkingthe medicines together. Thechemical keeps the cocktail in-tact until it binds to a cancercell, delivering a potent doseof anti-tumor poison.

Cancer researchers say thedrug is an important step for-ward because it delivers moremedication while reducing theunpleasant side effects ofchemotherapy.

The drug's label will carry aboxed warning, the most seri-ous possible, of the drug's po-tential to cause liver and heartdamage or even death.


Health & Living

F.D.A. Approves BreastCancer Drug Kadcyla

JAMMU (AFP) - Indian yoga participants preform exer-cises during the inaugural session of World Yoga Con-ference in Jammu on February 21, 2013. The three-dayWorld Yoga Conference on the theme ‘Global Peace andHarmony through Holistic Approach of Yoga and Medi-tation’ will host over 300 delegates from different coun-tries.

1.25, in freefall.Baumgartner's jump took

place last October 14 inRoswell in the US state ofNew Mexico.

Wearing a specially-de-signed survival suit, helaunched himself to Earth,freefalling 36,402.6 metres be-fore opening his parachute.


LAUSANNE (AFP) - Aus-trian skydiver Felix Baumgart-ner broke three world recordswhen he jumped from the edgeof space in October, the WorldAir Sports Federation con-firmed on Friday.

The Swiss-based federa-tion, also known as the FAI,said Baumgartner notched up

the world's maximum verticalspeed record, as well as thehighest exit altitude and verti-cal distance of freefall.

The FAI confirmed a finalanalysis by Baumgartner'steam Red Bull Stratos, whichsaid that the 43-year-oldreached 1,357.6 kilometres(843.6 miles) an hour, or Mach

Supersonic skydiver's records confirmedSci-Tech

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -Google unveiled a touch-screen notebook computerdesigned for high-end users,throwing down the gauntletto Apple and its MacBooks.

Google said its Chrome-book Pixel computers blend-ing tablet and laptoptechnology, boasting heavy-weight Intel chips andscreens tailored for richgraphics, were released in theUnited States and Britain,starting at $1,299.

A Pixel model featuringbuilt-in connectivity to theVerizon mobile Internet serv-ice will hit the US market inApril at a price of $1,449.

The newly unveiled ver-sion can connect online withwireless hot-spot technologyor cables.

Google is hoping enthusi-asts will forego price compar-isons with competitors suchas MacBooks or laptops builton Windows 8 software andfocus instead on the Pixel'stouchscreen feature and themassive terabyte of GoogleDrive online data storage in-cluded.

While the Pixel seemsaimed at the MacBook mar-ket, it also faces fierce com-petition from touchscreenlaptops based on Windows 8software.

Analyst Rob Enderle ofEnderle Group branded thePixel move "a train wreck,"arguing that notebook com-puters above $600 have his-torically not sold well andthat Apple even sells a slickMacBook Air model for$999.

The booming popularityof tablet computers is alsoeroding the overall marketfor laptops.

The announcement adds anew dimension to the rivalrybetween the two tech giants,locked in a fierce battle oversmartphones and tablets.

Google custom built Pixeland is producing it with thehelp of electronics manufac-turers in Taiwan.

Shifting operating soft-ware to banks of servers on-line means that Googleupdates programs and fendsoff hackers and malicioussoftware.

Google challengesApple with high-end laptop


FEB 23 - MRT 02

O’stad : ‘ Botica Eagle ’ - S.N. ‘ 4 Centro Medico ’

FREE Coverage on our

website:

www.themorningnewsaruba.com

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Tai-wan-based electronics makerHTC settled charges with USregulators that it failed to pro-vide adequate security forsmartphones and tablet com-puters sold to Americans, offi-cials said Friday.

The Federal Trade Commis-sion said HTC agreed "to de-velop and release softwarepatches to fix vulnerabilitiesfound in millions of HTC de-vices."

No financial penalty againstthe company was announced.

The FTC said it investigatedallegations that HTC "failed totake reasonable steps to securethe software it developed forits smartphones and tabletcomputers, introducing secu-rity flaws that placed sensitiveinformation about millions ofconsumers at risk."

