Monday, August 27, 2012

Monday, August 27, 2012

The second edition ofARUBA IN STYLE FashionWeek will soon be here, andfounder Damalice Mansur,Ronchi de Cuba and EvaWever were proud to wel-come a P/R contingent fromofficial Associate Producer,IMG Fashion NY, for a tourof some of the venues sched-uled for this year’s event.

Head of P/R for IMG, An-drew Serrano, was joined byCommunications ManagerAshley Eden and ProducerLauren Hutchner for this pre-liminary foray, prior to theevent described by SmarterTravel as “The Best Event in

the Caribbean.” A welcome cocktail party

at the elegant Pure Beachlounge and restaurant in theDivi Phoenix Resort was anexcellent example of thechanges the founders are ini-tiating for this year’s AIS.“We are going to ventureaway from the formal, stan-dard runway shows and con-duct them in a way that bettershowcases Aruba,” explainedRonchi de Cuba. “The set-tings and ambiance will bethat of elegant parties, whilethe focus will always be onfashion.” Pure Beach loungeand other chic pool andbeachside locations fromDivi Properties will be partof the program, as they joinmajor sponsors ArubaTourism Authority, Renais-sance Resorts and Red SailSports.

“We are also consideringthis will provide terrificbackgrounds for the design-ers’ new lines,” commentedDamalice, “which will resultgreat photos for them to usein their lookbooks. We hadfantastic media response lastyear, but now their coveragewill generate even more ex-posure for Aruba as a beauti-ful, desirable destination.”

Continued on pg 5

ARUBA IN STYLE FashionWeek founders welcome IMG

Fashion NY Executives

PUNTO FIJO, Venezuela(AFP) - Venezuela was inmourning Sunday after amassive explosion torethrough the country's largestrefinery, killing at least 39people and injuring morethan 80 others.

President Hugo Chavezdeclared three days of na-tional mourning Saturday,saying the tragedy affected"the great Venezuelan family,civilian and military."

Among the dead were 18members of the NationalGuard -- who were protectingthe state-owned refining fa-cility in the northwesterntown of Amuay -- and 15civilians, Vice President EliasJaua said. The bodies of an-other six victims had yet to beidentified.

Falcon state GovernorStella Lugo had earlier toldofficial television that a 10-year-old child was among thevictims.

Another 82 people wereinjured, Health Minister Eu-genia Sader said.

Fifteen of the injured re-main in hospital, according toJaua.

Chavez expressed hissympathy to the families ofthe dead, urging calm be-cause "fortunately, the great-est danger has beencontrolled."

Ordering a "thorough in-vestigation," he vowed tohelp the people who havebeen displaced from theirhomes at the refinery com-plex, which also housesworkers and their relatives,and in impoverished neigh-borhoods nearby.

Energy Minister RafaelRamirez said the explosionwas triggered by a gas leak atthe refinery, which is ownedby state oil firm Petroleos deVenezuela (PDVSA), thecause of which remained tobe determined.

"The gas cloud exploded,igniting at least two storagetanks and other facilities atthe refinery," he told VTVtelevision.

Continued on pg 7

Venezuela inmourning afterrefinery blast

IMG Executives Ashley Eden, Andrew Serrano and Lau-

ren Hutchner

The motors behind the AIS Eva Wever, Ronchi de Cuba

and Damalice Mansur

2 Monday, August 27, 2012

Standard & Poor’s recentlyissued a bulletin announcingtheir continued evaluation ofAruba in regards to three fi-nancial ratings. The sover-eign credit rating has beenupgraded from “A- negative/A-2” to “A- positive /A-2.”However, the long term fi-nancial outlook of “stable”had been declared “nega-tive,” because of the Valerorefinery standing idle sinceMarch, 2012. They also indi-cate that a reopening of therefinery operations may in-fluence this rating positively,once that takes place. “In ourview, a prolonged delay in re-opening the operations of therefinery could weakenAruba's external and fiscalprofiles,” states the report.The transfer and convertibil-ity assessment is unchangedat 'A-‘

At the time the suspensionof the refinery operations wasannounced, S & P made thedecision not to wait an entireyear to do a re-evaluation, butto continue to monitor the sit-uation as closely as possible.This was in an effort to deter-mine what effect it wouldhave on the Aruban economy.

The S&P report made ref-erence to investments in pub-lic projects, muchconstruction activity, eco-nomic activity and a signifi-cant growth in tourismactivity as contributing to theisland maintaining its stand-ing. The S&P reportstates:...”A prompt reopeningof the oil refinery wouldboost exports and GDPgrowth prospects as well assustain fiscal revenues, giv-ing greater scope for the gov-ernment to reach itsmedium-term fiscal and debt

targets.” The report also noted “The

suspension of operations atthe refinery has persistedlonger than we had expected,raising the risk of larger cur-rent account and budgetarydeficits and higher externaland government debt burdensin the coming two years. Ris-ing receipts from tourism,plus the stimulus to economicactivity provided by the gov-ernment's public investmentprogram, have largely con-tained the economic impactof the refinery's suspensionso far this year.”

Nations and oil companiesworldwide are facing chal-lenges with a number of re-fineries shutting down. ArubaMinister of Finance, Com-munication, Utilities and En-ergy, Mike de Meza, claimsthere was interest in purchas-ing the facility from a num-ber of companies the momentit was placed on the market.After research and delibera-tions, Aruba and Valero agreePetroChina as the most viableoption.

During a press conferenceon Friday afternoon, Ministerde Meza and Prime MinisterMike Eman reminded thepublic that such an acquisi-tion is a long process, andmust run its course. Theymaintain hope of soon re-opening of the refinery.

Regarding the continuedstoppage of refinery opera-tions, S&P stated “prolongedsuspension of its activitiesraises the possibility that thecentral government could failto meet its target of narrow-ing its fiscal deficit toward3% of GDP in 2014, from anestimated 6.8% of GDP in2012. Exports would also be

hurt. The economy is likelyto contract mildly this yeareven if the refinery reopens inOctober, according to officialcalculations.”

“The negative outlook re-flects the possibility that wecould lower our ratings onAruba if delays in reopeningthe refinery result in higher-than-expected external andfiscal deficits and weakerGDP performance, as well ashigher external and govern-ment debt burdens. A poten-tial closure of the refinerywould result in a larger eco-nomic contraction this yearand sluggish growth in 2013,also leading to a downgrade.A prompt reopening of the oilrefinery would boost exportsand GDP growth prospects aswell as sustain fiscal rev-enues, giving greater scopefor the government to reachits medium-term fiscal anddebt targets, including stabi-lizing gross central govern-ment debt at about 50% ofGDP. (Standard &Poor's ex-cludes central governmentdebt held by public-sectorpension and social welfareplans in calculating the debtlevel.) We would likely revisethe outlook to stable undersuch a scenario, provided thatthe government is able to ad-here to its medium-term fis-cal trajectory.”

Recent Standard & Poor’s ratings

for Aruba based on negotiations

concerning reopening of ValeroA cloud of uncertainty con-tinues to hover over the issueof the extended study fine inHolland. It is still not clear ifthe measure will be intro-duced by the actual govern-ment, that is, to levy a fine onstudents who take longer thanthe allotted study period tocomplete their study pro-gram. The situation remainsvery tense, and is expected topersist until perhaps Tuesday.

On Friday the permanentcommission of the DutchSecond House of Chambermet with the state secretaryof education, Halbe Zijlstra,concerning the issue of theextended study fines.

This matter, obviously,has much relevance to Arubabecause of the large numberof Aruban students to whomthis levy will apply.

Regrettably, they were un-able to reach a satisfactoryagreement in Friday's meet-ing, according to SamuelDumfries, head of the depart-ment of education at theAruba House.

