ple. Those aboard were mostlyIndonesian aviation represen-tatives, but there were alsoeight Russians -- four of themcrew and four Sukhoi employ-ees -- plus an American and aFrenchman, officials said.

They said a helicopter pilotspotted the plane's debris afterrescuers resumed their opera-tion at first light yesterday, lo-cating one part with the Sukhoilogo on the face of MountSalak, a dormant volcano.

Devastated relatives ofthose aboard gathered at theHalim Perdanakusuma airportin Jakarta -- used for militaryand some commercial flights -- where the Sukhoi had takenoff the day before.

In Russia, investigatorsopened a criminal probe intopossible misconduct duringpreparations for the flight.

An investigative committeesaid it would look at "the pro-cedure for preparing the flightcrew and also the technicalcondition of the craft itself be-fore its departure from Russia".

CIJERUK (AFP) - All of thedozens aboard a RussianSukhoi passenger jet flying ona sales promotion trip in In-donesia were killed when theplane slammed into a moun-tain, officials said yesterday.

Rescuers who reached theremote site found bodies scat-tered near the wreckage ofRussia's first post-Soviet civil-ian plane on the sheer face ofMount Salak, outside the cityof Bogor, south of Jakarta.

The twin-engine Superjet100 vanished from radarscreens on Wednesday, 50minutes into what was meantto be a short flight to show offits capabilities to prospectivebuyers as Russia tries to re-build its civilian jet industry.

Reports of the number onboard varied. Trimarga Reka -tama, the company responsiblefor the doomed flight's guestlist, originally said 50 passen-gers were on board but yester-day revised the number to 45.

Local rescue officials saidthe plane was carrying 46 peo-

prizes are awarded based oninformation received from theairlines who vote on the mostoutstanding airports.

The total of aircraft move-ments grew by 1.3% comparedto 2010, for a total of 38,888,which is almost exclusivelydue to general aviation, an in-crease of private crafts andother non-commercial flights,Further analysis of the com-mercial passenger flights seg-ment reveals inbound seatcapacity to Aruba grew by 1%from 1,507,108 to 1,529,272 in2011: (see table below)

Continued on page 2

forts: for the third consecutiveyear AAA was highly com-mended and awarded runner-up status in the regionalcategory “The Americas” forExcellence in Airline Market-ing during the annualROUTES conference in SantoDomingo. The consistency thatis displayed by AAA, as a re -latively small player amongstall American and South andCentral American airports inscoring year after year on theshortlist of best airline market-ing airports, confirms the com-pany’s view on the practice ofairline marketing, especially as

AAA CEO Peter Steinmetzand Director of Operations Jur -gen Benschop welcomed is-land media for a recap of thefigures for 2011, which re-vealed the Reina Beatrix Inter-national Airport is setting newrecords for processed passen-gers and astute management.

This report is done annuallyin the name of transparency,but as Peter Steinmetz com-mented, “I am particularlyproud of my management teamfor the sharp budgeting prac-tices, reducing expenses by37%, which has resulted in a17% profit margin. Most air-ports only hope for 5% to 10%profit, so we have good reasonto be happy with our numbers.”

He also pointed out thatBenchop, prior to taking overthe position of Director ofOpe rations last year, had beeninvited to the Airport CouncilInternational Conference to beelected to the position ofChairman of the Safety Group,a statement to the ACI’s admi-ration for the state of opera-tions and safety at Aruba’sairport.

This was the sixth time in 6years AAA received apprecia-tion from its airline customersfor its airline marketing ef-

Friday, May 11, 2012

Aruba Airport reports 2011 a record year for traffic and profits

All killed in Russian

plane crash in Indonesia

Peter Steinmetz and Jur gen Benschop surrounded bymanagement team

Seat Capacity Overview 2009-2011

Region 2009 2010 2011 % Diff % Diff 2011-2010 2011-2009

United Sates 734,786 751,161 716,902 -5% -2%Caribbean 17,217 17,901 14,168 -21% -18%Central America 21,212 22,773 23,711 4% 12%Dutch Caribbean155,308 222,588 238,442 7% 54%Canada 18,533 16,188 27,397 69% 48%Europe 195,177 212,449 218,966 3% 12%South America 261,037 264,048 289,686 10% 11%Total 1,403,270 1,507,108 1,529,272 1% 9%

Source: AAA, Mis 2009-2011

service to the U.S. and the re-gion. Unlike other airlines,which depart in as short a timeas possible, this being Tiara’shome base required the con-struction of hangers adjacent tothe south terminal. There arealso improvements to the eastand west aprons, to maintainU.S. air authority standards forsafety and quality.

AAA has also receivedcommendations for their envi-ronmental and energy savingpractices, one of which isswitching to LED runwaylights, which consume less en-ergy, and the airport’s compli-ance in regard to being wellwithin safety limits for noiseand emission pollution.

by Rosalie klein

mately 3 percent points lowerthan 2010. Latin America re-mains Aruba’s second largesttourism market with 17% oftourism visitors of whichVenezuela accounted for 64%.

This general positivegrowth and unprecedentedprofit in uncertain times hasalso resulted in the AAA bondissue being upgraded in qualityas an investment.

Finally, Jurgen Benschopexplained the 44.4 millionAruban florins the airport hascommitted to improvements in2012 and their necessity; oneof the major issues providingcontainment space for the en-largement of the native Arubansignature airline Tiara AirAruba, which has acquired to155-passenger jets for regular

Mr. Steinmetz acceded thispositive result was somewhatunexpected, given the sove -reign debt crisis in Europe andits fall out effect on othereconomies. Coupled with theaftereffects of the banking cri-sis and global economic reces-sion, the results of 2011surpassed earlier expectations.

As in 2010, a transparentgrowth trend was absent astraffic growth numbers variedsubstantially per region;growth for Aruba was predo -minantly due to growth in thefollowing segments: LatinAmerica & Caribbean and(former) Netherlands Antilles:both increased with 18%. TheUS market was stagnant withzero growth, whilst Europegrew with almost 4%. TheFixed Base Operation for ge -neral aviation (operated byUniversal Weather and Avia-tion, Inc), showed an increaseof 5.6% in Revenue Genera -ting Passengers (RGP) to11,467 passengers in 2011.

AAA’s counts of PFC-pay-ing passengers indicate that59% of total visitors to Arubaon commercial flights are fromthe USA, which is approxi-

ing (departing) passengers(“PFC passengers”) increasedin total with 5.4% to 998,161for the full year, making 2011the best year ever for AAA.The diffe rence between pas-sengers and paying passengeris accounted for by crewmem-bers, children under 2, diplo-mats, etc.