The settlement requiresHTC America "to establish acomprehensive security pro-gram designed to address secu-rity risks during thedevelopment of HTC devicesand to undergo independent

security assessments everyother year for the next 20years," the statement said.

An FTC complaint filed atthe same time as the settlementsaid HTC, which makes de-vices using both MicrosoftWindows and the Google An-droid operating systems, mademodifications to softwarewhich sacrificed security.

In some instances, the com-plaint said, HTC "underminedthe Android operating system'spermission-based securitymodel."

The flaws could allow hack-ers to introduce malwarewhich could "surreptitiouslyrecord phone conversations orother sensitive audio, to sur-reptitiously track a user's phys-ical location, and to perpetrate'toll fraud,'" a practice of send-ing text messages in order tocollect fees, the FTC said.

The FTC said that malwarecould also be used to steal fi-nancial account numbers ormedical information stored onthe devices.

BERLIN (AFP) - A leadingmember of German ChancellorAngela Merkel's conservativessaid Friday that France was a"problem child" in the euro-zone and must scrap its 35-hour work week as well aspush back its retirement age.

"The French must save tobecome more capable of act-ing. They must of course alsomake economic reforms,"Michael Fuchs, deputy chair-man of the Christian Democ-rats' parliamentary group toldpublic radio.

"They must change theworking hours. You know thatthe French still have the 35-hour week. That can't workwhen in Switzerland peoplework 42 hours, in Germany 40hours," he complained onDeutschlandfunk radio.

He was speaking before theEuropean Commission an-nounced that France's publicdeficit was set to be worse thanexpected in 2013 and 2014,veering up to 3.7 percent ofoutput this year and 3.9 per-cent next year.

The EU sets a ceiling of 3.0percent of output.

France's wages and workethic have been under the in-ternational spotlight this weekafter the head of US tyremakerTitan, Maurice Taylor, mockedFrench workers for putting inonly "three hours" a day,prompting a sharp retort fromParis.

Fuchs also criticised Franceon its pensions policy. "It'ssimply necessary for people towork longer. You cannot retireat 60, that doesn't work anymore. The French must con-sider that," he added.

"Unfortunately France is aproblem child in the euro,since other countries havedone their homework substan-tially more intensively. Spain,also Italy under (outgoing Pre-mier Mario) Monti...," he said.

"The whole eurozone mustbe internationally competitive.And there, the French are farbehind."

Asked to comment onFrance's public deficit,Merkel's spokesman SteffenSeibert said it was not for theGerman government to assessbut that states must do theirhomework to win back confi-dence in Europe.

France is euro 'problemchild', frets Merkel partyofficial

HTC settles UScharges of securityflaws on devices

Satu rday, February 23, 2013 11

Finance

YESTERDAY’S

Crossword Answer

EU slaps anti-dumping dutyon mandarinsfrom ChinaBRUSSELS (AFP) - Euro-pean Union imports of tinnedmandarin products from Chinawere hit by a special anti-dumping duty on Friday toprotect producers in Europewith high production costs.

The decision to re-impose aduty on prepared or preservedmanadrin products such as tan-gerines, satsumas and clemen-tines was agreed Tuesday byEU ministers. The duty willvary from 361.4 euros a tonneto 531.2 euros and will remainin force until the end of the year.

The main EU producer,Copa-Cogeca, welcomed themove while regretting it wasnot applied retroactively to thestart of the season, in Novem-ber-December 2012.

"These imports do not haveto respect the same costly rulesand obligations and food safetystandards as those applied inthe EU – there are huge produc-tion and labour cost differen-tials," said its secretary-generalPekka Pesonen.

He said in a statement thatproduction costs in the EUreach 11-12 euros a kilo (FOB)while comparable Chinese pro-duction costs total 6.30 euros.

"We are now already towardsthe end of February and thisregulation was agreed quite latein the season," he added. "Ifthese measures are not intro-duced with a retroactive effectfrom the start of the 2012/3marketing year, the regulationwill have much less impact.

