monday, september 10, 2012

Kosovo and its two millionmajority ethnic-Albanian po -pulation has been under someform of international adminis-tration since a NATO bombingcampaign forced then Serbianstrongman Slobodan Milose-vic's forces out of the Serbianprovince in 1999.

On February 17, 2008, itunilaterally declared indepen -dence from Serbia and has beenrecognised by some 90 coun-tries, including most EU na-tions. However, it continues toface opposition from Belgrade,Moscow and Kosovo's ethnicSerbs, who make up about sixpercent of the population, li vingmainly in the north on the bor-der with Serbia.

The end of international su-pervision will not affect thepresence of the NATO-ledKFOR peacekeeping force incharge of the security situationor the European rule of law mis-sion EULEX, which was cre-ated to boost the justice system.

PRISTINA (AFP) - On theeve of a meeting of Westernpowers gathered in the Inter-national Steering Groupwhich will officially grantKosovo full sovereignty,Pristina yesterday preparedto celebrate.

A huge stage was set up inthe main Mother Teresa Squarefor an open air concert ofbands from Kosovo, Albania,Macedonia and Bosniaplanned for this evening to ce -lebrate the end of internationalsupervision over the territory.

The ISG, which consists of23 EU countries, the UnitedStates and Turkey who have allrecognised Pristina's 2008 de -claration of independence, de-cided that time has come forKosovo to "acquire full inde-pendence" despite Serbia's re-fusal to accept it. The groupcited the territory's "clear sup-port of a de mocratic and multi-ethnic state".

The formal announcement tolift the supervision is expectedafter an afternoon meeting to beattended by Dutch diplomatPieter Feith, who chairs the In-ternational Civilian Office(ICO), prime minister HashimThaci and a host of other inter-national and Kosovo officials.

picture of the tasks of ATAand an idea of the dedicationwith which the employeesfulfil their commitment.

During the campaign thespotlight will also be placedon those who have excelledin tourism and have won“Shoco” awards. Emphasiswill also be placed on thosewho work indirectly in thetourism sector who in oneway or the other contribute tothe experience of the visitor.Hence, you will see manywho work in different profes-sions who contribute to theexperience of our visitors.

Continued on page 4

visitor that feeling of happi-ness and tranquillity. Theawareness campaign willserve as an incentive for thecertification training programbegun last October wherethose involved in the tourismindustry is being taught or re-freshed on all aspects of ourtourism.

The campaign will also il-lustrate how ATA is contribu -ting to the development ofAruba’s tourism. It will illus-trate what are the commit-ments and responsibility ofthe organization and itsemplo yees. The campaignwill give everyone a clear

ORANJESTAD -- During arecent press conference heldat the Aruba Tourism Author-ity (ATA) offices, ATA pre-sented how their awarenesscampaign, dubbed, “MiCompromiso” (My Commit-ment) is expected to work.ATA’s main objective is topromote Aruba as a tourismdestination inclu ding all ourservices and product. Themodern day tourist comes toa destination not just for thebeautiful beaches, and the cli-mate, but they come lookingfor an experience to enrichthem. This we can providethrough, among others, ourown people.

Hence, the major objec-tive of the ATA campaign isto make the communityaware of their role in the vi-sion and actions with respectto tourism, and how to pro-mote Aruba as a brand. Wewant to constantly raise thebar on the quality of our visi-tors. This means that Arubawants to attract a better qual-ity visitor who will leavemore behind and so doingraise our GDP throughtourism.

ATA wants to instil ineveryone’s mind that we areall responsible for giving the

Monday, September 10, 2012

ATA intensifies new all-islandcampaign

West to grant Kosovo full

sovereignty today

ORANJESTAD -- TheWomen’s Club of Aruba isproud to announce their 78thanniversary on September 17,2012 and will celebrate thisaccomplishment with a “Ce -lebration Picnic”!

During each administra-tive year board members,committee members and thegeneral members volunteer tomake the community a betterplace. This year as they startthe beginning of their admin-istrative year with a new andenergized board, they onceagain wish to show their ap-preciation and thank every-one involved in their organi -zation for their commitment,hard work and dedication,and what better way thanwith a funfilled afternoon.

“We are celebrating thisspecial occasion and wouldlike you, as our close partnersto join us! On Sunday, Sep-tember 16, 2012 at the won-derful WESTIN HotelBallroom starting at 2:00 p.m.and ending at 6:00 p.m.,” aWCA spokesperson said.

There will be a fun filledprogram, and surprising adultactivities. Dress code is tro -pical sport and do put onyour dancing shoes! WCAwill also have kids animation

and entertainment for theyoung at heart. There will bea delicious picnic deli buffetto soothe everyone’s appetite,not toforget the dessert andan open cash bar.

Join a family member orfriend who is a member ofthis prestigious club, bring afriend or your children,grandchildren and do join thecelebration!

To cover the cost the en-trance ticket is at Afl 55,00for adults and Afl 30,00 forchildren from 5 to 12 years.

Tickets are available atManchitos, Surprise, An-gelo’s Studio. Also at WCA’sProgramChairman Mrs. Ber -na dette Schouten at [email protected], tel.582 7226/592 4050 oromaira. [email protected], tel582 4143/ 592 85 25 for moreinformation and/or tickets.

“Secure your tickets; asluck will also be present andwill be looking for a winnerof our fabulous door prizesand raffles, thus participate!

“Simply said, “do join us”making this event amemo-rable one! We look forwardin greeting you on Sunday,September 16, 2012 at theWESTIN Hotel,” thespokesperson said.

They will also offer a spe-cial lecture to students of theUniversity and of the EPI,and EPB Horeca by the samespeaker. Later on the generalpublic will also have an op-portunity to participate in aspecial session. The specialspeaker will discuss the re-sults of a recent study.

The last event for Septem-ber will be 19th edition of the"Aruba Reef Care Project,"which is a project initiated atATA and is now organized bythe Aruba Reef Care Founda-tion supported by Santa Rosa.ATA still has an importantrole as one of the main spon-sors of this project. The pro-ject's main objective is tocreate awareness on the is-land for maintaining a cleanenvironment, especially themarine life. For more infor-mation on this pro ject, con-tact Castro Perez at 586-0820or 630-3693, or [email protected].

