Friday, August 31, 2012

ration of the different institu-tions, like the Aruba Invest-ment Bank, the ArubaParliament, the SupervisoryBoard, but most significantlythe dedication and understan -ding and cooperation of theemployees of Arubus. Arubanow has the kind of publictransportation of which we canbe truly proud!

With this system Arubus willbe able to control where thereare more passengers, in whichbarrios and where these pas-sengers are actually going.This data can now be tracedelectronically via computers.

The Minister, in his re-marks, emphasized that theycould have never achieved thismilestone without the coope -

Last Monday, in the presenceof Minister of Transport Otmaroduber, Parliamentarians, for-mer director Franky Kuiperi,Supervisory Boar and employ-ees, Pastor Jairo Maduro offi-cially ‘baptized’ a fleet ofbrand new busses and auto-buses for Aruba’s PublicTransport system – ARUBUS!

What is remarkable aboutthe acquisition of these bussesis that it took the governmentalmost 2 years of continuousdeliberations and hard work at-tacking a multitude of prob-lems within the Arubuscompany before arriving at thismilestone. One major accom-plishment in the entire packageis that in the final analysis theywere able to safeguard the jobsof all employees….no em-ployee lost their job! Nor wasit necessary to reduce or adjustthe public transportation tar-iffs!

The Minister was demon-stratively pleased and gratefulfor the confidence and patiencedemonstrated by the largenumber of employees. He ex-pressed pleasure in presentingto the Aruban community anew Arubus N.V. financiallysolid and ready for successfuloperation into the future.Arubus is now well able tostand on its own and guaranteethe jobs of its employees.

For the first time in history,Arubus will operate with afleet of 60 busses and auto-buses. And will serve areaspreviously neglected by publictransportation. Areas likeBushiri, Seroe Patrishi andJaburibari will now have regu-lar bus transportation. All thenew busses are very modernand completely air conditionedThe new busses are equippedwith an innovative system, theSmartcard”. In the past, bususer would purchase bus tick-ets, but now they will use themodern system of the ‘Smart-card’ which is similar to acredit card. This card will berechargeable for as much asthe user desires and at differentlocations across the island.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Aruba Public Transport gets total

makeover!

the moment youchange your debilitat-ing habit, the rest ofyour family will bepositively affected byyour change.

Let me share fivebad fa mily habits thatwe need to identifyand, by all means,work hard at chang-ing. If we succeed inchanging these bad

habits, we may just turn-around our family from head-ing down the road ofdestruction or dismay. Hereare five bad habits our fami-lies need to get rid of:

1. Complaining:You’d be surprised to

learn that many people com-plain simply for the sake ofcomplaining. They do noth-ing to change the thingsthey’re complaining about,they just complain. Com-plaining is contagious andcan ruin relation - ships. Stopcomplaining and becomeproactive and change whatisn’t working in the family.Do the change graciously andtactfully and bring out thebest in your children andspouse.

Continued on page 5

Each family has their issues;each family has their weak-nesses and obviouslystrengths. Often, we see thestrengths but miss the weak-nesses.

Every family’s habits aredifferent from others. Yourfamily’s habits are a mix ofyour individual habits. And,if you didn’t know, familyhabits are the reason somefamilies are more successfuland get along better thanother families - and are hap-pier than others. Habits areonly good if they help youfunction well from day today, if they enhance yourlife. For example, one of myhabits every day is to readmy Bible, I know that that iswhat helps me function welland it enhances my lifegreatly. Your habits shouldenhance your life. In thesame way your family habitsare only good if they pro-mote family health and hap-piness!

What you need to do(today) is to identify thosehabits that are holding youback from functioning suc-cessfully and from makingyou happy. Once identified,you need to change them.The great thing about this is,

It has been said by somany in recent timesthat...the family is introuble! And, any sim-ple observer will agreethat the fa mily is introuble. The signs oftrouble are evidenteverywhere! As a mat-ter of fact, because ofthe work I do as a psy-chologist, I can tellyou for a certaintyTHAT THE FAMILY IS INDEEP TROUBLE. Thereare more single mothersstruggling and juggling tokeep what’s left of their fam-ily together and surviving,than in any previous time inhistory! There are more menneglecting their sacred re-sponsibility to provide fortheir family than in any pre-vious time in history. Moremen are spending more timeoutside the home today thanin any other time in recordedhistory! More children aredisobeying parents and goingtheir own wayward way thanever before. These and otherissues are what are eatingaway at the foundation uponwhich the family is built.Many years ago, these thingsI just listed were what weread about in the newspaperor saw on family shows ontelevision, but not experi-enced here in our own land.But, not so anymore, they arejust as common here today asthey are on television andanywhere else.

In this article today I wantto address a few very simplethings we can do as individu-als who are part of families tohelp change the direction ofour own personal family.

Six Bad Family Habits You Need to

Change - Part I

tivity on the island within mi -nutes of their occurrences, ac-cording to Rafini. Your workkeeps you on the road con-stantly, and we thank you foryour dedication, said Rafini topress members.

Rafini indicated that theRBC Bank is proud to onceagain sponsor this event. Theprevious years were very suc-cessful and it is expected thatthis 5th edition will be evenmore successful. This way,RBC is contributing to the de-velopment of the press onAruba and is giving due honorto our local press corps

Continued on page 6

On Wednesday morning dur-ing a press meeting, Area VicePresident Business Bankingfor RBC Royal Bank (Aruba)N.V., Pierre Rafini, in the pres-ence of Leo Vrolijk and SigridHammelburg (Amigoe Direc-tor), announced the bank's sup-port of this 5th exposition ofthe "E Lens di Mi Wowonan."

The exposition is being or-ganized to coincide with thecelebration of InternationalPress Day on September 1st.

Rafini began by celebratingthe press for their day of recog-nition and for the excellentwork they do for the commu-nity. We are happy to havenews media covering every ac-

2 Friday, August 31, 2012

For info call: 5875010 Email:

[email protected]:

www.laquintaaruba.net

Time Share

for SALE

RBC Royal Bank sponsors

"The Lens of My Eyes"

press exposition

official deficit reduction tar-gets would undermine debtsustainability and lead to anegative rating action. A per-manent shutdown of the re-finery and failure to maintainsupport from the Netherlandscould also put downwardpressure on the ratings. Con-versely, a favorable growthtrajectory and sustained re-ductions in the governmentdebt burden would be posi-tive for Aruba's creditworthi-ness.

(Caryn Trokie, New YorkRatings Unit)

stipulated in the official budg-eting framework. The govern-ment is also discussingrevenue-enhancing measuresthat could further support fis-cal consolidation efforts.

General government debthas increased from 32% ofGDP in 2008 to an expected51% in 2012, which is higherthan the 40% median of the'BBB' category. This is erod-ing the authorities' fiscalspace to respond to economicshocks. The debt burdencould potentially stabilize at50% of GDP by 2013 pro-vided economic growth re-sumes and the fiscal forecastsmaterialize. Fitch notes thatAruba's access to interna-tional capital markets and do-mestic funding at fixed ratesand long-term maturities pro-vide financing flexibility.Moreover, the Aruban author-ities are exploring potentialsupport from the Netherlandsto refinance large external re-payments coming due in 2013and 2014, potentially mitigat-ing future rollover risks andreducing the interest serviceburden.