TEHRAN (AFP) - : An Iranian man buys eggs at a super-market in downtown Tehran on February 22, 2013. Nego-tiators from Iran, the United States, Britain, China,France, Germany and Russia will hold their first nucleartalks in eight months in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on February26, as four rounds of UN sanctions against Iran and uni-lateral sanctions ordered by the United States and Euro-pean nations continue to damage the Iranian economy.

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

1.76

2.77

192.73

237.21

28.31

32.04

32.01

192.88

Currency

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banknotes

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

US allows busi-ness with fourMyanmar banksWASHINGTON (AFP) - The

United States authorized

US entities to do business

with four major Myanmar

banks Friday, extending

the easing of economic

sanctions on the former

pariah state.

The Treasury Depart-

ment said it had issued a

general license to allow in-

dividuals, companies, and

financial institutions to

conduct most financial

transactions -- such as

opening and maintaining

an account and a range of

other financial services --

with the banks.

The banks named were

Myanma Economic Bank,

Myanma Investment and

Commercial Bank, Asia

Green Development Bank,

and Ayeyarwady Bank.

"The Impossible."- Best supporting actor:

Alan Arkin for "Argo," RobertDe Niro for "Silver LiningsPlaybook," Philip SeymourHoffman for "The Master,"Tommy Lee Jones for "Lin-coln," and Christoph Waltz for"Django Unchained."

- Best supporting actress:Amy Adams for "The Master,"Sally Field for "Lincoln,"Anne Hathaway for "Les Mis-erables," Helen Hunt for "TheSessions," and Jacki Weaverfor "Silver Linings Playbook."

- Best foreign languagefilm: "Amour" (Austria),"Kon-Tiki" (Norway), "No"(Chile), "A Royal Affair"(Denmark) and "War Witch"(Canada).

- Best animated feature:"Brave," "Frankenweenie,""ParaNorman," "The Pirates!Band of Misfits" and "Wreck-It Ralph."

ments are completely fur-nished with cable TV. Theopen kitchen is very spaciousand equipped with stove top,refrigerator, toaster/oven andcoffee maker (microwaveoptional). The apartments areair-conditioned, with dailymaid service, private parkingand a mini market.

The laundry is accessibleto all guests 24 hours a day.There is a large fresh waterswimming pool, with a pooldeck and beach chairs,where you can relax anytime of the day. At the recep-tion, the friendly staff is al-ways ready to attend youwith a smile.

Quality Apartments is sit-uated at the Schotlandstraat70 in Oranjestad. For reser-

vations or information

readers may call at tel:

(297)-582-0697 or (297)-

583-7484, Fax: (297)-583-

5203. Office hours areMonday thru Friday: 8 a.m.to 7 p.m., on Saturday andSunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

E-mail: [email protected], Website: http://arubaqua lityapartments.com

Aruba is one of the mostbeautiful islands in theCaribbean, having longstretches of sugar whitebeaches, where you can takelong peaceful walks or divein the cleanest of watersfound in the world.

And Quality Apartmentsis situated within walkingdistance from these beaches.Wow!!!

The apartments are con-veniently located less thanone mile from Aruba’s mostbeautiful beaches, likeManchebo Beach and EagleBeach; near to the hotels andfantastic restaurants.

Quality Apartments isalso located only 1 mile fromAruba’s greatest casinos,four large supermarkets,bank, car rentals, motorcyclerentals, excellent nightclubsand bowling club.

It has 43 comfortable stu-dio-apartments (max. 3 per-sons) and 17 luxuriousapartments (max. 4 persons)with a loft.

These fabulous loft apart-ments are more spacious,with the sleeping area up-stairs on the loft. All apart-

Enjoy and relax atQuality ApartmentsWhere service is with a smile


ken Cameras.""Two Israeli films are

among the five nominated forbest documentary for theAcademy Awards," Israel'sembassy in the United Statessaid on its Twitter feed imme-diately after the nominationswere announced.

It was a narrative quicklyechoed by some of the Israelipress.

For Burnat, it was a "cun-ning attempt" to damage thefilm.

