SECOND DUTCH CLEAN SWEEP P. 44
New York
Cock
Fighting
Ring
Busted
Page 25
VOL 23 NO. 225
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Cu1b
The Digikidz project was “soft-launched” last week at Hillside Christian Schools Asha Stevens Campus, the
project’s official pilot school. In photo: Minister of Education Patricia Lourens (right) observes children using project equipment. Story on page 8.
COLE BAY--Prime Minister
Sarah Wescot-Williams presented
the University of St. Eustatius
School of Medicine with a charter
on Monday, granting the institution permission to operate in St.
Maarten and award degrees.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
of the university’s management
IN BRIEF
Marigot
TIME TO ACT ON
BILINGUALISM
Educator/Movement for Advancement of the People (MAP) President
Louis Mussington has called on local
politicians and the Rectorat of Guadeloupe to implement a bilingualism
programme in St. Martin. Page 4.
Dawn Beach
MONKEY
BUSINESS
Vervet monkeys appear to be taking
over St. Maarten. Page 5.
Philipsburg
ELECTORAL
REFORM
“Reforms in the Electoral System of St.
Maarten, an initiative of the People,” a
position paper prepared by Prime Minister/General Affairs Minister Sarah
Wescot-Williams will be the focal point
of a public Central Committee meeting
in Parliament House on Wednesday,
starting at 3:30pm. Page 8.
group Milo Pinckney said the institution “can now move forward”
with the settlement structure that
had been put in place for the
creditors of the former owners,
now that the agreement has been
received.
Among other things, the agreement indicates that the university has to apply for accreditation within 12 calendar months.
Pinckney said the first draft appli-
cation should be ready by April.
He had told this newspaper earlier that the university aims to
complete the preparation process
for accreditation in 12 months. It
is hoping to submit its application
to the Accreditation Commission
of Colleges of Medicine (ACCM)
by January 2015.
ACCM is an international review and accreditation service
Continued on page 8
U.S. 0.75 CENTS / NAf. 1.50 / EC$ 1.75
THE HAGUE--The impact of legislation, the efficiency of the new
governmental structure and the
consequences for the people should
be the main issues in the 2015 evaluation of the constitutional status
of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba,
according to the Dutch Council of
State.
These three global objectives of
the evaluation can be determined
based on agreements that were already made as part of the public
entity status that the three islands
acquired on October 10, 2010, as
well as the issues that have played a
role so far in areas like legislation,
social welfare, the economy and
health care.
The first theme/objective has to do
with the effects of legislation that
was introduced when the islands
became part of the Netherlands.
The question of the effectiveness
and efficiency of legislation is of
importance. How the laws and
regulations are executed in practice, whether the local government
has been able to adequately do so
and where the main bottlenecks are
would be some of the questions of
importance.
The legislation theme is of importance in relation to the choice that
is still to be made whether the is-
PHILIPSBURG--The
Italian
Court of Appeals has forbidden
the Police and the Ministry of Interior Affairs in that country from
linking Atlantis World Group
owner Francesco Corallo with
the mafia.
A press release issued by BPlus
Giocolegale on Monday said the
Italian Court of Appeals of Rome
has forbidden the Italian Minister of Interior Affairs and the
DIA (the Italian equivalent of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation) from linking Corallo to the
mafia. BPlus is a company owned
by Corallo, which is involved in
the entertainment and gambling
industry worldwide. Corallo is
also owner of the Atlantis World
Group, which operates casinos in
St. Maarten and Curaçao.
“Furthermore, the Court has ordered the publication of this ruling in the main Italian newspaper
La Repubblica and the deletion
of any relevant references that
the DIA police may have in their
reports on this matter,” it was
stated in the press release sent to
this newspaper by Atlantis World
spokesman Rudolf Baetsen.
Corallo’s lawyers said this judgment, which “de facto prohibits
anybody to refer to Corallo as a
subject close to or part of the mafia is of utmost importance. This
opens the doors to several lawsuits against a number of parties
that have linked Corallo to the
mafia in the past.”
Corallo has been making headlines for different issues over the
years. A magistrate of the Court
in Rome established late last year
that Corallo had not lied about
his diplomatic immunity according to a press release issued by
BPlus in January.
Continued on page 9
Continued on page 10
Editorial
2
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Keep it coming
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Correction
Saresa Gray
Sharon van Arneman
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Correspondents
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CALLING
THE DAILY HERALD
ST. MAARTEN
Telephone
542-5253/542-5597/
542-0931/543-7236
FAX 542-5913
E-Mail:
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WEATHER
Today: Fair to partly cloudy, with no significant precipitation.
Winds: East to Southeast, 10-18mph.
Sea conditions: Moderate.
Seas: 4-6 feet.
Forecast high: 28°C 82°F
Forecast low: 24°C 75°F
SYNOPSIS: The Atlantic high-pressure ridge continues to
generate moderate winds across the region. A drier air mass
is forecast to move over the local area and remain there for
the next few days, so expect no significant precipitation. Seas
are subsiding slowly, but sea users are advised to continue
exercising caution.
Outlook until Wednesday evening: Fair to partly cloudy, with
no significant precipitation.
Sunrise: 6:41am.
Sunset: 6:12pm.
SMART PLAY
SXM DAILY NUMBERS
CURAÇAO
3854
6904
3842
53158
34549
26078
7550
5984
3186
Results displayed are provided as a service to readers of The Daily Herald and are QRWRI¿FLDO.
Date
Feb. 11
Feb. 11
Feb. 11
Vessel
Disney Fantasy
Costa Mediterranea
Norwegian Getaway
Place
Pier
Pier
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 919
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 after clinic hours,
from 6:00 pm - 8:00 am and during weekends
and holidays, all patients of hereunder mentioned family doctors can go to the emergency
room of the St. Maarten Medical Center, tel.:
543-1111 (ext. 1): Dr. A. Arrindell, Dr. F. Bouman, Dr. F. Bus, Dr. H. Deketh, Dr. A. Herles,
Dr. G. van Osch, Dr. G. Spencer, Dr. P. Arrindell, Dr. G. Bryson, Dr. J. Datema, Dr. G.
Foeken, Dr. L. Knol, Dr. A. Raghosing and Dr.
U. Tjaden.
SXM Animal Welfare Foundation Ambulance Team 520-8887
CRIME STOPPERS ANYMOUS TIP LINE:
543-TIPS(8477)
TELEPHONE INFO
Tel-em: 542-2211
Arrival
7:00
7:15
7:15
Departure
19:00
21:00
18:00
Agent
Maduro
Maduro
Maduro
WEATHER INFO: 123
ST. MAARTEN TOURIST OFFICE
Krippa building, Juancho Yrausquin blvd. #6,
tel. +1 721-5490200, fax. +1 721-542-0664
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 ROTARY meeting at Divi Little Bay,
every Wednesday at 12:15 p.m.(Tuscan Restaurant) Rotary Mid Isle meets every Tuesday
7-9 pm, Mary’s Boon, Simpson Bay.
Rotary Sunrise meets every tuesday at 6:45
am. at Air Lekkerbek. Rotary club St. Martin
Nord meet at the Grand Case Beach Club
Sunday at 8 p.m.
LIONS meeting at the Upper Princess Quarter
Community Centre Lions Den in Sucker
Garden every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the
month at 7 p.m.
ST.MAARTEN LEO CLUB meeting at the
Lions Den every 1st, 3rd Saturday every
month at 11:00 am
KIWANIS meets at Wifol Building on Thursday
each month at 7.30pm.
Kiwanis Key Club of the St. Maarten Academy meeting at the St. Maarten Academy every
Friday at 1.30 p.m.
Two government-owned companies that are key for the local tourism economy were in the news for different reasons in the last few
days. In both cases it regarded stories about projects with a focus on
solidarity.
Princess Juliana International Airport SXM launched a breakfast pilot programme of more than US $250,000 per year for 270 pupils “in
need” at seven public schools. Those who doubt the importance of
providing a healthy meal to start the day for these children only need
to talk to their teachers to understand.
Meanwhile, the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies signed a
US $2 million contract for the realisation of the Down Street Cruise
Heritage Development to construct a square close to Walter Plantz
Jetty with six cabanas for a bar/restaurant and the sale of arts and
crafts, etc. There is also good news for local motorists, as the project
is to include 50 parking spaces plus five spots for taxis.
The idea is to drive more business to that area known as “foot of
town” or “Down Street” after years of complaints from particularly merchants situated there. Not only is “head of town” closest for
the ships’ passengers who walk from the port at Pointe Blanche to
Philipsburg, but the water taxis also stop at Bobby’s Marina at that
end of Great Bay Beach, in addition to Captain Hodge Wharf located in between near the centre of Front Street.
For that reason Walter Plantz Jetty was built in 2008 as a third landing option, but it never became very popular with visitors and the
ferry operators, due to a variety of reasons such as a perceived lack
of safety and simply insufficient activity to make it an attractive spot.
The latter now is being addressed by facilities for musical performances and providing 24-hour security.
“Are these things really necessary to run respectively the airport and
harbour?” some might ask. After all, it’s been suggested that the
companies concerned really should stick to their core tasks and just
pay dividends, especially as they are not under the effective control
of the Dutch side’s elected representatives.
In the case of the square at the pier one could argue it’s in the port’s
interest, while both projects tackle issues that have a negative impact
on the community or at least part of it. The reality is also that government – certainly at this point – simply doesn’t have the money, so for
now, please keep it coming.
Agenda St. Maarten / St. Martin
KIWANIS SOUALIGA 1st & 3rd Monday
7:00pm Holland House
JCI St. Maarten (JAYCEES) meeting at
the Philipsburg Jubilee Library every last
Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. Business attire required.
PHILIPSBURG TOASTMASTERS CLUB bimonthly sessions every first and third Thursday of every month at the Library conference
room at 8:00 p.m.
ST MARTIN MUSEUM
Frontstreet 7, Philipsburg, tel 542-4917
Opening hours from March 1st:
Monday - Friday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday & Sundays: closed.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
Mon-Sat, 6-7pm, Red Cross Building, Airport
Road. Saturday and Sunday at Mullet Bay
beach next to restaurant 8.30-9:30am. Tel.
587-3400 / 544-3203
St. Maarten AIDS Foundation 55 Welfare
road tel +5532626/ +5884636
www.sxmaidsfoundation.org ; Facebook:
sxmaidsfoundation
NATURE FOUNDATION ST. MAARTEN
Tel. 544-4267, Fax. 544-4268.Email: info@
naturefoundationsxm.org
ANIMALS R. FRIENDS
! "! Email: arf_sxm@yahoo.com, www.arfsxm.org
PHILIPSBURG JUBILEE LIBRARY
Ch.E.W.Vogestr. 12, Tel. 542-2970.
Open: Mo: closed, Tu/We: 9-12.30 / 2-8,
Th: 2-8, Fr: 9-12.30 / 2-5, 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. 542-1000/542-1008; Fax:
542-1001
FRENCH HONORARY CONSUL, POBox
803, Philipsburg. Tel: (00590) 879989. Fax:
(00590) 879625. E-mail: Stanislas.GRAIRE@
wanadoo.fr
COAST GUARD 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 RED CROSS, ST. MAARTEN, Airport
Road, #34 Simpson Bay, Tel. 545-2333/2304,
Fax. 545-5263. Cell. 586-5330 (24/7) Email:
info@redcross-sxm.org
SALVATION ARMY Union Rd 59 Cole Bay
POBox5184 Tel/fax:5445424 (721)544-5424
/ 5534682 email: jona_augusto@hotmail.com
Facebook: SXM Salvation Army
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
FOUNDATION
OF
ST.
MAARTEN, Free blood-glucose testing every
Thursday from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. at the Philipsburg Pharmacy Voges street, Philipsburg (opposite library). Tel.: 542-3001
USO St. Maarten/St. Martin (USA military),
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 87.61.55
GENDARMERIE
tel. (00590) 590 52.30.00/02
FIRE DEPARTMENT
tel. (00590) 590 52.30.40
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 Sunset restaurant, Grand
Case Beach Club every Thursday at
7:45p.m.
LIONS First and third Tuesday at Nadaillac,
Marigot at 7.30 p.m.
KIWANIS: See St. Maarten.
MUSEUM ST. MARTIN
located Fichot Street nr 7 (behind the Catholic
Church) Open from 9am to 1pm, and from 3pm
to 5pm tel. (00590)590 56.78.92.
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams (third left) met with the St. Maarten Hospitality
and Trade Association (SHTA) Board about the formation of the National Development
Plan Steering Committee. She was accompanied by Department of Interior Affairs Head
Marc Arnold and Senior Policy Advisor/NDP Coordinator Okama Ekpe Brook. The
prime minister was pleased that SHTA provided constructive feedback and was willing to
participate in the project.
A STAT interviewer (left) with a happy homeowner (right)
who just completed the household listing survey.
PHILIPSBURG--The
Department of Statistics STAT
and its 25 interviewers, during
the first week of the household listing survey, have visited more than 1,000 addresses
after starting on February 1.
STAT is of the opinion that
a good start has been made.
Based on interviewer feedback, most persons have been
willing to cooperate thus far,
and are pleasantly surprised
by how quickly the interview
can be completed due to the
shortness of the questionnaire.
The main challenges during the first week have been:
a few households refusing to
participate and interviewers
not being able to gain access
to some homes. In some areas
with large properties, the interviewers are having trouble
getting the attention of per-
Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams (left) was interviewed at her home in Cole Bay during the weekend as
part of the Statistics Department STAT household listing
survey. The survey is vital for STAT and the Civil Registry to address gaps between the two departments’ population numbers. “An accurate population estimate for St.
Maarten is crucial for policy making in the coming years...I
encourage the community to extend their full cooperation
with STAT interviewers. The success of this survey and its
outcome can only be guaranteed through the participation
of all,” stressed the prime minister.
sons living on the property
due to high walls, big gates
and the building being a far
distance from the gate.
STAT continues to emphasise to the general public
that the information being
asked will be held in strict
confidence and will be used
to update the number of
households and population
within households in Dutch
St. Maarten.
Also important is that this
exercise will assist both STAT
and the Civil Registry Department in explaining the
large gap that currently exists
between its population figures. An accurate population
size of St. Maarten is crucial
for policy making in the coming years.
The entire St. Maarten
community, including gated
communities/condominium
complexes, is encouraged to
extend their full cooperation
with STAT interviewers in order for this basic information
to be gathered from all residents on the island. The success of this survey and its outcome can only be guaranteed
through the participation of
all, rather than some.
STAT falls under the Ministry of Tourism, Economic
Affairs, Transportation and
Telecommunication.
PHILIPSBURG--Minister
of Public Housing, Spatial
Planning,
Environment
and Infrastructure VROMI Maurice Lake says the
Down Street Cruise Heritage Development should
provide work for Philipsburg’s young people during
the construction phase.
The cruise heritage development will be constructed
near the Walter Plantz
Tender Jetty and will be
completed in August 2014.
“This will be a very positive
development for the Down
Street community. I would
like to commend the Harbour Group of Companies
with respect to this project,” Lake said.
“I am looking forward
to the involvement of the
young people of Philipsburg and Down Street with
respect to the construction
phase of this US $2 million project. They must be
a part of the project and I
will be looking for a guarantee that this will take
place,” Minister Lake said
on Monday.
The new cruise development entails the construction of approximately six
to eight booths that will
provide various types of
products and services to
cruise passengers who disembark the tenders at the
Walter Plantz Tender Jetty,
along with much more. The
centre of the development
will have a water fountain.
There will be toilet facilities and the development
will be accessible to seniors
and the disabled.
The newly-formed Down
Street Business/Community Association met with
Minister Lake and St.
Maarten Harbour Group
of Companies early December whereby the plans
were presented to the community organisation. The
organisation’s area of focus
within their community is
from L’Escargot to the old
Paper Garden.
“The new cruise devel-
3
opment for Down Street
will enhance the area and
bring life to Down Street.
We need to get back to basics and start showcasing
the cultural heritage of our
country, the food, drinks,
arts and crafts and folkloric dance for residents
and visitors to enjoy. This
is also one of the reasons
why tourists come to our
island – to learn about the
heritage,” Lake concluded.
Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams presented agendas
(date books) to government department heads to distribute
to their staff. Government, through a partnership with the
agenda designers, was able to acquire and distribute the
agendas free of cost. The “organisational tool” can assist
civil servants with their daily tasks, the prime minister said.
4
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Minister of Education George Pau-Langevin in conversation with Louis Mussington (right)
and Danielle Petrus (left).
MARIGOT--Educator and
President of Movement for
Advancement of the People
(MAP) Louis Mussington
has called on local politicians and the Rectorat of
Guadeloupe to “act with
urgency” to devise a road
map for implementing a
bilingualism programme in
St. Martin, including how
such a programme would
be supported.
“It’s clearly stated in the
organic law Article 63
where it specifies a plan
of action in the form of a
convention signed between
the State and the Collectivité, as well as a training
programme for bilingual
teachers,” he said. “The
sad reality is that it has not
got off to the right start. It
seems the Collectivité has
not shown much, or any, interest up to this point in doing the preparation for it.
It’s regrettable. If we don’t
take the bull by the horns,
we will never get a meaningful bilingual programme
to improve the academic
level in St. Martin.”
He recalled in the past
promises made about such
projects, but when the
Recteur and education
inspectors left or were replaced, the project simply
died.
“What we don’t want is
more promises and lip service. We want action,” he
said.
Mussington was reacting
to the recent visit of Education Minister George PauLangevin where he noted
she was very enthusiastic
about developing bilingualism in St. Martin after witnessing a bilingual class in
session in Sandy Ground.
“It was interesting that
the minister did turn to
the Recteur and ask him
to put the means in place
to broaden the spectrum of
the programme, so it does
not remain at the level of
one or two classrooms.
It proves she was in full
agreement with a bilingual
programme, but now, the
political will of the Collectivité has to do its part too.
“Because of the need to
put an end to this high failure rate and to make sure
we have less youngsters
dropping out early and later becoming delinquents,
ending up behind bars in
Guadeloupe where they account for more than 50 per
cent of inmates, we have
got to tackle this bilingual
programme urgently, seriously and with responsibility.”
He added that he hoped
there will be courses to
train and recruit bilingual
teachers from St. Martin
considering local teachers account for only 7 per
cent of the total number of
teachers.
Mussington said although
the minister’s short visit of
one day was insufficient to
fully appreciate the difficulties St. Martin faces with
education, he was nevertheless pleased that his visit
to her ministry last year did
at least prepare her better
than she would otherwise
have been.
wholesale
and retail of
fashion jewelry
stands
mirrors
and much
more!!
PHILIPSBURG--Community activist and aspiring politician Terry
Peterson has vowed to
give half of his salary
in the first 200 days in
office if elected to Parliament in the upcoming general elections to
initiate new legislation
to lower utility rates for
Sint Maarten residents,
especially seniors and
the differently-abled.
He said in a press statement Monday that he
will work with Parliament to secure support
for tax credits or incentives to save small businesses, provide a cushion to consumers from
the high food prices, and
the high prices of petrol
and cooking gas, and
explore the immediate
construction of a new
Forensic Unit for Crime
Prevention, as well as a
fully equip new centre of
the arts facility for talent
development.
As he is working out
these plans, Peterson
has installed an exploratory committee to assist him in realigning
and calibrating his political goals, and to explore participation in
this year’s parliamentary
election.
Looking to the elections, Peterson said
“upon invitation,” he has
had “some fruitful meetings” with various political parties and young
professionals “who have
shown interest and willingness to come together
to start something new.”
He is “almost ready to
make an announcement,
but not without hearing
from the people [first –
Ed.].”
Peterson commended Democratic Party
Terry Peterson’s calendar.
leader Prime Minister
Sarah Wescot-Williams
for “her poise and prudence” shown in safeguarding the country’s
image “during great political instability,” and
for the cordial talks they
had.
He has “personally expressed admiration” to
United People’s (UP)
party leader Member of
Parliament (MP) Theo
Heyliger “for his imagination, vision and innovation” since Heyliger
was elected to office at
age 25, and for “his determination to lift this
country to economic
sustainability,
growth
and prosperity despite
the constant slander and
negative criticism of his
family.”
Peterson said he did
not bash any individual.
“Everybody knows” the
bashing was done a day
before his resignation
when National Alliance
(NA) leader MP William
Marlin “made a mockery
of the aspirations of [independent MP – Ed.]
Frans Richardson for a
seat in Parliament, ridiculed his party and ambition and called him a
defector.”
“This nasty-gutter-style
ploy misleads people and
even mocks our ability
to inspire young people
of St. Maarten and bring
St. Maarteners back into
the political process or
restore trust in government. Many are calling
their accusations desperate, hypocritical, shameful and a nasty turn into
the gutter.”
Peterson has also established a Facebook page
and launched a calendar
themed “Making SXM
Better.” The magnetic
calendar has “no political logo” and is “totally
non-partisan,” Peterson
said in a press release.
The calendars will be
distributed by committee members to the community.
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Large troupe of Monkeys photographed in Dawn Beach. (Chris Garner photos)
DAWN BEACH--Vervet
monkeys appear to be
taking over St. Maarten.
Research by Nature Foundation into the monkey
population found various
breeding individuals and
numerous infants. “This
is worrying since this may
lead to a sharp increase in
the number of the monkeys.”
The foundation has received increasing complaints and reports of monkeys causing problems for
residents throughout the
Dutch side.
Nature Foundation has
been conducting baseline
surveys to determine the
abundance and level of
threat posed by the invasive
monkey population. Exten-
sive research on controlling
the monkey population is
also being conducted and
government will receive a
report from the foundation.
Experts used to dealing
with monkeys and other
exotic invasive animals will
visit various locations in the
country to come up with
recommendations on the
best way to approach the
monkey problem.
Residents have contacted
Nature Foundation about
large groups of vervet
monkeys
(Chlorocebus
pygerythrus) acting aggressively to residents and pets,
overturning garbage bins
in numerous districts, destroying gardens and garden furniture and defecating on people’s property.
The monkeys have been
known to act aggressively
if they feel threatened and
can also have a negative effect on our local flora and
fauna. Monkeys are not
picky eaters and will eat
anything from bird eggs to
ornamental and fruit plants
and trees.
Residents are urged by the
foundation to not approach
these animals.
If monkeys are spotted,
residents are asked to contact Nature Foundation
so the animals can be recorded. If a monkey, raccoon or any other unusual
animal is observed, contact
Nature Foundation on tel.
544-4267 or via info@naturefoundationsxm.org.
On Sunday the Seventh-day Adventist School joined by Prime Minister Sarah WescotWilliams, Minister of Education Patricia Lourens, other government officials and construction firms for the School’s Expansion Dedication Service. On hand to officiate and
preside over the ceremony were the President of the North Caribbean Conference of SDA
Pastor Silton Browne and the Executive Committee of the North Caribbean Conference. A
Message of “Vision” was delivered by a former Education Director, Author, Educator and
present Youth Director Pastor Vincent David. Alvin Connor, Principal Merlese Lake and
School board gave thanks to the almighty God, government and the many supporters who
stood by them through the years of trials to see the fulfilment of this vision.
PHILIPSBURG--Minister of
Tourism Ted Richardson met
with the management team of
Ving-Thomas Cook Northern
Europe recently. The management team of Ving-Thomas Cook Northern Europe is
conducting final hotel site inspections as it will be launching its charter to St. Maarten
on November 10, 2014, operating through March 2015.
The flights will start in
Stockholm, Sweden, and
make an intermediate stop
in Gothenburg, Sweden, before arriving in St. Maarten.
An Airbus 330-200 with 324
seats will be utilized for the
journey. The flights will operate every two weeks. As such,
visitors will stay two weeks
on St. Maarten. Hotels in the
Ving-Thomas Cook Northern Europe program on the
Southern side of the island
are Divi Little Bay Beach
Hotel, Holland House Beach
Hotel, Princess Heights, Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort,
Sonesta Maho Beach Resort
and The Westin St. Maarten
Dawn Beach Resort and Spa.