Persistent economicgrowth underperformance ormaterial deviations from the

completion of the commer-cial transaction represents thechief downside risk to eco-nomic growth, fiscal and ex-ternal accounts as well as theinternational reserves posi-tion.

The longer the suspensionof refining operations, thestronger would be its reces-sionary impact on produc-tion, oil exports, investment,employment and businessconfidence. However, unlikeduring the last refinery shut-down in 2009 - 2010, thegrowth of the hospitality in-dustry and the implementa-tion of a multi-yearinfrastructure stimulus pro-gram of about 37% of GDPwould cushion theimpact ondomestic demand.

The government's fiscalconsolidation strategy has re-lied on expenditure restraintand cost-saving entitlementsreforms. The authorities alsoplan to boost tax receiptsthrough the revaluation ofreal estate properties, the col-lection of tax arrears and in-creased excise levies. Fitchexpects the fiscal deficit tofall to 6.9% of GDP in 2012and converge to the 3% targetby 2015, two years later than

as it is part of the Kingdom ofthe Netherlands. Addition-ally, a conservative bankingsystem, adequate interna-tional reserves coverage andthe lack of a sustained realexchange rate appreciationcontinue to underpin the sus-tainability of the exchangerate peg.

These strengths are coun-terbalanced by Aruba's weakfiscal solvency ratios andmodest medium-term growthpotential. In addition, Fitchhas long flagged the narrowbase of the economy as a keysource of vulnerability andthis has been exposed withthe recurrent suspensions ofoperations at the Valero refin-ery. The resulting volatility inGDP growth has been incor-porated in Aruba's 'BBB' rat-ing.

The Aruban economy ex-panded by 8.9% in 2011 butcould contract by 2% in 2012due to the temporary shut-down of the Valero refinery.The government is in ad-vanced discussions to facili-tate the sale of Valero toPetroChina. While the au-thorities expect the refineryto restart in October 2012,uncertainty surrounding the

Aug 29 - Fitch Ratings af-firms Aruba's ratings asfollows:

--Long-term foreign andlocal currency IDR at 'BBB';

--Short-term local cur-rency IDR at 'F3';

--Country Ceiling at 'A-'.

The Rating Outlook is Sta-ble.

The rating affirmation andStable Outlook are supportedby Fitch's expectation thateconomic growth should re-sume and fiscal consolidationwill proceed over the nexttwo years supported by theexpected reopening of the oilrefinery, the positive per - for-mance of the tourism sector,the implementation of an am-bitious stimulus program, andthe adoption of additionalrevenue-enhancing and cost-containment measures.

Aruba's ratings are under-pinned by a high per capitaincome, strong political insti-tutions, social stability, a longtrack record of macroeco-nomic stability and demon-strated capacity to rein infiscal imbalances. Aruba alsobenefits from broad supportfrom the Dutch government

Friday, August 31, 2012 3

The following statement was released by the rating agency

Afls.1.000; 7th and 8thprizes – Afls.1.000each; 9th prize –Afls.500; 10th prize –Afls.500.

cals visiting the Casino onFriday.

The two, reportedly, mostpopular casinos on Arubagave out 25.000 Arubanflorins in cash prizes. Thelucky winners of these prizeswere: Sandra Tromp –Afls.500; Jesus Chuello –Afls.500; Margarita Boek -houdt – Afls.1.000; IvesMathilda – Afls.1.000; Fran-cisca Dirksz – Afls.1.000;Norma Heward – Afls.3.000;Maria Mireles – Afls.5.000.And the big prize ofAfls.10.000 went to EmilyKock!

The next prize game willtake place on Saturday, Sep-tember 29th at the CrystalCasino. Clients must be pre -sent to win their prize whentheir name is retrieved fromthe tumbler. Participation issimple. Every visitor to thecasino will receive a raffleticket for every 25 points ac-cumulated. Members holding“The Card” will not lose anysaved points. Race and SportsBook table players may alsoparticipate to win.

During each game assort-ment there will be 10 winnerswho can win the followingprizes: 1st prize –Afls.10.000; 2nd prize –Afls.5.000; 3rd prize –Afls.3.000; 4th prize –Afls.2.000; 5th prize –

port Casino. TirzaneWilliams, Casino MarketingCoordinator was pleased withthe crowd of visitors and lo-

Seaport Casino’s SummerCash Campaign announcedtheir 3rd grand-prize luckywinner on Friday in the Sea-


Emily Kock new lucky 10.000 Aruban florin winner

struct the Minister to submita public tender or any othertype of tender. He also con-cluded that they had suffi-cient time to submit an offerwith a suitable option thatcould have replaced the trail-ers they were renting to thegovernment of Aruba at thedifferent schools, which theydid not do. Hence, they losttheir court case against thegovernment.

the govern-ment.

The plain-tiffs' plightthat they hadnot beengiven suffi-cient informa-tion to be ableto make anoffer to thegovernment,the Judge ex-plained thaton January 24th, 2012, theyhad received a list of the re-quirements and though thisdid not include all the details,they could have used their ex-pertise to provide more con-tent to an offer. This was alsoindicated in a letter from BKConsult NV which was pre-sented in court, according tothe conclusion of the Judge.

According to the Judge,the plaintiffs could not in-

ORANJESTAD -- This pastweek the local court an-nounced the decision of thecourt case that the companiesthat rented trailers for the useof class rooms on school pre -mises entered against thegovernment of Aruba and theMinister of Education.

In the court case the Judgethrew out the plaintiff's de-mands and sentenced them topay all court fees for the courtproceedings.

With respect to the de-mands of the five companies,the court magistrate con-cluded that they had no basisfor the demand that the gov-ernment pay for damages, nordid the government had anyobligation to accept offersfrom them and in so doingthe government did not act inbad faith against them. Intheir case there was no evi-dence of poor governance by

become expensive thesedays! Besides, finding theright person for those jobs isnot easy anymore. As a re-sult, many homes are in totalchaos. And, believe me, it hasbeen proven that the moredisorder there is in a homethe less safe and comfortingit will feel for you and yourchildren. Make a decisiontoday to take the time to cleanup the place and get rid of theclutter. Decide to do this onceevery week. Be smart and geteverybody in the family in-volved in the clean upprocess. By all means do notdo it all by your self...make ita family activity! The firsttime you do it, will be thehardest, after that it will beonly upkeep and everybodywill appreciate you and homeso much more!

Well, this is as far as I cango today. Next edition I willgive you the other three badhabits you need to change inorder to have a healthy,happy family!

If this was helpful, please letme know at: [email protected]

2. Crowded Schedules:Today’s families are in-

volved in much too much!Children and parent(s) havelittle time for each other.Sounds like yourfamily...eh?! There is that ballgame, that judo or karatepractice, that music lesson,that school project at Jackie’shouse, that meeting, that chil-dren’s party, that funeral, andthat........well, the list goeson! What we need to do is togo over the list of activitiesand prioritize the list and seewhat we can honestly and re-alistically drop...drop one ac-tivity per week. Decidewhere your family falls onthe scale of importance. Laterdown the years your childrenwill look back and be gratefulfor the times you spent as afamily. You will also be moreinvolved in the growth andleadership process of theirlives!

