INDONESIA PLANE CRASH P. 30
PSV
Knock
Arsenal
Out Of
Europe
Page 46
VOL 16 NO. 246
PHILIPSBURG--Representatives of the labour industry on
St. Maarten and the Antilles will
gather at the John Larmonie
Centre this Saturday, March 10,
for a one-day minimum wage forum which will put the spotlight
on the minimum wage.
The forum, which will also be
televised live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 15, is scheduled
to start at 7:30pm.
PHILIPSBURG--A man who
was severely beaten Tuesday
around 8:50pm by bandits reportedly armed with a machete, metal
pipes and shotguns suffered a
fractured upper right arm.
The victim was transported to
the St. Maarten Medical Center
where he was treated for his injuries.
Police spokesman Inspector
Ricardo Henson said the victim
K. St. L. had told police he had
Continued on page 1
IN BRIEF
• Willemstad
FINANCE
MEETING
The Finance Project Group met in St.
Maarten yesterday to discuss several
issues pertaining to the constitutional
change process for the Netherlands
Antilles. Page 13.
• Willemstad
ADOPTED
CHILDREN
Changes in the Dutch naturalisation
law will make it easier for adopted
children under the age of seven
years to receive the Dutch nationality. Page 14.
• Willemstad
VISAS
ISSUE
Soon Antillean students in the United
States, holders of non-Dutch passports and other travellers who need
non-immigrant visas for the US will
no longer have to travel to the American embassy in Caracas or Barbados.
Page 10.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
U.S. 50 CENTS / NAf. 1.-- / EC$ 1.25
During the forum, workers and
employers will be able to learn
all about the minimum wage increase, which went into effect on
November 1, 2006.
The forum is being held to shed
light on the minimum wage increase and the amounts that
should be paid to persons working an eight-hour, five-day workweek; a six-day workweek and
a six-and-a-half-day workweek.
Information will also be given as
to how much workers should be
paid when they work on holidays.
A pamphlet with this information
will also be circulated to workers.
In addition to Laveist, other Mathias Sinclair Voges (left) is being congratulated by Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards (centre) shortly after beth
members of the panel are Labour ing sworn in Wednesday to serve another year – his 18 – as Acting Lt. Governor of St. Maarten. At right is Head
and Social Affairs Minister Bur- of the Lt. Governor’s cabinet Ligia Stella. The simple ceremony was held at the Government Administration
ney Elhage; Director of the Di- Building. Voges, who will be 64 this year, was first appointed Acting Lt. Governor in 1990. (GIS photo)
rectorate of Labour Affairs Henk
ten Napel; a representative of the
Economic Affairs Minister; Head
of the Island Labour Department Rafael Boasman; Head of
the Federal Labour Department
Kenneth Lopes; trade unionist
Theophilus Thompson and repPHILIPSBURG--As has become noon off today, Thursday, in ob- the world where such acts of vioresentatives of the St. Maarten
customary, all women civil ser- servance of International Wom- lence are still acceptable and the
Continued on page 1 vants have been given the after- en’s Day.
St. Maarten community has to
Women’s Affairs Commission- continue promoting the fact that
er Sarah Wescot-Williams an- violence against women and chilnounced the granting of the half dren is not acceptable, the comday during Wednesday’s Execu- missioner said.
tive Council Press Briefing. The
To mark the day, government
MARIGOT--The first barge-load in Quebec, Canada, on a voyage women of the civil service will be through the Government Infortreated to the annual Women’s mation Service (GIS) is high
of compacted car wrecks left the taking about 2½ weeks.
Continued on page 1
Galisbay port on Wednesday
The massive 315-feet-long 83- Day Lunch at Le Terrasse, Port
night bound for Eastern Canada, feet-wide barge dwarfed other de Plaisance.
Wescot-Williams
reminded
the
marking a successful first phase vessels at the port.
of an operation begun in January
“Unfortunately, because of oth- community that this year the foto remove unsightly wrecks from er equipment on board, the barge cus of the day is impunity from
the French side.
is not able to take all the wrecks domestic violence for women and
The loading of between 5,000 from the port here on this trip, so girls. There are many societies in
and 6,000 tons of carcasses be- about 80 to 100 car bodies have
gan on Sunday evening at the been left over,” noted Jules Charport. The barge will be towed ville, managing director of
by tugboat to the recycling plant
Continued on page 1
Editorial
2
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Credibility
Member of the
Inter American Press Association
Published by
The Caribbean Herald NV
Bush Road 22
St. Maarten N.A.
P.O.Box 828
Bankers:
RBTT Bank St. Maarten
acc. 212938
President
R.F.Snow
Managing Director
Mary Jane Hellmund
Publisher
Paul De Windt
Editorial
Courtney Gibson
(Editor in Chief)
Gordon H. Snow
(Managing Editor)
Rajesh Chintaman
(Night Editor)
Suzanne Koelega
Judy Fitzpatrick
Alita Singh
Alfred Harley
John van Kerkhof
Gino Bernadina
Thomas A. Burnett Jr. (Sports)
John Halley (photos)
Editorial Assistant
Marie Brown
Correction
Saresa Gray
Sharon van Arneman
Marga Hart
Corinne van Putten
Correspondents
Brenda Carty (Anguilla)
Althea Merkman & Lynn
Kennedy (Statia)
Suzanne Nielsen(Saba)
Bob Morgan(Saba-photo)
Tamu Browne (St.Kitts / Nevis)
Alistair Edwards (St.Kitts
sports)
Robert Luckock (St. Martin)
Arny Belfor (Suriname)
Lay-Out
Richard James
Rodolphe O. Boirard
Stephen Morris
Operations Manager
Steven De Windt
Production Coordinator
Alvin Prescod
Office Manager
Mijke Stenz
Rosalie Davis (assis.)
Accounting
Ada van Luling
Mercedes De Windt
Advertising
Stephanie Culbert
Moira Marcelle
Sandra Martina
Muriel Berthé
Harmen Rijsdijk
Ellen Kusters
Latoya Philips (assis.)
Graphics
Mark Martelly
Evadney Henriques
Kwame Boyce
Special Editions
Dimitri Likissas (webmaster)
Elisenda Peters
Wim Hart
Reception
Ethlyn Joubert
CALLING
THE DAILY HERALD
ST. MAARTEN
Telephone
5425253/5425597/
5420931/5437236
FAX 5425913
E-Mail:
dherald@sintmaarten.net
advertising@thedailyherald.com
editorial@thedailyherald.com
ANGUILLA/3138/fax 8707
SABA
4162381/4162881(sales)
4162731(edit)
STATIA
182401/182936/fax 182136
NEVIS
469-0607/fax 0606
ST KITTS
466-8609
WEATHER
Today: Generally partly cloudy, with chance of a brief local shower.
Winds: Easterly, 8-16mph, with occasional gusts to 26mph.
Sea conditions: Moderate to choppy, locally rough.
Wind force: 3-4, occasionally gusting to 6.
Seas: 3-6 feet, with the higher values over North- and East-facing waters.
Occupants of small craft should continue to exercise caution over open
waters.
Forecast high: 29°C 84°F
Forecast low: 24°C 75°F
SYNOPSIS: A high pressure system over the central and Eastern North
Atlantic Ocean continues to drift toward the East and will cause our currently moderate to fresh winds to diminish gradually with time. Our skies
are expected to remain generally partly cloudy today, with minimal shower
activity. With these winds, our surrounding waters will remain marginally
safe and occupants of small craft should continue to exercise caution over
especially the open Atlantic waters. Northerly swells will start reaching our
shores on Friday. The issuance of a small craft advisory and a high surf
advisory may be required later today, as these swells are expected to cause
large breaking waves on especially our North-facing shores.
SPECIAL FEATURES: None.
The expansion of the Unusual Transaction Reporting MOT
legislation to include accountants, notaries, lawyers, administrative offices, insurance companies and brokers, car dealers,
tax advisors, hardware stores, jewellers and real estate agents
is important for the Netherlands Antilles to maintain its good
reputation as financial services centre, also in light of international efforts to curb money laundering and the financing of
terrorism.
The entities involved should not see their future duty to report
unusual transactions as a burden, but rather as a way to help
legitimise the business they are in and weed out those who
operate under false pretences and with the wrong goals. It is
also important in terms of St. Maarten preparing to become
an autonomous country in the Dutch Kingdom, and more resources are definitely needed in this area as pointed out, especially as up to now the duty has existed only for banks, life
insurance companies and brokers, trust companies, casinos,
credit unions, credit card companies and money remitters.
Speaking of casinos, the Government of Aruba is considering
a gaming control board, because it believes it can get more
out of the gambling sector. Experience in Curaçao, where the
same thing was done a few years ago, showed that to indeed
be the case.
The reality is also that the current system of casino controllers
is suspect at best. There is any case no visible enforcement
of the rule that local residents may visit casinos only so many
times to help prevent gambling addiction.
With a professional Gaming Board and accompanying legislation, the casino sector not only can produce more revenues
for government, but also can be regulated once and for all in
such a way that the rules are clear and there are no discrepancies. While some may think this would have a negative impact
on the local casinos, it could actually help improve their image
in terms of credibility and reliability, also abroad.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK: None.
VOLCANIC ACTIVITY: The Soufrière Hills volcano in Montserrat continued to emit some ash yesterday morning. The ash cloud continues to move
in a Westerly direction and should stay well South of our islands.
Outlook until Friday midday: Generally partly cloudy, with little or no
rain.
0941
5099
0123
71825
21810
90589
6231
8729
4245
Rainfall probability: 30 per cent.
Rainfall potential: Locally 1-2mm.
Sunrise: 6:26am
Sunset: 6:20pm
Date
Vessel
Place
March 8 Mariner Of The Seas Pier
March 8 Westerdam
Pier
March 8 Radiance Of The Seas Pier
ST. MAARTEN
POLICE STATION
Philipsburg tel. 542-2222
Simpson Bay tel. 545-5500
HOT LINE 108
EMERGENCY 911
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Tel. 542-6001 or 120
HOSPITAL
Medical Center, Cay Hill
24-hour Emergency Service
tel. 543-1111 or 910
AMBULANCE
Philipsburg tel. 542-2111 or 912
MEDICAL EMERGENCIES
For medical emergencies the doctors on
call can be reached outside clinic hours.
Patients of Dr. Bouman, Dr. Bryson, Dr. Bus,
Dr. Hermanides, Dr. Knol, Dr. Mercuur, Dr.
Scheffers and Dr. Spencer, please call tel.
577010. Patients of Dr. Datema, Dr. Foeken,
Dr. Herles, Dr. van Osch and Dr. Tjaden and
Dr.. Deketh / Dr. Van der Waag, please call
tel. 577007. Patients of Dr. van der Waag,
please call 570444.Patients of Dr. Abadjeff,
Dr. Dennaoui and Dr. Gumbs should contact
their own doctor.
Animal Ambulance Team
5598887 CRIME STOPPERS ANYMOUS
TIP LINE: 543-TIPS(8477)
Arrival
7:00
7:00
9:00
Departure
18:00
17:00
18:00
Agent
Maduro
Maduro
Maduro
TELEPHONE INFO
Tel-em: 542-2211
E. Caribbean Cellular: 542-4100
Weather Info: 123
ST. MAARTEN TOURIST OFFICE
W.G. Buncamper road, Vineyard
Building, tel. 542-2337, fax. 542-2734
ST MAARTEN ZOO
Madame Estate: tel. 543-2030
Open daily 10 am - 6 pm.
October-March 9 am - 5 pm.
Admission: Adults: $10, kids $5.
Cole Bay Community Council: meeting
1st. Thursday of month at Sun Flower
Kinder Garten School, Union Rd. Cole Bay
at 7:30pm
SERVICE CLUBS
ROTARY meeting at Divi Little Bay Beach
Resort, every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.
Rotary Mid Isle meets every Tuesday
6-8pm, Le Charolais Restaurant, Royal
Islander Club, Maho Plaza.
LIONS meeting at the Upper Princess
Quarter Community Centre Lions Den in
Sucker Garden every 1st and 3rd Tuesday
of the month at 8 p.m.
ST.MAARTEN LEO CLUB meeting at
Jubilee Library 1st, 3rd Friday every month
at 6:30 p.m.
KIWANIS meets at Wifol Building on
Thursday each month at 7.30pm. Kiwanis
Key Club of the St. Maarten Academy
Agenda St. Maarten / St. Martin
meeting at the St. Maarten Academy every
Friday at 1.30 p.m.
KIWANIS SOUALIGA 1st & 3rd Monday 7:
00pm Holland House
JCI St. Maarten (JAYCEES) meeting at
the UTS Training and Development Center
every last Thursday of the month.
PHILIPSBURG TOASTMASTERS CLUB
bi-monthly sessions every first and third
Thursday of every month at the Library
conference room at 8:00 p.m.
STMARTIN MUSEUM
Frontstreet 7, Philipsburg, tel 542-4917
Opening hours from March 1st:
Monday - Friday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. - 12 noon
Sundays: closed.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
Mon-Fri, 6-7pm, Red Cross Building, Airport
Road. Saturday and Sunday at Mullet Bay
beach next to restaurant 8.30-9:30am. Tel.
5571271 (day) 544-3203 (evening)
AIDS COORDINATOR Shanna van Eer
tel 5422079 Health Department, e-mail:
healthaf@sintmaarten.net.
NATURE FOUNDATION ST. MAARTEN
Great Bay Marina, Office Unit #3 POB
863, Philipsburg. Tel. 542-0267, Fax. 5420268.Email: naturesxm@megatropic.com
ANIMALS R. FRIENDS
Mailbox La Palapa Center, Simpson Bay •
Email: arf_sxm@yahoo.com, www.arfsxm.org
PHILIPSBURG JUBILEE LIBRARY
Ch.E.W.Vogestr. 12, Tel. 542-2970.
Open: Mo: 4-6.30, Tu: 9-12.30/4-9, We/
Fri: 9-12.30/4-6.30, Th: 4-9, Sa: 10-1.
WOMEN’S DESK, Frontstreet 141 (opposite
Tel-Cell). Monday - Friday 9am-5pm. Tel:
542-7940, Fax: 542-7941.
E-mail: womensdesk@sintmaarten.net
SAFE HAVEN, providing shelter and support
to victims of family violence. POB 636;
Hotline: 9333; Office 9277; Fax: 9368
CUSTOMS
DEPARTMENT,
E.C.
Richardson street 11-b; Tel. 542-1000/5421008; Fax: 542-1001
French Honorary Consul, POBox
803, Philipsburg. Tel: (00590) 879989.
Fax: (00590) 879625. E-mail: Stanislas.
GRAIRE@wanadoo.fr
COASTGUARD NA&A, (24 HRS): 113
LEGAL AID CENTER, Law Clinic, open
every Saturday 9:00am - 12.00 noon.
Free advise on personal legal issues.
Administration Building, tel. 5422337
THE ST. MAARTEN RED CROSS, (24hrs),
#34 Airport Road Simpson Bay, Tel. 5455263/52304, Fax. 54-52333.
Email: redcross@sintmaarten.net.
For activities call: 556-4357
SALVATION ARMY Union Rd 59 Cole Bay
POBox5184 Tel/fax:5445424 cell:5477353
Sun 9:00am, Tue 7:00pm, Wed 6:30pm, Thu
7:00pm, Sat 4:00pm
ST.MAARTEN CHAPTER OF BUSINESS
AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN holds
their general monthly meetings every third
Monday at the Delta Hotel at 7:00 pm.
DIABETES INFORMATION CENTER, A.Th.
Illidge Road (behind Desktop/Napa building)
Free blood-glucose testing every Thursday
from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
USO St. Maarten/St. Martin (USA militairy),
contact Janet Lambert 5577616 or 00590
590 294406.
SKALCLUB ST. MAARTEN/ST. MARTIN
meets 1st Tuesday of the month. For
location call: 5424432 (Jennifer).
ST. MARTIN
POLICE MUNICIPALE
tel. (00590) 590 87.50.04
GENDARMERIE
tel. (00590) 590 87.50.10
FIRE DEPARTMENT
tel. (00590) 590 87.50.08
AMBULANCE
Tel. (00590) 590 52-00-52
Cell. (00590) 690 57-13-28
Fax. (00590) 590 29-08-11
HOSPITAL tel. (00590) 590 52 25 25
DISPENSAIRE Marigot
8 a.m. - 3p.m. tel. (00590) 590 87.50.93
DISPENSAIRE Orléans
8 a.m. - 3 p.m. tel. (00590) 590 87.37.21
C.R.O.S.S. (Center, Research, Organization,
Rescue, Security) is on stand by 24 hours at
0596 709292.
SERVICE CLUBS
ROTARY Club St. Martin-Nord meeting
at Flamboyant Hotel, Baie Nettle every
Thursday at 8:00 - 10:00 p.m.
LIONS First and third Tuesday at Nadaillac,
Marigot at 7.30 p.m.
KIWANIS: See St. Maarten.
MUSEUM ST. MARTIN
Facing the grand parking at Marina Royale
- Marigot. Open from 9 am-1pm/3pm- 7 pm,
tel. (00590) 590 29.22.84.
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
PHILIPSBURG--L abour and Social Affairs
Commissioner
Louie
Laveist denies that there
is a huge backlog of employment permits dating back to 2004 as was
alleged by Lt. Governor
Franklyn Richards last
week.
“There are no 600 work
permits on my desk
(and) there never were
any 600 work permits
on my desk,” Laveist
told reporters during
Wednesday’s Executive
Council press briefing.
He continued: “I don’t
believe the Lt. Governor
did it (made the statement) with any malintent. I think it was a
breakdown in the information he received from
persons who represent
him. That is unfortunate. I don’t think this
was intentional either,
but sometimes you can
have these glitches. But
I can assure you and the
Lt. Governor that there
are no 600 permits on
my desk, there never
were and never will be.”
The Commissioner said
a “status report” on the
employment
permits
situation such as figures
on the backlog was being
prepared for the Executive Council and would
be submitted to the Lt.
Governor and the public
once completed.
He said there were no
outstanding permits dating back to 2004 and
only about six or seven
“problematic” permits
for the years 2005 and
2006 had not yet been
processed and were being “sorted out.” He said
there “is no need to hide
anything.”
He also described al-
legations that he had
been given US $50,000
by Grand Getaway Vacations as a humorous
“comic strip.” He said he
had accepted the funds
on behalf of a foundation. He said too that all
US $50,000 pledged by
the company had not yet
been turned over in full,
as it was being donated
in portions. “I have not
received $50,000 or a
bag of money to put in
my pocket,” he said.
He said he understood
that an official letter of
complaint had been filed
at the Prosecutor’s Office regarding this matter and he intended to
visit the Prosecutor’s
Office to have the allegations looked into. He
said elections were in the
air and people would do
everything to assassinate
others’ characters.
3
A crowd of curious onlookers gathered to watch the erection of Democratic Party (DP)
number four candidate Theo Heyliger’s massive election-related sign Wednesday night. It
took a crew of workers a few hours to put in place the sign, which drapes three containers stacked on top of each other. This sign prominently shows off the candidate’s Website
www.theo4u.com .
PHILIPSBURG--Cultivating a good marketing image in the Caribbean is important for St. Maarten to
continue to tap into the region’s travelling and shopping population. However,
this market is very under
appreciated by St. Maarten
and as a result has been declining in the past years.
Tourism Director/St.
Maarten Tourism Bureau
Head Regina LaBega said
it is important for the island to start taking a keen
interest in attracting Caribbean visitors to the island.
“Based on our last visitor
expenditure survey, Caribbean visitors spend a significant amount of money
here. They are right up
there with the South AmerThe man standing between the two medical attendants on the left and right of this Gro- icans, who spend big.”
The island lost a very valumyko Wilson photo was beaten by bandits early Tuesday night.
able and unique marketing
angle when a deal to contract West Indies Cricket
Legend Vivian Richards
fell through last week for
Continued from page 1.
the lack of just US $18,000.
The idea of getting Richattacked while in the vicini- other men who were the ported that once they had ards to endorse the island
ty of Sister Marie Laurence ones carrying the metal seen that the attackers had was not only to attract
pipes. Police confiscated a gun, they had run away cricket fans who are in
School in Middle Region.
He said one of his attack- one piece of metal pipe that from the scene.
the region for World Cup
ers known to him as J. had had been used to beat him.
Cricket but to raise the isPersons in the area rebeen accompanied by two
land’s profile in the Carib-
MAN BEATEN
bean, LaBega said.
All the needed funding
was approved too late and
other preparations were
not in place. “This was our
angle on attracting tourists
from the cricket world cup
to visit here. At the moment we don’t have other
plans.”
The Caribbean accounts
for the fourth highest
market from which visitors come to St. Maarten.
Efforts to boost this market with more exposure is
necessary and all hands are
needed on deck to better
appreciate and make Caribbean people feel comfortable here, she added.
Every country in times
of crisis look to its region
to fill its shortfall, LaBega
pointed out. “When the
United States had issues it
encouraged travel within
the country. We must have
a presence in the Caribbean
region to do the same.”
She is encouraging all
stakeholders to stop giving
lip service to Caribbean visitors and start seeking ways
to encourage them to come
PHILIPSBURG--The of- to the island where they
fice of a local physician was receive good service and a
reportedly broken into dur- good time.
ing the early hours of the
morning Wednesday.
Police spokesman Inspector Ricardo Henson, said
the unknown person(s) enis looking for a:
tered the building on A.J.C.
Brouwer Road and took a
large quantity of electronic
equipment and a cellular
Experienced in Caribbean
phone.
International Cuisine
Henson said the matter
Please call
has the attention of the lo557-9709
cal authorities.
Restaurant in
Philipsburg
Cook
HASSELL
Muffler & Service Center
Rice and Peas
Stew Oxtail &
Maccaroni Salad.
$4.95
MUFFLER
RADIATOR
AUTO SERVICE
Repair
Replacing
PerformanceMuffler/Tips
Repair
Replacing
Cleaning
Sales
General Servicing
Shocks, CV joints
Brakes, Alignment
Chassis Repair
Orange Grove | Cole Bay
Call us at: (599) 544 2222 | 544 2300 | Fax: (599) 544 2300
ANY MUFFLER, ANY RADIATOR, ANY VEHICLE
(We deliver to the neighbouring Islands)
Islands
4
LITTLE BAY--Divi Little
Bay Resort General Manager Lou Roelofsen has tendered his resignation from
the resort and will leave
when his one-year contract
expires on Monday, April 2.
Roelofsen told The Daily
Herald that although he
would have liked to continue in the resort’s employ,
the issue over his position
was becoming potentially
explosive and wasn’t good
for the employees, the island’s tourism industry, or
his future career.
Management said in a
press release Tuesday it had
no agenda and no other employee had been singled out
for termination.
Several staff members
walked off their jobs re-
cently to protest the resort’s
decision not to renew Roelofsen’s contract.
“My philosophy and theirs
(Divi) wasn’t always in the
same line,” Roelofsen said
in an invited comment Tuesday, but he declined to give
details. “We’re parting as
friends, but the employees
took it hard and tried to
stop the process.”
Roelofsen said he had first
learnt about management’s
decision during a meeting
with the resort’s Vice President and Director of Operation recently. “We had
an open discussion and decided that it was best not to
continue.”
In a press release the resort
described Roelofsen as a
“skilled and excellent” man-
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
ager who was “well liked by
staff and the company,” but
noted, “things are, however, more complicated than
that.”
The resort said top managers and developers would
agree that there are many
different successful approaches to operating a
resort. “And the choice of
approach is not nearly as
important as both taking the
same approach. Otherwise
it doesn’t work.
“Unfortunately it is the
nature of the hospitality industry and the difficulty and
complexity of the General
Manager’s position that the
only way to find out whether
a good fit can be found is to
try each other out. This is
true for both the manager
and the company, and is the
case here. There is no other
agenda.”
Originally from Curaçao,
but operating in Aruba for
five years prior to taking
up the reins at Divi, Roelofsen said he would like
to continue operating in
St. Maarten. “I’m seriously
looking for something else
in St. Maarten. I love the
island and I’m an Antillean,
and I’d love to stay here.”
Regarding Divi he said,
“It’s a gorgeous resort and
it will continue to be an upscale place.”
P H I L I P S B U R G - -T h e
management of the Shell
gas station on Bush Road
has stated that repeated
attempts
by
unknown
person(s) to break into the
storefront have prompted
them to have to invest heavily in increased surveillance
for the facility.
The company has experienced attacks since 2006
from bandits who break
the wall of the building in
a bid to gain entrance. This
has been done successfully
only once, but according to
management another such
attempt was made last week
and this week’s attempt was
even more disturbing.
It seems someone who
was drinking wine, which
was left at the scene of
the crime, cracked a large
enough hole in the wall and
would have entered had it
not been for the steel bars
that were found behind the
concrete.
Management also believes
that the bandits jumped
a nearby fence and made
their way towards the CostU-Less parking lot. As a
result, security will also be
improved on the area of the
fence to prevent easy movement across it.
THE HAGUE--The three
government parties are set
to hold on to a slim majority in the 75-seat Upper
House of Parliament (First
Chamber) following Thursday’s provincial elections in
the Netherlands.
The members of the 12
provincial councils will elect
the 75 senators on May 29.
Christian Democrat CDA,
Labour PvdA, and ChristenUnie (CU) won 41 seats.
They currently hold 44.
Both CDA and PvdA lost
support, but the orthodox
CU was set to double its
seats in the First Chamber.
The election is seen by observers as a referendum on
the new government.
“It is a hefty loss,” said
Han Noten, leader of the
PvdA in the First Chamber.
The party lost four of its 19
seats. The biggest winner
was the Socialist Party (SP)
which more than doubled
its vote in some provinces. It won 12 seats in the
First Chamber, compared
with just four in its current
make-up. The pro-animal
rights PvdD took one seat.
Support for the right-wing
VVD was unchanged at 15.
If the coalition parties had
lost their majority in the
First Chamber this would
have been “extremely
tricky” for the centre-left
government, TV pundit
Ferry Mingelen said.
Prime Minister Jan Peter
Balkenende’s assertion that
the senate’s job is to be restrained when looking at
government policy was not
true, Mingelen said. “The
senate can do what it likes.
Nowhere in the Constitution does it say it has to
take a back seat,” he told
NOS TV.
The SP and right-wing
VVD have already vowed
they will join forces to fight
state pension reforms.
The results of the Provincial elections when translated into seats in the First
Chamber of Parliament
were as follows (with the
2003 results in brackets):
CDA 22 (23), VVD 15 (15),
PvdA 15 (19), SP 12 (4),
Green Left 4 (5), ChristenUnie 4 (2), D66 1 (3),
PvdD 1 (0), SGP 1 (2), LPF
0 (1).
Turnout for the provincial
elections was around 46 per
cent.
The wall at the back of the Shell gas station on Bush Road is seen in this John Halley photo
with several patches that were necessary after bandits bored holes in it trying to gain access
to the building.
Motorists and other road users on Buncamper Road were
sprinkled with sand this truck was transporting uncovered
Tuesday afternoon. Environmental groups and residents
have been complaining for some time now about trucks
transporting sand, boulders and other items uncovered
or not properly secured, as this poses a traffic hazard and
health risk to drivers and pedestrians.
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MINIMUM WAGE FORUM
Continued from page 1.
Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA); St.
Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and St.
Maarten Business Association (SBA).
In addition to providing
information, panellists will
also field questions from attendees.
Although the minimum
wage increase went into effect since last November,
Laveist has said many em-
ployers are still not paying
their workers the correct
salaries.
From November 1, the
minimum wage was increased by 19.1 per cent from NAf. 6.54 to NAf. 7.79
per hour (from NAf. 1,100
per month to NAf. 1,349.53
per month for workers
working a five-day, fortyhour workweek). Workers
who are paid weekly should
get NAf. 311.60 per week.
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Justice Desiree Bernard
PHILIPSBURG--Peridot
Road Foundation says it
has finalised an “exciting
programme” for this year’s
International Women’s Day
ceremony to be held at the
Philipsburg Cultural and
Community Centre Friday
night, starting at 8:00pm.
“The preparations for
this year’s event are in
place, with Honourable
Justice Desiree Bernard
scheduled to arrive in St.
Maarten from Trinidad, today (Thursday, March 8) to
help celebrate International
Women’s Day,” foundation
founder,
Councilwoman
and People’s Progressive
CIVIL SERVANTS
lighting the roles and backgrounds of several women
in the community who represent different ethnic and
social groups on the island.
The programme, titled
Building Bridges of Mutual
Respect, includes television specials featuring interviews with women and
newspaper advertisements
with information about
outstanding women.
Alliance leader Gracita Arrindell stated in a press release Wednesday.
Justice Bernard, the first
and only female judge serving on the recently-established Caribbean Court of
Justice based in Trinidad
and Tobago, is scheduled
to give an address centred
on this year’s International
Women’s Day theme “Ending Impunity of Violence
against Women and Girls.”
Arrindell said that while the
theme chosen by the United
Nations was very serious,
the foundation in response
to the strong support for last
year’s performance by local
Continued from page 1.
Other activities to celebrate the day are a panel
discussion on youth delinquency, organised by Women’s Desk in collaboration
with Women’s Awareness
Movement for this evening
and a lecture by Caribbean
Court of Justice Judge Desiree Bernard, organised by
Peridot Road Foundation
for Friday evening.
artist “Junior Lion” had invited several young artistes
to participate in tomorrow
night’s programme.
“Our goal is, of course, to
have more young people
in St. Maarten attend this
function and receive this
important message at an
early stage in their lives,
which is: ‘violence is neither
the answer nor an option to
any problem.’”
Tomorrow night’s programme, she added, will
also feature Chanel, Suki
and Germain, two of whom
performed recently in Hollywood, California.
The programme, which
will be emceed by “the popular and funny Miss Dorothy Richardson,” will also
feature Dow Steel Pan with
the St. Maarten Song.
At the end of Justice
Bernard’s keynote address
the audience will be given
an opportunity to ask her
questions pertaining to her
presentation and regarding
her role on the Caribbean
Court of Justice.
P H I L I P S B U R G - -T h e
Reporting Station for
Unusual
Transactions
MOT is doing its work in
St. Maarten, but would
be able to do much more
with added resources,
said Finance Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams. She reacted during
Wednesday’s Executive
Council meeting on the
expansion of the tasks of
MOT.
The MOT legislation
will shortly be also applicable for accountants,
administration
offices,
notaries, lawyers, car
dealers, insurance companies and brokers, tax
advisors, hardware dealers, jewellers and realties. The MOT will be
in charge of supervising
all the new entities that
are compelled to report
unusual financial transactions. This is stated in
advertisements published
these days in newspapers
in Curaçao.
The anti money laundering act was introduced in
the Netherlands Antilles
in 1997 entailing, amongst
other things, the federal
ordinance MOT. Currently banks, life insurance companies and bro-
kers, trust offices, casinos,
credit unions, credit card
companies, money remitters and customs fall under the MOT legislation.