Aruba Tourism Authorityis intent on being an organi-zation engaged in innovativeand effective marketing. po-sitioning Aruba as a touristdestination of the highestlevel, with a focus on a qual-ity experience for all visitorsto Aruba. For more informa-tion on Aruba’s tourism visitthe website: www.aruba.comor "like" them on facebook/oficinaditurismo.

Explore Aruba'sapp.aruba.com.

tion about the ARA cause forwhich all their partners areworking so diligently.

Then, on September 21sttogether with the Aruba PortsAuthority (APA) through theFlorida Caribbean Cruise As-sociation (FCA) they will or-ganize a training titled:"Shore Experiences: Prof-itable & Sustainable." The or-ganization to provide theworkshop is the "Aquila Cen-ter for Cruise Excellence."Aquila is a Canadian tour op-erator with 30 years of expe-rience in the tourism industryand with 20 years providingservice to cruise lines.

Anyone interested inlearning more about thecruise market is welcome toattend the free training. Theywill learn of the importanceof the cruise business, its roleand of the opportunities toimprove our port and destina-tion. For more information,contact Rosie Arends [email protected] before September 19th.

On the 27th of SeptemberATA has her corporate eventwhere the plans, projectionsand strategies for 2013 willbe presented to everyone.They expect to also have aninternational speaker to talkabout "customer service" andto provide us with importanttips for our tourism industry.

ORANJESTAD -- During arecent press conference, theAruba Tourism Authority(ATA) announced the expan-sion of their awareness cam-paign "Mi Compromiso" (MyCommitment). They also ela -borated on their eventsplanned for the month ofSeptember.

During the month of Sep-tember, they will be focusingon the importance of tourismespecially within the contextof the upcoming InternationalTourism Day as proclaimedby WTO to be held on Sep-tember 27th.

The first events held inSeptember was the awarenessday combined with afundraising for the Aruba An-imal Rights foundation(ARA). This acti vity washeld yesterday, September 9.

The focus of this eventwas the problem of the ill-treatment of animals and theproblem of stray dogs on ourstreets. "My commitment tothe welfare of our animals" isARA' slogan for their aware-ness campaign of stickers andflyers.

ARA volunteers and vol-unteers from the GovernmentVet Services, ATA, the Min-istry of Tourism, and theTourism Product Enhance-ment Fund were all activelyinvolved in sharing informa-

2 Monday, September 10, 2012

For info call: 5875010 Email:

[email protected]:

www.laquintaaruba.net

Time Share

for SALE

ATA presents series of interesting

events for September

WCA 78th Anniversary

Celebration Picnic

Currently it may appear asthough not much is takingplace on the site. This is be-cause they are basicallyworking with laying pipesand cables underground. Butas soon as this undergroundphase is completed, we willbegin seeing the work con-tinue on the above groundphase.

As an example, ELMARis busy laying a fiber-opticcable underground, also asignal cable to control theelectrical system and to iden-tify where a problem mayarise.

Continued on page 4

to. And, all is in sync with theplanning detailed by the ar-chitects in charge of the proj-ect.

In view of the large flowof traffic using this area, it isessential that the work bedone accurately and care-fully. It is also imperative thatthe rotunda be completed byDecem ber. Every two weeksthe go vernment meets withthe InfraTeam to keep abreastof how the work is progress-ing. One primary objective inthe whole process is to mini-mize the inconvenience totraffic in the area during thisconstruction period.

their digging and lying of thenecessary pipes, wires andcables. Additionally therewill be the planting of lightpoles, electricity wires and anirrigation system for thegreen areas.

At the moment, the utilitycompanies are working onthe distribution of cables andpipes to ensure the properand perfect functioning of allutility services. Everyone hastheir particular work crewand equipment but they areall moving along perfectlywithout getting into eachother’s way. Obviously, theyall have a time table to adhere

ORANJESTAD-- In less thanone month, itappears that thework on the spi-ral rotunda infront of the Air-port has pro-gressed con si-derably. Theyhave removedthe asphalt co -vering from theentire areawhere work isto be carriedout. The differ-ent companiescan now do

Monday, September 10, 2012 3

Work advancing nicely in front of Airport

SETAR, on the other hand isplacing their wires, including afiber-optic cable, in a differentunderground channel.

WEB is busy adapting theirpiping network for an efficientdistribution of water to allareas and to the airport and tothe center of the rotunda.

According to Ing. RaffyKock, leader of the InfraTeam,this project has a price tag of 7million Aruban florins andplays an important role as thestarting point of what is to be-come the Green Corridor. Thisis the project which will run allthe way to San Nicolas and isalso connected to the LinearPark.

separately based on the currentfinancial situation of the indi-vidual involved. The banks arewilling to consider different al-ternatives to help alleviate thecurrent financial burden, suchas the restructuring of loans orinterest payments to bridge theperiod.”

The banks realize that thereare other projects in the com-munity that are being workedon but the immediate impacton employees and companieswill have to be addressed now.In the short term the banks willmeet with these companies, theunions, and all other stake-holders in its effort to addressand or gain more insight onthis serious matter.

The Aruba Bankers’ Asso-ciation advices the affectedclients to contact their bank assoon as possible to receiveguidance and assistance ontheir financial situation.

ORANJESTAD – The ArubaBankers’ Association (ABA)has followed the developmentsregarding the Valero Refineryclosely and recognizes the se-riousness of the situation as itpresents itself today. Althoughthe refinery will continue cer-tain activities, the decreasedscope of its operations will af-fect a large group of our com-munity, either direct orindirectly. Through this pressrelease the banks wish to ex-tend themselves to all theirborrowing clients who havebeen affected by the latest de-velopments.

“As ABA we announce thatAruba Bank, Banco di Caribe,Caribbean Mercantile Bankand RBC Royal Bank Arubaare willing to cooperate withthe affected clients to do what-ever is feasible in each specificcase to address their situation.Each case will be evaluated

Saturday with 19 seats, downfive from its 24 garnered in the2010 elections.

On the far-left too, pollsshowed initial support waningfor the Socialist Party (SP)under former schoolteacherEmile Roemer.