"The Israeli press tried todescribe the film as Israeliwhich was strange to me be-cause it is about me, my fam-ily and my village," he toldAFP. "It cannot be an Israelimovie because it is about anattempt to erase Palestine."

The film, which also re-ceived French funding, tracksthe life of Burnat and his fam-ily since the birth of their sonJibril in 2005, the same yearIsrael began building itssprawling separation barrieron lands owned by the village.

The title comes from thefive cameras that were brokenas Burnat captured the vil-lagers' plight on film over theyears.

HOLLYWOOD (AFP) - Hereis a list of the nominees in themain categories for this year'sOscars.The winners will beannounced at the 85th Acad-emy Awards show Sunday, inthe Dolby Theatre in Holly-wood.

- Best picture: "Amour,""Argo," "Beasts of the South-ern Wild," "Django Un-chained," "Les Miserables,""Life of Pi," "Lincoln," "Silver

Linings Playbook," "ZeroDark Thirty."

- Best director: MichaelHaneke for "Amour," BenhZeitlin for "Beasts of theSouthern Wild," Ang Lee for"Life of Pi," Steven Spielbergfor "Lincoln," and David O.Russell for "Silver LiningsPlaybook."

- Best leading actor:Bradley Cooper for "SilverLinings Playbook," Daniel

Day-Lewis for "Lincoln,"Hugh Jackman for "Les Mis-erables," Joaquin Phoenix for"The Master," and DenzelWashington for "Flight."

- Best leading actress: Jes-sica Chastain for "Zero DarkThirty," Jennifer Lawrence for"Silver Linings Playbook,"Emmanuelle Riva for"Amour," Quvenzhane Wallisfor "Beasts of the SouthernWild," and Naomi Watts for

Nominees in main Oscars categories

JERUSALEM (AFP) - "FiveBroken Cameras" the Oscar-nominated documentary aboutPalestinian popular resistancein the occupied West Bank,has found itself at the centre ofan unusual debate -- over itsidentity.

Co-directed by PalestinianEmad Burnat and Israeli GuyDavidi, the film documents thestory of Bil'in village and thestruggle of its residents to pro-tect their land from Jewish set-tlers and Israel's giantseparation barrier.

But while the story is Pales-tinian throughout, the film wasmade with funding from the

Jewish state.The story follows the vil-

lagers' weekly demonstrationsagainst the seizure of theirland through the eyes of Bur-nat's family.

When the Oscar nomina-tions were announced in Jan-uary, two local films got thenod, which some immediatelypounced upon as a runawayIsraeli success.

One was "The Gatekeep-ers," which offers a glimpseinto the secret world of Israel'sShin Bet domestic securityagency through the eyes of sixof its former chiefs.

The other was "Five Bro-

Oscar-nominee 'Five Broken Cameras'sparks identity debate

War Witch


local. They are open from11:00 AM to 11:00 PM,daily, offering indoor andoutdoor dining. Aside froman extensive menu they alsohave daily specials made fromwhatever is in season andMama Luisa is in the mood toprepare, so don’t forget to askabout what isn’t on the menu!

cluding a choice of 2 sidedishes; all quite yummy andbargain-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 totry the real deal in Arubanfood, without a doubt, this isthe way to truly eat like a

all incased in a thick skin ofmelted Gouda. It was verysatisfying and particularlymemorable paired with TheQueen’s garlic bread andvery special Pica, a mix ofchopped onions and the fa-mous local hot pepper,Madame Janette. Not overlyspicy, it lends that perfect bitof tang to this deliciously pic-turesque meal.

One of the distinctions ofAruban cuisine is incorporat-ing unique indigenous ingre-dients such as in WildCucumber Stew and a partic-ular light fish chowder ac-companied by the localspecialties pan bati (cornmeal pancake) and funchi(the local version of polenta.)