The year 2011 ended with thehighest traffic numbers everexperienced with total numberof passengers processed by theairport (including transfer,transit and general aviationpassengers) amounting to2,087,170 (+5.2%) the highestfigure ever. The number ofPassenger Facility Charge pay-

Aruba Airport reports 2011 a record year...Continued from page 1

2 Friday, May 11, 2012

Graph of departing passengers

Net Profit & Loss chart

and much fanfare at all ourschools. Members of Parlia-ment and Ministers will beasked to join in with their sup-port to help introduce Obliga-tory Education in schoolsacross the island, according toCoordinator Lysianne Dijk -hoff-Sammy.

Continued on page 4

course regarding ObligatoryEducation that was offered toPolice of the Barrios and agroup of Civil employees.

On August 15, the govern-ment will issue a grand wel-come to Obligatory Educationat all our schools. ObligatoryEducation will be initiated in afestive manner with balloons

The coordinator of the Bureauof Obligatory Education,Lysiane Dijkoff-Sammy, re-ported that all the preparatorywork and planning for the in-troduction of Obligatory Edu-cation on Aruba, have beencompleted. Introduction of thisnew law will be done in phases.One of the phases was a special

where they sample six varietiesof Bacardi, from pure whiteSuperior, to dark, spicy Oak-heart, as William explained thenuances of each label.

Juan took over to demon-strate how to be a mixologistpar excellence, not only withclassic and frequently orderedcocktails, but two creations ofhis own, the “Silver Lining”and “Quintessential.” The firstuses fresh cucumber, BacardiSuperior, sugar and lime juice.“I invented this one day be-cause I like to work with whatis handy in my kitchen,” he ex-plained to the class.

Continued on page 4

Tropical Bottling,official agents forBacardi on Aruba,welcomed BacardiBrand MastersWilliam Ramos andJuan Coronado foran entertaining andenlightening visit toAruba this week.The pair oftentravel to variousdestinations provid-ing classes for barand wait staff on thelatest developmentsof Bacardi, theeponymous rumproduced by the largest pri-vately held, family-owned spir-its company in the world.

Though they produce over200 fine spirits and wines, theyare of course best known fortheir smooth, light rums. “Bac-ardi is the most mixable spiriton the rack,” explained Juan, amaster mixologist, who con-ducted classes in producing theperfect Mojito, an iconic drinkof mint, sugar, lemon and ofcourse, not “rum” as many ofhis students thought, but “Bac-ardi,” which goes beyondbeing simply rum.

Two classes were conductedfor all the Renaissance employ-ees on Wednesday, May 9,

Friday, May 11, 2012                                                                                                                                                                                                         3                              

Renaissance bartenders

receive Bacardi training

sessions

Obligatory Education in Aruba soon

to be a reality!

William Ramos conducts the sniff test

obligatory education, such as,the Department of Social Af-fairs, the Guardianship Coun-cil (Voog dij raad), socialworkers of all schools; and inparticular with all schoolsand school boards.

working with young peopleand in Obligatory Education.

Mrs. Dijkhoff-Sammyemphasized that the Obliga-tory Education Bureau willwork in consortium withother institutions which haveto do with young people and

The Obligatory EducationBureau already has acquireda number of Civil employeesto serve as Obligatory Educa-tion civil servants who havealready taken a basic course.They also have a socialworker with experience

ardi logo. Renaissance employees

were entertained and enlight-ened by the training sessionswith William and Juan andproperly impressed by theirthorough knowledge and pas-sion for their product. Cus-tomers at the Renaissance barsand restaurants can expectsome interesting and deliciousnew drinks on the menu.

by Rosalie Klein

“It is not my way ofworking to seek outsome rare and exoticingredient to create anenjoyable drink. Cre-ative bartenders arealso turning to culi-nary practices and in-gredients more indevising interestingnew ways to useliquors. Rum is themost mixable of spir-its and particularlylends itself well forthis. Bacardi was thefirst to develop thefiltration and fermen-tation processes to producethe smooth, enjoyable rumswe take for granted today.”

He provided the class witha bit of history of rum, partic-ularly as it pertains to Bacardi,which was founded by Fa-cundo Bacardi Masso, a Cata-lan wine merchant who hademigrated to Cuba, and deve -loped the process that pro-duced the first white rum. Heand his brother Jose set up adistillery in 1862 in a buildingthat housed many bats in therafters, hence the famous Bac-

4 Friday, May 11, 2012

Renaissance bartenders receive . . Continued from page 3

Obligatory Education in Aruba . . .Continued from page 3

Juan conducts an entertaining and enlighting class

The perfect Mojito

parliament will pass legisla-tion to legalize gay marriagein Cuba, although the billunder debate by lawmakershere "sad to say is not every-thing that we would havehoped for."

Castro looked to anotherof its neighbors, Argentina, asthe model after which shewould have liked to patternCuba's gay rights agenda.

HAVANA (AFP) - Famedsexologist Mariela Castro,daughter of the Cuban presi-dent, said yesterday she ex-pected her country this yearwill pass a same-sex mar-riage law, although she saidCuba still needs to be "morerevolutionary" in its treat-ment of gays.

Mariela Castro said she"has the hope that this year"

the attack.A second guerrilla group,

the National Liberation Army(ELN), and drug traffickingorganizations also are activein the area, which has exten-sive coca cultivation.

The FARC is Colombia'sbiggest and oldest guerrillagroup with an estimated9,200 fighters, while the ELNhas an estimated 3,500 fight-ers, the Colombian DefenseMinistry says.

province that bordersVenezuela.

The wounded police, 12 ofwhom were in serious condi-tion, were taken to the city ofCucuta on the Venezuelanborder for medical attention.

The army said in a state-ment that it has deployed as-sault helicopters to the regionto mount a counter-attackagainst the RevolutionaryArmed Forces of Colombia(FARC) unit that carried out

BOGOTA (AFP) - Leftistguerrillas attacked a policegarrison with homemademortars, killing seven person-nel and wounding 17 others innortheastern Colombia, civil-ian and police sources saidyesterday.

A police spokesman in Bo-gota said one rebel was killedand five others captured in theaftermath of the attack, whichoccurred in a rural area inNorte de Santander, a

PARIS (AFP) - France's presi-dent-elect Francois Hollandeyesterday held "frank andfriendly" talks with the head ofthe Eurogroup of finance min-isters, Jean-Claude Juncker,Hollande's transition chiefsaid.

Juncker met with Hollandein Paris as the Socialist pre-pares to take over next weekfrom outgoing leader NicolasSarkozy after his election vic-tory Sunday, Hollande's transi-tion chief Pierre Moscovicisaid.

Hollande and Juncker, alsoLuxembourg's prime minister,had a "frank and friendlyworking exchange" during the70-minute meeting, Moscovicisaid.

Hollande is facing resis -tance from many in Europe tohis plan to reopen talks on theEuropean Union's hard-wonfiscal austerity pact in order torefocus the EU's economicpolicy on growth.

"Mr Juncker is a man whois very open to listening toFrancois Hollande's ideas andwho knows that the focus mustbe on growth," Moscovici said.

Hollande met Wednesdaywith EU president HermanVan Rompuy for talks in Parisalso focused on economicgrowth.