Reportedly, a majority ofthe party members are not infavor of the measure, never-theless the parties were un-able to devise anothermeasure for the financing ofthe deficit in the event thismeasurement is rejected.

The discussions will con-

tinue this week and we hopethat the parties will have ar-rived at a decision. Although,it appears that the chance fora favorable decision on theissue is very unlikely.

Students who have ex-tended their studies for oneyear will be levied 3.000Euros on their tuition. Thismeasure will affect at least70.000 students, amongthese, several hundredAruban students. It is verylikely that both among stu-dent unions and educationalinstitutions there will bedropouts on account of thismeasure.

Aruba is hoping that theywill abandon this proposedmeasure, if not; it is intendedto be enacted as of Septemberfirst.

For this reason, the discus-sion must continue beforesaid date.

Aruba will continue tomonitor this situation andwill keep our students up todate. Students are advised tovisit the website of the DienstUitvoering Onderwijs (DUO)frequently. According toDumfries, it will be on thatwebsite that students willfind out if they will be leviedthe fine or not. The decidingmeeting in the Second Houseof Chamber will probably beon Tuesday.

Uncertainty reigns overextended study fines

For info call: 5875010 Email:

[email protected]:

www.laquintaaruba.net

Time Sharefor SALE

Monday, August 27, 2012 3

TAMPA, Florida (AFP) -Tropical Storm Isaac lashedsouthern Florida Sunday andwas expected to become ahurricane, forcing a one-daydelay of the US Republicanconvention, after killingseven people in Haiti.

With winds reaching 50miles (85 kilometers) perhour, the storm broughtheavy rain and choppy seasto the Florida Keys after bat-tering Haiti and sweepingacross Cuba late Saturday,the US National HurricaneCenter said.

A hurricane warning wasin effect for the Florida Keysand parts of the state's south-west coast, and the Republi-can Party announced thatsevere weather warnings hadpostponed the start of itsfour-day gathering in Tampa.

The gathering is now setto nominally open today andthen immediately adjourn toreconvene on Tuesday, whenthe weather is expected toclear up.

Early Sunday, the eye ofthe storm was around 80miles southeast of Key West,Florida, and it was movingnorthwest at 18 miles perhour, with forecasts suggest-ing it would strengthen overthe next 48 hours, the NHCsaid.

In its 2:00 pm (1800GMT) advisory, the Miami-based NHC said "hurricane"conditions" were possible inthe Keys and southernFlorida.

It predicted Isaac wouldbecome a hurricane as itmoves back into the Gulf ona path that would have itmake landfall Wednesday onthe southern US coast.

Tens of thousands of Re-publicans will be in Tampafor speeches, parties and theformal nomination of formerMassachusetts governor MittRomney as the candidate totake on President BarackObama in the November 6election.

Officials said they did not

fear a direct hit on the city buthad acted out of concern thathigh winds, rain and possiblecoastal flooding could maketravel dangerous, particularlyfor large buses packed withdelegates.

Isaac was near hurricanestrength early Saturday whenthe eye of the storm passedover Haiti, where hundreds ofthousands of people are stillliving in squalid, makeshiftcamps following a cata-strophic 2010 earthquake.

An eight-year-old Haitiangirl died when a wall col-lapsed at her home and a 51-year-old woman died whenher roof collapsed, accordingto officials, who later saidfive other people had alsodied in the storm.

More than 5,000 familieshad been evacuated to tempo-rary shelters ahead of Isaac asaid groups provided cleanwater and hygiene kits to tryto limit the risk of contami-nated water and the spread ofdisease.

Haiti death toll from storm Isaac rises to seven

Storm lashes Florida, delayingRepublican convention

The visiting IMG executivesconfirmed they were quite im-pressed by the welcome partyand its venue, and have greatconfidence in the future of thefashion week, assessing it as aone-of-a-kind event for theCaribbean. “There are few is-lands we can think of that areas suited to a fashion week asAruba. We are sure it willgrow in interest and popular-ity, providing the kind of eventthat can be thoroughly enjoyed

by a fashion-conscience pub-lic. It isn’t just a trade show,put a complete experience.”

This year’s AIS FashionWeek will take place Thurs-day, November 1 through Sun-day, November 4. For updateson designers, venues and showschedules, check their website:http://www.arubainstyle.comor be a fan of their Facebookpage for up to the minutenews.

By Rosalie Klein

ARUBA IN STYLE FashionWeek founders welcome IMG

Fashion NY Executives Continued from pg 1

Damalice Mansur with Mom Nuhad and Eva Wever


Aruba is an island wherebaseball is a beloved pastime,and islanders are rightfullyproud of their Little, Juniorand Senior League teams,which have been leavingtheir mark on youth champi-onships over the past fewyears.

In 2010, the SeniorLeague team claimed theWorld Championship title,and they won the LatinAmerican Championshipsagain in 2011 to return to theWorld Series to defend it. In

2011, Aruba’s Little Leagueteam was the CaribbeanChampions. This year, it wasthe Junior League team of 12to 15- year-olds who camehome with the Latin Ameri-can trophy to compete in theWorld Series in Taylor,Michigan the second week ofAugust.

Imagine the excitement ofan entire island to find theirboys had defeated power-house teams such as theAsia/Pacific and finally, inthe International Playoffs, the

Mexican team, which hasbeen a contender in the Jun-ior League World Seriesevery other year for 19 years.This was only the secondtime Aruba had made it to thechampionships, the firstbeing 2009. Aruba’s teamalso won the internationaltitle that year and made it tothe final game, losing to un-defeated Arizona. Some ofthose great players went on tovictory in the Senior WorldChampions in 2010.

Aruba’s young team

played a stupendous game; itwas exciting and closeagainst the team fromFlorida, broadcast on ESPN.There was no clear winneruntil the very last out wascalled. A number of the callsby the umpire against Arubawere hotly contested by spec-tators, with slo-mo replayproving their fallibility, buttheir decisions stood. The se-ries ended with Florida 12and Aruba 10.

On Saturday, August 25,the team and their coachesLyrick Pourier, Manuel DosSantos and GlendaThomasina received thehero’s welcome they de-served. An hours-long motor-cade across Aruba began atJoe Laveist Ballpark in SanNicolas with stops in severalcommunities, where theywere warmly welcomed.

They were personallygreeting by Minister of Pub-lic Health and Sport, Dr.Richard Visser, upon arrivingin Oranjestad, where theydanced through the streets tothe reception awaiting themat the newly establishedskateboard park on Caya

Bectico Croes. All the teamwas treated to healthy snacksfrom SETAR upon their ar-rival

“We have no doubt theseare the Latin American andWorld champions,” Dr.Visser told the crowd, “Weare very proud of our boys,who did a fantastic job.” Theteam members and coacheswere awarded gifts from sev-eral island sponsors, includ-ing RBC Bank, whichfinanced their uniforms. Mar-keting Representative JoanneMaya awarded each teammember gift certificates toMario Sport Shop.

Shahaira Labad, Market-ing Manager of SETAR,Aruba’s telecommunicationscompany and P/R ManagerSusy Maduro were pleased topresent all team memberswith vouchers for the newestand hottest smart phonesavailable. “You have provenyou really have the hearts ofchampions and play withlove for the game,” Shahairatold the team.

Continued on pg 5

Arubans affirm: when it comes to JuniorLeague baseball, WE are the champions!


In cooperation with the Asso-ciation of Street Soccer inHolland, Straatvoebal BondNederland (SVBN), andStreet Soccer FoundationAruba (SSFA), a magnastreet football championshipis being planned for Aruba.The big event, the ArubaStreet Soccer Championship,is scheduled to take place onthe 9th, 16th and 23rd ofSepember.