Seafood main courses ofCatch of the Day ArubanStyle to shrimp and a mixedseafood platter with shrimp,fish, squid, scallops and mus-sels. Meat dishes such asBBQ Chicken and Ribs orGrilled Tenderloin, each in-

Varella’s mom, Luisa, is stillin the kitchen, conjuring upthe delicious dishes that havebeen in her family for gener-ations, acknowledged on themenu with items such as“Carni Stoba di Mamachi”-“Grandma’s Beef Stew,” andtheir Arawak Steak, alongwith local delicacies likeKeshi Yena -“Full Cheese.”This is a tasty, filling stew ofchicken, with other ingredi-ents that are handy that day,

An elegant décor with abreezy terrace overlookingPalm Beach welcomes gueststo Varella Innocencia’s verypopular restaurant showcas-ing authentic local cuisine:

The Queen’s.They may have moved

from Oranjestad to hippernew digs in Palm BeachPlaza, but the food and pricesare strictly native, which iswhat first won this charmingeatery their loyal clientele.

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

Varella, Luisa and the next generation of chef

Keshi Yena with plaintains, vegetables and pica

They pay particular attentionto their Women’s Departmentspecializing in over-sizedgarments, stocking largersizes exhibiting distinctivedash and style.

For travelers who haveperhaps lost their luggage,they can offer a quick fix forall the family which won’tbreak your budget, includingsome very stylish new suit-cases.

A visit to La Linda and pe-rusal of their interesting col-lection will make anyoneunderstand why it has re-mained successful all thesedecades, and is still Aruba’sfavorite place to shop!

renovate and enlarge whathad been only the men’s storeand warehouse in the past.Normally closed for a 2hour lunch/siesta in the oldisland way, shoppers willsoon find it open daily forthe entire day, from 9:30AM to 6:30 PM, as they areon Saturday’s, with abright, charming eatery in-stalled on the top floor.

La Linda is continuallyexpanding their inventory,with their acquisitions depart-ment continually seeking outinteresting, unique, and mo -derately priced goods fromall over the world, alwayswith an eye towards quality.

particularly known for itshuge fabrics and notions de-partment, the first destinationfor many on an island wheremaking your own clothes isstill an everyday practice.Without question, the storeoffers the greatest diversity ofselection in nearly every de-partment, and they have nowconsolidated them all intoone store; four floors contain-ing a wealth of choices inclothing for men, women andchildren, house wares, bed-ding, sporting goods, lug-gage, shoes, jewelry, deco -rative items and more.

“The present store is awork in progress,” assertsJaIme, as they continue to

started with Calman Hoch -man, a Jewish Polish immi-grant who opened his firstsmall shop with his Arubanwife Anna, carrying “a littlebit of everything that anyonecould need.” This was be-fore WWII, when the pres-ent head of the company,Jaime, hadn’t even beenborn yet. Many of their saleshelp have also been with thestore for over two decades,and “it is very much likefamily here,” he admits.Their loyal patrons also lookforward to being helped byshop girls who have become

friends, knowing they willget great and honest service.

To this day, La Linda is

Though Aruba has its shareof designer brand stores andshopping malls, ask almostany islander where theyshop, and they will likely tellyou “La Linda.” Spread outover several specialty storeson the Caya Betico Croes, LaLinda was Aruba’s first andforemost department stores,where, for decades, onecould find anything andeverything, and after morethan 70 years, still can makethat claim.

It is also a distinctly fa -mily operation, with the per-sonal touch and supervisionof the Hochmans, who taketheir reputation for stocking“the best quality for the bestprice” very seriously. It all

La Linda Department Store- where Aruba shops!

Calman and Anna Hochman

Unique, quality goods in all departments

Comfortable lounges for companions while shopping

a vast selection

Postal at that time.The studies claimed that for

$32.276 million spent by USPostal from 2001-2004, therewas $103.636 million in pub-licity benefits with never lessthan a 300 percent return in in-vestment in any year of thesponsorship.

There was no study to showany potential fallout in nega-tive publicity from being at-tached to Armstrong'snow-tainted era in the wake ofhis confession to being a dopecheat in a television interviewwith Oprah Winfrey lastmonth.

Links to the greatest dopingscandal in cycling historycould have provided damagingpublicity and a more-recentnegative payback for USPostal, already forced to stopSaturday delivery later thisyear because of financial woes.