3. Chaos in the House:Families that are con-

stantly on the go, have littleor no time for cleaning. Get-ting someone to come and doyour cleaning for you have

Six Bad Family Habits...Continued from page 2


Trailer companies lose court case

against Government of Aruba

ment."This settlement will pro-

vide restitution to those cus-tomers who were harmed bythis price-fixing scheme, but italso will restore competition inthe ebook market for con-sumers' long-term benefit."

The settlement was an-nounced along with news thata civil antitrust lawsuit hasbeen filed in US district courtin New York state against thetrio of publishers and others inthe business.

The settlement and thefreshly-filed suit stem from atwo-year antitrust investigationby the US Department of Jus-tice and attorneys general inConnecticut and Texas, ac-cording to Jepsen.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -US prosecutors announcedyesterday that the top three USpublishing houses have inkeda $69 million deal to close thebook on charges that theyschemed to fix prices of digitaltitles.

Hachette Book Group,HarperCollins Publishers andSimon & Schuster Inc. haveagreed to compensate ebookbuyers to resolve antitrustclaims, according to a jointstatement by 55 attorneys gen-eral.

"While publishers are enti-tled to their profits, consumersare equally entitled to a fairand open marketplace," Con-necticut Attorney GeneralGeorge Jepsen said in a state-

In Slidell, a town to thenorth of Lake Pontchartrainwhere hundreds of homes andbusinesses are submerged,about 100 people were rescuedwith high-water trucks andboats after rain swelled the sur-rounding bayou. Dozens moreremained trapped in theirhomes as waist-high flood wa-ters made roads impassable."We weren't expecting it," po-lice chief Randy Smith said.

Packing maximum sus-tained winds of 40 miles (65kilometers per hour), the stormcould dump up to 14 inches(35 centimeters) of rain overmuch of Louisiana, Missis-sippi, southwest Alabama andArkansas through today. Andsome areas could see levels ofup to 25 inches (64 centime-ters), the National HurricaneCenter said.

Isaac may wind up causingas much as $2.5 billion in da -mage in and around Louisianaand in the offshore oil sector inthe Gulf of Mexico, accordingto early estimates from naturaldisaster modeler Eqecat.

Meanwhile, the MississippiRiver flowed backwards fornearly 24 hours due to pressurefrom Isaac, the US GeologicalSurvey said. The waterwaysimilarly went into reversegear during Katrina, cresting at13 feet (nearly four meters)about its previous level.

More than 760,000 peoplemade do without electricity inLouisiana, Mississippi, Arkan -sas and Texas, local powercompany Entergy said as theweather system snapped utilitypoles and downed transmis-sion lines. Across Louisiana,more than 4,000 people werecrammed into shelters.

Dozens of nursing homeresidents, many in wheel-chairs, were among thosetaken to higher ground by theNational Guard in high-watertrucks.

graded from a hurricane to atropical storm Wednesday.

Forecasters said Isaac was165 miles (270 kilometers)northwest of New Orleans,where officials on Wednesdayordered the evacuation ofsome 3,000 people in coastalPlaquemines Parish, the areahardest hit by the storm.

The storm has revivedmemories of Hurricane Kat-rina, which devastated the re-gion exactly seven years ago,flooding New Orleans andkilling at least 1,800 people inthe broader Gulf Coast area.

But this time around, newmulti-billion-dollar post-Kat-rina flood defenses appeared tobe holding but authorities stillurged residents to stay indoorsand three regional airports re-mained closed.

NEW ORLEANS (AFP) - Au-thorities in two states along theUS Gulf Coast yesterday urgedresidents to seek shelter amidfears a dam could fail as Trop-ical Storm Isaac doused an al-ready drenched region.

Local officials in Mississippicalled for precautionary evacu-ations of the area near LakeTangipahoa after the Percy QuinDam showed signs of heavydamage due to the storm, astatement said. In Loui siana,Tangipahoa Parish PresidentGordon Burgess called for amandatory evacuation along theTangipahoa River.

Word of a possible breachcame as forecasters warned oflife-threatening floods, torna-does and storm surges due tothe slow-moving and ferociousmix of wind and rain, down-


International news

rated yesterday, August 30thin the Cas Di Cultura.

Following the inaugurationon Thursday 30th, the exposi-tion will be open to the publicas of September 3rd through tothe 7th everyday from 8:00amto 5:00pm in the Cas Di Cul-tura. Entrance is free of charge.For reservations and/or specialguidance as individuals or forgroups and or schools, call566-4070.

We salute our press mem-bers on their special day andinvite the general public tovisit the interesting Lens of MyEyes exposition as of Septem-ber 3rd at the Cas Di Cultura!

Leo Vrolijk, the brainchild be-hind this project which hebegan 5 years ago, was ex-tremely grateful for the contin-ued support of the RBC RoyalBank. This year about 25 pho-tographers are participatingwith material for this exposi-tion. This year's exposition willbe dedicated to three stalwartsof the world of local journal-ism, namely, Olivio de Cuba,Stanley Illidge and ChemmyKock. Mrs. Hammelburg alsoindicated that Amigoe will beparticipating in the expositionin conjunction with their 50thanniversary.

The exposition was inaugu-

"The Lens of My Eyes"...Continued from page 2

Tropical Storm Isaac threatens dam

COLOMBIA, Medellín : A box with remembrances of adissapeared person is seen during the commemorationon the International Day of the Disappeared in Medellin,Antioquia department, Colombia on August 30, 2012. Toremember their loved ones, relatives built what theycalled "time capsules" where they put pictures and let-ters of their dissapeared relatives. (AFP PHOTO)

Publishers ink $69 mn dealin ebook price-fixing case

thing," he said.They had no intention ei-

ther of stopping the killingsand atrocities on the ground orof meeting the calls for reform,he added.

Baaj said he first made con-tact with members of the oppo-sition in the autumn of 2011.He had been part of the SyrianDemocratic Platform, an oppo-sition group, from the begin-ning, he said.

He acknowledged thatSyria's future depended onother countries and expressedhope that a vote on the issue atthe next session of the UNHuman Rights Council in Sep-tember would produce a con-sensus.

He refused to back unila -teral international interventionin the conflict however, butsaid that if the Security Coun-cil agreed on action, thatwould be a different matter.

saying he needed to ensure thesafety of the people involved.

He said it was thanks tosympathetic officials that hisparents had been able to leaveSyria, he said: the officialsturned a bling eye even thoughthe authorities were searchingfor them.

Once his family was safe,he added, he felt free to speakout publicly. The Swiss autho -rities have granted him and hisfamily a permit to stay in thecounty.

Baaj, who defected earlierthis month, said that when hearrived at the Syrian diplo-matic mission to the UN inGeneva in August 2010, he be-lieved in Assad and the gov-ernment reforms that he hadpromised.

It was not long however,before his views changed.

"It was clear to me thatthere was no serious intentionby the government to do any-

GENEVA (AFP) - DissidentSyrian diplomats and civil ser-vants are covertly workingfrom the inside to help opposi-tion forces, a diplomat who re-cently defected from theregime told UN rights officialsyesterday.