The St. Maarten Tourist
Bureau started working with
Ving-Thomas Cook Nordic
in 2011. As a result, there
was a soft launch of the destination in 2012. Considering
the increasing sales volume,
5
Minister Ted Richardson (third from right) with Ving-Thomas Cook Northern Europe Management Team and members
of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau.
Ving-Thomas Cook Northern
Europe expressed interest in
operating a charter service to
St. Maarten.
In April 2013, the product-,
sales- and marketing manager conducted site inspections
at various hotels to explore
additional properties for their
product lineup. In October
and November, various technical persons, such as photographers, videographers and
writers from Ving-Thomas
Cook Northern Europe travelled to the destination to get
a better feel of the destination
and hotels in order to better
describe them in the brochures and video. St. Maarten
as a charter destination was
launched in December 2013.
Thomas Cook Northern Europe is the parent company
of tour operators Ving, Spies,
Tjäreborg, and Globetrotter,
airline Thomas Cook Airlines
Scandinavia and hotel chain
Sunwing Family Resorts.
Thomas Cook Northern Europe is part of the Thomas
Cook Group which is active
in 19 countries with 23 million customers annually and
employs 29,000 people.
6
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
~ Endorses efforts to seek service from London ~
nica, St. Eustatius, Nevis,
as well as regional carriers
LIAT and Winair, and St.
Maarten Immigration officials.
The country partners said
they recognize the importance of SXM Airport’s
contribution to the success
of their respective econoMembers of the Air Service Development Committee at the mies and agreed to work
inaugural meeting, with SXM Airport Managing Director, with SXM to make it an efRegina LaBega. (seated, left)
fective hub.
AIRPORT--Considering to achieve this goal. They
The ASDC meeting furthat effective connectiv- made the call at the inau- ther concurred that service
ity is a critical factor in in- gural meeting of the Com- to and from London would
creasing the hub function mittee held on February 4, be a welcome addition and
of the Princess Juliana In- set up to further develop air pledged to cooperate with
ternational Airport (SXM), service to SXM.
SXM Airport to make this
members of the Air Service The meeting was attended a reality.
Development Committee by representatives from
While the airport is not
(ASDC) have called on re- the country partners, St. responsible for the physical
gional airlines, LIAT and Maarten, St. Martin, An- movement of passengers, it
Winair to work together guilla, St. Barths, Domi- is part of its tasks to create
an environment that would
encourage airlines to provide the much needed connectivity.
In addition, the ASDC
members agreed to the
following joint activities:
obtaining primary and
secondary data to support
market development and
access, increasing existing
airlift and improving connectivity, joint marketing
From left: Deputy Minister Plenipotentiary Josianne Flem- to maximize airline seating
ing Artsen and former Dutch Member of Parliament and capacity to ensure profitability for airlines.
playwright John Leerdam.
The ASDC is in the process of creating a complementary brand that would
reflect the partnership
among all participants and
country partners.
The next meeting is scheduled for mid-March.
AMSTERDAM--Deputy from a friendly to an enMinister Plenipotentiary emy state, from distrustful
Josianne Fleming Artsen to alienation to dialog. The
attended a performance relationship got more comof the play “Kain Piluk II” plex.
Kain Piluk II reviews the
at Amsterdam Theatre on
February 9 by invitation of collective, but loaded histoJulius Lives Foundation. ry between the Netherlands
The play was directed and and the Mollucan society,
produced by former Dutch the forgotten Papuas who
Member of Parliament for still live in the Netherlands.
the Labour Party and foun- These blindfolded stories
dation
founder/director are about promises, belief
John Leerdam.
and relationships, but also
The story reflects the his- the sorrow and hate.
tory of the Netherlands and Fleming Artsen congratuIndonesia. It highlights the lated Leerdam for “such
special relationship and a courageous play of concommon trade interest of sciousness,” and the cast
the two countries. The play and crew “for such an outcharts the countries’ move standing performance.”
7
Contestants show off their art works at last year’s prize giving competition.
SIMPSON BAY--Heineken Regatta is looking forward to the highlight of the
Regatta Art Competition;
the prize giving ceremony.
The ceremony, taking place
on Sunday, February 23,
will double as a celebration
for the 15th anniversary of
the Regatta Art Competition.
With Elektra being the
hostess, many prizes to be
given away with Funtopia,
Cali France and the St.
Maarten Yacht Club sailing
instructors involved, the organisers ensure it will be a
fun-filled afternoon.
All winners will receive a
personal invitation to attend the prize ceremony,
taking place on February
23, at 2:00pm sharp, at the
St. Maarten Yacht Club in
Simpson Bay. People at-
tending by car are asked to
park at Kim Sha Beach, not
at St. Maarten Yacht Club.
The Regatta Art Competition is a competition
for children of all ages to
become acquainted with
sailing and the St. Maarten
Heineken Regatta. “The
Regatta has a huge impact
on the island and the organisation wish to share
this with the local community as much as possible,”
the organisers said.
During the competition,
children will complete different assignments per age
group, for which they will
be rewarded first, second
or third place for their creativity. Expert judges have
been invited to decide on
the winners and the results
will be announced at the
prize ceremony.
With assignments like
making a juice box boat,
creating Regatta wall art,
building a boat, designing
a Regatta Tetris and a talent assignment, this year’s
judges will have their work
cut out when it comes to
making a decision.
The judges this year will
be Roland and Laura Richardson from the Roland
Richardson Art Gallery;
Zdenka, owner of The
Artbox; La Rich, owner of
Funtopia and artist Tony
Parisi.
The organizers have selected them for their combined experience in art
and creativity, which they
believe will make them an
excellent judging panel for
the 15th Regatta Art Competition.
8
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
UNIVERSITY OF ST. EUSTATIUS...
Continued from page 1.
Students of Hillside Christian Schools Asha Stevens Campus were very excited to receive
their new technology last week.
MAHO--The Digikidz project was “soft-launched” last
week at Hillside Christian
Schools Asha Stevens Campus, the project’s official pilot school.
Foresee Foundation, the
creator of the DigiKidz project, comprises experienced
educators and young St.
Maarteners who specialise in
information technology (IT),
marketing, communications
and business.
The Digikidz project rolls
out a comprehensive information and communications
technology (ICT) project for
elementary schools, including hardware with laptops/
tablets, wired and wireless
network, and professional
development for staff for
those schools that are motivated to teach students innovative 21st century learning
skills.
Foresee Foundation representatives visited the school
to get an update on the delivery and installation of hardware and management soft-
ware “Skoolcontrol.” Both
the DigiKidz Team and Asha
Stevens Campus faculty also
were happily surprised with
the unexpected visit of Minister of Education Patricia
Lourens.
“I was very impressed with
the project, the kids responded well in the environment
and I look forward to further
developments,”
Lourens
said. She added that the Education Ministry was finalising an ICT policy and had all
intentions to implement the
“One Laptop Per Child” programme in all public schools.
The Skoolcontrol user interface software to control IT
management is installed and
the school has a brand new
network serving all computers and laptops/tablets. All
classrooms have full wireless
Internet and all teachers received laptops to assist them
with preparing classes and
becoming IT specialists in
the area of integrating technology with education.
In total 145 Skoolmates,
a combination of a sturdy
laptop and tablet, were delivered and installed. The
school also will receive Promethean interactive boards,
laptops charging carts, headphones for all Skoolmates,
printers, cameras, etc., in the
upcoming weeks.
A survey on skills, interests
and use of ICT at school
and at home was conducted
among 40 staff members and
500 students. Results will be
shared with stakeholders and
will be used to determine
curriculum and professional
development for staff.
The official launch of the
Digikidz Project will take
place at the school February
26-28.
The Digikidz team complimented Hillside as a great
pilot school – proactive, interested, showing high level
of commitment and supportive to Foresee and the
project. “They want to make
this project a real success.
The school has formed an
IT Innovation team consisting of innovation coordinator, student care coordinator, system administrator,
IT specialised teachers and
management,” the Digikidz
team said.
for medical schools. The
National Committee on
Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation
(NCFMEA), part of the
United States Department
of Education, has listed
ACCM as “found to use
standards to accredit their
medical schools that are
comparable to the standards used to accredit medical schools in the United
States.”
An application will also
be submitted for New York
State accreditation and the
institution will also seek
recognition from the United Stated Department of
Education in 24 months.
He said the university is
also working on a number
of projects including a formal joint venture with the
University of St. Martin
(USM), which will contribute to USM’s ability to “offer pathways” to medical
education to students in St.
Maarten and surrounding
islands, as well as the introduction of US accreditation for their associate programme.
The CEO had told this
newspaper earlier that the
agreement will pave the
way for efforts to be made
to attain accreditation and
reinstall confidence in the
troubled university, which
relocated from Statia to
Cole Bay, St. Maarten, last
year.
The changes will include
rebranding the institution.
While the legal name will
not be changed, the institution will be referred to
as University of St. Eustatius School of Medicine St.
Maarten. This will be reflected on the institution’s
new signage and Website,
etc.
A good relationship also
Cu3a
Dean of Academics Renu Agnihotri and Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of the university’s management group Milo
Pinckney with the charter they received on Monday.
has to be established with
government to demonstrate
to them that the university is credible. The former
owners owed some US $1.5
million to creditors, which
includes salaries to staffers, rent and utilities. Critical debts are already being
settled. Academically, the
institution has brought in a
new team of “credible” and
seasoned academic leadership to hold key positions at
the institution.
The university currently
has about 75 students on
the island and 238 “actively
in critical rotations” in the
United States. It has lost
about a third of its student
population as a result of the
“prior dispute” with government, but the CEO is
confident in the institution,
noting “we will recover.”
The university can accommodate up to 500 students.
It, however, wants to “grow
responsibly” by between 30
and 50 students annually.
Pinckney had told this
newspaper that he had
controlling interest in the
institution having acquired
51 per cent of the institution. He said he had also
contractually gained 10
per cent of the other voters’ voting stock, giving his
group controlling interest
in the institution. The other
investors are silent investors.
PHILIPSBURG--“Reforms in the Electoral System of
St. Maarten, an initiative of the People,” a position paper prepared by Prime Minister/General Affairs Minister
Sarah Wescot-Williams will be the focal point of a public Central Committee meeting in Parliament House on
Wednesday, starting at 3:30pm.
Members of the public can attend the session at Parliament House or follow it live on St. Maarten Cable TV
Channel 120, Pearl Radio FM 98.1,
www.pearlfmradio.com and www.sxmparliament.org .
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
9
ITALIAN COURT BANS...
Continued from page 1.
During a raid of the Guardia di Finanze in Milan
on November 10, 2011, in
connection with an investigation into loans granted
by Banco Popolare di Milano (BPM) to Corallo,
the businessman showed
a diplomatic passport of
the Republic of Dominica,
which provided him immunity. Corallo said he was
Dominica’s ambassador to
the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) of the
United Nations.
The Prosecutor’s Office in
Italy, however, charged him
with providing false statements. The Italian Court
has since acquitted Corallo
of this charge. After the
raid, Corallo voluntarily
renounced his diplomatic
immunity in order not to
thwart the investigations.
On August 4, 2013, he
voluntarily turned himself
in to the Italian authorities
to be able to answer questions posed by Prosecutor
Roberto Pellicano in Milan in connection with alleged irregularities at BPM
and Corallo’s involvement
therein.
In May 2012, the Prosecutor’s Office in Milan had
already requested Corallo’s preliminary detention
in connection with illegal
financing operations at
BPM, which was led at the
time by Massimo Ponzellini.
Ponzellini was put under
house arrest on May 29,
2012, under the suspicion
of providing a loan of approximately 150 million
euros to Atlantis/BPlus for
the purchase of new slot
machines in exchange for
an alleged bribe of more
than one million euros.
In a letter of May 26, 2011,
AIRPORT--Transit passengers on flights to destinations
in the USA will be allowed to carry duty-free liquids,
aerosols and gels (LAGs) over 3.4 ounces in weight as
carry-on items with effect from Friday, January 31, 2014.
This allowance in effect is based on TSA Security Directive #1544-14-01. These LAGs, however, must be
transported in the sealed International Civil Aviation
Organisation-approved bags, also referred to as Security
Tamper Evident Bags (STEBs).
SXM Airport Security at the departure and transit
screening areas will permit these items beyond the security checkpoint after the required inspections.
This amendment only applies to transit passengers who
have purchased duty-free items at the airport upon their
departure, Manager of the Security Department at SXM
Airport Jerry Sprott further clarified.
Transit passengers with LAGs weighing above 3.4 ounces, which do not meet the criteria mentioned above, will
have to hand these items over for confiscation at the
screening checkpoints.
by the Dutch Embassy in Italy to then Prime Minister
of Curaçao Gerrit Schotte,
who had requested proof
of good conduct because
he wanted to appoint Corallo in a certain position,
it was stated that Corallo
was involved in the international drug trade and
the Sicilian mafia and that
he laundered money in St.
Maarten. The information
was obtained from the Italian police and intelligence
service, the embassy stated.
Corallo demanded rectification because, according
to him, that information
was incorrect. The Dutch
State was not required to
correct the statement about
the Italian-Dutch businessman. A judge in The Hague
derived at the conclusion
that the Dutch Ministries
of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations and of Foreign Affairs had not acted
illegitimately.
Atlantis World spokesman
Rudolf Baetsen confirmed
that the Court of Rome had
ruled in Corallo’s favour
and that the Italian Prosecutor’s accusation was unfounded.
“More importantly, as
Corallo has always stated
from the beginning, he cannot be blamed for anything
more than being a successful businessman. All efforts
made in recent years to
harm him personally and
professionally by no matter
which accusation could not
succeed because he could
not be accused of any legal
wrongdoings,” Baetsen had
stated at the time.
The BHC 2014 quiz of historical and contemporary figures.
MARIGOT--Participants
in the 23rd annual Black
History
Celebration
(BHC) quiz will get a
chance to win a new car,
said Conscious Lyrics
Foundation (CLF) president Shujah Reiph.
The quiz is made up of
eight historical and contemporary figures or personalities. The three top
quiz winners will qualify
for a chance to win a new
Hyundai Tucson, said
Reiph, who is the organizer of the island-wide
BHC month of activities,
including the quiz.
A copy of the quiz is
available at SOS radio
in Marigot, Philipsburg
Jubilee Library and at
CLF’s Facebook page.
To win, each quiz-personality photo must be
identified by first and last
name; and a short biography of no fewer than 30
words has to be written
about the person, said
Reiph.
The completed quiz,
along with the name and
contact information of
the person who took the
quiz, should be emailed
to consciouslyrics@yahoo.com.
The completed quiz
and contact information
can also be delivered in
a sealed envelope, addressed to Conscious
Lyrics Foundation, at
Philipsburg Jubilee Library, C. Voges Street 12
or at SOS Radio, 197 Rue
de Hollande, Marigot, by
Friday, February 28.
The first, second, and
third prize winners will be
announced on Saturday,
March 1, live on SOS Radio 95.9 FM, said Reiph.
SOS 95.9 FM and House
of Nehesi Publishers are
the quiz’s sponsors, said
Reiph.
10
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
PRIORITIES FOR EVALUATION...
Continued from page 1.
Jeady-Ann Davelaar (2nd from left) was crowned Bonaire’s Youth Tumba Queen 2014
with the song “Master,” written by John Leoneta and arranged by his brother Dwight. The
winner out of a field of 13 was accompanied by Krioyo Band. Second was Joënny Molina
(far left) with “E buk’i kleur” (The colouring book), third Johnrick Anthony (2nd from
right) and fourth Kishaya Melaan (far right).
PHILIPSBURG--The Department of Social Services
has introduced new standardised forms which will
go into effect as of March 1.
The forms are meant to
protect persons from be-
ing exploited and misused
and to ensure that proper
authority structures are in
place for those who are assigned power of attorney to
process and manage financial aid applications, medi-
cal aid applications and
legal aid applications on
behalf of others.
Minister of Public Health
Social Development and
Labour Cornelius de Weever said many persons fall
within a vulnerable group
such as the elderly and to
combat misuse of the financial aid by persons to whom
the aid is not intended, the
forms are being introduced.
“Putting people first is
the mandate of my Ministry, established in 2013
and thoroughly enforced
throughout every action
undertaken in 2014 and beyond will reflect this,” De
Weever was quoted as saying in a press release.
He said the Ministry is
committed to putting people first by ensuring that
a shield of protection is in
place so that the elderly,
the disabled and the less
fortunate have proper access to the aid offered to
them.
lands will continue with the
legal integration into the
Dutch legal system, stated
the council’s vice-president,
Piet Hein Donner, in the 39page document that was publically released on Monday.
The second theme/objective, the overall functioning
of the new governmental
structure, deals with the performance of the public entities and the cooperation of
the public entities with the
Dutch government and the
other countries in the Kingdom.
Some of the main topics of
this aspect will be whether
the decision to become a
public entity has been the
right one, or that the model of a Dutch municipality would be better, stated
Donner. A related question
would be whether another
sharing of authorities between the Dutch government
and the islands would be necessary.
In the third theme/objective, the people of the islands
are central as it concerns the
consequences of the transition to the new constitutional status for the inhabitants.
“‘What are the concrete effects on society in daily life?’
This question relates to the
question about the level of
facilities on the islands,”
stated Donner.
According to the council,
the expectations of the people should be judged in light
of the new constitutional
frame for the islands, namely, the Dutch Constitution
and the Charter of the Dutch
Kingdom.
The council recommended
carrying out a general inventory of the economic and
social developments on the
islands as part of the evaluation since many inhabitants
have indicated that many
things are worse than before
October 10, 2010, especially
the reduced purchasing power of the people and the cumbersome health care regulations.
The focus would have to be
on health care, poverty, edu-
cation, labour participation,
social facilities, safety/crime
and migration. The level of
taxes and excises would have
to take along in this analysis
of the economic situation.
Though the global themes/
objectives are “strongly connected, but should be distinguished,” according to the
council, “they concern different domains that connect to
the diverse perspectives with
which the evaluation is approached.”
The council has suggested
combining the objectives in
the evaluation, considering
the difference in perspective
in which the Dutch government and the public entities
view the new relations after
October 10, 2010. Also taken
into account should be legal
responsibilities and agreements that have already been
made.
Each of the objectives has
its own “orientation and,
therefore, requires individual research with an individual
set-up and method.” This
would also serve to make a
“good delimitation.” The
evaluation assessment would
become more workable by
splitting it up in separate
parts.
The evaluation committee
would have to guarantee the
mutual cohesion between
the different parts, stated
Donner, who stressed that
the council considered it “of
great importance” that an independent evaluation committee would be installed for
this extensive project.
The council recommended
appointing an independent
chairperson to head the evaluation committee. This person should have the authority with all parties. The committee in question should
have a maximum of seven
persons in order to safeguard
efficiency.
The committee members
should be scientific and
practical experts in the areas of the themes/objectives. There should also be
expertise in the committee
in the area of administrative
experience with small-scale
governments, knowledge of
the specific situation on the
islands, legal know-how and
methodological expertise in
the executing (evaluation)
research.
The evaluation committee
would have various tasks in
the different stages of the
evaluation. The committee
has to look at the operational side of the objectives and
themes. It has to develop criteria to assess the actual findings of the different research.
Furthermore, the committee would have to select
the independent researchers and coach the different
components of the research.
It would also be in charge of
writing the final report after
which it would be up to the
politicians to make decisions
based on the evaluation results.
The advisory department of
the Council of State (Raad
van State) sent its advice to
Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations
Ronald Plasterk on February
4, who, in turn, forwarded it
to the Dutch Parliament on
February 6, as well as the Executive Councils of Bonaire,
St. Eustatius and Saba.
Plasterk and his colleague
of finance, Minister Jeroen
Dijsselbloem, had asked the
Council of State on September 2, 2013, to prepare
an advice (officially called
“voorlichting” in Dutch) on
the content and set-up of the
evaluation in anticipation of
the constitutional evaluation
of the Caribbean Netherlands.
The advice of the Council
of State will be perused by
an evaluation work group
in the formulation of the
evaluation’s mandate before
June 2014. This work group
is part of the agreement that
the representatives from the
Netherlands, Bonaire, St.
Eustatius and Saba made
in October last year during
the Caribbean Netherlands
Week in The Hague.
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Cu5a
Health Minister Cornelius de Weever (fourth left) with Justice Academy cadets as well as
representatives of CPS and the Justice Academy.
P H I L I P S B U R G - -T h e
Health Ministry’s Collective Preventive Services
(CPS) lauded cadets from
the Justice Academy for
their cooperation and assistance with a field survey
to determine a baseline
on risk areas for mosquito
breeding.
Health Minister Cornelius de Weever thanked
the cadets during a meeting last week Friday. “I
know the cadets were
faced with and saw firsthand the infrastructural
challenges and lack of
proper addresses. When
they graduate they must
understand the reality in
the field and the role they
will be playing in making St. Maarten a better
place,” de Weever said in
a press release issued on
Monday.
The cadets assisted in surveying several districts that
included St. Peters, South
Reward, Ebenezer, Betty’s
Estate, Saunders, Mary’s
Fancy, A. Th. Illidge Road,
Belair, Fort Willem, Pond
Island, Sucker Garden,
Madame Estate, Bush
Road, Longwall Road,
Walter Nisbeth Road,
Cannegieter Street, Back
Street and Front Street.
De Weever also thanked
Head of the Department
WILLEMSTAD--Several laws in Curaçao require
amendment before Parliament can ratify the treaty of
the United Nations (UN) regarding the rights of handicapped persons, acting Chairman Jaime Cordoba (PS)
wrote in a letter to the foundation “Save Our Youth Curaçao.” The latter had requested the legislature to approve this treaty.
In his letter of January 29, Cordoba expressed his appreciation for the foundation and its work in the interest
of disabled persons on the island, but wrote that entering into international treaties is an affair of the Dutch
Kingdom. Although the Kingdom of the Netherlands
had signed this treaty on March 30, 2007, Cordoba emphasised that doesn’t automatically mean it became effective in all parts of the Kingdom.
“Every country within the Kingdom must decide on
ratification of this treaty. If one decides to do so, it will
first have to amend several laws to comply with the stipulations of the treaty and this process could take some
time.”
Cordoba further stated that the Netherlands has been
adapting its laws since 2007 to comply with the treaty.
“Once a country has done so, the treaty will be ratified in
conformity with article 45 and citizens can hold government responsible for observing such.”
The PS fraction member added that he will forward
the letter from Save Our Youth Curaçao to Minister of
General Affairs, Prime Minister Ivar Asjes (PS).
of Inspections Martha
Thewet for arranging the
transportation logistics as
well as bus drivers Connor,
van Putten and Bell for
transporting the cadets to
the different areas.
Heavenly Water was also
thanked for providing water, Carl and Sons for providing snacks and lunches
and the media for creating
awareness surrounding the
survey.
The results of the survey
will allow for additional
attention to be paid to
those risk areas by vector control staff. Government has been working
with public health officials
from French St. Martin as
well, to eliminate mosquito
breeding areas due to the
presence of dengue and
chikungunya on the island.
WILLEMSTAD--Fewer tin
cans were collected on Curaçao last year compared to
2012, but there was much
progress in the field of plastic, environment and recycling company Green Force
stated.
The company published
the amount of materials
collected. In 2013 266,175
tin cans were collected,
compared to approximately
390,000 the year before.
Green Force said this was
partly due to “clearing the
customers files.”
“Some businesses were removed from the list. There
are several reasons why
these customers stopped
recycling. Often due to lack
of payment, no budget, the
filthy state of the recycling
bins.”
“The so-called ‘green
wash’ phenomenon often
occurs when companies
want to propagate themselves as ‘green’ but actually
don’t make an effort,” Timo
Brouwer of Green Force
said.
On the other hand, Brower
explained, much progress
was made on the island in
the field of plastic recycling.
The company began collecting plastic foil in 2012.