A presentation for the
new group of entities that
will fall under the MOT
law is scheduled to take
place in the auditorium of
the Central Bank in Curaçao on March 14 and
15. The MOT will also
shortly organise presentations in Bonaire and St.
Maarten.
Wescot-Williams said
that some weeks ago the
Executive Council was
briefed by persons of the
MOT as to their work
and scope of work. In
terms of the official notification of the expansion
of their tasks, the Executive Council was not informed.
“The briefing took place
with the view towards
country St. Maarten,
things we would need
to have or need to put
in place as it pertains to
the MOT activities,” the
Commissioner said.
Wescot-Williams pointed
out that internationally a
lot of focus is placed on
the work and the workings of the MOT. For St.
Tip #153:
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5
Maarten, in terms of its
credibility as a country,
those items will be important as well, Wescot-Williams said.
6
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Car wrecks being loaded onto the barge at the Galisbay port.
CAR WRECKS
Continued from page 1.
local contractor Scorpio
Equipment and Material
Services.
However, the barge will
return to St. Martin in May
to pick up another load.
“In the meantime we are
hoping to sign a new contract to clean up the whole
of the French side,” Charville added.
Société National de Ferrailles (SNF) Quebec Metal’s auto recycling division
Newco Metal President
Yvon Champagne was on
hand to supervise loading
of the wrecks with other
officials. Once the wrecks
reach their destination they
will be shredded. The company has two compacters,
one of which is on-island
and the other returning to
Canada on the barge.
The former car dump at
the Galisbay port is now
completely clear of car
wrecks.
Scorpio Equipment and
Material Services was
awarded the local contract
for cleaning up the car
wreck dump by the Commune.
SNF was created in 1973.
It recycled a million tons
of steel in 2004, much of
it coming from China and
Pakistan.
PHILIPSBURG--Parents health, after being missing
of Kenoly Castin (16) in- since February 24.
formed police this week Police spokesman Ricardo
that their son had returned Henson said Wednesday
home and was in good that Castin’s father had told
detectives that his son was
healthy and fine. He also
said that he and his son had
discussed “the matter” between them and everything
was “back to normal.”
Henson further stated that
Castin had been staying
with some friends during
the time his father and the
police were unable to find
him.
Castin went missing
around the same time as
Horick George Angele
(13), born in St. Maarten,
and both were still missing
up to Friday.
Henson stated Thursday
last week that Castin had
been the first to go missing.
His parents had said he had
been seen last on February
24. He is a student of St.
Maarten Academy and was
described as being of dark
complexion and about 1.70
metres in height.
Angele, who went missing
three days later, turned up
on Friday, March 2, also in
good health.
Henson said the police
would like to extend their
sincerest thanks to the
children and other persons
who were instrumental in
helping to find the missing
boys.
POND
ISLAND--The
Democratic Labour Party
(DLP) and the National
Democratic Party (NDP)
will participate in the April
20 Island Council elections. Both parties have
received the required 108
signatures to participate
in the elections. The St.
Maarten People Believers
Independence Movement
(SPBIM) still has three
days to acquire that number of signatures.
“We have received the
necessary amount of signatures officials at the census
office told us,” Olivier Arrindell, number three on
the DLP slate, told The
Daily Herald on Monday.
This will be DLP’s first
time contesting an election.
The NPB also acquired
the required amount of
signatures on Tuesday. Political leader Theophilus
Priest confirmed on Tuesday evening that he too is
ready to participate in the
election after officials at
the Census Office had indicated to him that he had
the required amount of
supporting signatures.
This means that at least
five parties will be contesting for a seat in the Island
Council on April 20. The
sixth party that submitted a list on nomination
day March 1, SPBIM, still
needs more signatures to
be allowed to participate in
the election. SPBIM leader
Harold Jack said the party
wasn’t quite there yet, but
he was optimistic that they
would obtain the required
amount of signatures.
The drive to support the
lists of candidates started
on Monday March 5 and
will continue until Friday
March 9. The signing of
the lists takes place at the
Census Office from 9:00am
until 8:30pm.
All parties that are not
represented in the island
Council have to have their
lists signed by a number
of persons. The amount
equals 1 per cent of the
votes cast during the 2003
Island Council election.
PHILIPSBURG--It’s not
only workers at the lowest
end of the income bracket who are taking home
heavier pay packets as a
result of last year’s minimum wage increase.
Commissioner Sarah
Wescot-Williams said persons who receive social
aid from government will
also automatically receive
an increase. She said social aid “or onderstand” is
paid in varying amounts to
individuals depending on
the income of the recipient. Social aid recipients
who earn an income are
usually paid amounts to
bring them up to the level
of the minimum wage,
Wescot-Williams told reporters during Wednesday’s Executive Council
press briefing.
She said the minimum
wage increase from NAf.
1,100 to NAf. 1,349.53
means that social aid
will be automatically in-
creased to bring recipients up to the level of the
new minimum wage. “On
St. Maarten someone’s
financial assistance is calculated on the basis of the
person’s
circumstances
so depending on the category that they fall into,
their onderstand will differ from another person,”
she explained. “But your
income plus onderstand
cannot be more than the
minimum wage. It’s not
that they get minimum
wage but that along with
whatever else they earn,
they have to reach to the
level of the minimum
wage.”
From November 1, 2006,
the minimum wage was
increased by 19.1 per
cent - from NAf. 6.54 to
NAf. 7.79 per hour (from
NAf. 1,100 per month to
NAf. 1,349.53 per month
for workers working a
five-day, forty-hour workweek).
Parents and students of the Academic section of St. Maarten Academy began signing
contracts similar to those signed by parents and students at the Vocational section recently.
The signing follows two days of meetings at the school between teachers and school board
officials to work out solutions for pressing concerns at the institution. School resumes
today, Wednesday, but only students whose parents have signed the contracts will be admitted to classes, school board Chairwoman Josianne Fleming-Artsen said. She said the
meetings had been productive and as a result the school’s discipline policy would be revamped. This John Halley photo shows a scene at the school late Tuesday.
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Island boats off-loading produce at the Galisbay port.
MARIGOT--Customs offi- early Wednesday morning
cers carried out an inspec- as part of checking stantion of fresh produce com- dards of documentation and
ing off down-island boats packaging of goods coming
into St. Martin.
The inspections were conducted in conjunction with
Commissioner of Market
Affairs, Permits, and Authorisations Noreen BrooksGrant
St. Martin authorities have
PHILIPSBURG--Police been complaining since 2001
now say that three men, still that produce sold by Dominunknown, were responsible ican hucksters has not been
for Tuesday night’s armed up to standard. As a conserobbery at the Yuppie Shell quence 42 legally registered
Gas Station in Sucker Gar- Dominican hucksters were
den in which a pump atten- given until March 1, 2007,
dant was beaten over the to ensure produce they ship
head with the butt of a gun. to St. Martin conforms to
According to police trading standards set out by
spokesman Inspector Ri- French authorities.
Brooks-Grant attended a
cardo Henson, the incident
occurred around 8:20pm. meeting in Dominica two
Henson said that police weeks ago with the Domireceived the call and im- nica Export Import Agency
DEXIA
and the Hucksters
mediately dispatched a
Association to stress St.
group of officers, who afMartin will no longer acter learning from the two
cept fresh produce without
pump attendants what had
proper documentation and
just transpired, launched an
packaging.
extensive search along with
“It was a major improveadditional police officers in
ment,” said Brook-Grant
the Sucker Garden area in
following the inspections.
a bid to find the suspects.
“Produce is in boxes and
According to the victims, not loose all over the place.
the suspects were all of … There was one technicaldark complexion and slim ity over a sanitary document
built and wore dark clothes. for St. Kitts which included
No mention was made of St. Martin and this was admasks. Henson said an un- dressed with the captain.
disclosed sum of cash and a We requested next week to
cellular phone were taken make sure they have a sepafrom two pump attendants rate sanitary document for
by the bandits, who then St. Martin instead of havfled the scene running to- ing one document for all the
wards Sucker Garden on produce on the vessel; othfoot.
erwise, the goods will not be
The pump attendant who allowed to come off.”
was struck in the face was
At the time of Brookstreated by ambulance at- Grant’s visit to Dominica,
tendants and taken to the DEXIA General Manager
St. Maarten Medical Center Gregoire Thomas called on
for further examination.
hucksters to adhere to the
proper rules and regulations. He was quoted in the
island’s Chronicle newspaper as saying that a draft bill
had been prepared to cover
fresh produce exporting
which would be debated in
Parliament.
He added that any new
form of transportation, such
as using containers, would
depend on the establishment of a partnership between the tourism and agricultural sectors.
Dominica Hucksters Association (DHA) Executive
Secretary Cecil Joseph said
that while St. Martin’s requirements would initially
have a negative impact, he
believed his members would
conform to the regulations
within one or two weeks.
PHILIPSBURG--Representatives of seventeen
elementary schools came
together this week for the
preliminary rounds of the
Fifth Annual Reading Competition.
The first preliminary round
was held at St. Maarten
Montessori School on Monday. Winner of this round
was Ketia Bissereth (10) of
the Seventh Day Adventist
School, with Naomi Mazzola
(10) of Montessori School as
first runner-up, and Jeronomo Samson (10) of Caribbean International Academy
as second runner-up.
Other contestants in this
round were Ginelle Hodge
representing Leonard Conner School, Melissa Cloose
of Sister Regina School
and Elisabeth Mercelina
of Charles Leopold Bell
School.
The second round was
held at St. Dominic Primary
School on Tuesday. Winner
of this round was Sabrina
Labardy of Prins Willem Alexander School. First runner-up was Silva Jaigobin of
Starlight Educational Centre, with Luna Emogene of
Hillside Christian Schools as
second runner-up.
The other contestants were
Sakir de Castro (Sister Magda School) and Samantha
Dharangaj (St. Dominic Primary).
The third preliminary round
was held at the Cultural and
Community Centre on Back
Street Wednesday and was
organised by the Sister Borgia School.
Jeaneth Provacia of Sister
Marie Laurence School won
this round, with Emilie van
der Waals of Learning Un-
7
Winner of the first preliminary round Ketia Bissereth.
limited in second and Lloyd will compete against each
Hins of the St. Joseph School other in the finals. The secin third place. The other con- ond runners-up will act as
testants were Tishary Romb- members of the children’s
ley (Genevieve de Weever jury during the finals.
School), Ricardo Arnell (Sis- The grand finale of the readter Borgia School) and Ka- ing competition will be held
leisha Trodman (Dr. Martin at the library on Wednesday,
March 28.
Luther King Jr. School).
The jury for the preliminary
rounds consisted of Cees van
Dolderen of Motiance Dance
School, and Shirley Richardson and Monique Alberts of
Philipsburg Jubilee Library.
During all three rounds the
jury had a hard time choosing
the winner as all 17 proved to
be well-prepared and had excellent reading skills.
The winners and first runners-up of the preliminaries
March 7, ‘07
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48 44 32 12 33 46
07 39 36 02 30 06
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02 09 10 15 24 25 29
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03 08 12 13 19 23 30
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04 37 47
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March 7, ‘07
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8
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Mia Amato
PHILIPSBURG--Former
Learning Unlimited (LU)
Preparatory School student Mia Amato has placed
third in the University of
Miami Caribbean Pageant
which was held on Thursday, March 1, at the Hillel
Jewish Center in Miami.
Amato wore her “beloved
St. Maarten/St. Martin Pendant,” while competing in
the pageant, stated a press
release about her performance.
The pageant was sponsored by the institution’s
Caribbean Students As-
sociation and was held in
front of a packed audience,
the release stated. Amato
competed in the introduction, swim wear, talent and
evening gown segments and
in an impromptu question
and answer session.
Amato grew up in St.
Maarten. She attended
Learning Unlimited prior to
enrolling at the University
of Miami this past fall. She
is a well-known as a dancer
and dance instructor at the
Motiance Dance Company.
For her talent she did a
modern jazz piece choreographed by St. Maarten’s
Susha Hein, and performed
to the music “Summertime”
by Fantasia.
The Caribbean Students
Association (CSA) was
built on the principles to
provide a home away from
home for Caribbean nationals and descendants,
to be the leading body that
educates the University of
Miami and surrounding
community about the true
state of the Caribbean, and
to touch everything it undertakes or is a part of with
a Caribbean flare, stated
the release.
SOUTH REWARD-Milton Peters College
(MPC) Parent Teachers
Association (PTA) has
proposed new uniform
styles and colours for
students. The PTA made
the suggestion during
an introductory meeting with MPC Director
Yvette Halley during a
meeting on Thursday,
March 1.
In a press release, PTA
Public Relations Officer Silveria Jacobs said
the new uniforms are in
keeping with plans to improve the school’s image
and promoting a student
body that is respectable,
well-dressed and disciplined. She said the idea
“was deemed acceptable
and necessary by the
majority,” including the
school’s management.
“A selection of uniform
samples was presented
from which the students
will get a chance to have
their input,” said Jacobs
adding, “Each student
will get the opportunity
to vote for his or her favourite colour combination and style.”
PTA President Police
Islands
9
Commissioner
Ademar Doran commended
teachers for their presence at the meeting and
for their continued dedication to the students of
the MPC. He said the
main goals of the PTA
were to create a better
learning environment;
promote unity, cooperation and open communication between parents,
teachers and students;
improve security, and
work to create an institution of learning which
the entire community
could be proud of.
“This is no time to
point fingers at who is
to blame, it is the main
goal of the PTA for all
of us to work together to
make Milton Peters the
best it can be,” he was
quoted as saying in the
release.
“The Social Programmes
Committee
also reported on its preliminary meeting with
students interested in
forming a Student Government or Council,”
the release continued.
“The establishment of
the Student Govern-
ment will give students a
voice in the school, prepare them for leadership
roles among their peers
and in the community,
give them input in areas
that directly affect them,
and give them a forum
to assist with finding
solutions to problems
that are prevalent at the
school. The students will
also be trained in proper
parliamentary
procedures.”
Election of the Executive Board of the MPC
Student Council was
scheduled to take place
yesterday, Wednesday,
March 7.
Gerald Tolud of the Social Programs Committee said the PTA would
be assisting the school to
open a second canteen,
help plan fundraising
activities and parenting
workshops among other
things.
The PTA is inviting parents to a general meeting on Monday, March
12, at the school. During
the meeting, the PTA
will present its goals and
plans for the remainder
of its tenure.
Islands
10
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
AGENDA
ST. EUSTATIUS
Police Station 182333
Emergency 111
Hot Line 108
Fire Department 120
Hospital 182211/182371
Landsradio 182210
Post Office 182207
St. Eustatius Historical
Foundation Museum 182288
Winair Office 182362
Lions Club meets every 1st and
3rd Wednesday at the “Den”
next to the Airport
Drug Prevention Foundation
meets every Tuesday 5:30pm at
the Golden Era Hotel.
Coastguard NA&A 113
St. Eustatius National parks:
Gallows Bay: 318 2884
SABA
Police Station
The Bottom, tel. 4163237
Emergency 111/112
Hospital
The Bottom, tel. 4163288/4163289
Fire Department Airport
Flat Point tel. 4162210
SATEL
The Bottom, tel. 4163211
WINAIR, Airport
Flat Point, tel. 4162255/2713
Taxi Service Airport
Flat Point, tel. 160
Administration Building
The Bottom, tel.
4163311/4163312/4163313
Tourist Office
Windwardside, tel. 4162231
Harbour Office
Fort Bay, tel. 4163294
Saba Marine Park
Fort Bay, tel. 4163295
Nature & Hike Guide
James Johnson
The Bottom, tel. 4163307
Service Club
Saba Lions Club general
meeting every 1st and 3rd
Tuesday 8:00 p.m. at Eugenius
A. Johnson Center.
Coastguard NA&A 113
Red Cross
General meeting every last
Monday, 6 p.m, Eugenius A.
Johnson Center.
ANGUILLA
EMERGENCY
Police 911
Fire 911
Ambulance 911
Police Station 497 2333
Hospital 497 2551
Dental clinic 497 2343
Radio Anguilla 497 2218
Tourism Department 497 2759
Crimestoppers 0800 7777777
AIRLINES
American Eagle 497 3501
Winair 497 2748
Liat 497 5000
Tyden Air 497 2719
Air Anguilla 497 2643
Trans Anguilla 497 8690
COURIER SERVICE
DHL 497 3400
Federal Express 497 2719
UPS 497 2239
SERVICE CLUBS
Rotary Club of Anguilla
Roy’s Restaurant 6:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. Every Thursday.
Soroptimist International
Day Care Centre
4.30 p.m. 2nd Tuesday
in each month Tel: 497 3509
Lions Club
The Valley Primary School
1st and 3rd Tuesday at 8.00 p.m.
Tel: 497 6259
National Council of Women
Arts and Craft Centre
4.30 p.m. 1st Monday in month.
Interact Club of Anguilla
Meets every Friday at 3.15 p.m.
at theAlbena Lake Hodge
Comprehensive School
Alcoholic Anonymous meetings
every Sunday at 8:30 am and
Monday at 5:00 pm on Shoal
Bay picnic area.
Subscribe to
PHONE 5425253
WILLEMSTAD--Soon Antillean students in the United States, holders of nonDutch passports and other
travellers that need a nonimmigrant visa for the US,
will no longer have to travel
to the American embassy in
Caracas or Barbados.
The American Consulate-general in Willemstad,
Curaçao will start with a
pilot-project for the issuing of visas locally. The last
time the US consulate had
issued a visa was years ago.
Travellers with a Dutch
passport do not need a visa
to travel to the US, but students attending school in
the US do need one.
Firemen spraying the dead man’s residence on De Ruyterweg
ST.
EUSTATIUS--Early
Tuesday afternoon, members of the Fire Department fumigated the house
of Cecil “Wifer” Hull, who
was found dead in his residence on De Ruyterweg
on Monday. According to
one of the neighbours, they
were told by Police that the
Hygiene Department would
take care of the stench and
flies in the house. However,
when no one showed up the
Fire Department was called
in, said Fire Chief André
Bennett.
Bennett said he received a
call from the GGD office to
help prevent the situation
from becoming a health
hazard. The house is located in the immediate vicinity
of various dwellings.
Bennett said that after they
had used a crowbar to open
the door to the house, firemen wearing special suits,
boots and gloves started fumigating the house.
ARUBA--After taking note
of a report by Aruba Tourism
Authority (ATA) on the state
of tourism, Justice Minister
Rudy Croes (MEP) lashed
out at its director Myrna Jan-
sen.
Croes said the report stated
that crime in Aruba was having negative consequences
for tourism. He called this
nonsense. “I hereby have a
ST. EUSTATIUS--Statia is
once more out of gasoline
since Friday, March 2.
Some motorists were complaining that by now a solution should have been found
for the gasoline shortage.
Visitors to the island are
also affected. Car rental
agencies have vehicles
available for tourists, but
no gasoline to fill up empty
tanks.
A new supply of gasoline is
expected to arrive soon.
message for the ATA director. She must not make assumptions just like that and
check the figures first; figures
that the ministry and the
Public Prosecutor have.”
The minister said these kinds
of assumptions hurt Aruba,
while from the figures it actually appears that criminality has dropped, considering
the enormous increase of the
population and compared
with other countries.
Only car theft and joyriding have increased, said the
minister. “We just had a very
successful Caribbean Marketplace, during which there
was not one incident,” said
Croes.
With the new system, visa
requests are done online.
The applicants complete
and print the new Electronic Visa Application Form
(Evaf). This minimizes the
handling time.
With the completed form,
the applicants go to the
American consulate in Curaçao for an interview. The
passport of the applicant,
for which a non-immigrant
visa is approved, is sent to
Caracas, where the actual
visa is printed.
The passport and the
visa are then FedEx’ed or
mailed to the applicants,
who must pay the shipping
cost.
Members of the crowd partying during Ziggi’s show
ST. EUSTATIUS--After his
performance in St. Maarten
during the Heineken Regatta, Ziggi travelled to
Statia for a performance in
his hometown on Tuesday.
Roots Foundation spokesman Joshua Spanner said,
“If it was not for the Regatta and Leontine Durby
of Mazinga Gift Shop, we
would not have had the
chance of experiencing
such a great show.”
The concert at Lord
Gene’s Sport Complex in
Golden Rock started off
with a local band and performances by Ambassador
Junior Lion, Ras Kabballah
and Burning Roach.
The show went on until
the late hours of the night,
and participants in the show
said the best part was when
the crowd started singing
along with Ziggi, as he interacted with them. In his
final farewell to the crowd
Ziggi promised he would be
back soon.
JIMMY BUFFETT
LIVE IN CONCERT
MARCH 24TH
DUNE PRESERVE - ANGUILLA
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT
LAST MANGO IN
PARADISE
17 FRONTSTREET & PJIAE AIRPORT
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Some staff members and students of the Social Compulsory Education Programme
ST. EUSTATIUS--A second group of youths and
young adults ages 16 to 24
started the pre-programme
of the Social Compulsory
Education Programme at
the Pink Building on Rosemary Lane on Monday.
During their first day participants were informed of
their schedule, the subjects
within the programme and
the school guide. The day
was also used for participants to introduce themselves and learn more about
their fellow classmates.
After being interviewed,
30 participants qualified to
follow the second chance
education courses. Half
of them will follow morning classes while the others
will follow evening classes.
Those following the evening classes have day time
jobs and have not completed any form of secondary
education.
The pre-programme runs
for approximately two
months, and includes subjects such as personal de-
velopment and social skills,
English, Dutch, Mathematics, budgeting and computer skills.
These areas will help the
participants in acquiring
the social skills and selfconfidence needed to be
successful in their transition to the second chance
education courses at Zagen
en Schaven (electrician and
carpentry) and Gwendoline
van Putten school (hospitality and care).
WILLEMSTAD --Papiamentu, English and Dutch
are the three official languages in the Netherlands
Antilles. Parliament unanimously agreed to a draft law
introduced by Education
Minister Omayra Leeflang
to regulate the official status of these three languages
in the Netherlands Antilles.
With this law, the language which a government
uses to communicate with
the people is officially regulated. The Minister still has
to send a governmental decree to Parliament in which
government has to indicate
its choice of official spelling for the three languages
made official in the Netherlands Antilles.
Parliament also urged
the Minister to start an information campaign on all
islands of the Netherlands
Antilles about the decision
taken. As it pertains to the
written communication between Government and the
people of the islands, this
will be done in the most
11
convenient language. Seeing that laws in the Netherlands Antilles are written in
Dutch, the written communication will most probably
be in Dutch.
Within short the Minister
will also send a draft law to
Parliament to regulate the
languages used in Foundation Based Education. This
means that it will be regulated by law that school
boards can decide to use
Papiamentu, Dutch or English or a combination of two
as language(s) of instruction in school.
The language of instruction wasn’t regulated by law
and a couple of years ago
the Curaçao Island Government adopted a policy that
the language of instruction in schools should be
Papiamentu. An exception
was made for some schools
that maintained Dutch as
language of instruction because of the high demand
for Dutch-based schools.
According to the Minister, although school boards
had the right to use Dutch
as language of instruction
in more schools, they decided to keep Papiamentu
as language of instruction,
fearing that the new policy
might bring yet another
change in the language of
instruction.
But, Leeflang said, now
that the official languages
to be used in Foundation
Based Education will be
regulated by law, school
boards will be free to use
Dutch as language of instruction in more schools.
This will clear the long
waiting lists of parents that
want their children to be
educated in Dutch.
M A R I G O T- - M o t o r i s t s
coming into Grand Case
approaching from Marigot
and La Savane are reminded that the entire length
of the main street on the
waterfront commonly referred to as the Boulevard
de Grand Case, has now
been changed to one-way
traffic only.
Cars driving up Rue des
Écoles to the junction
where the Fish Pot is situated on the opposite side of
the road will no longer be
allowed to turn right and
drive down towards the “lolos” and the bridge as before, but must turn left and
join the one-way traffic.
Police officers will be on
hand for a period of time to
remind drivers to turn left.
The traffic change was
implemented on Monday
by an arrêté municipal to
prevent the congestion of
two-way traffic trying to
pass the “lolos” area. The
street is also too narrow.
THE LEARNING LADDER
Climb The Ladder Of Success
Computer Classes
Hamied Health and Elderly Care is a new organisation specialising in taking care of the
elderly. It is housed in a building of the housing foundation FKP in Brievengat, where
Semako used to be. The complex has 28 senior citizens’ homes and a central building in
which the foundation will offer day care.
• Basic Computer Operation Skills
• Microsoft Word
Sign up today.
• Microsoft Excel
For more information
call: 581-0172
• Internet
12
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Former Antillean Prime Minister Maria Liberia Peters was
the keynote speaker at the fourth “About Women and Power” conference in Curaçao, in connection with International Woman’s Day. Coordinator Rein Joe presented her
with a decorated wooden spatula to stir cornbread (“palu
di funchi” ).
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
and adults. PJL also serves
scores more who may not
have library cards.
“We are proud of this
St. Maartener as a faithful guardian of books. Her
frankness is well known.
We also know her gracefulness. It is matched by an
unflinching dedication to
involving our children with
reading, and thus with orig-
inal thinking, community
involvement and with the
life-long uses and respect
for sound knowledge and
information,” said Sekou.
Hodge, along with committed boards and hard working librarians and library
staff, developed the library
over the last 39 years from
its limited space at the Back
Street Cultural Centre to a
spacious modern facility at
C. Voges Street which, she
noted, is now too small for
its expanding services. Her
cooperation with the Municipal Library in Marigot
and leadership in the library association ACURIL
have earned her much respect among colleagues at
home and abroad.
Her protection of the reference material that cannot
be taken out of PJL and
is available to researchers made Hodge the fastidious keeper of rare and
treasured texts and images
about the island’s history.
She also opened wide the
library doors to HNP book
parties, aspiring writers and
authors. “Her critical attention to our titles, from the
scholarly work of George
Lamming to the joy she
takes in the pioneer series
booklets, has made Hodge
and PJL distinctive partners
in developing St. Martin’s
seminal and independent
research, writing and book
publishing culture,” said
Sekou.
WILLEMSTAD--The
Finance Project Group met
yesterday in St. Maarten to
discuss several issues pertaining to the constitutional
change process for the Netherlands Antilles.
Constitutional Affairs Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams said members of the
project group had discussed
the preparations that have to
be made for the implementation of the different components of the financial agreements for the dismantling of
the Netherlands Antilles.
One of these components is
the debt relationship between
St. Maarten and the Central
Government. According to
the November 2, 2006, final
accord and the February 12
transition accord, the Dutch
Government will pay each
island’s debt to the Central
Government directly after
the islands obtain their new
statuses, the date for which is
set for December 15, 2008.
In addition, the work group
discussed St. Maarten’s payments in arrears. In the February 12 transition accord
the Dutch Government committed itself to pay the arrears when financial supervision for the new entities was
in place.
Third, the project group
discussed the NAf. 5 million financial aid the Dutch
promised St. Maarten, for
which projects have to be
submitted.
There was also a workshop
this week for St. Maarten, the
Netherlands Antilles and the
Netherlands on the financial
supervision that will be put in
place. Wescot-Williams said
she hadn’t received a briefing
on the workshop as yet.
Project Manager Constitutional Affairs Dennis Richardson and Chairman of the
Workgroup Constitutional
Affairs Eugene Holiday participated in the workshop on
behalf of St. Maarten.
Library director Blanca Hodge and former freelance editor Oswald Francis during “first copy” presentation of HNP
book Born Here to Philipsburg Jubilee Library, 1986. (Saltwater Collection)
PHILIPSBURG--“A pioneer librarian of our nation” is how House of
Nehesi Publishers (HNP)
Projects Director Lasana
Sekou describes outgoing
Philipsburg Jubilee Library (PJL) director Blanca
Hodge, who is retiring after
some 39 years of service.
Hodge’s retirement is “a
celebration of continuing
achievement,” said Sekou.
“We are not looking at a
career end in the way that
retirement is often looked
at. There is the uncluttered leadership set by Mrs.
Hodge in her field. There
are her post-retirement
plans for a ‘friends of the
library’ foundation and her
public statements about
a national library for the
South [Dutch side]. All of
this speaks to qualities and
activities essential to nation
building.”
Hodge remains an essential part of the foundation
and continuing development of the library and of
the island’s librarianship
related to text, audio-visual, and digital forms, he
added.
Hodge oversaw the growth
of PJL from 2,000 books
and nearly 250 members
when she was employed as
its first qualified librarian
in 1968 to around 60,000
volumes at present. Today,
the membership of the institution, with roots back
to 1923, includes more
than 4,500 children, teens
13
The gaming board committee with Luis de Cuba as chairman presented Justice Minister
Rudy Croes with the final report for better regulation and supervision of the gambling games
and the casinos. Photo by Elsbeth Bakker
ARUBA--Aruba’s Gaming Board Committee has
given its final report to Justice Minister Rudy Croes
(MEP), which includes recommendations for better
regulation and supervision
of the local gaming industry
including casinos. With the
recommendations, government hopes to collect at
least double the taxes.
Due to the fact that there
is hardly any supervision on,
among others things, the
profits of the casinos, only
three million florins are
collected per year, while according to calculations, the
collection should be at least
seven million.
Establishing a supervisory
committee on gambling
similar to the Supervision
College on Gambling in the
Netherlands should ensure
that the casinos abide by
the law more. It concerns
the Gambling Games Act
that, according to the final
report of the committee, is
from 1958 and should also
be amended.
In addition, the casinos
must also comply with the
requirements of the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF). This inter-governmental work group develops and promotes policies
on a national and international level to combat money laundering.
The group will come to
Aruba in October and the
minister said that it is very
important that all the casinos in Aruba be screened
by that time. “After all, casinos are semi-financial institutions.”
Other than supervising the
casinos, the proposed com-
mittee on gambling must
also supervise the other
games in Aruba, like the
popular “catoochi” lotteries.
The recommendations
also have consequences for
the current casino controllers; they will stop to exist.
Croes emphasized that he
will do his best to prevent
forced dismissals.
Of about 100 controllers,
he said that some 40 will
leave due to retirement or
because they intend to resign themselves.
By discontinuing the current controlling body, the
committee follows the earlier advice of the General
Audit Chamber and Central Accountants Service
anyway. The final report
of the gambling committee
has been given to the Council of Ministers.
Aruba’s government-owned garbage company Serlimar
is getting some strong competition from private company
Echotech when it comes to collecting commercial garbage.
The latter also charges to collect household garbage while
Serlimar does not. Government had announced the introduction of a fee of 30 florin a month per household, but
changed its mind after many had protested. Since then the
number of households using Echotech has grown rapidly.
Islands
14
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
~ Workers resume duties ~
SUCKER
GARDEN-Workers in the Technical
Operations Department of
the TelEm Group of Companies have resumed their
duties but their union is
still keeping a close eye on
things.