Danny Al-Baaj, who wentpublic with his opposition tothe regime on August 10, toldthe UN Human Rights Councilin Geneva that he had beenpart of a group of diplomatsworking against the regimefrom the inside.

They had set up a networkof contacts supporting the op-position, "regardless of wherethey stand", he said.

And while only seven Syriadiplomats had publicly de-fected so far, other officials --diplomats and civil servants --were covertly supporting theopposition in different ways,he said.

He gave few further details,

vited the IAEA to send inspec-tors to help implement the deal-- a significant rapprochementgiven it expelled agency in-spectors in 2009 and has sincerefused to cooperate with theagency.

But after a much-vauntedmissile launch by Pyongyangon April 13, Washington sus-pended the deal, even thoughthe launch failed.

Talks between the IAEAand North Korea have thus re-mained on hold.

Nevertheless, yesterday'sreport from the agency calledon North Korea to renew itscooperation with them.

"The Agency will continueto maintain its readiness toplay an essential role in verify-ing North Korea's nuclear pro-gram," it added.

The North has staged twonuclear tests, in 2006 and2009. In November 2010, itunveiled its uranium enrich-ment factor. Until now, it hasused plutonium in its nucleardevices.

VIENNA (AFP) - NorthKorea's nuclear program is amatter of "serious concern,"the UN atomic agency IAEAsaid in a report released yester-day, referring in particular totwo sites Pyongyang hasstopped it from visiting.

"The nuclear program ofNorth Korea is a matter of se-rious concern," said the reportfrom the International AtomicEnergy Agency.

North Korea's statementsabout uranium enrichment ac-tivities and the construction ofa light-water reactor "continueto be deeply troubling", the re-port added.

The country had in recentmonths made significantprogress in building this reac-tor, the report said.

In late February, the UnitedStates announced it had agreeda moratorium with NorthKorea on nuclear activities andballistic missile tests, in ex-change for a resumption offood aid to the hermetic Stalin-ist state.

In March, North Korea in-

arrests of bankers."That's still on the table.

That's been talked about a lot.They've been planning somecitizen's arrests for some time,"she said.

"There'll be a mass of peo-ple converging on the StockExchange to deliver our mes-sage: that we're the 99 percentand we're not going to take it,"Balicki, 31, said.

Balicki said Occupy leadershad learned from past mistakesand were ready to get aroundany police crackdown.

Previous Occupy events inNew York's tightly policed fi-nancial district have drawn ahuge law enforcement re-sponse, often resulting indozens and occasionally hun-dreds of arrests for disorderlybehavior.

Organizers at the media-savvy OccupyWallSt.org sitesaid that their protests are morerelevant than ever.

September 17 "marks thebeginning of year two of Oc-cupy Wall Street and fouryears since Lehman Brothersdeclared bankruptcy, helpingcatapult our global economyinto a new phase of disrepair,"a statement said.

NEW YORK (AFP) - OccupyWall Street will mark its firstanniversary this September bytrying to blockade the NewYork Stock Exchange and per-haps carry out citizen's arrestsof bankers, organizers of thesocial protest movement saidyesterday.

Occupy has seen a steepdrop in support since its foun -ding a year ago when hundredsof people camped in ZuccottiPark near Wall Street to protestbank bailouts and what theycalled the ruling "one percent"of America's most wealthy.

However, activists promisea resurgence on the September17 anniversary, about sixweeks before Americans de-cide whether to reelect Presi-dent Barack Obama or bring inhis Republican challenger,Mitt Romney.

The highlight of severaldays of street actions will be a"people's wall" at the NYSE,Dana Balicki, a spokeswomanfor the group, told AFP.

"That will be a pretty sub-stantial act of civil disobedi-ence," she said. Protesters willstage a sit-in outside the hea -vily guarded building and thereare plans to attempt citizen's


International news

Occupy Wall Street plansto block NYSE

UN nuclear watchdoghas 'serious concern'over NKorea

Defector: Officials work covertly against

Syria regime

worth sees when her retina issubjected to various levels ofstimulation.

"The team is looking forconsistency of shapes, bright-ness, size and location offlashes to determine how thebrain interprets this informa-tion," explained Rob Shep-herd, director of the BionicsInstitute which was also in-volved in the breakthrough.

The team is working to-wards a "wide-view" 98-elec-trode device that will provideusers with the ability to per-ceive large objects such asbuildings and cars, and a"high-acuity" 1,024-electrodedevice.

Patients with the high-acuitydevice are expected to be able torecognise faces and read largeprint, and BVA said it would besuitable for people with retinitispigmentosa and age-relatedmacular degeneration.

Penington said the early re-sults from Ashworth had "ful-filled our best expectations,giving us confidence that withfurther development we canachieve useful vision".

"The next big step will bewhen we commence implantsof the full devices," he said.

fully recovered from surgeryand she said it was an incredi-ble experience.

"I didn't know what to ex-pect, but all of a sudden, Icould see a little flash -- it wasamazing," she said in a state-ment.

"Every time there wasstimulation there was a differ-ent shape that appeared infront of my eye.

Penny Allen, the surgeonwho implanted the device, de-scribed it as a "world first".

Ashworth's device only workswhen it is connected inside thelab and BVA chairman DavidPenington said it would be usedto explore how images were"built" by the brain and eye.

Feedback from the devicewill be fed into a "visionprocessor" allowing doctors todetermine exactly what Ash-

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australianscientists said Thursday theyhad successfully implanted a"world first" bionic eye proto-type, describing it as a majorbreakthrough for the visuallyimpaired.

Bionic Vision Australia(BVA), a government-fundedscience consortium, said it hadsurgically installed an "earlyprototype" robotic eye in awoman with hereditary sightloss caused by degenerativeretinitis pigmentosa.

Described as a "pre-bioniceye", the tiny device is at-tached to Dianne Ashworth'sretina and contains 24 elec-trodes which send electricalimpulses to stimulate her eye'snerve cells.

Researchers switched onthe device in their laboratorylast month after Ashworth had


Health & Living

ity rates -- the number of off-spring per woman -- decline asa country becomes more pros-perous, a phenomenon calledthe demographic transition.

The trend occurs first andmost substantially amongwealthier sections of society.

"One of our most interestingfindings is that being from aninitially wealthy householdmakes the benefits of smallfamily size even bigger," said

"Poorer households in con-trast have relatively little togain by limiting fertility, per-haps because the success oftheir children is more deter-mined by broader societal fac-tors, rather than investmentand inheritance from parents,which is in short supply."

"It's been a puzzle for evo-lutionary biologists," Good-man said. "It's not what youwould expect, because as aspecies gets more resources, ithas more offspring."

In this case, lower fertilitywas a success -- but in socio-economic terms, not in repro-ductive terms.

In the study, the first gener-ation had an average of 3.2 cil-dren; their children had 1.7offspring; the grandchildrenhad 1.8 children; and the great-grandchildren, as of 2009, hadan average of 0.7 offspring.

PARIS (AFP) - Having asmaller family is a springboardfor giving future generationsthe chance of greater prosper-ity, according to a Swedishstudy published.