Most of the products consumed on Curaçao are often
shipped on pallets wrapped
in plastic foil, namely type 4
plastic, or LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene). Several
businesses, including supermarkets, importers and
those in the liquor business,
approached Green Force to
recycle this environmentpolluting material. As a
result 44,000 kilos were col-
lected in 2013, compared to
25,000 kilos the year before.
“Regarding PET (polyethylene) bottles, 288,444 were
recycled in 2012, compared
to 688,482 in 2013. A substantial growth, partly due
to the awareness campaigns
and new recycling centres in
Zeelandia and Piscadera.”
Brouwer stated that Green
Force registered an annual
growth of more than 100 per
cent when it comes to the
net weight collected, namely
1,032 kilos in 2010, 2,263 kilos in 2011, 35,842 kilos in
2012 and 59,932 in 2013. He
explained the expectation for
this year will be lower, because Green Force is seeking
land to expand the processing
capacity.
“So far it’s been impossible
to break though the bureaucratic process on Curaçao
and obtain cooperation from
government,” Brouwer said.
He is yet to receive a reply to
his letters on this matter.
11
“It’s a pity, because as owner
and only employee of Green
Force, I could mean much
more for this island if I could
have land in long lease at an
industrial area. I could then
have an own processing installation, create employment for ‘Yu di Kòrsou’ and
guarantee a growth of more
than 100 per cent in recycled
materials for 2014,” Brouwer
said.
He emphasised that expanding the activities of Green
Force means a higher export
of waste -thus a cleaner island- and investing more in
education at schools. This will
also increase the life span of
the local landfill and offer “a
chance for Curaçao to strive
for a sustainable future.”
“All companies associated
with Green Force in 2013
extended their contract for
2014 and more companies
have joined. Also more recycling centres will be built this
year.”
WILLEMSTAD--Government accountant SOAB is relocating its office on Curaçao to Molenplein in Otrobanda.
The move is scheduled to be completed in October, according to Associate Director of Operations Hardy Huisden.
Currently SOAB is still located at Scharlooweg. “The
reason for the move is because we have grown out of our
jacket,” said Huisden. “In the past couple of years our
workforce has increased between 15 to 20 people.”
Over 80 people are currently employed at SOAB, including six people on St. Maarten and some interns in the
Netherlands.
The landlord of the monumental building at Molenplein is
Foundation Monument Care. Its chairman Marcel van der
Plank reported that the rental contract has been signed,
but that the property will undergo a few more adjustments
before October.
Until recently the building was rented to the Ministry
of Economic Development, which moved to “the Lighthouse” at Parera.
12
Islands
13A:
Stenapa staff and volunteers next to garbage collected at Zeelandia beach on Friday.
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
ST. EUSTATIUS--St. Eustatius
National Parks Foundation Stenapa conducted what was supposed to be a small beach cleanup at Zeelandia beach on Friday
morning. In the end, it turned
out to be the record-breaking
heaviest haul in all the years of
the clean-up programme, said
Jessica Berkel.
A whopping 286 kilos of mostly
plastic debris was collected in 25
bags in just under two hours by
only eight persons.
The next largest clean-up was
in December 2012, when 24 persons collected 255 kilos of debris
in 40 bags. Although the bag total was more, the bags were not
filled to capacity in 2012.
The distance cleaned this year
was also shorter than in previ-
ous years – only 500 metres. The
garbage collected usually consists of light plastic items such
as containers, bottle caps, forks
and spoons, bits of plastic and
small pieces of rope.
The most unique item collected during this clean-up was
a complete toilet, with the toilet
seat having been found a few
hundred metres up the beach.
The most remarkable find
during the clean-up consisted
of more than 200 beer bottles
found in the small parking lot
near the concrete ornamental
turtle. Persons often park in this
area to look out over the waves
on the beach and have a quiet
moment. Many of the bottles
were thrown into the bushes or
under the trees.
“It was truly a deplorable
sight. This is very irresponsible
behaviour and Stenapa are encouraging persons who come to
the beach with beer bottles to
leave them in their vehicles and
dispose of them when they are
near a garbage bin as responsible people do. These beer bottles added up to 40 kilos of the
total items weighed,” Stenapa
stated on Monday.
National Parks Foundation is
also encouraging visitors to Zeelandia beach to walk with a garbage bag on occasion and help
to keep the beach clean. Stenapa
cleans the beach once a month.
ST. EUSTATIUS--Commissioner of Health Reginald Zaandam will be attending the second of three conferences to be
held about the health care package offered to residents of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba by health insurance office ZVK.
The conference will be held in Bonaire from today, Tuesday,
until Saturday, February 15.
During the conference, representatives of the three islands will deliberate on reduction of the yearly spending on health care without reducing the level of
service to the people, Commissioner Zaandam said.
“In other words, how to have a better and optimal service to the
people by a better logistical approach in dealing with referrals of
patients, without forgetting service on the islands,” Zaandam said.
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
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
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
Meets at Da Vida every Thursay
at 6.00 p.m.
Soroptimist International
Day Care Centre
4.30 p.m. 2nd Tuesday
in each month Tel: 497 3509
Lions Club
Meets every 1st and 3rd Tuesday
at 5.30 p.m. at the Arts and
Crafts Centre Tel: 497 6259
Interact Club of Anguilla
Meets every Friday at 3.15 p.m.
at theAlbena Lake Hodge
Comprehensive School
Toasmaster club
meets every 2nd and 4th
Saturday at 6.45 p.m. at La Vue,
South Hill
Subscribe to
PHONE 5425253
SABA--There were only nine
confirmed cases of dengue in
Saba until November 2013,
but because residents travel
frequently to St. Maarten
and other islands in the region, Saba is at a great risk
of acquiring dengue or the
chikungunya disease, Cuban
medical entomologist Sandra
Moreno Reyes stated.
The researcher of Cuba’s
biological and pharmaceutical Labiofam group said this
at a presentation on Saba’s
mosquito-control
project
organised by Saba Reach
Foundation and the Mosquito Control Department at
Eugenius Johnson Center in
Windwardside.
Moreno briefed participants
on the long-term dynamics of
worldwide infestation with
Aedes aegypti, the mosquito
species carrying dengue, chikungunya and other diseases.
She alerted Sabans to the
recent statistics released by
the US Center for Disease
Control, which indicates
that in the past year, there
were 3,095 confirmed cases
of dengue in St. Maarten/St.
Martin, some 11,169 cases in
just one province of Colombia and some 110 deaths registered in the Dominican Republic attributed to dengue.
Saba’s population is closely
tied to these three destinations.
Providing information by
Pan American Health Organization, Moreno highlighted the distribution of
Chikungunya cases in the
Caribbean and concluded
that Saba is also at a great
risk for this illness.
She pointed to the 10 cases registered in Dutch St.
Maarten and 476 cases reported in French St. Martin.
Stressing that “mosquitoes
do not know borders,” she
said that the risk for the Saba
population was substantial.
Moreno was concerned
about the presence and wide
distribution of the Aedes aegypti mosquito in Saba. She
showed the various locations
where the larvae of the mosquito were found to reproduce.
During the past five months,
she had been studying the locations and distribution of
the various mosquito species
in Saba. She surveyed 162
residents, representing 8.1
per cent of the population,
and found that 88 per cent
were affected by mosquito
bites, while 77 per cent were
unaware of prevention factors. She also found that 81
per cent could not identify
symptoms associated with
dengue.
In addition to Aedes aegypti, which is the most common
in Saba, Moreno also found
the Culex quinquefasciatus
mosquito that is associated
with the transmission of various types of encephalitis, including the Nile virus.
The third species that is
widespread in Saba is the
Culex bisulcatus, which is not
a carrier of diseases, but has
been officially identified in
Saba for the first time.
Mosquito reproduction is
concentrated in people’s residential surroundings. This
is especially the case with
Aedes aegypti, which prefers human blood. Moreno
showed photos of piles of car
tires, buckets, water tanks
and containers in which mosquitoes reproduce.
Saba’s Pest Control Department uses biological products to combat mosquitoes,
such as the Guppy fish and
Mosquito Dunks, as well
as the chemical alternative
Abate.
Moreno warned about the
toxicity and developed resistance associated with the use
of chemicals and explained
the benefits of biological
alternatives, among which
is Labiofam’s Biolarvicide
Bactivec. “This product can
be used by the community to
play an active role in mosquito control,” she said. Each
household received a bottle
of the product for use in and
outside the home.
Moreno recommended government’s involvement in
creating community awareness about preventive measures against mosquito proliferation to reinforce the
13
13B:
Cuban medical entomologist Sandra Moreno Reyes during
her presentation on Saba’s mosquito-control programme.
campaign initiated by Saba
University School of Medicine’s students, who developed
dengue-prevention
posters with support of Saba
Lions Club and Body, Mind
and Spirit Foundation.
Labiofam oversees a chain
of businesses developing vaccines and veterinary medicine
as well as biological pesticides.
They operate worldwide, but
are especially active in the Caribbean and Latin America.
14
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
NEVIS--The
Charlestown
Secondary School (CSS) Library & Media Centre unveiled its Hall of Fame on
February 7, under the theme
“Remembering the Past,
Shaping the Future” with a
special salute to Sir Simeon
Daniel: a Hero among Heroes. The unveiling was done
by Premier of Nevis and
Minister of Education Vance
Amoy and CSS Principal Edson Elliott.
In brief remarks, the brainchild behind the project
Marva Roberts, who is the
school’s Teacher Librarian,
explained that the project
was in tribute to persons who
had paved the way for a modern Nevis on the occasion of
Black History Month, observed annually in February.
“Today, it is my honour
and privilege to be a part of
something so important and
that I am very proud of, to
be able to contribute a little
bit to so many who gave and
lost so much, so that you and
I can be who and where we
are today.
“The portraits of these 11
faces honoured on this CSS
Hall of Fame will serve as reminders to us as proud Nevisians and as a black people,
of the many struggles, blood,
sweat and tears that those
before us endured so that we
can enjoy the lives we are living today. They will also remind us that this journey did
not begin with us, but thanks
to these brave men and women, we can truly say we are indeed free,” she said.
Roberts stated in the words of
Marcus Garvey that a people
without knowledge of their history, origin and culture were
like a tree without roots and as
such it was fitting to pause, pray
and praise the sterling contributions of our heroes.
“Today we stand tall with
pride and admiration, as we
remember the unmitigated
courage and selflessness of
our heroes. We salute them
for their courage, endurance,
victory and fight for freedom.
Sir Daniel, first Premier of
Nevis, thank you for giving
so much. Elquemedo Willett,
thank you for placing little
Nevis for all to see.
“God Bless these great men
and women who gave and
gave selflessly. They will not
be forgotten,” she said.
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Cu18d:
Charlestown Secondary School students (from left) Ercha Stapleton, Gabriella Brantley, Kelly Zheng and Indra
Joylall, winners of the first Lower Secondary School Math
Bowl sponsored by the RBC/Royal Bank of Trinidad and
Tobago (RBTT) Ltd.
NEVIS--Charlestown Secondary School (CSS) first
form students Ercha Stapleton and Kelly Zheng and
second form students Indra Joylall and Gabriella
Brantley are the winners of
the first Lower Secondary
School Math Bowl sponsored by the RBC/Royal
Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT) Ltd.
The hope that the competition would translate into
an enthusiasm for maths,
when the students return to
their respective schools and
after they leave school, was
expressed by Palsy Wilkin,
Principal Education Officer
in the Nevis Island Administration’s (NIA’s) Department of Education, as she
made remarks at the event’s
opening ceremony, on February 6.
“All career fields utilise
math, whether sports, business, medicine, agriculture,
technology, or construction.
So it doesn’t matter what
career you choose, you will
benefit from a solid foundation in math. It shapes your
logical thinking and reasoning. In the professional
world, persons with strong
analytical skills and extensive
math and science experience
are the highest paid workers.
“Therefore, this activity is
just one of the ways we intend to boost the teaching
and language of mathematics in our schools,” she said.
The Math Bowl was part of
the Department of Education’s response to a challenge
made last year, by the island’s Premier and Minister
of Education Vance Amory,
to make a concerted effort
to raise the level of skill in
the application and the understanding of mathematics
and thereby, break the cycle
of underperformance in the
subject area.
He noted that 65 per cent
of students in St. Kitts and
Nevis left school without the
basic qualification in mathematics and it was his ministry’s intention to break that
trend. According to the education minister, the rehiring
of Mathematics Coordinator
Sylvia Fahie was one of the
measures his ministry had
undertaken in an effort to
re-ignite an interest in mathematics among the island’s
students.
“That is why, at the insistence of the education department, we decided to reemploy Mrs. Fahie to guide
the process. Mrs. Fahie
worked with the Nevis Island
Administration in the 2000s
before she went away to do
further studies to sharpen
and improve and enhance
her own skills in the teaching
of mathematics.
“We are here to get Mrs.
Fahie to use her considerable skill and knowledge to
help our teachers to help our
children to break this cycle
of underperformance…
“The effort of Mrs. Fahie
and the education department, I am sure, will spark a
large flame in the breasts of
our children and will encourage all of you to dream and to
have a desire to aspire to excellence in the performance
in your mathematics. … It is
my hope that this spark, with
the essential interest, will
make a breakthrough as we
want you to become excellent
students,” he said.
15
Cu18c:
Basseterre High School
ST. KITTS--Minister of Education Nigel Carty along
with other education officials traversed Basseterre to
continue the assessment of
ongoing upgrades in schools
in St. Kitts.
Minister Carty stated that
these upgrades were a collaborative effort.
“We have been working
with public works and other ministries to bring our
schools up to date; to bring
them up to scratch; to make
them places that are wholesome – that are safe for our
students and teachers,” he
explained.
The education minister
stated that there has been a
tremendous amount of work
done throughout the schools
especially at the Basseterre
High School, where over EC
$5 million was spent to completely refurbish the labs, offices and auditorium.
Minister Carty explained
that he is pleased that there
has been significant progress made on the school.
“The place looks like
brand new virtually and we
are very happy for that,”
he noted. “We’ve built additional classrooms. We
just have some additional
work to do in terms of installation of certain basic
items in the labs – gas lines,
extractor fans and so forth
– and I think we would be
well on our way.”
Minister Carty added that
there may be some additional challenges at the
school that his ministry will
continue to look into.
“We are doing all that we
can to work with the various
agencies of government to
get to the bottom of those
concerns,” Minister Carty
emphasised. “The ministry
has accomplished a lot over
the past four years.”
He added that they had
done significant work on all
of the schools in St. Kitts
and are very happy to have
put the education infrastructure in a better position to make teachers and
students a lot more comfortable.
Minister Carty concluded
with the hope that the ministry could see the results in
terms of better health and
well-being of the students
and in the long run, better
academic achievement for
the people.
Other places visited included the Advanced Vocational
Education Centre (AVEC),
Project
Strong,
Dean
Glasford Primary, School
Meals, Beach Allen Primary, Dr. William Connor
Primary, Irishtown Primary
and Tucker Clark Primary.
16
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
ST. KITTS--A top public official has called on more private stakeholders in St. Kitts
and Nevis to join with the local government in support of
law enforcement.
Permanent Secretary of
the Anti-Crime Unit in the
Office of the Prime Minister Astona Browne told St.
Kitts and Nevis Information
Service (SKNIS) that government cherishes the relationship it has with a number
of individuals, agencies and
friendly governments. She
explained that partnerships
on all levels were appreciated and welcomed.
“Safety and security is not
the responsibility of government alone. All of us coming
together have a role to play
in ensuring the safety of our
respective communities and
our countries,” Browne stated. “We rely on support from
the European Union, for example, Canada, the United
States of America, the United Kingdom [and othersEd.], because they all bring
to the table their enhanced
resources and expertise that
we can benefit from.”
Contributions have also
been received on the home
Cu18b:
Permanent Secretary of the Anti-Crime Unit Astona Browne
(SKNIS photo).
front with several companies
and organisations stepping
forward.
“This must be viewed as very
important, because I think in
some other jurisdictions we
do not see that support and
I think that that to a large
extent helps to support whatever initiative we have on the
ground,” she said. “Whether
it’s in the form of a vehicle or
some equipment that is needed to advance their work and
improve the delivery of service
to the community, whatever
form it takes, we are grateful
and we would like to encourage other persons to come on
board. Yes, government has
committed the resources and
will continue to commit the
resources, but the partnerships … would go a long way.”
An appeal was also made
by the permanent secretary
to the public to lend further
support to the police by cooperating fully with the law
and reporting any violations,
which can be done anonymously through the Crime
Stoppers hotline 1-800-8477.
“I think that we are moving in the right direction and
with the partnerships that we
have garnered over the years,
we expect to see an improved
product as far as safety
and security is concerned,”
Browne stressed.
A 15.3 per cent decrease in
crime for the year 2013 followed up by a 41.4 per cent
drop in crime for January
2014 compared to the same
period last year supports her
statement.
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
ANGUILLA--More than
forty pre-school teachers and day care workers
received certificates on
Friday evening, February
8, following a week-long
course in Quality Early
Learning. Education Officer Susan Smith described
the week as “very successful” and said the course
will improve the quality of
service provided for the 0-3
year olds.
According to facilitator Jacquelyn Morris, the
course included child de-
velopment, health and safety, stimulating infants and
toddlers, acceptable and
unacceptable practices, the
daily routine, language development, the importance
of play, music and movement and making objects
from recyclables. There
were lectures, group work,
demonstrations and practical sessions during the
course that was held every
evening from 6:00 to 9:00.
At the start of the week,
there were 40 participants,
but this increased to 50 by
A Cougar transport helicopter from the Defence Ministry
in the Netherlands lifted off from Hato-airport in Curaçao
for the first time on Monday. The aircraft will be supporting
the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard and the Royal Navy in
anti-drug operations, search and rescue missions as well as
providing military assistance.
Islands
17
the last night.
Press Officer for the Governor’s Office Kim Cutler
thanked the participants
for their commitment to
instilling the joy of learning
into the children and building their future. She noted
that the Governor’s Office
had funded the workshop
and was pleased to do so.
Permanent Secretary Bonnie Richardson-Lake said
that this is the first initiative of the Keep Infants and
Toddlers Exploring (KITE)
Project and stressed the Participants in the Early Learning course.
importance of early education. She said it is easier to
build strong children than
repair broken persons later. She also suggested that
positive learning at an early
stage will result in savings
for the government later.
Morris said that the training should be ongoing and
urged the participants to
use the knowledge and
skills they have gained for
the development of their
centres. Certificates were
presented by RichardsonLake and the other facilitator, Rosalind Warner-Otto.
Each facility represented
also received a kit for use in From left: Rosalind Warner-Otto, Jacquelyn Morris, Bonnie Richardson-Lake and Kim
Cutler
their centres.
18
Islands
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
WILLEMSTAD--The Santa
Barbara Beach & Golf Resort
in Curaçao has paid a lot of attention to profiling the property on different markets through
participation at trade fairs in
the Netherlands, Suriname,
Ecuador and Jamaica. “Customer acquisition is important
and Santa Barbara is going all
the way,” a press release stated.
The resort stresses that it has
to stand out within the most
relevant markets, because the
potential traveller/visitor has a
wide range of choices in holiday destinations and a variety
of accommodations. “That is
the goal.”
The luxury hotel managed
by Benchmark Hospitality International already attended
four different tourism marts in
January. The activities began
by participating -together with
the Curaçao Tourist Bureau
(CTB) Europe- in the vacation
fair at Utrecht, which is still the
largest of its kind in the Netherlands.
“Santa Barbara Resort had
its own place in the booth of
Curaçao. In collaboration with
the Dutch PR-partner USP,
we took part in the ‘Like My
Brand’ event. That’s where
well-known and influential
ladies come together at an informal evening to be informed
about the latest luxury trends.”
The resort was also well represented at the “Caribbean
Travel Marketplace” in Jamaica. “That event serves as a
platform where tour operators
and news media come together
at the beginning of the year to
be informed about tourist destinations.”
In the South American country of Ecuador the resort attended the Golden Vacations
Road Show. “It was the perfect opportunity to do promotions for the charter flights
that Golden Vacations will be
putting in for a whole year to
Curaçao.”
Also the resort made use of
the opportunity to work together with CTB to be part of
the Mas Travel Road Show.
“Tour operator Mas Travel
gave presentations in six cities
in Ecuador to about 260 travel
agents that now have an eye for
Curaçao products.”
On the invitation of CTB Santa Barbara also participated in
the Curaçao Expo during the
Suriname Expo that took place
on January 22 at Krasnapolski Hotel in the centre of Paramaribo. “Before that the main
travel agents of Suriname were
visited as an introduction. Of
course the fifth edition of the
Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival in August this year was also
mentioned.”
From left: Chanelle Petty Barrett, Celestine John and Dr.
Ellis Webster.
ANGUILLA--Dr.
Ellis
Lorenzo Webster donated
ten laptop computers to
Morris Vanterpool Primary
School at East End during the past weekend. This
follows a donation by Dr.
Webster’s family to Viven
Vanterpool School at Island Harbour recently.
Principal of the school
Celestine John, Permanent
Secretary for Education
Chanelle Petty Barrett and
Winston Duncan of the
Education Department all
thanked Dr. Webster for
the generous donation and
assured him that the computers will be put to good
use by the students.
Dr. Webster, a former pupil of the school, said that
he was delighted to be in a
position to present the gift
to assist the students with
the tools to enable them
to compete on a global basis. He took the opportunity to mention how a former teacher of the school,
Daisy Richardson, had a
profound influence on him
in his early years and he
thanked her for that.
ANGUILLA--Owner
of Straw Hat Restaurant Peter Parles said
that last week, for the
first time, the restaurant served lionfish
and the response was
amazing. He said that
Chef Nick Dellinger attended a seminar last
Wednesday organised
by the Department of
Environment (DOE)
and the Department of
Fisheries and Marine
Resources
(DFMR)
for chefs and restaurateurs.
He said, “Despite the
myths of the lionfish
being poisonous, with
a little education, it
is quite delicious and
not terribly difficult to
work with.” He said
that everyone who tried
it loved it, including
Straw Hat staff members who were initially
afraid to try it at all.
Chef Nick said he
received a wealth of
knowledge from the
class and was surprised
to learn that the lionfish
reproduce at an alarming rate. Female lionfish can lay up to 15,000
eggs every three to four
days and they are likely
to take over if something is not done. He
was very excited to start
cooking it. He reported
that the first night the
fish was served at Straw
Hat, he cleaned about
40 pounds of the fish
and the same the second night, Friday.
“The meat is lovely,
a mix between the texture of a small grouper
and the sweetness of a
red snapper. The fillets are a nice size and
the overall process of
cleaning them is not
that difficult,” he said.
He said they are very
versatile and can be
fried, breaded, steamed
or grilled. “I am going
to find a place for them
on our menu as soon as
possible,” he commented, “and I encourage
all of our guests to give
it a try.”
Islands/Dutch kingdom
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
BONAIRE--Bonaire will
have a “Hall of Fame” for
famous sportsmen and
sportswomen. The Island
Council will soon appoint
a preparatory committee
to realise this.
This way, the local government is implementing
a motion adopted unanimously on November 12.
During the past years, the
athletes of Bonaire have
performed extremely well
abroad.
Recent examples of such
are Kiri Thodé and Amado Vrieswijk, who won
windsurfing world titles in
the category “Freestyle.”
Also, the brothers, Tonky
and Taty Frans, who established their names in this
sport at the highest level,
should be mentioned and
years ago, Patun Saragosa
became the first Olympic
participant for Bonaire
with the games in Barcelona, Spain, and then Atlanta, Georgia.
Although it’s nice to
celebrate their successes
now, the idea is to avoid
them being forgotten in
the future. A Hall of Fame
is one way to honour these
sports persons and their
performances permanently.
At the suggestion of
Commissioner Hans Els,
the Executive Council decided recently to appoint
a preparatory committee
consisting of people with
a thorough knowledge of
the island’s sports scene.