St. Maarten Communications Union (SMCU) President Ludson Evers said the
union wants its members
to be safe while executing
their duties and will do its
utmost to ensure that the
vehicles made available
to workers are in proper
working order. “We are not
totally satisfied but we will
do our own investigation
to ensure that the inspection was done properly,” he
said.
He dismissed reports
by TelEm that the union
backed its members as a
“disruptive tactic” to gain
ground in the Collective
Labour Agreement (CLA)
negotiations presently taking place. Evers said the
workers’ grievances had
nothing to do with the CLA
talks and accused management of “mixing up” the issues to “confuse the public”
and to divert from the issue
at hand.
The roughly 20 workers in
the Technical Operations
Department downed tools
on Tuesday in protest of vehicles that were uninsured,
un-inspected and in some
cases unfit for the road.
Evers said efforts have
since been made to get
some of the vehicles inspected and insured. He
said some workers have
since resumed their duties
with the operational vehicles while others have been
reassigned other duties.
He also questioned statements made by the TelEm
officials that the company
was going through financial difficulties. He said if
this were the case, it was
not being reflected. “If
the company has financial
problems then why does it
have so many consultants
and people collecting thousands of guilders,” said
Evers Wednesday. “And
where are the cost-cutting
measures. It doesn’t act as
if there are any financial
problems,” he charged.
The MAN party in Curaçao donated five FIFA certified soccer balls to youngsters who
practice at the SUBT field. The intention is to do this at all the different fields where the
youth play on a regular basis. Party leader Charles Cooper and number seven candidate
Gerrit Schotte are among those in the photo.
~ Amendments to Kingdom law proposed ~
WILLEMSTAD--Changes
in the Dutch naturalisation
law will make it easier for
adopted children under the
age of seven years to receive
the Dutch nationality. In
addition children of fathers
with Dutch nationality will
also automatically receive
the Dutch nationality.
Parliament discussed
amendments to the Kingdom law regulating Dutch
nationality in the Kingdom
Affairs and Inter Parliamentary Relations Committee on Tuesday. The
amendments pertain to
Dutch men who marry foreign women and adopt the
women’s child or children.
In the past the children had
to go through tedious procedures to also obtain the
Dutch nationality.
The proposed amendments will change the situation in such a way that if
the child or children are
younger than seven years
they will automatically also
become Dutch citizens. For
children older than seven
years an administrative
procedure has to be followed for them to obtain
the Dutch nationality, but
this procedure will be less
cumbersome than the old
procedure being applied till
now.
The amendments also
state that if a man with
Dutch nationality and a
foreign woman who are not
married have a child, that
child will automatically receive the Dutch nationality
after the father has proven
with a DNA test that the
child is his.
The Netherlands Antilles
Parliament has no objections to these amendments
and will report its position
to the Second Chamber
of the Dutch Parliament,
which will have to pass the
amendments to the law.
Eric Curiel owner of the insurance broker Seguros Curiel was detained on Tuesday morning in Curaçao. The Prosecutor’s Office ordered his detention and the search of his house
and office. Press Prosecutor Ludmilla Vicento informed that the entire administration
of the company was seized. The Receiver Office in Curaçao recently announced that car
insurances of Seguros Curiel are not accepted because the broker is not recognised by
the Central Bank. However, several car owners showed up at the Receiver Office with car
insurance from Seguros Curiel and consequently weren’t allowed to pay their road tax.
These people filed a complaint against Seguros Curiel after which the Prosecutor’s Office
decided to take action against the insurance broker and its owner.
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
PHILIPSBURG--The results of this year’s General Equivalency Diploma
(GED) exams, which were
written in January, are in
and the graduation ceremony will be held at University
of St. Martin (USM) on
Thursday, March 15, from
10:30am to 12:00 noon.
Students who sat the exams should contact USM
GED Coordinator Martha
Thewet-Simmon to collect
their results. Students will
have to sign for their re-
15
sults.
Persons who want to sign
up for the summer GED
programme
are
being
urged to register as soon as
possible, as space is limited,
Thewett-Simon said.
The logo of the CHTIC conference in Curaçao.
The new Curaçao party of Josephine Trinidad-Bakhuis “Un Pueblo Nobo” (UPN) presented a musical theatre drama in which youngsters were made conscious of the choices
they must make in life and the consequences for their future. Theatre Luna Blou was filled
to capacity.
The rap-contest organised by the PAR youth in Curaçao turned out to be a success. Youths
between 16 and 25 years of age could register as a solo or a duo act. Steven Meyer won the
contest based on crowd response.
6!#!.#9
WILLEMSTAD--Six years
after the island hosted the
annual investors’ conference, the Caribbean Hotel
Association (CHA) is organising the annual CHTIC in
Curaçao again.
It is important to put Curaçao on display, said Billy
Jonckheer of the local organization committee. “We
are in urgent need of more
hotel rooms. Such a conference is very important for
us.”
According to Jonckheer’s
estimate, the investors’ conference is going to cost between 300,000 and 350,000
guilders, but six years ago
when it was held on the island “it got us the Breezes
and Hilton hotels.”
In his opinion, it was also
then that the interest was
aroused to build a Renaissance hotel, which is currently under construction.
Apart from exhibiting Curaçao, approximately 400
participants are expected
to take care of filling local
hotel rooms again.
Sponsors will help with
some of the necessary
funding for the event; Korpodeko and the Curaçao
Tourism Bureau (CTB)
CONDOMINIUM
MANAGER
WANTED
ISLOOKINGFORAFRIENDLY
MOTIVATEDANDPROFESSIONAL
3!,%3,!$9
/NLY!NTILLEANSORPERSONSWITH
INDElNITEPAPERS
2ESUMÏREQUIRED
#ONTACT-ANAGERAT
MUST HAVE HANDS ON PROPERTY
MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE WITH A
WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF ELECTRICAL
AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS.
Send resume with salary requirements before
March 15th, to:
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Attn.:
Mr. Paul R. Van Vliet, Emmaplein Building
P.O. Box 195, Philipsburg or
email to JCR@MYCONDO.COM
together with hotel association Chata will take
care of the biggest part. A
few banks, consultants, the
Chamber of Commerce and
the APNA pension fund
as gold, silver and bronze
sponsors, will pay the rest.
This three-day conference
attracts a few important
speakers, like the former Air
Jamaica top executive and
current Caribbean Tourism
Organisation (CTO)-chair
Allen Chastenet and CHAchair Peter Odle. A lifetime
Award will be presented to
Peter Dolara of American
Airlines on the second day
of the conference.
Upon many requests from
abroad, investor and hotelier Jacob Gelt Dekker will
be the main speaker on the
third day during lunch.
With this conference, Caribbean Hotel Association
wants to show investors the
investment possibilities. As
with each conference, there
are many possibilities for
networking and discussions
on current developments.
Several activity-programs
and tours are organized
for before, during and after the conference. For a
fee, participants and their
companions can visit all the
well-known attractions on
the island.
Highlight will be the ceremonial closing of the conference, organised by Tony
Halabi.
“For the closing, participants will be taken to Wilhelmina Plaza, from where
they will walk to Fort Amsterdam for a cocktail party
on the plaza. After that
they will walk over the pontoon bridge, while being
treated to a display of fireworks. The event concludes
in Kura Hulanda.”
Foundation Catholic Education St. Maarten
Stichting Katholiek Onderwijs St. Maarten
P.O.Box 404, St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles.
Tel: 542-3821 / 542-3858 • Fax: 542-2302
E-mail: cathschoolboard@hotmail.com
The Catholic School Board is accepting applications for the following positions:
Primary School Teachers for
her Dutch and English Schools
Principal for a Dutch school
Requirements:
• The necessary diplomas.
• For Dutch Schools, fluency in Dutch and
English.
• For English schools, fluency in English
and (Dutch a plus).
• Professing Catholics and Antilleans have
preference.
• FBE compliant and Special Education a
plus.
Interested persons should send resume,
copies of certificates and references before March 30th, 2007 to the Foundation
Catholic Education St. Maarten Att. Ms.
Lilia, Hodge P.O. Box 404, St. Maarten.
16
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
17
18
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
VACANCY
VACANCY
F.W. VLAUN & SON B.V.
is seeking applicants for the following position:
Technical Service Coordinator
Qualifications, Requirements, Abilities, Attributes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Trade School Diploma and 10 years of experience in auto mechanics.
Last 5 years experience working with at least one of the following MMC, Toyota, GM, or
Suzuki and must have had “factory” training in auto electronics.
Certified Master Technician (preferably with Toyota brand). ASE certification would be
a plus.
Advanced knowledge of vehicle electronic components, theory, systems, and testing tools
and procedures. Proficiency in use of Tech 2, Intelligent Tester and MUT.
Computer literate.
English language skills (French would be a plus)
Skill in diagnosing and repairing all key vehicle systems and components.
Knowledge of proper procedures for handling hazardous materials.
Knowledge of proper procedures for using tools and equipment.
Knowledge of the proper procedures for ensuring Technician’s safety, the safety of his
co- workers, and the safety of customers and their vehicles.
Personnel management skills - require the ability to understand and deal with different
types of people.
Administrative skills - require the ability to supervise and take decisions.
Planning and control skills - require the ability to manage and control work flow and schedules.
Physical strength and agility; physical condition commensurate with the demands of the position.
Ability to read, interpret, and properly evaluate Repair Orders and department efficiency,
productivity, and performance reports.
Longwall Rd # 15, Philipsburg
St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles
Ph: 599-542-2318 Fax: 599-543-1108
E-Mail: eric.vlaun@fwvlaun.com
The Law Firm Bergman Bloem & Bergman is looking for suitable
qualified persons to fill the positions of:
Secretary / Receptionist
Job requirements:
• Must have Havo diploma or equivalent.
•This person should have a friendly attitude, be representative
and with multi task capabilities.
•Must be fluent in English and Dutch, written and spoken,
French and Spanish a plus.
•Basic knowledge of accounting principals.
•Computer literate (Word, Excel, Quickbooks).
•Have at least 3 years experience.
•Ability to work under pressure.
A part time Bookkeeper
Antilleans preferred or persons with valid working papers.
If you are interested and possess the right qualifications, we
invite you to submit your application with complete CV and
preferably a recent photograph to Bergman Bloem & Bergman,
attention Annette N. Zandbergen, Brooks Tower, Suite A-3,
Harbour View, Philipsburg, Sint Maarten.
Telephone: 54-27550/49/48 Telefax: 54-27551
Email:
azandbergen@bbblegal.com
Sucker Garden Road 27B
(in back of Yuppie Gas Station)
STICHTING VOORTGEZET ONDERWIJS BOVENWINDSE EILANDEN
Tel: 542-6223
Fax: 542 6212
De Stichting tot bevordering van het Voortgezet Onderwijs Bovenwindse Eilanden (SVOBE) zoekt
met ingang van 1 augustus 2007 voor de afdeling Havo/Vwo van het Milton Peters College een
Afdelingshoofd Havo/Vwo (v/m)
Het afdelingshoofd geeft onder verantwoordelijkheid van de algemeen directeur van het Milton Peters College leiding aan de Havo/Vwo afdeling.
Hij/zij behartigt en vertegenwoordigt de belangen van de afdeling binnen de Stiching en levert een
bijdrage aan het tot stand komen van beleid in alle zaken betreffende het Milton Peters College.
Hij/zij draagt bij aan de totstandkoming van strategische beleidsplannen van de school.
Functie-eisen:
• managementervaring in het voortgezet onderwijs;
• kennis van en inzicht in onderwijskundige ontwikkelingen;
• vaardigheid in het leiden van teams en het motiveren van teamleden;
• goede contactuele eigenschappen;
Uw kwaliteiten:
• onderwijskundig leiderschap: u bent in staat om samenhang en afstemming op onderwijskundig gebied te creëren. U bent in staat de onderwijskundige belangen van de afdeling te
behartigen bij de bestuursmanager;
• inzicht in organisaties: u bent in staat een heldere structuur aan te brengen in beleid en organisatie binnen de afdeling. U hebt overzicht en u beschikt over een goed analytisch vermogen;
• resultaatgerichtheid: u formuleert voor zichzelf en anderen toetsbare doelen en ziet er op toe
dat deze gerealiseerd worden. U bent in staat om andere personeelsleden te motiveren;
• communicatieve vaardigheden: u legt gemakkelijk contacten met collegadirectieleden, personeelsleden en ouders; U durft anderen aan te spreken op hun verantwoordelijkheid en u beschikt
over relativeringsvermogen en tact.
Salaris:
Het salaris is conform de geldende rechtspositieregeling voor directeuren.
Sollicatieprocedure:
U stuurt uw sollicitatiebrief met uitgebreid cv vóór 19 maart a.s. per brief, e-mail of fax, gericht aan
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Uitvoerige informatie kunt u per e-mail verkrijgen bij de bestuursmanager, de heer drs. J.
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Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
ANGUILLA--The Royal
Anguilla Police Force
(RAPF) reported that two
men from North Valley
have been arrested in connection with a firearm incident outside Grillers Restaurant, Stoney Ground, in
the early hours of Sunday,
February 18, when shots
were fired. No one was injured but parked vehicles
were hit by bullets.
On Friday, March 2, a police operation was mounted during which a search
warrant was executed at a
house in North Valley. J.P.,
a 19-year-old male who resides in the house, was arrested in connection with
the shooting incident and
also for possession of cannabis with intent to supply.
On Monday, March 5, 24year-old male T.P., also of
North Valley, was arrested
in connection with the same
firearm incident at Grillers
Restaurant.
J.P. was charged with
drugs and firearm offences
and T.P. was charged with
firearm offences. They ap-
peared before the Magistrate on Monday, March
5, and were remanded into
custody until March 12.
“The RAPF are determined to use all available
resources to fight drug and
gun crime in Anguilla and
those wishing to engage in
such levels of criminality
can expect to face the serious consequences of their
activities. We will do all
in our power to make this
country a safer place to live
and work,” RAPF said in a
press release.
Dexter James (left), Phyllis Fleming-Banks (centre), and Evans McNeil Rogers with some
of the accreditation certificates Wednesday
Signing of the lease for the Omololu School. From left to right: Courtney Abel, Oluwakemi
Linda Banks, Governor George, Foster Rogers and Gifford Connor.
ANGUILLA--The Government of Anguilla signed a
lease with the Gloria Omololu Institute Tuesday for
two acres of land in The
Quarter to build a school.
The school began operations in 1994. However,
during the past two years
there have been problems
in renting a building and it
was decided to build a permanent building of its own.
Permanent Secretary in
the Chief Minister’s Office
Foster Rogers said the Government decided to support Omololu by supplying
the land at a nominal rent
of EC $1,200 per year. He
noted that there was need
for another primary school
as the government schools
are filled to capacity.
He said the Government
purchased the land from
Albert Lake as they believe
it is critical for the school to
have a permanent site. He
noted that all crown lands
that are leased must be
signed by the Governor.
Executive Director of the
Gloria Omololu Institute
Oluwakemi Linda Banks
said the vision of the school
has always been to provide
life-long learning and it
aims to have day care, preschool, primary and secondary education as well as
a fine arts centre and swimming programme.
The new school will be a
collection of prefabricated
buildings creating a village
atmosphere. The architect
is Bob Hurwit and plans are
to have the school opened
in September this year.
Banks thanked the Government of Anguilla for its
support and all who assisted
the school including Courtney Abel, who is chairman
of the Steering Committee and parents past and
present. She also thanked
Mr. Fifer who allowed the
school to use his premises
at West End for two years
and the Anglican Church
19
for renting them Ruthwill Auditorium where the
school is presently located.
Governor Andrew George
said he was pleased to have
the opportunity to sign the
lease in support of Omololu School, which will complement the Government
schools. He said with development the demand for
good quality education is
increasing and a new school
will be an encouragement
to higher standards and the
development of education
on the island.
The lease was signed by
the Governor, Banks, Rogers and Director of Lands
Gifford Connor with Abel
witnessing the signatures.
Banks said that now they
have the land they will be
launching their fund-raising
campaign and hope to target some of the developers
on the island for funding,
as employees with families
will need school places.
ANGUILLA--The Accreditation Award given to the
Health Authority of Anguilla (HAA) by the Canadian
Council on Health Services
Accreditation
(CCHSA)
was unveiled Wednesday
at a ceremony at Paradise
Cove Resort.
In remarks at the ceremony, Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming praised the
HAA saying that from personal experience he knew
that the HAA service was
good.
Osbourne said he was
proud to know that the
HAA is a model in the region and the first country
to gain this accreditation.
He said although Anguilla
is small it can be a leader
and will provide assistance to other Caribbean
countries. St. Vincent and
the Grenadines, St. Kitts
and Nevis and the British
Virgin Islands have all expressed interest in following Anguilla’s lead in the
accreditation process.
CEO of the HAA Dexter
James gave an overview of
the process towards accreditation, which he said will
provide a basis for ensuring a minimum standard of
care benchmarked against
international standards. It
will also serve as a tool for
the establishment of good
quality health care and will
increase public confidence
in the system.
Chair of the HAA Board
Phyllis Fleming-Banks described the accreditation
as a milestone. She praised
former Minister of Health
Eric Reid for his vision
and tenacity in forming
the Health Authority that
has already resulted in increased patient care and
facilities. She said there
was much still to be done
and the continuous process
will lead to excellence. She
thanked James, the team
leaders and members and
all who are part of the HAA
for their hard work.
Minister of Social Development Evans McNeil
Rogers challenged those in
the HAA and the Ministry
to educate the public as to
what accreditation means
and hoped it will restore
public confidence in the
health system.
After the unveiling by
Rogers and Florence Harrigan, the framed accreditation certificates for each
department were presented
by Rogers and FlemingBanks to the heads of the
department.
The Chief Minister told
the health officials there is
no perfect health authority
and people will always complain. However, he urged
them to accept this, be
strong and move forward in
doing what is best for Anguilla. “We appreciate all
that you are doing and continue to serve the people,”
he said. “Congratulations
and I wish you continued to
success.”
Minister of Finance Victor
Banks noted that in spite of
many challenges the HAA
had achieved something
that other health ministries
would like to replicate. He
said success comes at a
cost and the HAA must be
maintained.
Following the opening
ceremony and unveiling,
the Operational Review
for 2006 took place with
reports from all sections
of the Health Authority including information, corporate administration, patient
care services, nutrition and
health promotion, diagnostic and therapeutic and support services given by heads
of the departments.
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Islands
There are twelve Antilleans among the 1,800 Dutch soldiers currently on NATO duty in
Afghanistan. Six of them in this photo Sambo, Panneflek, Apostel, Schotborg, Sieberi and
Martina say they all are doing well. They mentioned that when they wanted to eat something different to what the military camp in Kandahar served, there were, in fact, fast food
outlets in the area. Every Saturday there is a bazaar where they can buy stuff to send to
family back home. Dutch troops have been attacked by the Taliban, but none have been
killed so far.
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
ST. KITTS--Commander of
the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence
Force Lt. Colonel Patrick
Wallace says the local security forces would be assisted by regional forces during
the Federation’s staging of
Cricket World Cup (CWC),
as International Cricket
Council (ICC) requirements call for 250 security
officers to be at the match
when the stadium is at its
full 10,000 person capacity.
Wallace stated that “because of the size of our security forces, like most of
the OECS states we cannot
police the event and still
deal with the regular day to
day issues, and Caribbean
Community (Caricom) will
be lending assistance,” in an
interview with the St. Kitts
Nevis Information Service
(SKNIS) on Tuesday.
“We will have Jamaican
Defence Force and police
officers here, along with
police officers and Coast
Guard personnel from
Antigua and Barbuda and
Dominica to assist the local
law enforcement agencies.”
Commissioner of Police
Robert Jeffers said the
security forces will have
increased visibility during
the two-week period of the
international cricket event
but routine policing activities will continue to be executed.
The two top security officers also stated that there
will be a number of road
closures and alternative
traffic arrangements in an
effort to facilitate the need
for stringent security in and
around Warner Park Stadium and to ensure that
emergency personnel had
an unhindered path to and
from the venue.
Traffic arrangements for
the CWC period include
the temporary designation
of two of Basseterre’s main
roads Cayon and Central Streets into one-way
streets between 5:00am and
8:00pm on match days.
Traffic will flow westwards
on Cayon Street and Central
Street from specific points.
Strict parking restrictions
will also be enforced as motorists will only be allowed
to park in certain designated areas and drop off and
pick up areas for persons
attending the games will be
identified.
Jeffers appealed for the
public’s cooperation and
understanding of the temporary measures.
He said the ICC has a
two-mile radius for no traffic when matches are being
played but due to the small
size of the country such an
arrangement would be impractical, “so we conceived
the next best in trying to restrict (traffic) … around the
stadium.”
Special arrangements have
been made for residences
and businesses inside the
restricted zone.
St. Kitts will host teams
Australia, South Africa, the
Netherlands and Scotland
from March 14 to 24.
ARUBA--Nobody has yet
reacted to the appeal by the
Aruba police for additional
witnesses of the recent fatal accident that killed two
young boys near Seroe Tijsji to report.
The police want more witnesses to come forward and
cast some light on the driving behaviour involving the
Ford Mustang with license
plate number A-6387 in
which the two victims were
passengers, and or other
cars that might have been
involved.
A re-enactment took place
with the witnesses who
came forward immediately
after the accident. According to reports, there is still
no agreement concerning
the facts.
Some witnesses declared
that another vehicle had
obstructed the Mustang
from merging after a manoeuvre to overtake, while
others said the accident was
to be blamed on the Mustang driver’s inexperience
and reckless driving behaviour.
The technical investigation
of, especially the brakes of
the Mustang and the bus, is
still ongoing. Based on the
results, the Public Prosecutor will decide whether the
driver, the elder brother of
one of the dead boys, will be
accused of manslaughter.
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THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
21
~ His remarks spark even more controversy ~
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad-Under mounting criticism,
Chief Magistrate Sherman
McNicolls Tuesday broke
his silence on causing the
collapse of the criminal case
against Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma.
His explanation, however,
has triggered even more controversy in top legal circles.
McNicolls claimed that his
decision was influenced by
remarks made by the Privy
Council, this country’s highest court, relating to “the existence of parallel proceedings” - the criminal charge
and disciplinary proceedings
under Section 137 - and he
remained “willing, eager
and able to give evidence in
the proper forum in relation
to the Sharma matter”.
The Chief Magistrate,
who appeared in court on
Monday disappointed Sharma’s defence - as the State
dropped the charge before
McNicolls’ evidence was
tested in cross-examination
- stated in a media release
Tuesday that the comments
of the Privy Council had a
“powerful bearing on me as
a judicial officer”. He stated
that the proceedings under
Section 137 “should have
priority on the facts of this
case”.
“In my judgment it would
be improper both in principle and in law to allow
for the cross-examination
of evidence in two separate
proceedings which were
at roughly the same stage
in their development. It
should be remembered that
in a preliminary enquiry no
one is called upon to plead
whereas in Section 137 proceedings an answer must be
provided to the complaint,”
McNicolls said.
However, a close examination of the Privy Council’s
19-page judgment (November 30, 2006) by several
senior attorneys who were
polled by the Express Tuesday suggested that the Privy
Council had not made any
such remarks.
In fact, they pointed out the
Privy Council could not have
made any such statements
since Prime Minister Patrick
Manning had only informed
Sharma, two weeks ago,
about his contemplation of
invoking Section 137 of the
Constitution regarding McNicolls’ complaints.
The lawyers, who all spoke
on the condition of anonymity, said McNicolls’ reasons
were based on “a false basis”
and furthermore as a witness in a criminal case it was
not his call to decide on the
appropriate forum to try the
Chief Justice on allegations
of improper conduct.
To make matters worse,
they said, Manning has
not yet made a decision on
whether he will recommend
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad-A second attempt by Prime
Minister Patrick Manning
to have the judge hearing a
complaint filed by former
workers of Caroni (1975)
Ltd step down from the case
failed in the Appeal Court on
Monday.
Justice Lennox Deyalsingh
had been first asked to hear
an application to recuse himself last December, but refused. He agreed to hear the
application in April.
Manning’s attorneys appealed the judge’s refusal,
and the Appeal Court ruled
Monday that the appeal did
not merit an early hearing,
effectively disposing of the
appeal.
Justice of Appeal Margot
Warner said she was satisfied
that Deyalsingh would hear
the application in any event.
Appeal Court Judges Ivor
Archie and Allan Mendonca
also agreed with Warner.
The lawsuit before Deyalsingh concerns the Government’s commitment to grant
Caroni Ltd’s former workers
land leases.
The commitment was made
as a condition of the voluntary separation packages
the workers accepted when
Caroni’s sugar manufacturing operations were shut
down in mid-2003.
The T&T Civil Rights Association filed for judicial review of a statement made by
the Prime Minister in 2003,
that the former workers’ application for leases would
receive the same priority
as other applications. The
group claimed that other
government ministers assured that the workers would
get priority consideration.
At the last hearing of the
case, on January 8, Caroni’s
acting chief executive officer,
Deosaran Jagroo, admitted that the process of distributing leases was slower
than had been expected, but
he said a number of former
workers had gotten licences
to occupy the lands and he
expected distribution to start
by the end of March. (Trinidad Express)
Sherman McNicolls
to President George Maxwell Richards the question
of removing Sharma from
office based on McNicolls’
complaint.
Sharma had until 4:00pm
yesterday to respond to the
allegations - of trying to
improperly influence McNicolls to find former Prime
Minister Basdeo Panday not
guilty on three charges of
failing to declare a London
bank account to the Integrity Commission - which
were sent to him on February 21, by Manning. In that
matter, Manning forwarded
copies of statements from
McNicolls, Attorney General John Jeremie and Sir
Timothy Cassel QC.
Manning confirmed yesterday that he had not yet
made a decision on whether
he will invoke impeachment
proceedings against Sharma
based on McNicolls report
and the matter was still at
a fact-finding stage. If Manning decides to move ahead
with impeachment proceedings, hearings will be conducted behind closed doors.
Several telephone calls
from the Express to McNicolls to seek clarification
on his statement or for him
to identify which part of the
judgment he relied upon to
support his decision were
not returned.
One attorney suggested
that McNicolls may have relied upon a statement made
by Lord Bingham in the
judgment which stated: “In
practical terms the question
is whether the decision to
prosecute the Chief Justice,
by whosoever made, should
be examined by way of judicial review, or whether the
criminal process (subject to
any application the Chief
Justice may hereafter make)
should at this stage be allowed to take its course. It is
not suggested that both processes can be pursued at the
same time”.
If he did, the attorney said,
McNicolls may have acted
erroneously since the Privy
Council judge was then referring to the civil lawsuit
brought by Sharma challenging the criminal proceedings
and the criminal charge
itself and not any impeachment proceedings. (Trinidad
Express)
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad--A High Court judge
was Tuesday critical of a
Sangre Grande woman’s
decision to pump 11 bullets into her common-law
husband as a response to
abuse.
Justice Anthony Carmona
said he was concerned that
even though Stephanie Bailey had the support of her
friends and family, and with
there being other social assistance programmes available to battered wives, she
did not leave her husband
before matters came to a
head on January 22, 2005.
“One wonders whether
what occurred could have
been prevented,” the judge
commented Tuesday, after Bailey, who had been
charged
with
murder,
pleaded guilty to the lesser
charge of manslaughter.
The prosecution accepted
the plea on the basis that
the 38-year-old mother of
three suffered from battered wife syndrome.
In making a mitigation plea,
defence attorney Hayden
St Clair-Douglas asked
that Bailey be released on a
bond. He responded to the
judge’s concern by pointing
out that Bailey was not welleducated and may not have
fully understood the various assistance programmes
she could have run to.
The attorney also said
that a symptom of battered
wife syndrome was that the
victim would continue to
return to the source of the
abuse.
Bailey had been living with
fisherman Farook “Elvis”
Mohammed at Bois Bande
Village in Sangre Grande,
in an abusive relationship for eight years up to
the time of Mohammed’s
death.
In a statement to the police, Bailey said she had
left Mohammed several
times before January 22,
2005, because of the abuse,
but returned to live with
him when he promised to
change.
She said that on the day in
question, he accused her of
still being involved with the
father of her children. She
said they argued, and while
she was cooking, Mohammed put a gun to her head
and threatened to kill her.
They struggled for the
gun, she said, and shots
were fired-all hitting Mohammed.
Justice Carmona pointed
out, in the Port of Spain
Third Criminal Court, that
six of the 11 shots hit Mohammed in the back.
He asked whether Bailey
had been totally honest
with the police.
“One would have thought
that in the context of a
struggle, these shots would
not have been made with
such precision,” he remarked.
St Clair-Douglas admitted he could not offer an
explanation on how the
shooting took place, but he
attributed it to a loss of self-
control.
Senior State prosecutor
Nalini Singh said while
it may be true that there
would be no need to deter
Bailey from committing another offence, the court had
to be mindful of the message to society in releasing
her on a bond.
She asked Carmona to
consider a custodial sentence.
Justice Carmona said he
would sentence Bailey on
Friday. (Trinidad Express)
KINGSTON, Jamaica--The
House of Representatives
agreed Tuesday night to
tack on an additional J$14
billion in spending this
fiscal year, after a noisy
debate which threatened
several times to get out of
hand.
The supplementary estimates, which were tabled
in the House last week, primarily represented increases in funding for Cricket
World Cup 2007, salary
increases for government
employees and additional
debt payments.
Cross-talk and shouts
reached a crescendo during
the presentation of Opposition Spokesman on Finance
and the Public Service Audley Shaw, when he accused
the government and some
of its technocrats of corrup-
tion.
Shaw also accused Minister of Finance and Planning
Omar Davies of misleading
the country that the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) had issued a new
and favourable economic
report on Jamaica.
Dr Davies eventually tabled the correspondence
from the IMF, which turned
out to be a concluding statement which, normally, describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff after concluding official staff visits.
The statement described
the country’s economic performance as “remarkably
strong” and predicted real
economic growth of almost
three per cent in 2006/2007,
up from the two per cent in
2005/2006. (Jamaica Observer)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti-Mobile phone provider Digicel Group Ltd has pledged to
rebuild 20 primary schools
across Haiti during the
launch of a charity.
Two schools will be rebuilt
in each of Haiti’s 10 departments as part of the Digicel
Haiti Foundation, the Jamaica-based company said in
a statement. The schools had
been damaged by past hurricanes and flooding.
Digicel’s chairman, Irish
billionaire Denis O’Brien,
called the initiative a show of
appreciation 10 months since
the mobile provider began
offering service in Haiti.
The company reached one
million customers in December and has spent more than
US$260 million (euro197 million) in Haiti so far, the largest single private investment
in the country’s history.
O’Brien spoke at a ceremony to inaugurate the first
rebuilt primary school, a 240student facility in the rural
outskirts of the capital.
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THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
Mister STEVE CONRAD BROWN, a businessman,
residing at Narrow Drive #44, Cole Bay,
St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, hereby
makes known to the public, that, by deed of
prescriptive rights to be executed by J.P.G.H.