FCB Sports Marketing'sevaluation of US Postal's 2001benefits said that $6.138 mil-lion in sponsorship investmentbrought US Postal $18.539million in exposure and globalpublicity could boost the valueas high as $40 million.

The studies used equivalentcosts of advertising time on tel-evision coverage of the Tour orprint advertising in newspapersor on websites where mentionsof US Postal or photos with itslogo were shown.

without that title."Bundrage, who boasts a

record of 32-4 with 19knockouts and still has plentyof punching power at the ageof 39, is equally determinednot to disappoint his home-town fans as he fights in De-troit for the first time since2005.

DETROIT (AFP) - IsheSmith heads into hostile ter-ritory on Saturday when hechallenges Cornelius Bun-drage for the InternationalBoxing Federation light mid-dleweight belt in the cham-pion's hometown.

But Smith, promoted byunbeaten welterweight FloydMayweather, says fight fansin Detroit won't be able tohelp Bundrage when theystep between the ropes.

"This isn't football. Thisisn't basketball. You can't yellat the quarterback so he can'thave his cadence. You can'twave stuff in the crowd soyou can't shoot free throws,"Smith said. "You've got to getin there and you've got tofight, and I've got to fight.

"It's two warriors going atit. And one thing about it --he's going to get touched."

Smith has vowed to be-come the first fighter fromthe boxing haven of LasVegas to win a world title.

After battling through per-sonal and professional tra-vails that once had himcontemplating suicide, Smith(24-5, 11 knockouts) said thisweek that if he didn't walkout of Detroit with the crown,he'd rather not walk out.

"I'd rather go out on myback," he said, "than go home

Boxing: Bundragehopes for hometownedge in title defence


Sport

WASHINGTON (AFP) -Lance Armstrong's legal teamreleased studies on Friday con-ducted by the US Postal Serv-ice saying the US governmentsponsorship of his Tour deFrance team produced a triplereturn on investment.

The documents were madepublic as the US governmentjoined a lawsuit that claimsArmstrong -- who admitted todoping after being stripped ofseven Tour de France cyclingtitles -- defrauded former spon-sor US Postal Service.

The lawsuit had been filedby Floyd Landis -- a formerArmstrong teammate who wasstripped of the 2006 Tour deFrance crown for doping towhich he admitted -- allegingArmstrong defrauded US tax-payers by claiming he waswinning Tour de France titleswithout taking performance-enhancing substances.

Armstrong attorney RobertLuskin said in a statement thattalks with federal lawyers col-lapsed over how to measuredamages, with Armstrong'sside saying the Postal Servicereaped huge benefits from itscycling sponsor deal.

To support the claim, Arm-strong's camp released spon-sorship evaluations from 2001,2002 and 2004 that attemptedto place a monetary value onthe exposure benefits to US

Cycling: Armstrongcites US Postal success in legal fight

PREDAZZO (AFP) - Japan-ese favourite Sara Takanashi,the World Cup champion, hadto settle for the silver medal inthe women's ski jumping finalat the Nordic world champi-onships on Friday.

The 16-year-old scored 251points but was beaten into sec-ond spot by American rivalSarah Hendrickson who wongold with 253.7 points.

Austria's JacquelineSeifriedsberger claimed thebronze on 237.2 points.

"Sarah is my favoritejumper. I admire her jumps, Ilook at the way she jumps dur-ing the competition and theywere remarkable," saidTakanashi.

"The World Cup and WorldChampionships are a differentcompetition, all I can do is domy best, I came here to

Predazzo to do my best and Idid."

Hendrickson praised herJapanese rival who had domi-nated the World Cup seasonand put her success on Fridaydown to familiarity with theconditions in Italy.

"I had two wins here lastyear (in the World Cup), Ibroke the hill record twice, ithelps me a lot," said the Amer-ican.

Ski jumping:Takanashi secondat Nordic worlds

BOGOTA (AFP) : Argentine tennis player Paula Or-

maechea celebrates after defeating Maria Torro of Spain

during their WTA Bogota Open match, in the Colombian

capital - Paula Ormaechea (ARG) beat Maria Teresa Torro

(ESP) 6-1, 7-5. Other games (Quarter-final) Jelena

Jankovic (SRB x1) bt Alexandra Cadantu (ROM) 6-2, 6-1.

