january 7, 2012

terest to make clear to Iranthat it's got a choice," shesaid.

Nuland could not saywhether these points weremade directly to Venezuelanand Cuban officials, but shesaid Washington was in"close touch" with Nicaraguaand Ecuador aboutAmhadinejad's trip.

The United States and theEuropean Union have beenstepping up sanctions againstIran over its uranium enrich-ment program, on top of fourrounds of UN Security Coun-cil sanctions and a host ofunila teral punitive measures.

The United States andwestern powers suspect Iran'sprogram masks a drive tobuild nuclear weapons. Irandenies the charge saying itsprogram is purely peaceful.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - TheUnited States yesterday urgedLatin American countries notto deepen ties with Iran asIranian President MahmoudAhmadinejad prepared tovisit Venezuela, Nicaragua,Cuba and Ecuador.

"As the regime feels in-creasing pressure, it is despe -rate for friends and flailingaround in interesting places tofind new friends," State De-partment spokeswoman Vic-toria Nuland said when askedabout Ahmadinejad's trip.

"We are making ab-solutely clear to countriesaround the world that now isnot the time to be deepeningties, not security ties, not eco-nomic ties, with Iran," shetold reporters.

"Rather, it's in the entireinternational community's in-

choose to dine at one of themany fine restaurants along theroute, some of which will pro-vide a front row seat to the fes-tivities. Make an evening of itin Oranjestad and enjoy thisauthentic bit of island culture,a memorable way to top off anight out.

Official list of group parti -cipating in the 2012 TorchPa-rade: 1. TOB2. Champagne Carnival Group3. Majestic Carnival Group4. XC-Lanz5. Flame6. OPC7. Dushi Carnival Group8. Impak Mascarades Carnival

Group9. Pleasers & Teasers Le

Groove10. Aruba Trading

Roadmarch, and Prince andPancho (the jester.)

The parade will startat the western outskirtsof Oranjestad on theL.G. Smith Boulevard,and groups will gatherand organize on theservice road acrossfrom Valero station.The parade will wendits way along theshorefront to the LasAme ricas traffic cir-cle fronting Cas diCultura and then turnup the Vondellaan tofinally turn at Wil-helminatraat ontothe Avenida MilioCroes, finishing atCricket Field.

This route willafford island visitors the op-portunity to view the paradeearly in the evening if they

This evening, not long aftersunset, the first of dozens ofjoyful parades, pageants andparties that comprise Carnivalseason 58 on Aruba will takeplace in Oranjestad beginningat 7:00 PM. The Fakkelop-tocht-or Torch Parade-is a de-lightful, casual affair, and oneof the most popular, as is-landers welcome six weeksof revelry punctuated byelaborate costumes and fan-tastic floats.

However, the mostcommon costume for theTorch Parade is usually logotee shirts declaring your groupaffiliation and theme and wildand amusing hats and acces-sories. It is an

evening when all are welcometo join the fun and dance in thestreets, meet last year’s Carni-val royalty, who will soon ab-dicate in favor of this year’scontest winners competing forthese coveted titles of Queens,Kings of Tumba, Calypso and

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Check it out at: http://www.themorningnewsaruba.com/index.php/photography-contest

Join the fun during the firstmajor event of Carnival 58tonight!

US urges Latin America notto deepen ties with Iran

addict has a manipulative con-duct. The drug addict is alsoknown to “shop-around” forhis care. All of this results inthe loss of precious time,money and energy. In order tocurtail the “shopping-around”and to use the limited re-sources more efficiently andeffectively, it has been decidedto introduce a digital registra-tion program.

Effectivity, efficiency andthe guarantee of privacy areforemost in any good registra-tion system with respect to thehealth care of a client.

Continjued on page 5

The University of Aruba isconducting a Base-Line As-sessment regarding drug ad-diction on Aruba. Thisresearch is focused on an actu-alization of the data compliedin a FUNDINI report of 1997.The general impression is thatthe use of drugs on Aruba hasincreased and is causing agreat loss of productivity. It isalso the culprit in the disrup-tion of the nuclear family andthe cause of much of the crim-inality. Observers believe thatit is important to quantify theproblem so that we can delin-eate an effective managementpolicy.

It is no secret that the drug

cells. The oleic acid in thisfruit is effective in preventingbreast cancer and it also rich inphytonutrients, which havebeen found to help preventprostate cancer. The glu-tathione in avocado boosts im-mune systems, slows the agingprocess, and encourages ahealthy nervous system; andbeyond all that, is supposed toneutralize bad breath, so youcan also add all the red onionand garlic you like on yourSubway sandwich!

Subway has always offereda variety of fresh, healthy alter-natives when a schedule de-mands “fast food,” and theirnew avocado option costs only

1.85 to add on, or just over $1.Island media sampled a num-ber of Subway standards anddelectable wraps for the launchof this new dressing, and gavethem a definitive thumbs-up!

by Rosalie Klein

foliate, mono-saturated fatsand antioxidants.

A number of studies haveshown that avocado can inhibitthe growth of cancerous cellswithout damaging the healthy

For those that have not yet vi -sited the Subway shop in theAlhambra Mall, you are in fora revelation. Though the centeris in the midst of renovations,Subway is open in a charmingnew location with a lovely,airy terrace to comfortablyenjoy one of their fresh,healthy meal options.

Subway also announcedthat for a limited time, they arenow offering a tasty, fresh, andextremely healthy new dress-ing: lightly seasoned avocado.This wholesome choice offersa long list of health benefits,among them the lowering of

cholesterol levels; rich in vita-mins A, C, and E, they are fullof other nutrients like potas-sium (30% more than bananas)

2 Saturday, January 7, 2012

Subway introduces a deliciously healthfulnew choice: Avocado dressing

An assortment of wraps and sub sandwiches to please alltastes

Appealing selection of wraps and subs

FDA�finances�EZRA

(Electronic�Care�Registration

Application)�Registration

System

will be taken to KIA to sitout his detention….thismeans good bye Carnival58!

The Office of the Prose-cutor detests the excessiveuse of alcohol, especiallyunder our youth. The exces-sive use of alcohol continuesto be one of the issues thatcause so many problems andunpleasant incidents duringour Carnival festivities.

This Carnival, please bemore responsible and limitthe use of alcohol. Do notallow alcohol to spoil ourCarnival…enjoy Carnival butdo so responsibly by allmeans!

person is detained duringCarnival for an infraction ofthe law or order and has anunpaid fine, this will be re-quired to be paid right thenand there as well. In the eventhe refuses to pay this fine, he

Judge in a so-called Carni-val’s Hearing at a later date.In such a hearing the prose-cutor will impose a muchhigher fine than the originalfine served. This means it isalways best to pay the fineimmediately at the PoliceStation to avoid said Carni-val’s Hearing before themagistrate of the court.

Obviously, for other seri-ous crimes, such as seriousill-treatment of others or thepossession of a firearm, theoffender will most probablybe incarcerated.

This year, the Office of thePublic Prosecutor will also becollecting overdue unpaidfines. This means, that if a

the elections and other Carni-val festivals.

The policy of the Office ofthe Public Prosecutor is toissue fines on the spot to any-one arrested by the Policeduring a Carnival activity.This will be applicable forany infringement of law andorder, such as violence on thestreet, destruction, drunken-ness or any other unaccept-able beha vior.