Schaepman, civil law notary on Sint Maarten,
or his substitute, he intends to acquire the
ownership of the following parcel of land:
A parcel of land, situated in the district of
Cole Bay, near Well Road on Sint Maarten,
N.A., having an area of sixhundred and
eighty-nine square meters (689m2), and
described in certificate of admeasurement
number 262/2005.
Anyone having valid claims towards said
property or having valid objections against
said prescriptive rights, is hereby requested
to lodge such claim or objection, in writing,
before March 22nd, 2007, with said civil law
notary, at the office of
Schaepman & Speetjens, Frontstreet 5,
Philipsburg, Sint Maarten
(tel. 599 5422339 - fax 599 5422439)
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THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
ST. KITTS--The Caribbean
Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), which is
headquartered in Trinidad,
has been awarded a US
$250,000 grant by the John
D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to implement a two-year project
on the impacts of climate
change on biodiversity in
the islands of the Caribbean.
A press release issued by
CANARI stated that the
project will focus on “increasing
understanding
and consensus on what is
known, and perhaps more
importantly what is not
known, about the predicted
climate change trends and
their impact on biodiversity in Caribbean Small
Island Developing States
(SIDS).”
The goal will be to develop a regional research
BRIDGETOWN,
Barbados--Government’s
new two-year wages and
salaries package for more
than 28,000 public officers,
which it took to Parliament
Tuesday for approval, will
cost B$75 million.
This move to legislate a
settlement, after Government failed to reach agreement with the Congress
of Trade Unions and Staff
Associations of Barbados
(CTUSAB), the umbrella
labour body, will hike the
public sector wages bill
over the $700 million mark
during the next two fiscal
years.
Government Tuesday tabled a series of resolutions
in the House of Assembly
to give effect to increases in
wages, salaries and allowances for the several categories of public officers,
including Parliamentarians,
worked out at ten per cent
over two years – 7.5 per
cent from April 1, 2006 and
2.5 from April 1, 2007.
Minister of State in the
Prime Minister’s Office,
which also has responsibility for the Civil Service,
Reverend Joseph Atherley, said Government had
reached an agreement with
the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), the
largest public sector union,
whose original proposals would have cost B$186
million over the two years
(B$121 million and B$65
million).
“What was eventually accepted by the NUPW, in
agreement with the Government, was a 7.5 per
cent in the first year and a
2.5 per cent increase in the
second year – ten per cent
increase across the two
years,” Atherley said.
“This is a net cost to Government in the first year of
B$55 million and a net cost
to Government in the second year of B$20 million,
for a total of B$75 million
across the two years.”
He disclosed, however,
that CTUSAB’s proposals
would have amounted to a
$326 million cost over the
two years – or $163 million
in each year. (Daily Nation)
agenda and among other
things to consider how protected area management,
biodiversity protection, and
conservation policy might
address climate change in
the region.
CANARI states that the
grant comes at “a critical
time” as evidence mounts
that the impact of climate
change on the ecological
systems of the Caribbean is
likely to be severe with respect to a rise in sea levels
and average temperatures
and changes in rainfall and
weather patterns.
The fact that in the Caribbean most of the region’s
major cities and villages are
located in the coastal areas
means that the region is extremely vulnerable to the
effects of climate changes
such as rising sea levels. The
agenda over the two-day
period will include discussions of current trends, scenarios and climate change
modelling, impacts of climate change on marine and
coastal ecosystems, impacts
of climate change on forest
and other terrestrial ecosystems, development of
common climate change indicators for the region and
identification of key policy
areas and identification of
communications channels,
target audience and media.
The project will be
launched in Trinidad today,
March 8.
PORT-OF-SPAIN,
Trinidad--Prime Minister Patrick
Manning has said he now has
a date in mind for the next
general election.
He did not disclose it yesterday.
Manning announced that
the ruling PNM will begin
screening for candidates for
the next general election in
the 25 out of the 41 constituencies up for grabs where the
party does not now have parliamentary representation.
Manning was speaking during a news conference Tuesday at the PNM’s Balisier
House headquarters.
“The Prime Minister has
a date in mind which as you
would also expect has to remain confidential at this time
but we are working towards a
particular date and the strategies that we are employing
are being employed taking
that into account,” Manning
said. The PNM intends to
contest all 41 constituencies
up for grabs in the next general election, Manning said,
adding that the Opposition
has never been more divided
than it is today. (Trinidad Express)
Restaurant in Simpson Bay is
looking for a
Cook
Must be Antillean or have valid
working/residence papers.
Call 580-7337 for appointment
23
Students of the Vauxhall High School in Kingston participate in yesterday’s Peace Day concert at the school. (Jamaica Observer photo by Joseph Wellington)
Kingston,
Jamaica--Students of the Vauxhall High
School, located in a volatile
section of Windward Road
in the eastern section of
the capital city, Kingston,
Tuesday denounced crime
and violence, and called for
peace across Jamaica during a Peace Day concert at
the institution.
Vauxhall’s principal, Angela Chaplin, said her school
was chosen to host the concert, hosted by Peace and
Love in Schools (PALS)
Jamaica, in collaboration
with the security ministry’s
Community Security Initiative, because it is “a safe
school”.
Last year, the school completed a perimeter fence
that was started by the Jamaica Defence Force after
men, allegedly from a nearby community, gained easy
access to the compound and
raped a female student.
But yesterday, Chaplin
said he was delighted that
the community decided to
unite against the crime and
violence in the area that
has in the past spilled over
into the school. “Now that
we have our perimeter wall
we don’t have that problem
anymore,” said the school
principal.
In the meantime, Lieutenant Colonel Oral Khan,
the chairman of the Safe
Schools Secretariat, said he
believed that the school was
well on its way to becoming
violence-free.
He also commended the
neighbouring community
called Brown’s Town, for
implementing a programme
aimed at eliminating violence in the area.
“Without the support of
the community around
us, all the school’s efforts
would be futile,” said Khan.
“We want to just move forward in unity and peace,”
he said.
Andrew Holness, Opposition spokesman on educa-
tion, also commended the
school’s effort to promote
peace.
“The best place for us to
start working for peace is
in schools,” Holness said.
“Jamaica seems to be in a
paranormal state of conflict
and for us to break that you
first need to understand the
concept of peace,” he said.
Guest speaker Reverend
Al Miller, president of
Whole Life Ministries and
pastor of Fellowship Tabernacle in Kingston, using
a cricket analogy, told the
students that in order to
“bat for peace, you have to
pad up with love”.
“We have to love one another, care for one another
and be kind to one another,” said Miller. “To win in
the peace game, you have
to pad up with love...If you
nuh pad up with love you
can’t defend yuh wicket.”
(Jamaica Observer)
24
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
25
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Women’s role in
building bridges of
Mutual Respect
Another year.
Another celebration and commemoration of International Women’s Day, March 8th .
On this day we commemorate and celebrate the
strides that women have made all over the world;
the advancement of women in areas traditionally
dominated by men.
We also commemorate the struggle of those who
have gone before us in charting the course for us
as women to ascend to even higher heights in all
that we do.
Women today can boast of many advances in
areas such as medicine, politics, business and
naturally also in those areas in which women
have excelled throughout the ages; providing for
families, educating nations and caring for the
sick and needy.
Still there are areas in which women have much
terrain to conquer and many obstacles to overcome.
The United Nations has chosen as its theme for
this International Day of the Women to place
the focus on ending impunity for violence in all
forms perpetrated against women and girls. This
scourge is still rampant in many parts of the
world and regrettably tolerated.
As we commemorate International Women’s
Day and pay homage to women in general for
their contribution to society in so many areas,
we should at the same time recognize that we
too on Sint Maarten have obstacles to overcome
as women seek to gain their rightful and earned
place in our society.
The weaker ones among us, those who have to
accept abusive situations because there is no
other way out for them, young girls who accept
abuse out of fear and shame are the persons that
we need to think out and reach out to as we commemorate International Day of the Women.
Then and only then can we break the cycle and
stop the abuse perpetrated against our mothers,
sisters and daughters.
Much to celebrate, yes, but much left to accomplish.
Commissioner of Women’s Affairs
Sarah Wescot-Williams
Women’s role in
building bridges of
Mutual Respect
I
t is indeed an honor to address women in particular on this international women’s day. There is a specific
reason that the month of March was
selected for this acclamation: March is
the month of new beginnings.
And we will also note that it is during the lenten season. It is a time of
reflection and opportunity. Women
around the world are given this wonderful opportunity to find their voices
in new ways. Women understand that
we have to do all that we can to ensure that our voices are amplified so
that we share and tell our stories.
We must stand together to build each
other up, to ensure that we have access to the tools of opportunity. No nation,
with all respect, can expect to succeed in the 21st century, if half of its people
lack opportunity, and the right to make the most of their potential. Women
need to know that there are as many paths for women as there are for men in
developing their potential and so, I challenge women to go the full length in
achieving their goals.
As women, our commitments to raising our children and nurturing our relationships both at home and in the community are paramount. Women need to be
offered the choices that would lead us to make responsible decisions that will
enable us to excel.
In the Caribbean we are fortunate to have excellent role models of women
who have led countries, businesses, universities, and other social institutions.
We are fortunate of a heritage of strong women, and today we must remind
ourselves that we must take responsibility of what is happening in society.
As women we need to take second look at what is happening around us. What
is our attitude towards the responsibility to provide a safe and caring environment for our children? What is our responsibility in ensuring that values, morals and spiritual development are instilled in our children? What happened to
ensuring that our young children and teenagers are given the kind of leadership
that will guide them throughout their lives? In fact, what happened to sunday
school? What has become of our sense of responsibility and community?
Women, we need to stand tall and take responsibility for our girls and boys.
When we sing the lyrics of “I am woman” by Olivia Newton John, we acknowledge our strength and confidence, and realize the power within us. Our responsibility is to provide leadership within this community and the new St. Maarten,
building and strengthening each other.
And finally, my greatest hope is that we women will continue to see progress
and advancement, and we will continue to enjoy our freedoms, that our children will continue to be valued and we continue to seek opportunities for them
whether they are girls or boys, and claim our dignity as women, free from fear
and filled with hope.
We are strong women; let no one make us believe otherwise. We have risen
up and conquered many challenges. We must continue to rise like maya angelou wrote and bring leadership back to our families, the community, and St.
Maarten. Without much fuss, we must lead with gentleness, sensitivity, understanding, and compassion.
Congratulations to all women on this wonderful day!
Josianne Fleming–Artsen
President of University of St. Martin
26
US/World
telligence.
Cheney completed a trip
Libby’s conviction on per- around the world to make
jury and obstruction of jus- the administration’s diptice charges placed Cheney lomatic case against Iran’s
squarely in the center of a nuclear ambitions and for
new political storm. Demo- the wars in Iraq and Afcrats said Libby was “the ghanistan.
fall guy” for his boss, who On his return, he was greetwas not charged in the case ed as a hero in a speech to a
conference of conservative
and not called to testify.
White House spokesman activists who constitute the
Tony Snow said Cheney administration’s core group
would remain an influen- of supporters. “Publicly he
tial and trusted adviser to may be scarred, he’s a damPresident George W. Bush. aged commodity, but the
Cheney
“To the idea that some- question is whether he still
where the vice president has clout in the administra- him.”
has been `diminished’. No, tion and the answer has to
Cheney’s lack of political
not true,” Snow told report- be yes,” said Stephen Hess, ambition--he said from the
ers. “The vice president still a presidential scholar at the beginning that he would
remains a trusted aide. The Brookings Institution.
not seek the presidency
“He really has a constitu- after his term as vice presivice president is somebody
upon whose counsel the ency of one--President dent ended--has helped
Bush,” Hess said. “We re- inoculate him from purely
president depends.”
The administration of- ally don’t know what that political evaluations.
fered concrete evidence of relationship is, but there
With neither Bush nor
Cheney’s continued role in is no evidence that it has Cheney destined to appear
WASHINGTON--The U.S. the last week. As the jury been impaired. The presi- on a political ballot again,
budget deficit this year will deliberated Libby’s case, dent still seems to listen to the vice president’s mounthit $214 billion, assuming
Congress approves President George W. Bush’s request for about $100 billion
for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the nonpartisan
Congressional Budget Office said.
Lower spending on hurricane rebuilding and rising corporate income tax
receipts helped eased the
fiscal situation somewhat,
CBO said, while steep war
costs were keeping the red
ink flowing.
The Bush administration
and congressional Democrats are hoping to erase
all budget deficits by 2012,
a task made difficult by demands to keep taxes low at a
time of accelerating spending on health care costs for
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (L) speaks during a media roundtable with General
the elderly.
In a monthly budget re- Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Pentagon in Washington on Wednesview issued late on Tuesday, day.
CBO said the government
incurred a deficit of $165
billion during the first five
months of fiscal year 2007
that began on Oct. 1, down
$52 billion from the shortfall for the same period of WASHINGTON--Defense gon.
saying he believed the defiscal 2006. For all of fiscal Secretary Robert Gates “I do not see China, at this clared total of 350.92 billion
2006, the U.S. budget defi- said on Wednesday he did point, as a strategic adver- yuan or about $44.94 billion
cit was $247.7 billion. The not view China as a strate- sary of the United States,” did not represent its entire
$214 billion deficit forecast gic adversary of the United he said. “It’s a partner in defense budget. But he
for all of this year was up States despite Beijing’s some respects, it’s a com- seemed to strike a different
from CBO’s January esti- growing military budget.
petitor in other respects, tone from Vice President
mate of a $172 billion defiChina said on Sunday it and so we are simply watch- Dick Cheney, who said on
cit.
would boost defense spend- ing to see what they’re do- a recent visit to Asia that
The Pentagon says it needs ing by 17.8 percent this year, ing.”
the military buildup and an
around $100 billion in which follows a 14.7 percent
Gates also said: “I think anti-satellite test were “not
emergency funds for com- increase in 2006 and is the it’s very important for us to consistent with Beijing’s
bat by April and Congress biggest recorded rise in the engage the Chinese on all stated goal of a `peaceis trying to pass a measure past decade. But Gates said facets of our relationship ful rise’.” China’s officials
by then. But first Demo- the higher spending did not as a way of building mutual often speak of a “peaceful
crats in the U.S. House of reveal much about China’s confidence.”
rise” in hopes of dispelling
Representatives and Sen- intentions.
The Pentagon chief fears about its surge in ecoate must decide on whether
“It does say that China is echoed repeated U.S. calls nomic and military power.
to try attaching conditions building its capabilities,” he for more transparency in
to that money.
told reporters at the Penta- China’s military spending,
WA S H I N G T O N - -T h e
White House offered support on Wednesday for Vice
President Dick Cheney, a
powerful proponent of the
Iraq war, after the conviction of his top aide dealt a
fresh blow to Cheney’s political reputation and raised
new questions about his influence.
The trial of Lewis “Scooter” Libby showed Cheney,
often portrayed by critics as
the shadowy Darth Vader
behind the war in Iraq, was
deeply involved in an effort
to discredit a critic of the
administration’s prewar in-
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
ing political liabilities are
less crucial, Hess said. Any
speculation Bush might replace Cheney is “silly talk,”
he said.
Snow said no one else
could judge the relationship between the president
and Cheney, who has been
one of the most powerful
and influential vice presidents in history. “What he
says is offered in confidence
and received in confidence.
Anybody who wants readouts on how they interact,
they’re in the wrong place
because neither of them
is going to talk about it,”
Snow said.
Cheney said he was “disappointed” by the conviction of Libby in the probe
of the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s iden-
tity. Plame’s husband, former Ambassador Joseph
Wilson, publicly challenged
the administration’s intelligence claims about Iraq.
Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has said there will be
no more charges and the
investigation is inactive.
With two more years remaining in the administration, Cheney is likely to
continue playing his role
as fund raiser and voice for
the administration before
selected audiences. “He’ll
continue to give red meat
to the true believers, and
maybe in larger doses than
ever. So he gets beat up by
The New York Times--you
get a badge of honor for
that in some circles,” Hess
said.
Bush:
WASHINGTON--Communist rule of Cuba
should end when ailing
leader Fidel Castro dies,
U.S. President George W.
Bush said as he prepared
for a Latin American tour
seen as aiming to counter a regional shift to the
left.
Bush’s trip, starting in
Brazil on Thursday, is
widely viewed as offering a counterpoint to the
populist appeal of Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez, whose nationalization plans he criticized.
“I strongly believe that
government-run industry
is inefficient and will lead
to more poverty,” Bush
told newspaper reporters
on Tuesday in remarks released on Wednesday. “If
the state tries to run the
economy, it will enhance
poverty and reduce opportunity.”
Bush also made clear he
is keeping an eye on Cuba
and its long-time leader.
Castro, 80, was forced to
temporarily hand power
to his brother, Defense
Minister Raul Castro,
last July after stomach
surgery. He has not appeared in public since his
surgery, aside from video
recordings and a live radio broadcast to Venezuela last week.
Castro’s fate will be decided “by the Almighty,”
Bush said. “I don’t know
how long he’s going to
live but nevertheless I do
believe that the system
of government that he’s
imposed upon the people
ought not to live if that’s
what the people decide.”
Bush took a dim view
of the possibility of Raul
Castro taking over permanently. “What I hope
happens is that we together insist that transition doesn’t mean transition from one figure to
another, but transition
means from one type of
government to a different type of government,
based upon the will of the
people,” he said.
Bush’s six-day tour will
include visits to Brazil,
Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. He
takes a message aimed at
improving his reputation
and bolstering U.S. influence in a region where
anti-American voices like
Chavez’s are rising. “I
bring a message of hope,”
Bush said.
“The trip really is to
remind people that we
care,” Bush told CNN’s
Spanish language channel on Wednesday. “I
do worry about the fact
that some way, well, the
United States hasn’t paid
enough attention to us, or
the United States really
isn’t anything more than
worried about terrorism.”
Bush avoided mentioning the fiery Venezuelan
leader’s name, particularly when asked about
Chavez’s plans to hold a
protest rally in Argentina
while he is in neighboring
Uruguay.
International
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
BRUSSELS--German Chancellor Angela Merkel and
former U.S. Vice President
Al Gore urged the EU to
lead the fight against global
warming ahead of a summit
that is due to pledge to slash
greenhouse gases but leave
key details for later.
Merkel, who will chair a
27-nation European Union
energy summit opening on
Thursday, appealed to fellow leaders to be pioneers in
combating climate change by
setting ambitious targets for
reducing emissions blamed
for heating the planet.
“It won’t be easy, but that’s
why the EU should make
commitments now and take
this pioneering position,”
Merkel told the Financial
Times newspaper.
She won encouragement
from Gore, co-author of an
Oscar-winning
documentary on the ravages of global
warming, who said a European lead was vital. “I’m trying
to get my country to change
its policies, but in the meantime the European Union
is absolutely key to helping
the world make the change
it must,” Gore told reporters on a visit to Brussels to
address a conference on biofuels.
EU leaders are expected to
commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20
percent in 2020 from 1990
levels and by 30 percent
if other industrialised and
emerging nations join in.
They will leave crucial ques-
LONDON--A Belize-born
soldier will set up an independent union for 6,000
black Commonwealth servicemen in the British army
to help them deal with what
he said was widespread racism.
Britain has looked abroad
for personnel in recent
years as low unemployment shrinks its pool of
home-grown recruits. Citizens from Commonwealth
states--mostly former colonies--can serve in British
uniform.
Marlon Clancy told the
BBC on Wednesday he had
complained without success about racism for the
seven years of his service.
In one incident, he reported
abuse but the complaint
was dropped for lack of evidence after witnesses failed
to come forward, he said.
“I was made to get really
drunk and I woke up being
taunted by senior soldiers
dressed as Ku Klux Klan
members, taunting me, calling me a nigger and other
tions of how to share the
burden of those cuts among
member states for later negotiations and they seem
highly unlikely to agree on a
binding target for renewable
energy sources sought by the
European Commission.
The EU executive wants a
mandatory goal of 20 percent
of EU energy consumption
from solar, wind and hydroelectric power by 2020 but
France and seven central European states are resisting.
British Environment Secretary David Miliband told reporters in London the main
areas of likely dispute at the
summit would be the renewables target, the national
distribution of emissions
cuts and efforts to break up
the production and distribution activities of giant energy
companies. “We now have a
set of proposals that establish
a leadership role for Europe.
If the rest of 2007 goes well
then people could look back
and say March 2007 was a
turning point where the politics of climate change caught
up with the science,” he said.
Veteran EU diplomats said
the integrated, long-term
strategy on energy and climate protection the summit will endorse would have
been unthinkable just two
years ago. “The necessity to
combat climate change and
to reduce our energy dependency, coupled with the
fact that Kyoto is now running out, have concentrated
minds,” Merkel said.
Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley talks to the media as he leaves a polling station
after placing his vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections in east Belfast, on Wednesday.
BELFAST--Northern
Ireland voted on Wednesday in
an election that could allow
the return of a government
shared between Protestants
and Catholics and help cement a lasting political
settlement after decades of
conflict.
Britain and Ireland hope the
assembly election will lead to
a power-sharing agreement
by March 26 and have threatened to impose indefinite direct rule from London with
more input from Dublin if
there is no deal by the deadline.
A 1998 peace deal ended
30 years of conflict in which
3,600 people were killed, but
there is still no agreement on
how the province should be
run between Protestants who
want to maintain union with
words like that,” he said.
Britain and Catholics seek“Commonwealth soldiers ing a united Ireland. The last
are third class. First you
have the British-born white
soldier, then you have the
British-born black soldier,
then last you have the black
Commonwealth soldier.”
Britain’s Defence Ministry
said it would investigate all
claims of racist behaviour,
but added there was “absolutely no evidence” that racism was endemic and it had
received just 26 complaints
of racist behaviour last year
from among its 130,000
army personnel and reservists.
Commonwealth numbers
in the army have swelled
from just 430 in 2000, with
so many applicants each
year from Fiji that the ministry sends a special selection team to the Pacific Island. Under army rules the
union, to be called the British Commonwealth Soldiers
Union, will not be able to
strike or conduct negotiations.
108-member assembly did
not even sit for a whole day
after it was elected in 2003.
“We have to get the assembly back and get the whole
thing moving again,” said retired teacher Eamon O’Neill,
voting in the mainly Catholic
Falls Road area.
On the largely Protestant
Shankill Road, pensioner
Sarah Robinson said everyone wanted the conflict over
and done with. “We need
our own government to work
for us, that’s what everybody
wants,” she said.
British Prime Minister Tony
Blair wants agreement in
Northern Ireland before he
steps down this year. A deal
would also suit Irish Prime
Minister Bertie Ahern who
plans to call a parliamentary
election this year. The two
leaders have worked together on a political solution for
Northern Ireland for almost
a decade.
The parties expected to do
best are the largest Protestant group, the Democratic
Unionist Party (DUP) of
firebrand preacher Ian Paisley, and Sinn Fein, political
wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Though
bitter foes, they have shown
signs of readiness to form a
government. The previous
power-sharing arrangement,
between the more moderate
parties in the communities,
fell apart five years ago and
London resumed direct rule.
“This is a time of tremendous opportunity for people
on this island,” said Sinn
Fein leader Gerry Adams
as he cast his vote. “This is
a hugely important election
and will decide the direction
of politics here in the years to
come.”
27
LONDON--Britain
on
Wednesday named veteran
counter-terrorism
officer
Jonathan Evans to take
charge of domestic spy agency MI5, as it grapples with
what authorities call a severe
and unparalleled terrorist
threat.
Evans, previously number
two at MI5, will take over on
April 8 from Eliza Manningham-Buller, who announced
late last year that she was
stepping down.
The 49-year-old classics
graduate had been hot favourite to succeed her. He faces
what officials consistently
describe as a daunting, and
growing, array of threats.
Britain suffered Western
Europe’s first Islamist suicide bombings on July 7,
2005 when four young British Muslims blew themselves
up on London underground
trains and a bus, killing 52
people. Since then, authorities say they have prevented
half a dozen Islamist attacks,
the most recent in January
when police foiled an alleged
plot to kidnap and kill a British Muslim soldier.
Security sources say their
main focus now is on “homegrown” militants, mainly
British nationals. A series of
recent investigations, including the July 7 probe, have
highlighted connections between British Muslims and
foreign-based radicals, particularly in Pakistan.
MI5 rates the terrorist
threat to Britain as “severe”,
the second highest level on
a five-point warning scale
introduced last year, meaning that an attack is “highly
likely”. London’s police chief
has called the current threat
“unparalleled”.
28
International
France’s UMP political party presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy delivers a speech on his
plan for Defence in Paris on Wednesday.
PARIS--Nicolas
Sarkozy
said on Wednesday he
would review the make-up
of the French armed forces
and give parliament greater
powers to supervise arms
deals and the secret services
if he was elected president.
Laying out his defence
programme, Sarkozy promised to maintain military
spending at 2 percent of
gross domestic product and
backed the largest armament project under review
in France, the building of a
second aircraft carrier. He
also urged the European
Union to adopt a unified
position over controversial
U.S. plans for a missile defence shield.
Sarkozy told a defence
conference organised by his
ruling conservative UMP
party that defence policy
needed to be thoroughly
reviewed in light of changing global threats. The last
review was carried out in
1994, he said.
“Since then, events have
considerably changed the
geopolitical environment in
which we live,” said the interior minister, who is leading in opinion polls ahead
of the April and May election.
The defence review would
include a “systematic audit” of France’s main armaments programmes, he said.
France is a nuclear power
and carried out its first nuclear test in 1960. Among
the projects Sarkozy backed
were an anti-missile system
and the NH90 transport helicopter programme.
The French president
serves as commander-inchief, controls the secret
services and can deploy
troops around the world for
strategic missions such as
peacekeeping operations.
“I intend to strengthen
the powers of parliament
in terms of controlling the
secret services, approving
the presence and modali-
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
LAGOS--The
presidential
candidate of Nigeria’s ruling
party is in Germany for medical care after suffering from
stress, but will return shortly
to resume the campaign, his
spokesman said on Wednesday.
Umaru Yar’Adua left Nigeria unexpectedly on Tuesday,
raising uncertainty about his
candidacy to lead Africa’s
most populous nation and
about next month’s landmark
elections themselves.
Campaign spokesman Ndu
Ughamadu said he spoke to
the candidate on Wednesday afternoon and quoted
Yar’Adua as saying: “I want
to assure (my supporters)
that I am quite fine and will
be back on the campaign trail
shortly.”
The Times of Nigeria web
site quoted Yar’Adua as saying he expected to be back by
the weekend.
The 56-year-old state governor has suffered from a
kidney complaint in the past
and rumours of sickness have
plagued his campaign. His
speech is interrupted by a
persistent cough.
Ughamadu said routine
tests on Monday had revealed Yar’Adua was under
stress and needed rest from
a gruelling campaign schedule. He flew to Germany for
specialist tests, but Yar’Adua
said doctors found no serious
illness.
“I am very much alive,”
Yar’Adua told President
Olusegun Obasanjo in a recorded telephone conversation played at the campaign
rally in the southwestern city
of Abeokuta.
ties of the overseas missions of our armed forces,
launching major armament
programmes and ratifying
defence accords,” he said.
Sarkozy said he wanted to
create a National Security
Council to advise the president on defence issues.
“This seems to me to be essential so that the president
of the republic has different
elements of expertise and
counter-expertise that are
vital for decision-making.”
Sarkozy’s main rival, Socialist candidate Segolene
Royal, has also pledged to
maintain defence spending but says the second
aircraft carrier should be
built within the framework
of a European defence programme. Sarkozy said this
was unrealistic.
“There won’t be any legitimate European policy entity to decide and respond to PARIS--French
centrist
the use of such equipment Francois Bayrou has narfor a long time to come,” rowed his gap in opinion
he said.
polls behind Socialist Segolene Royal to just one
point and is also threatening frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy, a survey released on
Wednesday showed.
The poll by the CSA institute showed Bayrou leaping to 24 points from 17 in
its last survey, just behind
Royal on 25 points and only
2 points behind Sarkozy, of
the ruling UMP party, who
still leads the race on 26
points.
The survey, to appear in
the Le Parisien daily on
Thursday, underlines the
huge advance Bayrou has
made since the start of the
year, when one poll showed
him on just 6 points. It will
also heighten the alarm
felt in the camps of the two
frontrunners who have both
Opposition newspaper
Leadership reported on
Wednesday that Yar’Adua
had collapsed due to a suspected heart attack. It said
that on regaining consciousness he said he wanted to
pull out of the presidential
campaign. Ughamadu said
the report was false and a
smear campaign to divert
attention from Yar’Adua’s
election platform.
A spokesman for the ruling
People’s Democratic Party
(PDP) said Yar’Adua was
still its candidate.
The presidential election,
which should mark Nigeria’s
first handover from one
elected civilian leader to another, is scheduled for April
21. Uncertainty is already
running high because dozens
of mostly opposition candidates have been excluded
on the basis of disputed
corruption charges. One of
Yar’Adua’s main rivals, Vice
President Atiku Abubakar, is
among candidates whose fate
remains unclear because of a
raft of lawsuits.
Nigerian presidential candidate Umaru Yar’Adua gestures
during a speech during a campaign at the Umuahia township,
Nigeria, in this March 2, 2007 file photo.
been fighting press accusations over property dealings
that have damaged their attempt to present themselves
as a new breed of politician
close to the concerns of ordinary people.
With about a quarter of
voters still undecided and
some six weeks to go before
the first round of the election on April 22, the true
significance of the poll is still
unclear. But a number of recent surveys have suggested
that Bayrou could beat Sarkozy or Royal if he makes it
to the runoff vote on May 6
by rallying supporters of the
beaten candidate.
France’s Socialists are still
traumatised by the last election in 2002 in which their
candidate, Lionel Jospin was
eliminated in the first round
by far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen and Royal faces
the most immediate threat.
But Bayrou’s growing support has also threatened
Sarkozy as his platform of
cutting public debt, helping
small business and boosting
education attracts many of
the centre-right voters Sarkozy would like to secure.
In a bid to broaden his appeal, Sarkozy is expected to
announce on Thursday that
Simone Veil, a former health
minister, Auschwitz survivor
and a highly respected figure from the political centre
ground will head his support
committee, Le Figaro daily
reported. She is expected to
be followed later by JeanLouis Borloo, the widely
respected labour minister in
the current government but
not a member of Sarkozy’s
party. He is expected to join
the candidate’s team in a
few days, the paper said.
International
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
SOLOK, Indonesia--Scores
of victims of deadly earthquakes in Indonesia were
buried in West Sumatra on
Wednesday, as aid flowed in
for thousands displaced after
their homes were flattened.
The disaster management
agency said 72 people were
killed by Tuesday’s two
quakes, which were also felt
in neighbouring Singapore
and Malaysia, and many
more were injured and thousands spent a night in the
open, frightened of further
tremors.