A month ago, pollsters putthe SP's support as high as 39seats, but that has substantiallydropped according to variouspolls, with Ipsos Synovate giv-ing the party 21 seats on Satur-day night, putting it in thirdplace.

Roemer in an interviewyesterday with the Buitenhoftelevision program asked fordebate to ban opinion polls inthe weeks ahead of the elec-tions. "If you do that you takethe hype away," he said.

But less than a week aheadof the elections -- the fifth in adecade -- many voters still re-main undecided, fed up withpromises made by politicians,political communications pro-fessor Claes de Vreese of theAmsterdam University toldAFP.

A study published by IpsosSynovate and broadcast on na-tional television on Thursdaysaid as many as 43 percent ofall voters have yet to make uptheir minds.

"Anything can still hap-pen," De Vreese told AFP.

The aftermath of the pollscould also see a long period ofpolitical wrangling to form acoalition, amid Europe'sswirling debt crisis when swiftdecisions need to be taken.

"We are dealing with a po-litically very fragmented land-scape," said De Vreese. "Butmost voters want a stablecoalition (government)."

again weighing heavily on theminds of some 12.5 million el-igible voters.

"One of the most importantissues in the election is theeconomic crisis and austerity,"Andre Krouwel, political sci-entist at Amsterdam's FreeUniversity, told AFP.

Both the Liberals andLabour are pro-Europe but be-cause of spending cuts to payfor spendthrift southern Euro-pean countries they are facedwith an electorate that is in-creasingly hostile towardsBrussels.

The two leading parties areoffering different solutions,said Krouwel.

"While the VVD is for strictausterity" including cutting thenumber of civil servants tobring the budget deficit belowthe EU's ceiling by next year,Labour "believes in a certainamount of investment to kick-start the economy."

Opposed to austerity, thePvdA plans to reduce thebudget to balance it by 2017,while not worrying too muchabout getting the deficit belowthe Brussels-imposed target bynext year.

"In a sense, the VVD iscloser to somebody like Ger-many's (Chancellor) AngelaMerkel, while the PvdA wouldbe closer to France's FrancoisHollande," said Krouwel.

Parties such as the far-rightParty for Freedom (PVV) ofplatinum-haired politicianGeert Wilders -- which madeexiting the EU and the euro-zone its central theme -- are notbenefiting because people "re-alise that leaving Europe is notan option," added Krouwel.

Polls showed the PVV by

THE HAGUE (AFP) - TheNetherlands votes Wednesdayto elect a new parliament forthe second time in two yearsafter a tight race dominated byeconomic uncertainty thanksto Europe's seemingly endlessdebt crisis.

A resurgent Labour (PvdA),led by Diederik Samsom, hasdrawn level with outgoingPrime Minister Mark Rutte'sleading Liberal VVD party at35 seats each in the 150-seatLower House, according to thelatest Ispos Synovate poll pub-lished by public broadcasterNOS late Saturday.

Rutte, who became the firstLiberal Dutch premier sinceWorld War I in 2010, has goneon the offensive, calling thePvdA "dangerous for theNetherlands" in a newspaperinterview Saturday.

He claimed that shouldLabour win, jobs would be lostand long queues at hospitalsreminiscent of previous La -bour governments would re-turn. Samsom dismissed theclaims.

Both 45-year-old Rutte'sPeople's Party for Freedomand Democracy (VVD) andthe second-placed PvdA led byformer Greenpeace activistSamsom, 41, have taken on theeurocrisis and austerity as justone of many election themes.

It was a dispute over budgetcuts to bring the Netherlands,the eurozone's fifth-largesteconomy, back to below a Eu-ropean Union three-percentdeficit target that led to the col-lapse of Rutte's minority coali-tion in April.

Ahead of Wednesday'svote, the budget cuts that arehitting Dutch pockets hard are


Dutch polls a close race in uncertain

times for Europe

Workadvancingnicely . . .Continued from page 3

Announcement of the

Aruba Bankers Association

gether with Sjeidi Feliciano,and Mario Croes, Senior PR& Corporate CommunicationSpecialist, Branding & Ad-vertising, ela borated on thecampaign and expressed theirenthusiasm for the project.

The campaign will includedifferent interactive aspectsand communication via Face-book, television, newspapersand radio. Everyone shouldbear in mind that each one ofus must be committed to ourcountry, particularly to thetourism of our island. Weought to be committed withlove, dedication and passion.

Some of the faces who willbe spotlighted during thecampaign are: Vicente Kock,local wine maker, Gerrit Grif-fith winner of a “Lifetimeachievement award 2012,”and Jerusha Rasmijn, man-ager of the “Aruba Conven-tion Bureau.” Each one ofthem in their respective areasof expertise carries the com-mitment and passion in theirhearts and reflects what ATAwants to portray.

During the press confer-ence announcing this cam-paign, Ronella TjinAsjoe-Croes, CEO of ATA to-

ATA intensifies campaignContinued from page 1

online retailers around the

globe.

AQUA DI LARA will pre -

sent a luxury collection of

silk kaftans and amazing

swimwear at the exclusive

Renaissance Island on Sun-

day November 4th, 2012.

again to relax

and soak in its

beautiful wa-

ters.”

Aqua Di

Lara’s recent

collections have

been seen on

music artists,

celebrities, and

trendsetters,

i n c l u d i n g

Keri Hilson,

I v a n k a

T r u m p ,

and Tyra

Banks. Drawing in-

spirations from the

many wonders of

the world, Aqua Di

Lara has been fea-

tured in high-end

publications and

has garnered a

strong in - ternational

following.

The new Aqua Di

Lara 2013 collection

will be available in

Canada, the Caribbean,

the US, Europe and various

prints. The Black Label col-

lection, shot along the ele-

gant poolsides of the

Renaissance Resort, is

more edgy, composed of ex-

otic skins and mosaics of

deep tones of reflective

colour.