If the arrested person paysthe fine immediately, theissue will be consideredcleared. However, if the ar-rested person refuses or is un-able to pay the fine on thespot, he will be cited then andthere to appear before the

ORANJESTAD -- For thefourth consecutive year, theOffice of the Public Prosecu-tor will apply their “Mess Upand you Pay” policy in theirZero Tolerance program ofthe Police Force during thisyear’s Carnival festivities.

The goal of this measure isto contribute to a safe andpleasant Carnival season.They are intent on actingfirmly and swiftly towardsanyone misbehaving. TheZero Tolerance program be-gins on Saturday January 7thduring the Fakkel Parade inOranjestad, and will remainin effect for the entire Carni-val season. It is especially ap-plicable to the street parades,

Saturday, January 7, 2012 3

The Office of the Public Prosecutor announces staunch fines for

infractions in Aruba’s 58th Carnival festivities

you deserve it.” Cellar 23 is the new wine

bar/shop locatedin the formerChez MatildeRestaurant inOranjestad. Themain diningroom has beenturned into a fa-cility for cateredaffairs and suchevents as this,where fine winesand signaturebrand such asPresidente Beerand Label 5Whiskey, pro-

vided by their agents, ArubaTrading Company, punctuatedthe convivial evening.

Ana Maria Ramirez, repre-senting ATC, welcomed islandmedia and thanked them andSAC for all their hard workduring the busy carnival season,helping to preserve and pro-mote this beloved island tradi-tion.

The evening was a greatway for news media from print,radio and television to relax andconnect with their colleaguesafter a busy holiday season,wishing each other all the bestin 2012. This casual nighthelped them gear up for the in-tensive weeks of parades, pag-eants and music contests thatwill take place over the next sixweeks in a most enjoyable fash-ion.

by Rosalie Klein

On Thursday evening, the nightbefore the first major event ofthe Carnaval 58 season, officersof the Stichting Arubaanse Car-naval, SAC, the body of volun-teers that admi nistrate over theweeks of festivities and pa-rades, hosted along with ArubaTrading Company an intimate“thank you” event at the re-cently opened Cellar 23.

“It is your dedication to cov-ering Carnaval events that helpsto bring it all islanders andmake the season so enjoyable,as well as getting out the impor-tant announcements,” SACPresident Tecla Kelly-Hernan-

dez told the gathering, “wecouldn’t do it without you. Giveyourselves a round of applause,


Island media feted by SAC and Aruba

Trading Company on the eve of

Carnaval 58

Ana Maria Ramirez and THE MORNING NEWS crew

giving fines to all boat ownerswho do not comply with thisregulation; they are already inthe process of contacting boatowners to advise them of thispolicy and infractions, whichcan prove dangerous, will re-sult in a fine.

All boat owners are kindlyrequested take note and act ac-cordingly to comply.

For more informationplease contact the maritime po-lice at tel. 588-1896.

ORANJESTAD – The ArubaPolice Force announces to allboat owners that the Shore Pa-trol will start controlling allboats that are anchored withoutthe necessary lights in front ofour shores, which endangersmaritime traffic.

The lights are compulsorilyper art. 4 of the Collision Reg-ulation rule 30 of the Interna-tional Regulations for Pre -ven ting Collisions at Sea).

The maritime police will be

Announcement of the

Aruba Police Force

they don’t want the educationminister to set the number ofholiday days. The unions saythat’s for the employers to de-cide with the employees.

The LIA union claims thereis widespread support for thestrike. It says it expects janitorsand other supporting staff willjoin the actions.

The Upper House of Parlia-ment has yet to endorse the in-crease in the number ofteaching hours. Next week’sstrike is intended to give a clearsignal ahead of a decision.

THE HAGUE -- Two unionshave called for high schoolteachers to start a three-daystrike on Monday in protestagainst government plans toincrease the number of annualteaching hours.

A demonstration will beheld in The Hague on Mondayafternoon. The organisers saythey expect some 1,500 teach-ers will turn out for the protest.

The unions oppose plans bythe education ministry to raisethe number of annual teachinghours from 1,000 to 1,040. And

But the dyke at Tolbert,where 80 farmers were askedto leave their homes on Thurs-day, has now been declaredsafe, news agency ANP said.

Meanwhile, museum wor -kers at the Groninger museumin Groningen have begun dis-mantling two ground-floor ex-hibitions because of the floodrisk. Clothing by fashion de-signer Azzedine Alaia andworks by artist Jan Altink arebeing moved to the upperfloors.

that means an area coveringseveral hundred hectares willbe under water within a matterof hours,' a rescue servicespokesman told the Telegraaf.

The villagers have beenasked to stay with family andfriends, and a sports hall in TenBoer will open its doors to peo-ple with nowhere else to go.

Around 100 soldiers arehelping police and fire officerswith the evacuation while oth-ers are working to reinforce thedykes, the Volkskrant said.

GRONINGEN -- Some 800people living in four villagesalong the Eems canal east ofGroningen have been orderedto leave their homes because ofthe serious risk of flooding,following gale-force windsand rain overnight.

The evacuation has beenprompted by fears that a dykealong the canal is in a severely-weakened condition. TheEems canal links Groningen tothe sea at Delfzijl.

'The dyke could break, and


Four Dutch villages evacuated as heavy

rain and winds take their toll

One of the big benefits of adigital registration system isthe rapid access to informationthat this gives, which guaran-tees an effective and efficientservice. It also provides the op-portunity to do analysis of dif-ferent aspects of drugaddiction.

The government of Aruba,Ministry of Public Health, haschosen to introduce the EZRAsystem, which is a system usedby the De Hoop-ICT in theNetherlands. EZRA is an ab-breviation for the “ElectronicCare Registration Applica-tion.” This system registersthe information of every client.In addition it also registers thecare administered. Every in-stance that provides care to theclient and works in the area ofthe elimination of drug addic-tion will be connected to thesystem.

There will be specific safe-guards built in to guarantee theprivacy of each client.

This project has been ten-dered to Reina Agencies N.V.and NetPro Aruba N.V. Theproject includes the purchaseof computers and necessaryequipment to make the EZRAsystem functional. The totalcost of the project is Afls.239.659,94. The FDA Aruba(The Aruba DevelopmentFund) will assume the financ-ing as part of the National Se-curity Plan 2008-2012.

Present at the signing of theagreements were: RichardVisser, Minister of PublicHealth, Edwin Roos, presidentof FDA, Mr. and Mrs. DonaldBislip representing ReinaAgencies, and Ad Laheij rep-resenting NetPro Aruba. Mr.Adriano Perez of FDA, RonnyPaskel and Georgine Arends ofthe Ministry of Public Healthwas also in attendance for thesigning.

FDA finances

EZRA ...

Continued from page 2

Dutch teachers set forthree-day strike

proach to Iran than that of herpredecessor Luiz Inacio Lulada Silva.

"Brazil is now not going todefend but not going to attackIran. It's going to sit still,"Guimaraes told AFP.

The United Nations' nuclearinspection agency in Novem-ber reported serious concernsabout Tehran's nuclear pro-gram, suggesting it containeda military component. Iran in-sists its atomic activities arefor civilian purposes only.

EU countries hope to reacha deal to slap an oil embargoon Iran by the end of Januaryand are seeking alternativesupplies for nations who arecurrently dependent on im-ports from Tehran, diplomatsin Brussels said Friday.