The cabinet secretary, Sudi
Silalahi, said 52 people had
died in West Sumatra prov-
BERLIN--U.S. plans to install a nuclear missile defence
shield in eastern Europe could herald a “new atomic age”
and hinder non-proliferation, former German Chancellor
Helmut Schmidt wrote in a newspaper.
In a guest article for Germany’s Die Zeit, Schmidt criticised Washington defence policy and said recent moves
by former Cold War rivals Russia and the United States
to modernise their nuclear weapons sent the wrong message.
“Not only the U.S. but also the whole world is on the
brink of a new atomic age,” Schmidt wrote in an article
which is due to be published on Thursday.
“As the most important power in the world at present,
it is not enough (for the U.S.) to see the world from the
national viewpoint of American security interests,” he
added.
Schmidt, aged 88, was German leader between 1974 and
1982 and played a key role in securing German backing
for the deployment of U.S. Pershing medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe in the late 1970s. He criticised
U.S. plans to place nuclear missile defence shields in Poland and the Czech Republic and noted Russia and Britain had also announced plans to modernise their nuclear
weapons’ arsenals.
The U.S. move had sparked a new nuclear arms race
and could lead to resentment among non-nuclear nations,
Schmidt said, calling on the U.S. government to set a positive example. “A new technological arms race between nations with atomic weapons is already under way,” he said.
“This development will inevitably lead to non-nuclear
states feeling left hoodwinked and left out in the cold.”
PALMACHIM AIR BASE,
Israel--Israel’s air force officialy unveiled an unmanned
spy plane on Wednesday
that experts said had been
used in the Lebanon war
and could potentially carry
missiles for covert trackand-kill missions.
The Heron, which is manufactured by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries
(IAI), is billed as being capable of flying for 40 hours
without refueling at a maximum altitude of 30,000 feet
(9,000 metres) and carrying
250 kg (550 lbs) of equipment.
Military sources said Herons first saw extensive combat actions during last year’s
Lebanon war, when they
were used to relay footage
of Hezbollah guerrillas to
Israeli ground forces.
Israel has also deployed
unmanned drones over the
West Bank and Gaza Strip
to help battle a 6 1/2-year-
old Palestinian uprising.
Foreign analysts believe
some of the drones have
been used to assassinate
Palestinian militants with
onboard missiles. Israel’s
air force has not confirmed
such a capability exists.
“It would seem that the
Heron is a very likely candidate to be an armed unmanned aerial vehicle,” said
Robert Hewson, editor of
Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons, adding that the drone’s
payload could be enough to
fit as many as four guided
missiles.
Some Israeli media have
speculated that, given the
Heron’s range, it could be
used to spy on arch-foe
Iran’s nuclear facilities. But
Hewson said this was unlikely. “This is basically a
propellor plane. If deployed
over Iran it would soon
be shot out of the sky,” he
said.
ince, where the 6.4 magnitude quake and another
measuring 6.3 were centred.
Many complained about the
slow pace of aid while others
said they were too frightened
to return to their homes. “I
need to rebuild my house. It
was totally destroyed. I have
not heard from the government if they will help,” said
Jon Asril, a 40-year-old
farmer, as his mother’s body
covered in a white cloth was
lowered into a grave.
Syamsu Rahim, the mayor of
Solok, said the government
was sending instant noodles,
rice, blankets and drinking
water for victims, adding that
the earthquake had left about
2,000 people homeless in the
worst-hit town. “The main
problem now is food supply.
The government has not sent
any food. We have to make
do with whatever we have,”
Rajudin Suwar, a 64-yearold pensioner who was one
of 30 people crammed into
a makeshift tent in Solok.
“The government has told
us we cannot go back to our
homes because of the fear of
aftershocks.”
Dozens of injured people,
most of them with head injuries, were being treated in
makeshift medical centres.
Rescue officials used heavy
equipment to clear away the
debris and government officials said there were probably no more people buried
under rubble. Rescuers amputated the arm of a man
who lay crying and trapped
under rubble for hours, but
29
An injured resident receives treatment in a makeshift hospital in Solok, West Sumatra province on Wednesday.
he later bled to death.
“We are still helping the
victims today and are continuing field operations to
work on the ruins of houses,”
said Rahim, Solok’s mayor,
adding the quake was the
worst in 80 years in the area
and had damaged about 30
schools and several government buildings. “We are still
telling people to continue to
be alert and not believe every
rumour so that they can start
getting back to normal activities.”
The Red Cross and United
Nations sent teams to help.
ROME--An Italian prosecutor is seeking life prison
terms for a Mafia mobster
and three other men for the
1982 murder in London of
Roberto Calvi, known as
“God’s banker” because of
his ties to the Vatican.
Calvi, head of the collapsed
Banco Ambrosiano, was
found hanging from a noose
under Blackfriars Bridge in
1982, with bricks and 15,000
dollars in cash stuffed in his
pockets.
His death was first ruled
a suicide. The case was reopened in 2003 as a mur-
der inquiry, with four chief
suspects, after new forensic
evidence from Italian experts
and British police concluded
Calvi was strangled and his
suicide was staged.
The prosecution says the
Mafia killed Calvi for stealing money he was supposed
to launder. He also stole
money from Licio Gelli,
former head of the secret
Masonic lodge P2 which had
links to the business and political elite in Italy, it says.
Prosecutor Luca Tescaroli began his conclusions on
Wednesday by saying Calvi
was killed “to punish him
for taking large quantities of
money from criminal organisations and especially the
Mafia organisation known
as the `Cosa Nostra’,” court
sources said.
He wants life sentences for
convicted Mafioso Pippo
Calo, once known as the
Mafia’s “Treasurer”; Sardinian financier Flavio Carboni;
alleged Rome crime boss Ernesto Diotallevi; and Calvi’s
bodyguard Silvano Vittor. All
of them deny involvement.
Carboni’s defence lawyer Renato Borzone said
the prosecutor had pre-announced the sentence he
would request “to disguise
the lack of evidence in a case
that for 25 years has repeated things already shown and
proven dozens of times”.
Carboni’s former girlfriend
Manuela Kleinszig, an Austrian, would be acquitted, the
prosecutor said.
Calvi’s death in such mysterious circumstances cast a
long shadow over the Vatican, which was implicated
financially in the collapse of
Banco Ambrosiano shortly
before Calvi’s death. At the
time it was Italy’s largest private banking failure.
The Vatican Bank owned a
small part of Banco Ambrosiano and magistrates said it
bore some responsibility for
the 1.3 billion dollars in bad
debts left by its collapse. The
Vatican denied any wrongdoing and said it had been deceived by Calvi.
ST. MAARTEN GUYANESE FOUNDATION
MEETING - Saturday March 10, 2007
The St. Maarten Guyanese Foundation wishes to
announce that its first General Members’ Meeting for
2007 will be held on Saturday, March 10, 2007 at WIFOL
Building on the Pondfill, starting at 7:30 P.M.
Special guest will be Ms. Iliana Schotborgh of the Lt.
Governor’s Cabinet who will address issues such as the
implications of the Franco-Dutch Treaty.
A new Heron spy drone flies during an official inauguration ceremony at the Palmachim air base near Ashdod on
Wednesday.
The Foundation will also discuss with members the latest
developments in Immigration.
All members are asked to take note and to be on time.
30
International
WASHINGTON--A painstaking scan of the DNA of
tumor cells shows hundreds
of previously unsuspected
genes are involved in cancer, researchers said on
Wednesday in a finding that
offers new ways to fight the
disease.
They found more than
1,000 different mutations
in just one family of genes
taken from 200 samples of
breast, stomach, colorectal
and other common tumors.
Other groups of genes also
are involved in cancer.
“We find evidence for approximately 100 new cancer
genes,” Dr. Mike Stratton,
co-leader of the Cancer Genome Project at the Sanger
Institute in Cambridge, Britain, told reporters.
He said 120 of the mutations in these genes are believed to be “driver” mutations that directly contribute
to the development of cancer. “We call them drivers
because they drive a cell to
stop behaving normally and
drive them to behave like
cancer cells,” Stratton told
the telephone briefing.
“This is a lot larger number
of cancer genes than we really expected to find,” added
the Sanger Institute’s Dr.
Andrew Futreal, who also
worked on the study, published in this week’s issue of
the journal Nature. “I would
have guessed it would have
been no more than 10, probably, given what we knew.”
The researchers chose
a family of genes that are
known to be involved in
cancer, the kinases. Kinases
are the basis of some of the
new targeted cancer therapies that have had stunning
results in a small number of
patients. Kinases can act as
relays, switching cells on and
off.
The researchers compared
the genetic sequences of
cells taken from tumor samples from cancer patients to
the DNA in normal, healthy
cells, and tracked down every mutation. “Some cancers had a lot of mutations.
Other cancers had very few,”
Stratton said.
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Indonesian rescue workers spray water into the wreckage of a plane at Yogyakarta airport on
Wednesday.
MA
TR
A
Bamba
SU
YO GYA K A RTA ,
Indonesia’s catalogue of catastrophes
Indonesia--An IndoDec 26, 2004: Magnitude 9.3 earthquake triggers
nesian passenger jet
massive tsunami killing more than 160,000 people in
Indonesia, mostly in Aceh province on Sumatra
overshot the runway
and burst into flames
Banda
SOUTH CHINA SEA
Aceh
on Wednesday as it
M A L A Y S I A
landed in the cultural
capital of Yogyakarta,
but most of the 140
people on board survived.
Dozens of passengers leapt from the
Mar 28,
2005: More
national carrier Gathan 900 people Jakarta
ruda Airline plane’s
killed, tens of
emergency exits into
thousands left
JAVA
homeless, when
surrounding
rice
8.7 magnitude quake
Tectonic
14
paddy fields to escape
hits Nias, Banyak and
500 miles
boundaries
Simeulue islands
the inferno, which re800km
I N D O N E S I A
duced the aircraft to a
Jan 4, 2006: Some 200 people are
Dec 29: Ferry sinks in storm in
Java Sea, killing more than 400 people
smouldering wreck of killed in landslides on Java
May: Mud eruption at drilling shaft
Feb 1, 2007: Rivers in the capital,
twisted metal.
Sidoarjo displaces up to 15,000
Jakarta, burst their banks, killing 57
Twenty-three people, at
people and inundates villages and
and displacing 450,000
including two Aus- factories, spewing 100,000 cubic
Mar 3: Landslides triggered by
metres
of
mud
a
day
tralians, died in the
days of heavy rain kill at least 40
May: Explosions eject hot ash
people on Indonesian island of Flores
crash, health ministry
down slopes of Mount Merapi, forcing
Mar 6: Earthquake strikes
national crisis centre 15,000 villagers to flee
Sumatra, killing at least 70 people and
chief Rustam Pakaya
May 27: Earthquake off coast near damaging hundreds of buildings
said in a late after- Yogyakarta kills at least 6,200 people
14 Mar 7:
and injures more than 36,000. An
noon text message estimated 1.5 million left homeless
Twenty-two
people killed
to Reuters. Earlier
Jun 19: Flash floods and mud
but scores
a provincial govern- flows kill up to 300 people in southern
escape after
ment official had put Sulawesi
Indonesian
17: Earthquake measuring
Boeing 737
the death toll at 48, 7.7 Jul
triggers tsunami off southern
bursts into
while Garuda had Java, killing at least 600 people
flames on
landing in
Dec 23: Heavy rain triggers floods
subsequently said it
cultural capital
that kill more than 100 people and
was 22.
of Yogyakarta
displace over 400,000 on Sumatra
Pujobroto, chief
© GRAPHIC NEWS
Picture: Associated Press
spokesman for Garuda, said flight GA 200 was warned the flight would be ficials earlier said four were
a Boeing 737-400 plane car- turbulent. “As we approached missing.
rying 133 passengers and the ground and I could see
Two survivors, both in the
seven crew when it crashed at roofs from our window, the Australian air force, had told
around 7 a.m. after a sched- plane was still swaying and him the aircraft landed too
uled flight from Jakarta.
shaking,” said Ruth Meigi fast, Downer said. “The two
One survivor told Reuters Panggabean, who works for who are in the best health
that passengers had been the aid group World Vision. told me that the plane came
“Then the plane was hurtling in to the runway
Authentic
slammed to the ground at a much greater speed
Professor
Spiritual Healer
and skidded forward and than an aeroplane would
Will solve all your problems: love, return of love,
slammed once again before normally land at,” he said.
everlasting love, marriage, luck in business, trade and
it came to a stop,” she said.
“They themselves thought
finance. Protection against enemies and all dangers. Sexual
The flight was carrying some the plane would never stop
power. Exorcism, success in exams or on the job.
Australian diplomats, offi- in the length of the runway,
Immediate, amazing results. Discreet, reliable,
cials and journalists who had which it duly didn’t. They
effecient. Result in 3 days, 100% success.
been accompanying Foreign just ploughed across the
The only
Payment after results.
Minister Alexander Downer, end of the runway, across a
Psychic
EVERY DAY BY APPOINTMENT who solves your
who was not aboard, on a vis- road, hit a bank and a culvert
love prob
lems
it to Indonesia. Downer said and went into a paddy field.
526-4618 / 553-0902 up to five Australians were When it hit the bank and the
unaccounted for, after of- culvert, it exploded.”
GENEVA--More women
are working than ever before, but most are stuck in
low-wage jobs and virtually all are paid less than
their male counterparts,
the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) said on
Thursday.
The United Nations agency said there were 100 million more women in the
workforce last year than in
1996. But, for a total of 1.2
billion employed or seeking
work, there remained sizeable gaps in their status, job
security and pay.
The female share of overall global employment is
40 percent--the same as a
decade ago--and the proportion of women seeking
work has fallen in several
regions including Eastern Europe, South Asia
and sub-Saharan Africa.
Women are more likely to
be unemployed than men,
and make up the bulk of
the world’s “working poor”,
whose families live on less
than $1 per person per day,
the ILO found.
“The pace with which gaps
are closing is very slow,” it
said in the report released
on International Women’s
Day.
One of the reasons female
labour force participation
has stagnated is that more
women are accessing higher
education and staying out
of the workforce longer, the
report said. Female literacy
rates are lowest in south
and west Asia, sub-Saharan
Africa and the Arab world,
the regions where women
are most likely to work in
agriculture. Many of these
women work as vendors
in local food markets, and
have more difficulty than
men in accessing land and
credit, the ILO said.
Globally, the service sector
now employs more women
than agriculture or industry. Men, however, tend to
dominate the better-paid
jobs in financial services
and real estate, with most
women working in community, social and personal
services.
Women are also disproportionately employed in
sectors where wages tend to
be lower and have been declining recently, the report
said, noting a concentration of female employment
in “The Five Cs: caring,
cashiering, catering, cleaning and clerical”. “Many
of these jobs are in smaller
non-unionised firms, where
women have less bargaining
power and less possibility
to improve their economic
situation,” it said, noting
that even high-skill jobs pay
women only 88 percent of
the male wage.
BRUSSELS--Airlines will
have to meet any costs
they incur in a future EUU.S. scheme on sharing
air passenger data to fight
terrorism, a senior European Union official said on
Wednesday.
Brussels and Washington
began tough talks last week
to replace a temporary deal
under which European airlines must release up to 34
items of passenger data, including addresses and credit
card details, to be allowed
to land at U.S. airports.
To reassure passengers on
privacy protection, the EU
wants to move from a system in which U.S. authorities take data from airlines’
databases to one where it is
up to airlines to pass on specific data, European Commission Director General
for Justice, Liberty, Security
Jonathan Faull told a conference in Brussels.
“There is no doubt that
these things cost money,
but airlines have to invest
in security, it is part of their
business,” said Faull, one of
the EU officials leading the
air passenger data talks with
Washington.
Negotiators
would try to keep costs to a
strict minimum, he added.
Airlines rejected the argument, saying they should not
have to pay for security deals
decided by governments.
“Security is the states’ responsibility,” said Monique
de Smet, regional director
for the International Air
Transport Association, who
attended the same conference. “We are of course
ready to cooperate, but in a
case like this, with a deal between two authorities. We
consider we should not have
to pay.”
Faull said talks with Washington would be difficult
but he was confident a deal
would be reached before
the temporary agreement
expires in July. The talks focus on how long the United
States would be allowed to
store the data and which
agencies should have access
to it.
Business
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
BEIJING--Forget how much
coal it burns. Forget its double-digit economic growth.
Forget subsidised prices and
the fact that a new car hits
China’s roads every six seconds.
The biggest obstacle in
China’s path to curbing its
wasteful energy ways may
be the roofs over its citizens’
heads. Facing the biggest
mass urbanisation in human
history, China must slow the
pace of new building and persuade its increasingly well-off
urbanites to live in smaller
houses if policymakers hope
to meet efficiency targets,
analysts say.
With around 400 million
people expected to flock to
its cities over the next two
decades, a third more than
the entire population of the
United States, that’s no easy
task. “We can’t support this
kind of expansion because
we don’t have enough resources,” said Jiang Yi, Vice
Dean of the School of Architecture at prestigious Tsinghua University, referring to
the increasingly large buildings going up as urban areas
expand at a rate of nearly 2
billion square metres a year.
Efficiency is a top priority
at this week’s annual meeting
of China’s parliament, with
Beijing chasing an ambitious
goal of cutting the amount of
fuel used to generate each
dollar of national income
by 20 percent by the end of
this decade. The number-two
energy consumer’s heavy industry and growing car fleet
have shouldered most of the
blame for the worsening pollution and increased reliance
on imported oil, but analysts
are now pointing to the construction and housing sector
as well.
Around half the world’s
new buildings go up in China
each year, and the construction and use of the country’s
houses, offices and malls
accounts for around 40 percent of its energy use, said
sustainable engineering expert Robert Watson. “The
increase in living space and
electronic consumer goods is
the biggest single contributor
to growth in China’s energy
use,” Watson, Chairman and
Chief Scientist at consultancy American Sinotech, told
Reuters.
“When you compare auto
use to what it used to be, it is
huge, but when you compare
it to building, it’s nothing,”
he said.
Construction and building
materials suck up 16-18 percent of China’s energy, while
direct electricity use in homes
and offices for everything
from lights and cooling to elevators accounts for another
TEHRAN--Iran’s parliament on Wednesday approved the rationing of subsidised gasoline from May
22, while raising prices, in
moves that aim to cut costly
fuel imports but could stoke
inflation and arouse public
criticism.
Iran is OPEC’s second
largest oil producer but
does not have enough refining capacity to meet its
domestic gasoline needs.
It therefore has to import
about 40 percent of its requirements, which analysts
say could make it vulnerable to sanctions.
World powers are considering toughening U.N. sanctions on Iran because of its
refusal to rein in its nuclear
activities. But Western diplomats say fuel imports are
unlikely to be targeted because it would hurt the public not the government. The
West accuses Iran of seeking to build atomic bombs
under cover of a civilian nuclear programme, a charge
Tehran denies.
“With a positive vote of
lawmakers, gasoline will be
rationed at a price of 1,000
rials (about 11 U.S. cents)
per litre from the start
of Khordad (the Iranian
month beginning May 22),”
Iran’s ISNA news agency
reported. It said the government would decide the
ration quantity and price
of unrationed fuel by April
20.
Motorists currently pay 800
rials (about 9 U.S. cents) a
litre, some of the cheapest
fuel in the world. Analysts
say such a heavy subsidy
encourages waste, boosts
smuggling to neighbouring
states and is a hefty drain
on government coffers.
Iranian laws have to be
vetted by the constitutional
watchdog, the Guardian
Council. One Iranian oil
official said the plan approved by parliament could
still be amended before implementation. “The parliament approval is not final,”
he said.
Iran’s gasoline plans are
scrutinised by energy traders, who send a gasoline
tanker to Iranian quaysides
every two days. This cost
about $5 billion in the past
12 months but Iran’s energy exports are expected
to earn over $50 billion this
year.
In the past, the government has backed away from
rationing because analysts
say it fears a public backlash in a country where
cheap, abundant fuel is
considered a national right.
But analysts say the government prefers rationing
to hiking prices because it
is already facing mounting
criticism from parliament
and the public for climbing
inflation, now officially running at 16 percent, a figure
economists say is conservative.
Stock Market Report
Key Stock Movements March 7 2007
DAY’S CHANGE
CLOSE IN POINTS HIGH
12,192.45 -15.14
12,786.64
(Feb 20/07)
6,156.5
+18.0
6,444.4
(Feb 19/07)
TOKYO
16,764.62 -79.88
18,215.35
(Feb 26/07)
FRANKFURT 6,617.75 +22.75
7,027.59
(Feb 26/07)
NEW YORK
LONDON
LOW
10,667.39
(Jan 20/06)
5,519.6
(Jun 13/06)
14,218.60
(Jun 13/06)
5,292.14
(Jun 13/06)
London Currency Fixing Rates March 7 2007
Following are the middle exchange rates
for leading currencies against the dollar:
CURRENT HIGH
LOW
1.3181
1.3185
1.311
116.03
116.89
116.02
1.9339
1.9359
1.9262
1.2167
1.2248
1.2167
0.7778
0.7795
0.7742
2.119
2.1206
2.109
1.1778
1.1798
1.1747
7.8169
7.8188
7.8154
11.1767
11.18
11.139
7.404
7.4477
7.346
Euro
Japanese Yen
British Pound
Swiss Franc
Australian Dollar
Brazilian Real
Canadian Dollar
Hong Kong Dollar
Mexican Peso
South African Rand
Gold (ounce) $649.20 (644.80)
quarter, Watson added.
To prevent a demand spike,
the Construction Ministry
has said new buildings should
become 50 percent more efficient in the five years to 2010,
and substandard projects will
lose their permits. China will
also invest 1.5 trillion yuan
($194 billion) in renovations by 2020, and Watson
estimates the market for efficient buildings and upgrades
will be worth over $55 billion
within five years alone.
But even if efficiency levels
rise, growing affluence may
still strain power supplies, as
average living space climbs
from around 30 square metres (323 sq ft) per person
common across Asian cities such as Tokyo and Hong
Kong towards 45 sq m seen
in Europe. Not only does
that drive up the cost of heating and cooling the space, it
requires more and more energy to produce the concrete
and steel needed to build the
structures.
“There are two separate
problems--we need to control the total scale of the
construction industry and
we must reduce energy consumption,” Jiang told Reuters.
Slowing down the pace of
construction would also help
meet a government goal of
cooling the country’s economy, he added, and tie in with
efforts to prevent investment
from overheating amid worries about a possible real-estate bubble.
Premier Wen Jiabao on Monday told parliament, which
holds sessions in a Soviet-era
monolith itself scheduled for
a green upgrade, that China
would “resolutely control”
the amount of land used for
construction, singling out
private houses for criticism.
But with the re-zoning of rural land for construction one
of the easiest ways for local
governments to make extra
31
cash, Beijing may face an uphill struggle.
At least increasing numbers
of the buildings springing up
around the Chinese capital
do boast green credentials,
but not all projects can back
up their claims. And cheap,
state-set power prices combined with a relatively low
level of home ownership and
a lot of speculation, mean
even genuinely “green” developments are rarely driven
by the economic motives
needed to generate a real
shift in China’s habits.
Instead of saving money on
utility bills, they are designed
to sell luxury apartments in a
crowded market. “It is limited to more high-profile developments at the moment,
clients are concerned about
the environment and some
kind of green label helps
on the sales market,” said
Frederick Wong, sustainable
buildings consultant at global
design firm Arup.
A visitor watches containers at the Yangshan deepwater port in Shanghai on Wednesday.
BEIJING--China’s leaders
will use a variety of policy
instruments, including a
stronger exchange rate, to
rebalance an economy that
is likely to grow 10 percent
this year, a prominent cabinet adviser said on Wednesday.
But Chen Qingtai, vicehead of the Development
Research Centre, a think
tank under the State Council, China’s cabinet, said
Beijing was unlikely to sanction a sharp rise in the yuan
for fear of the short-term
economic consequences,
notably on employment.
“The central government
will continue to use different tools, including the exchange rate, to change the
inefficient way of economic
development,” Chen told
Reuters. He was speaking
on the sidelines of a meeting of the Chinese People’s
Political Consultative Conference, the top advisory
body to the National People’s Congress, China’s parliament, which is holding its
annual session.
“There are members of
the corporate world complaining that yuan appreciation is putting pressure
on them. Well, I think
that’s quite good. They
have to feel pressure to increase the value-added of
their products,” Chen said.
“They have to be told that
relying on cheap labour is
not sustainable.”
Chen’s 10 percent growth
forecast is much stronger
than the “guidance” of 8
percent offered by Premier
Wen Jiabao in his work report to parliament on Monday. Chen said the 8 percent figure was meant more
as a signal to local cadres
of the central government’s
determination to make the
world’s fourth-largest economy greener and more efficient rather than gunning
for growth at all costs.
He said Beijing would
adopt stricter anti-pollution policies and increase
charges for water, land and
resources to curb investment backed by local governments; however, there
might be fewer instances
of the harsh administrative
punishment meted out last
year to officials responsible
for unauthorised projects.
32
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
33
34
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
1997 Lexus ES300, 55,000 miles.
Excellent condition. Gold exterior,
tan interior, to many extras to list.
$7,500. Call: 580-9755.
For sale: Brand new Yumbo
Roadpower 125cc Scooter. Color yellow. Very fast, a must see!
$1,750. Contact: J@526-5766 or
553-5766. All Miami motors documents.
2006 VW Touareg. Black,
V6, automatic, 4x4, low mileage. $36,500 only. Call Super
Bikes: 544-2704/544-2779 or
visit our website www.sxmcar.com.
For sale: 1998 Toyota corolla, ac,
fully loaded. Call: 554-2250.
Leaving the island: Like new,
Chevrolet Trailblazer and Honda
S2000. 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer,
8.500 miles only, blue, negotiable. 2002 Honda S2000 limited,
40.000 miles, blue. Both are clean.
Call: 553-3335 or 526-2108.
2001 Mitsubishi Galant, V6 for
sale. Automatic, power windows &
locks, CD player etc. $7,500. Call:
00590-690-58-01-25.
1998 Hyundai Elantra (in storage most of the year) White with
undamaged original gray interior,
except for some sun damage to
dashboard. $1,850. Please call
0690-88-91-16 or 0690-22-3456
if interested.
For sale: 2002 Jeep Liberty, low
miles, 6 cyl. Metalic, blue. Very
clean, new tires, CD player, automatic, $15,000. Call: 526-0380.
For sale: Blue Chevrolet pick-up
S-10 1996. Excellent condition,
$5,500. Please call Rudy: 5269370/ 586-6162.
For sale: SMART Fortwo - Good
condition, low mileage, air-conditioned. Economical gas consumption and easy parking. Asking price $5,000 negotiable. Call
522-2567.
For sale: Dodge Dakota SLT
2005. 6,000 miles, 9,654 km. Tel:
00590-690-76-20-03.
Hyundai Sonata 2006 loaded.
Excellent condition $14,500. Ford
Explorer 2002 with custom rims,
low miles. Great Buy $13,000.
Toyota Corolla 2005. Sports model
$15,000. Prices are negotiable. Tel:
526-3540/ 522-5519.
For sale: 2001 (2 door) Dodge
Stratus V6. Color gray, low mileage, automatic and in good condition. Contact: 542-4429 or 5263867.
For sale: Toyota Corolla 2004.
Price $9,995. Contact: 553-8686.
Mercedes Benz 380 SE, 1983,
good engine, body old $500. Tel:
543-6001 or 527-0619.
Grand Cherokee Jeep 2000. Automatic, fully loaded, V8 engine,
white. Call: 522-1839.
Excellent condition. 2004 Nissan Almera, gold color. Must sell.
Call: 522-8480.
For sale: Custom made bamboo
furniture set. Extra large couch,
loveseat, chair & ottoman, 2 end
tables. All offers considered. Call:
522-2656.
For immediate sale brand
new business NV for excellent price. Never been used.
Good for import, export,
wholesale & retail of clothing items, hats, sunglasses,
cosmetic, jewelry, etc. Call:
552-0802.
For sale: 25 ft. Wellcraft boat.
2x 150 HP Mercury and trailer,
$15,000. Call: 523-6738.
For sale: Simpson Bay Yacht
Club, extra large 1 bedroom, 2
bath, pool view. Private garden,
ground floor. $295,000 priced for
immediate sale. Please call: 5222656.
Land on the beach. Exceptional
situated in Simpson Bay, 380 m2.
Building permit accepted for a 3
bedroom house. Last opportunity to get your dream house on
the beach. No agency please.
$420,000. Call: 526-0380.
Pointe Blanche: Caribbean style
home for sale by owner. Beautiful never obstructed view. Partly
marbled, jacuzzi, pool. Home
needs some repair. $455,000.
Sale as is, all cost for buyer. Tel:
(599)522-4624.
Mary’s Fancy: 4 bedrooms,
2 bathrooms. Completely remodeled, great valley and partially ocean view. Price reduced
$369,000. Call: 557-1880.
Premium beach front condo
in Pelican Key. 1 bedroom,
luxurious apartment available at
preconstruction price $345,000.
Completion date: May 2007. Great
investment opportunity. Call: 5201401. www. 4sale.sxmss.com. No
agents please.
Own your own Green
Suzuki 1998, pair of 140 HP, 25’
heart home from as low as
shaft, oil injection. Very quiet, 2
$60,000. Assembled in only 2
strokes, stainless steel props. Conweeks. Hurricane proofed, 2
trol engages. $3,900 for both or
bedrooms and 3 bedrooms.
$2,500 single. Call: 557-1880.
Place your order now! For
2003 (but in storage for the past
detailed information please
two years so almost new) 19’
contact Mr. Maraj e-mail:
Polar (like Boston Whaler) Center
ralph_maraj@yahoo.com.
Console Sport/Fishing boat with
115 HP 4 Stroke EFI Yamaha motor. Many extras and all required
Pelican Key: Luxury oversafety equipment. $18,500. Please
sized condos. Available
call 0690-88-91-16 or 0690-22in May. Designer kitchens,
3456.
washer/dryer. Assigned parking, direct pool/beach access.
For sale:285Yu-gi-oh cards $34.99.
Good financing available. 1
5 Xbox games $65, ipod charger
$10. Call: 526-0722 or 527-1860.
bed 3rd floor, huge balcony
overlooking the turquoise
New four stove burner with oven
Caribbean $380,000. 2 bed/
for sale. Size 19x21x32 inches.
lock out ( one bedroom +
Call: 553-6438.
studio) 3rd floor, spectacular
Furniture/appliance for sale. Ratview $495,000. Spacious
tan livingroom set $175. Kenmore 18’
2 bed, extensive patio with
dishwasher $85. Call: 520-5026.
270 degrees of landscaping
Boston Whaler. 18ft. 150 HP. VHF
$475,000. Piet, Nanda or
marine radio-phone, life jackets,
Alan tel: 544-3005, ex 1141.
wake tube $10,500 or best offer. Call:
00590-690-88-40-70 omdehoek@ (800 m2 land for sale) Mary’s
yahoo.com.