“This is one of the most

beautiful places in the world,

and we are very excited to

be shooting our latest cam-

paign here,” said Sofraci,

“Aruba is stunning and I

can’t wait to come back

Shooting

with the

s t u n n i n g

Samantha

along the

e m e r a l d

waters of

Aruba, the

c a m p a i g n

c a p t u r e s

the style

and tropical

elegance

of this

breath-

taking

location. Aqua Di Lara

creative director, Rey-

han Sofraci, will be

introducing Aqua Di

Lara’s 2013 collec-

tion split into new

White Label and

Black Label collec-

tions. Shot under the

sun on one of Aruba’s

stunning beaches, the

White Label collection

takes you away with exotic

cascades of colors and

beautiful, lush and texturized

MONTREAL, QC – Designer

swimwear brand Aqua Di

Lara stormed the luxurious

Renaissance Aruba Resort

and Casino, a secluded 40-

acre island paradise, in the

beautiful tropical destination

of Aruba for its Spring/Sum-

mer 2013 ad campaign.


Aqua Di Lara designer returns for the 2nd edition ofAruba In Style fashion week Storms beaches of Aruba for international look book and catalogs production.

The interior ministry urgedothers "to return to their sensesand to stop following thosewho seek to use them as tools."

On August 26, Saudi au-thorities announced they hadfoiled a terror plot by elementssuspected of links to Al-Qaeda,mostly Yemenis, and bustedtwo extremist cells in Riyadhand the port city of Jeddah.

They said the suspects wereworking on "recruiting ele-ments to execute criminal at-tacks targeting security forces,citizens and foreign residents,as well as public installations."

RIYADH (AFP) - Eight Saudiswanted for alleged links to Al-Qaeda have handed them-selves in to the authorities, thestate news agency SPA re-ported yesterday.

The surrender was overseenby the families of those wantedand a center headed by DeputyInterior Minister Mohammedbin Nayef, the interior ministrysaid in a statement carried bySPA.

The center launched in2006 aims to draw former Al-Qaeda militants away fromradical Islamist ideology.

from the Foundation said theywould only agree to a furtherexamination of his body if itwas conducted as part of an in-ternational investigation com-mittee.

"If there is an internationalcommittee, we will agree tothe body being checked," hesaid, without explaining fur-ther.

Arafat died in a French mil-itary hospital near Paris on No-vember 11, 2004 and Frenchexperts were unable say whathad killed him, with manyPalestinians subscribing to thebelief that he was poisoned byIsrael.

Arafat's nephew, Nasser al-Qidwa, who heads the ArafatFoundation, has long insistedthat Israel was behind hisuncle's death but a Palestinianinvestigation into such allega-tions ruled out poisoning,AIDS and cancer.

Last month, French prose-cutors opened a murder in-quiry into Arafat's death afterAl-Jazeera news channelbroadcast an investigation inwhich Swiss experts said theyfound high levels of radioac-tive polonium on his personaleffects.

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Ter-ritories (AFP) - The YasserArafat Foundation said yester-day there was "no need" formore proof the Palestinianleader was poisoned in whatappeared to be a stance againstFrench plans to exhume hisbody.

"Since the formation of thisFoundation, it has forcefullyheld on to the fact that YasserArafat died abnormally afterbeing killed by a poison whichwas unidentified at the time,"it said in a statement.

"The Foundation does notsee a need here for moreproof."

The statement was issuedjust days after a delegation ofFrench magistrates said theywould travel to travel to theWest Bank to investigate fol-lowing claims Arafat may havesuccumbed to poisoning by theradioactive substance polo-nium.

No date has been given forthe trip which would involveforensic officers exhuming thebody and taking samples forlaboratory testing in an inves-tigation sought by Arafat'swidow Suha.

Speaking to AFP on condi-tion of anonymity, a source

involved in organised crime.The group carrying out

organ trafficking during andafter the conflict with Serbianforces was closely linked toThaci, according to Marty.

The report said that organswere taken from the bodies ofprisoners, many of them Serbs,held by the KLA in Albania atthe time. Thaci and his govern-ment as well as Albania havedenied the accusations andcondemned Marty's report.

"We have been investiga -ting and checking his claimsfor more than a year and we es-timate that the information thiswitness has given is true,"Vukcevic said.

Following Marty's report,the European Union named USprosecutor John Clint Wil -liamson to conduct a probe.

Refusing to reveal more de-tails for the moment, Vukcevicsaid he expected "that the wit-ness' testimony will help pro -secutor Williamson's probe".

would not give any more de-tails.

The witness told prosecu-tors he received special me -dical training in how to harvestorgans and described the oper-ation he took part in "in detail",according to the prosecution.

He added the heart "wassold on the black market",Vukcevic said.

The prosecutor would notgive any more details about theidentity of the witness, otherthan to say he was a formerKLA member currently understrict protection measures.

Claims of organ harvestingby the Kosovo LiberationArmy (KLA) during and afterthe 1998-99 conflict are beinginvestigated by the EuropeanUnion.

Council of Europe rappor-teur Dick Marty alleged in ahard-hitting 2010 report thatsenior KLA commanders -- in-cluding current Kosovo primeminister Hashim Thaci -- were

BELGRADE (AFP) - Serbiasaid yesterday it had a formerKosovo rebel witness who al-legedly took part in removingthe heart of a Serb prisoner forthe international black marketin organs during the 1990sKosovo conflict.

"We have a witness whotestified about a medical pro-cedure, done in northern Alba-nia, that consisted of harve -s ting organs from Serbs kid-napped during the 1998-99conflict in Kosovo," Serbia'swar crimes prosecutor Vla-dimir Vukcevic told AFP.

"He described a surgeryharvesting a heart from a Serbprisoner at a location near (thenorthern Albanian town of)Kukes in the late 1990s," andtransporting the organ to theRinas airport near the capitalTirana, the prosecutor said.

It was not immediatelyclear if the patient was dead oralive when the operationstarted, and the prosecutor


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Serbia says it has witness to Kosovo

organ harvesting

Arafat Foundation: 'No needfor more proof' of poison

Saudi ministry: Eight wanted

Qaeda suspects surrender

wounded two people, securityand medical sources said.

Three car bombs explodedin predominantly Shiite areasof the Iraqi capital on Sundaynight.

A car bomb hit a market inthe Washash area of westBaghdad, killing at least sevenpeople and wounding at least21, an interior ministry officialand a medical official said.

Another car bomb killed atleast five people and wounded22 near a restaurant in Shuala,while a third exploded in acommercial area of Hurriyah,killing three people andwounding 14, both in northBaghdad, the official and amedic said.