In 2010, oil from Iranamounted to 5.8 percent oftotal EU imports, makingTehran the bloc's fifth-largestsupplier after Russia, Norway,Libya and Saudi Arabia.

steadfastly loyal to the Damas-cus leadership.

The Iranian president willbe accompanied on the LatinAmerica trip by his ministersfor foreign affairs, trade, com-merce and mines, and energy.

Ahmadinejad, who lastcame to Venezuela in Novem-ber 2009, was scheduled tovisit Caracas in September2011 but the trip was post-poned because of Chavez'scancer diagnosis. TheVenezuelan leader, who hassince declared himself free ofthe disease, last visited Iran inOctober 2010.

But the region's economicpowerhouse, Brazil, is notablyabsent from Ahmadinejad'sitinerary next week.

Lytton Guimaraes, an ex-pert on Latin America at theUniversity of Brasilia, said theomission indicated that Presi-dent Dilma Rousseff wasadopting a much cooler ap-

aggravated circumstances,"Van der Sloot said in haltingSpanish when asked if hewould plead guilty in the courtin a Lima suburb.

The 24-year-old defendantis also the prime suspect in theunsolved 2005 disappearanceof US college student NataleeHolloway in the Caribbean,but has not been charged in thecase.

Judge Victoria Montoyaadjourned Friday's hearingafter less than two hours at therequest of the defense, toWednesday, January 11.

Edwar Alvarez, lawyer forthe victim's family, told jour-nalists that Van der Sloot'sstatement was not a full admis-sion of guilt and that theywould have to wait to see theexact position of the defense.

If Van der Sloot fully ad-mitted guilt, the trial could ac-celerate, with "a sentence

LIMA (AFP) - Dutch citizenJoran van der Sloot on Fridayadmitted to murder, but re-jected part of the charges, in aconfused plea which led to thepostponement of his trial forthe 2010 killing of a Peruvianwoman.

"I agree with a 'sincere con-fession,' but I don't agree with

which is home to rival Murlepeople, at the weekend. Thetwo tribes accuse each other ofcattle rustling and abductions.

The Lou Nuer gunmen onlywithdrew after governmenttroops opened fire, accordingto UN officials.

The UN says about 50,000people around Pibor needemergency assistance and theWorld Food Programme wasalready sending rations. UNHigh Commissioner forRefugees, Antonio Guterres,was expected in the SouthSudan capital, Juba, on Satur-day.

Even before the Piborkillings, the UN had appeal for$763 million for South Sudanfor 2012 and Nesirky said onlyeight percent of the total hasbeen pledged.

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) -UN peacekeepers havestepped up land and air patrolsin a troubled South Sudan statewhere scores of people arefeared to have been killed intribal clashes, a UNspokesman said Friday.

But the UN cannot confirma statement by a local officialin the South Sudanese town ofPibor that more than 3,000people were killed in clashes,said UN spokesman MartinNesirky.

Joshua Konyi, commis-sioner for Pibor county inSouth Sudan's Jonglei state,said earlier that 2,182 womenand children and 959 menwere killed in the bloodshed.

About 6,000 armed youthsfrom the Lou Nuer tribe at-tacked the town of Pibor,


within 48 hours," Alvarez said.Van der Sloot faces up to

30 years in a Peruvian prisonif convicted of murder in thecase of 21-year old StephanyFlores, the daughter of a well-known businessman, who wasfound dead in a Lima hotel.

He had initially pleadedguilty but later claimed that hisconfession had been coerced.

Flores was killed on May30, 2010, the five-year an-niversary of Holloway's disap-pearance in Aruba. Van derSloot fled Peru to Chile, butwas arrested and sent back toface trial.

The Dutchman was twicearrested in the Holloway caseand spent three months in jailbut never was formallycharged.

The body of Holloway,who was 18 when she wentmissing in Aruba in 2005, hasnever been found.

Dutchman pleads guilty ofPeru murder, trial postponed UN peacekeepers step up

South Sudan patrols

sues," according to Iran's offi-cial IRNA news agency.

However Carlos Romero, aretired international relationsprofessor at the Central Uni-versity of Venezuela, said Ah-madinejad was "trying to findoxygen in Latin America,"while links with other statescontinue to spiral downwards.

"His country is in a verycomplicated state internation-ally and is challenged inter-nally by ever more protests onsocial networks," over theregime's denunciation ofhuman rights at home and inSyria, Romero said.

While the internationalcommunity and many neigh-boring states have condemnedSyrian President Bashar al-Assad's months-long crack-down on protesters, allyAhmadinejad has remained

Latin American countries havefrosty ties with the UnitedStates and their leaders have inthe past four years made nu-merous visits to Tehran tobuild up diplomatic and busi-ness links while relations withWashington have worsened.

Ahmadinejad's internationalaffairs director, MohammadReza Forqani, said the visit to"what used to be called thebackyard of America showsthe dynamism of the IslamicRepublic of Iran's diplomacyin the world arena."

The trip also "invalidatesthe claims of the enemies,"Forqani was quoted as sayingby Iranian state media onTuesday, in a clear jab atWashington.

The Iranian leader will talkwith Latin American leadersabout "bilateral ties and re-gional and international is-

CARACAS (AFP) - IranianPresident Mahmoud Ah-madinejad, under increasingpressure from debilitatingWestern economic sanctions,Sunday begins a tour of LatinAmerica aimed at shoring upties with his few remaining al-lies.

Ahmadinejad will meet fel-low US foe, firebrandVenezuelan President HugoChavez, on a four-nation tripthat coincides with rising inter-national concern over Tehran'snuclear ambitions.

The Iranian leader will ar-rive in Caracas late Sunday,kicking off a five-day trip thatwill on Tuesday see him attendthe inauguration of the re-cently re-elected Nicaraguanleader Daniel Ortega.

Stops in Cuba and Ecuadorwill round off the tour. All four

Iranian president to tour US foes in Latin America

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

some 10,000 guests at the cer-emony, which included CubanVice President Esteban Lazoand delegations from theUnited States and Caribbeannations. She said that she wasnow better prepared for thetask.

Her speech focused mainlyon the island's economic re-covery, as she is inheriting anearly 13 percent unemploy-ment rate and a ballooningdebt of $18.6 billion that ac-counts for one-third of thecountry's GDP.

Nearly half of all Ja-maicans (43 percent) liveunder the poverty line of $2.50per day, according to an IMFreport.

"We face an awesome task"in handling the high debt bur-den and increased levels ofpoverty, she said.

"In the short and mediumterm, we will use all state re-sources to stimulate employ-ment through the JamaicaEmergency Employment Pro-gram," she said. "We will doso in a transparent and non-partisan manner."

Simpson Miller also said

KINGSTON (AFP) - PortiaSimpson Miller took the oathof office as Jamaica's newprime minister Thursday, oneweek after her left-leaningPeople's National Party won alandslide victory in legislativeelections here.

Simpson Miller became Ja-maica's first female primeminister in 2006, but lostpower after a year and a half inoffice.

In the ceremony at King’sHouse presided by JamaicaGovernor-General Sir PatrickLinton Allen, Simpson Miller,66, placed her hand over theBible and vowed to fulfill herduties.

In the December 29 elec-tion Simpson Miller's party se-cured 41 seats in Jamaica'sHouse of Representatives --two thirds of the total -- andshowed the door to AndrewHolness, 39, the country'syoungest-ever prime minister,of the center-right JamaicaLabor Party.