Providing scientific supportto what is anecdotal evidence,it says that in an advanced in-dustrialised society, havingfewer offspring means chil-dren benefit from greaterparental investment and frominherited capital.

This translates into socio-economic success, which istransmitted over generations,the paper says.

Scientists from London andStockholm pored over a re-markable database which as-sessed 14,000 people born inSweden between 1915 and1929 and all their descendantsup to 2009.

Families that were smallerand from more prosperousbackgrounds were linked to bet-ter grades at school, a universityeducation and a higher incomeand social status, they found.

The benefits were greatestwhen the parents were also ina high socio-economic cate-gory. The advantages were en-during, because they carriedover the four generationswhich were studied.

In the modern world, fertil-

Small families boostprosperity for

descendants: study Australians implant 'world first'bionic eye

This undated Bionic Vision Australia (BVA) photo showssurgeon Dr. Penny Allen (R) performing an eye examina-tion on Dianne Ashworth.

Marie Curie named the ma-terial after her homeland ofPoland, which at the time wasunder Russian, Prussian andAustrian control and notrecognised as an independentcountry.

For their discovery of polo-nium, radium and their workon radioactivity, the Curieswon the 1903 Nobel Prize inPhysics, which they sharedwith Antoine Becquerel ofFrance.

Like many other pioneeringresearchers in the field of ra-dioactivity, Marie Curie diedin 1934 at the age 67 ofleukaemia, brought on by herhandling radioactive materials.


LA PAZ (AFP) - Authoritiesin Bolivia backpedaled yester-day after claiming that theyhad seized nearly two tons ofuranium in central La Paz,saying instead they had foundrocks with possible traces ofthe substance.

Earlier Tuesday, Deputy In-terior Minister Jorge Perezhad told reporters that nearlytwo tons of uranium had beenfound in a garage on theground floor of a building incentral La Paz, not far from

the US and Brazilian em-bassies.

Experts were to quickly ex-amine the material, which thedeputy minister said appearedto have a "high level of ra-dioactivity." Perez did not ex-plain how the discovery wasmade, or the specific nature ofthe uranium.

Perez had also said the ma-terial, found in heavy plasticbags as a result of a six-weekinvestigation, was likely des-tined for Chile.

Bolivia backpedals onuranium seizure claim

Sci-Tech

PARIS (AFP) - Polonium, thepoison suspected of beingused to kill Palestinian leaderYasser Arafat in 2004, is ahighly radioactive materialrarely found outside militaryand scientific circles.

Also known as Radium F, itis a rare but naturally occur-ring metalloid found in ura-nium ores that emits highlyhazardous alpha, or positivelycharged, particles.

Before being cited in con-nection with Arafat's death, thesubstance had been named inthe case of Alexander Litvi-nenko, a former Russian spy

and dissident who died in aLondon hospital in 2006showing symptoms of polo-nium poisoning.

Small doses of polonium210 exist in the soil and at-mosphere, and even in thehuman body, but in high dosesit is highly toxic if it is in-gested or inhaled, and candamage the body's tissues andorgans.

It is one of the rarest naturalelements: in 10 grams of ura-nium there is a maximum of abillionth of a gram of polo-nium.

The substance has beenused industrially for its alpharadiation in research and med-icine, and as a heating sourcefor space components, but inthose forms it is not conduciveto easy poisoning.

Small doses are also foundin tobacco, derived from thesoil and phosphate fertilizersused on tobacco plants.

Polonium was discoveredby Marie and Pierre Curie in1898 while they were doing re-search in France on the causeof radioactivity in the mineralpitchblende, the chief ore-min-eral source of uranium.

Polonium, a highly radioactive material


AUG 25 - SEPT 01

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

FREE Coverage on our website:

www.themorningnewsaruba.com

council in late June was "theaddition of a growth pact to thebudget pact and the fixing ofstability rules for the euro-zone."

The French president addedthat he had faith in whatGreece is proposing, but addedthat "we will see the troika re-port (from EU, ECB and iMFauditors) and what spain has toput forward."

out any need for further con-sultation, he stressed.

Hollande, who was speak-ing after talks with spanishPrime Minister Mariano rajoy,criticised the EU's failure to actquickly and decisively.

"The problem with Europeis that it all too often delays de-cisions and puts its mecha-nisms into operation too late,"he said.

The necessary decisionshad to be made -- and imple-mented -- more quickly, headded.

For Hollande, the "success"of the previous European

MaDriD (aFP) - FrenchPresident Francois Hollandesaid yesterday he expectedclear decisions on Greece andspain, two of the most vulner-able countries in the eurozone,at an October summit in Brus-sels

"i want the European Coun-cil on October 19 on theGreece question and the inter-vention by Europe to supportstates that may be momentarilyin difficulty (i.e. spain)," Hol-lande told reporters on thesidelines of a visit to Madrid.

and he wanted decisions tobe made there and then, with-

said in its Food Price Watch re-port.

"Domestic food prices inthese regions have also experi-enced sharp increases even be-fore the global shock due toseasonal trends, poor past har-vests, and conflict," it said.

The World Bank said thatthe diversion of corn to pro-duce ethanol biofuel -- whichtakes up to 40 percent of Uscorn production -- is a key fac-tor in the sharp rise in the cornprice.

The UN Food and agricul-tural Organization's chiefcalled earlier this month onWashington to rescind its man-date for fuel producers to useethanol in gasoline and otherfuel products, to ease the pre -ssure on corn prices.

The World Bank pointedout that there is also a spillovereffect on wheat prices: that ascorn supplies tighten, wheatbecomes used more as a sub-stitute for corn in livestockfeed.

reacting to the report,Oxfam spokesperson Colinroche criticized the lack of ac-tion from the Group of 20 lead-ing economies to address thesoaring food prices.

"Oxfam is already seeingthe devastating impact of foodprice volatility in developingcountries that rely on food im-ports," he said.

"The G20 has decided towait for september's Us cropreport before deciding whetherto take action on food prices,but they must call it now be-fore prices spiral out of controland push more people intohunger."

prices of both corn and wheatjumped by 25 percent whilesoybeans were up 17 percent.Corn and soybean pricestopped their previous recordhighs in the food price crisis ofJune 2008. The other keyglobal staple, rice, was fourpercent lower, however.

That left the World Bank'sfood price index six percenthigher than a year earlier andone percent higher than theFebruary 2011 peak.

"Food prices rose againsharply threatening the healthand well-being of millions ofpeople," World Bank PresidentJim Yong Kim said in a state-ment.

"africa and the Middle Eastare particularly vulnerable, butso are people in other countrieswhere the prices of grains havegone up abruptly."

The World Bank calledcountries in the Middle Eastand North and sub-saharanafrica the "most vulnerable tothis global shock."

"They have large food im-port bills, their food consump-tion is a large share of averagehousehold spending, and theyhave limited fiscal space andcomparatively weaker protec-tive mechanisms," the Bank

WasHiNGTON (aFP) - TheWorld Bank said yesterday thatdrought in the Us and EasternEurope crop centers sentglobal food prices soaring by10 percent last month, raisinga food security threat to theworld's poorest people.