Fancy, view on valley, sloped, all
utilities available. Sale by owner
$95,000. Serious inquiries only. Tel:
554-8979 between 6 - 10 pm. Email: dandgrealty@gmail.com.
(Watch this). For tranquility, a well
4 bedroom, 3 bath home with kept home for sale. 2 bedrooms in
swimming pool in Bel Air. First Betty’s Estate, the right choice. For
reasonable offer will be accepted! harmonious couples. The price
Go see from outside & call me to reduced $292,000 + more surview inside. #7 Rabbit Hill Road, prise. Tel: 523-7424.
$495,000 negotiable! Call: 5246275.
Rainbow Beach Club at Cupecoy. 2 brand new units, fully
furnished, each has 2 bedrooms,
2 bathrooms. Direct ocean views. Accommodation in Barbados &
No brokers please. $450,000 & Airport pick up. 5 minutes drive
$495,000. Call: 580-9755.
to U.S. Embassy Reasonable
rates. Call Janice Ward, Rossomar
Sports restaurant & bar.
Guest House for more information
Popular Simpson Bay restauat: 001-(246) 424-0098 E-mail:
rant for sale. Price has been
rossomarrentals@hotmail.com
Website: http://barbados.org/apt/
reduced to $398,000 due to
rossomar.
death in family. All reasonable
offers will be considered. ConWhite Sands Beach Club, on
tact Dapper Dan: 557-6200.
the mile long beach of Simpson
Bay, left of Beacon Hill. One & two
bedrooms from $500 weekly. LonI have 5 restaurants for sale.
ger stays upon request. Appoint4 in Simpson Bay and 1 in
ments only: 545-4496.
Marigot. Call Dan: 557-6200.
For rent on prime location
in Simpson Bay, 2 commercial spaces. Good for
small business, massages,
nails, beauty or similar types
of business. Spaces located
in a very busy fitness/training
business. For info call: 5247700.
Coral Shore, ocean view, 2 bedroom, 2 baths. Livingroom, kitchen, porch, furnished. Safe, beautiful, available. $2,500 per month
plus utilities, including internet. Call
Jay: 586-4330.
Townhouse for rent in Point
Pirouette, gated community. 3
bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms, swimming pool, jacuzzi, semi furnished
$2,600 per month. Contact: 5202304.
Simpson Bay: Studio includes,
hot/cold water, cable, cooking
gas, cleaning service. $750/ m
plus 2 months security. Beacon Hill:
One bedroom on the water, nice
deck, internet $1,100/m. Call: 5226865.
For rent: Semi-furnished home
in Belair. 3 bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms, common pool and terrace
with ocean view. $1,800 per month.
Contact: (599)522-3475. Available
July 1st, 2007.
Dawn Beach Estate: A two bedroom, two bathroom, semi furnished. Utilities included, 24 hours
security. $1,600 p/m. Call: 5543182/ 554-3181.
Philipsburg Jetty building: Large
2 bedroom/bathroom apartment.
One on the top floor $1,600, one
ground floor $1,100. Furnished,
parking available, private, air conditioned, porch with Great Bay view.
Call: 581-2324.
For rent in Dutch Quarter, 2 bedroom apartment. Ceiling fans, built
in closets, water heater, large porch
$625. Call: 523-9384.
Pointe Blanche: New 2 bedroom
apartments. Different designs to
choose from! Terraces, views, off
street parking, convenient location. Kitchen appliances, security,
intercom, internet included, $1,200
p/m. Utilities not included. Call: 5535710.
Pointe Blanche: 1 studio fully furnished, cable & utilities included.
Internet with 24 hrs. security $950.
Call: 522-3139/526-4757.
St. John’s Estate, gated & quiet
community, 2 bedroom, 2½ bath
newly renovated townhouse, new
appliances, washroom, ac, semi
furnished, garden. Beautiful location, $1,600 p/m. Must see. Please
call: 554-6275.
For rent: Bico bldg. & Annex
Virgon bldg. Philipsburg, apartments/offices. Good deal! Well
kept! Prime location! Close to St.
Rose Arcade. Immediately available. $1,300 and $2,000. Call: 5808482/ 542-0204.
Pelican Key: Fully furnished and
equipped 3 bed/3 bath. Beautiful
view home, common pool, air conditioned. $2,500 a month. Available
now! Call: 522-1320/ 544-4200.
Studio apartment for rent. $650,
fully furnished, hot & cold water,
cable TV. Union Farm Estate. Call:
586-4124.
For rent: 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom.
Apartment located in Simpson Bay.
Quiet area. Call: 557-1184.
We do long and short term
storage. Please call us at 5576719 or 551-0016.
For rent: Beacon Hill, 4 bedrooms townhouse, 2 baths. Modern kitchen, laundry, 2 terraces, 2
livingroom areas, parking. Available
immediately. Call Lynne: 552-2134
or 524-2720.
Hotel on Saba hiring: Waitress & Bartender with
experience, Office clerk
(multi lingual, computer knowledge), Dive instructor with
valid working papers. Barbara
0416 2740.
Job vacancy: Obersi Electronics has opening for
graphics designer, knowledge of Photoshop, Coral
Draw, other programs required. Pleasant personality,
English, French, Spanish very
welcome. Call for interview
appointment 556-2680.
Urgent! Experienced chef
needed for a new restaurant
in Philipsburg. Must have
Dutch working papers. Tel:
552-2728.
Restaurant is looking for
waitress and cook with
experienced. Working papers required. Call: (599) 5816086.
Looking for service supervisor, parts supervisor,
salesman (French speaking). Please call Marshall
Motor World. Tel: 544-5294
for information.
A honest young lady is looking
for a babysitting job, day worker,
housekeeping, to look after an
elderly lady or restaurant helper.
Contact: 581-9156.
A young lady is seeking for a job
as a babysitter or as a housekeeper. Call: 523-1156.
Honest hard working lady is
seeking days work, half day, full
day. Babysitting or care giver. Very
reliable. Tel: 586-1351.
Honest hard working lady is
seeking a job as a day worker,
babysitter night or day. Please
call: 580-3345 anytime. Can be
recommended.
Flexible Dutch girl (22) is looking for work. I can give your young
child private Dutch lessons at your
home. Or do you need a qualified babysitter/nanny? Call Laura:
(599)526-0907.
God fearing honest young lady
with experienced is seeking a
job to babysit, housekeeper for a
small family or to take care of the
elderly. God bless you. Call: 5245263.
Tahitian Noni: Order wholesale
from the States. $139 per case to
U.S. residents or have it forwarded
to the island. Call: 800-445-2969,
use your credit card + my dist #
1286916, Linda A. Trulio RN. US
201-845-8813.
For all your carpentry work etc.
Call Erik: 522-4929. Good prices.
Want to beat the traffic? Let
a personal scooter courier
help you. We run errands, deliveries and pay bills, business
& personal. Fast, easy, smart.
Call: 554-7081.
Need someone to drop off &
pick up your child from school?
Need not to worry. Call Mr. Dry cry.
Tel: 522-11361/ 581-1413.
Dutch lessons. Would you like
tutoring for your child? Home
work assistance needed or Dutch
language course? Lessons are
scheduled after school, in groups
or private. Please call: (599) 5817403.
Opinion
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Allow me first to congratulate all women of St.
Maarten and elsewhere on
the occasion of International Women’s Day.
The purpose of the day is
to recognize that securing
peace and social progress
and the full enjoyment of
human rights and funda-
mental freedoms requires
the active participation,
equality and development
of women, and to acknowledge women’s contribution
to the strengthening of international peace and security.
UNIFEM chose the theme
for 2007 as “Ending Impu-
nity for Violence against
Women.” While the theme
obviously relates to an important topic, the alarming
motive for the theme is the
fact that violence against
women and young girls
alike, is on the rise world
wide. One would think the
opposite taking in consider-
Let’s look at “Marriage”
or just two people starting
a relationship. It is indeed
the most serious commitment two persons can make
in their lives. The challenge
has just started, it requires
both persons working together to live up to this serious commitment. Love and
commitment must be fully
given for success of this relationship; it can’t be “I’ll
do this if you do that.”
When it all began you
were head over heels in
love. Something happened,
pretending things are fine
when deep down, you know
it’s not, disturbs the strong
bond of the relationship.
You should have an open
affair, stating frankly and
loving about the problem
and solve it in time. If help
is needed seek it by asking someone you can trust.
Sometimes being on the
outside looking in makes
a difference, as they are
not directly in the problem
and remember attitude determines the altitude of a
problem. Please don’t address the issue in anger.
Working on relationships
takes time and commitment. If you permit outside
activities to have higher
priority the relationship
will suffer badly. Marriages
or relationships have to be
nurtured and finding time to
nurture it is very important.
When the relationship is
well nurtured it can handle
the day to day conflicts and
strengthen a commitment
that grows deeper each day.
There is no promise that all
is going to be fine after one
problem is resolved. There
might be bumps on the way
but take time to fix it and
start again. It’s a life time
commitment.
Trust each other, support
each other, and compliment each other for even
the smallest things. Give
what the individual feels
he or she needs rather than
what you think they need
that can be done by knowing your spouse, being a
best friend and having good
communication. Don’t give
each other what you want
versus what you each need,
give each other self expressions.
Relationships are a joint
project in life in which both
parties contribute equally.
Relationships don’t stay
constant as in everything
else, there will be changes
and the individuals involved
must be willing to adapt to
the most current need of
the relationship. It is very
important to develop a
friendship that will deepen
in time with unconditional
love.
Regardless of who you are
forgiveness is the master
key for all healthy relationships and good health. But
there must be a desire by
both parties to really make
this work. Without that
desire no psychologist, no
friend or anyone can make
this work. Without that desire you will unconsciously
sabotage the relationship.
Sometimes just about anyone you are comfortable
with can help in the healing process but you have to
have the desire to want it to
work.
Maturity will do a lot in
maintaining a loving relationship if you are mature
enough to put your relationship above your personal
needs, compromise instead
of being selfish. Love has to
be unconditional. Pray for
the understanding of love,
meditate on it daily. It is a
wonderful thing, it can cast
out fear. Love conquers all
things, it cures diseases,
opens doors, there is no
gulf it can bridge, it throws
down walls, it redeems sin,
doesn’t matter how deep
rooted the trouble, how
hopeless the outlook of
things, how muddled the
tangle, how great the mistakes. A sufficient realization of love can dissolve it
all. If one only loves enough
you could be the happiest
and most powerful being in
the world.
The flesh is weak, so when
trouble comes your way
turn to 1 Corinthians 13, let
it sink in. Forgiveness and
love are life’s master keys
to a successful relationship.
Pray to God, give thanks,
praise him no matter your
state of mind. God loves
praise and thanks, his mercies endorses forever.
God bless our women on
this International Women’s
Day.
F. Joseph
Vice President
BPW-St. Maarten
ation all of the world’s programs, action groups, foundations and other entities
that have been established
to combat violence against
women. But, the reality is,
women are still subjected
to all sorts of ill-treatment.
It is no different on St.
Maarten.
As much as Safe Haven
and our local women’s organizations have done and
continue to do, violence
against women is still very
prevalent in our community. Many of it goes unreported, so facts and figures
could be even worse than
what we know.
It is my hope for this Women’s Day that the community and women in particular,
assist and support abused
women. Help each other.
As much as the violence itself, it is also the fear of violence that controls women’s
lives. Help a woman who
you know needs the help
ACROSS
1 Bulk
5 "A Streetcar
Named Desire"
character
Remote
Empowered
Made neat
Fuss
Celestial pulsar
Dine
Inhuman
creatures
21 Crumb carrier
22 Formal letter
24 Lack of color
27 Shortcomings
28 Commercial
pieces
29 Part of an eye
31 Really small
34 Fast-food
option
35 Easy task
38 Annapolis
letters
39 Excoriate
42 Bullpen stat
43 Cry out loud
45 Rabbit relative
46 Waistcoats
48 Dwell
50 Lawn moisture
51 Personal views
53 Wheel of
fortune?
58 Drunker
60 Bellow
61 Competed
62 Eminem's
music
63 Becomes more
level
66 Small bill
67 Imposes, as
taxes
68 Catholic leader
69 Mouse surface
70 Puts up
71 Mimic
but might be afraid to take
that next step.
Entrenched social attitudes continue to define
violence against women as
“normal” practice and not
as a severely punishable offence. Laws alone will not
help. Only when public perception changes through
community support will
violence against women be
viewed as a shocking, unacceptable violation rather
than an invisible norm. Discussions on women’s safety
must, therefore, begin from
the recognition of women’s
right to a life free of violence. As violence against
women violates their fundamental human rights, such
“private” matters need to
be brought into the “public” discourse.
As the mass media penetrates every segment of the
society, I hope our friends
in the media highlight some
information to provide a
35
framework for sensitive and
informed reporting, raise
public awareness and even
frame public debate.
The power of the press
is enormous. I hope that
mass media professionals
become one more support
group to end all violence
against women. Change can
come about only through
collective efforts and a
combination of factors.
Your support is needed to
highlight abuse and safeguard women’s rights.
To all women who are or
have ever been subjected
to violence I say fight like
your life depends on it because the way of life you
have come to know - does. I
wish you all God’s guidance
and much strength on this
Women’s Day 2007.
Maria Buncamper-Molanus
DP Senator and Island
Council Woman
11
14
15
16
17
19
20
DOWN
1 Craze
2 Aids in
wrongdoing
3 Partly melted
snow
4 Immovable
5 Rocks
6 Traces of color
7 Asner and
Ames
8 Dieter's
catchword
9 Jumping game
10 Dantley of the
NBA
11 Freeway speed
zones
12 Fully grown
13 Lassos
18 Travis and
Quaid
23 Instigates
litigation
25 Actor McKellen
26 Diligent
searcher
30 Shrek, for one
31 Bath place
32 NASA partner
33 Absorbed
completely
34 Warty
amphibian
36 Gallery filler
37 Ballerina steps
40 Cheater
41 Writer Waugh
44 Kodak
attachment
47 She sheep
49 Quell
50 Illegal coercion
51 Barber's
sharpener
52 Climbing vine
54 Two quartets
55 Group of
scouts
56 Brownish gray
57 Word on a door
59 Glowing review
64 Muscle spasm
65 Whirlpool tub
Opinion
36
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
The role of the woman has
changed dramatically in the
past 100 years or so. But
what has been a constant is
that the teaching profession
has always had women as a
driving force in the education of future generations. concerned we must keep in be taught to our youngsters
Women’s Day reminds us mind certain things. First, in schools, because there is
all that where women are respect women. This should a marked lack of respect in
general. Second, the young
We are truly saddened by the sudden
ladies in our schools need
passing of
to show respect for themselves, in addition to the
women around them. Respecting yourself will cause
others to show respect for
you. Third, never forget
that less than 100 years ago,
women were not allowed to
vote or have paying jobs,
and were considered second class citizens and objects to be used and abused.
Let us not revert to that
time again.
To all female teachers,
you have the tools needed
to impart this knowledge
to our students so that they
can use it and carry on the
message that women are to
be respected and loved. It is
Psalms 34:1
“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall
continually be in my mouth.”
With deep sadness, we announce the sudden passing of our
beloved husband, brother, uncle and friend
Mr. Robert P.
Gretchen
a fact that we are all born
of a woman, and that alone
is cause to show the deepest respect for our mothers,
sisters, wives, girlfriends,
and women in general.
In the words of Maya Angelou: “I’m a woman phenomenally. Phenomenal woman,
that’s me.”
And Helen Reddy said it best
when she sang: “I am woman,
hear me roar; In numbers too
big to ignore; And I know too
much to go back an’ pretend;
’Cause I’ve heard it all before;
And I’ve been down there on
the floor; No one’s ever gonna keep me down again; Oh
yes, I am wise; But it’s wisdom
born of pain; Yes, I’ve paid
the price; But look how much
I gained; If I have to I can do
anything, I am strong; I am
invincible, I am woman; You
can bend but never break me.
I am woman, I am invincible,
I am strong.”
You are all phenomenal
women. Continue to be
strong, outspoken, hardworking women, who command respect when they
step into a room.
Happy International
Women’s Day!
The Board of the WITU
better known as “Bob” or “Bobby” to
his many friends on St. Maarten.
Bob departed this life suddenly last Friday evening,
March 2, 2007.
Bob, who left behind one daughter in the U.S., was 64
years old. He always had a ready smile and a willing hand to help anyone in need.
He will be sorely missed.
Any friends that might have information on Bob’s
personal life or who wish to participate in an informal memorial service for Bob, please contact Brigitte
at brigittebosch@gmail.com or 523-0133 right away.
An informal memorial service will be conducted for
Bob on Saturday afternoon, March 10, at 4:00 PM at
Pegleg Pub.
I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the Lord.
Psalm 104:33-34
We hereby announce the passing away of our beloved wife,
mother, grandmother and aunt
Mrs. Adela
Schobbe-Cox
First sunrise: 09-11-1924, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Last sunset: 28-02-2007, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
She leaves to mourn her loving:
Husband:
Abraham Schobbe b.k.a. Bébe
Son:
Gerwin Schobbe & wife
Grandson:
Gabriël Schobbe
Son:
Henry Hodge
Daughter-in-law: Patricia Vlaun
Sisters:
Clemence Cox & fam.
Ulrica Cox & fam.
Ramona Romaine-Cox & fam.
Her many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, other
relatives, close friends and S.D.A. Church family too
numerous to mention.
The late Mrs. Adela Schobbe was related to the
following families: Cocks, Conner, Schobbe, Bryson,
Jacob, Gibbs, Artsen, Romaine, Hodge, Richardson,
Ignasio, Chemont, Groeneveld, Bally, Davids, Philips, Martis, Cana, Gumbs, van Putten, Pieternella,
Rivers, Bramble and Schoonewil.
The funeral service will be at Zaegersgut S.D.A.
Church on Friday, March 9th, 2007
commencing at 2:00 p.m. Viewing of the body
will be from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
F
l
ill t k
l
W d
d
D
b
Serge Raymond Williams
b.k.a. Sergeant or Saito, driver of Taxi 434ZAQ-971, former
employee of Mullet Bay.
He leaves to mourn his:
Wife:
Marjorie Williams-Walker
Sisters:
Carmen Illidge
Marcelle Patrick-Illidge & fam.
Claire Ellis-Illidge & fam. (U.S.A.)
Antoinette Illidge & fam.
Juliette Arrindell & fam.
Cheryl Illidge & fam.
Rika Illidge
Brothers:
Felix Brooks & fam.
Jean Francois Bryan & fam.
Neville Illidge & fam.
Elvis Illidge
Tino Illidge & fam.
Sisters-in-law:
Vilma Findley & fam.
Bernice Walker
Yvonne Grant & fam.
Eulalie Illidge & fam.
Altagracia Brooks & fam.
Brothers-in-law: Hubert Walker
Donald Walker
Hubert Patrick
Jules Ellis (U.S.A.)
Aunts:
Judith Brooks (U.S.A.)
Georgette Nestor-Hubert
Alicia Nestor-Hubert
Uncles:
Eli Kelly (U.S.A.)
Hundito Nestor-Hubert
Pedro Nestor-Hubert
Many nieces and nephews, great nieces and great nephews too
numerous to mention including: Steven Patrick, Annette RobinPatrick, Elaine Patrick, Rosetta Ellis, Yvana & Kristin Robin.
Many cousins too numerous to mention including special cousins:
Sineida Suares, Claire Flanders, Violet Flanders, Carledette
Flanders in the U.S.A., Felix Flanders and Laurent Flanders.
Godmother:
Godchildren:
Special Friends:
Gladys Maccow (Curaçao)
Too numerous to mention
Members of the French & Dutch Taxi
Associations, Lewis Cocks of Taxi 447 &
fam., Wilfred Brooks (Avan) & fam., Reginald
Brooks & fam. (U.S.A.), Obe Hodge & fam.,
Valentine James & fam., Aladouce Glasgow &
fam., Leopold James (U.S.A.), Robert Duzon,
Taxi-for-Jesus Taxi 168, Nurse Armelle, Arthur
Baly, Oliver Cocks, Chester Arrindell & Julian
Jermin.
The late Serge Raymond Williams was related to the: Williams,
Walker, Illidge, Bryan, Patrick, Ellis, Brooks, Flanders, NestorHubert, Hodge, Mac-Donna, January, Hyman, Findley, Robin, Grant,
Kelly, Brown, Wellington and Rohan families.
Service of thanksgiving & remembrance for the life of Serge
Raymond Williams will be held on Thursday, March 8th,
2007 at the Tabernacle Methodist Church in French Quarter.
Viewing & tribute from 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Thanksgiving service from 3:00 p.m.
Interment at St. George’s Cemetery.
It is with deep regret we
announce the death of
Augustus A.
William
aka “Pettoe”
Sunrise: August 18, 1953
Sunset: February 28, 2007
in Martinique
He leaves to mourn his:
Wife:
Maria William
Parents:
Caffin & Sybil Royer (Dominica)
Children:
Natascher Carpenter & family
(Guadeloupe)
Anthea Moses & family (USA)
Claudia Williams (USA)
Verna Henry & family (USA)
Francis Williams (SXM)
Clayton Williams (SXM)
Augustus Jr. Williams (SXM)
Step-children: Gillian Serrant (Dominica)
Shanka Serrant (SXM)
Kenneth Serrant (SXM)
Sisters:
Joyce Williams & family (USA)
Cecilia Gardier-Pierre & family (SXM)
Brothers:
Ruben Vidal (ENG)
Rudy Williams aka Spider (SXM)
ohn Williams aka Sono (SXM)
9 Grand-children
Close Friends: Ferdie Augustus, Martin aka Dread,
Percival Lucas, Earl, Sandra Panka
Many relatives and friends too numerous to mention.
The pastors and members of the Seventh-day Adventist
community.
He was related to the Williams, Serrant, Royer, Gardier,
Vidal, Carpenter, Moses, Henry and Tavernier families.
Funeral will be held on Thursday, March 8, 2007 at the
Philipsburg Seventh-day Adventist Church at 2:30 p.m.
Viewing from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Interment will be
at the Cul-de-Sac Cemetery
Opinion
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
owners pay for what they
do to our world. Get real
mister politician, wake up.
Just to let you know what
(unconsciously) plays in my
head: Before I woke up today I was abducted by three
unknown men, who took
me to the airport, gave me
another name and a Swiss
passport, then flew me in
a small jet to an American airport, I have no idea
where, and there put me on
a plane to Germany where
they left me alone.
From the German airport I
was to fly on to Switzerland.
I understood from talk with
the three goons that they
were secret service and that
I was an undesired entity
and therefore deported, extraordinarily rendered, so
Thank you for your letter,
however, I am not running
in an election, to have my
name painted so big, but
it doesn’t matter to me because I have to live here
and die here.
First of all I do not have
anything against dogs. Let
me set that straight. Secondly, Lynn is not the only
one who is abusing our
beach.
I am a proud Simpson Bay
man who does not appreciate bold and disrespectful people doing as they
please, having no regard
for the only jewels we have,
our beaches. Why is that
every time a local person
like me opens our month
about something that’s not
right, we get all kinds of remarks about our island, our
people, or simply a counter
attack?
Eddie Spanner always
makes his predictions for
the elections on Statia. It
has been said that they are
quite accurate. I waited full
of excitement for his prophesy. What would a newcomer score in his battle
against the “established?”
I was surprised. Of course I
thought about my chances.
I was surprised to see the
number 3 behind my name.
Of course, I knew that my
wife would be in favour of
me. But elections are still
weeks away and you never
know if arguments will occur in these campaigning
days. I certainly didn’t want
to be the only person voting
for me. But who else then
will vote for me?
I tried to analyse Eddie
Spanner’s outcome. Was
it my good friend? Was it
my neighbour? Was it the
woman who shouted at me
during the parade “I will
vote for you?” Was it the
old man whom I always addressed with “Good morning sir?” For a moment,
I even hoped that it was
someone who really knew
me and what I had accomplished. (No matter where I
came from.)
But today, I figured it out.
It is Eddie Spanner himself
who will vote for me. It is a
protest vote. A vote which
says: “it is enough!” The
only way to show this is to
come out on Election Day
and vote!
Thanks Eddie for this
year’s predictions. Who
While I woke up today I
thought about my car, and
what an idiotic heavy piece
it is, the weight of it compared to what it does for
me. A light car weighs a
ton, 1,000 kilos, that is 2,200
lbs, a medium car 1,100 lbs
more, that is 1,500 kg and
a heavy one 2,000 kilos and
over! (Multiply kilo by 2.2
to get pounds.)
Please realize what we
are doing, we are dragging
more than a ton of metal
with us to get our body with
a weight of about average
75 kilos from A to B! Realize how ridiculous this is!
That we drag 15 to 30 times
our own weight around to
get somewhere.
The heavier the car, the
more gas we burn. That produces the dreaded greenhouse gasses that heat up
the atmosphere, that melt
the polar caps that raise
the sea level, make the polar bears extinct, drives the
Eskimos from their hunting grounds and destroys
low laying islands. It also
changes the climate and
hurricanes these years are
stronger than those in our
parents and grandparents’
times.
I have been greatly troubled to learn this and used
as small a transport as possible, that is to say: a fivegear 125cc engine on two
wheels, weighing less than
twice my own weight, a mere
140 kg, a smart and fast going motorbike of Asian origin that carried me (and a
passenger) with ease over
any steep hill around the
island. Until an inattentive
(surely intoxicated) driver
in a big car hit me when I
was standing still, waiting
for traffic to pass.
Now forever invalid I had
to return to drive a fourwheel transport of 1,160
kilos with a 1,600cc engine,
dragging more than a ton
with me wherever I go.
More than 12 times of what
is needed to transport me.
This is disgusting. And it is
still a moderate car, not a
big SUV or pick-up truck.
See on the back of many vehicles the displacement, 1.6
is 1,600cc, 2-liter is 2,000cc.
There are cars of 2,800cc
and more.
That is crazy and a little, no
very criminal. I will vote for
the politician who will restrict the weight of vehicles
on the island. In order to
spend less on road maintenance, and be environmentally conscious, in order to
sleep quietly and know that
I have done what I can for
my world, my planet, and
for my children’s future.
Tax vehicles by weight,
and discriminate between a
light and a heavy car, let car
On March 8, 2007, women
all over the world are supposed to be celebrating this
special day. But reality will
prove that unfortunately
this is not the case. There
are many third world countries or developing countries where women are
treated like second-class
citizens or even slaves.
In some countries this is
considered culture and
therefore acceptable. Even
certain religious beliefs
condone this behaviour. I
disagree
wholeheartedly
with this practice. There is
a thing that is called human
rights and this should never
be violated.
As a believer I will always
stand on the principles laid
down in the manual for life,
the Bible. If women were
supposed to be less than
men then God our creator
would not have pulled them
from our side, but as is usually said under our feet.
God knew man needed
help and this is why he
made woman. As I have
often heard when God created woman he threw away
the pattern. If we would
treat you right we would
have gold and this world
would be a better place.
Nothing is more beautiful than a woman. You are
God’s best creation. Love
you all and enjoy this your
special day.
Happy International Women’s Day to all the women
on Saba and around the Caribbean.
It is my pleasure to be
able to tell you women once
again how much I appreciate all the good work you
do. I know that most women
nowadays have to sacrifice
a great deal. For some it is
necessary to offer quality
work and for others because
their employers insist on
longer hours. You may not
hear that applause everyday
or ever but I want to assure
you we, men do notice, we
do appreciate what you do,
we do value it and we are
grateful.
Today, I would also like to
ask you women to continue
to work hard in making a difference in the lives of your
families. Remember you
are the jewels in the lives of
your children and their role
model. Continue to be the
bright shining stars in their
lives and in the lives of others. Continue reaching out
to the less fortunate, continue clothing yourself with
George Pantophlet
Councilman
strength and dignity. The
woman who fears the Lord
is worthy to be praised.
Thank you for your dedication to your community
and thank you for delivering
throughout the year.
Be steadfast, immovable,
always excelling in the work
of the Lord because you
know that in the Lord your
labour is not in vain. (1Corinthians 15:58)
Rolando Wilson
Island Council member
37
to say... Then I woke up and
realized it was a dream.
Did it mean maybe that I
better shut up lest I get abducted and deported?
Chamba Chada
Because this is our island, we, or in particular
myself, can’t see this happening, not on my beach.
If they want a shelter,
look for another place,
not in Simpson Bay, and
like my letter to Ms.
Yates, I am going all the
way with this. I am not
going to continue to write
anymore letters.
Now I am going to show
you that in St. Maarten
we have laws that must
knows, dreams do come be respected or leave our
true and good ideas I know island, simple as that. Or
we can use a few. Once you will be prosecuted if
you don’t stop littering
again Eddie, thank you.
Simpson Bay Beach or
Laurens Duiveman anywhere else.
Candidate #6 on the PLP list
Julius Halley
38
Comics
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
By Linda C. Black
Today’s Birthday (March 8). You’ll make wonderful discoveries this year. You’ll venture farther out
than you even knew existed. Take care; there will be
surprises, and not all of them are pleasant.
To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is
the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
Aries (March 21-April 19) - Today is an 8 - Finish an old task and you can collect the money that
you’re owed. The task may simply be asking for the
money. You can do it; don’t be afraid.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) - Today is a 6 - Take a
back seat, and let somebody else do the driving for
a while. Better yet, stay out of the vehicle altogether. There’s too much confusion out there.
Gemini (May 21-June 21) - Today is an 8 - You’re
asked to take on a new and very difficult assignment. Don’t worry; luck is with you in this. Proceed
with confidence.
Cancer (June 22-July 22) - Today is a 7 - An otherwise blissful interlude is rudely interrupted. The
disagreement is about how the money should be
spent. Postpone big purchases until next week.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) - Today is a 5 - Real estate
and home improvements are usually well favoured.
This time, however, your purchase could spark a
domestic confrontation. Better talk it over first.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) - Today is a 7 - As you
reach the next level, you find that you’ve outgrown
some of your methods. You may need to revise your
procedures and update your equipment, too.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) - Today is an 8 - Finally,
the money’s coming in. All that work was not for
nothing. Unfortunately, a loved one and/or child
wants you to take them shopping.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21 - Today is an 8 - You’re
the strong silent type for a reason. That’s how
you’re most effective. Maintain the mystery now;
excessive info will cause confusion.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) - Today is a 7 - You’re
more interested in working now because you must.
You do well under pressure; maybe that’s why you
wait. You love that adrenalin rush.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) - Today is an 8 - Discuss your most recent insights with friends who can
help you understand. The part that at first is the
most confusing turns out to be the most basic.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) - Today is a 9 - There’s
plenty of money to be made, if you can do what’s
required. To be part of the team, you must learn
there’s always someone who outranks you.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) - Today is an 8 - Encouragement from far away is certainly heart warming. But, can you accept adoration from one who
doesn’t know the whole story? Sure, if it makes
them feel good.