The government of Arubatogether with both organiza-tions is intent on promotinghealthy sports on our streetsamong the youth. This theybelieve will contribute toraising the quality of life in

Aruba’s barrios. In addition,it will also help in our fightagainst obesity.

This great event will bringmany renowned footballersfrom around the world toAruba who will be promotingthe grand Aruba Street Soc-cer Chanpionship.

Different organizations aresponsoring the event who seethe event as important instimulating young people todo more sports and to returnto healthy activities which inthe past dominated life in thebarrios.

The great Edgar Davids isexpected to arrive here onSunday, September 2nd. Dur-

ing the days leading up to thetournament, Davids will tourthe different barrios playingstreet football with his ownteam against local teams as apromotion for the Champi-onship games. The promo-tional tour will begin on the3rd and run through to the 7thof September.

Adonsito Croes will nar-rate these games to entertainthe public expected to comeout to enjoy the games and tosupport our young talentedpeople in the barrios.

On the 3rd, the promo-tional game willl be played infront of Centro di BarioDakota, on the 4th on theRenaissance parking lot, onthe 5th on the Arubus parking

lot, on the 6th on the CMBparking lot. And, on the 7thof September they will playthe final promotional gameon the parking lot of theCompleho Deportivo Fras Fi-garoa.

Street Soccer FoundationAruba (SSFA) andStraatvoetball Bond Neder-land (SVB) is inviting the en-tire Aruban community tocome out and see the promo-tional games led by EdgarDavds and his fantastic team.Everyone is cordially invitedto welcome Edgar Davidsand his team on Sunday fortheir return to our island. Besure to take advantage of thisopportunity to meet this greatfootballer in person!

Famous Dutch soccer star EdgarDavids expected on Aruba!

Continued from pg 4Remember these names: Al-bert Pop, Endry Brito, C-Jay Martha, DwayneAngela, Junior Redondo,Ryan Oduber, EdmarTromp, Emir Escobar, An-thony Lacie, Jeandrick Odu-ber, Sharif Arends, GillianWernet, Luis Gonzalez andJirvin Penja; some aresurely major league stars oftomorrow.

By Rosalie Klein

Arubansaffirm...

tional Congress, which on Sun-day accused the interior min-istry's High SecurityCommittee of being lax or evenimplicated in the destruction ofshrines, including those of theSufi sect.

Islamist hardliners on Satur-day bulldozed part of the mau-soleum of Al-ShaabAl-Dahman, close to the centreof the Libyan capital.

The demolition came a dayafter hardliners blew up themausoleum of Sheikh Ab-dessalem al-Asmar in Zliten,160 kilometres (100 miles) eastof the capital.

According to witnesses an-

TRIPOLI (AFP) - Interior Min-ister Fawzi Abdelali resignedon Sunday after coming underfire for the performance of se-curity forces during a surge ofviolence that has rocked Libya,an official from his office toldAFP.

Libyan security serviceshave come in for censure fol-lowing double car bombingsthat killed two people on theday Muslims celebrated thefeast of Eid al-Fitr a week agoin Tripoli and attacks on severalMuslim shrines in the past fewdays.

The criticism has been led bythe newly elected General Na-


other mausoleum, that ofSheikh Ahmed al-Zarruq, hadbeen destroyed in the port ofMisrata, 200 kilometres (125miles) east of Tripoli.

Hardline Sunni Islamists areimplacably opposed to the ven-eration of tombs of reveredMuslim figures, saying thatsuch devotion should be re-served for God alone.

The Sufi sect, which prac-tises a mystical form of Islamand has played a historic role inthe affairs of Libya, has in-creasingly found itself in con-flict with Qatari- andSaudi-trained Salafist preach-ers who consider it heretical.

Prime Minister Abdelrahimal-Kib, meanwhile, defendedthe work of his government.

Kib also called on the con-gress to "quickly adopt lawscriminalising the carrying ofweapons and attacking histori-cal and religious monuments."

Dozens of protesters re-sponded to calls on Internet so-cial networks and took to thestreets of the capital on Sundayto denounce the destruction ofthe mausoleums.

Libya's under-fire minister quits KABUL (AFP) - Afghanistan'sspy agency said Sunday thatthe operational commander ofthe Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqaninetwork responsible for spec-tacular attacks on Kabul hadbeen killed in a US drone strikein Pakistan.

The death of Badruddin, theson of Haqqani networkfounder Jalaluddin Haqqani,has been rumoured for days buthas been denied by the Taliban,to which the network is allied.

US drones killed at least 18people last week when theystruck several targets in Pak-istan's restive North Waziristantribal region near the Afghanborder, Pakistani security offi-cials said.

But confirmation of whether

Badruddin Haqqani died in thestrikes has been difficult to ob-tain from the remote andmountainous area.

If Badruddin's death is con-firmed it will be a serious blowto the organisation, seen by theUnited States as a major threatin the Afghan war, although hisbrother Sirajuddin Haqqani re-mains a key leader of thegroup.

The Haqqani network is afaction of the Afghan Talibanwhose leaders are based inneighbouring Pakistan hasbeen blamed for a series ofwell-coordinated commando-style raids on the Afghan capi-tal targeting foreign embassies,NATO bases and governmentbuildings.

Top Haqqani militantkilled: Afghan spyagency

International News

dragged the remains to a moresecluded, brushy cache site,"said the statement.

The bear was shot andkilled , according to the AlaskaDispatch, which cited DenaliNational Park SuperintendentPaul Anderson as saying thevictim had been too close tothe bear.

The hiker apparently "cameupon a bear at the edge of theriver. Rather than try to movearound the bear and keep aquarter-mile distance, he ap-proached within 50 yards,"Anderson said.

He added that the hiker'sdigital camera, recovered atthe scene, indicated that hespent about eight minutes pho-tographing the bear.

"It was grazing, not aggres-sive in any manner," he said,adding that there were no im-ages of a charging bear, but thepictures showed the hiker gotclose to the bear.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Alone backpacker was mauledto death by a grizzly bear in aUS national park in Alaskaafter taking pictures of it fromclose range, the National ParksService and reports said.

The victim from SanDiego, California, was photo-graphing the animal from lessthan 50 yards away -- contraryto guidelines advising stayingaway from bears -- in DenaliNational Park on Friday whenhe was attacked.

"Three day-hikers first dis-covered an abandoned back-pack ... Upon furtherinvestigation, they saw evi-dence of a violent struggle, in-cluding torn clothing andblood," said the parks serviceabout the attack, the first in theAlaska preserve.

"Initial evidence indicatesthat the attack occurred proxi-mate to the (Toklat River), al-though the bear subsequently

Grizzly bear kills hikerin Alaska nationalpark


International News

PUNTO FIJO, Venezuela(AFP) - Ramirez, who is alsopresident of PDVSA, said therefinery was shut down butoperations would resume intwo days.

The blast damaged 209homes and 11 shops, while13 families saw their homescompletely destroyed andwere temporarily moved to anaval base, according to pre-liminary figures.

Firefighters were able tobring the fire under control,though smoke was still bil-lowing from the facility.

Jorge, a local police offi-cer who lives just outside therefinery, said the scene afterthe blast was like an inferno.

"First, there was a shockas if the house was hit by atruck," said the officer, whodeclined to reveal his lastname. "When the shock wavepassed, then came the flames,which were all around."

While officials said therewas no risk of another blast,Jaua noted that response unitswould "continue fighting theflames all night."

Before the blast, theAmuay refinery, one of thebiggest in the world, was ableto process about 645,000 bar-rels of crude oil a day.