"In our political history, itis a rare opportunity to begiven a second chance tolead," Simpson Miller told


she would begin the process ofestablishing Jamaica as a re-public and break off all its tiesto former colonial powerBritain.

Jamaica is a constitutionalparliamentary democracy andalso a Commonwealth realm.

Currently under Jamaica'sconstitution Britain's QueenElizabeth II is the head ofstate, and the prime minister isformally appointed by thegovernor-general, who repre-sents the queen.

In this year, the 50th an-niversary of Jamaica's inde-pendence "we will ... initiatethe process for our detachmentfrom the monarchy to becomea republic with our own in-digenous president as head ofstate," she said.

A new agreement with theInternational Monetary Fundon Jamaica's debt is one of thegovernment's top priorities,Omar Davies, the official incharge of the transition, toldreporters on Wednesday.

Talks with the IMF willbegin on Monday, he said,adding that new cabinet minis-ters will be presented on Friday.

Simpson Miller swears inagain as Jamaica's leader

International News

the new definition includesany gender of victim and per-petrator, not just women beingraped by men."

"It also recognizes that rapewith an object can be as trau-matic as penile/vaginal rape,"she added.

"This definition also in-cludes instances in which thevictim is unable to give con-sent because of temporary orpermanent mental or physicalincapacity."

The most recent UniformCrime Report data, based oninput from police services allover the United States, put thenumber of rapes in 2009 at88,097, down 2.6 percent fromthe previous year.

Carbon acknowledged thenew definition will likely pro-duce an uptick in the numberof rapes in future reports."This does not mean that rapehas increased," she said, "butsimply that it is more accu-rately reported."

The change of definitionwill have no impact on federalor state criminal laws, orchange the way rape cases aredealt with at the federal, stateor local levels, she said.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - TheUnited States widened its def-inition of rape on Friday to in-clude assaults on men for thefirst time and those in which avictim is incapacitated bydrugs or alcohol.

In a statement, the Depart-ment of Justice said the revi-sion will improve the accuracyof rape figures as given by theFederal Bureau of Investiga-tion's benchmark UniformCrime Report.

Since 1927, forcible rapehas been defined as "the carnalknowledge of a female,forcibly and against her will" -- a perspective that Susan Car-bon, director of the Office onViolence against Women,called "outdated and narrow."

From now on, rape will bedefined as "the penetration, nomatter how slight, of thevagina or anus with any bodypart or object, or oral penetra-tion by a sex organ of anotherperson, without the consent ofthe victim."

Writing on the Justice De-partment blog(blogs.usdoj.gov), Carbonsaid: "For the first time ever,

US widens its definition

of rape

France and University CollegeLondon observed 5,198 menand 2,192 women over a 10-year period from 1997.

The volunteers were Londoncivil servants aged between 45and 70 who had been enrolledin a long-term health study.

Over the 10 years, the par-ticipants were tested threetimes -- for memory, vocabu-

(AFP) - Cognitive skills canstart to fall from the age of 45,not from around the age of 60as is commonly thought, ac-cording to research publishedon Friday by the British Med-ical Journal (BMJ).

Researchers led by ArchanaSingh-Manoux from the Cen-tre for Research in Epidemiol-ogy and Population Health in

A doctor looks at brain scans at a hospital. Cognitiveskills can start to fall from the age of 45, not from aroundthe age of 60 as is commonly thought, according to re-search published on Friday by the British Medical Journal(BMJ).

substantially increase mortal-ity," it says.

"Illicit opioid use is a majorcause of mortality from fataloverdose and dependence," itsays, adding that injectingdrug users faced specificthreats of catching HIV andhepatitis by sharing needles.

All three types of drugsseem to be associated withhigher rates of mental disor-ders, road accidents and vio-lence, although informationabout this is often sketchy.

The estimate is based ondata from the UN Office onDrugs and Crime (UNODC),from national surveys andpeer-reviewed studies into theimpact of drug use.

Ecstasy, LSD, non-medicaluse of prescription drugs andanabolic steroids are not in-cluded in the estimate.

(AFP) - About 200 millionpeople around the world useillicit drugs, according to astudy published on Friday inThe Lancet.

It estimates that in 2009 be-tween 149 and 271 millionpeople used an illegal drug.

Cannabis users comprisedbetween 125 and 203 million;users of opioids (heroin andmorphine), amphetamines orcocaine totalled 15 to 39 mil-lion; and those who injecteddrugs numbered between 11and 21 million.

Drug use is more prevalentin rich economies and indrug-producing regions ofpoor countries and is often amajor health burden, thepaper adds.

"Cannabis use is associatedwith dependence and mentaldisorders, including psy-choses, but does not seem to


Health & Living

200 million use illegal

drugs: Lancet estimate

lary, and skills in aural and vi-sual comprehension.

During this time, there wasa 3.6-percent decline in mentalreasoning in men aged 45-49and a 9.6-percent fall in thoseaged 65-70. The correspondingfigures for women were 3.6and 7.4 percent.

"Cognitive decline is al-ready evident in middle age,"says the paper, which definesthis as the years from 45 to 49.

The findings should spurfurther research into spottingand braking cognitive deterio-ration, the authors hope.

Many societies face an "ex-ponential increase" in the num-ber of elderly people as a resultof increases in life expectancy,they note.

"These changes are likely tohave a profound influence onindividuals' lives and society atlarge. Poor cognitive status isperhaps the single most dis-abling condition in old age."

Brain power can decline fromage 45: study

Top 5 foods to lower your cholesterolA few simple tweaks to your diet — like these — may beenough to lower your cholesterol to a healthy level and helpyou stay off medications.1. Oatmeal, oat bran and high-fiber foods.2. Fish and omega-3 fatty acids. Doctors recommend eatingat least two servings of fish a week. 3. Walnuts, almonds and other nuts. Walnuts, almonds andother nuts can reduceblood cholesterol.4. Olive oil. The choles-terol-lowering effects ofolive oil are even greater ifyou choose extra-virginolive oil.5. Foods with added plantsterols or stanols.Mar-garines, orange juice andyogurt drinks with addedplant sterols can help re-duce LDL cholesterol bymore than 10 percent. Other changes to your dietFor any of these foods to provide their benefit, you need tomake other changes to your diet and lifestyle. Cut back on the cholesterol and total fat — especially satu-rated and trans fats — that you eat. Saturated fats, likethose in meat, full-fat dairy products and some oils, raiseyour total cholesterol. Trans fats, which are sometimesfound in margarines and store-bought cookies, crackers andcakes, are particularly bad for your cholesterol levels. Transfats raise low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad" choles-terol, and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the "good"cholesterol.

Omega-3 rich food

"Drien by the semiconduc-tor industry, computer chipcomponents continuouslyshrink in size allowing eversmaller and more powerfulcomputers," said researcherMichelle Simmons of the Uni-versity of New South Wales, inSydney, Australia.

"We are on the threshold ofmaking transistors out of indi-vidual atoms. But to build apractical quantum computerwe have recognized that the in-terconnecting wiring and cir-cuitry also needs to shrink tothe atomic scale."

Scientists were able to forgeatom-sized wires in siliconusing a technique called scan-ning tunneling microscopy,whereby they placed chains ofphosphorus atoms within a sil-icon crystal.

"This technique not only al-

and its powerful and uncondi-tional allies."

He also wrote about the riskof nuclear war, particularly inthe Middle East, where he ac-cused Israel -- the region's soleif undeclared nuclear-armedstate -- of having "hundreds"of nuclear weapons.