Several French officialsources said yesterday thatHollande will fly to Berlinwithin hours of his swearing-in ceremony on May 15 fortalks with German ChancellorAngela Merkel -- Europe's keyproponent of fiscal austerity.

Friday, May 11, 2012 5

Hollande in'frank andfriendly'talks withEurogroupchief

Rebel attack kills seven police in ColombiaCuba poised to pass gaymarriage law

into its version of the defenseauthorization bill for 2013.

House Democratic leaderNancy Pelosi stressed thatwhile she was a strong sup-porter of gay rights andObama's statement was "theright thing to do for our coun-try," the political ramificationswere secondary.

"What he did was to ad-vance the cause for civil rightsin such a personal as well aspresidential way. It's more im-portant than any political con-sequences," she said.

In particular Pelosi declinedto make predictions on howthe announcement might im-pact members of the African-American community, notablysome religious groups whichare adamantly opposed tosame sex marriage, or Demo-cratic fundraising efforts.

"Anything about the poli-tics is incidental," she said.

"If you are cutting ourjobs, then you are cutting theservice we can deliver andthe public's safety is at risk."

London's MetropolitanPolice said more than 32,000police took part in the march.

The government says thecurrent pension provisionsare unfair and unsustainablebecause people are livinglonger.But trade unions say theplans will force their mem-bers to pay more and worklonger for lower pensions.

Unions said more than400,000 people were onstrike, but Francis Maude, theMinister for the Cabinet Of-fice, said the figure was"wildly inaccurate" and onlyabout 150,000 civil servantshad taken part in the "futile"action.

Maude said: "The combi-nation of the dedicated ma-jority of public serviceworkers who came to work asusual and our rigorous con-tingency plans ensured thatpublic services were mainlyunaffected.

"It is now time that unionleaders put the best interestsof their members first by ask-ing them to accept our gener-ous offer."

LONDON (AFP) - Morethan 30,000 off-duty policeofficers marched throughLondon yesterday and hun-dreds of thousands of Britishpublic sector workers wenton strike over the govern-ment's austerity measures.

Immigration staff, civilservants, health workers, lec-turers and prison officers alsotook part in the 24-hourstrike, the latest in a series ofstoppages since the coalitiongovernment came to powertwo years ago.

Police officers from all 43forces in England and Walesdonned black baseball capsemblazoned with the words"Cuts are criminal" as theyprotested in London againstthe spending cuts andchanges to their pay and pen-sions.

The police, who underBritish law are banned fromholding strikes, warned thatthe government's push to cuta record deficit was puttingpublic safety at risk.

Police Federation chair-man Paul McKeever said in aspeech: "We care very deeplyabout the communities thatwe serve. We have seen whathappens when we have agovernment that has givenpolicing a very low priority.

to stay focused on what theAmerican people want us tostay focused on, and that'sjobs," House Speaker JohnBoehner told reporters whenasked how the issue would im-pact the 2012 race.

Boehner reiterated his ownpersonal position on the matter-- which happens to match thatof Republican presumptivepresidential nominee MittRomney: "I believe that mar-riage is the union of one manand one woman," the speakersaid.

He declined to take a firmposition on efforts by some ofhis Republican House col-leagues who recently voted toban gay marriage from takingplace on US military bases.

The Hill reported that mem-bers of the House Armed Ser -vices Committee inserted themeasure, crafted by RepublicanRepresentative Steve Palazzo,

WASHINGTON (AFP) - UScongressional leaders fromboth parties yesterday declinedto predict the political falloutof what is certain to be a 2012campaign issue: PresidentBarack Obama's public sup-port of gay marriage.

With the presidential elec-tion less than six months away,the political world lit up whenObama became the first USpresident to publicly supportsame sex marriage, with bothsides debating how his an-nouncement will play out inthe campaign.

But when asked howObama's same sex marriagesupport may help or hurt hisre-election bid and the cam-paigns of Republicans and De-mocrats in the Senate andHouse of Representatives, con-gressional leaders balked.

"The president can talkabout it all he wants. I'm going

6 Friday, May 11, 2012

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Top US lawmakers mum on political

impact of gay marriage

30,000 police march asBritish public sectorworkers strike

in June said White Housespokesman Jay Carney.

Carney also dismissed theidea that Putin had decided notto come because it is doubtfulObama will travel to theAPEC summit in Vladivos-tock, Russia in September as ittakes place less than two

(AFP) - The White House in-sisted Thursday it was not dis-appointed that RussianPresident Vladimir Putin willskip the G8 summit and talkswith President Barack Obamanext week.

The Russian leader, re-turned as president after a fouryear break Monday, and wasexpected to have a first chanceto meet on a president-to-pres-ident level with Obama at theCamp David summit in Mary-land.

But Putin said in a phonecall with Obama Wednesdaythat he would not be able to at-tend as he was tied up withpicking his cabinet and wouldsend ex-president and currentPrime Minister DmitryMedvedev instead.

"It is something we under-stood and understand," hesaid, noting that Putin andObama had already agreed tomeet "in not much time at all"at the G20 summit in Mexico

Friday, May 11, 2012 7

months before the US election.Putin's visit to the United

States was to come at a pricklytime in ties with Washington,which is pressing ahead with aEuropean missile shield de-spite Russian complaints andhas also slammed Russia'streatment of protestors.

White House not disappointed byPutin no-show

International News

In December 2008,Uganda led a US-backed of-fensive on LRA camps inneighbouring DemocraticRepublic of Congo, but Konyescaped and his small band offighters scattered around thevast jungle region.

US President BarackObama has sent 100 specialforces to the region to assistthe Ugandan, Congolese,Central Africa and South Su-danese troops hunting forKony and the remnants of theLRA.

Ocampo was speaking atone of his last public engage-ments before leaving his postat The Hague-based court,with Fatou Bensouda, aGambian, set to take over aschief prosecutor next month.

The Kony 2012 video wascriticised by some, in part foroversimplifying the rootcauses of the LRA's devastat-ing insurgency, but Ocampoapplauded it for raisingawareness about the conflictto unprecedented levels.

Kony is wanted by theICC for rape, mutilation andthe murder of civilians, aswell as abducting andforcibly recruiting children toserve as child soldiers or sexslaves.

THE HAGUE (AFP) - Lord'sResistance Army leaderJoseph Kony will be capturedor killed this year, the Inter-national Criminal Court'schief prosecutor said Thurs-day.

Luis Moreno-Ocampoadded that the "Kony 2012"video, produced by the Invis-ible Children advocacy groupand viewed nearly 100 mil-lion times online, foreverchanged a conflict that hasraged since the late 1980s inrelative obscurity.

"We reached a completenew generation," followingthe 28-minute video's release,said Moreno-Ocampo, whoin 2005 secured an arrestwarrant for Kony and four ofhis top deputies, two ofwhom have since died.