Venezuelan media hasoften reported on complaints

about safety and maintenancestandards at the country's re-fineries, which authoritieshave rarely confirmed.

The Latin American na-tion produces about threemillion barrels of oil per day,according to state figures,while the Organization of thePetroleum Exporting Coun-tries puts the number at 2.3million barrels per day.

OPEC certified in 2011 thatVenezuela has the largest oilreserves in the world at 296.5billion barrels, surpassingSaudi Arabia, the country withthe biggest refining capacity.

In March, Venezuelan au-thorities reported even higherreserves, of 297,570 billion.

Venezuelans are gearingup for October 7 elections, inwhich Chavez -- Latin Amer-ica's most influential and out-spoken leftist leader for morethan a decade -- is seeking athird term.

Opposition candidateHenrique Capriles, the youth-ful former governor of Mi-randa state, has trailedChavez in recent polls bysome 15 percentage points.

If Chavez, who has de-clared himself "free" of can-cer a year after his diagnosis,wins and serves out his fullterm, he could rack up 20years in office.

Venezuela in mourningafter refinery blastkills 39Continued from pg 1

DAMASCUS (AFP) - SyrianPresident Bashar al-Assadsaid on Sunday the foreign"conspiracy" against hiscountry would be defeated, ashis forces were accused of abloody rampage in a townnear Damascus that left hun-dreds dead.

"The Syrian people willnot allow this conspiracy toachieve its objectives" andwill defeat it "at any price,"Assad said during a meetingin Damascus with a top offi-cial from Iran, Syria's chiefregional ally.

The Syrian leader has sinceMarch last year been tryingthrough force to smother apopular uprising that hasturned into a brutal civil warwhich has left thousands dead,seen more than 200,000refugees fleeing to neighbour-ing countries and 2.5 millionin need inside Syria.

The Syrian Observatoryfor Human Rights said at

least 320 people were killedin a five-day onslaught onDaraya, a satellite townsouthwest of the capital, bytroops battling to crush insur-gents.

Grisly videos issued byopposition militants showeddozens of charred and blood-ied bodies lined up in broaddaylight in a graveyard, andothers lying wall-to-wall inrooms in a mosque in Daraya.

The Local CoordinationCommittees, a network of ac-tivists on the ground, de-scribed it as a "massacre" byAssad's regime and saidmany victims had been sum-marily executed and theirbodies burnt.

"The shabiha (pro-regime)militias... have been trans-formed into a killing machinethat threatens the Syrian peo-ple and our future," it said.

Human rights groups haveaccused the regime of com-mitting many atrocities in its

attempts to crush the upris-ing, and a UN panel said ear-lier this month it was guiltyof crimes against humanity.

"Bodies were found infields, basements and sheltersand in the streets," Observa-tory director Rami AbdelRahman told AFP.

He said 200 bodies hadbeen identified so far, includ-ing 15 women and 14 chil-dren, and that many of thevictims had died in shellingor were summarily executed.

In the first reaction by aworld power, Britain said thatif confirmed, the Darayamassacre "would be an atroc-ity on a new scale."

Activists issued graphicvideos of the scenes inDaraya, one showing dozensof bodies in dimly lit rooms,with a commentary referringto "an odious massacre com-mitted by the gangs of theAssad regime in the AbuSleiman Addarani Mosque."

Assad slams anti-Syria 'conspiracy' aftermassacre claims

TAMPA, Florida (AFP) - TheUS Republican and Demo-cratic conventions have tradi-tionally targeted televisionviewers above all -- but thisyear's will see an unprece-dented effort to reach votersvia social media.

In the last presidentialelection four years ago, Face-book, Twitter and other plat-forms were not yet theubiquitous force they are now-- even if Barack Obama wasamong the first to use onlinetools in a major way for elec-toral ends.

It was arguably not untilthe US mid-term elections in2010 that social media, in-cluding YouTube and Flickr,really took off as key tools inthe politicians' communica-tions armory.

The Republican NationalConvention, which opened inTampa, Florida today, and theDemocratic gathering in

Charlotte, North Carolinenext month, confirm thetrend, with huge teams ofstaffers dedicated to reachingvoters online.

"Wherever you live, what-ever device you use, we wantyou to engage as an activeparticipant in this conven-tion," the convention's chiefexecutive William Harris saidlast week.

"This convention is aboutevery American's future, andeveryone has a stake in it sowe created a 'Conventionwithout Walls' to make thisthe most open and accessibleevent in history."

In addition to the in-evitable Twitter and Face-book pages, both parties haveset up stall on YouTube,photo sharing sites Flickr andPinterest, and the Google +and Foursquare networks, aswell as an array of smart-phone applications.

US party conventions targetsocial media audience

Soon afterwards, theirmother Fayha is pulled fromthe rubble and brought to thehospital. After the staff stitchup a wound to her head andwrap her in a blanket, she isbrought for a family reunion.

In a small room nearby onthe first floor, 25-year-old Mo-hammed, a general practi-tioner, is stitching up a woundon the arm of a fighter whowas wounded by a grenade inthe Saif al-Dawla neighbour-hood, where fierce battles areraging between rebel forcesand government troops.

"I've been here a month. Iwork four days at a time, full-time, treating everything thatcomes in," Mohammed says,asking an assistant to adjust alamp so he can better see hisstitching work. "It's hard, ofcourse, but I look at it as aduty, a humanitarian require-ment."

The facility is barely a hos-pital now, able to handle onlythe simplest tasks -- stitches,blood transfusions, X-rays.The staff try to stabilise thosein need of anything more sothey can be transferred acrossthe border to Turkey.

Most of the upper floors areunusable, with many roomstrashed by incoming shells,and the risk of repeated attackhas prompted staff to confinetheir work to the two lowestfloors and the basement.

Abu Mohammed, the hospi-tal pharmacist, maintains hiscool. After a month working inthe facility, he has learned tokeep his emotions in check.

"Every day we are beingshelled, and most of the peoplewe see here are civilians,women and children. The soundof shelling, and the sound ofscreaming, have become some-thing normal for us."

Eight-year-old Mahmudstruggles to get his words outas he sits on a stretcher, doc-tors rubbing iodine on his headas his chest heaves beneath hisBarcelona football club shirt.

"We were sitting on thefloor of the kitchen, me andmy sister Sana, and a rocketcame and hit the house. Wedidn't see the ceiling collaps-ing on top of us," he says.

"My mum and dad are stillthere," Sana cries next to him,her bare feet hanging over theedge of the bed, blood mixedwith bits of concrete in her red-dish hair. "Where is my mum?Is she okay?" she weeps, asstaff try to calm her down.

Both children have fairlyminor injuries and are soon re-united with their parents. Theirfather rushes in first, followedby their grandfather, wild withpanic, tears marking cleantrails through the dust on hisface.

On the first floor of the Dar al-Shifa hospital in Aleppo, aboom sounds as a rocket firedfrom a helicopter hits a nearbybuilding, and the staff beginpreparing for another influx ofpatients.

They barely flinch at thesound of the attack, which hitsa fifth-floor apartment some150 metres (yards) from thefacility. The hospital itself hasbeen shelled four times, forc-ing the evacuation of all buttwo of its floors.

"My God, it's like thisevery day," a nurse sighs asshe rushes towards the hospi-tal's front door to meet a carcarrying wounded children,even as the helicopter contin-ues to circle overhead, firingcannon rounds.

Two children are rushed in,a boy and a girl, blood stream-ing from their heads. Dustcakes their faces, arms andclothes.


Health & Living

-Stiff neck-Disorientation or confusion-Stupor or coma-Tremors or muscle jerking-Lack of coordination-Convulsions-Pain-Partial paralysis or sudden

weaknessSigns and symptoms of

West Nile fever usually last afew days, but sign and symp-toms of encephalitis or menin-gitis can linger for weeks, andcertain neurological effects,such as muscle weakness, maybe permanent.