On the subject of climatechange, Castro expressed fearsabout hydraulic fracturing --or "fracking" -- a process bywhich water, sand and chemi-cals are blasted into theground to release oil and gastrapped in solid rock.

The process has been hailedby oil companies and otherbackers as a key new source offossil fuels, but critics haveexpressed fears about its im-pact on the environment,health and safety.

Rumors of Castro's deathhave periodically surfacedsince his retirement, most re-cently on the micro-bloggingwebsite Twitter earlier thisweek.

But official Cuban bloggerYohandry Bloquera, who isusually well-informed and re-liable regarding events inCuba, denied the reports, say-ing Castro was reading themhimself and "laughing" atthem.

"The CIA tried to kill himmore than 700 times and Twit-ter is going down that road,"Bloquera wrote on Tuesday.

HAVANA (AFP) - Cuba'siconic revolutionary FidelCastro warned that the worldwas on an "inexorable" marchinto the abyss this year be-cause of climate change andthe threat of nuclear war.

In an article publishedThursday -- Castro's first sinceNovember 2011 -- the 85-year-old retired leader alsotook aim at the United Statesand at gas shale "fracking," anew source of fossil fuels con-demned by environmentalists.

He did not, however, ad-dress rumors of his death,which were denied by an offi-cial Cuban blogger after theysurfaced on Twitter earlier thisweek.

"Many dangers threaten us,but two of them, nuclear warand climate change, are deci-sive and are drifting furtheraway from a solution," hewrote in an article entitled"The March Towards theAbyss."

Since handing over powerto his 80-year-old brother Raulin 2006 because of health con-cerns, the leader of the 1959revolution has rarely appearedin public but has penned regu-lar editorials on world events.

In his latest article, Fidelblamed the "inexorable" de-cline in part on "demagogictalk, statements and speechesfrom the tyranny imposed onthe world by the United States

Former Cuban president Fidel Castro, seen here in April2011.


(AFP) - A mineral broughtback to Earth by the first menon the Moon and long thoughtto be unique to the lunar sur-face has been found in Aus-tralian rocks more than onebillion years old, scientistssaid Thursday.

Named after Apollo 11's1969 landing site at the Sea ofTranquility, tranquillityite wasone of three minerals first dis-covered in rocks from theMoon and the only one not tobe found, in subsequent years,on Earth.

Australian scientist BirgerRasmussen said tranquillityitehad "long been considered asthe Moon's own mineral"until geologists discovered it,by chance, in rock from re-sources-rich Western Aus-tralia.

"In over 40 years it hadn'tbeen found in any terrestrialsamples," Rasmussen, from

Curtin University, told AFP. When the Moon samples

first came back Rasmussensaid they were considered to be"extremely precious" and hadbeen subjected to intense, de-tailed study when -- ironically-- their contents were "righthere all the time."

"They were always part ofEarth, they haven't come fromthe Moon," he said of his workon the discovery, published inthe journal Geology.

"It tells you that broadlyoverall you have similar

chemistries and similarprocesses operating on theMoon as on Earth."

As well as being "quirkyand surprising" Rasmussensaid the discovery also had im-portant practical applications,with the mineral proving to bean excellent dating tool whichhad allowed scientists to pindown the rocks' age.

"We used this mineral ... todate the dolerite which has pre-viously been undated, so thathelped us understand the geo-logical history," he said.

They were 1.07 billionyears old, more ancient thanrocks in the area had previ-ously been thought to be, andRasmussen said tranquillityitewould be useful in dating sim-ilar rocks in the future.

"I think it will be a lot morewidespread than just the six lo-cations we've found it so far,"he added of the rare mineral.

Rare Moon mineral found in Australia

Fidel Castro warnsof climate change,nuclear threat

Sci-Tech

(AFP) - Scientists said Thurs-day they have designed tinywires, 10,000 times thinnerthan a human hair but with thesame electrical capacity ascopper, in a major step towardbuilding smaller, more potentcomputers.

The advance, described inthe US journal Science, showsfor the first time that wires oneatom tall and four atoms widecan carry a charge as well asconventional wires.

That could lead to eventinier electronic devices in thefuture as well as new steps to-ward quantum computing, anindustry still in its infancywhich would create powerfulcomputers that could siftthrough massive amounts ofdata faster than current digitalcomputers which use binarycode.

lows us to image individualatoms but also to manipulatethem and place them in posi-tion," said researcher BentWeber, the lead author of thestudy.

The nano-wires they builtthis way ranged from 1.5 to 11nanometers thick.

But even though the circuitswere smaller, scientists ob-served no increased difficultyin coaxing an electric chargethrough them -- what has pre-viously been considered amajor obstacle to quantumcomputing.

In an accompanying Per-spective article, David Ferry ofthe School of Electrical, Com-puter, and Energy Engineeringat Arizona State Universitycalled the findings "good newsfor the semiconductor indus-try."

Tiny wires could usher newcomputer era


Jan 07 - JAN 14

O’stad :’ Botica St. Cruz ’ - S.N : ‘ Aloe N.V.’

FREE Coverage on our website:

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infringement of the three per-cent deficit ceiling can set off aquick train of action includingfines and judicial penalties.

The Commission late lastyear singled out Belgium andfour other European Union na-tions -- Hungary, Poland,Cyprus and Malta -- as possi-bly failing to meet the target. Itwill issue a statement on Janu-ary 11.

Belgian Budget MinisterOlivier Chastel said on nationalradio that the centre-left coali-tion that took office last monthhad been involved in budgetarytalks with the Commissionover the last two weeks.

The budget, based on 0.8percent growth, forecasts a 2.8percent deficit after sweepingcuts of 11.3 billion euros aimedat avoiding a no-policy-changedeficit that could have run up to4.6 percent of GDP.

Steven Vanackere, the EU'sEconomic Affairs Commis-sioner Olli Rehn said his ser -vices "have come to theconclusion ... the deficit fore-cast for Belgium in 2012should be updated to about3.25 percent of GDP".

Belgium's new governmentshould in consequence "in thecoming days" agree to paredown the budget by about 1.2to 2.0 billion euros, he said.

"This would allow us toconclude... that Belgium hasundertaken the required fiscaleffort," he said, calling on thecountry's new government toinform the Commission of itsresponse "by the end of theweek, latest by Monday morn-ing."

Under new rules agreed inDecember that give the EU ex-ecutive added powers to en-force budgetary discipline,

BRUSSELS (AFP) - The Euro-pean Commission has rejectedBelgium's 2012 budget asoverly optimistic and is de-manding it shave an extra 1.2to 2.0 billion euros to avoidbreaching the three percentthreshold.

In a letter sent Thursday toBelgian Finance Minister

market since the recessionended in June 2009.

Those counted as long-termunemployed -- persons withouta job for 27 weeks or more --barely budged at 5.6 million,or 42.5 percent of the unem-ployed.

Other indicators were flat,including the labor force par-ticipation rate, unchanged at64 percent.

The private sector onceagain delivered the lion's shareof job gains, adding 212,000 inDecember.

The job gains were broad-based, with jobs added intransportation and warehous-ing, retail trade, manufactur-ing, health care, and mining.

However, analysts pointedout that the 42,000 messengerjobs added during the holidayshopping season would likelydisappear in January.

Governments at all levelsshed a net 12,000 jobs, aslower pace of layoffs amidstrained budgets.