Three soldiers were killedin clashes with insurgents inthe Abu Ghraib area, west ofBaghdad, an interior ministryofficial and a medical sourcefrom Abu Ghraib hospital said.

And three car bombs inTaji, north of the capital, killedone person and wounded atleast seven.

ficial, said the blasts killed 14people and wounded 60.

Before midnight on Satur-day, gunmen assaulted an armycheckpoint near Balad north ofBaghdad and a roadside bombexploded when additional sol-diers arrived at the scene.

Eleven soldiers, includingtwo officers, were killed andeight wounded, an armycolonel and a medical source atBalad hospital said.

A police captain was alsoshot dead on Saturday night inthe town of Garma, securityand medical officials said.

Early on Sunday, a carbomb exploded in a car park atthe state-owned North OilCompany in Kirkuk in northIraq, after which two otherbombings in the city killed 10people and wounded 153, saidSadiq Omar Rasul, head of theKirkuk health directorate.

West of Kirkuk, a car bombseriously wounded six sol-diers, army Captain Taha Kha-laf said, while another inHawija, also west of the city,

BAGHDAD (AFP) - - A waveof more than 25 attacks acrossIraq killed ast least 88 peopleand wounded more than 350on Saturday and Sunday, secu-rity and medical sources said,with the security forces andmarkets among the targets.

While insurgents opposedto the Baghdad governmentare regarded as weaker than inpast years, they are still capa-ble of launching periodicmass-casualty attacks acrossthe country.

The latest attacks came asIraq's Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a leading Sunni, wassentenced in absentia on Sun-day to hang for murder, al-though the carnage beganhours before the sentence washanded down.

In the deadliest attack, twocar bombs exploded in a mar-ket on Sunday near the ImamAli al-Sharqi shrine in south-ern Iraq, a security officialsaid.

Dr Ali al-Alaa, a Maysanprovince health department of-

tack on Wednesday by hidingunder her dead mother's skirtin the back seat, is now back inBritain, Maillaud added.

The girls' father Saad al-Hilli, mother Ikbal and an el -derly female relative weregunned down in their car on aforested Alpine road. A passingcyclist was also killed.

Their uncle Zaid al-Hilliwas going through a secondday of talks with the investiga-tors, a source told AFP on con-dition of anonymity.

He pre - sented himself topolice in Britain following themurder, denying media reportsthat the brothers were involvedin a financial dispute. It is un-derstood he was not heldovernight in police custody.

British forensics teamsbegan a second day of searchesat the family home in Clay-gate, a quiet, wealthy com-muter village some 15 miles(25 kilometres) southwest ofLondon. It is expected thesearch will continue today.

Prayers were held in localchurch services yesterday,while on the village's recre-ation grounds, local youthfootball teams lined up to standfor a minute's silence in re-membrance of those killed.

CLAYGATE, United King-dom (AFP) - A four-year-oldgirl who survived the slayingof her family in the FrenchAlps returned to Britain yester-day as her wounded elder sis-ter, seven, emerged from acoma.

Zeena al-Hilli, who lay mo-tionless under her mother'scorpse for eight hours, wasbrought back to England,while Zainab, the only othersurvivor, emerged from an ar-tificial coma.

Meanwhile British policeagain quizzed relatives andscoured the family home in thesearch for clues, while theirFrench counterparts combedover the scene once more andrefused to rule out any possiblemotives for the deadly attack.

"The little girl has come outof the artificial coma but she isunder sedation and her speechis not yet audible," Annecyprosecutor Eric Maillaud toldAFP on Zainab.

She was shot in the shoul-der and beaten around thehead, suffering a fracturedskull. Police are treating her asa key witness and hope she canprovide some clues when sheis ready to talk.

Zeena, who survived the at-

der newspaper said on its web-site.

"The relationship betweenthe police officer and the othertwo victims is being investi-gated," the police statementadded, saying "all scenariosare being looked at at the mo-ment".

Gelderland-Zuid policespokesman Paul Koetsier con-firmed a shooting incident toAFP but declined to give fur-ther details. The names andages of the victims were not re-leased.

Kekerdom is some 14 kilo-metres (nine miles) east of Nij -megen, situated next to theDuffeltdike, a popular cyclingroute in the area.

THE HAGUE (AFP) - Dutchpolice launched a large-scaleprobe yesterday after findingthe bodies of three people in-cluding a policeman at a homein the small eastern village ofKekerdom near the Germanborder.

"A police team of some 20investigators yesterday after-noon started their investiga-tion," after the bodies werediscovered earlier during theday, Dutch police said in anonline statement.

The bodies of two men anda woman were found aroundnoon (1000 GMT) by a neigh-bour who earlier noticed one ofthe victims' pets was very agi-tated, the local De Gelderlan-


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Dutch cops probe triple

murder

Alps killings survivor back inBritain, sister out of coma

Wave of attacks kills at least 88 in Iraq

much as 60 percent."Although suicide continues

to remain a serious problem inhigh income countries, it is thelow and middle income coun-tries that bear the larger part ofthe global suicide burden," thereport said, adding: "It is alsothese countries that are rela-tively less equipped to preventsuicide".

The highest documentedsuicide rates can be found inEastern European countrieslike Lithuania and Russia,while they are lowest in LatinAmerica, WHO said.

The United States, WesternEuropean countries and Asiafell in the middle of the range,the report showed, but stressedthat statistics are not availablefor many countries in Africaand South-East Asia.

Globally, suicide is mean-while the second cause ofdeath worldwide among 15-19year-olds, with at least100,000 adolescents killingthemselves each year, accord-ing to the study.

Among adults, the suiciderate is highest among thoseaged 75 and older, the WHOsaid, pointing out that "elderlypeople are likely to havehigher suicide intent and usemore lethal methods thanyounger people, and they areless likely to survive the phys-ical consequences of an at-tempt".

The report also showed thatmen were three times morelikely to commit suicide, butthat three times as manywomen as men attempted tokill themselves.

"The disparity in suiciderates has been partly explainedby the use of more lethalmeans and the experience ofmore aggression and higherintent to die, when suicidal, inmen than women," it ex-plained.

the world try to kill themselvesat least once during their life-time.

And the problem is gettingworse, the organisation said,insisting that "given the mag-nitude of the public healthproblem of suicidal behav-iours", urgent action wasneeded.