Mild symptoms of WestNile fever usually resolve ontheir own. If you experiencesigns or symptoms of seriousinfection, such as severeheadaches, a stiff neck or analtered mental state, seek med-ical attention right away. A se-rious West Nile virus infectiongenerally requires hospitaliza-tion.

West Nile virus is an infectiontransmitted by mosquitoes. Ifyou become infected withWest Nile virus, you may notexperience any signs or symp-toms or you may experienceonly minor ones. However,some people who become in-fected with West Nile virus de-velop a life-threatening illnessthat includes inflammation ofthe brain.

Mild signs and symptoms ofa West Nile virus infectiongenerally go away on theirown. But severe signs andsymptoms — such as a severeheadache, disorientation orsudden weakness — requireimmediate attention.

Exposure to mosquitoeswhere West Nile virus existsincreases your risk of gettingWest Nile virus. Protect your-self from mosquitoes by usingmosquito repellent and wear-ing clothing that covers yourskin to reduce your risk.

Common Symptoms:-Fever-Headache-Body aches-Fatigue-Skin rash (occasionally)-Swollen lymph glands (occa-sionally)-Eye pain (occasionally)

Serious infection signs andsymptoms :-High fever-Severe headache

HEALTH TIP

West Nile virusAleppo hospital staff brave shellsto treat wounded

Born in Wapakoneta, Ohioon August 5, 1930, Armstronghad an early fascination withaircraft and worked at a nearbyairport when he was ateenager. He received hispilot's license on his 16thbirthday.

A US Navy aviator, he flew78 missions in the KoreanWar.

Armstrong joined NASA'spredecessor agency, the Na-tional Advisory Committee forAeronautics, in 1955.

As a research pilot atNASA's Flight Research Cen-ter in Edwards, California, heflew on many pioneering high-speed aircraft, eventually fly-ing over 200 different models,including helicopters, gliders,jets and rockets.

He reached astronaut statusin 1962, and was assigned ascommand pilot for the Gemini8 mission, during which heperformed the first successfuldocking of two vehicles inspace.

After retiring from NASA in1971, Armstrong taught aero-space engineering at the Uni-versity of Cincinnati for nearlya decade and served on theboards of several companies,including Lear Jet, United Air-lines and Marathon Oil.

In announcing his death,Armstrong's family said theyhad a simple request to peoplein memory of Armstrong's life.

was a humble person, andthat's the way he remainedafter his lunar flight, as well asbefore."

Aldrin said he had hopedthat he, Armstrong andMichael Collins, the third as-tronaut on the mission, wouldhave met up in 2019 for cele-brations marking the 50th an-niversary of Apollo 11.

On Sunday, more praisepoured in from world leadersand fellow astronauts, withFrench Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault saying that Arm-strong's "small step" had"realized the dream of genera-

tions of inventors, scientists,artists, poets or simply ama-teurs, of the beauties of space."

European CommissionPresident Jose Manuel Bar-roso said he "vividly" remem-bered the night Armstrong andAldrin landed on the "Sea ofTranquility," saying Arm-strong had "left an eternalfootprint on our memories."

orated by 17 countries and re-ceived a slew of US honors,but was never comfortablewith his worldwide fame andshied away from the limelight.

In a rare television inter-view in 2005, Armstrong saidhe did not deserve the atten-tion he received for being thefirst man on the moon, juststeps ahead of fellow Apollo11 astronaut Edwin "Buzz"Aldrin.

"I wasn't chosen to be first.I was just chosen to commandthat flight. Circumstance putme in that particular role," hesaid.

Armstrong even stoppedsigning memorabilia after learn-ing his autographs were beingsold at exorbitant prices.

John Glenn, the first Ameri-can to orbit Earth, recalled Arm-strong's legendary humility.

"He didn't feel that heshould be out hucksteringhimself," the former Ohio sen-ator told CNN Saturday. "He

PARAGUANA- An explosion tore through Venezuela'sbiggest refinery on Saturday, killing at least 39 people,wounding dozens and halting operations at the facility inthe worst accident to hit the OPEC nation's oil industry.Venezuelans who live next to the country’s biggest oil re-finery said they smelled a strong odour of sulfur hoursbefore a gas leak ignited the explosion. The Amuay re-finery was still burning on Sunday more than a day afterthe blast, sending up a thick column of black smoke.Amuay is among the world's largest refineries and is partof the Paraguana Refinery Complex. The cause of thedisaster is under investigation. Oil Minister RafaelRamirez said the country has enough fuel in storage, "10days of inventories," to keep the Venezuelan market fullysupplied with gasoline and diesel.


Refinery blast kills 39 inVenezuela

Sci-Tech

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Trib-utes poured in Sunday follow-ing the death of NeilArmstrong, the humble US as-tronaut whose "small step" onthe moon captivated the worldand came to embody the won-der of space exploration.

Armstrong, who died Satur-day at the age of 82 from com-plications following heartsurgery earlier this month, in-spired generations to reach forthe stars and etched his namenext to one of the great mile-stones of human discovery.

The grainy black-and-whitebroadcast of Armstrong'smoon walk on July 20, 1969was seen by some 500 millionpeople, his words capturingthe promise of the still-youngspace age and briefly uniting aplanet split by the Cold War.

"That's one small step for

man, one giant leap formankind," the earthboundheard Armstrong say, thoughhe later claimed that an "a" be-fore the word "man" had beenlost in transmission.

US President BarackObama, who was just twoweeks short of his eighthbirthday when the historicmission succeeded, said Arm-strong had "delivered a mo-ment of human achievementthat will never be forgotten."

Praising Armstrong as a"reluctant American hero," hisfamily expressed hope hislegacy would encourageyoung people to "work hard tomake their dreams come true,to be willing to explore andpush the limits and to self-lessly serve a cause greaterthan themselves."

The lunar pioneer was dec-

Tributes pour in for 'man on the moon' Armstrong

Astronaut Neil Armstrong walks on the moon during theApollo 11 moon mission in 1969.


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


Finance

SAtURDAY’S

Crossword Answer

PARIS (AFP) - A large ma-jority of French want a refer-endum over a new EU treatythat would introduce a"golden rule" making bal-anced budgets mandatory, ac-cording to a poll to bepublished Monday.

President Francois Hol-lande has opted for a parlia-ment vote to adopt the treaty,a key element in efforts toovercome the eurozone debtcrisis, which will enter intoforce once 12 of the 17 euro-zone members have ratifiedit.

Signed in March, the pactrequires countries with highdebt to keep their structuraldeficits below 0.5 percent ofgross domestic product orface stiff penalties.

But 72 percent of of the998 people surveyed bypolling institute CSA for thedaily L'Humanite answeredyes when asked whether theywould like a national referen-dum on the treaty.

Twenty-three percent saidno, with five percent unde-cided.

Respondents from Hol-lande's Socialist Party werethe least likely to favor a ref-erendum, with 66 percent an-swering yes, while supportersof the Front de Gauche leftparty were the biggest back-ers at 80 percent.

Seventy-five percent ofright-wing supporters an-swered yes to the referendumin the phone survey on Au-gust 21-22.

France's ConstitutionalCouncil ruled this month thatno change to the country'sconstitution was necessary toadopt the EU fiscal pact, al-lowing Hollande to avoid adivisive battle within his So-cialist party and with its left-wing allies over aconstitutional amendment.

The amendment wouldhave required three-fifths ap-proval by parliament or a ref-erendum.