"Kony will be arrested orkilled before the end of thisyear," the ArgentinianMoreno-Ocampo told jour-nalists, without specifyingwhy he felt the elusive rebelleader would finally befound.

Kony launched his rebel-lion in northern Uganda morethan two decades ago but hassince been chased to the jun-gles of neighbouring centralAfrican states.

Kony will be capturedor killed in 2012: ICCprosecutor

the US Drug Enforcement Ad-ministration.

Velasquez Alvaray chargedthat top generals formed partof a drug trafficking cartelcalled "Los Soles."

He also accused former vicepresident Jose Vicente Rangelof running a network of cor-rupt judges, magistrates andprosecutors that imprisonedopponents of the regime andtook bribes for favorable deci-sions in other cases.

"The judiciary is penetratedby the drug trade," he said.

The accusations come amidgrowing political uncertaintyin Venezuela over Chavez'shealth and a strong electionchallenge by a youthful gover-nor, Henrique Capriles, whohas united the opposition be-hind his candidacy.

Chavez this week under-went what he said would behis last radiation treatment inCuba after two surgeries to re-move cancerous tumors androunds of chemotherapy.

MIAMI (AFP) - A formersupreme court justice Wednes-day charged that top Venezue-lan military and politicalleaders are involved in drugtrafficking and that the judicialsystem is used to jail oppo-nents of ailing President HugoChavez.

"President Chavez shouldknow that there are drug traf-fickers among his favoritegenerals," Luis Velasquez Al-varay said in an interview withMiami-based SoiTV.

Velasquez was interviewedin Costa Rica where he soughtasylum after being chargedwith corruption in Venezuela.

He is the second formersupreme court judge to flee toCosta Rica and make publicaccusations against theChavez regime in interviewswith the television station inthe past month.

Eladio Aponte, the otherjudge, was later flown to theUnited States where he was re-ported to be cooperating with

Ex-judge denouncescorruption inVenezuelan regime

has changed their sexual iden-tity to petition a court tochange their legal documentsto reflect that fact.

And an adult will now beable to officially change his orher gender, image and birthname without having to to firstundergo a sex change opera-tion or hormone treatments, asrequired in some other coun-tries.

Supporters said they viewedthe measure as a question offundamental human rights.

"The people in the 'trans'community deserve a societywhich identifies them andtreats in accordance with howthey perceive themselves,"said Cesar Cigliutti, presidentof the Homosexual Commu-nity of Argentina, an inde-pendent group.

Predominantly Catholic Ar-gentina was the first country inLatin America to allow samesex marriage, after the passageof a federal law in 2010.

in five of the EU's 27 nations:Belgium, Spain, Portugal,Sweden and the Netherlands,which was the first country inthe world to legalise gayweddings 11 years ago.

Other EU nations offer dif-ferent forms of civil unionsfor same-sex couples.

In a US television inter-view on Wednesday, Obamaabandoned his earlier posi-tion that he was "evolving"on gay marriage to come outin full support of marriageequality.

The stance is risky aheadof the presidential election inNovember as the sudden in-jection of a divisive moral-social question could hitObama's prospects in battle-ground states that he needs towin.

BRUSSELS (AFP) - MoreEuropean leaders should takeinspiration from US Presi-dent Barack Obama and backgay marriage, the EuropeanUnion's home affairs com-missioner said on Thursday.

Cecilia Malmstroempraised Obama on Twitterafter the US leader's "impor-tant statement" in favour ofsame-sex marriage.

Asked by AFP whether EUleaders should followObama's example, she wroteon the micro-blogging web-site: "Definitely, I believethat a couple who is in loveshould be able to marry allover Europe, no matter ifthey're straight or gay."

"Obama is showing strongleadership on this issue," sheadded.

Same-sex marriage is legal

who lives or identifies as an-other, to take the steps toachieve legal recognition oftheir sexual identity choicewith a minimum of red tape.

It recognizes gender identityas "an internal and individualstate of being that is deter-mined by how each personfeels, and may or may not cor-respond to the gender intowhich an individual is born,"the wording of the bill read.

Once the new law goes intoeffect it no longer will be nec-essary for an individual who

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Ar-gentina's Senate has passed alaw allowing transvestites andtransgendered people tochoose how their sex is re-ported in legal documents, in-cluding identification cards,drivers' licenses and passports.

The bill -- approved lateWednesday by the upperchamber on a 55-0 vote, withone abstention -- had been pre-viously approved by the Houseof Deputies in November.

The measure allows some-one born as one gender, but

8 Friday, May 11, 2012

Health & Living

Argentina lawmakers approvesexual identity law

EU official urges leadersto follow Obama on gaymarriage numbers.

The new programme,which aims to cut the numberof strays by 95 percent in2016, will involve intensify-ing existing measures such asmass castrations, as well asencouraging adoptions.

Only sick and aggressiveanimals will be put down, thecouncil decided, despite nu-merous calls for relaxingculling rules following theprofessor's death.

Other measures that will bestrengthened include anti-ra-bies vaccinations, earmarksto keep track of the stray ani-mals, and stricter controlsand fines for people who feedthem.

The council also said it wasready to provide land to ani-mal rights groups wishing tofund and run shelters.

Animal rights groups haveaccused the city of failing tocurb corruption in castrationprocedures and failing to en-force regulations requiringthe registration of all pets.

The dog problem did notexist under communism,when strays were regularlyculled, but their number grewout of proportion with direeconomic times following theregime change in 1989, withup to 20,000 dogs roamingthe streets of Sofia in 1997.

halving the stray dogpopulation by 2014through stricter controlsincluding mass castra-tions.

The ambitious plan fol-lows the April death of anelderly university profes-sor who was violentlymauled by a pack of 25dogs in the Bulgariancapital, sparking an out-cry and intensified callsfor massive culls.

Stray dogs numberabout 9,500 in city of twomillion people, accordingto data from the council,which has blamed ownerswho abandon their pets'

offspring and people whofeed strays for the increasing

SOFIA (AFP) - Sofia's citycouncil adopted a new pro-gramme Thursday aimed at

Sofia sets out to collar straydogs

because of poor water supplyand dilapidated drainage sys-tems.

Lusaka's two-million-strong population frequentlyexperience water shortagesslums and water-rationing inplush residential areas.

Friday, May 11, 2012 9

LUSAKA (AFP) - Zambiasigned a deal Thursday withthe United States for a grantworth over almost $355 mil-lion to improve water andsanitation in the cholera-plagued capital city, Lusaka.