The surge in prices, mainlydue to the devastating heatwave across the central Us,which produces the world'slargest crops of corn (maize)and soybeans, places in dangermillions around the world, es-pecially in countries dependenton imported grains, accordingto the bank.

From June to July, the

patch should not be an excusefor political leaders to give into protectionism "which makesno sense."

"The world has crossed thiscrisis without a protectionisttsunami, but there are preoccu-pying signs that the WTO iswatching over closely," Lamysaid.

in april, the WTO warnedthat world trade growth, whichslowed in 2011 after a big re-bound in 2010, would weakenagain this year and grow by 5.6percent in 2013.

Paris (aFP) - Pascal Lamy,head of the World Trade Or-ganization, confirmed yester-day that growth in global tradewould remain below four per-cent this year and urged gov-ernments against protectio -nism.

annual growth in worldtrade has averaged six percentover the past 15 years, but thisyear "we will be below fourpercent," Lamy told France'sBFM radio, blaming the slow-down on a sluggish worldeconomy.

But Lamy said the rough

Friday, august 31, 2012 11

FINANCE

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WTO head confirms 2012

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World Bank: Food prices soared

10% in July

Berlin : Mobile phone and media player wrist watchesare seen at the Sony booth during the 52nd edition ofthe "iFA" (internationale Funkausstellung) trade fair inBerlin on August 30, 2012. iFA, europe's largest con-sumer electronics and home appliances fair opens to thepublic from August 31 to September 5, 2012, with morethan 1,400 exhibitors unveiling the latest touch-screentablets, 3D televisions without special glasses andsmaller, smarter and more interconnected devices towow punters. (AFP PHOTO)

Hollande urges firm decisions onGreece, Spain at summit

ceptional prices.

by Rosalie Klein

nuggets and Mac & Cheesewith fries, a cookie and juiceincluded. Chicken, grouperand carni stoba wraps aremade fresh to order, accom-panied by fresh home fries ofrusset potatoes. Press mem-bers sampled a number ofgreat items off the new andregular menus, and gaveeverything unanimousthumbs up.

The regular menu alsonow features a Soup de Jourand special of the day, whichwill be posted on their Face-book page. Marky Bee’s isopen daily, seven day a week,from 11:00 AM until 10:00

Marky’s Bee’s is the revolu-tionary restaurant in theKalalu Plaza in Tanki Leen-dert that melded traditionalAruban cuisine with modern,fast food cafeteria service, forislanders on the go. The eco-nomical menu also offered is-land visitors the opportunityto try a vast array of localdishes, mixed with some in-ternational favorites.

Owner Mark Benson andManager Anthony Adoptiwelcomed island media tounveil a new “After Five”menu featuring a number ofhot and cold wraps for lightdining, as well a “Kids EatFree” selection of their fa-vorite finger foods. Theyhave a choice of chicken

Mgr Anthony Adopti and Mark Benson

PM. The fresh, clean restau-rant features contemporarydécor and a diverse menu, fo-cused island cooking at ex-

TV personality Giuliana Rancic and her husband, BillRancic, welcomed a healthy baby boy via surrogate lateWednesday night. Edward Duke Rancic was born in Den-ver, E! News reports. After years of failed IVF treatmentsand being unable to conceive — struggles documentedon their reality show, “Guiliana and Bill” — the coupleannounced in June that they were expecting their firstchild. The baby was born by a gestational surrogate,meaning the Rancics are his biological parents. Guilianaunderwent a double mastectomy last December afterbeing diagnosed with breast cancer. Giuliana Rancictells E! News that she and her husband are “so in lovewith the little guy already!”

Hilario Donker tries the Bami


Special “After Five” menu unveiled at Marky Bee’s

Giuliana & Bill RancicWelcome Baby Boy

Flavorful hot and cold wraps on the after 5 menu

Showing off the new menu itema


airline pick-up and drop-off;they even boast a shoppingservice to stock your shelvesbefore arrival.

Gold Coast accommoda-tions are elegant and spa-cious, offering privacy for

parents or a few couples.Beautifully appointedkitchens and bathrooms graceeach abode; barbecues andlounges are provided forfriendly cookouts and trulysavoring the island life. Allhomes come with cable TV,

high-speed fiber-optic Inter-net connection, individualwasher/dryer, and are fullyair-conditioned. Cribs, highchairs and hair dryers areavailable for a modest fee.Concierge ser vices to arrange

rental cars, spa appointments,activities and restaurant reser-vations are all part of thepackage.

Check-in for your holidayescape is conducted in thecomfort of your vacationhome, not while waiting online at check-in desk. Inevery way, Gold Coast seeksto pamper their guests whileproviding them with the feel-ing of being in a cozy com-munity, not the normallybustling resort, particularlyexperienced during the majorholidays. If you wish an op-timal vacation experiencewith great savings, visit theirwebsite: www.goldcoas-taruba. com to get acquaintedwith the community and thelayout, details and availabil-ity of accommodations, orcall 586-2200 to talk person-ally to a Gold Coast repre-sentative.

Aruba’s newest and most in-novative gated communityhas enjoyed steady sales sincebreaking ground, as many arefinding the secure surround-ings and outstanding ameni-ties are just what they werelooking for before conside -ring purchasing property onthe island. Some owners areusing the villas or townhomes as vacation retreatsrather than full time and aretaking advantage of GoldCoast’s rental services to turntheir investment into ready in-come.

“The greater portion ofhome owners are using their“home away from home” inAruba to escape the wintermonths, or spend holidayswith the family on the is-land,” noted Gold Coast de-veloper Fito Croes. To assistin the demand for more com-plete facilities for groupsand fa mi- lies, famed hote-lier Ed Ma-lone has beenplaced in charge of the rentalprogram.

Staying at Gold Coast is avery attractive propositionfor those traveling withgroups that would requiremultiple hotel rooms. Twoand three bedroom Villas orTown Homes accommodatelarge numbers and offer ex-tensive amenities along witha final cost resulting in con-siderable savings. The com-munity is minutes to the bestbeaches and all the casino ac-tion, and offers a quiet andsecluded getaway with twoswimming pools and special-ized services with more onthe way, such as a fitnessroom, tennis courts and mini-mall. Ed can arrange maidservice, babysitters, caterers,

Gold Coast Aruba:Great savings for large familieson holiday rentals

A favorite stop for a greatburger for lunch or dinner hasjust expanded their hours andmenu to offer some of thebest breakfast bargains to befound in Palm Beach. Own-ers Aaron and Rosie Wali-sever are living their dream:a home on paradise whilewelcoming all and sundry totheir proud undertaking, 5

Burgers Aruba. The couple’sfanatical dedication to givingtheir customers what they re-ally want has resulted in aunique menu from an interna-tionally known franchisewith a “5”, which now in-cludes breakfast.

“You never get a secondchance to make a first im-pression,” believes Aaron.Upon entering 5 BurgersAruba in The Village Mall inPalm Beach, one is struck byutterly spotless surroundingsand a smiling, friendly, atten-tive service crew. Of course,the main item on the menu isburgers-the way they weremeant to be, thick and juicy,made fresh daily and 100%pure beef, the kind that madethe hamburger a traditionalAmerican treat.