Karin Knapp (ITA) bt Lara Arruabarrena (ESP) 6-3, 6-3.

Teliana Pereira (BRA) bt Mandy Minella (LUX) 6-1, 6-2


Tom Thibodeau sat All-StarsJoakim Noah and Luol Deng.

France's Noah finished with11 points, eight rebounds andeight assists while Britain'sDeng scored six points on 3-of-12 shooting.

The Daytona 500 schedule for2013 brings NASCAR racingback to fans of the sport thiscoming Sunday, Feb. 24. Thetelevised race will feature his-tory with the first-ever femalerace car driver, Danica Patrick,having already won pole posi-tion in the Daytona 500 start-ing lineup.

The Daytona 500 live racestart time is scheduled for 1p.m. EST on Sunday. Fortythree drivers from NASCAR'sSprint Cup make up the start-ing grid with Patrick the polewinner. Meanwhile, Jeff Gor-don of Hendrick Motorsportsis the outside pole winner. Areport on Feb. 21 fromESPN.com indicates that KyleBusch and Kevin Harvick wonthe Daytona Duels to securestrong positions in the startinggrid. Busch said of the upcom-ing race's increased number ofcars on the track at DaytonaInternational Speedway:

Rounding at the first five onthe grid will be Greg Biffle.Kasey Kahne, driving forChevroley will be at the #6spot, with Juan Pablo Montoyaat #7, Auston Dillon at #8,Jimmie Johnson at #9 andClint Bowyer at #10. As far asrace car drivers with local ties,

Roanoke NASCAR fans willnotice that Jeff Burton ofSouth Boston, VA is at #18,while Denny Hamlin, wholived in Chesterfield, VA, isdown at #35 in the startinggrid.

In terms of favorites to win,odds currently favor MattKenseth, Tony Stewart andJimmie Johnson to win theDayton 500 in 2013. DanicaPatrick has odds of 30 to 1, asdoes Burton, while Hamlin has12 to 1 odds to become 2013Daytona 500 winner.

The Daytona 500 start timefor 2013 is 1 p.m. EST on Sun-day, Feb. 24. Fans will be ableto follow along with the leaderboards on ESPN.com andNASCAR.com during therace, but there is no livestreaming online feed avail-able to watch the race.

Daytona 500s have beenrunning since 1959. They havebeen won by Richard Pettyand his dad, by Dale Earn-hardt, Jr. and his dad, byDavey Allison and his dad, bythe brothers Waltrip, by a 50-year-old, by a 20-year-old andby a whole lot of fine gentsdown South.

Just ain't never been won byno woman.

Daytona 500schedule 2013

CHICAGO (AFP) - LeBronJames scored 26 points andnotched 12 rebounds Thursdayto lead the Miami Heat to anemphatic 86-67 NBA victoryover the Chicago Bulls thatstretched their winning streakto nine games.

James's seven assists lefthim three shy of a triple-dou-ble, and Dwyane Wade added17 points for a Heat team thatshot 51 percent from the fieldagainst one of the league's topdefenses.

Miami held Chicago to theirlowest points total this season.

The Bulls were again with-out point guard Kirk Hinrich,who had missed seven gamesbefore returning in Tuesday's

victory over theHornets.

The pain in hisright elbowflared up andsidelined himagain, leavingNate Robinson tostart.

Robinson hada team-high 14points, whileCarlos Boozeradded 12 pointsand 11 rebounds.

The Bulls' 17f i r s t - h a l fturnovers weremore than theirseason averageof 14.7 cominginto the contest.

They lost theball five times ina definitive 13-0Heat run in thesecond quarter that sawMiami take a 39-28 lead. TheHeat led by at least sevenpoints for the rest of the game.

After Wade's layup gaveMiami a 70-56 lead early inthe fourth, Bulls head coach

NBA: Heat humble Bulls tostretch win streak

LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heatdrives against Richard Hamilton #32 ofthe Chicago Bulls

Danica Patrick has made racing history, becoming thefirst woman in the history of NASCAR to win the pole forany race.