They will develop the idea
and goals of the Hall of
Fame objectively and do
an inventory of material
to be considered for such.
In the second phase, the
committee will present
concrete proposals to realise the Hall of Fame. Els
proposed Aubrey F. Sealy,
Magno “Ibi” Piar, Herbert
Cesilia, Alexander Santana and Adele EvertszWinklaar as members.
AALSMEER--Police have
arrested nine Bulgarian nationals and seized 3,600 kilos of tobacco and 2.3 million cigarettes in a raid on
an illegal cigarette factory
in Aalsmeer.
The factory was located in
a warehouse and equipped
with machinery to make
cigarettes and a large gen-
erator for electricity.
Aalsmeer, just a few kilometres southwest of Amsterdam, is the centre of the
Dutch flower trade.
The men also appeared to
live in the warehouse, part
of which had been converted into sleeping areas, RTL
television said.
AMSTERDAM--A number of Dutch cable companies have warned that 4GInternet networks can distort television signals, NOS
television said on Monday.
Some 4G frequencies are
the same as certain television broadcasters, leading
to blocks on the screen or
the signal disappearing altogether, NOS said.
In the city of Harderwijk
in the centre of the Netherlands, for example, high
definition Nederland 1
has been affected, while in
Veendam in the northeast
of the country there were
problems with Eurosport
and BBC1.
Cable companies advised
households to obtain better insulated cables, which
would reduce the chance of
disturbances.
Harderwijk resident Ben
van ‘t Slot told NOS the
new cables have not improved reception because
he could not change the
cable that were running
through the ceiling at his
home.
“It is too ridiculous for
words that KPN is rolling
out 4G and we are left with
the problems,” he said.
Cable companies expect
the disruptions to increase
as 4G services are being extended, NOS said.
Minister Ronald Plasterk. (John van Kerkhof photo)
THE
HAGUE--Minister of Home Affairs
and Kingdom Relations
Ronald Plasterk and Defence Minister Jeanine
Hennis were informed
on November 22, 2013,
that the 1.8 million data
about telephone and Internet communications
were probably gathered
by the Dutch security
services.
Minister Plasterk said
in Parliament in October
2013 the information
had been collected by
authorities in the United
States, but he was forced
to retract the statement
last week.
In a statement on Monday, Plasterk informed
Members of Parliament
(MPs) he and Minister
Hennis had been forced
to make a choice between fully informing
Parliament and “not going public with the way
our security services
work.” The national interest was the overriding
factor, Plasterk said.
The minister told Parliament last week the
Dutch, and not the US
Secret Service, were responsible for collecting
information on 1.8 million satellite phone calls
plus text and fax traffic,
and that the information
had then been shared
with the US authorities.
Parliament is due to
debate the latest information today, Tuesday.
Opposition MPs want to
know if Plasterk deliberately misinformed Parliament last year when
he stated National Security Agency (NSA) was
behind the information
gathering.
Plasterk said in Parliament in October 2013
the Americans were behind the tapping, after
the revelations were first
published in German
magazine Der Spiegel.
However, in a twoparagraph briefing last
Wednesday,
Minister
Plasterk stated the information had been gathered by the Netherlands
itself.
“The details were collected in the interest of
counter-terrorism activities and military operations abroad,” the briefing stated. The information was then “correctly
shared with the US.”
Although Plasterk is
under considerable pressure, political pundits
say it is unlikely he will
be forced to resign.
Deputy Prime Minister
Lodewijk Asscher said
on Friday he had full
confidence that Plasterk
would survive the debate.
19
THE HAGUE--Minister
of Security and Justice Ivo
Opstelten plans to increase
maximum jail terms for
cyber criminals up to five
years, he told parliament
on Monday.
Destroying computer data,
blocking access by changing
passwords and spamming
will carry a maximum sentence up to two years imprisonment.
More serious offences involving causing damage to
vital infrastructure by using
so called bot-nets will carry
a maximum prison term up
to five years.
The new sentences stem
from European legislation
which Opstelten is now incorporating into Dutch law.
The draft legislation has
now been sent out for consultation.
KERKRADE--Two
men
have been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a rare collection of
silver medallions belonging
to a civic guard group in
Limburg province last year.
The two work for the local
Kerkrade waste collection
agency, which is thought
to have picked up the medallions when they were
mistakenly put out with the
garbage.
The St. Sebastianus civic
guard from Kerkrade,
which can trace its roots
back to 1617, offered a
10,000-euro reward for the
return of the silver, which
was thrown out with the
rubbish during a clearout of a local Rabobank
branch.
The bank also offered a
10,000-euro reward.
Part of the silverware has
been recovered. The treasure consisted of 220 handengraved silver shields and
is insured for 250,000 euros.
Police were put on the trail
of the suspected thieves after one of them, age 44,
apparently tried to sell the
medallions last Friday. The
second man, age 51, was arrested on Monday.
20
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Regional
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Director of Business Processes and Administration for SRI Wayne Cummings.
JAMAICA--Sandals Resorts
International (SRI) has accelerated its Succession Planning
Strategy with an invitation for
budding tourism aspirants to
join its Management Trainee
Programme.
The intensive two-year
training and development
programme gives promising
young leaders from across the
Caribbean, an opportunity to
positively impact the growth
of the region’s tourism product through hands-on training
from one of the world’s most
celebrated resorts, Director of
Business Processes and Administration for SRI Wayne
Cummings said in a press statement.
Cummings noted that, over
the years, the company had
invested heavily in the development of young Caribbean nationals who are now among the
brightest and most innovative
managers in the tourism sector across the Caribbean and
around the world.
“The Management Trainee
Programme has been the centrepiece of SRI’s management
Succession Planning Strategy
ROSEAU, Dominica--Health
authorities are confirming increased cases of the mosquitoborne disease, Chikungunya,
but it is confined to two communities in Dominica.
Senior Environmental Health
Officer, Sylvester St. Ville,
speaking on the state-owned
DBS radio, said there were
now 13 confirmed cases and
that the matter “is a major
concern for the health care system”.
“It’s something that we are
trying to manage. As of our
latest report, there are 13 confirmed cases. They are confined to those two communities,” he said.
The authorities said the cases
were confined to Bath Estate
on the outskirts of the capital,
and Woodford Hill north of
here.
St. Ville said that the Environmental Health department was
taking preventative measures
to reduce the spread of the disease.
“Presently we are in Bath Estate doing some source reduction and vector control activities …) we will be doing some
fogging operations to reduce
the population of adults in
these communities,” he said,
urging residents to clean up the
area and reduce the breeding
areas for mosquitoes.
Chikungunya is a viral disease,
carried mainly by the Aedes
aegypti mosquito and causes a
dengue-like sickness.
Symptoms include a sudden
high fever, severe pain in the
wrists, ankles or knuckles, muscle pain, headache, nausea and
rash. Joint pain and stiffness
are more common with Chikungunya than with dengue.
Last month, the Trinidadbased Caribbean Public Health
Agency (CARPHA) said it
was working closely with the
French and Dutch authorities
where the first ever case of chikungunya had been recorded.
CARPHA executive director
Dr. James Hospedales told the
Caribbean Media Corporation
(CMC) that his advice to the
region would be “to stay inform and stay alert to the news
and any updated information.
Secondly we would strongly
advise that you go to our web
and download the chart which
is a checklist of all the breeding
places in the yard where mosquitoes can breed.
“The Caribbean is at risk, exactly what will happen in the
weeks and months ahead we
don’t know because it has not
been here before but we are
at risk,” Dr. Hospedales told
CMC, adding “this is a new virus to the region and therefore
the vast majority of people are
susceptible”.
with the best of the best from
within the resorts, along with
new hires, continuing to display exceptional growth and
capabilities of taking not only
Sandals, but the tourism industry as a whole, to the next
level. From the 2012 cohort, 21
graduands are now set to take
up management and assistant
management posts in various
departments at Sandals and
Beaches resorts across the Caribbean, and we are now seeking the next batch of superstars,” Cummings continued.
Ideal candidates for the programme must have a first degree from a recognised institution – in preferably, but not
limited to tourism and hospitality – or three years’ experience in the hospitality industry.
Additionally, shortlisted candidates must be over 21 years old,
possess strong communication
and organisational skills and
be service-driven with excellent
customer service skills.
The official recruitment drive
for the Management Trainee
Programme is now in progress,
with an application deadline
set for February 20. Following
the submission of all applications, there will be an intense
selection process – including a
series of extensive interviews by
SRI Group directors and resort
general managers – to identify
the most suitable candidates
for the programme. The final selection of candidates is
expected to be in place at assigned resorts by June 2014.
The Management Trainee
Programme was originally introduced in the mid-1980s and
represents an added feature
of Sandals Resorts’ ongoing
investment in training that includes the Hospitality Training
Programme which provides unattached high school graduates
with an introduction to various
departments in the resorts; as
well as continuous on-the-job
training sessions, scholarship
opportunities, as well as workshops and seminars for team
members through the Sandals
Corporate University. ~ Jamaica Observer ~
PUNTA CANA, Dominican
Republic--A computer security software firm has uncovered what it calls the first
cyber espionage campaign
believed to be started by a
Spanish-speaking country,
targeting government agencies, energy companies and
activists in 31 countries.
Dubbed “The Mask,” the
campaign had operated undetected since 2007 and infected more than 380 targets
before it stopped last week,
Moscow-based
Kaspersky
Lab said on Monday.
The firm declined to identify
the government suspected to
be behind the cyber spying,
but said it had been most active in Morocco, followed by
Brazil, the United Kingdom,
France and Spain.
The suspected involvement
of a Spanish-speaking nation is unusual as the most
sophisticated cyber spying
operations uncovered so
far have been linked to the
United States, China, Russia and Israel. Those nations
have been said to be behind
the Duqu, Gauss and Flame
malware, for example.
Kaspersky Lab said the discovery of The Mask suggests
that more countries have
become adept in Internet
spying. The firm’s researchers only came across the operation because it infected
Kaspersky’s own software.
“There are many superadvanced groups that we
don’t know about. This is the
tip of the iceberg,” Costin
Raiu, director of Kaspersky’s
global research team, said in
an interview on the sidelines
of a conference sponsored by
his company in the Dominican Republic. Raiu said The
Mask hit government institutions, oil and gas companies
and activists, using malware
that was designed to steal
documents, encryption keys
and other sensitive files, as
well as take full control of infected computers.
The operation infected
computers running Microsoft Corp’s Windows and
Apple Inc’s Mac software,
and likely mobile devices
running Apple’s iOS and
Google Inc’s Android software, according to Kaspersky
Lab.
The companies did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kaspersky Lab said it
worked with Apple and other
companies last week to shut
down some of the websites
that were controlling the spying operation.
The Russian-based company named the operation
“The Mask” for the translation of the Spanish word
“Careto,” which appears in
the malware code.
Among other things, The
Mask hackers took advantage of a known flaw in
Adobe Systems Inc’s ubiquitous Flash software that
permitted attackers to get
from Google’s Chrome web
browser into the rest of a
target’s computer, Raiu said.
Adobe fixed the flaw in 2012,
he said.
A spokeswoman for Adobe
confirmed that the company
released an update to Flash
in April 2012 that fixed the
vulnerability. She declined
to comment on Kaspersky
Lab’s research on The Mask.
Raiu said The Mask attackers may have been aided by
a booming grey market for
undisclosed software flaws
and the tools for exploiting
them, known as “zero-day”
exploits because the makers
of affected software have no
notice of the danger. Buyers
of zero-days often leave the
software vulnerabilities unfixed in order to deploy spy
software.
The Flash flaw had been
uncovered in 2012 by a
Paris-based company called
Vupen, which specializes in
finding such weaknesses. Vupen revealed the vulnerability at a hacking competition
that year, but did not demonstrate how it can be ex-
21
ploited. Instead, Vupen said
it would sell its research to its
government clients.
Kaspersky Lab said The
Mask was one of the few Internet spying campaigns exposed to date that appear to
have links to a zero-day sale.
Vupen Chief Executive Chaouki Bekrar disputed any
connection to his company.
“Believe it or not, but there
are many other companies
selling zero-days,” Vupen
said via email.
Security experts have become increasingly concerned
about the zero-day market,
where governments including the United States are
active buyers. A former top
U.S. cybersecurity official,
Richard Clarke, says that deliberately leaving vulnerabilities unfixed puts U.S. assets
at risk.
Liam O’Murchu, a researcher at Symantec Corp,
said it was difficult to know
who was behind The Mask.
“Just looking at the targets, it is not obvious who
would want to target them;
there is no obvious pattern,”
O’Murchu said via email.
“The code is professionally
written, but it’s even difficult
to say whether is it written by
a government or by a private
company that sells this type
of software.” ~Reuters~
22
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday February 11, 2014
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday February 11, 2014
23
24
Regional
GEORGETOWN, Guyana--The Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA)
said it had increased its
security following a statement by the United States
Embassy here of “unconfirmed threat information”
relating to flights by the
Trinidad-based Caribbean
Airlines (CAL) destined
for the United States.
In a statement, CJIA said
that it has “since adopted
the highest security posture
to protect passengers, crew,
aircraft and airport employees and to ensure the
PARAMARIBO--The
Haitian community in
Suriname has requested
that the country celebrate Haitian Flag Day
on May 18. “We do are
not seeking to get a national holiday. All we
would like to get is a moment during which we
can share our valuable
history with the rest of
Suriname,” Consul Alex
Jospitre said.
Haitian Flag Day celebrates one of the oldest flags in the western
hemisphere. It is said
that the first design of
the flag was made by
Jean Jacques Dessalines,
who, after winning a battle against the French
army, tore off the white
of a French flag to symbolise the victory.
Jospitre said that the
day the first Haitian flag
was introduced, May 18,
1803, is celebrated hugely in Haiti and by Haitians in the diaspora. “As
the first Black republic in
the western hemisphere,
Haiti plays an important
role in the exchange of
culture,” the consul said.
Jospitre, who moved
to Suriname last year to
open Haiti’s first consulate in the country,
said he had discussed
the initiative with other
Haitians in the community and had since filed
a formal request at the
Ministry of Education,
Culture and Community
Development.
The consul said some
of the Haitians actually
wanted a commemoration of the Haitian immigration, but he didn’t
think that was feasible.
“That would require a
lot of full-scale awareness
campaigning
amongst the Haitians
themselves; most of our
people know about Flag
Day, so we will only have
to create awareness
amongst the Surinamese
community,” he said.
Multi-ethnic Suriname
has in recent years introduced several national
holidays to mark the arrival of migrants whose
descendants now call the
country home.
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
continued smooth and safe
operations at the airport”
The CJIA said it was urging passengers and other
airport users to be on the
“lookout for any suspicious activities or occurrences and report same to
an airport security official”
adding that the heightened
security posture would remain in place over a number of days until such time
as the threat is no longer
deemed valid.
CAL in a statement said
that it was re-assuring passengers and the travelling
public “ that specific layers
of security have been added
at our Guyana Airport Operations and we are working closely with all authorities to ensure appropriate
security protocols are followed to ensure, safe, comfortable and on-time flight
departures.
“All Caribbean Airlines
flights are operating as
scheduled. We thank the
travelling public for their
understanding of any inconvenience as special security measures have been
put in place.”
The United States Embassy in Guyana in a statement posted on its website
Sunday said that the threats
were for flights “departing
on Monday, February 10,
2014.
“Out of an abundance of
caution, the Embassy advises all U.S. Citizens in
Guyana travelling on Caribbean Airlines (CAL)
to the United States from
Monday,
February
10
through Wednesday, February 12, 2014, to make
alternate travel arrangements. ~CMC~
The Cheddie Jagan International Airport (CJIA) said that it has “since adopted the highest
security posture to protect passengers, crew, aircraft and airport employees and to ensure
the continued smooth and safe operations at the airport.”
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad-The Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines (CAL) said
Monday there had been no
cancellations of its flights in
and out of Guyana following a warning by the United
States of “unconfirmed
threat information” relating
to its flights destined for the
United States.
“This is to confirm all our
flights out of Guyana and
into Guyana today [Monday]
are operating on schedule.
Our flight this morning to
JFK Airport (New York) has
already operated as schedule,” said CAL communication manager Clint Williams.
He said the airline was reminding the travelling public
“that we do have in place all
the necessary and appropriate security systems to address any issues being raised.
“I can also confirm there
has been no specific rise in
cancellations, Most of the
people who were booked to
fly on today’s flights have
travelled, which of course is
an indication of the assur-
ance they have with our security and safety procedures,”
Williams added.
The Cheddie Jagan International Airport (CJIA) said
that it has “since adopted the
highest security posture to
protect passengers, crew, aircraft and airport employees
and to ensure the continued
smooth and safe operations
at the airport”
The CJIA said it was urging
passengers and other airport
users to be on the “lookout
for any suspicious activities
or occurrences and report
same to an airport security official” adding that the
heightened security posture
would remain in place over
a number of days until such
time as the threat is no longer deemed valid.
The United States Embassy
in Guyana in a statement
posted on its website Sunday
said that the threats were for
flights “departing on Monday, February 10, 2014.
“Out of an abundance of
caution, the Embassy advises
all U.S. Citizens in Guyana
traveling on Caribbean Airlines (CAL) to the United
States from Monday, February 10 through Wednesday,
February 12, 2014, to make
alternate travel arrangements.
“We strongly recommend
that U.S. citizens travelling
to or residing in Guyana
enroll in the Department of
States Smart Traveller Enrolment Programme (STEP).
STEP enrollment gives you
the latest security updates,
and makes it easier for the
U.S. Embassy to contact you
in an emergency. If you don’t
have Internet access, enrol
directly with the U.S. Embassy.”
The Embassy gave no details
of the “unconfirmed threats
information” but said it was
urging Americans to regularly monitor the State Department’s website, “where
you can find current Travel
Warnings, Travel Alerts, and
the Worldwide Caution”.
It urged them to read the
“Country Specific Information for Guyana”.
US/World
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
NEW YORK--Nine people
were arrested and some
3,000 fighting roosters and
hens rescued when New
York authorities busted a
cockfighting ring they said
was one of the biggest ever
uncovered in the United
States.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
announced the arrests and
said in a statement: “Cockfighting is a cruel, abusive
and barbaric practice that
tortures animals, endangers the health and safety
of the public and is known
to facilitate other crimes.”
Officials simultaneously
raided an apartment building in the New York City
borough of Queens where
70 people were attending
a fight overnight Saturday, and also a pet shop in
Brooklyn that dealt in fighting chickens as well as a 90acre (36-hectare) farm in
CHARLOTTESVILLE,
Virginia--President Barack
Obama and French President Francois Hollande
toured Thomas Jefferson’s
plantation estate on Monday in a show of solidarity
for Franco-American ties
that have endured for more
than two centuries despite
the occasional tempest.
The visit to Monticello,
home to America’s third
president, served to showcase a relationship that
stretches back to the founding of the United States in
the late 18th century, an
alliance still strong despite
spats over U.S. eavesdropping and trade talks with
the European Union.
Hollande, 59, who split
from his partner, Valerie
Trierweiler, last month after an affair with an actress,
arrived solo for the first
state visit hosted by Obama
since he won a second term
in 2012. The two leaders
will get down to business on
Tuesday with White House
talks, covering topics such
as Iran, Syria, restive North
Africa and trade, followed
by a joint news conference. A Tuesday evening
state dinner features aged
rib-eye beef and American
wine and a musical performance by Mary J. Blige.
Monday was all about
symbolism. Obama met
Hollande at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington
Plattekill, New York, where
thousands of roosters and
hens were kept and trained.
“Operation Angry Birds,”
named after a popular
mobile game, targeted a
gambling operation where
people bet up to $10,000 on
a single fight to see roosters, often fitted with knives,
battle to the death, according to the American Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
Some 70 people at the
Queens apartment building, where cockfights had
been held twice a month
since May, were detained
and questioned, and about
65 birds seized, the attorney general’s office said. It
was the biggest cockfighting
bust in New York history,
authorities said.
Nine people were charged
with felonies, punishable by
up to four years in prison
and a fine up to $25,000,
authorities said. Cockfighting is illegal in every U.S.
state.
Spectators paid admission and a seat fee for the
all-night fights in the basement, where alcohol and
drugs were sold, prosecutors said. In some of the locations, authorities found
cockfighting paraphernalia,
such as fake rooster spurs,
candle wax and syringes
used to inject the birds with
performance-enhancing
drugs, ASPCA officials
said.
Humane societies and animal rescue groups in seven
states are helping with the
shelter and transfer of the
animals, officials said. “Our
primary goal was to immediately remove these birds
from a cycle of violence and
suffering,” said Stacy Wolf,
senior vice president of
the ASPCA’s Anti-Cruelty
Group.
A rooster is seen during an American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) animal rescue during
“Operation Angry Birds” in the Queens borough of New York,
in this February 8, 2014 handout photo.
U.S. President Barack Obama (C) and French President Francois Hollande (L) tour the Virginia residence of Thomas Jefferson with Leslie Greene Bowman, president and CEO of the
Thomas Jefferson foundation, at Monticello in Charlottesville on Monday.
shortly after the French
leader arrived from Paris,
and together they flew
aboard Air Force One to
Charlottesville. At Monticello, they toured the
unique home designed by
Jefferson, including its distinctive crowning portico
and the Cabinet room Jefferson used for writing,
architectural drafting and
scientific observation. They
saw the basement kitchen
equipped with utensils he
brought back from Paris after serving as U.S. ambassador to France.
“Thomas Jefferson represents what’s best in America, but as we see as we
travel through his home,
what he also represents is
the incredible bond and
the incredible gifts that
France gave to the United
States, because he was a
Francophile through and
through,” Obama told reporters.
He said the house also
represents the complicated
history of the United States
since slaves helped to build
this magnificent structure.
“It’s a reminder for both
of us that we are in a continuous fight on behalf of
the rights of all peoples,”
Obama said.
Hollande noted the significant role played by a
French general, the Marquis de Lafayette, in helping George Washington
defeat the British colonial
power. “We were allies in
the time of Jefferson and
Lafayette. We are still allies today. We were friends
at the time of Jefferson and
Lafayette and will remain
friends forever,” he said.
Today’s collaboration is a
far cry from the strains of
a decade ago, when France
refused to join the Iraq war.
But France also has made
known its unhappiness over
National Security Agency
spying practices. Hollande
told Time magazine that
the agency’s tactics “should
never have existed” and had
caused “a difficult moment,
not just between France
and the United States but
also between Europe and
the United States.”
Washington’s relations
with the European Union
have also been ruffled by
a U.S. diplomat’s secretly
recorded expletive to disparage the EU’s handling
of the political crisis in
Ukraine.
The United States and
France have cooperated
in diplomacy on Syria and
Iran, but do not always
agree on economic issues,
such as a U.S.-EU trade
deal on which negotiations began in July. France
set several preconditions
before allowing the talks
to start, insisting that the
audio-visual sector, including cinema and books, be
excluded from discussions.
French tax authorities have
also put U.S. Internet giant
Google under audit about
accounting procedures that
channel sales through Ireland. Google rejects suggestions that this is an attempt at tax-dodging.
25
AT L A N TA - - O f f i c i a l s
across the southeastern
United States braced on
Monday for a blast of freezing rain, snow and ice, with
Georgia’s governor advising “extreme caution” and
declaring a state of emergency across almost onethird of the state.
The storm is expected
to bring a wintry mix to a
broad swath of the country
stretching from Texas to
North Carolina, according
to the National Weather
Service. It comes two weeks
after a 2 inch (5 cm) snowfall brought the Atlanta
area to a halt, stranding
hundreds of thousands of
commuters and leading to
intense criticism of local
and state officials for failing
to prepare.
“Ice is the big danger
here,” Georgia Governor
Nathan Deal told reporters. “We are exercising extreme caution.”