However, beginning at 7a.m., patrons can now order 2eggs any style, (omelets with3 fillings are $7.99) toast andcoffee with unlimited refillsfor the special introductoryprice of only $3.99, or All-you-can-eat pancakes, for$6.99, again, with free refillson fresh coffee. Breakfast isserved until 11 a.m. Famousfor their fries made from

fresh potatoes, Aaron hasbeen working for months ondevising the most irresistiblehome fries recipe, chunkyand tender with skins still on;after much testing and tast-ing, he got the thumbs upfrom his harshest critic,Rosie; so this is another treatyou have to try.

A glance at their burgermenu will certainly temptyou to return for lunch ordinner, to sample their fa-mous specialty items suchas the Gouda, Farmer’s orMan Burger (almost 12ounces of choice beef), anda Western Burger withAarons’ secret-recipecrispy onion rings. All ofthese can be personalizedwith an incredible array oftoppings, (mushrooms,jala-peño peppers, bacon,cheese, lettuce, tomato…whatever, the list goes on)at absolutely no extra cost.

5 Burger portions areENORMOUS! Aaron sug-gests that even their smallserving of fries is enough tobe shared by two. He wasvery amused to watch a fa-mous French chef demon-strating the best way to makefried potatoes on a gourmetcooking show and could onlycomment “He stole myrecipe!”

Try them the English way-with vinegar, and you’ll won-der how you ever ate frieswithout it. This same 5-starchef also swears by Gouda asthe best topping for the idealgourmet cheeseburger.

5 Burgers is now openearly until 10-ish at night; de-livery is available to both thehigh-rise and low-rise hoteland beach district at nowextra cost for orders over$50. Enjoy a great lunchwithout ever leaving thebeach by calling 586-3904.However, we suggest youstop by and enjoy their au-thentic, heartfelt hospitality;it is not unusual for eitherowner to sit and chat, sharingtheir knowledge of the islandwhile making sure patronsare happy with their meal.

5 Burgers Aruba: Nowyour best breakfast

bargain!

down to 2min 10.01secs.Zheng Tao, meanwhile, fi-

nally beat the record set by

Russia's Igor Plotnikov wayback in 2004 in the men's S6100m backstroke, while com-patriot Lu Dong took thewomen's race, also in worldrecord time, as China scoopedthree golds.

Brazil's Daniel Dias be-came the fastest man ever inthe S5 50m freestyle.

World Championships earlierthis year and the title at theUCI Track Cycling World Cupat the same venue in February.

That World Cup race, a testevent for the Olympic Velo-drome, was won by her Britishcompatriot Joanna Rowsell in3min 32.364sec. Rowsell tookOlympic gold earlier thismonth in the team pursuit.

Storey, who was born with-out a functioning left hand andnarrowly missed out on aplace in Britain's Olympicsquad, said: "I always thoughtthat if I could get off to a greatstart it would set up the weekand hopefully that's the case.

China won both races in theC1-2-3 pursuit, with Zeng Sinibreaking the world record inqualifying, while Germany'sTobias Graf set a new C2 bestas he took bronze in the men'sevent.

Susan Powell posted theworld's fastest time in thewomen's C4 3km individualpursuit qualifiers and went onto give Australia its first goldof the Games.

It was a good day for theAussies, with defending cham-pion Kieran Modra and guiderider Scott McPhee taking themen's blind and visually im-paired 4km tandem pursuit,beating Modra's previousworld best.

Five world records tumbledin the swimming finals, with thehighlight New Zealander So-phie Pascoe, who smashed thenew best she set earlier in qual-ifying by more than three sec-onds in the final of the 200mSM10 individual medley.

In the men's equivalent,Benoit Huot of Canada shavedhis own previous world best

took the first gold of theGames on the first day of com-petition.

Storey, a five-time Para-lympic swimming gold medal-list who switched sports for

the Beijing Games in 2008,caught Poland's AnnaHarkowska with just underhalf of the 12-lap race to go,giving her a third cycling gold.

The British cyclist earlierclocked a new world best of3min 32.170sec, which wouldhave won her silver at the

LONDON (AFP) - CyclistSarah Storey on Thursdaystormed to her eighth Para-lympic gold, taking thewomen's C5 individual 3kmpursuit after a lightning-quick

qualifying time that wouldhave won her a non-disabledtitle.

The 34-year-old rider's win-ning performance, whichopened the hosts' gold ac-count, came amid a slew ofnew world bests in track cy-cling and swimming, as China


Records tumble on first day of the Games

(L-R) New Zealand's Fiona Southorn with bronze, Britain'sSarah Storey with her gold medal and Poland's AnnaHarkowska with silver

London Paralympics 2012 ..........

Sergey Punko and OxanaSavchenko made it a Russiandouble in both S12 400m

freestyle events.Charles Rozoy gave France

its first gold in the men's S8100m butterfly and US swim-mer Jessica Long took thewomen's race to give her aneighth Paralympic gold overthree Games.

continues on page 15

Spain's Sarai Gascon competes during the women's S9100m butterfly swimming heats

US archer Matt Stutzman (C) competes in the men's archeryindividual compound-open ranking round.

Britain's Jonathan Fox, wholowered his own S7 100mbackstroke world record to1min 9.86secs in qualifying,went on to secure the hosts' firstgold in the pool, while Hungar-ian powerhouse Tamas Sorstook the S9 100m butterfly.

came the first amputee to qual-ify for the Olympics, swim-ming the 10km open waterrace in Beijing, plans to race inseven events and is retiringafter the Games.

But she ruled out staying onin the sport until the nextGames in Rio de Janeiro infour years' time.

China's Zhang Cuiping ear-lier shot her way to the firstgold of the Games in thewomen's 10m air rifle, scoring104.9 for an overall score of500.9, while Park Seakyun, ofSouth Korea, won the men's10m air pistol.

And there was double de-light for German twins Car-men and Ramona Brussig,who both won judo gold in thewomen's -48kg and -52kg cat-egories.

In the women's race, SouthAfrica's Natalie du Toit wonthe 11th gold in her Para-lympic career -- even if shewas disappointed with thetime.

Du Toit, a dominant forceover the last decade who be-

in Group G, where they willhave fellow former championsBenfica and Celtic for com-pany, as well as SpartakMoscow.

Big-spending Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, willfancy their chances of qualify-ing from a group that also in-cludes FC Porto, DynamoKiev and Dinamo Zagreb

Last season's beaten final-ists Bayern Munich wereplaced in Group F alongsideValencia, they team they beaton penalties in the 2001 final,as well as Lille of France andBelarusian outfit BATEBorisov.

The opening batch of groupmatches is scheduled for Sep-tember 18-19.

Chelsea host Juventus intheir first fixture, while Man-chester United tackleGalatasaray at Old Traffordand Manchester City visit RealMadrid.