Economics."This report provides fur-

ther justification for continuedmodest optimism about the USeconomy in 2012," he said.

Obama, whose political fu-ture could hang on how badunemployment is by the timeof November's presidentialelection, welcomed the news.

"The economy is moving inthe right direction. We are cre-ating jobs," he said, while urg-ing Congress to keep sup -porting stimulus programs forthe economy.

The report was strongerthan generally expected. Ana-lysts on average had predictedthe jobless rate would insteadrise, and weaker job gains of150,000.

The number of unemployedpeople continued to trenddown in December, to 13.1million, after topping 14 mil-lion in mid-2011. Hourlywages and hours worked rose.

But the data showed the lin-gering deep strains in the labor

WASHINGTON (AFP) - TheUS economy added more jobsin December and the unem-ployment rate fell again, buteconomists said big challengesremained to sustaining the jobsmarket recovery this year.

In a keenly awaited readingyesterday, the Labor Depart-ment reported the jobless rateslipped to 8.5 percent as200,000 jobs were added lastmonth.

The jobless rate was thelowest since February 2009, themonth after President BarackObama took office amid theworst US recession in decades.

The rate was 9.1 percent asrecently as August, and econo-mists cheered the new num-bers as evidence that economicgrowth, feeble throughoutmuch of 2011, was gainingtraction.

"This is the best possibletype of report, as job creationin December was strong andthe unemployment rate fell,"said Jason Schenker at Prestige

pose the tax within the year.Many activists in western

countries have long cam-paigned for a small tax on fi-nancial transactions so as toraise funds for environmentaland social measures that theysay would compensate for thedamage done by reckless spe -culation.

In recent years, some go -vernments have taken up thecampaign but most now intendto use the so-called "RobinHood tax" to help reduce theirbudget deficits rather than em-bark on specific social pro-grams.

France and its major euro-zone partners have supportedthe idea of the tax but nowseem divided on how to ap-proach the issue, with themajor players in the bloc Ger-many and Italy openly advis-ing caution.

"It is necessary that the dif-ferent countries do not go italone in the application of thistax. I believe in a Europeanperspective," Italian PrimeMinister Monti said in Parisbefore his meeting withSarkozy.

In Berlin, German govern-ment spokesman Steffen Seib-ert told reporters that "theGerman position has been thesame for a long time.

PARIS (AFP) - France will goit alone if it can not convinceits European partners toquickly impose a new tax onfinancial transactions, Presi-dent Nicolas Sarkozy warnedyesterday.

"We won't wait for others toagree to put it in place, we'll doit because we believe in it," hesaid, branding it unacceptablethat "financial transactions bethe only transactions that areexempt from all taxation."

The French leader wasspeaking in Paris after talkswith Italian Prime MinisterMario Monti. Earlier, bothItaly and Germany had pub-licly urged EU members toagree a joint tax rather than im-pose one unilaterally.

"When you buy a flat, inevery country in the world youpay a tax. When you go into asupermarket for food, you paya tax. When you conduct a fi-nancial transaction, you pay notax," Sarkozy continued.

"Who understands this?Who accepts it?" he de-manded.

"This is why France is cam-paigning for a financial tax.I'm saying this with the ap-proval of the minister of fi-nance," Sarkozy added,referring to Francois Baroin,who had earlier vowed to im-


Finance

YEStERDAY’S

Crossword AnswerU.S.A.

Dutch Antilles

Canada

Britiain

Switzerland

Netherlands

Sweden

Denmark

Norway

Japan

(per 10,000)

USD

ANG

CAD

GBP

CHF

EUR

SEK

DKK

NOK

JPY

1.77

0.98

1.72

2.69

186.69

225.49

24.75

29.64

28.68

228.78

1.78

1.00

1.74

2.74

187.41

227.55

25.47

30.36

29.40

230.87

1.80

1.002

1.76

2.80

188.21

229.83

26.27

31.16

30.20

233.19

Currency

Code

Buyingrate

banknotes

Buying

ChequesSelling

Rate

Current as of:

01/06/2012

All rates for amounts up to AWG 100.00 per item.

France won't wait for EU

on financial transaction

tax

US jobless rate falls to 8.5% in

big jobs surge

Brussels demands Belgium pare 2012

budget

Critics in Britain havepraised Streep's acting, buthave generally given the filma cooller reception, complain-ing that it skims over the tu-multuous politics of the timeand focuses too much onThatcher's personality.

Others have said the film di-lutes Thatcher's power as apolitician by attempting to por-tray her as a feminine icon --when in fact she rarely in-cluded any women in her cab-inet, and preferred thecompany of men.

The Times' reviewer KateMuir criticised the film's "em-phasis on feminism over poli-tics" which left the Thatcheryears "almost unrecognisable."

Michael White, a journalistfor the left-wing Guardianwho covered Thatcher at theheight of her power, suggestedthat the film should have beencalled "The Rusty Lady",given its unsparing portrayalof Thatcher in later life.

He, too, took issue with theattempts to portray Thatcher assomething she was not, sayingshe was "not a satisfactoryfeminist icon. She could havepromoted women... but didn't".

the centre-right Conservativeparty.

But Cameron questionedwhether it was right to makethe film while Thatcher wasstill alive.

"It's a fantastic piece ofacting by Meryl Streep but Ijust can't help wondering whydo we have to have this filmright now?" he told BBCradio.

"It is a film much moreabout ageing and elements ofdementia rather than about an

amazing prime minister, andmy sort of sense was -- a greatpiece of acting, a really stag-gering piece of acting, but afilm I wish they could havemade another day."

Streep has said she relishedthe "opportunity to play some-one at the waning of her life...and that interested me too be-cause there aren't very manyfilms that pay attention toolder ladies."

The American actress, whois tipped to win the third Oscarof her career for her perform-ance, was due to speak tomedia in Paris later Friday topromote the film, in which sheis reunited with "MammaMia" director Phyllida Lloyd.

LONDON (AFP) - PrimeMinister David Cameron saidFriday "The Iron Lady" shouldhave been delayed until afterMargaret Thatcher's death, asthe film showing the formerpremier's descent into demen-tia opened in Britain.

The biopic shows Thatcheras a frail, sometimes confusedold lady -- she is now 86 andis rarely seen in public -- look-ing back at her career with theghost of her late husbandDenis looking on.

Cameron, in his first com-ment on the film, said he hadbeen impressed by MerylStreep's portrayal of Britain'sfirst woman prime minister,who like him was a leader of

as "Billie Jean," "Beat It," andthe classic "Thriller."

"The Grauman's ChineseTheatre forecourt is one of themost photographed touristsites in the world, annually at-tracting as many visitors as theTaj Mahal in India and thePrado Museum in Madrid,"said a statement.

The Grauman's hands andfootprints ceremony "is rich intradition and provides the fourmillion plus people a yearwho visit the site an up closelook at the hand and footprintsof Hollywood's most notabletalents," it added.

The ceremony will includea presentation by the cast ofthe "Michael Jackson The Im-mortal World Tour," a Cirquedu Soleil show performing atthe Staples Center in Los An-geles January 27-29.

Jackson died on June 25,2009 from an overdose of thepowerful anesthetic propofol.His doctor Conrad Murraywas found guilty of involun-tary manslaughter in Novem-ber and jailed for themaximum of four years.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -Michael Jackson's three chil-dren are to sink their father'sshoes and famous sequinedglove into the cement outsidea storied Hollywood cinemaand tourist site, organizerssaid Thursday.