Widespread power outages are likely from ice forming on power lines, a problem the state did not face
during the storm that hit
on Jan. 28. The amount of
ice possible could be “catastrophic,” a Georgia Power
official told reporters, adding the utility was bringing
in extra crews from outside
the state.
“The next three days are
going to be challenging
days,” Deal said.
Deal, a Republican up
for re-election this year,
has admitted the state’s
response to last month’s
storm fell short and vowed
to take steps to be better
prepared. The governor
said he had put the state’s
National Guard on notice
on Sunday that they could
be called up to help, and he
directed transportation officials to have equipment in
place in areas where snow
and ice are expected.
The state’s new system for
notifying residents about
hazardous weather is ready
and may be used over the
next few days, Deal said.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim
Reed said the city had doubled its ability to salt roads
and was coordinating closely with the state and other
municipalities after missteps during the previous
storm. “We’re going to be
in constant contact with the
state,” Reed said.
26
International
European Union’s Ambassador to Cuba Herman Portocarero speaks to the media during a
news conference in Havana on Monday.
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
BRUSSELS--The European Union agreed on Monday to launch negotiations
with Cuba to increase trade,
investment and dialogue
on human rights in its most
significant diplomatic shift
since Brussels lifted sanctions on the communistruled country in 2008.
After more than a year
of discussions, EU foreign
ministers decided to seek
better ties with Havana to
support the Caribbean island nation’s market-oriented reforms and to position European companies
for any transition to a more
open economy.
“These negotiations will
help consolidate our engagement with Cuba,” the
EU’s foreign policy chief
Catherine Ashton said after
the decision. “I hope Cuba
will take up this offer.”
EU negotiators aim to
agree the so-called Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement by the end
of 2015 and say Cuba has
signalled a willingness to
sign. While EU investment
in Cuba and progress toward multiparty democracy
are not expected to change
dramatically in the near future, the pursuit of the accord is symbolic, highlighting the bloc’s warmer ties
with Cuba in contrast to the
United States, which has
maintained an economic
embargo on Cuba since
1962.
EU officials repeatedly
said human rights would
be a core issue in the negotiations, and the European
Union’s ambassador to Havana said Cuban authorities
had indicated that “everything could be on the table,”
including human rights.
“That was the message at
the very beginning of the
process, but now we have
to set agendas and there,
of course, the more difficult
issues will come out,” EU
Ambassador Herman Portocarero told reporters in
Havana.
Cuba and the European
Union share “common
ground” on Cuba’s social
and collective human rights,
but differ on individual
rights, Portocarero said. Cuba’s one-party system inhibits dissent and free speech.
Although U.S.-Cuba relations have taken a more
pragmatic tone recently,
with officials from both
sides pointing to improvements, Washington has
barely budged since easing
Cuban travel restrictions in
2011.
The United States previously exerted pressure on
Europe to isolate the Cuban
government. But one senior
EU official who met U.S.
officials last week to brief
them on Europe’s plans said
the EU’s overtures were
met with Washington’s “full
understanding.”
The EU official also denied
any suggestion that Brussels
was trying to “buy” democratic reforms in Cuba, saying EU aid to Havana would
remain at current levels.
Cuba has received about 80
million euros ($109 million)
in development aid from the
EU since 2008, according to
EU data.
The EU is Cuba’s biggest
foreign investor and second
biggest trading partner after Venezuela. One third of
tourists visiting the island
every year come from the
28-member EU.
Even without big surges
in trade - Cuba exports little - the symbolism is huge
for the EU, whose ties with
Havana had been strained
since Brussels imposed diplomatic sanctions in 2003
in response to the arrest of
75 dissidents. Although the
EU lifted those sanctions
in 2008, the normalization
of relations has been tortuous because of resistance
from Poland and the Czech
Republic due to their own
communist past. Warsaw
and Prague now back a
deal with Cuba, while the
Netherlands sent its foreign
minister to Havana in January - the first such trip by the
Dutch since the 1959 Cuban
Revolution.
The EU’s Education Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou will also visit Cuba this
week, a sign that high-level
visits by EU officials may be
resuming.
The last time Havana
and the EU came close to
an economic cooperation
agreement was in 1996,
but the Europeans called
off talks in the wake of the
shooting down of two small
U.S. planes by Cuba off its
shores, killing four Cuban
exiles aboard. As a result,
the EU adopted its “common position” on Cuba in
December 1996, placing human rights and democracy
conditions on improved
economic relations.
Havana rejects the common position as interference in its internal affairs,
but Spain says this policy
will remain until the cooperation accord is agreed.
International
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
SARAJEVO--Thousands
of Bosnian protesters called
for the resignation of their
regional government on
Monday, ratcheting up demands on the sixth straight
day of demonstrations over
unemployment, corruption
and political paralysis.
The protests were peaceful, following last week’s
violent unrest, the worst
since Bosnia’s 1992-95
war. The turbulence has
plunged the Balkan country
into crisis, exposing deep
social discontent over the
dire state of the economy
and the shortcomings of
an unwieldy system of ethnic power-sharing that has
kept the peace since 1995.
In the capital, Sarajevo,
and other towns, protesters
called for the resignation of
the government in Bosnia’s
Federation, one of two autonomous republics and
comprising mainly Croats and Muslim Bosniaks.
Anger is high over the
perceived corruption and
aloofness of elected leaders
in the country of 3.8 million
people.
Demonstrators also repeated earlier demands for
governments in several of
the Federation’s 10 cantons
to step down. Four canton
heads have already quit.
In Sarajevo, several hundred protesters carried
banners that read, “You
have been stealing from us
for 20 years and now it is
over”, and “The courts and
police are protecting the
authorities”. Several thousand more turned out in
other towns.
“If we need to have a war,
let it be,” said Fehim Lovic,
58, a disabled war veteran
who said he supports his
three children on a monthly
welfare payment of 50 Bosnian marka (25 euros). “I’m
ready to clean the streets
without a single penny for
two years if this is the price
I have to pay for a new and
better state,” he said.
Last week rioters set fire
to government buildings in
Bosnia’s four biggest cities Sarajevo, Tuzla, Zenica and
Mostar - after protests over
factory closures in the former industrial hub of Tuzla
exploded in violence.
French gendarmes secure the Paris ring road as taxi drivers on strike block the traffic during
a protest in Paris on Monday.
PARIS--A one-day taxi
strike snarled rush-hour
traffic in France’s two largest cities on Monday with
drivers protesting competition from unregulated cabs
in a battle that underscores
tension over efforts to liberalise protected French
markets.
Taxi drivers in Paris
blocked highways leading
from Charles de Gaulle
and Orly airports into the
city centre, while traffic
was paralysed on two main
arteries leading into Marseille. The protest marks
the second such show of
force in two months and is
a challenge for the Socialist government of President
Francois Hollande, as taxi
drivers cry foul over what
they call unfair competition
from vehicles-for-hire that
are often cheaper and not
subject to the same regula-
tion.
Television images showed
taxis parked in highway
lanes and angry drivers
waving their licences which
cost about 200,000 euros
($272,400), a cost their
competitors do not pay.
“Mr Hollande, we’re very
determined,” driver Ibrahima Sylla told BFM-TV.
“We’re here, we’ve got all
our colleagues here...we
won’t let up.”
The general secretary of
the Force Ouvriere-UNCP
taxi union, Nordine Dahmane, said deregulation
threatened “hundreds of
thousands of families” who
depend on the taxi industry.
“We’ve got to protect it,”
he said.
With 19,000 taxis, Paris
has fewer today than it did
in 1920. The limited supply is just one symptom of
competition-killing rules
and red tape that limit access to dozens of professions and which Hollande
has so far been reluctant to
tackle. On Saturday, Interior Minister Manuel Valls
said the government would
create a committee soon to
study the matter.
Monday’s strike was called
to protest last week’s ruling by the Conseil d’Etat,
France’s highest administrative court, that struck
down a government provision requiring the unlicensed cars to wait 15
minutes between logging
a reservation and picking up passengers. The
move angered taxi drivers,
who say that even with the
15-minute delay consumers were gravitating to the
competition. They call for
an artificial delay of 30 minutes and a minimum fare of
60 euros.
27
People help cameraman Andrade Santiago after he was injured during a protest by members
of the “Free Pass” movement, who were demanding zero tariffs in the Brazilian public transport system, in Rio de Janeiro February 6, 2014.
RIO DE JANEIRO--A
Brazilian television cameraman was pronounced
brain dead by surgeons at
a Rio de Janeiro hospital
Monday, four days after a
firework lit by a protester
struck him in the head.
His death, the first in Brazil this year due to protests
that threaten to disrupt the
World Cup soccer tournament beginning in June,
underscores the unruliness and violence that have
come to characterize the
small, but continued rallies
that began with a series of
mass demonstrations last
year.
Santiago Ilídio Andrade,
a 49-year-old cameraman
for the Bandeirantes television network, was filming a
protest over a hike in Rio’s
bus fares last Thursday
when a protestor, as yet
unidentified, lit a large bottle rocket that flew up from
the ground and struck him.
Photographs and video of
the firework’s deadly, albeit accidental, trajectory
have filled the front pages
of newspapers and prime
time news coverage in the
days since. The incident is
prompting renewed discussion about the protests, the
sometimes oppressive police tactics to contain them
and whether violence so far
could lead to worsening unrest.
While Andrade was treated for blood loss and cranial injuries at a Rio hospital, the police have been
searching for the protester,
who is believed to be affiliated with a loose collective
of young anti-government
militants. Over the weekend, they arrested a young
man who in photographs
was seen handing the firework to the protester who
ignited it. The man, according to local media reports,
said he did not know the
other protestor, but recognized him from previous
demonstrations.
With World Cup games
scheduled in Rio and eleven other cities, and a presidential election shortly
afterward, Brazil’s government is closely watching
the protests and the disruption they could cause
were they to grow larger
or more violent. People
familiar with the government’s tactics say Brazilian
security forces are intercepting emails and combing social networks used by
those suspected of inciting
violence at the protests. On
Monday, President Dilma
Rousseff ordered Brazil’s
federal police force to help
Rio authorities investigate
the Andrade episode.
In a statement, Rousseff said, “We cannot allow
democratic protests to be
discredited by those who
have no respect for human
lives.”
Last year, more than a
million people took to the
streets in mass demonstrations sparked by a previous hike in public transport
fares. At the time, demonstrators successfully used
the Confederations Cup,
a warmup to this year’s
tournament, as a backdrop
from which to protest dissatisfaction with a slowing economy, rising prices,
corruption and poor public
services.
Though the protests continued, they have grown
smaller in scale. Mainstream Brazilians, the critical mass that gave heft to
the rallies last year, quickly
moved to the sidelines once
small, but violent militants
began using the events to
destroy property, taunt police and otherwise destabilize the protests. At least six
Brazilians died during the
unrest in 2013.
28
International
G E N E VA / B E I R U T- -A
second round of Syria peace
talks got off to a shaky start
on Monday, with the two
sides complaining about
violations of a local ceasefire and an Islamist offensive respectively in separate
meetings with the international mediator.
Ahead of the talks, mediator Lakhdar Brahimi told
delegates to commit first
to discussing both ending
the fighting and setting up
a transitional government.
The government side said
combating “terrorism” - its
catchall term for the revolt
- should be agreed first. In
a further bad sign, Brahimi
cancelled a planned news
conference.
During the first round of
talks in nearly three years
ABUJA--Nigerian
President Goodluck Jonathan
has dismissed his chief of
staff, three senior government sources told Reuters
on Monday, extending a
wave of government changes a year before elections.
Africa’s second largest
economy and biggest oil
producer is advancing as
an investment destination
but political instability is
a concern for investors,
especially as wasteful government spending tends to
spike ahead of elections.
Presidency spokesman
Reuben Abati told reporters that chief of staff Mike
Oghiadomhe had resigned
because he wanted to pursue political opportunities in the ruling People’s
Democratic Party (PDP).
Government sources said
he was sacked.
Jonathan is facing a crisis within the PDP centred
around his assumed intention to run for another term
in the 2015 election. He has
yet to say whether or not he
will do so.
Five powerful state governors and dozens of lawmakers have defected to the
recently formed coalition
All Progressives Congress
(APC), mostly politicians
from the largely-Muslim
north. Jonathan is a Christian from the southern oil
region. Analysts say Jonathan is still favourite to win
a second term, if he runs,
in a country where incumbents rarely lose.
of civil war last month,
Brahimi had tried to break
down mistrust by focusing
on agreeing a truce for a
single city, Homs. A threeday pause only began on
Friday, and aid workers
were fired upon as they
evacuated civilians on Saturday.
The Syrian Red Crescent
said 450 more people had
been evacuated on Monday, taking the total to
leave the city after more
than a year under government siege to around 1,100,
and the U.N. said the truce
would be extended through
Wednesday.
The U.N. World Food Programme underlined how
far there was to go. “The
old city of Homs is just one
of 40 besieged communities
in Syria. Altogether a quarter of a million people have
been cut off from humanitarian aid for months,” it
said.
Attempts to draw up a
draft Security Council
resolution to increase access for humanitarian aid
in Syria suffered a setback
in New York when Russia
and China failed to attend
negotiations, in a rebuff to
the United States, Britain
and Freance.
A letter from Brahimi
given to the delegates over
the weekend said the new
round aimed to tackle the
issues of stopping violence,
setting up a transitional
governing body, and plans
for national institutions and
reconciliation. It included a
plea: “Will the two sides ...
contribute even at a minimum, toward lessening the
manifestations of violence,
stopping the use of cer-
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
tain weapons and reaching
ceasefires in some areas,
even for a short period?”
The opposition says a
transitional governing body
must exclude President
Bashar al-Assad. The government says it will not discuss his leaving power.
A deep split in the international community over
the conflict has entrenched
those positions. In a clear
bid to overcome that, the
U.N. said Brahimi would
meet U.S. and Russian officials on Friday.
Opposition delegates said
they had handed Brahimi
their view of what a transitional government should
look like and submitted witness statements they said
showed the army had fired
at the Homs aid convoy.
The government blames
the rebels.
China’s President Jiang Zemin (L) talks with top lawmaker Li Peng, Chairman of the National
People’s Congress, during the opening ceremony of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, in this March 3, 2002 file
picture.
MADRID--A
Spanish
judge on Monday sought
the arrest of China’s former
president and premier over
accusations of genocide in
Tibet in an 8-year-old case
that has drawn a rebuke
from China.
High Court Judge Ismael
Moreno asked Interpol to
issue orders for the detention of former Chinese
President Jiang Zemin, expremier Li Peng and three
other officials for questioning on charges brought by
Tibetan rights groups in
Spain.
However, the case may
not progress as Spain’s ruling People’s Party is pushing through new rules to
limit judges’ ability to pursue cases under universal
jurisdiction, the principle
that crimes against humanity can be prosecuted
across borders. This is the
same concept used by former judge Baltasar Garzon
to bring about the arrest
of Chile’s ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet in London
in 1998. Pinochet was eventually allowed to return to
Chile for health reasons.
“Jiang exercised supervisory authority over the
people who directly committed abuses, which makes
him responsible for acts of
torture and other major
abuses of human rights
perpetrated by his subordinates against the people
of Tibet,” Moreno wrote in
the order, citing lawyers for
the Tibetan plaintiffs.
Moreno asked Interpol
to issue the arrest order
seeking Jiang’s detention
for genocide, torture and
crimes against humanity.
He issued similar orders for
Li and other Chinese officials in the 1980s and 1990s.
Interpol, the international
police organisation, issues
Red Notices for wanted
persons, based on judicial
orders from courts in its
190 member countries. Police in member countries
can detain wanted persons
on their soil based on the
alerts.
China’s Foreign Ministry
called on Spain on Friday
to prevent further lawsuits
that seek to investigate alleged rights abuses in Tibet.
Congolese militia leader Bosco Ntaganda appears at the
International Criminal Court charged with war crimes and
crimes against humanity in a hearing in The Hague, on
Monday.
THE HAGUE--A Congolese militia leader
widely known as “the
Terminator” led fighters,
including child soldiers,
in a campaign of ethnically-motivated rape and
murder, the International Criminal Court was
told on Monday.
Prosecutors told judges
that Bosco Ntaganda had
committed the crimes
while leading fighters of
Hema ethnicity to drive
ethnic Lendus out of the
mineral-rich Ituri region
in the northeast of the
Democratic
Republic
of Congo over a decade
ago.
The allegations against
Ntaganda were made at
the opening of hearings
seen as a test for the
global legal institution
after a string of troubled
cases. Ntaganda could
face life imprisonment if
convicted and has yet to
enter a plea.
“He played a key role in
planning assaults against
the civilian population in
order to gain territory,”
Chief Prosecutor Fatou
Bensouda told judges
who will decide if there
is enough evidence for
Ntaganda to stand trial.
Ntaganda, who commanded the United
of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia, had
“failed to prevent or
punish crimes by troops
under his effective command or control,” she
said.
But defence lawyers
responded that the Ituri
conflict had not had the
ethnic character prosecutors were ascribing
to it. “The UPC was not
a Hema militia - several
commanders belonged
to other ethnic groups,
including those who
took part in the events
that form the basis for
the charges today,” said
defence lawyer Marc
Desalliers.
“The person before you
is not Hema, and nor is
he from the Ituri region.
He grew up in the North
Kivu province, he belongs to the Tutsi ethnic
group,” Desalliers said.
Ntaganda is accused of
crimes against humanity
and war crimes including murder and rape,
all allegedly committed
during a 2002-03 conflict
in the east of the country. “Victims were killed
by bullets, by arrows, by
nail-studded sticks,” said
Dmytro Surprun, a lawyer representing victims
of the alleged crimes.
“Most of them were mutilated, some were decapitated, and their head
borne as a trophy.”
Ntaganda’s lawyers said
the militia was defending
local civilian populations
at a time when Congolese authorities were
“absent from the region
and even contributing”
to the violence. “Taking
up weapons to defend
people is not a crime, it
is a fundamental right,”
Ntaganda’s lawyer said.
International
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
ADDIS ABABA--South
Sudanese rebels threatened on Monday to boycott the next round of
peace talks in Ethiopia
unless the government
freed political prisoners and sent home the
Ugandan troops who
have been supporting it.
But the regional IGAD
bloc mediating the talks,
due to resume on Tuesday, said rebel leader
Riek Machar had agreed
to have his delegation
take part in the talks.
The Addis Ababa talks,
which secured a ceasefire last month, aim to
end a conflict that has
claimed the lives of
thousands of people and
displaced more than half
a million South Sudanese since it broke out
on Dec. 15.
The rebels said they
wanted four remaining
political prisoners held
by the Juba government
to be released and the
Ugandan army, which
has been backing President Salva Kiir, to withdraw from South Sudan.
“We are abstaining from
participating in the next
round of peace talks,”
the rebels said in a statement late on Monday.
But Seyoum Mesfin,
chief mediator for the
regional IGAD bloc
leading the negotiations,
Jikany Nuer White Army fighters hold their weapons in Upper Nile State, on Monday.
HONG KONG--Chinese
authorities have carried out
a rare crackdown on the
sex trade in the “sin city”
of Dongguan following a
candid report by the state
broadcaster on the underground industry.
China outlawed prostitution after the Communist
revolution in 1949, but it
returned with a vengeance
following landmark economic reforms three decades ago, and has helped
fuel a rise in HIV/AIDS
and sexually transmitted
diseases.
While the government
carries out periodic crackdowns, it is unusual for
state media to cover them
in such a high-profile way or
for top officials to comment
on the problem, underscoring worry about the explosion of the sex trade. Media said 67 people were arrested and 12 venues were
shut down in a sting operation involving thousands of
police in the Dongguan region at the heart of China’s
Pearl River Delta industrial
hub in the southern prov-
ince of Guangdong.
Provincial Communist
party boss Hu Chunhua,
a rising star who has been
tipped for future national
leadership, stressed the
need “to conduct an extensive trawling-style crackdown on the entire city,”
according to a report in the
Nanfang Daily.
Two city police chiefs had
been suspended, Hong
Kong’s South China Morning Post reported. The official Xinhua news agency
said a total of eight police
officers had been suspended for failing to respond
to public complaints about
prostitution.
China’s main state broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV), aired a
half-hour report on Sunday
chronicling what appeared
to be extensive and open
prostitution in five towns
across Dongguan. Secretly
shot footage showed scantily clad women parading
on a stage and managers
of venues speaking openly
about prostitution services. The CCTV report was
said the statement was
at odds with previous
stance and promises
from Machar, a former
vice president. “It contradicts the commitment
of their leader who assured the envoys...that
he would not put those
demands and positions
as a condition. That
would be tantamount
to holding hostage the
people and the nation
because of those demands,” Seyoumn told
reporters in Addis Ababa.
The United States
expressed concern on
Saturday over reported
violations of a shaky
ceasefire agreement between South Sudan’s
government and rebel
forces and urged the removal of foreign fighters
engaged in the conflict.
The U.S. has also previously requested for the
South Sudan government to release the last
four of a group of 11
detainees held on suspicion of trying to stage a
coup.
Seyoum said the talks
have been delayed by a
day so that seven freed
political prisoners - out
of the 11 originally arrested - can travel to Addis Ababa to take part
in the talks. However,
Seyoum added that the
former prisoners did not
wish to side with the rebels or the government
and might instead form
a “third block” in the
talks.
“They rather would like
us to prepare a sort of a
triangular table for their
negotiations,” Seyoum
added.
The rebels in their
statement said they had
evidence that the Ugandan army was “still actively engaged in combat” despite a ceasefire,
and accused Kiir’s forces
of besieging a United
Nations
compound
housing displaced people in Juba. Both sides
have in the past accused
each other of wanton
killings and ethnic-based
reprisals.
ROME--Italy said on Monday India’s relations with
the European Union would
be seriously damaged if
New Delhi uses anti-piracy
and anti-terrorism legislation to try two Italian marines accused of killing two
fishermen during a security
operation in 2012.
The sharply worded warning from Prime Minister Enrico Letta came as authorities in India announced that
the Supreme Court would
hold a hearing next week on
whether to charge marines
Massimiliano Latorre and
Salvatore Girone under the
maritime security law.
“Italy is not a terrorist
country,” a statement from
Letta’s office said, adding
that any decision to try the
two under anti-piracy legislation would be absolutely
unacceptable. “It would
bring about negative consequences in relations with
Italy and the European Union, with equally negative
repercussions on the global
fight against piracy.”
The two marines, part of
a military security team protecting the tanker Enrica
Lexie from pirates, are accused of shooting the two
fishermen after mistaking
them for pirates off the
southern Indian state of
Kerala in February 2012.
On Monday, the EU added
its voice to concern about
use of the marine security
law to try the two.
“The legislation that appears to be used suggests
that somehow this is about
terrorism. And this has
enormous implications for
Italy but also for all countries engaged in activities
that are anti-piracy,” EU
foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said. “I do
think [EU foreign ministers] colleagues need to now
be very concerned.”
The case has embittered
relations between Italy and
India, with Letta’s government under growing pressure from opposition parties to act to bring home the
men, who have been living
in the Italian embassy in India for much of the past two
years while the case against
them has been prepared.
Latorre and Girone say
they thought the fishermen
were pirates and fired shots
to warn them off approaching the ship but deny killing
anyone.
A suspected prostitute puts on clothes at a hotel room during a police raid, as part of plans to
crackdown on prostitution, in Dongguan, Guangdong province, on Sunday.
widely watched across China and sparked extensive
comment on social media.
The Ministry of Public
Security had sent a team to
Guangdong to investigate
the involvement of any police officials there and crack
down on those who provide
a “safety umbrella” behind
which prostitution can
happen, Xinhua said. The
ministry will take “decisive
measures” against those
who run the sex trade, it
added.
“Although no evidence has
been provided, it is widely
speculated by the public
that local police offer protection for Dongguan’s
rampant prostitution,” Xinhua said in a commentary.
While periodic sweeps
against vice have been carried out, including during
sensitive periods such as
the 2008 Beijing Olympics
and 2010 Asian Games in
Guangzhou, the industry
has thrived. Law enforcement often appears to be
29
lax.