Breakdown of the Groups:Group A: FC Porto, Dy-

namo Kiev, Paris Saint-Ger-main, Dinamo Zagreb

Group B: Arsenal, Schalke04, Olympiacos, Montpellier

Group C: AC Milan, ZenitSaint Petersburg, Anderlecht,Malaga

Group D: Real Madrid,Manchester City, Ajax, Borus-sia Dortmund

GroupE: Chelsea, ShakhtarDonetsk, Juventus, Nordsjael-land

Group F: Bayern Munich,Valencia, Lille, BATE Borisov

Group G: Barcelona, Ben-fica, Spartak Moscow, Celtic

GroupH: ManchesterUnited, SC Braga,Galatasaray, CFR-Cluj

City's pool, Group D, unitesthe reigning champions ofEngland, Spain, Germany andthe Netherlands, with the Man-chester club the only teamnever to have won the Cham-pions League.

Roberto Mancini's sidewere drawn in a similarly tax-ing group last season andfailed to reach the knockoutphase, with Bayern Munichand Napoli finishing abovethem on their first appearancein the Champions League.

City defender Joleon Le-scott refused to be discouragedby the draw, tweeting: "GroupD highlights the fact why it'scalled Champions league. #Ti-tleWinnersOnly"

Along with Spain, Englandare one of only two countrieswith four teams in the groupphase and their fourth repre-sentatives, Arsenal, will faceSchalke, Olympiacos anddebutants Montpellier, theFrench champions, in Group B.

There was one other new-comer in the draw in the shapeof Malaga, who qualified byovercoming Panathinaikos inthe play-off round earlier thisweek.

The Spanish side weredrawn in Group C with ZenitSaint Petersburg, Anderlechtand seven-time champions ACMilan, who will have been re-lieved to avoid a more difficultgroup after a summer in whichthey lost a glut of leading play-ers.

Barcelona, finalists in twoof the last four seasons, landed

MONACO (AFP) - Fatelargely smiled on ManchesterUnited and holders Chelsea inyesterday's Champions Leaguedraw, but Manchester Cityfound themselves drawn into adaunting group with RealMadrid, Ajax and BorussiaDortmund.

Chelsea, who beat BayernMunich on penalties in lastseason's final to claim the tro-phy for the first time, weredrawn in Group E alongsideItalian champions Juventus,Shakhtar Donetsk, and Danishdebutants Nordsjaelland.

Juventus will be appearingin the Champions League forthe first time since the 2009-10season and are likely to presentthe strongest threat to Robertodi Matteo's side.

United found themselves infairly benign surroundings inGroup H, having been pittedagainst Portugal's SC Braga,Galatasaray of Turkey and Ro-manians CFR-Cluj in the drawin Monaco.

However, manager Sir AlexFerguson did not need remind-ing that it was from a similarlystraightforward group -- con-taining Benfica, FC Basel andCluj's domestic rivals OtelulGelati -- that the three-timechampions failed to progresslast season.

United, beaten 3-1 byBarcelona in the 2011 final,are appearing in the groupphase for a record 18th time.

As in 2011, this season'sfinal will also take place atLondon's Wembley Stadium,to mark the 150th anniversaryof the English Football Asso-ciation.


UEFA Champions Leaguegroup stage 2012/13

China's Zeng Sini

London Paralympics 2012 ....continued from page 14

defeat Rudisha since 2009.Rudisha's pacemaker missed

his first lap target by more than1sec, and with any chance of aworld record completely out ofthe window, the 23-year-oldKenyan world champion foundhimself in front but in a realdogfight with Aman, whokicked as the duo rounded thelast bend.

Aman held on for a convinc-ing win in a personal best of1:42.53, with Rudisha timing1:42.81.

Aman left his Kenyan rivalin no doubt that it would not beall plain sailing for him in thetwo-lap race next season.

One Olympic champion toalso shine was Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who re-bounded from two successivelosses to Carmelita Jeter in Lau-sanne and Birmingham to easilytrump the American in thewomen's 100m in 10.83sec.

in chilly, wet conditions at apacked Letzigrund Stadium.

The 22-year-old, who wondouble sprint silver behind Boltin the London Games and iscurrently the second fastest manin the world alongside Gay(after racing 9.69sec in Lau-sanne last week), rocketed outof his blocks at the second timeof asking to power through theline.

Compatriot Nesta Carter wassecond in 9.95sec, with Ameri-can Ryan Bailey (9.97) in third.

There was disappointmentfor Rudisha, the blazing two-lapspecialist who was bidding tobetter his own world record of1min 40.91sec he set when win-ning 800m gold at the LondonGames earlier this month.

With all talk of the recordbid, no one had counted on thekick of 18-year-old Aman, whofinished sixth at the Olympicsbut who importantly last yearbecame the first and last man to

Bolt and Blake set newmeeting records of 19.66and 9.76 seconds in the 200and 100m respectively.

Fresh from his secondsuccessive triple gold haul atthe Olympics, Bolt camearound the bend into thefinal stretch just ahead ofcompatriot Nickel Ash-meade on his inside.

And then the imposing26-year-old, also the worldrecord holder in both sprintevents, switched on the af-terburners in his drive phaseto ensure a comfortable winin his favoured event.

"Running after theOlympics is much more fun,it is less stress," said Bolt."Now I have one more race

(in Brussels on September 7)until the end of the season and Iam looking forward to it.

Blake overcame a false startby top US sprinter Tyson Gay tohold his nerve in a 100m raced

Rudisha was upstaged byEthiopian tyro MohammedAman.

In a high-quality night of ac-tion featuring 14 Olympicchampions, training partners

ZURICH (AFP) - Jamaicansprint duo Usain Bolt andYohan Blake dominated the 100and 200m at the DiamondLeague meet here on Thursday,but Kenyan 800m star David


MONACO (AFP) -Barcelona's Spanish mid-fielder Andres Iniesta receivedthe UEFA Best Player in Eu-rope award on Thursday afterpipping Cristiano Ronaldo andclub-mate Lionel Messi in ajournalists' poll.

It is his second major indi-vidual honour of the summer,after he was named Player ofthe Tournament for his role inSpain's triumph at Euro 2012in Poland and Ukraine.

The award was decided by53 European journalists whocast their votes during Thurs-day's Champions Leaguegroup-stage draw in Monaco.

Iniesta, 28, received 19votes, with Ronaldo and Messi-- the winner of last year's in-augurual prize -- each receiv-ing 17.

"I am very honoured and I

dedicate this award to myBarcelona and Spain team-mates," said Iniesta, who re-ceived the award from UEFApresident Michel Platini.

"I am privileged to be herewith two such great footballersas Leo and Cristiano."

An artful attacking mid-fielder, Iniesta has won everymajor honour in the game withBarcelona and Spain over thelast four years and notablyscored the extra-time winneragainst the Netherlands in the2010 World Cup final in SouthAfrica.

Despite his success at Euro2012, Iniesta saw Barcelonamiss out to Ronaldo's RealMadrid in last season's LaLiga title race, while the Blau-grana also fell to eventualchampions Chelsea in thesemi-finals of the ChampionsLeague.

Football: Iniestacrowned Europeanplayer of season

Six-time Olympic champion Jamaica's Usain Bolt (C) runs be-

tween countryfellows Nickel Ashmeade (L) and Warren Weir in his

way to win the men's 200m.

Athletics: Aman eclipses Rudisha as Bolt andBlake coast

Documents

Friday, August 31, 2012