"The United States will

fund the project over fiveyears through its MillenniumChallenge Corporation,which invests in major proj-ects in countries with a recordof good governance.Cholera and other waterbornediseases are rife in Zambia

US gives Zambia $355 mln forwater projects

Sci-Tech

CZECH REPUBLIC, PRAGUE : Greenpeace activistsdressed in polar bear costumes and others holding ban-ners stage a protest on May 10, 2012 on the roof of aShell petrol station in Prague, against the heading of thean icebreaker for Shell's Arctic oil drilling project in thenorth of Alaska. Environmentalists have pointed to thevastly complicated task of drilling in the harsh Arctic en-vironment, the difficulty of effectively cleaning up anyspills in such conditions, and the risks posed to wildlifeand native communities in the region's fragile ecosys-tem. AFP PHOTO

MELBOURNE,Australia : Thishandout phototaken by JeffWhitlock on De-cember 10, 2005and released byThe UniversityOf Melbourne onMay 10, 2012shows a redmorph of theeastern screechowl (Megascopsasio). The Uni-versity of Mel-bourne research,published in 'Na-ture', found thatbirds with multi-ple versions oftheir colour pat-terns evolved into new species more quickly than thosewith uniform plumage. AFP PHOTO

10 Friday, May 11, 2012

MAY 05 - MAY 12

O’stad :’ Kibrahacha N.V. .’ - S.N : ‘ Serv. Seroe Preto N.V.’

FREE Coverage on our website:

www.themorningnewsaruba.com

striction on the free movementof capital, in principle prohib-ited by" European treaties.

It added that there was novalid argument for the differ-ential treatment of foreign andresident investors.

According to the Frenchbusiness daily Les Echos thedecision could cost the Frenchstate some 4.5 billion euros($5.8 billion) in reimburse-ments of withholding taxes al-ready paid according toestimations provided by Paristo the court.

LUXEMBOURG (AFP) - TheEuropean Court of Justice yes-terday ruled against Franceover discriminatory tax treat-ment of foreign investmentfunds that one paper says couldcost Paris 4.5 billion euros.

Foreign investment fundsmust pay withholding tax of 25on dividends from investmentsin securities in French compa-nies, while similar French-based investment funds areexempt.

The court said the Frenchtax provisions "constitutes a re-

ABA has indicated thattheir bank executives arewilling and prepared tooffer advice to the gov-ernment whenever this isnecessary.

The Association hasembarked on preparing aplatform from which theycan make informationreadily available and eas-ily assessible to all inter-ested parties. For thisreason they plan to createa website, where amongothers, there could be aninterchange of ideas withthe community in differ-ent formats. More infor-mation about this projectis forthcoming.

The new Board ofABA believes that toachieve their goals, theywill need the structuralsupport of the community.

For this reason they intend toemploy a professional to de-velop these ideas. The primarytask of such an executive willbe to work very closely withall concerns with a constantfocus on security, complianceand corporate go vernance.

The new Board expressedwords of gratitude for the ableleadership of Javier Wolterwho served as President of theAssociation, and they werepleased to welcome incomingPresident Marcelline Richard-son and wished her much suc-cess in her new role.

banks work together in unity.For the Association, an

other matter of importance isthe educating of our commu-nity concerning banking ser -vices. ABA will be inves -tigating and exploring ways toassist and guide their clientsmore efficiently in makingtheir financial decisions. TheAssociation has an importantrole to play in the economicdevelopment of the island.

Just recently, the ArubaBankers Association(ABA) elected a new Boardof directors. This year ABAwill be presided by Mar-celline Richardson, Manag-ing Director of Aruba BankNV. The outgoing Presi-dent, Javier Wolter ofCaribbean Mercantile BankNV will function as Vice-President, and Pierre Rafiniof RBC Royal Bank(Aruba NV) will be thenew Treasurer of the Asso-ciation. Aruba Bankers As-sociation is the orga niza-tion which represents allthe local commercial bankswith the goal of protectingtheir interests.

In view of the globaldeve lopments and thechanges in the needs of thecommunity in general, theAssociation’s plans for the fu-ture will include becomingmore involved in the daily lifeof our community. They intendto actively inform the commu-nity regarding economic andfinancial deve lopments that af-fect our community, and indoing so, contri - bute to ahealthy development of oureconomy. The Asssociation isconvinced that much can beaccomplished when all the

Aruba Bankers Association hasnew Board

mand is growing," Brusca said.The February gap was re-

vised higher to $45.4 billionfrom a first estimate of $46.0billion.

Choppy trade at the begin-ning of the year was mainly dueto China's lunar new year cele-brations, which dramaticallylowered Chinese imports to theUnited States in February.

Excluding China, the num-ber-one exporter to the UnitedStates, the March trade deficitwould have been more stable.

Petroleum imports also werevolatile in the first quarter: lessthan $30 billion in Februaryand more than $36 billion inJanuary and March.

US trade in March set newrecords, the Commerce Depart-ment said. Imports hit an all-time high of $238.6 billion, andexports were at $186.8 billion.

US goods and services ex-ports through the first quarter of2012 were up 8.2 percent or$41.6 billion from the same pe-riod of 2011 to reach $549.2billion. The March numbermarked the fourth consecutivemonth of export growth.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - TheUS trade deficit rose sharply inMarch as imports hit an all-timehigh, suggesting solid demandin the steadily growing butmodest economic recovery, of-ficial data showed yesterday.

The Commerce Departmentreported the US trade gapwidened to $51.8 billion inMarch, led by a five percentsurge in imports. The Marchtrade shortfall was slightly big-ger than analysts' average esti-mate of $50.2 billion.

But analysts pointed to thebroad-based rise in imports as apositive signal of momentum inthe world's largest economy,where consumer spending ac-counts for about 70 percent ofactivity.

"Imports have risen in fourof the past five months, an indi-cation of sturdy domestic de-mand," said Ryan Sweet atMoody's Analytics.

Robert Brusca, chief econo-mist at FAO Economics,agreed. "The trade number nowputs last month's weak importfigure behind us and makes itlook more like domestic de-

Friday, May 11, 2012 11

YEStERDAY’S

Crossword AnswerU.S.A.

Dutch Antilles

Canada

Britiain

Switzerland

Netherlands

Sweden

Denmark

Norway

Japan

(per 100)

USD

ANG

CAD

GBP

CHF

EUR

SEK

DKK

NOK

JPY

1.77

98.00

1.76

2.81

192.01

228.75

24.82

30.09

29.58

221.42

1.78

100.00

1.78

2.86

192.73

230.84

25.54

30.81

30.30

223.45

1.80

100.20

1.80

2.92

193.53

233.16

26.34

31.61

31.10

225.69

Currency

Code

Buyingrate

banknotes

Buying

ChequesSelling

Rate

Current as of:

05/10/2012

All rates for amounts up to AWG 100.00 per item.

FINANCE

US trade gap swells on

record imports

L.-r.: Pierre Rafini, Marcelline Richard -

son and Javier Wolter.

France loses 4.5 bn euro tax

case on investment funds

PRAGUE, Czech Republic : A man looks at the "SlavEpic", a cycle of 20 allegories tracing the history of theSlavic people and inspired in part by mythology, by ArtNouveau Czech artist Alfons Mucha, at the NationalGallery in Prague on May 10, 2012."The Slav Epic" by Al-fons Mucha, a Czech Art Nouveau gem, went on displayin Prague today, fulfilling the wish of the artist who spent18 years on the series of paintings from 1910 to 1928.