The Dongguan region
has long been known as a
hub for the sex industry.
Authorities there said last
month the city had seen
a high incidence of HIV/
AIDS amid rumours that
more than 2,700 sex workers had been infected,
according to the Global
Times, a Chinese tabloid
owned by the Chinese
Communist Party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily.
30
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Regular: one insertion $5 /full week (6x) $25.
Highlighted (border around ad): one insertion $7 /full week (6x) $35.
Commercial rate (grey block): $65 for one full week.
Ford Focus SE.2009. Super
clean, like new. 4 cylinder low miles,
$8,900. Call:559-3900.
Harley Davidson Dyna 2007, very
low miles, silver, alloy, 96 cu inch
or 1.6L engine, alarm, in fantastic condition, for only $7,500. Call
Mike:523-0709 or 527-5076.
mint
condition, 4 doors, fully powered. New head & tail lamps,
very clean. Asking price
$6,000. Tel:559-5577, 5472361 or 550-1742.
Leaving the island:For sale
Honda CRV 2007. In good working
condition. Call:522-0306
2008
model,
standard,
fully
loaded, in excellent condition, 51.000km, $18,950.
Tel:524-8700.
2003 Ford Explorer XLT, black,
$5,000. For more information
call:581-3722.
LLBean Edition, AWD, dark
green, fully loaded, automatic, power steering, A/C,
leather seats, double sunroof, New factory recon
3000c engine. Very Good
Condition, cash $5,500.
Call:523-4456.
Track,
automatic, in good condition,
70.00km, dark cherry, V6,
4WD, asking $14,500 negotiable. Call:588-1341.
2008 Nissan Almera for sale.
Perfect condition, perfect engine,
power everything, keyless entry, 4
brand new tires, $7,500 negotiable.
Tel:587-7840 or 526-7815.
2009 Toyota Yaris, new tires, fully
loaded, automatic, very cold A/C,
in excellent condition and well
maintained. For more information
call:524-7470.
4x4
Turbo diesel, asking $22,800
or best offer. Tel:554-7919.
BMW Z3 yellow 2001 model.
New suspension, wheel, breaks,
roof and seats. $12000 or nearest
cash offer. Call Tracy at 588-6333
after 12pm.
Chrysler PT Cruiser 2005, soft
top $5,500 negotiable. Fully loaded, silver color, everything works
in perfect condition. Tel:550-6427,
581-1241 or 0690-10-77-99.
car, brand
new, $2,500. For more information
contact
Dwain
Harriott Caribbean Auto Sint.
Maarten. Tel:550-5403.
year 1992,
standard. Vehicle will be
sold as is. Diesel, stakebed, regularly serviced and
inspected.
Contact:
info@cltbv.com or tel:+1721-542-2140/1.
just around
the corner!!! Show her how
you care with stunning lingerie for that special evening!! Also have elegant
dresses, causal dresses etc.
Visit
today,
Agrement
#35(French side). Call:5243186 or 590-87-90-58
Cole Bay, Diamond Hill, very big
and nice house with 5.5 bedrooms,
great lagoon and sea view, high design furniture’s with pool. Possibility
for 2 apartments. Price $845,000.
Call:581-6418.
warehouse, houses, apartments
1-5
bedrooms.
Commercial/Residential.
Business with N.V. licenses
(Corporation).
Call:Euro
Caribbean
Linkup
N.V.
(E.C.L.) Leopold J. Gumbs
O w n e r / D i r e c t o r
Tel:1(721)522-6513/5501952/543-0536.
Email:
eclnv@car ibser ve.net,
www.eclsxm.com
1 bedroom apartment, fully furnished, washer/dryer, hot & cold
water, A/C’s, ceiling fans, rolling
shutters, 24 hours security, Fisherman’s Wharf. Reduced $92,000.
Call:553-2445.
2007 33’ Contender Boat, 2012
twin 300HP Yamahas only 150 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house for
hours, in excellent condition. sale in Madame Estate. For more
Kept on a lift and new electronics. information call:580-6982.
Call:587-7469.
Beacon Hill:Caribbean dream!
for sale, with Charming 3 bedroom/2,5 bath famtray table and document net. ily house/home, also perfect investRows of 3 and 4 seats. $15/ ment or retirement haven, close
seat. Good for ferry boat or to airport, 1 minute walk to sandy
bus. Phone Jeff 553-0800
beach! Reduced to $315,000. Must
see! Call:(1721)522-5131.
sale,
tiles, drop ceiling, wooden For sale:Philipsburg, 2 lots for
floor, airco, complete shower sale both over 2400m2 with buildglass cabin, sliding door ing permit & plan. Ocean view and
150x120, toilet bowl, vanity great views of Philipsburg. Price
etc. Call:522-8463.
$750,000 or make an offer. Please
call:586-6896.
Don’t
feel like driving to go watch a House lot for sale in Cole Bay Hill,
movie? Get your DVD’s 700m2 and 800m2. For more infordelivered to your doorstep. mation call:581-3179
(1)DVD $5. Buy 4 DVD’s get
1 free. Bbpin:7953F2BC or Newly built 2 bedroom/1.5 bath
call:(1721)586-2595/526- condo in Pointe Blanche $295,000.
Lot 1.200m2 in South Reward with
6096.
building permit and plans for 8 1Ice Cream bedrooms and 6 2-bedrooms con34 years. Wishing to retire, do’s, $180,000. Serious, call:581excellent business oppor- 7617/544-3091.
tunity.
Inquires
to
Oysterpond French side for sale by
etnaicecream@yahoo.com.
owner, Villa 180m2, 3 bedroom with
. terrace 250m2, land 2005m2. InforTaylor 220 ice cream/Italian mation: www.digi-post.com/hugo
ice machine, Kelvinator dipping cabinets (2), miscelbedroom, 2 bath
laneous supplies (containers
condo, includes fridge, stove
and etc). Call:(721)554-0616
and microwave, private parking.
Appraised
value
or pathuntsxm@gmail.com
US$235,000. Call:587-7308
for viewing.
Galaxy
note 3 32 GB/8GB memory Pointe Pirouette Aquamarina:
card screen case inc. $525 Special! 1 bedroom/1 bath fully
New black 1 pad air Wifi cell furnished & equipped condomin128GB with case $850 both ium. Unbelievable view, privacy,
$1300. None negotiobale. nearly new, hardly ever used, fantastic kitchen, for just $345,000,
Call:553-1443
negotiable, very motivated to sell.
Shelf system Brynzeel 2.4 high, 5 Call:(1721)522-5131.
shelves $100 a meter, floor polish
machine Taski with different disks
renovated, electricity/
$400, steel beams heavy H26x26 pluming, fresh painted, new
and H30x15. Call:522-5196 or 522- equipment.
By
the
9710.
Boardwalk, with terrace,
don’t miss this opportunity.
It’s already in operation,
Serious buyers only. Fly
Real Estate N.V. Call:5887667.
Pricing Classifieds with photo: personal: $40 per week
(max. 30 words with one picture)
Commercial: $85 per week (max. 30 words with one picture)
Sell your property fast! Contact
Joe to list for quick results. Contact:523-3497.
Union Farm Estate:3 bedroom,
2 bathroom house & 1 bedroom
apartment. For more information
call:526-6497 or 522-8787.
Almond Grove:2 bedroom/2
bath. Spacious open floor plan,
new European kitchen, large covered terrace to enjoy beautiful
ocean/lagoon views. A/C, shutters, furnished, 24/7 gated security.
$2,500/month. Call:(721)523-0910,
palmvillasbc@yahoo.com
Apartments:Pointe Blanche:2
bedroom/2 bath, unfurnished, great
view, super nice kitchen, two balconies, gated, $1,350. South Reward:
Brand new 2 bedroom/1 bath, elegant, nice big kitchen, $900. Both
1 month security. Call:(1721)5225131.
racks for sale. In very good
condition. Serious inquiries
contact:542-4050/58
at Sea Breeze
Hotel, $650 monthly, room
service included. $500 without air condition. Call:5426055 or 542-6056.
Email
seabreezehotel@aol.com.
1 bedroom apartment, ceiling
fan, A/C, parking, yard space, quiet
neighborhood, located in the back
of Sister Marie Laurence School.
$550 monthly. Call:524-0643 for
more information.
at Pointe
Blanche. Commercial space.
Ideal for office or warehousing. Fully concrete and hurricane shutters. 2 levels, 192
square meters. Call:5593900.
Aventura, Cupecoy:1 bedroom/1
bath(400 sq.f)fully furnished apartments. Connection ready for
cable/internet. Close to AUC, restaurants and Mullet Bay beach.
Night security, pool, rooftop terrace,
washer/dryer. From US$750-$950.
Tel:+1(721)588-4991 or
email:
sxmreit.rentals@eacofin.com
Beautiful modern deco, beachfront two bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
fully furnished condo, Simpson Bay,
Pelican $2,900. No realtors please.
Tel:523-7049.
Large, upstairs 2 bedroom fully air
conditioned house. Located in a secure, pr4ivate, enclosed yard with private parking. Location:Middle Region
on the main road. $1,1200 p/m. Serious callers only. Call:520-4372.
Maho:Large one bedroom, top
floor, balcony, electric shutters, fully
furnished, king size bed, two sofa
beds, washer/dryer, internet, satellite TV, private parking, security,
$1,600 p/m. Call:(1721)581-4494.
Marianne Estate:(1)2 bedroom
apartment, new, very clean, fully
furnished, large bedroom, large
living room, Internet and cable included, $1,400 excluding utilities.
Available immediately, long term
rental. Call:550-1329.
Mary’s Fancy:Beautiful family 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath penthouse
apartment, semi furnished, walk in
closets, excellent storage, parking
and centrally located, US$1,600
p/m. Call:553-0008 or
email
accounting@khatnani.com
for rent in Cul-de-Sac and
Cay Hill. (7)2 bedrooms/2
baths, completely furnished,
$1,500 and much more for
rent. Call:Euro Caribbean
Linkup N.V. Tel:1(721)5226513/550-1952/543-0536.
Email:eclnv@caribserve.net,
www.eclsxm.com
Ocean
Belair:View of a lifetime, oversized Building, Union Road, Cole
Caribbean family home, 3 bed- Bay. 86 m², wood/glass parroom/2 bath, office, dining room, living
1 bedroom studio for rent. Pref- room, private pool, fully furnished & titioned and partly furnished,
parking.
$1,800
erably for one person or a couple. equipped, great atmosphere, tropi- ample
Utilities are included, location cal garden, gated, parking, $2,900. monthly plus utilities. 2
month’s rent as security
Bush Road, parking available. Call:(1721)522-5131.
deposit. Call:586-6166.
$675/month, 2 months deposit.
Call:(721)522-6189.
Cole Bay Egret Building, furnished One bedroom apartment for
2 bedroom apartment lagoon view, rent in Ebenezer. Very quiet area,
1 bedroom, fully furnished apart- $1,150 excluding utilities and 1 bed- semi furnished, cable and water
ment in Cole Bay for $710. Cen- room apartment $800 excluding utili- included, electricity excluded. One
trally located. Brand new 1 and 2 ties. Call:523-8003 for information.
month deposit. Call:520-4316 only
bedroom spacious unfurnished
if interested.
apartments, Cay Hill from $850. Cole Bay, Fisherman’s Wharf,
Contact Sasha:(+1721)526-3631.
1 bedroom apartment, recently Pelican Key for rent:New 2 bedrenovated, fully furnished, 24 hours room, 2 bath, 50 sq.m of terrasse,
1, 2, 3 bedrooms, Philipsburg, Cay security, gated parking and marina furnished and equipped. US$2,000
Hill, Cole, Bay, Point Pirouette & St. view. Long term rental $850 exclud- monthly. Please call:587-2205.
John’s. Starting from $700 and up. ing utilities. Call:520-2064.
Call Mimi 588-7667.
commer- Pelican Key, single house, 3
bedroom, 3 bath & office, private
2 bedroom apartment for rent in cial space about 575m² on
infinity pool. US $2,800 p/m Please
Middle Region. $700 per month. land of 1542m² for rent.
Completely renovated, fully call:587-2205 or 0690-66-17-20.
Contact:556-6179.
enclosed with electric gate,
Pelican Key:Single house for rent
2 large bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, (8)windows with electric with private pool and garden, parshutters, water, septic tank,
big living room and kitchen, A/C, raw concrete floor. Call:586- tially furnished. US$3,000 a month.
hot water, private parking. Available 6570.
Please call:587-2205. (No agents
at Puma Road, Cay Hill. Call:556please).
Dawn Beach:4 bedrooms, beauti2266, 523-3363 or 524-0600.
ful villa with amazing view. Call:520- Pelican:Weekly Rental studio
bathroom
fully equipped with linens, Wi-Fi,
3410 or 526-4849.
villa for rent. Small gated
cable, A/C, kitchenette, pool, beauarea, hurricane shutters, use
For rent:1 bedroom apartment, tiful residential area, close to the
of pool, furnished or unfurFisherman’s Wharf, Cole Bay. Fully beach, nearby restaurant, market,
nished.
Further
details
furnished, parking, 24/7 security, $550 per week. Tel:(721)523-9931.
call:550-6867.
long term only, $800 per month. Email:ranchinthesky@caribserve.
net
4 bedrooms, 2.5 bath house, air Please call:526-6926.
condition, yard and parking, quiet
and secured neighborhood, Island For rent:Belair with a great sea Philipsburg on the Boardwalk
Paradise Road, Madame Estate, view, very nice 3 bedroom, 2.5 nice large fully furnished air-con$1.500 per month. Please call:581- bath, semi furnished, big garden ditioned 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom
9599.
with fence, private pool and private apartment in gated building $1,300
excluding utilities, sorry no pets alparking. Call:581-6418.
lowed. Please call:587-5547.
Almond Grove, Cole Bay, 2 bedroom, 2 bath, new fully furnished, For rent:Cole Bay two bedroom,
24/7 security guard, large kitchen, one bath, unfurnished, $750 p/m. Pointe Blanche, Mount Vista,
very quiet 2 bedroom apartment
A/C, ceiling fans, washer and se- Call:581-5590 or 554-2336.
secure, garden, best view in SXM,
cure parking. Call:550-1135.
For rent:Point Pirouette, furnished furnished, internet, $1,300 includAlmond Grove, New 3 bedroom, one bedroom apartment on the 1st ing Gebe. Call:523-0709.
3.5 bath, electric shutter, all appli- floor. Call:587-4464 or 520-4464.
Pointe Blanche, one bedroom
ances, security 24/7, common pool,
2 parking places, common garden, Fort Willem, Lower 1 bedroom, apartment for rent. Semi furnished,
terraces and small private garden new kitchen with granite counter, private parking, motorized gate and
USD$2,600. Please call:587-2205. large covered porch, $525 per hurricane shutters $850 per month.
Call:588-5595.
month. Call:522-5838.
Almond Grove, single house with
bedprivate pool and garden. 2 bed- House for rent:3 bedroom, 2 rooms,
amazing
view
room, furnished, covered terrace bathroom, Pelican Road, Pointe $1,500. Belair:4 bedrooms,
of 100m2 with BBQ, nice view, 24 Blanche. For more information $3,000. Both with amazing
hours security. Call:587-2205 or call:581-4065, 559-2685 or 520- ocean view. Call:520-3410 or
526-4849.
0690-66-17-20.
7303.
Business
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Porto Cupecoy:Students welcome. 3 bedrooms, lagoon view
terrace and 2 bedrooms, private
garden/2,5 baths, furnished, 24
hours security, boutiques, restaurants, supermarket, Marina, common pool, fitness, tennis. $2,300
and $3,000/monthly. Call:5872205.
in
Simpson Bay, fully equipped.
Contact:reerossi@yahoo.com
Retreat Estate:House for rent, 3
bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2 porches,
washroom, TV room, nice custom
built kitchen. Price negotiable, direct available. Call:(721)553-3030
for appointments.
Simpson Bay Yacht Club, very
nice and totally renovated 1 bedroom, 1 bath with spectacular
lagoon view with 24/7 security.
$1,800 unfurnished or $2,000 furnished. Call:581-6418.
Simpson Bay Yacht, very nice
and big 1 bedroom/1 bath, fully
furnished on the lagoon with private garden, private parking, 24/7
security and common pool, $2,000
monthly. Call:581-6418.
Simpson Bay, Puerta Del Sol,
great studio with very nice furniture’s, balcony, lagoon view, private parking and security, $1,500
monthly. Call:581-6418.
Simpson Bay, short term:Furnished house and Wi-Fi $450 p/m
(shared room)steps from beach,
shops, marina’s. $19-15 euros bed
p/night, $125-95 euros p/week,
couples room $59-45 euros p/
night, central location. Call:5506820.
Simpson Bay:At the beach!
Beautiful, bright 3 bedroom/2,5
bath house, downstairs, new kitchen, renovated, security bars, huge
living room, storage, $1,800, 1
month security. Also 2 bedroom/1
bath apartment. Call:(1721)5225131.
Simpson Bay:Gorgeous 3 bedroom/3 bath (350 sq.m), fully furnished with a wonderful lagoon
and sea view, parking, private pool,
private elevator, generator and
security, $4,200 monthly. Call:5816418.
Simpson Bay:Student housing,
private air conditioned units with
common area, fully furnished, utilities, cable, Wi-Fi, cold/hot showers,
washer/dryer, safe in unit, 2 minutes from the beach, short term
available. Call:553-2706.
South Reward:1 bedroom, apartments with exterior spaces, from
$625-$650, utilities excluded. Two
bedrooms, one and two bathrooms, front & back porch, $700$800, utilities excluded. Call:5260139.
South Reward:3 bedroom/2 bathroom, very spacious home, hot/cold
water, A/C, ceiling fans, big yard,
private parking and gated. Ocean
view excellent, neighborhood and
very quiet. Available immediately.
$1,300/monthly. Call:522-0888.
Spacious, 3 bedroom semi furnished house with 2 bathrooms, a
massive dining room and kitchen
area in Weymouth Hill. Stunning panoramic views! All utilities
included, $1,800. Contact Sasha:(+1721)526-3631.
St. Peters, nice quiet area, large
2 bedroom apartment with private
yard, driveway and parking and
small storage area, $875 excluding
utilities. Call:526-0139.
St. Peters:Downstairs, 2 bed- Looking to rent studio/1 bedroom/1 bathroom, open kitchen, room, furnished in the Philipsburg,
washroom, plenty parking space. Sucker Garden, A.T.Illidge Road or
Located in a secluded yard. $800 Bush Road area) $400-$600 per
per month, 1 month deposit. Seri- month. Call:526-8310.
ous inquiries call:527-4170 or 523Urgently needed:1, 2 and 3 bed2341.
room apartments or houses, furStudio for rent, fully furnished nished or unfurnished, nice neighincluding utilties. $550 per month, borhoods, minimum 1 year! If you
#6 Lily Road Saunders. Please are looking for friendly and reliable
renters please call me Sabine:522call:526-7669 or 586-3501.
5131.
Two bed condos for rent at Porto
Cupecoy. Available May 1st, 2014.
Fully furnished, pool, tennis, 24
hours security. From USD$2,850
per month. No agencies please.
Call:+590-690-38-55-99.
for a fun
type, entertainer, dynamic
Bartender for evening shift.
Must be customer friendly
and speak English and
French.Send resume to:
sxmbrokerage@hotmail.com
is
now hiring Deli Worker.
Previous experience in a fast
food restaurant is a plus.
Must have legal status.
Interested
persons
can
call:556-9555.
a
manager with experience in
retail and boat provisioning,
a strong knowledge in wine
(International and French).
Must be dynamic, pro-active
and have computer skills.
Must speak French and
English. Send resume to:
sxmbrokerage@hotmail.com
person to act as reservation and
concierge correspondent for
weekly rentals. Must have
valid papers, write and
speak English fluently, have
drivers license (car a plus).
Send letter and resume to
lydia@saintmartinrentals.com
is looking for
qualified mechanic. Please
call:522-2552.
Lhasa Apso
Puppies for sale. 2 female, 8
weeks old vaccination up to
date, parents on property.
Call me @(721)554-1513.
For sale:Belgian Malinois, Passion Fruit Road #19. Dog is golden
brown and over one year old. Price
negotiable. Call:1721-580-1464 or
581-1465.
Just in time for Valentine’s. Give
that love one a special gift!! Tropical fishes and birds. Call:5228900/526-7387 or
email:
caribbeanpuppies@gmail.com
through 2014. Monthly interviews to be completed per
person. Requirements:reading & writing skills, have an
Android tablet. For more
information
and
pay
contact:cportella@
hoperesearchgroup.com or
786-380-2021 USA#
FOR ONLY
$175
FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR
$95
FOR 6 MONTHS
A hard working lady looking day’s
work cleaning, Ironing from morning until afternoon. Please call:5815994. God bless you.
ments and Iceland says it has
paid back around 90 percent
of the amount the two paid
out to cover a minimum deposit guarantee. The island’s
voters have twice rejected
deals that would pay interest
on the debt.
“Basically these claims are
about the interest and the
costs,” Gudrun Thorleifsdottir, the head of the Icelandic
Depositors’ and Investors’
Guarantee Fund’s (TIF)
said.
Thorleifsdottir said the
TIF rejected the claims,
adding that including interest, cost and the principal,
they could total 1,000 billion
crowns. The fund has assets
of around 35 billion crowns,
she said.
Iceland’s gross domestic
product was 1,700 billion
crowns in 2012. “There is no
state guarantee so it is clear
that Icelandic taxpayers will
never have to pay this,” Iceland’s Finance Minister Bjarni Benediktsson said.
Neither Britain’s Financial Services Compensation
Scheme nor the Dutch central bank could immediately
be reached for comment.
ready to give up on your
computer/laptop/printers?
Get your stuff fixed quickly
and for an affordable price.
Get your stuff fixed Now!
Call:526-7153
&
Restaurant is looking for a
specialized Chinese Dim
Sum chef with minimum 2
years in the field. Send CV to
negrochino69@gmail.com or
542-0230 ask for Howard.
and
kitchen helper with experience and must be flexible.
If you are interested, please
call after 5pm:553-4826.
REYKJAVIK--Britain and
the Netherlands have filed a
claim of 556 billion Icelandic
crowns ($4.85 billion) plus
interest and costs against
Iceland’s deposit insurance
fund over money their savers
lost in Icesave funds, the island’s Depositors’ and Investors’ Guarantee Fund said on
Monday.
The claim relates to money
lost by British and Dutch
savers who held Icesave accounts run by the Icelandic
bank Landsbanki, which collapsed in late 2008. The savers were compensated by the
British and Dutch govern-
31
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman (L) is flanked by members of the U.S. Trade Representative counsel’s office as he announces a trade enforcement action tied to India, in
Washington, on Monday.
WA S H I N G T O N / N E W
DELHI--The United States
on Monday said it would take
India to the World Trade Organization to gain a bigger
foothold for U.S. manufacturers in its fast-growing solar products market, adding
another irritant to an already
strained relationship.
The Obama administration
said it was filing its second
case at the WTO over the
domestic content requirements in India’s massive solar programme, which aims
to ease chronic energy shortages in Asia’s third-largest
economy.
U.S. Trade Representative
Michael Froman said making Indian solar developers
use locally made equipment
discriminated against U.S.
producers and could hinder
the spread of solar power.
“Domestic content requirements detract from successful cooperation on clean
energy and actually impede
India’s deployment of solar
energy by raising its cost,”
Froman said.
It is the second time in a
year that Washington has
sought a consultation at the
WTO - the first stage in a
dispute process that can lead
to sanctions - over India’s
Jawaharlal Nehru National
Solar Mission. The ongoing trade spat between the
two allies follows the recent
arrest and strip search of
a female Indian diplomat
in New York in connection
with visa fraud charges. The
arrest sparked fury in India,
prompted retaliatory measures against U.S. diplomats
there and plunged U.S.-India relations to their lowest
point since India tested a nuclear device in 1998.