Community
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
NOTICES
Book Sale
Philipsburg Jubilee Library will have a book sale on Saturday,
March 10 from 10:00am to 1:00pm. Twenty-five books US$5
or NAf9, single copies NAf1 for hardcovers, 50 cents for paperbacks and 25 cents for magazines.
Women’s Lecture
Peridot Foundation invites the general public to attend the
Commemorative Program of International Women’s Day to
be held on Friday March 9 from 8:00 to 9:30pm at the Philipsburg Cultural Center, with this years Guest speaker: The
Hon. Mme Justice Desiree P. Bernard, member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Dear Queenie,
My big sister beats up on me every day. I don’t do anything
Panel Discussion
to her but she still hits me. My parents never tell her to stop.
Women’s Desk in collaboration with WAM, BPW, UNESCO
Sometimes they even tell me to leave her alone and punish
and FFCA will be hosting a panel discussion under the theme:
me because I didn’t.
“Women, Our role in Curbing Youth delinquency & Virtual
Queenie, I’m afraid someday she’s going to really hurt me.
art exhibition “Daughter’s of Eve” on Thursday March 8, at
How can I be safe?—Kid brother
the John Larmonie Center, starting at 7:00pm.
Dear Kid brother,
Are you sure you are not provoking your sister by doing
little things that don’t seem important but you know annoy
her? This is a common practice among little brothers and
sisters, and it is really a very subtle form of bullying – that is,
picking on someone when you think they can’t fight back.
However, in your case, it seems your sister can fight back
– or else you really are innocent and she is the bully. Either
way, this is not a good situation.
Talk to your parents again, some time when your sister is
not beating you up. If that doesn’t work, talk to some other
adult you trust – a relative, teacher or your school counsellor.
Perhaps they can persuade your parents that there is a problem here, which there is, no matter which of you children is
at fault.
Only notices of fund-raising events for non-profit or educational organisations will be placed in the Events/Notices
column. Notices/Events should be sent to
notices@thedailyherald.com in the format used on this
page. Do not send fliers or press releases to this address.
EVENTS
Saturday, March 10
INSTALLATION/DINNER
Organised by Business and Professional Women (BPW).
Place: La Terasse, Port de Plaisance
Time: 7:30 to11:00pm
Tickets: US$50
For more information call 552-1402/ 527-0444/ 522-8628.
Saturday, March 10 and 11
YOUTH POOL GAMES
Organised by R.H Pool Production
Place: Pineapple Pete’s.
Registration starts 1:30pm on Saturday. Play begins at
2:00pm.
All competitors must wear white polo shirts and long black
pants. Open shoes and sandals will not be allowed.
Friday, March 16
ARUBA DAY DANCE
Organised by Chuchubi Foundation
Place: Crown Pin Bowling Alley
Time: 9:00pm to 3:00am
Musical Entertainment by: DJ
Ruby and the 911 Band.
Tickets: NAf18 or US$10.
Tickets for the dance will be
available at the Crown Pin
Bowling Alley or from Chuchubi Board Members.
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Calypso Registration
2007 Calypso Contenders & Individual Road March Contenders are requested to submit all music sheets to the St.
Maarten Carnival Development Foundation at the office of
Fabiana Arnell. Deadline: 4:30pm on Thursday, March 15.
Training Session
The Junior Chamber of St. Maarten (Jaycees) will host a session on Parliamentary Procedures Training on Saturday, March
10 at the A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall in the Government Administration Building from 9:00am to 4:00pm with a break for
lunch from 12:00pm to 1:30pm. The fee is $15.00 per person.
For more information call 55-48367 or 55-37753.
Urgent meeting
Union Farm Home Owners Foundation will be hosting a meeting for home owners and renters on March 11, starting at
4:00pm on the open lot at Monte Video Road # 59. A discussion will also be held on the possible assistance for upgrading
the area.
Information Session
Greater Works Foundation will hold an information session
on the topic of Self Editing set for Monday, March 12 at the
Instruction Center for the Wise, Amsterdam Shopping Center
#30, in Madame Estate starting 7:30pm. For more information
call 524-5405. Price: US$5 or NAf10.
Tae kwon do Classes
Dragon Princess Tae kwon do School is registering students for
classes in Simpson Bay Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from
5:00 to 6:30pm and in St Peters Monday, Wednesday and Fridays
also from 5:00 to 6:30pm. For more information call 526-6073.
Childfest postponed
Childfest organised by Help Our Children Foundation in collaboration with Special Olympics Foundation and featuring a
gala dinner and a family fun day originally scheduled for this
coming weekend at Port de Plaisance has been postponed. The
gala dinner will now be held on Saturday, March 10 and the
family fun day will be held on Sunday, March 11 from 10:00am
until 5:00pm. Admission to the family fun day is free. But tickets will be on sale for purchasing food and drinks and for the
many fun games at very reasonable prices.
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School Registration
Kinder Care Center is accepting students 3 years old for Head
Start and Early Stimulation in Preparation for Kindergarden.
For more information call 524-1122 or 553-5475.
School Volunteers
The Community Schools Project of St. Maarten is looking for
qualified volunteers to assist and share their skills with our
youngsters. Persons skilled in drama, local dance, track and
field, cooking, story telling, handicrafts, aerobics, computers,
Math, English, Dutch and other areas are needed. For more
information, call Project Leader Lusandra Wilson, tel. 5422056.
Guyanese Foundation Meeting Postponed
St. Maarten Guyanese Foundation will meet on Saturday,
March 10 at the WIFOL Building on the Pondfill starting
7:30pm. For additional information call 559-7793.
Kinder Care Center Registration
Kinder Care Center is accepting three-year-olds for its Head
Start and Early Stimulation in Preparation for Kindergarden.
Call tel. 524-1122 or 553-5475.
The Law in Focus Schedule
The continuation of Constitutional Affairs programme with
Commissioner of Constitutional Affairs Mrs. Sarah WescottWilliams, followed by a conversation with Minister of Constitutional Affairs, Mr. Roland Duncan. On March 22nd a series on
how we as citizens can prepare and strengthen the family to enter the new constitutional status of the islands will be discussed
with a Family expert and counsellor, Mr. Wendell de Leon.
The Law in Focus is aired on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 15 every Thursday, 9:30-10:00pm, with rebroadcasts on the
Wednesday following, 6:00-6:30pm; on Cable TV Saba Mondays and on Cable TV Statia Tuesdays, 7:00-7:30pm; on Radio
98.1 FM/Pearl FM on Tuesdays at 1:30pm; on Statia radio on
Tuesdays at 12:30pm, with a repeat on Sundays at 6:00pm; and
on MSR Cable TV Channel 9 in French Saint Martin. The
public is encouraged to send questions on legal issues to fax
547-3754 or e-mail lawinfocus@burofocus.com .
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Baby Clinic Move
White & Yellow Cross Backstreet Baby Clinic informs the
general public that they have moved from Backstreet 29 to St.
Johns Address: St. Johns Road 6. Opening Hours are Mondays
8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:15pm to 3:30pm; Fridays 8:30am
to 12:30pm. At Belvedere Address: in the Adventist Church
Building. Opening Hours: Belvedere Baby Clinic, Thursday
8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:15pm to 3:30pm
Patients are advised to start using the new locations starting
Monday March 5.
Please note that the Clinic hours, for Cole Bay on Tuesdays,
and in St. Johns Estate on Wednesdays, will remain the same.
For more information call 54- 22182 (until March 2 thereafter
a new number will be provided) or email us at dnursing@caribserve.net
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THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
People
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
HONG KONG--China’s past
century of socio-political upheavals have exacted a heavy
price on its rich cultural
heritage as artefacts--from
paintings to imperial porcelain--have been plundered or
sold to the West. But China’s
newly wealthy businessmen are buying back their
heritage at auction houses in
Hong Kong where one collector recently paid $15 million for a rare early-Ming gilt
bronze Buddha--a then world
more expensive in China
than anywhere else in the
world,” said Colin Sheaf,
the Asia Chairman of British
auctioneers Bonhams which
set up a Hong Kong office
earlier this year to tap this
booming market.
“This is a moment in the
economic cycle where it
seems to be a good idea to
put down some pretty serious foundations,” said Sheaf,
who added he’d be “thrilled”
to auction off $15 million of
for modern and contemporary Chinese paintings, say
experts and dealers.
“From 2002 till 2004, China
has been a crazy market,” said
William Chak, a respected 30
year Hong Kong dealer who
buys regularly from Chinese
auctioneers to restock his
shop on Hong Kong’s Hollywood Road, a well-known
antiques thoroughfare.
“Most of the buyers in China are immature collectors,
they don’t love antiques. It’s
Daniela Lau, who works at an antique store owned by William Chak specializing in ancient
rare arts, cleans a Kuan-yin statue inside the store in Hong Kong March 2, 2007.
record price for any Chinese
artwork.
“I didn’t really consider
(the price), I just wanted
this national treasure to return home,” said Cai Mingchao, a businessman from
the coastal city of Xiamen in
Fujian province who plans to
display his religious relic in a
purpose built hall.
For several years now,
global auction houses such
as Christie’s and Sotheby’s
Holdings have reaped this
Chinese arts boom, with a
flood of nouveau riche Chinese increasingly fuelling a
market traditionally dominated by Western, Japanese,
Hong Kong and Taiwanese
buyers.
“What is certain is that
contemporary art in China
and traditional paintings are
mostly Chinese art this year
in Hong Kong.
Christie’s, which says at
least one in four of its buyers are now Chinese, made
a record ever total of $364
million in its Spring and Autumn Asian sales in Hong
Kong last year, an almost
fivefold increase from 2001,
smashing numerous records
for Chinese ceramics, jades
and paintings in the process.
Its rival Sotheby’s reaped
$245 million.
Crazy Market
While collecting passion and
patriotism may be motivating factors for some wealthy
Chinese buyers like Cai, the
broader market for Chinese
artwork has been largely
driven by the lure of huge and
swift profit gains, particularly
speculation, not collecting.”
he said. But the hype and valuations for modern Chinese
paintings had ebbed a little
since then, he added.
While Hong Kong is now
considered the world’s third
major art auction hub for
top-end Chinese art behind
New York and London--attracting the world’s heavyweight buyers every spring
and autumn--China has
steadily developed its own
huge domestic auction art
market to meet the demand
of a growing flood of affluent, middle class buyers. “It’s
always been the holy grail
of the Asian art business--a
sophisticated, financially secure--cultured middle class
in China. Finally it seems to
be a dream approaching reality,” said Sheaf.
Hundreds of art auction
houses have mushroomed up
across China over the past
decade as a result--ranging
from small fry in unglamorous provincial boomtowns
to Beijing based goliaths including Hanhai and China
Guardian, which made 1.25
billion yuan ($162 million) in
sales last year.
Growing Pains
Hong Kong’s international
reputation and free port status have helped make it the
jewel in Asia’s art auction
crown, but this lead is being
eroded by China’s ambitious
locally-bred auctioneers.
“They are competing with
Christie’s and Sotheby’s now.
They’re trying to reach out
to sellers overseas because
(domestic) supplies are drying up,” said Anthony Lin,
an independent art adviser
in Hong Kong and former
Chairman of Christie’s Asia.
“This is a market that ten
years ago, nobody believed
would be where it is today,”
he added.
But the China art market
hasn’t been without problems. Ubiquitous fakes, poor
authentication, non-payment
at auctions, fuzzy customs
restrictions on cultural relics and alleged price rigging
are some factors that have
hindered development and
scared away foreign buyers.
“It’s a bit of a minefield
shopping for art in China,”
said one Hong Kong collector who spoke on condition
of anonymity.
“They have to get better,
it’s a matter of trust and confidence,” she added of Chinese auctioneers.
“There’s a suspicion that
prices are sometimes being
bid up by buyers and sellers,”
said Lin. “A lot of people who
have participated have come
away feeling it’s not a fair
process. There’s a perceived
lack of transparency.”
Cai, the gilt Buddha owner,
who runs his own Chinese art
auction house in Xiamen admitted to certain problems,
but was optimistic they’d
iron themselves out with
time. “If government policies become more open and
flexible, that will help us,” he
41
said: “There’s not a lack of
buying interest in China. All
the market lacks is maturity
and experience.”
42
People
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Musicians Tony Banks (L), Phil Collins (C), and Mike Rutherford arrive to attend a news conference announcing the “Turn It On Again” tour and the reunification of the band Genesis in
New York on Wednesday.
JODHPUR,
India--British actress Elizabeth Hurley and her new husband
flew into the historic city
of Jodhpur on Wednesday,
midway though a week of
lavish parties that have already run into trouble with
Indian authorities.
Hurley, 41, and Indian
businessman Arun Nayar,
42, arrived with about 240
guests and truckloads of expensive Louis Vuitton luggage for three days of entertainment. They are taking
over the desert city’s hill-top
Umaid Bhavan Palace for
traditional Indian celebrations after a civil marriage
at an English castle and celebrations in Mumbai.
The visit was earlier immersed in controversy after
Indian authorities tore down
part of a venue built to host
a wedding party in Mumbai
because it infringed on a
popular beach.
Hurley, wearing sunglasses
and a pink dress, arrived
at Jodhpur airport accompanied by Nayar and her
young son Damian. Journalists and cameramen besieged their Bentley, which
drove off accompanied by
at least three police vehicles
and another car for the couple’s private security team.
Guests include designer
Tom Ford, Princess MarieChantal of Greece and Evelyn Lauder, the daughterin-law of cosmetics company founder Estee Lauder.
“They’re not sleeping very
much because there are so
many parties,” Lauder told
reporters at the airport, re-
Mr Bean, played by British actor Rowan Atkinson poses in the
shallows of the surf at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Wednesday
as part of a publicity stunt for his latest film “Mr Bean’s Holiday” which opens in Australian cinemas March 19, 2007.
ferring to the newlyweds.
“We don’t go to bed till
four-thirty in the morning.”
The 347-room Umaid Bhavan Palace’s decor has been
described as “somewhere
between Art Deco and nonironic 1970s gangster chic”
by the Lonely Planet guidebook. It was completed in
1943 and claims to be one
of the largest residences in
the world. A slideshow in
the palace museum shows
black-walled rooms furnished with pink sofas and
beds with large ceilingheight mirrors for headboards.
The couple have tried to
keep details of their celebrations out of the media,
but details have trickled
out.
LONDON--Pop star Robbie Williams has left a
U.S. rehabilitation centre,
his spokeswoman said on
Wednesday, but declined to
comment on reports he had
left early.
Williams has been in rehab for prescription drug
addiction since Feb. 13--the
day he celebrated his 33rd
birthday--but the singer is
now in Los Angeles, where
he owns a home.
British tabloid newspaper,
The Sun, reported he had
quit his month-long treatment at the Cottonwood de
Tucson centre in Arizona-described as the harshest
rehab clinic in the United
States--a week early. Patients are required to share
a bedroom with two others and undergo intensive
group and individual therapy sessions at the 700 pound
($1,353)-a-night centre, the
NEW YORK--The rock
band Genesis will tour for
the first time in 15 years
this summer, but without
former front man Peter
Gabriel, the group said on
Wednesday.
The European and North
American tour will feature
vocalist and drummer Phil
Collins, keyboard player
Tony Banks and guitarist
Mike Rutherford, reviving
the lineup that reached its
peak success in the 1980s.
Gabriel, a vocalist and
flutist who helped found
the British band in 1966,
will not participate, though
Collins left open the possibility that Gabriel might
participate in future projects. “It’s not like it’s a
party that we’re holding
that Peter didn’t come to,”
Collins told a news conference, declining to explain
further.
Genesis will tour Europe
this summer, including a
free concert at the Circus
Maximus in Rome, and the
band might participate on
July 7 in former U.S. Vice
President Al Gore’s “Live
Earth” event, which is occurring in cities around the
world. The North American leg of the “Turn it on
Again” tour will start Sept.
7 in Toronto and finish at
Hollywood Bowl on Oct.
12.
The tour coincides with
the Rhino Records release
of three boxed sets of material from the band’s 13 stu-
paper said.
The spokeswoman said in
a statement: “Robbie Williams has completed his
stay in Arizona and is continuing with an after-care
programme in Los Angeles.” She declined to elaborate.
One of Europe’s most
successful
entertainers,
Williams rose to fame as a
member of the hit boy band
“Take That” before forging
a successful solo career in
the past decade. Williams,
who was born in Britain,
has a history of struggling
with addictions and was
treated for drug and alcohol dependency after Take
That split up in 1995.
His latest album, Rudebox, has had mixed reviews
in Britain and sold just under a million copies in the
United States.
dio albums. Rhino is part of
Warner Music Group.
Genesis formed in the late
1960s when Banks, Gabriel
and Rutherford were teenagers. Collins joined in
1970 and, after Gabriel left
in 1975, took over as front
man and lead singer. The
first post-Gabriel album,
“Trick of the Tail,” sold
more than any other previous album.
Collins remained with
Genesis until 1991, when
he began performing as a
solo artist. In 1997, the re-
maining members of Genesis released “Calling All
Stations,” a commercial
disappointment.
Collins said the band
members had stayed in
touch, and a reunion tour
was something they talked
about “every time we met.”
In previous tours Collins
told audiences he would
stop performing but said he
decided to tour again with
Genesis because “I didn’t
want a lid put on my coffin
quite yet.”
BVN (Dutch/Flemish) TV
Channel 46 St. Maarten Cable TV
Local times
Thursday, March 8
11:00am
11:05am
11:10am
11:25am
11:30am
11:35am
11:50am
12:35pm
1:00pm + 7:00pm
1:25pm + 7:25pm
1:45pm + 7:45pm
2:10pm + 8:10pm
2:50pm + 8:50pm
3:20pm + 9:20pm
3:30pm + 9:30pm
3:55pm + 9:55pm
4:00pm + 10:00pm
4:50pm + 10:50pm
5:15pm + 11:15pm
6:05pm + 12:05am
6:40pm + 12:40am
Programme
NOS Journaal
Tik tak
Sesamstraat
Wortel TV
Bo & Melle in Madagascar
Het klokhuis
Max & Catherine
Blokken
Thuis
Onderweg naar morgen
De rode loper
VRT Journaal
Een vandaag
Sportjournaal
NOS Journaal
Weerbericht
Una voce particolare
De rechters
Het zesde zintuig
Nova/Den Haag vandaag
Man bijt hond
TV 15 (local)
St. Maarten Cable TV
Local time Programme
Thursday, March 8
8:00am
Replay AVS News
8:30am
Replay GIS Bulletin
9:00am
Prime Time Caribbean
5:25pm
Winides Classic
5:30pm
Prime Time Caribbean
6:00pm
GIS Productions
6:30pm
2 the Max
7:00pm
Profiles of the Windward Islands
7:30pm
AVS News
8:00pm
Oral Gibbes Live
9:00pm
Ezone
9:30pm
Robbie’s Lottery
9:35pm
The Law in Focus
10:00pm
St. Maarten Lottery
10:05pm
Caribbean Passport
10:30pm
Late Night with Andrew Dick
11:00pm
AVS News
11:30pm
Winides Classic
11:35pm
Caribbean Newsline
TeleCuraçao
Channel 30 St. Maarten Cable TV
Local time
Programme
Thursday, March 8
6:30am
Moru Bondia
9:30am
Ban Halsa e Standarte
10:00am
Bo Salu ku George Benjamin
11:00am
TeleCuraçao Spesial
11:30am
Buen Provecho
12:00pm
Al Dia
12:30pm
Telenotisia
1:00pm
Tra’i Merdia
3:30pm
Telsell
3:45pm
Cartoons
4:30pm
Youth Experience
5:30pm
Leo Floridas
6:00pm
Bumper to Bumper
7:00pm
Glamur
8:00pm
Telenotisia
9:00pm
Wega di Number Korsou
9:05pm
Partisipashon di Morto
9:15pm
Konseho di Minister
10:15pm
Telenotisia (r)
11:15pm
Estreno
1:00am
Night TV 8
Sports
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
In addition to the adults, a total of 32 junior athletes age 6 to 15 competed in the Nevis Triathlon on Sunday.
NEVIS--Local Tri-athlete
Reggie Douglas did what
he said he would do when
he retained the OECS male
champion in the Olympic
distance of the Nevis Triathlon on Sunday. Reggie
Douglas took the lead after
a 33:13 swim.
He then went on to the bike
segment, and held off Gilles
Janssen and
James Weekes who were
in hot pursuit. Janssen and
Weekes failed in their bid to
catch Douglas on the bike as
Douglas posted the fastest
bike time of the day
1:07:38 for the 40km course.
Douglas then took off for
the run and never looked
like losing his lead finishing
in a total time of 2:26:26.
Janssen finished in second
place, Weekes followed in
third and Keith Jones in
fourth. This achievement
adds another win to Douglas’s resume and on home
territory too. He looks to be-
coming one of the top men
to beat in the Caribbean.
In the very busy women’s
Olympic distance, Janine
Herweijer was the standout completing the course
in 2:51:24 ahead of St Kitts
Jessica Geist and Kristina
Stoney of Nevis who took
third in her very first Olympic distance event. Other
women taking on the arduous Olympic distance for the
first time were Sydney Maas,
Sarah Petre-Mears, Gwen
Trucco, and Danielle Moreno, all of them completed
the course.
The other highlight for the
women was Miranda Grandis who surrendered her
OECS title to Grenada’s
Clare Morrell, who finished
waving her home countries
flag on the finish line.
Apart from the serious
Olympic distances many
people had fun. The event
started with the Try-ATri’ers, the people who have
PHILIPSBURG--Cresburkechoi Browne scored 10
points out of a possible 18 with 15 balls in the three point
shoot out competition organized by Youth Action Team
in association with Soualiga Youth Basketball Association
at L.B. Scott Sports Auditorium yesterday.
Eight shooters advanced to the final of the shoot out
which will be held this afternoon starting at 4:30pm.
Competing along with Browne will be Clinton Henry,
Clemente Jones, Carlos Woods, Emoro Bruce, Leonardo
Richardson, Shannon Scott, and Sherwin Richardson.
In addition to the shoot out, the competition also features a Win or Go Home single elimination basketball
knock out.
The Dutch Quarter Thunder tipped off against the St.
Peters No Limits yesterday and won 69-57. For the second game in a row, Brian Stevens led the Thunder offence with a double double. He scored 17 points and had
12 rebounds in the game, and the day before he had 20
points and 10 rebounds.
The Thunders now advance to the final which will tip off
this afternoon following the three point shoot out. Cole
Bay Stallions will tip off against the Thunders.
set their minds to having a go
at this sport called triathlon.
Leslie Armentrout, looking
tanned and fit, had her first
go last year and was back
to improve on her results.
She lined up against Jenifer
Neisner from Canada, and
a group of young men representing the “Jessups All
Stars” youth club. Armentrout surprised everyone,
especially the youths, when
she exited first from the 250
metre swim, and it was only
the youth of rising young
competitor Godfrey Todd,
who passed her on the run
section, that prevented Leslie from claiming the top
spot.
Kids were also represented
in a big way and they contributed to the meet being much bigger than last
year’s. The newly formed
“The Cheetahs, Tomorrows
Tri-athletes”kids club that
grew out of the Nevis Cycle
Club’s junior program had
32 junior athletes participating. Their ages ranged from
6 to 15. Parents and onlookers gathered on the banks of
Gallows Bay for the swim
start. Distances of 50, 100
and 150 metres had been set
according to age and ability,
followed by preset numbers
of bike and run laps along
Samuel Hunkins Drive,
which was specially closed
to traffic for this event. All
of the kids received finishing
medals and trophies to reward their commitment and
enthusiasm.
Winston Crook of the
Nevis Cycle Club told the
Daily Herald that he was
extremely happy about the
kids’ participation. “With
such enthusiasm and effort
displayed by the youngsters
we all eagerly look forward
to the continuation of the
program, to help develop
our young athletes,” he said.
ST. KITTS--Chef de Mission for the Pan Am Games
Leroy Green is currently
in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
ahead of the July event on
an enquiry mission during
March 6 to 10. While there,
he along with several other
chefs from other nations
will be checking on the
readiness of Brazil to host
the games.
“One of the major aims of
the visit is to ensure that our
athletes will be most comfortable and well taken care
of,” Green said. “As a result
we look into things like accommodation, logistics of
accommodation and event
facilities and the facilities
themselves. Generally, we
get a feel of what the host
nation is like to convey to
our athletes at home.
“In fact several countries
take their athletes there for
the experience prior to the
games.” Green continued,
“In addition we gather information on the nuances
of travel and the finer details and rules of the various competitions.” Green
said St. Kitts/Nevis is preparing to send a contingent
Leroy Green
comprising two disciplines;
track and field and beach
volleyball.
The other disciplines such
as boxing, tae kwon do, lawn
and table tennis would definitely miss out since they
did not participate in the
required qualifying events.
The beach volleyball pair
is expected to accumulate
the required points from
participating in a beach
volleyball circuit that spans
across six countries.
The team is undergoing
serious training as the investment is in the region
of 50,000.EC to attend this
MADAME
ESTATE-Theodore Connor rolled a
236 to take high game of
the night in the Crown Pin
Bowling Alley Business
League Tuesday. Second
high game went to Michael
Leysner who bowled a 196.
The Ambassadors are currently in first place with just
one week to play before
post season. They have
a combined total of 9451
pins. Nagico Silver Strikers are second at 8521 and
Star mart is third at 7906.
Halley’s Elite Bowlers is in
fourth place in the seven
team competition. They
have 7776 pins.
Only four teams will advance to the playoffs. Windward Islands Bank Deposits
is in fifth place, followed by
Scotiabank Warriors Team
I at 5854 and Scotiabank
Warriors Team II at 4325.
The teams go head to
head Tuesday and Thursday evenings in the Crown
Pin Business League. Each
team consists of up to 10 The Crown Pin Bowling Alley
bowlers. Each night of ward the playoffs.
competition fiver bowlers, one of which must be up to determine the standa female, take to the lanes ings.
for three games. The total
Action continues at the
number of pins knocked Crown Pin this evening.
down by the group is added The first ball is scheduled
43
circuit.
The track and field team
would be comprised largely
of its collegiate athletes who
make the qualifying time.
Iston Williams a top official
for the St. Kitts Nevis Amateur Athletic Association
indicated to Strictly Sports
that they intend to take at
least two relay teams and
several individuals to make
a team of 12-15 athletes.
Athletes at home and
abroad will be using several
significant meets to register
their qualifying marks. It
was confirmed that Tiandra
Ponteen will not be attending due to personal and
family reasons, while Kim
Collins may choose this
event to begin his return to
the track after injury.
However, athletes like
Virgil Hodge (Sprints) and
Tanika Liburd (Long Jump)
stand a very good chance
of making the team. Other
athletes such as Delwayne
Delaney, Mellville Rogers
and Nathandra John have
just begun begin their outdoor circuit and have the
next three months to determine their fate.
Business League is rolling toto roll at 7:00pm. There
are two more weeks left in
the regular season and then
the playoffs begin.
44
WAS H I N GT O N - -Ti g e r
Woods will achieve a longstanding ambition this year
by becoming a tournament
host for the first time.
The PGA Tour, in conjunction with the Tiger Woods
Foundation, are to stage
a new $6 million event in
Washington, D.C. from July
5 to 8.
“This is a dream come
Sports
true,” the world number
one said in a conference
call on Wednesday.
“I remember when I first
came out on tour and we
started our foundation in
1997, my focus and goal
one day with my father was
to be able to host a tour
event. This is a pretty momentous day.”
The tournament, which
NEW YORK-- Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant
has been suspended one game for striking Minnesota
Timberwolves guard Marko Jaric in the face, the NBA
announced on Wednesday.
The incident occurred on Tuesday night with 58.7 seconds left in the fourth period of the Lakers’ 117-107 double-overtime loss to the host Timberwolves at the Target
Center.
Bryant, an eight-times All-Star, will serve his suspension
on Wednesday night when the Lakers visit the Milwaukee
Bucks at the Bradley Center.
The incident marked the second time this year Bryant
has been slapped with a one-game suspension.
Bryant, 26, struck San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili in
the face late in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 96-94
overtime loss against the Spurs on Jan. 28 and was forced
to sit out the team’s next game against the New York
Knicks.
He is averaging 29.2 points per game this season, second-best in the league.
PHILIPSBURG- The St. Maarten Cricket Association
will be holding a general meeting this evening from
7:00pm at the PMIA hall on Backstreet.
Election of board members and the financial statements are the two main agenda points to be handled.
At least two representatives of the fourteen cricket
teams on the island and officials are expected to attend.
RALEIGH, North Carolina-- Olympic sprinters
Marion Jones and Obadele
Thompson were married in
a small ceremony in the rural North Carolina town of
Wilson’s Mills, the minister
who performed the service
said.
“It was very homely, very
quiet and simple,” the Rev.
Vibert Tyrrel, pastor of the
Union Hill African Methodist Episcopal Church in
Wilson’s Mills, told Reuters
in a telephone interview
from his home in New Bern,
North Carolina.
“Nothing elaborate, just a
quiet, very small wedding,”
added Tyrrel, a native of
the South American nation of Guyana who said he
was related to 30-year-old
Thompson and had known
the Barbados sprinter for a
long time.
His comments were the
first about the Feb. 24 ceremony, which had been rumoured for days.
“Without a shadow of a
doubt it was them,” Tyrrel
said of American Jones,
triple gold medallist from
the 2000 Olympics, and
Thompson, who won 100
metres bronze at the same
Games.
Jones, 31, has been under
investigation by the U.S.
Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in connection with the
BALCO doping scandal,
but has denied using performance-enhancing drugs.
Her initial urine sample
tested positive for the
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
replaces the International
on the calendar, has been
named the AT&T National.
The Tiger Woods Foundation will serve as the host
organisation and primary
charitable beneficiary of
an event that will recognise
and honour the men and
women serving in the U.S.
armed forces.
“It was a no-brainer for us
to be able to say yes, with
my father’s history in the
military and the Special
Forces, to come here during the nation’s birthday,”
said Woods, whose father
Earl died last year after a
long battle with cancer.
“Anyone on active duty
will get free admission to
our tournament and all kids
under the age of 12 will get
in free as well. We want to
make this a family-oriented
affair.”
Tour commissioner Tim
Finchem is hoping the
venue for the first two
years will be Congressional
Country Club in Bethesda,
Maryland, which hosted the
Kemper Open from 1980 to
1986.
“We think Congressional is
the ideal site to launch this
tournament and we have
requested access (to the
course) in 2007 and 2008,”
Finchem said.
“Their board has been
positive in their response.”
A lack of sponsor and the
absence of Woods caused
the International, held outside Denver, to lose its spot
on the calendar.
banned performance enhancer
Erythropoietin
(EPO) after she won last
year’s U.S. 100 metres title,
however, the ‘B’ sample
was negative and Jones was
cleared of doping allegations.
She was previously married to American shot putter C.J. Hunter and has
a three-year-old son with
banned former 100 metres
world record holder Tim
Montgomery. Her lawyer
did not return phone calls
seeking comment.