"As suicide is largely pre-ventable, it is imperative thatgovernments, through theirhealth, social and other rele-vant sectors, invest human andfinancial resources in suicideprevention," the report said.

According to Dr. ShekharSaxena, who headed the teambehind the report, suicide rateshave risen sharply in someparts of the world in recentyears, with some countriesseeing their rates jump by as

GENEVA (AFP) - One millionpeople die by their own handeach year, accounting for moredeaths than wars and murdersput together, the World HealthOrganisation said yesterday,calling for urgent action to ad-dress the problem.

"Data from the WHO indi-cate that approximately onemillion people worldwide dieby suicide each year. This cor-responds to one death by sui-cide every 40 seconds," theorganisation said in a reportlaunched ahead of the WorldSuicide Prevention DayToday.

And while the number ofdeaths by suicide is stagger-ing, the number of attemptseach year is 20 times higher,the WHO said, pointing outthat five percent of people in

One million people commitsuicide each year: WHO


Health & Living

TOULOUSE: A French tobacco seller receives paymentfrom a client buying cigarette packs in front of a whitesheet as part of a national day of protest as the govern-ment is considering to plain packaging of cigarettes,banning all logos and brand descriptions on September6, 2012 in Toulouse, southern France. Tobacco productsin Australia will be sold from December, in drab, uniformpackaging with graphic health warnings in a ground-breaking move that has attracted worldwide interest.The World Health Organization has called on othercountries to pass similar laws. AFP PHOTO

BERLIN: A protester wearing a kippa attends a demon-stration for the religious right of circumcision at Be-belplatz in Berlin, Germany, on September 09, 2012.Around 500 mainly Jewish but some Christian and Mus-lim protesters gathered in Berlin Sunday to demand theright to circumcision after a disputed court ruling in Ger-many outlawing the rite.

AFP PHOTO

SIENA (AFP) : Visitors admire the mosaic floor in theSiena cathedral, Italy . Magnificent Renaissance mo-saics covering the sweeping marble floor in Sienacathedral have been unveiled to give visitors a rareglimpse of scenes it took local artists 500 years to cre-ate. The inlaid panels, usually covered to protect themfrom the thousands of visitors who flock to the Tuscancity each year, depict vivid stories from the Bible andclassical antiquity, in black, white, green, red and bluemarble. Made up of 56 panels designed by some 40artists, the floor was described by 16th century historianGiorgio Vasari in his "Lives of Artists" as "the mostbeautiful, the greatest and most magnificent floor whichwas ever created."

ling unparalleled access tosome of Liberia's most pristineforests."

Samling and its sub-sidiaries have been involved incases of illegal logging fromCambodia to Guyana to PapuaNew Guinea.

The Private Use Permitswere designed to allow privateland owners to cut trees ontheir property. But the investi-gation found that the 66 per-mits that have been issued arein fact allowing logging com-panies to sneak past Liberia'scarefully crafted forest lawsand regulations.

Liberia's forests make up 42percent of what is left of theUpper Guinean Rainforest --just part of a fragmented sys-tem that once covered most ofwest Africa but has been re-duced to 12 percent of its orig-inal reach.

Deforestation has beenalarming, with 70 percent ofthe population involved inslash-and-burn farming, thecountry's Environmental Pro-tection Agency (EPA) toldAFP in 2010.


Sci-Tech

(AFP)- Forty percent ofLiberia's forests have beensold off in secretive and oftenillegal contracts, Global Wit-ness said, just days after thecountry's president announceda probe into the issuing of log-ging permits.

An investigation by theLondon-based natural re-source watchdog has shownhow, despite efforts to reformthe country's logging sector,companies have used a legalloophole to score contractscovering a quarter of the na-tion's landmass.

The report comes after

President Ellen Johnson Sir-leaf announced on Friday anindependent probe into thecontroversial permits, aftersuspending the managing di-rector of the Forestry Devel-opment Authority, MosesWogbeh.

"The new logging con-tracts termed Private Use Per-mits now cover 40 percent ofLiberia's forests and almosthalf of Liberia's best intactforests," said a press releasefrom Global Witness.

"They have given compa-nies linked to notoriousMalaysian logging giant Sam-

Liberia forests sold off in secretlogging contracts: report


SEPT 08 - SEPT 15

O’stad :’ Botica Fergusonstraat’ - S.N : ‘ Botica ALOE N.V’

FREE Coverage on our website:

www.themorningnewsaruba.com

PARIS (AFP) - SocialistPresident Francois Hollandeyesterday pledged 30 billioneuros in new taxes and sa -vings to balance the budgetand fund a turnaround in twoyears and rejected criticismof dragging his feet.

Hollande also said a 75-percent wealth tax on in-comes over one million euros($1.28 million) would not bediluted.

Hollande -- who has fa-mously said he does not "likethe rich" -- said 10 billiondollars would come from ad-ditional taxes on households"especially the well-heeled",10 billion more from busi-nesses and 10 billion fromsavings in governmentspending.

It would be the biggesthike in three decades.

He also vowed to curb un-employment, currentlypegged at over three million,in a year's time.

cent, largely due to people be-coming disenchanted and giv-ing up looking for work.

take the right course I believeyou're going to see this eco -nomy come roaring back."

Government data Fridayshowing that the economy cre-ated only 96,000 jobs lastmonth stoked speculation thatthe Fed would this weekstrengthen its commitment tonear-zero interest rates or ap-prove a third round of quanti-tative easing (QE) bondpurchases.

Romney has been hamme -ring Obama over the LaborDepartment figures which alsoshowed that the unemploy-ment rate dipped to 8.1 per-

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Re-publican White House chal-lenger Mitt Romney said in aninterview broadcast yesterdaythat a Federal Reserve boost tothe economy would do little tocreate US jobs in the shortterm.

"I don't think that easingmonetary policy is going tomake a significant differencein the job market right now,"Romney told NBC's "Meet thePress."

"I think what the nationneeds is a change in fiscal po -licy. A different structure to oureconomic positions. And if we

tainty that I think all of uswould be looking for," Obamapledged.