That charge, which entailsnegligence rather than murder-ous intent, could carry a sen-tence of up to 15 years inprison, or in some instancesrelease and a warning.

"We can never ever say thathe acted in self-defence,"Roux told the court "He is ex-posed to be convicted of cul-pable homicide."

"He fired four shots, notone. He meant to kill. On hisown version, he's bound to beconvicted." Chief prosecutorGerrie Nel said.

He added that Pistorius"must realise that a long termof imprisonment is almostguaranteed."

But the prosecution will beworried that its evidence wasso easily picked apart by thedefence.

Serious doubt was cast onthe work of Hilton Botha, thedetective who investigated thecrime scene.

Under oath Botha admittedhe may have contaminated thecrime scene and appeared toundermine a neighbour's ac-counts of an argument be-tween Pistorius andSteenkamp before she died.

Pistorius is due back incourt on June 4 for a proce-dural preliminary appearance.

If found guilty he faces apossible life sentence.

He denies the charge, say-ing that he shot 29-year-oldSteenkamp repeatedly througha locked bathroom door hav-ing mistaken her for a burglar.

Outside the court there weremixed reactions.

"In South Africa, as far asthe law is concerned, if youare rich you are always free,"said 29-year-old law studentAdolph Baloyi.

Experts said the case couldnow be fast-tracked throughthe courts.

"This is probably going toget priority and will probablytake about six months to go totrial," said Stephen Tuson, acriminal law professor at theUniversity of Witwatersrand.

Despite the victory, Pisto-rius may have a tough task toavoid jail time.

While magistrate Nairharshly criticised the policework in the case, he said ofPistorius's account of eventsthat "there are improbabilitiesthat need to be explored."

Just hours before the mag-istrate's decision, Pistorius'slawyer appeared to admit thestar sprinter could be con-victed on lesser charges ofhomicide.

corted to the holding area sob-bing uncontrollably, as hisbrother Carl hugged sisterAimee and the broader familyhuddled in prayer.

"We are relieved by the factthat Oscar got bail today, butat the same time, we are inmourning for ReevaSteenkamp and her family,"said the athlete's uncle andfamily spokesman Arnold Pis-torius.

"As a family, we knowOscar's version of what hap-pened that night, and we knowthat it is the truth that will pre-vail in the coming court case."

Pistorius will head to a rel-ative's house rather than returnto the Pretoria estate whereSteenkamp was killed.

"He doesn't want to go backto the house," said his attorneyBarry Roux.

His arrest on February 14shocked the world and grippedSouth Africa, where he is stillconsidered a national heroafter becoming the first doubleamputee to compete in theOlympics.

Pistorius spent more than aweek at a Pretoria police sta-tion charged with the premed-itated Valentine's Day killingof Steenkamp, a model andlaw graduate.

PRETORIA (AFP) - SouthAfrican Paralympic iconOscar Pistorius was freed onbail on Friday, pending a high-profile trial for killing his girl-friend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pretoria magistrateDesmond Nair ruled the"Blade Runner" was not aflight risk and did not pose adanger to society after an emo-tionally charged four-day bailhearing that transfixed SouthAfrica and the world.

"I come to the conclusionthat the accused has made acase to be released on bail,"Nair said to cries of "yes!"from Pistorius's supporters incourt.

Pistorius later left the mag-istrate's court in a silver sports

utility vehicle flanked by pho-tographers and cameramen onmotorbikes.

It was a first victory in whatis expected to be a long legalbattle with the state, which ac-cuses Pistorius of premedi-tated murder.

Bail was set at one millionrand ($112,770) and Pistoriuswill have to surrender hispassport, firearms and reportto Pretoria's Brooklyn policebetween 7:00 am and 1:00 pmon Monday and Friday.

As the two-hour ruling wasread, the 26-year-old stood inthe dock weeping and quiver-ing as his family looked on,riven with tension.

Following the magistrate'sdecision, Pistorius was es-

Pistorius freed on bail pending murder trial

saturday, february 23, 2013

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