Most French want referendumon new EU treaty: survey - Poll

BERLIN (AFP) - GermanChancellor Angela Merkel onSunday warned that "everyday" counts in efforts bydebt-wracked Greece to com-ply with its commitments andsafeguard its eurozone mem-bership.

"In this context, every daycounts now to reallystrengthen efforts and applywhat has been promised,"Merkel told ARD public tele-vision when asked about howconfident she was in PrimeMinister Antonis Samaras.

Merkel said that muchconfidence had been lost overthe past two and a half yearsand reiterated the need to nowwait for a progress report, duenext month, by Greece's inter-national creditors.

"Like others I have said tothe Greek prime minister thatthere is still a lot to do," shesaid.

As part of a 130-billion-euro ($161-billion) bailoutpackage from the EU and theInternational Monetary Fund(IMF), Greece has committedto sweeping reforms andsome 11.5 billion euros ofcuts in 2013 and 2014.

A positive report from theso-called Troika -- the Euro-pean Commission, IMF and theEuropean Central Bank -- is es-

sential for Greece to get thenext 31.5-billion-euro install-ment of funds to keep it afloat.

After some members ofher centre-right coalitionhave spoken publicly of apossible Greek exit from theeurozone or have appearedsceptical over a solution,Merkel said that Europe wasin a "decisive" phase.

"We are at the moment ina very decisive phase in fight-ing the European debt crisis,"she said.

And she cautioned thateveryone should pay atten-tion to what they say.

In Sunday's Bild am Son-ntag newspaper, AlexanderDobrindt, the secretary generalof the Christian Social Union(CSU), a junior coalition part-ner, said he saw Greece leav-ing the euro next year.

Merkel: 'every day' countsfor Greece's austerity steps

WASHINGTON (AFP) -Apple will unveil a new,smaller version of its wildlypopular iPad in October afterthe release of the latest ver-sion of its iPhone nextmonth, the All ThingsDigital website re-ported Sunday.

"First comes thelatest iteration of thetech giant's hugelypopular smartphone,which will be unveiledat an as yet unannouncedevent on September 12," thewebsite said.

"Only after the next-gen-eration iPhone is out the doorand on sale will Apple an-nounce the smaller iPad it'sbeen working on," it said.

"That device, which is ex-

pected to have a display ofless than eight inches (20 cen-timeters), will be uncrated ata second special event, whichsources say is currentlyscheduled for October."

The 10-inch iPad haslong dominated thetablet market, butfaces a growing chal-lenge from smallermodels like Amazon's

Kindle Fire, the GoogleNexus 7 and the Samsung

Galaxy.Apple is expected to

launch the miniature iPadlater this year, with analystssaying it could allow the Cal-ifornia-based company toagain best its global rivals de-spite the death last year of vi-sionary founder Steve Jobs.

Apple to unveil mini iPad inOctober: report

Hong Kong (AFP) - Chineseoil giant Sinopec, Asia'slargest refiner by capacity, an-nounced on Sunday that first-half net profit fell 41 percentyear-on-year, reports said.

Net profit for the sixmonths ended June 30 was24.5 billion yuan (3.85 billionUS dollars), sharply downfrom 41.17 billion yuan a yearearlier, Dow Jones Newswiresand China's state Xinhua newsagency reported.

First-half revenue rose 9.3percent to 1.348 trillion yuanfrom 1.233 trillion yuan.

The Hong Kong-listedfirm attributed the sharp de-cline in profits to a significantrise in crude oil prices and re-stricted prices of gasoline anddiesel products, Xinhua said.

A drop in the prices ofpetrochemical products alsoreduced profits, Xinhuaquoted the company as say-ing.

State-owned PetroChina,which is also listed in HongKong, said Thursday its netprofit for the first half of thisyear fell 6.0 percent year-on-year due in part to a slow-down in China's economy.

Chinese giantSinopec seesnet profit fall

U.S.A.

Dutch Antilles

Canada

Britiain

Switzerland

Netherlands

Sweden

Denmark

Norway

Japan

(per 100)

USD

ANG

CAD

GBP

CHF

EUR

SEK

DKK

NOK

JPY

1.77

98.00

1.77

2.76

185.30

220.74

26.04

28.94

29.54

224.88

1.78

100.00

1.79

2.81

186.02

222.76

26.76

29.66

30.26

226.93

1.80

100.20

1.81

2.87

186.82

224.99

27.56

30.46

31.06

229.21

Currency

Code

Buying

ratebanknotes

Buying

ChequesSelling

Rate

Current as

08/26/2012

All rates for amounts up to AWG 100.00 per item.

Two seats were left vacant on the panel when StevenTyler and Jennifer Lopez announced their back-to-back"Idol" departures in July. Reports also surfaced thatRandy Jackson -- the only original "American Idol" judgestill standing -- will be moving on to a mentor role on theshow. "American Idol" wanted Katy Perry to fill one of itsvacant judge's seats, offering her $20 Million. Katy madeit clear ... she was NOT interested and money wasn't theissue.

LONDON (AFP) - Media mogul Rupert Murdoch came tothe defence of Britain's Prince Harry on Sunday, urgingcritics to "give him a break" over photographs of himfrolicking naked in a Las Vegas hotel suite. Australian-born Murdoch posted a message of support on his Twit-ter page after The Sun, his top-selling British tabloid,printed the images of 27-year-old Harry in defiance of or-ders from the royal family. The images of the third in lineto the throne, cavorting nude with a mystery woman dur-ing a game of "strip billiards", first surfaced Wednesdayon the US gossip website TMZ before going viral on theInternet. The Sun initially respected the royal family's re-quest that British newspapers did not print the grainycamera-phone images, but broke ranks on Friday, claim-ing it did so in defence of press freedom. The newspapersaid it was "ludicrous" that the British press were not al-lowed to print images that had already been seen by hun-dreds of millions of people on the Internet.

have remained free. But Russ-ian police announced three daysafter the court ruling that theywere seeking to arrest the duo.

Besides the five women, anunknown number of peoplehave also participated in theaction, notably in filming thescene in the cathedral.

The Russian court's rulinghas been decried by the Westwhich calls it disproportionateand excessive.

International stars includ-ing Paul McCartney, Madonnaand Sting have also lent theirsupport for the punk rockers.

Five bandmates from PussyRiot on February 21 pulled onbrightly coloured balaclavasand belted out a "punk prayer"in Moscow's Christ the Sav-iour Cathedral calling on theVirgin Mary to remove Russ-ian strongman Putin.

Three members of thegroup -- Maria Alyokhina,Nadezhda Tolokonnikova andYekaterina Samutsevich --were arrested then and on Au-gust 21 sentenced to two yearsin jail for "hooliganism moti-vated by religious hatred".

The other two bandmates

MOSCOW (AFP) - Two fe-male Pussy Riot punk rockerswho are being hunted by po-lice for having taken part in aprotest stunt against PresidentVladimir Putin have fled Rus-sia in order to evade arrest, thegroup said Sunday.

"Our two members who arewanted by police have man-aged to leave the Russian ter-ritory! They are trying torecruit foreign feminists toprepare new action," the groupwrote on its Twitter account,without giving details onwhere the women have fled to.


Two Pussy Riot members fled Russiato evade arrest: band

Katy Perry REJECT $20 Mil'Idol' Offer

manded in custody last Thurs-day.

But Tauran said that Rimsha"is a girl who cannot read orwrite and collects garbage tolive on and picked up the frag-ments of the book which wasin the middle of the rubbish."

"The more serious and tensethe situation, the more neces-sary it is to have dialogue,"added the cardinal, who wasthe late pope John Paul II's for-eign minister.

The youngster reportedlyhas Down's Syndrome and herarrest has prompted outragefrom rights groups and con-cern from Western govern-ments.