In a rare public appearance,Prince, Paris and Blanket willmake their late father's markin the cement outside theGrauman's Chinese Theatreon January 26.

The entrance to the historiccinema on Hollywood Boule-vard is a major tourist attrac-tion, with hand and footprintsof movie stars and filmmakersfrom over the decades.

The vast majority of thosewith prints at the Grauman's -- including icons like Fred As-taire, Elizabeth Taylor, JudyGarland, Marilyn Monroe,Sidney Poitier and ClarkGable -- are from the movieworld.

The Jackson Estate, whichmanages the late star's affairs,pointed out that the King ofPop was responsible for suchground-breaking short films

Meryl Streep as Mrs. Tatcher


Jackson kids to makedad's footprint inHollywood

'The Iron Lady' should have beendelayed: British PM


-- can’t see through when held upto light.

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•Use sunscreen even on

hazy or overcast days.•Keep an extra bottle of

sunscreen in the car. •Pack a bottle of sunscreen

in your child's bag. •Use Sunglasses that block

UV rays and protect the eyesand the surrounding tenderskin.

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•Teach your children theshadow rule. When outside, ifyour shadow is shorter thanyou are, it means that the sunis high in the sky and the UVrays are most intense.

•Protect children youn gerthan 6 months of age withclothing and keep them in theshade.

For more advice on how tobest protect your and your chil-dren’s skin against the sun,please call Aruba Aloe: 588-3222 or visit the websitewww.ArubaAloe.com

Aruba Aloe products areavailable at most hotels, super-markets, pharmacies and theAruba Aloe Stores.

It's important to protect yourchildren's skin from the damag-ing effects of the sun. No matterwhat they're doing or what timeof year it is, if they are outdoors,they need to be protected.

Aruba is one of the placesin the world where the sun isthe strongest. Located only12.5 degrees north of the equa-tor, the sun shines with maxi-mum strength and penetratesthe atmosphere with a maxi-mum amount of UV rays.What most people don’t knowon water and sand, whichmeans that even in the shadeyou need protection.

Protecting the skin from thesun during childhood and ado-lescence is important in reduc-ing cancer risks later in life. Bybuilding safe sun habits intoyour family's daily routine,you will make your childrenunderstand and get used tobeing protected against the sunand they will become more

aware of the harmful effects itcan have to their skin. Parentsshould take the lead by givingthe good example; childrenwill respond better when theysee their parents protectingtheir skin as well. Important recommendations:

•Wear protective clothingwhen out in the sun. Chooseshirts and slacks made oftightly woven fabrics that you

Parents Guide toSkin Protection

vations can bemade by calling586- 0786 or 586-0787, or via e-maillink at their web-site, www.aruba-latrattoria.com,where you can pe-ruse their latestmenu, as Chef Al-berto is always de-vising some tastynew specialty totake advantage ofwhat is fresh forthe season.

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Savoring the sight of aspectacular Aruban sunset andthe tiered layout of the eateryalso makes it the ideal spot formarking a special occasion,such as an anniversary or amarriage proposal, as well as aperfect venue for weddings ora celebratory party. An exten-sive and diverse menu andwine list allows those planninga special festivity will be ableto devise a memorable eventand management is ready andwilling to help you stay withinyour budget.

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Osso Buco with Risotto

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give himself the best chance ofappearing in decent shape forthe first Grand Slam tourna-ment of the year, the Aus-tralian Open, starting atMelbourne in 10 days' time.

"Although it's not verygood it's not crazy bad," Fed-erer said.

"I have had bad backs onthe past, but this is not verygood, otherwise I would defi-nitely be playing.

"It’s only the second time Ihave pulled out from a tourna-ment, and I have never pulledout during a match. It’s a sadmoment for me, the tourna-ment, and the fans, but healthcomes first."

Federer was "optimistic" hewould be fit for the AustralianOpen, where he will be tryingto win the title back fromNovak Djokovic.

"I feel that without play andwith the right treatment, I willget through it in the next fewdays," he said.

ing attacks to break back for 3-4, and after saving a breakpoint against him in the nextgame, made the killer thrust toreach 5-4.

He broke Nadal’s servicegame to love, stayed calm asthe French Open championtenaciously saved two matchpoints, and closed out thematch at the third attempt witha good first serve and a drivingfollow-up.

Having played two matchesin pain, Grand Slam record-holder Federer preferred to

equalized on Ivan Johnson'srebound putback and Smith'soutside jumper with 19 sec-onds remaining, sending theteams into the second over-time at 99-99.

Smith hit a layup to pull theHawks within 103-101 in thesecond extra period but hecommitted a foul to set up twofree throws for Miami.

Joe Johnson followed witha basket for Atlanta but Boshanswered for the Heat midwayinto the over-time only forJohnson to respond with an-other hoop and Horford tip-inan equalizer to make it 107-107 with 55 seconds to play.

Marvin Williams tipped inan Ivan Johnson shot to givethe Hawks a lead but Chalmersanswered with two free throwsto send the game to a thirdover-time.

At San Antonio, Matt Bon-ner led the Spurs with 17points while Richard Jeffersonadded 16 for San Antonio,which also had 11 points andeight assists from Frenchguard Tony Parker.

The Spurs led 31-17 afterthe first quarter and 55-29 athalf-time on the way to vic-tory.

Reserve Jason Terry led thereigning NBA champions with12 points while Delonte Westwith 10 points was the onlyDallas starter in double fig-ures.

German star Dirk Nowitzkishot 3-of-11 from the field andmanaged only six points forthe Mavericks, who as a teamshot only 35 percent.

At Atlanta, Chalmers sank a3-pointer with 3:45 to play inthe third over-time, added twofree throws and drove in for alayup with a minute remainingto finally provide Miami the de-ciding points.

The Hawks, who fell to 4-3,missed all seven of their shots inthe third over-time and gaveaway two turnovers as well.

Udonis Haslem added 14points for the Heat while JoeJohnson led Atlanta with 20points and Josh Smith added 17for the Hawks.

Bosh hit a tension-packed 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds re-maining to pull the Heat levelwith the Hawks at 93-93, send-ing the game into over-time.Bosh had seven points in thefourth quarter to spark Miami.

Back-to-back layups byChalmers put the Heat ahead97-93 in the first over-time. At-lanta's Al Horford and Boshtraded layups before the Hawks

WASHINGTON (AFP) - ChrisBosh scored 33 points andMario Chalmers added 29 tolead Miami to a 116-109 winover Atlanta in triple over-timeThursday despite playingwithout two injured stars.

LeBron James was side-lined with an ankle injurywhile Dwyane Wade was outwith a foot injury, leavingBosh alone among Miami's"Big Three" to face a Hawkssquad that inflicted the team'sonly prior defeat of the season.

But Chalmers answered thechallenge, scoring 22 of hispoints in the fourth quarter andover-times to lift the Heat to anNBA-best 7-1 on the season.

The San Antonio Spurs,also missing a superstar withArgentine guard Manu Gino-bili having had surgery onThursday for a broken lefthand, also triumphed, defeat-ing the visiting Dallas Maver-icks 93-71.


NBA: Heat edge Hawks in tripleover-time

Nadal did dominate more ofthe rallies in the first set, onlyto be bamboozled by suddeninjections of counter-hittingpace by Monfils.