A police officer in Wilson’s
Mills, a small town near Raleigh, on Wednesday confirmed the wedding took
place but referred enquiries
to the town’s police chief,
who was unavailable.
Heavyweight boxer Ray Austin of the U.S. (L) trains with his coach Stacey Mc Kinley during a
media training in Heidelberg yesterday. Austin will face defending Ukrainian IBF Heavyweight
boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday in Mannheim.
BANGKOK-- World Boxing Association featherweight champion Chris
John hopes to land a lucrative Las Vegas fight and become the first Indonesian
to defend a world title in
the United States.
John, who defended his
WBA title against Venezuelan Jose Rojas in Jakarta
on Saturday, was willing to
take on any challenger, said
his manager Craig Christian.
“He’ll fight anyone you
put in front of us. He’s a
very proud Indonesian and
wants to be the first Indonesian to win the world title
in America,” Christian said
in an interview with broadcaster ESPN.
“I think we will see Chris
do it in Vegas some time.
We want Las Vegas.”
John, whose real name is
Yohannes Christian John,
won a unanimous decision
on Saturday after twice
sending Rojas to the canvas
in the first four rounds.
The 27-year-old, known in
Indonesia as “the Dragon”,
is one of the country’s few
world champions and became a local celebrity after
beating Colombian Oscar
Leon in Bali four years
ago.
“Chris has got a lot of
pride in being an Indonesian world champion. That’s
what gets him going, that’s
what makes him train so
hard,” said Christian, adding that John would only
fight in the featherweight
(57kg) division.
The other champions
in the division are South
Korean Chi In-jin (WBC)
and Juan Manuel Marquez
(WBO), though Mexican
icon Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao
of the Philippines have also
fought at that weight.
A dispute over the payment for John’s fight with
Rojas was resolved on Tuesday when promoter Albert
Papilaya arrived at a press
conference with three bags
containing almost $250,000
in cash.
John had threatened to
pull out of the fight because
of payment problems.
“I didn’t have any intention to delay the payment.
I would do anything for
Chris John, I love Chris
John,” the state Antara
news agency quoted Papilaya as saying.
John is unbeaten in the
flyweight division and has
won 39 of his fights, 20 in
knockouts, with one draw.
He has fought outside his
home country on only two
occasions.
Barbados’ sprinter Obadele Thompson (L) runs on his way to win his 100 metres heat during
the 7th IAAF world championships in athletics in Seville August 21, 1999 and Marion Jones of
the U.S. celebrates after winning the women’s 100m at the IAAF Golden League at the Stade
de France in Saint-Denis near Paris July 8, 2006 in this combination image. Olympic sprinters
Jones and Thompson were married in a small ceremony in the rural North Carolina town of
Wilson’s Mills, the minister who performed the service said.
Sports
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
AC Milan’s Clarence Seedorf (L) fights for the ball with Celtic’s Shunsuke Nakamura during
their Champions League soccer match in Milan yesterday.
MILAN--AC Milan edged
into the quarter-finals of the
Champions League when an
extra-time goal by playmaker
Kaka gave them a 1-0 win
over Celtic on Wednesday
after the teams were again
goalless over 90 minutes.
The six-times European
champions gave a stilted performance at the San Siro but
secured progress in the third
minute of extra time when
Kaka broke down the left on
a solo run and slid the ball
between the legs of Celtic
goalie Artur Boruc.
It was a fitting reward for
the Brazilian international,
who was the most lively
player on the pitch throughout the game and hit the bar
just before the end of normal
time.
Celtic had lost 11 of their
previous 12 away matches in
the competition but any suspicion they might have come
to the San Siro to defend was
swept aside in a lively opening.
Kaka produced the first
shot of the match after four
minutes, curling an effort towards the bottom corner of
Celtic’s goal that Boruc dived
to push round his post.
Celtic responded a minute
BERLIN-- The German government proposed legislation on
Wednesday that would help prosecutors crack down on doping in sport by tightening sanctions against those who supply
illegal substances to sportsmen and women.
After a year of debate, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet agreed a draft bill that would make it easier to prosecute
those caught with “not insignificant amounts” of illegal substances -- meaning coaches or physicians rather than individual sportsmen.
“The cabinet’s decision is an important step to improve
the prosecution of doping criminals and to further the fight
against doping in Germany,” said Interior Minister Wolfgang
Schaeuble, who is also responsible for sport.
Several countries, like France and Italy, have introduced
laws to fight doping but German sports authorities, from the
Olympic Committee (NOK) down, had resisted.
They argued that sport bodies and the state could fight doping without impinging on the independence of sport.
The measure, which should easily get through parliament,
would also allow the federal crime office to help investigate
suspected large-scale doping activities, including telephone
surveillance.
However, the measure is not intended to affect sportspeople
hence the loophole “not insignificant amounts”. The government said those sportsmen and women caught doping should
continue to be sanctioned by their own sport authorities.
Italy’s government introduced strict doping laws before it
won the right to host last year’s Turin Olympics,
The Italians refused to set them aside in favour of International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules which foresee only
non-penal sanctions for users of performance-enhancing
drugs.
later, Jan Vennegoor chesting down a free kick at the
far post before firing in a
shot that was blocked.
By the middle of the half,
Milan had taken control of
the game, though lone striker Filippo Inzaghi was often
an isolated figure.
Kaka was the one midfielder who seemed able to press
forward and a nice one-two
with Clarence Seedorf ended
with the Brazilian curling in
a shot that the Celtic defence
managed to block.
In the 38th minute he provided the cross for Massimo
Ambrosini to head against
the bar as Milan finished the
first half on the attack.
They continued to press
forward at the restart but
their inaccurate passing and
predictable movement gave
Celtic plenty of time to stop
moves penetrating their
area.
Milan almost won the game
with a flurry of activity in the
final six minutes of normal
time. A pair of superb saves
by Boruc - the first to beat
away a Paolo Maldini header,
the second to tip a Seedorf
free kick over his bar - kept
the scores level.
Kaka went even closer, rattling the bar with a shot from
outside the area. At the other
end Celtic’s players appealed
for a penalty after Shunsuke
Nakamura went down under
Ambrosini’s challenge but
for all their battling efforts
they rarely looked dangerous.
After Kaka’s goal, however,
Milan looked more secure
against the tiring visitors.
Pirlo and Seedorf both
tested Boruc in the second
period of extra time as Celtic
vainly tried to pull themselves level.
DALLAS-- The Dallas
Mavericks became the first
team to clinch a playoff
berth this season after they
stormed to a franchise-record 16th straight victory
with a 102-89 decision over
the New Jersey Nets on
Tuesday.
Dallas pulled away from
the Nets in the fourth quarter to extend their home
winning streak to 23 games,
also a franchise record, and
improve their NBA-best record to 51-9.
Mavs coach Avery Johnson played down his team’s
winning run when talking to
reporters after the game.
“Our fans are more excited about it than we are,”
Johnson said.
Jason Terry top-scored
for the Mavericks with 24
points, leading seven Dallas
players into double-digits
and helped hold off a New
Jersey rally that got the visitors to within a point with
1:23 left in the third quarter.
The Mavericks then scored
the next nine points as the
Nets missed nine straight
shots over a six-minute span
to fall off the pace.
Terry was an impressive
9-for-15 from the field and
made three three-pointers as the Mavericks shot
49 percent and made 15 of
their 16 attempts from the
free-throw line.
Dirk Nowitzki had 22
points and 11 rebounds
for the Mavericks, Erick
Dampier pulled down 14
rebounds and scored 12
points.
LONDON-Five-times
double champion Kenenisa
Bekele has changed his
mind about competing at the
world cross country championships later this month and
has been added to the Ethiopian team, the IAAF said
on Wednesday.
Bekele indicated last year
he would not run at another
world cross country championships after completing a
historic 4km and 12 km race
double for a fifth time in Fukuoka, Japan.
“Fellow athletes told me
to compete in Mombasa,”
Bekele was quoted as saying on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Web site
(www.iaaf.org)
“Fans asked me to reconsider my decision and also
45
NBA standings
March 7 (Reuters) - Standings after Tuesday’s games
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC DIVISION
W L PCT GB
1. Toronto
32 29 .525 2. New Jersey
28 33 .459 4
3. NY Knicks
28 34 .452 4 1/2
4. Philadelphia
22 38 .367 9 1/2
5. Boston
17 42 .288 14
CENTRAL DIVISION
W L PCT GB
1. Detroit
37 21 .638 2. Cleveland
35 25 .583 3
3. Chicago
35 27 .565 4
4. Indiana
29 30 .492 8 1/2
5. Milwaukee
22 39 .361 16 1/2
SOUTHEAST DIVISION
W L PCT GB
1. Washington
34 25 .576 2. Miami
30 29 .508 4
3. Orlando
29 33 .468 6 1/2
4. Charlotte
22 39 .361 13
5. Atlanta
22 39 .361 13
WESTERN CONFERENCE
NORTHWEST DIVISION
W L PCT GB
1. Utah
41 19 .683 2. Denver
29 29 .500 11
3. Minnesota
27 33 .450 14
4. Seattle
25 35 .417 16
5. Portland
25 36 .410 16 1/2
PACIFIC DIVISION
W L PCT GB
1. Phoenix
46 14 .767 2. LA Lakers
33 28 .541 13 1/2
3. LA Clippers
29 31 .483 17
4. Sacramento
28 32 .467 18
5. Golden State
27 35 .435 20
SOUTHWEST DIVISION
W L PCT GB
1. Dallas
51 9
.850 2. San Antonio
43 18 .705 8 1/2
3. Houston
36 24 .600 15
4. N.O./Oklahoma City 28 33 .459 23 1/2
5. Memphis
15 46 .246 36 1/2
Vince Carter scored 32
points and had eight assists
and six rebounds for the
Nets (28-33), who lost their
third straight games to remain four games behind
the Toronto Raptors in the
Atlantic Division.
“If we get that kind of effort every night, we’ve got
a good chance,” said New
Jersey’s Jason Kidd, who
managed 11 points, eight
rebounds and eight assists.
Mikki Moore added 20
points for the Nets, who
trailed 47-41 at the half before getting to within one
point late in the third quarter. Dallas out-scored New
Jersey 30-21 in the fourth
quarter.
the Ethiopian federation
and the Ethiopian government have checked my interest over and over.
“Next to the fact that the
event will be hosted in Africa, on the home soil of
my friends and rivals from
Kenya, I also realised that I
can become the first athlete
in history to win six consecutive 12km titles,” added
Bekele, world record holder
on the track for the 5,000
and 10,000 metres.
The 4km race has been
dropped from this year’s
event, which takes place on
March 24.
Women’s world short course
champion Gelete Burka was
also added to the Ethiopian
team after missing the trials
because of an ankle injury.
46
Sports
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Arsenal’s Fredrik Ljungberg (L) watches as PSV Eindhoven’s Carlos Salcido (R) clears the
ball during their Champions League first knockout round, second leg soccer match at the
Emirates Stadium in London yesterday.
LONDON--PSV’s Brazilian defender Alex turned
from villain to hero on
Wednesday when the Dutch
club earned a 1-1 draw at
Arsenal to reach the Champions League quarter-finals
2-1 on aggregate.
A disappointing game,
BRATISLAVA-- Police said
on Wednesday they had
charged the Slovak Football
Association’s acting secretary-general Vladimir Wanke with taking a bribe, an
allegation the soccer chief
strongly denied.
Police said the 61-year old
Wanke has been charged
with allegedly receiving
10,000 crowns ($380) from
the owner of the Eldus Mocenok soccer club in a player
registration deal.
The state prosecutor must
now decide whether or not to
follow through on the case,
but if found guilty, Wanke
could be jailed for three to
eight years, police said.
“Based on the acquired
evidence and knowledge,
a charge of receiving a
bribe was brought against
(Wanke),” Police Presidium
spokesman Viktor Plezel
said.
Wanke, who is free pending
further developments, held
a news conference where
he vehemently denied the
charges.
“The information and findings are clearly not based
on truth,” Wanke said. “It
is necessary, from my point
of view, not just to clear my
name but also the name of
the Slovakia Football Association.”
which broke a Champions
League record for foreign
players, looked to be heading for extra time after Alex
inadvertently prodded a
corner into his own net
in the 58th minute at the
Emirates Stadium to level
the aggregate score of the
first knockout round tie.
Young Brazilian Denilson
swung in a corner and the
unfortunate Alex could
only watch in horror as the
ball cannoned off his foot
into the net.
However, with Arsenal
searching in vain for the
second goal that would
have put them in their third
quarter-final in four seasons, Alex soared above
the home defence to head
his side level seven minutes
from time.
PSV had to weather a
storm after the own goal
but survived and then
punished Arsenal when
the home side conceded a
needless free kick near the
corner flag. Edison Mendez, scorer of the winner in
the first leg, swung the ball
in and Alex arced his header beyond a despairing Jens
Lehmann.
The goal sparked wild celebrations from a large travelling army of Dutch fans
and a mass exodus from
disgruntled home fans who
watched their side’s last
hopes of silverware vanish.
In less than two weeks, Arsenal have suffered defeat
in three cup competitions,
losing to Chelsea in the
League Cup final and then
being bounced out of the
FA Cup by Blackburn Rovers.
“It’s a massive disappointment for us,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told
reporters. “We didn’t take
our chances in the first half
and it was a repetition of the
first leg. We were not sharp
physically and lacked quality in the final third. Alex
won the game for them on
his own tonight, he dominated in the air and kept
them tight at the back.”
Wenger also confirmed
that Thierry Henry, who
came on as a second-half
substitute, had torn a stomach muscle.
PSV coach Ronald Koeman paid tribute to his
side’s tenacity. “We worked
very hard and had the right
attitude,” Koeman, who
was also in charge of Benfica when they knocked out
Liverpool last season, told
reporters. “Considering the
problems we’ve had with
injuries this is unbelievable and I’m very proud.
The biggest compliment I
can give is the way we survived after the unlucky own
goal.”
“Arsenal didn’t continue to
pressure us and it seemed
like they were doubting
themselves a bit,” he noted.
The Gunners had only
managed seven goals in
this year’s competition before Wednesday and they
spent most of the night
huffing and puffing while
Henry watched from the
bench. When he did get on
he almost won the tie when
his free kick brought a flying save from PSV keeper
Gomes.
Cocu was the only Dutch
player in PSV’s starting
line-up while Arsenal did
not include one English
player on a night that had
16 different nationalities in
the starting 22.
MANCHESTER, England-Manchester United reached
the quarter-finals of the
Champions League for the
first time in four years on
Wednesday as an uninspired
1-0 victory over Lille was
enough to see them through
2-0 on aggregate.
Henrik Larsson, playing his
last competitive match for
United at Old Trafford before the end of his loan spell
from Helsingborg, was left
unmarked after 72 minutes
and made no mistake with
a well-taken header from a
pinpoint Cristiano Ronaldo
cross.
Despite the war of words
that the clubs had exchanged
since United won a contentious first leg 1-0 in France
two weeks ago, Wednesday’s
game was largely devoid of
passion and in the end a solid
United were simply too well
organised for the French
team.
Lille came out of their shell
in the closing stages but the
closest they came to a goal
was when Peter Odemwingie
headed against the post just
after halftime.
Considering they needed a
goal to keep alive their interest after Ryan Giggs’s controversial goal from a quick
free kick in the first leg ignited Lille’s wrath two weeks
ago, Lille started with an unadventurous 4-5-1 formation
with Odemwingie the lone
striker.
BUENOS AIRES--Soccer
great Diego Maradona’s
bank accounts are being
probed as part of a tax investigation, Argentina’s central
bank said yesterday.
The central bank has asked
Argentine banks holding accounts in Maradona’s name
to hand over details on his
banking activity, it said in a
statement.
“The tax authorities requested financial information on Diego Maradona ...
and the (central) bank has
carried out that request,” the
central bank said.
Buenos Aires newspaper
Clarin said on its Web site
that tax investigators were
looking into Maradona’s
banking transactions since
2005, when he began to
make paid public appearances abroad and a year after
he left a drug-rehabilitation
program.
Maradona, who led Argentina to victory in the 1986
World Cup, has also come
under scrutiny in Italy, where
he faces tax evasion charges.
Last year, Italian officials
Lille’s Peter Odemwingie (L) challenges Manchester United’s
Rio Ferdinand for the ball during their Champions League
soccer match in Manchester yesterday.
But with neither team imposing themselves on the
game and much of the play
swirling aimlessly around in
the middle of the pitch, he
saw little of the ball until the
closing seconds of the first
half when he ran on to a cleverly weighted pass from Matthieu Chalme, but just failed
to make contact with only
goalkeeper Edwin Van der
Sar to beat.
United were also unusually
subdued for long periods and
the only time they threat-
seized two Rolex watches
from Maradona after he
arrived in Italy for a benefit match, saying he owes 31
million euros ($40.7 million)
in back taxes from his playing days at the Italian club
Napoli.
A spokesman for Maradona
could not immediately be
reached for comment.
Since retiring from soccer in
1997, Maradona has battled
cocaine addiction and obesity, and spent several years in
and out of rehabilitation. He
has since claimed to be recovered, and in 2005 hosted
his own TV program.
ened to score in the opening
half came in the 14th minute
when an acrobatically executed Wayne Rooney volley
was blocked by Chalme.
From the ensuing corner
John O’Shea, United’s scorer in their 1-0 win over Liverpool in the Premier League
on Saturday headed against
the crossbar.
The second half was not
much better, although Lille
at least were a little more adventurous pushing three men
up in the closing stages but
making little impact.
“It came down to small
things”, Lille coach Claude
Puel told French TV. “We
were able to put them under
pressure and created some
chances. That goal we conceded was a pity because we
were still in contention for
victory then.
Larsson’s goal and his allround contribution underlines a problem that may now
face United manager Alex
Ferguson when the Swede
returns to Helsingborg next
week.
His final competitive
United appearance will be
against Middlesbrough in
the FA Cup at the weekend
before his farewell match in
United’s colours against a
European Select XI at Old
Trafford next week.
FAST GOAL
Continued from page 48
of life at the end of the first
half. Gonzalo Higuain teed
up Guti with a backheel
while van Nistelrooy headed feebly at Kahn from a
good position.
Lucio’s classic header gave
Bayern breathing space but
it was not to last, as referee
Lubos Michel gave a penalty for a foul that may have
been outside the area.
Van Bommel and Diarra
lost their tempers, Van
Nistelrooy scored his 10th
penalty in the competition
and the game exploded
back into life.
Sports
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
VILLA BEACH, St. Vincent-- Key England batsman
Kevin Pietersen is ready to
suppress his natural attacking instincts at the World
Cup and instead nurdle his
way to good scores on the
slow Caribbean wickets.
After the first set of warmup matches most sides have
realised that spin is going
to be crucial, a fact underlined by England’s decision
on Wednesday to draft in
off-spinner Jeremy Snape
as a slow bowling coach for
10 days.
The 33-year-old Leicestershire captain, who played 10
one-dayers for England in
2001 and 2002, was already
in the West Indies working
with the minor nations at
this tournament.
Pietersen, who is also England’s third choice spinner
behind Monty Panesar and
Jamie Dalrymple, fully expects to have to nudge the
ball around for ones and
twos against slow bowlers for much of this World
Cup.
“It is one of those things
that has to be done. You’ve
got to play the situation,”
he told reporters at the
team hotel.
“It’s going to be a pretty
similar series to the one in
India last year. Slow bowlers and fielding are going to
play a massive part.”
Pietersen was stumped
for 43 on Monday off the
bowling of burly Bermuda
left-arm spinner Dwayne
Leverock and the England
number four hinted that he
was surprised by his ability
given his large size.
“He was good, very deceiving. That’s how I’ll leave it,”
he said.
This is Pietersen’s first
time in the Caribbean and
his first World Cup but he
is lucky to be here after
fracturing a rib charging
down the wicket at Glenn
McGrath in the tri-series in
Australia in January.
He missed the rest of the
tournament, which England went on to win despite
a poor start and an earlier
5-0 Ashes test series drubbing.
“The rib is fine, perfectly
fine. I’m raring to go,” he
ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad- Not all Trinidadians seem
to be enthused at the prospect of the 2007 World Cup
finally rolling on to their
shores next week.
A cartoon published in the
Trinidad Guardian on Tuesday summed up the opinions
of some concerned citizens.
“Boy, how come yuh watching World Cup cricket like
if yuh in church,” one man
asks another. Both are formally attired.
“Everywhere yuh turn
there’s a ICC restriction,”
comes the reply, next to a
list reading, “no radios, no
bands, no musical instruments, no this! no that!!”
A letter writer to another
Trinidad daily, Newsday,
bemoaned the impact that
traffic restrictions that were
required by the tournament,
which is still in its warm-up
phase, were having on daily
life.
“Is it paranoia? Is it a real
threat to the country or the
cricketers (if so let the public know)? Is it orders from
our new masters the ICC?
Or is it the sheer stupidity of
our government, its security
committee and the Local
Organising Committee?”
Queen’s Park Oval, the test
venue in Port-of-Spain, is
famous for its party atmosphere, which is fuelled by
a ready supply of beer, sunshine and enthusiastic dancers whose revealing dress
leaves little to the imagination.
There were no such scenes
MIAMI--Pro Bowl linebacker Joey Porter agreed a five-year
contract with the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday.
According to media reports, the free agent’s deal was worth
$32 million. A cornerstone of the defense when the Pittsburgh Steelers won the 2006 Super Bowl, Porter was released
in a salary cap move.
Drafted in 2000, Porter had spent his entire career in Pittsburgh.
The outside linebacker started 106 games for the Steelers
and collected 10 interceptions and 60 sacks, the fourth highest in franchise history.
Porter and Clay Matthews are the only players to have recorded at least 60 sacks and 10 interceptions in a career.
England’s Kevin Pietersen bats in the nets during a World Cup
cricket practice session in Stubbs yesterday.
said. “I was in Australia
eight or nine weeks and we
hadn’t come close to winning. Morale wasn’t fantastic. But the boys spun it
around, it was great.”
England face Australia on
Friday in their final warm-
up game before taking on
New Zealand on March
16 in their first World Cup
Group C clash.
“(The Australia match) is
just another game. You’ve
got to do all your disciplines
right,” he added.
at the Frank Worrell Oval
in St Augustine on Monday,
where South Africa’s warmup match against Ireland
was conducted in a reverential hush compared to the
usual happy riot of colour
and noise.
Some of the fans attending Tuesday’s warm-up
match between Pakistan and
Canada felt they were being
short-changed by the prices
being charged for food and
drink in the ground.
“These are extortionist prices for a developing
country, they are on a par
with London prices,” Arene
Kimkeran, who was born in
Trinidad but lives in London,
told Reuters.
“People who are poor cannot afford it. A bottle of water costs the equivalent of
£1.20 ($2.31), and you can’t
bring in plastic bottles to
take your own water.
“That’s a 500 percent markup on water and that’s just
unfair.
“It’s very hot, and you could
easily end up with heatstroke. In fact, you could die;
your life is worth £1.20 .
“People want to come and
enjoy the cricket, they don’t
want to be victimised.”
Another spectator, Carl
Cassim of Trinidad, had
mixed feelings.
“It is very expensive com-
pared to the norm but I suppose that’s because it is a
business,” Cassim said.
“If you go to a basketball
game in the United States
you would pay similar prices.
“I don’t like it, but I can’t
be too mad about it.”
MONTEGO BAY-- West
Indies batsman Marlon
Samuels says that despite
facing an investigation into
alleged links with a bookmaker he is ready to be a
World Cup match-winner
for captain Brian Lara.
Samuels is going into the
World Cup in top form after striking an impressive
century in his side’s first
warm-up game against Kenya on Monday and said
that proved he was unfazed
by the controversy.
“It is a good feeling to
score a hundred coming
from a lot of distractions,”
Jamaican Samuels said.
“I’ve had a lot of distractions in my career and I
know how to take the negatives and turn them into
positives, the greatest thing
has been the support I have
received from the fans
in both Kingston and the
country, it was delightful.”
Samuels was cleared to
play in the World Cup
despite an International
Cricket Council (ICC) anticorruption unit investigation into allegations that he
passed on confidential team
information to a bookmaker during a recent series in
India.
The attacking righthanded batsman has been
instrumental in his team’s
last three wins - scoring
100 against Pakistan and
98 against India before
Monday’s century and says
he has responded to skipper Lara’s appeal for more
genuine match-winning displays.
“The captain spoke to me
GAS LEAK
knocked on the door and
said ‘get out of the room’,”
Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi told reporters.
“But I went back to sleep.
Then he knocked again,
and said ‘get out of the
room’. Then I did and went
downstairs.”
Although there was no
sign of any flames or smoke
in the area, Afridi added:
“I heard there was a fire on
the eighth floor.”
Addressing the guests at
the hotel, the Hilton’s safety and security manager Peter Quammie said: “We are
experiencing an emergency
situation.
“The emergency forces are
at the emergency control
centre. We are still awaiting the all-clear. We are not
totally sure on the status of
the emergency.”
Fast bowler Mohammad
Sami, who arrived in Trinidad late on Tuesday, looked
dazed as he leant against a
wall and watched the emergency staff deal with the
incident while hotel staff
provided breakfast outside
the main building.
“I smelt smoke or something burning,” he told reporters.
The Pakistan team had
planned a trip to the beach
in the afternoon but that
trip has now been abandoned.
Coach Bob Woolmer added: “We’re going to sit here
in the Pakistan team room
until we are able to go back
to our rooms.”
Each team have been allocated a function room
47
and said he is looking for
match winners and I told
him I have no problem doing that. He is giving me the
chance and I’m relishing
the opportunity,” he said.
Samuels says has benefited
from rising up the batting
order and getting the opportunity to build an innings.
“Batting early gives me the
chance to assess the conditions and the pitch and to
pace myself. It is difficult to
score a lot of runs batting
at number seven and eight.
I love batting early, you get
to express yourself and set
up your team,” he said.
Samuels broke into the
West Indies test side at
the age of 19 on the 20002001 tour of Australia but
despite an impressive start
he struggled to build on his
promise.
After his century, Lara noted that Samuels had opted
the right mental approach
and said the batsman had
“come to the party” at just
the right time.
Samuels says that despite
the praise, he is keeping his
feet on the ground.
“I am not going in overconfident. I am going in being me, backing myself and
staying positive,” he said.
West Indies face India in
their final warm-up match
on Friday before they begin competitive action in
group D against Pakistan
on March 13. Lara’s side
also face Zimbabwe and
Ireland in the group stage
as they battle to become
the first hosts to win the
World Cup.
Continued from page 48
which is based away from
the main building of the
hotel.
“We heard an alarm, we
were asked to leave the
hotel and we did,” Cricket
South Africa’s media liaison officer, Gordon Templeton, told Reuters over
the phone. “The team have
gone to a nearby restaurant
for breakfast and we’re still
there and we will remain
there till we get the all
clear.”
They were scheduled to
have a practice session in
the afternoon but that has
been put on hold. The four
teams are in Trinidad for
the warm-up matches before the World Cup starts
in earnest on March 13.
48
THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Bayern Munich’s Roy Makaay (R) tries to score aginst Real
Madrid’s goalkeeper Iker Casillas (C) as teammate Sergio
Ramos looks on during their Champions League first round,
second leg soccer match in Munich yesterday
MUNICH--Roy Makaay
scored the fastest goal in
Champions League history to lead Bayern Munich
to a frantic 2-1 win over
Real Madrid on Wednesday, sending the Germans
through to the quarter-finals on the away goals rule.
Bayern, trailing 3-2 from
the first leg, were level on
aggregate 10 seconds into
the return match and the
lightning strike from the
Dutchman set the tone for
a classic.
Lucio put Bayern in front
with a header from a 66thminute corner but a 66,000
crowd at the Allianz Arena
had to endure a nail-biting
climax as Real hit back with
a penalty eight minutes
from time, given for a Lucio foul on Robinho.
Mark van Bommel (Bayern) and Mahamadou Diarra (Real) were sent off after receiving second yellow
cards as the pair jostled on
the edge of the area before
the spot kick.
With the tie level at 4-4 on
aggregate, Bayern were on
the rack and Sergio Ramos
thought he had snatched
victory for Real when he
smashed the ball in from
the edge of the box, only
for the referee to rule he
had handled.
It then needed a cool catch
from goalkeeper and captain Oliver Kahn to thwart
Real from a corner at the
end.
“The early goal changed
the match completely,”
said Real coach Fabio Capello. “All our plans and
preparation went out of the
window.”
The victory completed
a fine comeback by fourtimes champions Bayern,
who were 3-1 down at halftime in the first leg and
needed a late goal from van
Bommel to earn a lifeline.
The return leg started and
ended in supreme drama.
Real kicked off and Fernando Gago played the
ball back to Roberto Carlos, whose control let him
down. Hasan Salihamidzic
gratefully took the ball and
supplied a perfect cross for
Makaay to slide a shot past
keeper Iker Casillas.
The Spanish giants had
won only one of their previous 20 European matches
in Germany and must have
been fearing the worst as
Bayern smashed through
their rickety defence time
and again.
Makaay set Lukas Podolski through on goal in the
21st minute and the German striker should have
done better than to shoot
weakly at Casillas.
Casillas then denied
Makaay while Bastian Schweinsteiger cracked a shot
narrowly wide and the Real
goalkeeper saved pointblank from van Bommel
before the visitors managed
a shot on target.
Real finally showed signs
Continued on page 46
New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori catches the ball during a training session in Bridgetown yesterday, while teams in Trinidad had to deal gas leak.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad- World Cup cricket squads
from Pakistan, South Africa, Canada and Ireland
were evacuated from their
hotel on Wednesday morning because of a gas leak,
security staff said.
A police spokesman said
14 had been taken from the
MOSCOW-- President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday defended the right of Russian soccer fans to watch matches
free on television.
The president, whose hands-on “I feel for you” style appeals to many Russians, lashed out at a deal on exclusive
broadcasts of national championship matches struck by
the Russian Football Union and satellite television station NTV+.
“They want to rob us, soccer fans, of free broadcasts of
matches,” Putin told a Kremlin gathering of top officials.
“Under their deal the fans now have to spend money to
buy equipment and pay fees.”
His message got through in just minutes.
“I will report the situation today to the president,” the
head of Russia’s soccer union, Vitaly Mutko, told Ekho
Moskvy radio. “And should we fail to persuade him, the
contract may be revised.”
Hilton, Port of Spain, to
hospital. No team member
from any of the four squads
was hurt, a security source
added.
With several fire engines
and emergency vehicles
seen in the vicinity, a Reuters witness saw a woman
who had her face covered
with an oxygen mask carried out of the main hotel
building on a stretcher and
into an ambulance.
The teams from South Africa, Canada and Ireland
boarded buses after being
ushered out of the building at 0815 local time (1215
GMT) and were whisked
away from the site while
the Pakistanis opted to stay
in the area.
“I have no idea what happened. I had just woken up
when the security man
Continued on page 47