Under Pakistan's strict blas-phemy laws, insulting theprophet Mohammed is punish-able by death and burning a sa-cred text by life imprisonment.

Rishma had been due to ap-pear in court on Saturday butpolice and her lawyer said Fri-day that the hearing had beenput back to August 31.

serting a sacred text has beenthe object of scorn, it is worthchecking the facts."

Rimsha, aged 11 to 16 ac-cording to different reports, isaccused of burning pages froma children's religious instruc-tion book inscribed with versesfrom the Koran, Islam's holybook. She was arrested and re-

VATICAN CITY (AFP) -French Cardinal Jean-LouisTauran went to the defence ofthe young Pakistani girl ac-cused of blasphemy, stressingthat she "cannot read or write."

Interviewed on Radio Vati-can, Tauran, who is in chargeof interfaith dialogue in theVatican, said "that before as-

Christian girl held on blasphemycannot read: Vatican


drop-off; they even boast ashopping service to stock yourshelves before arrival.

Gold Coast accommoda-tions are elegant and spacious,

offering privacy for parents ora few couples. Beautifully ap-pointed kitchens and bathroomsgrace each abode; barbecuesand lounges are provided forfriendly cookouts and truly sa-voring the island life. Allhomes come with cable TV,high-speed fiber-optic Internet

connection, individualwasher/dryer, and are fully air-conditioned. Cribs, high chairsand hair dryers are availablefor a modest fee. Concierge

ser vices to arrange rental cars,spa appointments, activitiesand restaurant reservations areall part of the package.

Check-in for your holidayescape is conducted in thecomfort of your vacationhome, not while waiting online at check-in desk. In everyway, Gold Coast seeks to pam-per their guests while provid-ing them with the feeling ofbeing in a cozy community,not the normally bustling re-sort, particularly experiencedduring the major holidays. Ifyou wish an optimal vacationexperience with great savings,visit their website: www.gold-coastaruba. com to get ac-quainted with the communityand the layout, details andavailability of accommoda-tions, or call 586-2200 to talkpersonally to a Gold Coastrepresentative.

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 ringpurchasing property on the is-land. Some owners are usingthe villas or town homes asvacation retreats rather thanfull time and are taking ad-vantage of Gold Coast’s rentalservices to turn their invest-ment into ready income.

“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 groups andfa mi- lies, famed hotelier EdMa-lone has been placed incharge of the rental program.

Staying at Gold Coast is avery attractive proposition forthose traveling with groupsthat would require multiplehotel rooms. Two and threebedroom Villas or TownHomes accommodate largenumbers and offer extensiveamenities along with a finalcost resulting in considerablesavings. The community isminutes to the best beachesand all the casino action, andoffers a quiet and secludedgetaway with two swimmingpools and specialized serviceswith more on the way, such asa fitness room, tennis courtsand mini-mall. Ed can arrangemaid service, babysitters,caterers, airline pick-up and

Gold Coast Aruba:Great savings for large familieson holiday rentals

No foray to Oran-jestad is com-plete without astop to refreshand refuel atLecca Lecca,the stylish“ G e l a t oShoppe” lo-cated right inthe main bus ter-minal. This adorableeatery sports a menuthat reflects the passion of itsowner, Milly Lacle, for“healthy, natural foods, for ahealthy body.”

The idea of a sweet treatbeing good for you is con-trary to everything we arebeing told today, but Millydid her homework before es-tablishing her gelato and sor-betto factory on the secondfloor. Her recipes come froma respected gelato house inItaly, where they have beenproducing the refreshing, lowor no fat product since the1800’s. She continues the tra-dition of using only freshfruit juices and natural ex-

tracts to as flavoring. There are absolutely no

artificial colorants or preser-vatives in the gelato and sor-betto, which is producedfresh daily; leftovers at theend of the day are donated tochildren’s homesCasa Cuna or Imelda-hoff. They have over60 flavors on theirroster with 18 avail-able at the shop eachday, including at leastone sugar-free andone-gluten free forthose with special di-etary needs. All thegelato is made fromorganic milk flown infrom Italy, guaranteedfree of steroids andantibiotics. LeccaLecca pasteurizes themilk in their factory,to be sure there are nochemicals used in the

process. The end product iswhipped light and fluffy nat-urally, producing a satisfyingtreat drastically lower in fat,sugar and calories than tradi-tional ice cream.

Unique flavors foundnowhere else are a revelation.For a delightful surprise andpure refreshment, sample thegrapefruit, passion fruit orcarrot sorbetto; the rich, dark,suger-free chocolate gelato isabsolutely sinful, without theguilty conscience! They alsohave a unique collection ofyogurt gelatos swirled with

fresh fruit sorbettoin delightful com-binations.

Lecca Lecca of-fers an attractivelunch menu includ-ing quiche madewith only freshvegetables, andsandwiches oncrusty bread theyprepare in theirown bakery. In-dulge in the soup ofthe day for a hearty

sampling of authentic Arubancooking.

Opened Monday throughSaturday from 9:30 AM until7:00 PM; it is a must dowhile in Oranjestad for a re-freshing treat, with the em-phasis on FRESH!

Healthy, tastytreats on the menu

at Lecca Lecca

Favorities and unique fla-

vors like grapefruit and

lemon mint

Fresh vegetable quiche

Tutti frutti a blend of

fresh exotic fruits

caped with his life, although abullet shattered his ankle.

After several complex oper-ations and a long process of re-habilitation, he managed to pullthrough -- thanks to his grow-ing involvement in sports andthe help of experts and psy-chologists at Beit HaLochem, anational network of rehabilita-tion centres where the disabledcan participate in sports.

With major centres in TelAviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, BeitHaLochem serves tens of thou-sands of disabled army veter-ans with a focus on sports as atool for rehabilitation and so-cial reintegration.

This year, Magnagey is oneof 25 Israelis who will repre-sent the Jewish state in Londonin nine categories including cy-cling, skiff, wheelchair tennis,table tennis, marathon, shoot-ing, equestrian, sailing andswimming.

He is one of the many Is-raelis who with courage, en-durance and determination areamong the 4,200 athletes tak-ing part in the Games from 166countries.

which was introduced for thefirst time at the 2008 BeijingParalympics.

For Magnagey, his careeras a Paralympic athlete beganseveral years after he was shotduring a deadly clash withPalestinian militants duringthe second intifada, or upris-ing (2000-2005).

"Ten years ago, I was anengineer in industrial manage-ment, comfortably installed inmy own office and somewhat

overweight, when the armycalled me for emergency re-serve duty," he says, a wrysmile on his face.

"At the time, there was awave of suicide attacks hittingcafes, buses and hotels acrossIsrael, and I found myself in-volved in a massive operationin Jenin refugee camp," he said.

The 10-day operation whichsaw pitched battles betweentroops and militants in thenorthern West Bank city, endedwith the deaths of 53 Palestini-ans and 23 Israeli soldiers.

Although 13 of his col-leagues died, Magnagey es-

came to the rescue.Osasuna was the scene of a

Barca defeat last season thathelped to turn the title raceagainst them and they went be-hind this time after a 17th-minute goal from JosebaLlorente.

After the visitors missed ahatful of opportunities, thegame appeared to be goingagainst them, until Messi roseto the occasion with strikesafter 75 and 80 minutes.

Osasuna's Francisco Punalwas red-carded by the refereefor protesting about the Argen-tine's first strike, as he felt hewas offside.

Victory provisionally tookBarcelona top of the early-sea-son standings, above RayoVallecano on goal difference.

Barca now turn their atten-tion to the second leg of theSpanish Super Cup on Thurs-day, when they face RealMadrid at the Bernabeu with a3-2 lead.