It then seemed that Nadalwas turning the match aroundwhen he went 4-1 up, mixingin slower, loopier drives withhis attacks.

He might even have madeit 5-0 had Monfils not saved abreak point with a fine firstserve down the middle.

Three games later Monfilsplayed three brilliant ambush-

Tennis: Injured Federer, beaten Nadal ....continued from page 16

Ivan Johnson #44 of the Atlanta Hawks defends Chris Bosh#1 of the Miami Heat at Philips Arena on January 5, 2012 inAtlanta, Georgia.

The Bengals went 9-0against teams that missed theplayoffs but winless in sevengames against playoff clubs.With rookie quarterback AndyDalton shining and rusherCedric Benson grounding outyards, Cincinnati looks toavenge a 20-19 loss to Hous-ton last month, the last timethe Texans won a game.

Denver struggled to an 8-8season and the Broncos arenine-point underdogs at hometo six-time Super Bowl cham-pion Pittsburgh, but Denversouthpaw quarterback TimTebow has defied the odds allseason to get his team this far.

The Broncos started 1-4with Kyle Orton at quarter-back, but Tebow took over

passing records with 5,476yards, 468 completions and a71.2 percent completion ratein 2011.

The Saints enter the play-offs on an eight-game winstreak, matching New Englandfor the hottest run to close theseason, and joined Baltimoreand Green Bay as the onlyclubs to win every home gamethis season.

At Houston, the injury-hitTexans have reached the play-offs for the first time in thefranchise's 10-year history de-spite dropping their final threegames of the season.

Injuries ended the seasonfor quarterback Matt Schauband defensive end MarioWilliams and sidelined 2010NFL rushing leader Arian Fos-ter and star receiver AndreJohnson.

Champ Bailey #24 of the Denver Broncos breaks up the catch

by Jonathan Baldwin #89 of the Kansas City Chiefs at Sports

Authority Field at Mile High on January 1, 2012 in Denver,

Colorado.

midway into an October lossat San Diego and the teamwent 7-1, winning six gamesin a row at one stage.

Defenses began pressuringTebow late in the season andDenver staggered to the finishto reach the playoffs on tie-breakers. With Pittsburghknown for tenacious defense,led by Troy Polamalu, Tebowcould face another rough day.

The Falcons were top seedsin last season's playoffs butlost their playoff opener forthe second year in a row.

Atlanta is led by MattRyan, who threw for 4,177yards and 29 touchdowns, re-ceiver Roddy White, whocaught 100 passes for 1,296yards, and star tight end TonyGonzalez, who grabbed 80passes for 875 yards and seventouchdowns.

The Giants come off a tensevictory over Dallas just toreach the playoffs that has leftthem prepared, New Yorkcoach Tom Coughlin said.

The Giants have lost theirpast two home playoff games,last winning on home turf inthe playoffs in 2001.

While New York's defensestruggled much of the season,the Giants finished with 48sacks, third-best in the NFL,and improved late in the sea-son when top talent returnedfrom injuries.

"We can be the best defensein the playoffs," Giants safetyDeon Grant said. "It's just uscoming together and being onthe same page."

in the first playoff game forthe Broncos after a six-seasonhiatus.

The weekend's four win-ners advance to second-roundgames January 14-15 that willbe hosted by San Francisco,New England, Baltimore andthe defending Super Bowlchampion Green Bay Packers,who led the NFL with a 15-1season mark.

The Lions, who had notreached the playoffs in 12 sea-sons, are coming off the worstcampaign in NFL history,going 0-16 three seasons ago.Detroit has won only one play-off game, in 1991, since takingthe 1957 NFL title.

"It has been a long timecoming," said Lions coach JimSchwartz. "This is the chanceto win the championship andthat's the only thing that's im-portant. I think that it's whatyou do with it and that's theway we'll look at it."

Detroit offers a passing at-tack powered by quarterbackMatthew Stafford, who com-pleted 63.5 percent of hispasses for 5,038 yards and 41touchdowns, and Calvin Jack-son, who had an NFL-best1,681 receiving yards and 16touchdown catches.

The Lions won four timesthis season after trailing by 13or more points in the secondhalf.

But they are matchedagainst the Saints, who wonthe 2010 Super Bowl behindDrew Brees, the quarterbackwho set NFL single season

NEW YORK (AFP) - Ameri-can football teams in Detroit,Houston, and Denver end longplayoff droughts this week-end, but whether any of themcan make the achievement lastmore than one game is a majorquestion.

The National FootballLeague playoffs kick off Sat-urday with the CincinnatiBengals visiting the HoustonTexans and the Detroit Lionsat the New Orleans Saints inopening-round matchups.

Sunday's playoff gamesfind the Atlanta Falcons at theNew York Giants and thePittsburgh Steelers at Denver


NFL: Long-suffering teams make playoffreturns

‘Arubaanse Voetbalbond’ – the Aruba Football Federation once more is organizing a tremendous

‘Copa Betico Croes’ tournament. The first round starts Monday, January 9, when the competing

teams demonstrate their sports skills to advance to the second round. Who will be the champion

of the ‘Copa Betico Croes 2012?’

Schedule for the first round:

AVB invites everyone to come and enjoy a good soccer game, support their favorite team and at

the same time contribute to the development and motivation of athletics among island youth. This

tournament promises to be very interesting, considering that Aruba’s teams have been training hard

and level of play has shown considerable advancement.


DOHA (AFP) - Top-seededRafael Nadal was hustled outof the Qatar Open in thesemi-finals on Friday, joiningsecond-seeded Roger Federerat the Doha exit door after theSwiss star pulled out with aback injury.

French Open championNadal lost 6-3, 6-4 to GaelMonfils, the world number16 from France.

The result guaranteed aFrench winner of the QatarOpen for the first time sinceNicolas Escude eight yearsago, for Jo-Wilfried Tsongaalso reached the final whenFederer’s hopes were scup-pered by a bad back.

Federer's decision to pullout before a ball was hit wasonly the second time in hiscareer that he had beenforced into such a decision.

For Monfils, it was onlythe second time in 10 at-tempts that he had got thebetter of Nadal.

Curiously the other occa-sion was on this same courtthree years ago before Nadalwent on to win the AustralianOpen.

This time the quality ofMonfils’ play was evenhigher and he suggested that,at the age of 25, he may still

have the time and the mental-ity to make a challenge to theleaders.

"I like this stadium and at-mosphere -- I play great ten-nis here," he said of an arenawith an intimate, highlycharged ambience at night.

"I think I served well andI was very fast around thecourt," added Monfils, whohad served 19 first serves intocourt in a row at one stage inthe second set.

His second comment wasan understatement, for hiswithering speed may wellhave raised doubts in Nadal’smind about the best shot se-lection.

Nadal followed quite wellhis new emphasis of heavierattacks from nearer to or in-side the baseline, but was fre-quently prevented fromgetting full value from them.

Inevitably the loss willcontinue the questions aboutthe efficacy of the worldnumber two’s preparation forthe 2012 season.

Problems with his shoul-der, a new and heavier rac-quet, and only five daysoff-season training have notcreated maximum confi-dence.

continues on page 14

Injured Federer,beaten Nadal outof Qatar Open

Rafael Nadal of Spain serves to Gael Monfils of Franceduring their Qatar ATP Open Tennis tournament semifinalmatch at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex in Dohaon January 6, 2012. Monfils won 6-3, 6-4. O

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