AFP PHOTO

and the shock of change."But in countries where

protests are ongoing, notablySyria, the authorities havetightened their media policies,participants said, forcing newschannels to find new ways ofcovering the unfolding events.

The Saudi-owned network,and above all Qatar's Al-Jazeera, played a key role inthe Arab uprisings that beganin Tunisia in late 2010.

In a survey published by theconference organisers, 72 per-cent of those participatingthought satellite news channelshad contributed to the ArabSpring.

Senior staffers at thosechannels deny taking advan-tage of the uprisings, insistingthat they have tried to reportevents on the ground as accu-rately as possible.

Many at the conference alsoquestioned whether it was pos-sible to provide objective orimpartial coverage of the tu-multous events in the regiongiven the alternate risk of up-setting the public by not openlysiding with the revolt.

Internet sites such as Face-book, Twitter and You Tube,which have played such a keyrole in the Arab uprisings, havechanged the media landscapeand are "restructuring tradi-tional journalism," accordingto participants.

Social networks that havegiven rise to so-called citizenjournalism are a window withwhich to "mislead public opin-ion," argued Amr Khafagi, ed-itor-in-chief of the EgyptianShorouk daily.

But for Nakhle El Hage, Al-Arabiya's news director, "theycan hold a treasure of informa-tion, (although) they are a landfilled with mines."

In countries where massprotests succeeded in topplinglong-standing regimes, the newauthorities are still finding theirway, Tunisia's Minister of Cul-ture Al-Mahdi Mabrouk toldthe conference.

"You cannot expect to gofrom a media of propaganda toan independent media in just afew months, such a transitiontakes time," Mabrouk said.

"In due course, the mediawill find a voice that is unbi-ased and fair," he added, duringa session entitled "Arab media

DUBAI (AFP) - Caught out bylast year's Arab Spring upris-ings, the region's media are stillcoming to terms with theirnew-found freedom from thestrong-arm tactics of now top-pled dictators, participants in aDubai conference say.

"Turmoil, chaos, change...words that perfectly capture thesituation in the Arab world andmedia over the past 18months," said Maryam BinFahd, executive director at theDubai Press Club, speaking atthe Arab Media Forum thatwrapped up on Wednesday.

The conference, attended bynearly 3,000 people and organ-ised by the Dubai Press Club,provoked heated debate amongthe representatives of an indus-try at the centre of sweepingchanges in the region afterdecades of repression.

"The Arab media is trying tofind its way after this 180-de-gree about turn," said Nabil al-Khatib, editor-in-chief atAl-Arabiya news channel.

"Many journalists were usedto receiving orders from infor-mation ministers in their coun-tries on the coverage of events,and suddenly they found them-selves free," he told AFP.

12 Friday, May 11, 2012

Arab media struggle to adapt tonew-found freedom

Art Nouveau gem unveiledin Prague after 84 years

the congress from June 10 to17, a formal celebration ofMass and a forum for reformdebate in the context of the50th anniversary of the birth ofthe Second Vatican Council.

Martin refused to commenton Brady's situation, but in-sisted that the congress wouldnot be overshadowed by thescandal, saying: "the overallchallenge is not just about sexabuse, it goes much deeper."

"There are divisions withinthe Irish Church and at timesunhealthy divisions," he said,adding: "we need a muchdeeper reform in the church."

One of the institution'sweaknesses was that it hadbeen unaware of a creeping

secularisation and had become"a minority church," he said.

However, he insisted: "it isnot an irrelevant church... andshould not only be associatedwith problems."

Calls for Brady to resigncame from across the politicalspectrum in Ireland earlier thismonth after it emerged he in-terviewed abused children in1945 but informed his superi-ors rather than the police, leav-ing the paedophile at large.

The Republic of Ireland, apredominantly Catholic coun-try, has been rocked by a num-ber of landmark reports onchild sex abuse stretching backdecades, and on Church lead-ers' complicity in covering itup.

Catholics from all over theworld are expected to attend

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - TheArchbishop of Dublin saidThursday that an upcoming in-ternational congress in Irelandwill give a divided and un-healthy church a chance to re-form amid fresh allegationsover child abuse.

The Eucharistic Congress inJune will reflect "a churchwhich has faced and still facesenormous challenges, but... isalive and vital and anxious toset out on a path to renewal,"Diarmuid Martin told a Vati-can briefing.

Martin's comments cameamid a serious backlash in Ire-land against the head of thecountry's Roman CatholicChurch, Cardinal Sean Brady,following accusations in a tel-evision documentary that hehad failed as a young priest toreport abuse.

'Unhealthy' Irish church hopes for renewalamid scandal

Cardinal Sean Brady

Friday, May 11, 2012 13

and drop-off; they even boasta shopping service to stockyour shelves before arrival.

Gold Coast accommoda-tions are elegant and spa-cious, offering privacy forparents or a few couples.

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

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

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

Check-in for your holidayescape is conducted in thecomfort of your vacationhome, not while waiting online at check-in desk. In everyway, Gold Coast seeks topamper their guests whileproviding them with the feel-ing of being in a cozy com-munity, not the normallybustling resort, particularlyexperienced during the majorholidays. If you wish an opti-mal vacation experience withgreat savings, visit their web-site: www.goldcoastaruba.com to get acquainted withthe community and the lay-out, details and availability ofaccommodations, or call 586-2200 to talk personally to aGold Coast representative.

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

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

Staying at Gold Coast is avery attractive 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 canarrange maid service, babysit-ters, caterers, airline pick-up

Gold Coast Aruba:Great savings for large familieson holiday rentals

Idaho potatoes, is enough tobe shared by two. He wasvery amused to watch a fa-mous French chef demon-strating the best way tomake fried potatoes on agourmet cooking show andcould only comment “Hestole my recipe!” Try themthe English way-with vine-gar, and you’ll wonder howyou ever ate fries without it.This same 5-star chef alsoswears by Gouda as the besttopping for the ideal gour-

met cheeseburger. If you are a fan of crispy

friend onion rings, as we are atTHE MORNING NEWS, youcannot leave there without try-ing their secret recipe batter-dipped gourmet rings, madefrom fresh, not frozen onions.Unquestionably, the best wehave had anywhere, and forthose that like a little spice, thefried jalapeños are a real treat.Aaron and Rosie have ex-panded their menu to accom-modate certain tastes anddietary needs; they offer a tastygrilled chicken sandwich aswell.