He said the problem withRomney's plan "is the math, orthe arithmetic, as President(Bill) Clinton said, doesn't addup," in a reference to the lat-ter's barnstorming speech atthe Democratic National Con-vention.

Clinton said that the Repub-licans' plan to cut $5 trillion intaxes will mean "they'll hurtthe middle class and the poor"in order to cut taxes for therich.

Or else, he continued,"they'll just do what they'vebeen doing for more than 30years now -- they'll go in andcut taxes way more than theycut spending ... and they'll justexplode the debt and weakenthe economy."

Obama has argued that hisRepublican predecessor GeorgeW. Bush deepened the nationaldebt by imposing sweeping taxcuts and launching wars in Iraqand Afghanistan.

The public bailouts of USfinancial institutions in thewake of the global economicmeltdown, also under Bush'stenure, caused the debt to spi-ral further.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Pres-ident Barack Obama hintedyesterday that Americans canexpect budget cuts if he is re-elected in November, telling aninterviewer that some spend-ing programs "are worthy" butunaffordable.

Seeking to counter Repub-lican criticism that his admi -nistration has increased thenational debt to $16 trillion,Obama said a balanced budgetwas the first step toward tack-ling fiscal woes and that wouldmean cutbacks.

"There are some programsthat are worthy, but we justcan't afford right now. And I'mwilling to do more on thatfront," Obama said in an ex-cerpt from a CBS News inter-view, noting that $1 trillion incuts have already been made.

"And there's still waste,there's still programs that don'twork."

The Republicans attackedObama last week for addingmore than $5 trillion to the na-tional debt since he took officein 2009.

The figure stood at $10.6trillion when he entered theWhite House, but by imple-menting an economic stimulusplan aimed at heading off a de-pression the figure has soared-- negating the president'spledge to halve it by 2012.

But Obama criticized Rom-ney in the interview aired yes-terday for refusing to take whathe called a "balanced ap-proach" that cuts spendingwhile raising taxes on the rich-est Americans.

"If we go back to the taxrates for folks making morethan $250,000 a year, back tothe rates that we had under BillClinton, we can close thedeficit, stabilize the economy,keep taxes on middle classfamilies low, provide the cer-

Monday, September 10, 2012 ` 11

SATURDAY’S

Crossword Answer

FINANCE

U.S.A.

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Canada

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Sweden

Denmark

Norway

Japan

(per 100,000)

USD

ANG

CAD

GBP

CHF

EUR

SEK

DKK

NOK

JPY

1.77

98.00

1.79

2.77

186.41

224.25

25.68

29.40

29.73

223.67

1.78

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1.81

2.82

187.13

226.30

26.40

30.12

30.45

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Obama hints at US

budget cuts if re-elected

Romney: Fed action would not make adifference

France's Hollande vowseconomicrecoveryin two years

ulate the human treatment ofdogs, and curb unwanted re-production, which puts moredogs out on the streets. Edu-cational programs will con-tinue as well as an organizeddrive to neuter and spay.

By Rosalie Klein

treats, specifically publishedto assist ARA. De SukertuinRestaurant sold snacks toraise funds, and informationwas provided by local veteri-nary offices regarding spay-ing and neutering a pet.

The ARA program is alsosupporting legislature to reg-

Aruba’s Minister of Tourism,Transport and Labor, OtmarOduber, and the CEO of theAruba Tourism Authority an-nounced their sponsorship ofa program to combat strayand abandoned dogs onAruba streets, as proposed byAnimal Rights Aruba, orARA.

The four point programbeing funded by the TourismEnhancement Fund, madeawareness the first order ontheir agenda. This began yes-terday morning at the wel-come pavilion of the LinearPark, on L.G. Smith Boule-vard. ATA and ARA volun-teers distributed pamphletsand stickers reminding thepublic of the commitment tocaring for a canine compan-ion. All those that care aboutour furry friends were askedto proudly display theirbumper stickers in a show ofsupport for the cause.

Items offered for sale tohelp support the effort werethe famous “Just Desserts”cookbook, a compilation ofrecipes for traditional island

Minister Oduber and Gal Friday Carolina Rojas


Animal Rights Aruba awareness campaign underway

ATA and ARA volunteers share the love Aruba is helping their four legged friends

Cookbook sales ot help raise funds


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

Farewell London Paralympics 2012 . . . . .

The final golds ended theaction, which notably saw theGames' most high-profile ath-lete Oscar Pistorius stripped ofhis 100m and 200m crownsbut then conclude the track andfield programme with a stun-ning victory in the 400m.

London was awarded theOlympics and Paralympics in2005 and has had to facedoubts in particular over thecost of the project, securityand whether the city's creakingtransport system could copewith a massive influx of visi-tors.

But the efficient running ofboth events and the public re-sponse has defied naysayerswho predicted chaos and alack of enthusiasm.

The president of the Inter-national Paralympic Commit-tee, Philip Craven, said thechallenge was to maintain in-terest between now and thenext Games in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil, in 2016 -- as well as in-crease participation around theworld.

"We have to really concen-trate on getting every countrydoing more Paralympic sport,"he added.

The daughter of German-Jewish neurologist LudwigGuttmann, who organised thefirst recognised sporting eventfor disabled people in southernEngland in 1948, also saidthere was more work to do de-spite improvements since herfather's time.

"We are not there yet. Thereis a way to go," said Eva Loef-fler, highlighting continued is-sues around accessibility fordisabled people in society.

More countries needed tosend athletes to the Para-lympics, she said, but addedthat the greater exposure af-forded to Paralympians waspositive.

ian Coe said that with 2.7 mil-lion tickets sold, packed ven-ues and vocal crowds, theGames had created a globalplatform for elite disabledsport and also helped changeperceptions of people with dis-abilities.

"I really genuinely do thinkthat we have had a seismic ef-fect on shifting public atti-tudes," he told a newsconference.

"I don't think people willever see sport in the same wayagain. I don't think they willever see disability in the sameway again. We have talkedabout what we can do ratherthan what we can't do."

Earlier on Sunday, one ofthe stand-out performers of theGames, British wheelchairracer David Weir, was roaredto victory and his fourth goldin the men's marathon aroundthe landmarks of central Lon-don.

Australia beat Canada for"murderball" -- wheelchairrugby -- gold, while Russia gotrevenge over neighboursUkraine for defeat in theseven-a-side football final inBeijing four years ago.