The USTR issued its first
challenge to India’s solar
program last February when
it formally requested consultations over its first stage.
The program aims to double
India’s renewable energy capacity by 2017.
U.S. officials had hoped a
second phase of the program
would address Washington’s
concerns, but now fear the
harm to American producers would likely be even
greater because the rules
were expanded in October
to cover so-called thin film
technology that comprises
the majority of U.S. solar
product exports to India.
India hit back at the initial
U.S. accusations in April,
asking Washington to justify
its own incentives offered to
U.S. companies that use local labour and products in
renewable energy and water
projects. The Indian embassy in Washington was not
immediately available for
comment on the latest trade
action.
India has argued its solar policies are legal under
WTO government procurement rules that permit countries to exempt projects from
non-discrimination obligations.
32
MUNICH, Germany--The
head of Germany’s ADAC
car club, Europe’s largest, resigned in disgrace on
Monday after an external
audit found it had rigged
the results and order of its
award for the country’s most
popular car.
Leading German carmakers Daimler, Volkswagen
and BMW immediately said
they would hand back the
once-coveted annual “Yellow Angel” awards after the
audit found irregularities in
the counting and ordering.
The revelations have battered the reputation of the
ADAC, which before it first
admimtted wrongdoing last
Business
month was one of Germany’s most respected institutions with 19 million members. ADAC president Peter
Meyer resigned just before
publication of the external
audit, which found the order
of four of the first five places
had been manipulated.
“This is the most serious
crisis in our 111-year history,” said August Markl,
ADAC’s vice president, who
will take over from Meyer
until the next general assembly in May. Thousands
of ADAC members have left
in disgust.
Markl vowed to bring
sweeping reforms to ADAC,
which has also come under
BRUSSELS--The European Central Bank still has a “big
bazooka” with plenty of ammunition to preserve the euro
despite a German constitutional court statement that its
bond-buying plan is probably illegal, EU economics chief
Olli Rehn said on Monday.
Rehn also urged the ECB to act to ensure that abnormally low inflation in the euro zone rises towards the bank’s
target of just below two percent. Speaking at a Reuters
Summit on the Euro Zone, the European Commissioner
for Economic and Monetary Affairs said it was right that
a European court, not a national court, should have the
final say over the ECB’s actions.
The German court last Friday referred a complaint by
eurosceptical lawyers against the ECB’s 2012 Outright
Monetary Transactions policy, which calmed the euro
zone debt crisis, to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg for a preliminary ruling on the legality of the
bank’s scheme. However it clearly stated that it believed
the plan, which has not yet been put into use, violated
the ECB’s mandate and would constitute illegal monetary
financing of governments.
Asked whether the German court had emasculated the
ECB’s ultimate weapon, Rehn said in an interview: “In
my view the ECB certainly has its big bazooka and plenty
of ammunition for the bazooka if needed.
“I find it is both appropriate and fundamentally legitimate that the European Court of Justice scrutinises and
finally rules on the competences of another European institution,” he said via video link from Finland. The German constitutional court has only suspended its case, reserving the final say for itself, leaving some doubt at to
how this may play out.
Rehn said that “in the real world”, the ECB’s intervention had been a “crucial turning point” to stabilise financial markets, along with an agreement by euro zone
governments to create a banking union and to implement
stricter fiscal discipline. “In my view the ECB has definitely worked within its mandate and has done so wisely
by taking decisive action,” the Finnish commissioner said.
He said he trusted the central bank to continue to actively pursue policies that support growth and employment in line with its mandate by ensuring price stability
and meeting its inflation target. “I might remind you that
inflation in the euro zone for the moment is 0.8 percent,
which is quite far from the self-set inflation target of the
ECB which is close to but below 2 percent,” Rehn said.
He reiterated his concern, voiced last month in Davos,
that a prolonged period of low inflation would make it
harder to rebalance the euro zone economy. “I trust that
the ECB and its governing council ... are wise enough to
take decisions in order to ensure that the ECB will meet
its inflation target and thus better support the rebalancing
and recovery of the euro zone economy,” Rehn said.
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
fire for charging inflated
prices for car batteries to
stranded motorists. Top executives have also been attacked for inappropriate use
of rescue helicopters and
jets.
But Justice Minister Heiko Maas said the ADAC
would need to be reorganised. “The current set up of
ADAC’s organisation led to
these mistakes,” Maas said.
“They need to be changed.”
The scandal erupted last
month when it emerged that
its popular “ADAC Motorwelt” magazine had massively inflated readership
votes for the “Yellow Angel” award for Germany’s
favourite car. ADAC had
said that 34,299 motorists
endorsed the Volkswagen
Golf in an award to determine the most popular car
in Germany. Auditor Deloitte on Monday said only
3,271 votes had been cast
for the vehicle, with the accountants adding it found
evidence of “wilful manipulation” as well as technologically flawed processing of
data.
Deloitte examined thousands of pieces of computer
data and conducted interviews with ADAC employees. It said the since-departed director of ADAC communications, Peter Ramstetter, had simulated different
scenarios on his computer
about how the number and
order of the votes could be
manipulated.
ADAC at first said the total
number of votes had been
manipulated but not the order. BMW’s 3-series car, for
instance, should have been
in second place behind the
Volkswagen Golf based on
votes submitted, but inexplicably did not even make
it into the top five. The
BMW’s 5-series was instead
inserted in fifth place.
BIRMINGHAM,
Alabama--A pioneer in cleaning up toxic messes, Thomas Schruben long suspected
major oil companies of
being paid twice for dealing with leaks from underground fuel storage tanks
- once from government
funds and again, secretly,
from insurance companies.
Schruben, a detail-oriented Maryland environmental
engineer who helped draft
government pollution rules
going back 30 years, looked
for a lawyer to help ferret
out what he believed could
in some cases be fraud. He
found a partner in Dennis
Pantazis, a buoyant, mustachioed son of Greek immigrants in Alabama known
for bringing environmental
and civil rights cases.
“Together we started
unraveling the mystery,”
Schruben said.
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Schruben’s former employer,
has called the rusted, leaky
steel tanks the single largest threat to groundwater
in the United States. Often
built for gas stations during
the 1950s and ‘60s highway
construction boom, the
tanks corroded over time,
spilling gas and diesel with
potentially cancer-causing
chemicals under properties
and into aquifers.
The two men assembled a
team of lawyers, investigators and experts to search
public records and case files
for evidence and brought
their findings to state governments, hoping to be
hired as advisers or legal
counsel. New Mexico paid
more than $1 million in attorney fees after one $5.2
million settlement from
Chevron last September.
SEATTLE--Nokia will unveil a low-cost smartphone
running a version of Google Inc’s Android operating
system, despite the company’s close partnership
with Microsoft Corp and
its competing Windows system, according to a report
in the Wall Street Journal.
The handset division
of the Finnish company,
which is in the final stages
of being acquired by Microsoft, will show off the new
phone at the Mobile World
Congress in Barcelona later
this month, the report said
on Monday, citing unidentified sources who were
familiar with the matter.
Nokia and Microsoft declined to comment.
The new Android phone
will be aimed at emerging markets and will not
feature some of Google’s
higher-end, custom Android features.
Microsoft and its main
handset partner Nokia
have struggled to make an
impression in the smartphone market dominated
by Samsung’s Android
devices and Apple Inc’s
iPhone. According to technology research firm, Strategy Analytics, 79 percent
of smartphones shipped
worldwide last year ran on
Android, 15 percent were
iPhones running Apple’s
iOS and only 4 percent ran
Windows Phone software.
People line up inside “Dumb Starbucks”, a parody store of the Starbucks Coffee chain, in
Los Angeles, California on Monday. The new coffee shop called “Dumb Starbucks” opened
its doors in Los Angeles on Friday, bringing in a crowd and questions. The logo on the shop,
claiming to be a parody coffee shop mocking Starbucks, looks nearly the same as the real
Starbucks, but with the word “dumb” added to the title and menu items.
They now are involved in
around 20 cases across the
country and officials in several states said they could
never have brought the
cases without Schruben,
Pantazis and their team.
Court documents show
many of the cases and settlement agreements follow
a similar pattern, accusing
the oil companies of “double-dipping” by collecting
both special state funds and
insurance money for the
same tank cleanups. Some
states say any insurance
payouts should have gone
to them since they covered
the cost of the work.
“It appears this was a really common practice and
it’s very disconcerting,”
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said in a
phone interview. “Basically
the companies were defrauding the state.” Colorado has so far signed settlement agreements with
three companies for $35
million, according to documents seen by Reuters.
While the underground
tank expert and the lawyer
are reluctant to discuss details of ongoing litigation,
Reuters found nine states
have won settlements worth
more than $105 million
with four companies in the
past three years - Chevron ,
Exxon, ConocoPhillips and
its downstream arm Phillips
66, and Sunoco. In none of
the settlements or comments to Reuters did companies admit wrongdoing.
Lawsuits are pending in at
least seven other states.
Opinion
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
By Andres Oppenheimer
Last week’s summit of
Latin American leaders in
Cuba was a textbook case of
political tourism and empty
pledges, but something very
good may have come out of
it – saving the four-country
Pacific Alliance trade bloc.
The leaders of the Pacific
Alliance – the ambitious
trade bloc made up of Mexico, Colombia, Peru and
Chile – held several bilateral meetings on the sidelines
of the Community of Latin
American and Caribbean
Countries (CELAC) summit in Cuba, and talked at
length about the future of
their trade bloc.
What was especially important about these lateral meetings was that
they were also attended by
Michelle Bachelet, the leftof-center president-elect of
Chile. Bachelet, who takes
office on March 11, flew to
the Cuban summit at the
invitation of Chile’s outgoing president, Sebastian
Piñera.
Before Bachelet’s trip
with Piñera to Cuba, there
had been serious concerns
about the future of the Pacific Alliance because of
reports that Chile will cool
off its support for the group
once Bachelet takes office.
First, there was the question of whether Bachelet
will enthusiastically back
a regional group that was
founded by her predecessor
and political rival. Second,
Bachelet’s campaign platform has explicitly called
for Chile to downplay its
activism in the Pacific Alliance, and promote stronger
ties with Brazil and other
Atlantic coast countries.
But the bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the
CELAC summit in Havana
may have helped the leaders of Mexico, Colombia
and Peru persuade Bachelet not to drastically diminish Chile’s active role
in the Pacific Alliance, wellplaced officials who participated at the meetings in
Havana told me.
During separate talks with
the leaders of Mexico, Colombia and Peru, Bachelet
received assurances that
the Pacific Alliance is not
a pro-American bloc that
wants to split Latin America in two, as some other
CELAC members claim.
She was further assured
that the Pacific Alliance is
not aimed against the region’s Atlantic coast countries.
Unlike other mostly ceremonial integration groups
in the region, the Pacific Alliance is all about business.
Among other things, it is
creating a free trade area
among member countries,
establishing joint trade offices in Asia and Africa,
and creating a four-country
common stock market.
As for the larger, muchpublicized CELAC summit,
one just needs to read its final declaration to realize it
was a farce. The final declaration says participating
countries “ratify our irrevocable will … to strengthen
our democracies and all human rights for all.”
It’s no joke: they pledged to
strengthen democracy and
human rights at a meeting
presided over by General
Raúl Castro, a military ruler
whose family dictatorship
has not allowed a free election, political parties or independent media in 55 years.
What’s just as bad, they
signed the declaration at the
very same time as the Cuban regime was rounding up
hundreds of dissident leaders to prevent them from
holding peaceful demonstrations during the summit.
To his credit, Piñera met
in Havana with Ladies in
White opposition leader
Berta Soler. And Costa
Rica
President
Laura
Chinchilla sent a government delegation to meet
with Cuban Human Rights
Commission leaders.
The 70-point CELAC declaration was full of empty
pledges to “continue advancing” toward Latin
America’s economic integration,” but without any
concrete steps to do so.
Sadly, there are now almost as many Latin Ameri-
can integration organizations as countries in the
region.
Despite these summits,
Latin America continues
to be one of the least integrated regions in the world:
only about 18 percent of
Latin America’s total trade
is within the region, as opposed to 65 percent of the
European Union’s total
trade, according to United
Nations figures.
Why did Latin American
presidents lend themselves
to the CELAC charade?
Mexico and Brazil want to
be well positioned diplomatically and economically
for the inevitable transition
in Cuba. Other countries,
in light of Cuba’s recent
measures such as allowing
its people to travel abroad,
33
believe that it will be more
effective to “accompany”
the Cuban regime toward
greater changes than antagonizing it.
My opinion: It was pathetic to see Latin American
presidents waiting in line to
appear in smiling pictures
with Raúl and Fidel Castro.
Many of these leaders will
regret these pictures when
the Castro brothers die, and
the full extent of their human rights abuses comes to
light.
If something good came
out of the CELAC meeting, it may be things that
happened on the sidelines,
such as the meetings in
which Bachelet may have
been persuaded not to turn
her back on the Pacific Alliance.
34
By Eugene Robinson
WASHINGTON -- The
Republican Party was supposed to be getting its act
together for the midterm
election. Instead, judging
Opinion
from the disarray on immigration reform, things may
be getting even messier.
I’m referring to House
Speaker John Boehner’s
embarrassing climb-down.
After vowing for months
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
that the House would finally take action on immigration, last week he
surrendered. The bitterly
divided Republican majority cannot agree on how to
proceed. Apparently, this
is supposed to be President
Obama’s fault.
If Boehner spilled gravy
on his tie, he’d probably
blame Obama. The fact
is, Obama has done everything humanly possible to
make it easier for Republicans to support sensible
reform.
You know a party is dysfunctional when it can’t
take yes for an answer. Ostensibly, the GOP’s big objection was to a sweeping,
comprehensive bill such as
the one passed by the Senate. Last fall, the Obama
administration signaled its
willingness to take a piecemeal approach, if necessary, in order to move for-
ward. So what’s the problem?
Um, Obama. And the Affordable Care Act. And, I
don’t know, maybe Jupiter
and Saturn are in astrological misalignment.
“The American people,
including many of my members, don’t trust that the
reform that we’re talking
about will be implemented
as it was intended to be,”
Boehner said, somehow
managing to keep a straight
face.
Come on, Mr. Speaker.
House Republicans have
made clear that they want
to deal with border security
before turning to the status
of 11 million undocumented
immigrants. You say they
don’t trust Obama to implement tougher border controls? Then why are they
content to leave in place the
current controls, which presumably are more lenient
than the new ones some in
the GOP would impose? If
the goal is to stem illegal
border crossings, wouldn’t
it be better to constrain the
president with tougher laws
rather than weaker ones, at
least in theory?
In practice, this is all a
bunch of nonsense. The
Obama administration has
been tougher on border security than any previous administration, carrying out a
record number of deportations.
Boehner knows this, so he
didn’t focus on the border
as the reason for House Republicans’ paralyzing lack
of trust in the president. He
cited the Affordable Care
Act – specifically, elements
of the law that have been
delayed or altered by executive action.
By that standard, Republicans in Congress should
just take the rest of the
year off. If they object to
the powers vested in the
presidency, it’s a waste of
their time to even consider
legislation on any subject.
Instead, they should be
working to amend the Constitution to make it more to
their liking.
The real reason Boehner
can’t get his troops to
march in any coherent direction on immigration is
that they refuse to acknowledge reality on the central
issue: amnesty for the 11
million.
I use the word amnesty
because, let’s face it, that’s
what we’re talking about.
What else would be the
point of immigration reform if not to give some
legal status to the millions
of men, women and children who are here without
papers? If you assume that
we bring them out of the
shadows, and if you assume
we do not drive them all out
of the country, then you’re
talking about some kind of
amnesty that allows them
to stay.
I would favor a clear path
to citizenship. Republicans
talk about provisional status that puts them at “the
back of the line” for citizenship, which might sound
reasonable until you actually look at our immigration
policies and realize that
there is no organized line.
Either way, Congress has
to acknowledge that these
people are here to stay.
Most House Republicans
surely know this. But they
have told a different story
to the party’s activist base,
and they fear that acknowledging reality will invite
tea party wrath. They’re
paralyzed, all right, but not
because they distrust President Obama. It’s because
they distrust their own primary voters.
The GOP’s failure to
come to terms with immigration reform has two big
implications. One is that
the party’s estrangement
from the nation’s largest
minority group is likely to
deepen. For many Latino
voters – who went for President Obama by 71 percent
over Mitt Romney – immigration reform is a threshold issue. The GOP ticket
in 2016 may pay a steep
price.
The other is that 11 million undocumented immigrants continue to enjoy a
de facto amnesty while our
society remains less productive and less secure than
it should be. All thanks to
the Republican Party.
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
35
36
Comics
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
By Nancy Black
Today’s Birthday (February 11) – Focus on optimal health
and work this year, for extraordinary results. You’re learning
tricks for powerful performance (especially through August).
Include practices for physical, mental and spiritual growth. A
spring cleaning at home makes space for a new stage in romance and partnership (solar eclipse, 6/10). Spend time with
young people for inspiration, fun and play. Grow your love.
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 a 6 – Prepare for all the
contingencies you can imagine, and don’t make promises you
can’t keep. Spend time on organization and planning before
taking action. Another illusion bites the dust. Abundance is
available again. Exceed expectations.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) – Today is a 7 – It’s getting easier to advance, although communications could slow or get
twisted. Don’t tell everything. Offer extra service. Good
work leads to more assignments. Help a goofy friend stay
calm. Allow yourself a little treat.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) – Today is a 9 – Love grows, even if
it’s not quite as expected. You’ve got the upper hand. Don’t
talk about it. Avoid an argument with the one who signs your
paychecks. Be respectful. Find a sweetheart deal.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) – Today is a 9 – Take care if you
must travel now. Abundance is available. Don’t rush blindly
forward, though. Meditation delivers keen personal insight.
Expand it by sharing it. Heed advice from a female. Go down
a new road.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) – Today is a 6 – Gamble another day.
Focus on the jobs you love and delegate others. More complications could arise, with unstable conditions. Keep to the
plan, despite temporary confusion. Cautiously advance while
reviewing options. Reassure someone who feels abandoned.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) – Today is a 7 – Chaos and misunderstandings could slow the action. It’s a good time to relax
and recharge. Keep it frugal. Negotiate your way out of a
corner. You can succeed. Offer advice only if asked. Get insight from a dream.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) – Today is a 7 – Unexpected circumstances could interfere with the plans. Keep the faith. Don’t
forget to do an important job at work. Learn as you teach.
Schedule a family discussion for later. Small steps forward
add up.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) – Today is an 8 – A lucky break
opens a new door. Study the options. Don’t take anything
for granted. Use what you have. You’re especially charming
now. Exploration through travel or the eyes of another inspires you. Sort through your stuff.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) – Today is a 7 – Clear up confusion before proceeding. Double-check financial documents
and paperwork. Listen to all the considerations, regarding
upcoming expenses. Budget to make it work. Remain firm
but not rigid. Talk to your family before signing.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) – Today is an 8 – Conditions
seem shaky. Encourage compromise on the team. Don’t
gossip about your job. Check the regulations. Work out the
budget with a partner. You don’t need whistles and bells. Integrate your insights. Present a balanced report.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) – Today is a 9 – Quiet productivity
gets more accomplished than meetings. Focus on health and
service. Take care of yourself and others. Rest, and remind
others to do the same. Avoid big expense or hassle. Postpone
appointments if you need.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) – Today is a 7 – Plan some social
fun. Direct your actions logically. Turn down public for private today. Try not to provoke jealousy. Controversy could
arise. Ignore someone who says it can’t be done. Pay attention to intuition. Admit impracticalities.
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Dear Queenie,
My husband is a gentle, considerate man, a successful businessman and a wonderful father and I love him very much.
It’s his father that is the problem.
He likes me very much and always says I am the best thing
that ever happened to his son and his son wouldn’t have done
so well in life without me.
While I’m glad to have my father-in-law’s approval, I find
these remarks insulting to my husband and I don’t understand why his father thinks his son wouldn’t have been successful without me and I am the one who is responsible for
what my husband has accomplished.
Queenie, what should I say to him when he talks like this?—
Happy wife
Dear Happy wife,
Tell him how lucky you feel to have his son for your husband
for all the reasons you have mentioned and then ask him why
he would say something so insulting about his own son.
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, February 15
BARBECUE
Organised by PTA of the Prins Willem Alexander School
Time: 11am to 5pm
Place: School grounds in St Peters
Fundraising in aid of books, school excursions and assist students with purchasing uniforms.
Sunday, February 16
SOFTBALL 2014
Teams line up: Jose Lake Ballpark parking lot, 1:30pm.
March starts: 2:00pm.
Registration fee: Female $350, Male $450; due by Monday,
February 10 (can be paid in two installments: half on Monday, February 10, and half on Monday, March 10).
NOTICES
Registration for cycling schools
Comité de Cyclisme Territorial de St. Martin (CCTSM) is
calling on parents to inscribe their children into a cycling
school. The following clubs and contact persons are listed:
Velo Club de Grand Case (VCG), St. Elmo Arnell (0690) 58.24.21;
Jeunesse Cycliste de La Savane, Dany Dormoy (0690) 88.00.54 in
French Quarter; SXM Sport Evasion, Jean Paul Rousseau (1-721)
580-6176 in Marigot; Association Sportif de Marigot, Steve Galvani (0690) 10.03.73 on Dutch St. Maarten; and Mo Trouble Cycling Club, Robert Benders (1-721) 522-8433, or President of the
Cycling Committee, Rigobert Benjamin (0690) 22.82.35.
Household Survey
Department of Statistics (STAT) is currently visiting every household/dwelling unit to gather basic information from the occupants.
For more information call Tel. 549-0235 or email: statinfo@sintmaartengov.org
Dutch classes
Hillside Christian Schools will be starting a new program “Dutch
for beginners”. This program is only for adults. Persons are invited
to attend the information session on Wednesday February 12, at
7:00pm at the Asha Stevens Hillside Christian School in Cay Hill.
Volleyball
St. Eustatius Volleyball Association (SEVA) invites current and
also new potential volleyball teams that the local volleyball competition is scheduled to start on Saturday March 1, at 7:30pm at
the sports hall. There will be a meeting on Friday February 21, at
Community
37
5:15pm at the sports-hall for all team representatives. Volleyball of their programmes. Meeting times are Mondays, 5:30games will be played on Saturdays (8:00pm), Tuesdays, and Thurs- 6:45pm, ages 5-11; and Thursdays, 6:00-7:30pm, ages 12-18.
days (7:30pm)
All meetings will be held at the Brick Building on the Philipsburg Methodist Church grounds. Call 550-8971 or 526-7307
Swimming Classes
for further information.
Mr. Busby Swim Instructor is now registering children and adults
for swimming classes at Divi Little Bay on the beach. For more Sailing lessons
information call 5245137 or email: rawlybusby @gmail.com.
St. Maarten Yacht Club Sailing School (SMYC) invites persons to register for sailing lessons. For more information
Pre-Selection Practice
contact smycsailingschool@gmail.com or call 586-0850
St. Martin PONY League reminds all players that pre-selection
practice session have begun. Players are reminded that all selec- Badminton Club
tions will have to be formed by April 30. May 1, is the confirma- Orion Badminton Club is starting badminton practice at St.
tion date of our participation to the Caribbean Zone Tournament. Maarten Academy Gym Hall, every Monday and WednesPractice will take place at John Cooper/Jose Lake Sr. Ballpark day, 7:00-9:00pm.
every Monday-Wednesday and Friday, 3:00-6:00pm. Practice for
players on the French side will be at Louis Vanterpool Stadium Jiu Jitsu Classes
in Marigot on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:00-6:00pm. All players Renzo Gracie St Maarten is now registering children and
are reminded that only players in full practice uniform will be al- adults for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and self defence classes. Localowed on the field and only players who attend practice regularly tion: Megaplex Cinemas, Cole Bay. For more information
stand a chance to form part of the final selection. Players are also call 580 3894 or email info@sxmbjj.com
reminded to take a copy of their passport to the Pony League office
at Cannegieter Street 93, Philipsburg.