5 Burgers Aruba is openfor lunch & dinner – dailyhours are Noon to 10-ish; de-livery is available to both thehigh-rise and low-rise hoteland beach district for ordersover $50. Enjoy a great lunchwithout ever leaving thebeach by calling 586-3904.However, we suggest youstop by and enjoy their au-thentic, heartfelt hospitality; itis not unusual for the ownerswhen things are not too busy,to sit and chat while sharingtheir knowledge of the island.Totally yummy and fun plus agreat deal for a quality burger,they are definitely worth avisit

Expatriates from Boston,Massachusetts,residingon Aruba, Aaron andRosie Walisever are liv-ing their dream: a homeon paradise while wel-coming all and sundry totheir proud undertaking, 5Burgers Aruba. Somemay be quite well ac-quainted with a nationallyknown U.S franchisebearing the name “5”,and patrons can expectthe same great quality be-tween the buns, but an ex-panded menu and Rosieand Aaron’s fanaticaldedication to giving theircustomers what they re-ally want has resulted ina unique menu.

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

Prices vary only slightlybetween regular and small(basically 2 patties or 1) withspecialty items such as GoudaBurger, Farmer’s Burger, ManBurger (almost 12 ounces ofchoice beef), and a WesternBurger with crispy onionrings and BBQ sauce. All ofthese can be personalizedwith an incredible array oftoppings, (mushrooms,jalapeño peppers, bacon,cheese, lettuce, tomato…whatever the list goes on) atabsolutely no extra cost.

5 Burger portions areENORMOUS! Aaron sug-gests that even their smallserving of fries, which aremade from hand-cut fresh

Adorable and affordable;5 Burgers Aruba offersan island twist to thegreat American Burger

Rosie and Aaron love their Burger

too

Gouda Burger 2

into the 2010 World Cup fi-nals.

"I'm certainly a bettercoach then in 2008 but thegoal is the same -- to win Euro2012," he said.

Bilic repeatedly said he be-lieved his side can reach thequarter-finals despite beingdrawn with defending champi-ons Spain, Italy and Ireland inGroup C.

Bilic was a member of thesquad that achieved Croatia'sbiggest success on the interna-tional stage as it won a third-place finish at the 1998 WorldCup in France.

will happen afterwards butonly about this big, sacredgoal," the 43-year-old stressedin a reference to the Europeantournament that kicks off onJune 8.

The former Croatian inter-national, who played for Ever-ton and West Ham, took overas national coach in 2006. Thefollowing year he became anational hero when Croatiaclaimed a famous 3-2 at Wem-bley to deny England a placeat Euro 2008.

Croatia eventually endedup fifth and failed to qualify

in charge of Belgium's nationalteam between October 2009and April 2010.

In May 2010 he becameRussia coach, leading them tothis summer's EuropeanChampionship in Poland andUkraine, where they will faceGreece, Czech Republic andPoland in Group A.

Rutten was sacked in March.Ernest Faber will be his as-

sistant, with Cocu coachingthe club's reserve team.

During his first spell incharge at the Philips Stadion,Advocaat won the Dutch Cupin 1996 and the Eredivisie titlein 1997.

Nicknamed the 'Little Gen-eral' Advocaat had a brief spell

THE HAGUE (AFP) - Dutchcoach Dick Advocaat, whowill leave his post as coach ofthe Russian national team afterEuro 2012, on Thursdaysigned a one-year deal to takeover at former club PSV Eind-hoven.

Advocaat will replacePhilip Cocu, who had beenacting as caretaker since Fred

14 friday, May 11, 2012

Advocaat with one-year deal

ZAGREB (AFP) - Croatiacoach Slaven Bilic said hereon Thursday he will quit as na-tional coach after Euro 2012 inPoland and the Ukraine.

"I will conclude my story(as Croatia coach) with theEuro. This is my last champi-onship," Bilic told journalistsafter he unveiled his 27-mansquad.

Bilic refused to commenton reports that he was negoti-ating to take over at RussianPremier League side Lokomo-tiv Moscow.

"The main job is ahead ofus. I don't think about what

Bilic to quit after Euro 2012

World Cup in France.Provisional squadGoalkeepers: Stipe

Pletikosa (Rostov/RUS),Danijel Subasic(Monaco/FRA), Ivan Kelava(Dinamo Zagreb), GoranBlazevic (Hajduk Split)

Defenders: Jurica Buljat(Maccabi Haifa/ISR), Do-magoj Vida (Dinamo Zagreb),Vedran Corluka (Bayer Lev-erkusen/GER), Josip Simunic(Dinamo Zagreb), DejanLovren (Lyon/FRA), Sime Vr-saljko (Dinamo Zagreb), Gor-don Schildenfeld (EintrachtFrankfurt/GER), Ivan Strinic(Dneprope t rovsk /UKR) ,Danijel Pranjic (Bayern Mu-nich/GER)

Midfielders: Darijo Srna(Shakhtar Donetsk/UKR),Tomislav Dujmovic (RealZaragoza/ESP), Ognjen Vuko-jevic (Dynamo Kiev/UKR),Ivan Rakitic (Sevilla/ESP),Luka Modric(Tottenham/ENG), IvanPerisic (BorussiaDortmund/GER), Niko Kranj-car (Tottenham/ENG), MilanBadelj (Dinamo Zagreb), IvoIlicevic (Hamburg/GER)

Strikers: Ivica Olic (BayernMunich/GER), Nikica Jelavic(Everton/ENG), MarioMandzukic (Wolfsburg/GER),Eduardo da Silva (ShakhtarDonetsk/UKR), NikolaK a l i n i c(Dnepropetrovsk/UKR)

onship, which runs from June8 to July 1, is being hostedjointly by Poland and Ukraine.

Those Croatian playerswhose club seasons have al-ready finished will beginpreparations next Wednesdayin Catez, Slovenia, beforeteaming up with the rest of thesquad in the northern Adriatictown of Rovinj on May 20,Bilic said.

Croatia will play twofriendly matches before theEuros, against Estonia on May25 in the northern port of Pulaand against Norway in Osloon June 2.

They kick off their Euro-pean Championship campaignagainst the Republic of Irelandon June 10 and Bilic believesthat match will be crucial totheir chances.

Croatia's biggest successon the international stage wasa third-place finish at the 1998

ZAGREB (AFP) - Croatiacoach Slaven Bilic on Thurs-day unveiled a provisional 27-man squad for Euro 2012 andsaid he was still counting onthe recovery of injured starsNiko Kranjcar and DejanLovren.

"Due to the fact that someplayers who should have beenready for the Euros are eithernot yet fully fit or are still in-jured, we decided to name afew more players, to give our-selves more options in everyposition," Bilic told journal-ists.

The final 23-man list willbe announced either on May26 or a day later, he added.

Bilic repeatedly said he be-lieves his side can reach thequarter-finals of Euro 2012despite being drawn withSpain, Italy and the Republicof Ireland in a tricky Group C.