LONDON (AFP) - Coldplay,Rihanna and Jay-Z on Sundaybrought the curtain down onthe London Paralympics, in acelebratory mood amid claimsthat the Games had helpedusher in a "seismic" shift in at-titudes towards disability.

The British band opened theplanned three-hour extrava-ganza of song and dance,watched by 80,000 spectatorsat the Olympic Stadium andmany of the 4,200 athletes attrackside in the shadow of theburning Paralympic flame.

The show, entitled "Festivalof the Flame", was a tribute toBritain's many artistic, cul-tural, musical and seasonalfestivals and was billed asbeing a journey through theseasons to music and dance,artistic director Kim Gavinsaid.

Organisers hailed theGames as the biggest and mosthigh-profile in its 52-year his-tory, with more media atten-tion and a record number ofathletes from more than 160countries, including for thefirst time reclusive NorthKorea.

London 2012 chief Sebast-


Global superstars close Games

David Weir's fourth gold of Games and a silver for ShellyWoods in the wheelchair marathon confirm third place inmedal table for ParalympicsGB

Canada wrested the Paralympic men's wheelchair basket-ball title back from their old rivals Australia on Saturdaywith a hard-fought 64-58 victory in the final.

Paralympics medals table - Top 15LONDON (AFP) - Final medals table Top 15 at the end

of the 2012 Paralympic Games yesterday:

1-China 95 71 65 231

2-Russia 36 38 28 102

3-Great Britain 34 43 43 120

4-Ukraine 32 24 28 84

5-Australia 32 23 30 85

6-United States 31 29 38 98

7-Brazil 21 14 8 43

8-Germany 18 26 22 66

9-Poland 14 13 9 36

10-Netherlands 10 10 1939

11-Iran 10 7 7 24

12-South Korea 9 9 9 27

13-Italy 9 8 11 28

14-Tunisia 9 5 5 19

15-Cuba 9 5 3 17

South Africa's Oscar Pistorius crosses the line to win goldin the men's 400m - T44

A giant ring of fire encircles the national flags carried into the stadium by paralympicathletes.

a gifted, autistic 14-year-oldwith a talent for mathematics,who is mainstreaming in nor-mal schools, and with the po-lice guard, had the honor oflighting the Olympic Flame.

The official ceremonies in-augurated the first night oftrack and field contests. Overthe weekend, special athletescompeted in Badminton at theColegio Arubano gymnasiumand soccer at the BrittaniaField in Piedra Plat on Satur-day. Yesterday, the gamesended with Bacci Ball and anawards ceremony at theSVGA centers of Man NaObra and Bibito Pin.

Athletes of all ages fromschools and centers Sjabururi,Emmaskol, Paso Pa Futuro,Man na Obra, and Skol Caiqe-tio participated in this year’sgames. Arturo Werleman ex-plained that they had barely 80competitors when they startedthe annual Special Olympicstwelve years past. This year,they had the presence ofNicole Hoevertsz, Director ofthe Aruba Swimming Bondand a member of the WorldOlympics Committee present,along Roy Mezas of Aruba’sOlympic Committee, todemonstrate their endorsementof the program.

By Rosalie Klein

12th annual games of theAruba Special Olympics,sponsored by DigicelTelecommunications Com-pany. The opening ceremoniestook place at the GuillermoTrinidad Stadium, with islanddignitaries attending. Welcom-ing the audience and athletesto the games were President ofParliament, Paul Croes, Min-ister of Social & EconomicAffairs and Culture, MichelleHooyboer-Winkler, and theAruba Special Olympics Com-mittee, headed by Arturo Wer-leman, Director of theFoundation for the MentallyChallenged. General Managerof Digicel, Remko van derVeldt, reiterated the com-pany’s staunch support, inter-nationally, of SpecialOlympics, and his personalpride of being able to con-tribute to such a worthwhileeffort.

The games began after spe-cial athletes, accompanied byan honor guard of studentsfrom the Aruba Police Acad-emy, completed their torch runthrough Oranjestad to the sta-dium. They passed on theflame to Lesino Pantoflet ofthe Man Na Obra Center. Thetorch did a round of the sta-dium to finally rest in thehands of Jeremiah Werleman,

This past weekend over 200special athletes competed infour sports disciplines for the


A rousing start for the 12th Annual Aruba SpecialOlympics National Games

torch bearer and police honor guard

Island dignitaries and Special Olympics committee

Jeremiah Werleman lights the Olympic Flame

Bola del Mundo, with bothRodriguez and Valverde at-tacking the Pinto-born Conta-dor.

But the champion showedall his experience to hold hisnerve for a remarkable victory,the Spanish heavyweight triohaving called a truce as thesprinters battled for the stagewin on Sunday.

ther 21sec adrift.Contador had taken control

of the Vuelta on Wednesday'sFuente De stage 17, producinga long-distance attack a dayafter having failed to shake offRodriguez on the climb of theCuitu Negru on stage 16.

His precious lead of 1:35came under attack on Saturdayin the gruelling climb of the

The 29-year-old Contadorclocked 84hr 59min 49sec forthe race that covered a totaldistance of 3,300 kilometres,Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)and Joaquim Rodriguez (Ka-tusha) completing an all-Span-ish podium.

Valverde was 1min 16secoff Contador's pace, with long-time leader Rodriguez a fur-

positive for clenbuterol in2010, safely negotiated the21st and final 115km largelyflat stage from Cercedilla toMadrid to claim victory.

Germany's John Degenkolbof the Argos-Shimano teamwon the final stage in 2hr44min 57sec, Contador com-ing through buried in the mainlead peloton in 54th spot.

MADRID (AFP) - Spain's Al-berto Contador, racing his firstGrand Tour since returningfrom a two-year doping banlast month, won his secondTour of Spain crown on Sun-day.

The Saxo-Bank rider, also atwo-time Tour de France win-ner who lost his 2010 Tour and2011 Giro titles after testing


12th Annual ArubaSpecial Olympics National Games

story on page 15

Caiquetio School

Cycling: Contador wins Vuelta to seal comeback

Arturo Werleman and the Special Olympics Committee

Emma School

monday, september 10, 2012

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