Madrid are unbeaten in theleague in 2012 after a stunningmarch towards last season'sleague title, but they aresearching for their first win ofthis campaign as they couldonly draw 1-1 at home to Va-lencia in their opening game.

Barca appeared set for theirfirst defeat under coach TitoVilanova, who was sent fromthe dug-out for complaining tothe referee midway throughthe second half, before Messi

MADRID(AFP) - LionelMessi struck a late brace togive Barcelona a 2-1 win over10-man Osasuna on Sundaythat took them to the top of theSpanish Liga table.

14 Monday, August 27,2012

Football: Messi double saves

Barcelona

HOLON (AFP) - With a glitter-ing record of more than 300Paralympic medals, 113 ofthem gold, Israel is hoping thatthe upcoming London Gameswill help erase the memory ofa lacklustre performance in theOlympics.

Forty-year-old ReuvenMagnagey is up every day atthe crack of dawn to say hisprayers and eat a light breakfastbefore heading off to thenearby Yarkon River to train.

At the London Games,Magnagey will compete in themixed double sculls, in thenewly-added rowing category

Paralympics: Israel looks to burnishglittering record

BARCELONA (AFP) - Belgium's Philippe Gilbert claimedthe Tour of Spain's ninth stage here on Sunday, with localhope Joaquim Rodriguez retaining possession of theoverall leader's red jersey. Gilbert prevailed in a dash forthe line, with Rodriguez in second and Italian Paolo Tira-longo taking third at the end of a taxing 196.3km run fromAndorra, the longest stage in this year's Vuelta. The in-form Catalan-born Rodriguez was looking good for thestage win before being joined and eventually beaten byGilbert. But he will have been pleased with his day's workas he extended his cushion in the overall standings overhis main rivals for outright victory. He now leads TeamSky's Chris Froome by 53sec, with former winner AlbertoContador one minute adrift. The riders have a rest dayon today before the action resumes with Tuesday's190km 10th stage between Ponteareas and Sanxenxo.

SPORTS

Motorcycling:French teenagerin coma afterBrno crash PARIS (AFP) - A teenage

French motorcycle rider,

Simon Danilo, has been

placed in an artificial coma

after crashing and suffering

serious injuries in a rookies

race at the Brno circuit this

weekend, organisers said.

"According to the latest in-

formation he is in an artificial

coma, but none of his vital or-

gans are in danger," circuit di-

rector Ivana Ulmanova

reported on Sunday.

Danilo, 15, crashed on the

final lap of the Red Bull Mo-

toGP Rookies Cup on Satur-

day, seriously damaging his

spinal cord, according to mo-

torcycling's official website,

www.motogp.com.

He underwent surgery on

Saturday night on two frac-

tured vertebrae and a frac-

tured leg

possible not only for 2012 butfor many seasons to come."

The Red Sox will pick upfirst baseman James Loneyand two prospects, pitcherAllen Webster and infielderIvan De Jesus. They will alsoget two players to be namedlater.

The Dodgers are battlingSan Francisco for first place intheir division while the RedSox, who have one of thehighest payrolls in MajorLeague Baseball, are in fourthplace in their division.

"We are absolutely commit-ted to building the best team in2013 and beyond, and we willdo that in the most disciplinedway possible," said Ben Cher-ington, general manager of theRed Sox. "We have a core ofplayers here, still, that will bea part of our next great team."

The Dodgers are hoping theacquisition of Beckett will add

LOS ANGELES, CA (AF) -The Los Angeles Dodgers ac-quired former World SeriesMost Valuable Player JoshBeckett and all-star infielderAdrian Gonzalez in a nine-player deal with the BostonRed Sox, the Dodgers said.

The Dodgers not only getthree-time All-Star pitchingace Beckett and three-timeGold Glove first basemanGonzalez but they also receiveoutfielder Carl Crawford, in-fielder Nick Punto and cash inthe blockbuster deal.

"We continue to do every-thing in our power tostrengthen our team for thestretch drive in an effort toreach the post-season," saidDodgers general manager NedColletti of the trade which isone of the largest in the historyof Major League Baseball interms of money.

"This trade today exempli-fies ownership's commitmentto making the team as good as

Josh Beckett

BRNO (AFP) - Spain's Honda rider Dani Pedrosa won theCzech MotoGP here on Sunday, beating world champi-onship leader Jorge Lorenzo in a nerve-wracking finallap. Pedrosa, who finished the 22 laps on the 5.4-kilome-tre (3.4-mile) circuit in 42 minutes 51.570 seconds, hasnarrowed the gap on Lorenzo in the overall standings toonly 13 points with six races to go this season. Britain'sCal Crutchlow on a Yamaha came in third for the firstpodium finish of his MotoGP career, ahead of Italianteammate Andrea Dovizioso. Last year's winner CaseyStoner was absent with a fractured ankle.

experience to their pitchingstaff.

The 32-year-old Beckettwas named most valuableplayer of the 2003 World Se-ries while he was with theFlorida Marlins. He left theMarlins, who made him theirsecond overall pick in 1999, tojoin Boston in 2006 andhelped the Red Sox capturethe World Series title a yearlater.

But Beckett has struggledthis season and has just fivewins and 11 losses in 21 starts.He has $31.5 left on his con-tract through the end of the2014 season.

Gonzalez, who is set to earn$133 million over the next sixyears of his contract, is havinga banner year and leadsBoston with 11 game-winningRBI. He has 15 home runs and86 RBI and is batting .300 in123 contests.

The 30-year-old leads allMLB players with a .398 bat-ting average with runners inscoring position.

Former Dodger Loney was afirst-round pick by Los Ange-les 10 years ago. He is hitting.254 with four homers and 33RBI in 114 games this season.

The 22-year-old righthanded pitcher Webster is con-sidered one of the top prospectsin the Dodgers' system.


Red Sox deal Beckett, Gonzalezto Dodgers

“A good coach will make his playerssee what they can be rather thanwhat they are.” - Ara Parseghian (former American football player and coach of Ar-menian descent)

FIFA to look at bid .....continued from page 16

Swiss court documents, recently published by FIFA, reveal ISLpaid millions of dollars in bribes to former FIFA president JoaoHavelange and ex-FIFA executive committee member RicardoTeixeira.

"If you look at things, it is clear there is something to inves-tigate and that is what we are going to do," the 51-year-old Gar-cia told ARD.

Garcia also said the conduct of FIFA President Sepp Blatterwill also come under scrutiny.

"The more important the person involved is, the more im-portant it is to examine them as well," he added.


FIFA to lookat 2018, 2022World Cup winning bids BERLIN (AFP) - Michael

Garcia, the newly-appointed

joint chief investigator of

FIFA's ethics committee, has

said the awarding of the 2018

and 2022 World Cups to Rus-

sia and Qatar respectively will

come under scrutiny.

Garcia of the USA and

Hans-Joachim Eckert of Ger-

many were appointed joint

chairmen of the Ethics Com-

mittee during FIFA's extraordi-

nary meeting in Zurich in July.

The awarding of the 2006

World Cup to Germany will

also come under scrutiny as

part of the pairs' inquiries,

Garcia told German television

in an interview.

The American said one of

their many tasks is also to look

into the relationship between

FIFA and defunct marketing

company ISL, who sold

FIFA's World Cup TV rights.

continues on page 15

Arubans affirm: when it comesto Junior League Baseball, WE Are The Champions!!!

On Saturday August 25th, Arubas Junior League Team received a Heroes Welcome, with an hours-long parade

beginning at The Joe Laveist Ballpark in San.Nicolas with stops at different parts of the island, where they were

warmly welcomed.

See Story on page 4

Documents

Monday, August 27, 2012