The European Champi-

Croatia unveil provisional 27-man Euro squad -

Squad, Lead

taMPa

BaLtiMore

toronto

yankeeS

BoSton

cLeveLand

detroit

chicaGo

kanSaS

MinneSota

W L Pct GB20 11 .645 --

19 11 .633 0.5

17 14 .548 3.0

16 14 .533 3.5

12 18 .400 7.5

17 13 .567 --

15 15 .500 2.0

15 17 .469 3.0

11 19 .367 6.0

8 22 .267 9.0

20 10 .667 --

16 15 .516 4.5

15 18 .455 6.5

14 18 .438 7.0

18 12 .600 --

19 13 .594 --

18 13 .581 0.5

16 15 .516 2.5

14 18 .438 5.0

20 11 .645 --

16 14 .533 3.5

14 16 .467 5.5

14 17 .452 6.0

13 18 .419 7.0

13 18 .419 7.0

20 11 .645 --

15 16 .484 5.0

14 18 .438 6.5

13 17 .433 6.5

11 21 .344 9.5

american League

east

central

texaS

oakLand

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La anGeLeS

West

national League

WaShinGton

atLanta

ny MetS

MiaMi

PhiLadeLPhia

St. LouiS

cincinnati

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east

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MLB Standings

x-Clinched Playoff Spot; y-Division Champ

W L Pct GB

but unable to post a scoreamong the leaders.

Woods has adopted a waitand work attitude about return-ing to top form after nagginginjuries and swing changes.

"Just be patient with it. Justkeep plugging along," Woodssaid. "In the last few months,I've put together some goodrounds, won a couple tourna-ments, so it's there. I just needto continue doing it."

But Woods staggeredaround the turn with bogeys atthe 18th and first and a birdieat the par-5 second negated bya bogey at the par-3 third be-fore he righted the ship andparred his way back to theclubhouse from there.

Woods, who once masteredthe par-5 holes with longdrives and deadly putting,managed one birdie and threepars on them at the TPC Saw-grass course in round one.

The 36-year-old star, whosnapped a 17-month windrought with a victory at BayHill in March, came to thePlayers after his eighth careermissed cut at Quail Hollowand was in danger of failing toreach the weekend once again.

Woods won the 2001 Play-ers but has struggled at thecourse in recent years, with-drawing last year after nineholes with left knee pain and in2010 he withdrew with 12holes remaining in the finalround due to a neck injury.

This time, Woods was fit

PONTE VEDRA BEACH(AFP) - Tiger Woods stumbledto a two-over par 74 in hisopening round on Thursday atthe Players Championship,nine strokes off the pace at the$9.5 million US PGA event.Woods, a 14-time major cham-pion chasing the record 18 ma-jors won by Jack Nicklaus,opened on the 10th hole with abogey, finding a greensidebunker and coming up short ona 10-foot par putt.

The former World No. 1,now seventh in the rankings,answered with a birdie fromnine feet at the par-3 13th andresponded to saving a bogeyfrom 30 feet at the par-4 15thwith a 13-foot birdie at the in-famous island green 17th hole.

game despite not making a sin-gle start, was second with 231points while Jason Terry ofDallas, the 2009 Sixth Manwinner, was third on 81 points.Harden averaged 4.1 reboundsand 3.7 assists in 31.4 minuteson the court per game. He hit49.1 percent of his shots fromthe field, including 39.0 per-cent of 3-pointers, and made84.6 percent of his free throws.

NEW YORK (AFP) -James Harden, the firstplayer who came off thebench for the OklahomaCity Thunder most ofthis season, won theNBA Sixth Man Awardas the league's top re-serve player, the NBAannounced on Thursday.

Harden scored 16.8points a game, the mostof any NBA player notin a starting role, andcame off the bench forOklahoma City in 60 of62 games he played,helping the Thunder finish 47-19, the third-best record in theleague.

Harden received 584 of apossible 595 points, including115 of 119 first-place votes,from a media panel. He be-came the first player from theclub to win the award.

Philadelphia's LouWilliams, who led the 76ers inscoring with 14.9 points a

Friday, May 11, 2012 15

NBA: Thunder's Hardennamed NBA's top reserve player

Golf: Tiger stumbles to 74 atPlayers

with the surface which hasdrawn his ire for weeks.

Verdasco applied the pres-sure in the final game to breakNadal and advance on his sec-ond match point, with the win-ner kissing the surface ingratitude.

"I couldn't close out thematch at 5-2. He played betterthan me," said Nadal, by far theharshest critic of the experi-mental switch to blue clay.

"The ATP and the tourna-ment can do what they want, Itried my best, I've trained heresince Thursday. I was as pre-pared as I could be.

"I was not good enough toadapt my game to this court. Ifthings continue like this, it willbe very sad. "Next year thiswill be one less event for mycalendar."

The devastated number twowill need to regroup if he is toregain equilibrium, with nextweek's Masters 1000 in Romerestoring some normality witha return to classic red clay andsea level altitude.

Nadal last won Madrid in2010 over Roger Federer andhad dominated Verdasco in-cluding the loss of just fourgames in a Barcelona semi-final victory two weeks ago.

clawed out the opening set tostun multiple Monte Carlo andBarcelona champion Nadal,who, though he dug out thesecond set, succumbed in thedecider.

Verdasco lost the secondset as Nadal found his rhythm,but the 15th-seeded challengerrallied from 1-4 down in thethird to work his upset miracle,winning his first match overthe king of clay from 14 at-tempts.

The final set was litteredwith seven breaks of serve,with a nervous Nadal well offhis game and expressing in-ward and outward frustration

MADRID -(AFP) - RafaelNadal went down in frustrationas the second seed lost his firstmatch of the season on clay,with Spanish compatriot Fer-nando Verdasco triumphing 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 on Thursday in thethird round of the Madrid Mas-ters.

"I never was in control ofthe match, I didn't know howto win a point," said Nadal,who intimated he will not showup next year unless the contro-versial blue clay surface he ab-hors is modified.

Nadal's perfect record on thedirt for 2012 was marred asMadrid native Verdasco

16 Friday, May 11, 2012

The Mallorcan now stands22-1 on clay since losing in theRome final last year to NovakDjokovic.

Elsewhere, Czech sixth seedTomas Berdych ended the in-jury comeback effort ofFrenchman Gael Monfils, thenumber 12, with a comprehen-sive 6-1, 6-1 victory.

Monfils was playing for thefirst time since a March ab-dominal muscle problem. Theflamboyant French player lostserve five times while neverearning a break point againstBerdych.

Estoril champion Juan delPotro, the tenth seed, beatCroatian Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-4.

In women's play, Serena

Williams staged a recovery atthe expense of Caroline Woz-niacki as the American reachedthe quarter-finals 1-6, 6-3, 6-2

The comeback win in 1hr42min put Williams into ashowdown with second seedMaria Sharapova, who earnedher last-eight place when oppo-nent Lucie Safarova withdrewbefore their match with stom-ach illness.

Williams sleep-walkedthrough the opening set asDenmark's sixth seed had it allher own way in half an hour.

Wozniacki had been biddingfor a sixth quarter-final of theseason but, having won six ti-tles in 2011, she is still search-ing for her first of 2012.

Spanish Fernando Verdasco celebrates winning against

compatriot Rafael Nadal

Verdasco shocks Nadal in Madrid