Dance School
Dance and Arts Dimensions Academy is registering students
Homework Guidance
for the new school year for Dance, Piano, Vocals or GuiStudy Buddy Homework Guidance Program is accepting students tar. For more information contact the office at 522-5801 or
in need of assistance with their studies. Especially Milton Peters email: dance.da85@gmail.com
College and Sundial School Students, students of Primary School
fifth and Sixth Grade. Students from other High schools can apply Dance Classes
Contact: 5220952/ 5806862.
Dance Theater of St. Maarten will be registering students
ages 3+ for classes. For detailed schedule and new tuition
Bus Drivers Association Election
rates, visit our website www.dancesxm.com, e-mail us at
The bus drivers association informs everyone the election will be info@dancesxm.com or call 520-6914.
held in Philipsburg Jubilee Library on February 23 at 3:00pm. For
those who want to participate in this election, e-mail your name Volunteers Needed
and information about yourself to busdriversxm@gmail.com or The St. Maarten AIDS Foundation is looking for volunteers
call tel. +1-721-581-2981. February 9 is the deadline for all to reg- with graphic design experience to design flyers, posters and
ister.
brochures for their events and activities. They are also looking for Spanish and Creole speaking volunteers with a good
ASA Afterschool Programme
command of English. For more information please contact
No Kidding With Our Kids Foundation has availability in different Kimberley Meijers via k.meijers@sxmaidsfoundation.org or
age groups at its Retreat and Sucker Garden locations. For more call 588-4636.
information and registration, call 542-4910 or 542-4925, or e-mail:
nokasa@caribserve.net .
Registration/Volunteers
The ITCL Foundation is now registering students who have
Old Licence Plates
difficulty coping with or who are at risk of prematurely leavPlease donate your old licence plates to the St. Maarten Animal ing the current school system. Students who are in need of
Welfare Foundation. Our logo shop is located at Chesterfield’s special attention in a small setting are welcome to apply. For
parking lot or call Inez at 553-3020. Thank you for helping us to more information and registration call 524-6067 or 526-4232.
help the animals of the island.
The foundation also is looking for volunteers interested in
assisting with different groups of children ages 4-15 years, in
Female Soccer Team
different programmes and capacity.
Oualichi Women’s Soccer Association is recruiting experienced or
new female soccer players. The Association has a youth team (age Free HIV testing
6-12) and a women’s team (age 12 and up). For more information St. Maarten AIDS Foundation is offering free and confion practice days and possibilities: oualichisoccer@gmail.com, mo- dential HIV testing at its office Tuesdays, Wednesdays and
bile: 587-9180. Facebook: Oualichi Women’s Soccer Team.
Thursdays, 9:00am to 12:00pm. Results are available in 15
minutes. If these hours are not convenient call 553-2626 or
Learn Something New
588-4636 to make an appointment. The office is on the secKid Connect Activity Center in Cole Bay is, in addition to our ond floor of the Bluepoint building in Cole Bay (across from
regular After-School programme, now offering “Learn Something Tropicana Casino). Parking and entrance at the back of the
New” After-School Programmes. Introduction to Cooking, Gar- building.
dening and Table Manners are available after-school on Mondays,
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and on Saturdays. Cooking for adults is also Female Soccer Team
now available. Call 522-8928, 526-6152 or 581-4110. Email us your FC Soualiga is looking for energetic and fun ladies to join the
questions to fun@kcsxm.com and visit our site www.kcsxm.com for team. Practice takes place at Asha Stevens Campus of the
more information.
Hillside Christian School in Cay Hill, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00pm. Contact fcsoualiga@gmail.com, look up
EMT Prep Classes
FC Soualiga on Facebook.
WIEMS is now registering for EMT prep classes starting January
2014. Only EMR certified (or equivalent) candidates will be al- Volunteers Needed
lowed to take part. For more information and registration contact St Maarten Red Cross is looking for volunteers. Interested
wiems.sxm@hotmail.com or visit our website at www.wiems.org
persons can visit their Building or call 545-2333 or 586-5330
for more information.
After School
Joann’s After School is now registering children ages 4-16 years for Positive Thinking
its afterschool programme. For more information call 524-0401 or Brahma Kumaris St. Maarten invites persons to its on-going
email: joaan38@hotmail.com
free meditation and Positive Thinking courses at Raj Yoga
Centre, 16 Front Street. Call
Carnival Parades
524-2554 or 542-0541 for
Festivités Carnavalesque de St. Martin (FCDSM) informs all that more information.
registration for the 2014 Carnival parades on the French side is
now open. For more information contact Ricaldo Gumbs (0690) Community Reading Class
30.98.38 (for adult parades) and Kathy Africa (0690) 73.03.38 (chil- Organised by the Salvation
dren’s parades).
Army at Union Road #59,
Cole Bay, every Monday,
Boys/Girls Meeting
Wednesday and Thursday,
Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade companies at the Philipsburg Meth- 2:30-4:30pm
odist Church invite boys and girls ages 5-18 to be a part
People
38
LONDON--A Norwegian
film that is part thriller, part
spoof of the “Nordic Noir”
genre, and a Chinese movie
set in a massage clinic run
by blind people and using
some blind actors were the
main offerings at the Berlin
film festival on Monday.
Chinese director Lou Ye’s
“Tui Na” (“Blind Massage”) is one of three Chinese films in competition,
all of which represent a departure in being set outside
of Beijing or Shanghai, with
this one being the second
Lou has filmed in Nanjing.
The body count in Norwegian director Hans Petter
Moland’s “Kraftidioten”
(“Order of Disappearance”) eventually hits 21.
The victims’ names and a
symbol suited to their religion, sometimes a Catholic
cross, sometimes Ortho-
dox, in one case a Star of
David, are shown in white
lettering on a black screen
at the end of each bloody
killing spree.
At first, the movie seems
like a classic crime shootem-up, but this one drew
laughs from a press preview
audience with its references to the “Stockholm Syndrome”, a discussion by two
gangsters of why northern
countries have good welfare systems and southern
countries don’t, and two of
the tough guys turning out
to have a covert gay relationship.
“It’s an original harebrained idea from Scandinavia,” Moland told a postscreening news conference.
“It started out as an idea
many years ago to explore
the sort of porous line between our civil attributes
TV 15 (local)
Channel 115 SXM Cable
Tuesday, February 11
8:00am
AVS News (r)
8:30am
Replay DComm
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THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
and education and upbringing and being confronted
with our various sorts of
primitive instincts that we
have when grave injustice is
being done to us.”
The bloodletting begins in
a snowbound part of Norway when the son of snowplow driver Nils, played by
Scandinavian film veteran
Stellan Skarsgard, is mistakenly killed by a drug
gang who think the young
man has stolen their cocaine. Because the killers
disguise the murder as a
drug overdose, the police
are unwilling to investigate
and Nils takes the law into
his own hands.
“When did you become
‘Dirty Harry’?,” his excriminal brother asks him
when Nils, who has killed
off three of the drug gang’s
henchmen and thrown
them in a lake, comes to
him for advice on how to
hire a hitman to kill off the
crime boss. The Norwegian
drug kingpin is played by
Pal Sverre Hagen as a ruthless sharp-suited vegan who
drinks bio fruit juices and
whose luxurious home is
a monument to bad-taste
decorating.
His main rival is a Serbian
druglord played by veteran
German actor Bruno Ganz.
He said it was mostly a nonspeaking role because of
his limited Serbian but that
he had tried to project his
character as a big man, in
the manner of the late Serb
leader Slobodan Milosevic.
Challenged on the amount
of violence in this and his
other films, Moland said he
was drawn to the theme of
how violence affects normal people. “Violence is I
think something that lurks
Director Hans Petter Moland, his son Jack (3rd L) and cast members Bruno Ganz (2nd R)
Stellan Skarsgard (2nd L) and Pal Sverre Hagen (R) pose during a photocall to promote the
movie ‘Kraftidioten’ (In Order of Disappearance) at the 64th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin on Monday.
in our depths as human
beings and thankfully we
restrain ourselves most of
the time and occasionally
it erupts. I’m interested in
what violence does to normal people, normal welladjusted people.”
Based on a popular Chinese novel that has been
made into a television series, “Blind Massage” is
partly a soap operatic look
at the lives, loves and frustrations of blind people
working at a type of massage clinic popular in China, and partly a remarkable
achievement with the integration of sighted Chinese
actors with blind people
who had never acted before.
“It was a very great chance
for us blind people,” actress
Zhang Lei said of appearing in the film. “There are
very few opportunities and
I know how to value this
BVN (Dutch/Flemish) TV
Channel 122 SXM Cable
Channel 23 WTN
Tuesday, February 11
12:00pm
VRT Journaal
12:35pm
Café Corsari
1:20pm
Kanniewaarzijn
1:50pm
Wijn aan Gort
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Tijd voor MAX
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NOS Journaal
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10 voor…
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Het Klokhuis
3:55pm
NOS Jeugdjournaal
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ROX
4:30pm
Blokken
4:55pm
Thuis
5:20pm
Dagelijkse kost
5:30pm
Metropolis
6:00pm
VRT Journaal
6:45pm
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7:10pm
NOS Journaal
7:30pm
Weerbericht Europa/Afrika
7:35pm
Studio Sportwinter: live uit Sotsji
8:30pm
Eigen keek
9:20pm
De televisieroute
9:50pm
Nieuwsuur
10:40pm
Weerbericht Amerika & Cariben
10:45pm
Pauw & Witteman
11:35pm
Iedereen beroemd
chance I got. I think we
played ourselves, we enacted ourselves, that was it.
We did not have a feeling
of making a movie, it was
more or less our own life.”
The festival ends on Saturday with the awarding of
the Golden Bear for best
film and in other categories.
TORONTO--Those who
fear that their penchant for
procrastination may have
foiled plans for a Valentine’s Day of romance can
turn to new apps that offer help with dinner reservations and fresh flowers,
even at the last minute.
Consumers expect to
spend about $133 on Valentine’s Day, with candlelit dinners, flowers, candy
and greeting cards the most
common ways for couples
to express their love, according to a National Retail
Federation survey of more
than 6,000 consumers.
But despite the best intentions, without some
advance planning Cupid’s
arrow may not find its intended target. For a spouse
or significant other who
forgot to make dinner reservations on one of the busiest restaurant nights of the
year an app called NoWait
let users view how booked a
restaurant is and has virtual
waiting lists.
“Valentine’s Day should
be spent falling in love with
your wife again, or with
your date. It shouldn’t be
stuck waiting,” said Ware
Sykes, the chief executive
officer of NoWait, which
is based in New York and
Pittsburg.
The app shows how many
people are ahead on a resContinued on page 39
TeleCuraçao
Channel 130 SXM Cable
Channel 8 WTN
Tuesday, February 11
6:00am
Cartoons
6:30am
Moru Bondia
9:30am
Ban Halsa e Standarte
10:00am
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11:00am
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9:30pm
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11:00pm
TeleNotisia (r)
TV-CARIB (local)
Channel 10 WTN
Tuesday, February 11
6:30am
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7:20am
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Program Rotation
People
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
COPENHAGEN--Copenhagen Zoo’s scientific director and other staff have
received death threats after
a healthy giraffe was killed
to avoid inbreeding among
the long-necked beasts
there, the zoo said on Monday.
But director Bengt Holst
said it was the right decision and he would be ready
to do the same with another
animal if needed.
The death of Marius, an
18-month-old male shot on
Sunday and then dissected
in front of crowds at the
zoo, has created a uproar
among animal lovers in
Denmark and abroad. “I
got direct threats against
the zoo, me and my family,”
Holst said. One caller who
telephoned in the middle
of the night told him that
he and his family deserved
to die.
A zoo spokesman said
other staffers had also been
threatened but gave no further details.
Copenhagen Zoo’s giraffes
are part of an international
breeding programme that
aims to maintain a healthy
giraffe population in European zoos by ensuring
that only unrelated giraffes
breed. “If an animal’s genes
are well represented in a
population, further breeding with that particular
animal is unwanted,” Holst
said. “We could face the
same problem with an elephant if there are too many
males.”
Marius was killed despite
the pleas of thousands who
signed online petitions to
save him. He was given his
favourite breakfast of rye
bread and then shot. After an autopsy, some meat
from Marius’s carcass was
fed to other zoo animals
and some was sent to research projects in Denmark
and abroad for study.
Camilla Bergvall, vice
chairwoman of Animal
Rights Sweden, said it was
common for zoos to kill
healthy animals because
they were not suitable for
breeding, the zoo lacked
room for them or there
was little public interest in
them. “Zoos have to think
about their revenues,” she
said. “It is important to un-
Alilou Messaoudi, 22, who was born handicapped, paints in his shop in Setif, about 300 km
(186 miles) east of Algiers, Algeria on Monday. A computer engineer by day, Alilou is also
a painter and swimmer who has won several national Paralympic swimming competitions.
VALENTINE’S DAY APPS
Continued from page 38
taurant list and the estimated wait time. It will also
send a notification when a
table becomes available. “It
means you can make time
to have a glass of wine at
home or at a bar around
(the restaurant), knowing
you have the extra time you
would normally spend waiting,” Sykes explained.
Thousands of restaurants
across the United States
are available on the app,
which launched last week
on iOS and Android devices. Several other apps aim
to modernize and simplify
the act of giving flowers on
Feb. 14.
With ProFlowers, for iOS,
and Bouqs for iOS and
Android devices, users can
order flowers from smart-
phones for delivery the
next day. ProFlowers lets
users pay by taking a photo
of their credit card.
In the San Francisco area
serious procrastinators can
have flowers delivered with
a hand-written note in 90
minutes via BloomThat, a
new app for iOS. The app
sends a notification when
the flowers are sent and delivered.
“If you don’t get your order in for flowers in the next
few days you’re not getting
them, or you’re scrambling
at the grocery store to pick
out the best of what’s left
wrapped in cellophane,”
said Matt Schwab, cofounder of the San Francisco-based startup.
For couples in New York
City in need of a bottle of
wine on Valentine’s Day a
new app called Minibar will
deliver one within 60 minutes. Users enter their ZIP
code, select wines or spirits
and proceed to checkout.
And for last-minute Valentine’s Day cards, Shuttersong, a free app for iOS
devices, lets people send
audio-enabled photos instantly via text, email and
social networks. The company has teamed up with
the American Greetings
card company to provide
virtual Valentine’s Day
cards that can be personalized with a voiceover or
music clip. A pack of 10
cards costs $1.99 and can
be used an unlimited number of times.
39
People look on as a veterinarian prepares to dismember the giraffe Marius after it was killed
in Copenhagen Zoo on Sunday.
derstand that this is not just
about Marius. It happens
quite often that healthy
animals are killed.”
Bergvall said keeping spe-
BERLIN--Seeing a filmed
version of one of your novels can “feel insane”, British author Nick Hornby
said on Monday at the Berlin film festival where the
movie based on his antisuicide-pact book “A Long
Way Down” had a special
screening.
The film stars Pierce Brosnan, Imogene Poots, Toni
Collette and Aaron Paul as
four people who meet by
chance on New Year’s Eve
on a rooftop where they
have all planned to commit
suicide. They make a pact
to try to keep each other
alive in what has been described a “genial farce”
which is due to be released
in cinemas next month.
Hornby, several of whose
books, including “High Fidelity” and “About a Boy”
have been made into films,
said it was always startling
to work on a film project for
years and then see the final
result. “There’s so much
work and so many years go
by while you are working on
this thing and suddenly you
sit down in a dark room and
it goes by in 90 minutes and
it feels insane,” Hornby
said at a news conference
before an evening screening of the film by French
director Pascal Chaumeil.
“You come out thinking,
‘I couldn’t understand that,
I wonder if anybody else
would?’” he said, adding
that on the second viewing
the film makes more sense.
Brosnan, asked how it felt
to have an acting life after
cies in zoos caused the individual animals to suffer.
Breeding animals for captivity created the limited
gene pool problem that led
to Marius’s death. “The
best thing is not to breed
animals for people to look
at,” she said.
Cast members Pierce Brosnan (L) and Toni Collette pose during a photocall to promote the movie “A Long Way Down”
at the 64th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin on
Monday.
having played James Bond
in several installments of
the franchise, said he continued because “I love being an actor, I love the
work, it’s wonderful work, I
need to work.”
The Irish actor said that
having played Agent 007
had allowed him to do different movies and have
a career internationally.
“You have to be tough as
old boots to remain an actor and stay at the table,” he
said. “It’s my life it’s what I
do, I don’t know what else
to do at this point.”
40
Sports
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
More than 100 swimmers dove into the Carib Swim Team pool in Cole Bay to compete in the
Ballerina Sweetheart Meet Sunday.
COLE BAY--St. Barth’s
Natation (SBN) won the
Ballerina Sweetheart Meet
Sunday. Carib Swim Team
(CST) hosted their second
home meet of the season at
their pool in Cole Bay, and
finished second. The Ballerina Sweetheart Meet was
the largest home meet in
more than two years. Five
teams, Super Splash Swim
Team (SSST), Sharks Swim
Team (SHK), LAB Sports,
SBN and CST fielded a total
of 105 swimmers.
SBN won the most points
from the girls and CST won
the most points from the
boys, with the Overall Ballerina Sweetheart Meet Cup
being won by SBN, closely
followed by CST in second
place and SSST in third
place.
In addition to the team
swimmers, CST coach Romain Layour and SBN coach
Jean-Marc
Outil
swam
against each other in two races, 100m and 200m freestyle,
with Romain Layour winning
the 100m and Jean-Marc
Outil winning the 200m in
the two most cheered races
of the day.
The trophies and medals
were presented to the winners by Ravi Dadlani, the
sales manager from Ballerina
Jewellers, with special congratulations going to swimmers who won gold medals
in all three of the races they
swam: Zaira Forson (SBN),
Emma Marshall (CST), Abi-
Denzel A. Brooks, (l to r) with Minister Maurice Lake, Martel Hartley and Raul Jacobs. The three ball players completed a baseball try-out in St. Thomas.
PHILIPSBURG--Four
local ball players completed a baseball try-out
organised by the Virgin
Islands Future Baseball Organization in
St. Thomas in January.
Now, three of the athletes have been invited
to attend the Perfect
Game Academy Challenge in Fort Meyers,
Florida, from Wednesday, April 2 to 7.
Minister of Public
Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and
Infrastructure VROMI
Maurice Lake supported
the trip to St. Thomas
and is now calling on the
business community to
help the future stars.
Denzel A. Brooks,
Five teams competed in various distances based on age.
ola Dessout (CST), Mathis
Witczak (CST), Hugo Rindel
(SBN), Lukas Outil (SBN),
Jahir Martimbor (SSST) and
six-year-old Matias Piazza
(CST) competing in his first
meet.
Ballerina Jewellers continues their support of the Carib
Swim Team, having donated
a Pandora bracelet that will
be raffled Friday, Valentine’s
Day, at The Jewellery Boutique on Front Street.
Domino’s Pizza, B&C Beverages and Heavenly Waters
provided food and drinks for
swimmers and spectators.
The next, and last, CST
home meet will be held in
April.
St. Barth’s Natation earned the most points for the girls and won the overall title.
Martel Hartley, Raul
Jacobs and Junior King
participated in a try-out
before both college and
pro-scouts. The athletes
ran, fielded balls and
batted. Now, the group,
minus Jacobs, because
he is too young, is headed to Florida.
Each player has a financial obligation of US
$1,395, which includes
airfare, the registration
fee and meals.
“I am very proud of all
the four selected players and looking forward
to continue to support
them in their endeavours. Each one of them
is talented,” said the
minister.
“I encourage the business community to make
their dreams become a
reality.
Minister Lake was a
former Little League
player.
Fourteen teams competed in the two-day-long 2014 Interlux One Design Regatta.
SIMPSON BAY--Han de
Bruyn Kops sailing with
brothers Pieter and Paul
Soons won the 2014 Interlux
One Design Regatta. Fourteen teams rotated through
eight boats to complete a
total of sixteen races on the
north side of the SXM airport runway Saturday and
Sunday.
Just two points off the pace,
finishing second was Andrea
Scarabelli of Team Budget
Marine/Gill. Crew was Chris
Marshall and Ryan Hope
Ross. Third place went to the
visiting team from the Volvo
70 Monster Project helmed
by Andy Budgen sailing with
Ali Merridew and Pippa
Kirchman.
Team Han finished in the
top three in every race except
one, which they were able to
use as a discard. Team Budget Marine/Gill fell out of the
top three twice.
The Interlux Regatta shore
activities sponsored by Coors
Light and prize giving were
held at Budget Marine.
Sports
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
SOCHI, Russia-- Western
criticism of Russia’s Winter
Olympics was reminiscent of
Cold War ambitions to hold
the Soviet Union back, President Vladimir Putin said on
Monday, despite signs that
the world was warming to the
most expensive Games ever
held.
The buildup to the Olympics in Sochi on the Black
Sea coast has been overshadowed by threats of Islamist
militant violence, an international outcry over a contentious “anti-gay propaganda”
law and allegations of widespread corruption and profligacy.
As the third full day of
competition drew to a close,
that hostility had begun to
melt away and the thrills and
spills on snow and ice, and a
hugely popular Russian gold
in the team figure skating
on Sunday, began to win the
critics around.
Monday’s biggest drama
was undoubtedly in the men’s
500 metre speed skating at
the Adler Arena, where, in
a Dutch sweep of the medals. Michel Mulder beat Jan
Smeekens by one hundredth
of a second, having initially
been announced as second.
“It was a kick in the gut,”
WHITE
Vancouver Games in 2010
when she won five medals.
Compatriot Petter Northug
will seek redemption in the
men’s sprint after finishing
down the field in the skiathlon on Sunday. Northug,
whose training for Sochi was
disrupted by illness late last
year, faces a tough battle
with defending champion Nikita Kriukov of Russia.
Anastasiya Kuzmina, born
in Russia but competing for
Slovakia, is aiming for a biathlon double in the pursuit
said Smeekens, who thought
he had won for about “two
or three minutes” before the
scoreboard adjusted his time.
“I was so ecstatic that I won,
I can’t describe it.”
Mulder’s twin brother Ronald grabbed bronze as the
Dutch continued their dominance of the sport.
The excitement did not stop
Putin, who has staked his
personal and political prestige on a successful Games,
from taking a swipe at his
detractors, suggesting he was
still smarting from criticism
he always maintained was
unfair.
“Back in Cold War times the
theory of containment was
created,” he told a televised
public meeting in Sochi.
“This theory and its practice
were aimed at restraining the
development of the Soviet
Union... what we see now are
echoes of this containment
theory. This, unfortunately,
has also applied to the Olympic project.”
Putin also said the Olympics
were playing a “positive role”
in relations between Russia
and its 2008 war foe Georgia,
emphasising that he believed
flights set up between Sochi
and the Georgian capital
Tbilisi should continue after
Continued from page 44
after already having won the
sprint in Sochi.
Germany is the dominant
nation in luge and Natalie
Geisenberger is tipped to
extend that pattern in the
women’s singles.
South Korea’s Lee Sanghwa is the favourite in the
women’s 500 metres speed
skating, while Canada will
be expecting Kaya Turski to
strike gold in the women’s
slopestyle in freestyle skiing,
another new event.
the Games.
Canada on Top
A day earlier, the 61-yearold had been all smiles, as
state television captured him
congratulating the victorious
Russian skaters, “high fiving” with young volunteers,
drinking beer and urging the
home team to greater sporting glory.
On the team was diminutive 15-year-old Julia Lipnitskaya, whose breathtaking
performance melted hearts
and had commentators in the
United States, as well as Russia, gushing over a superstar
in the making.
“Good job guys, my congratulations to you all,” Putin said, addressing the winning team crowded around
him. “You have a lot of work
ahead of you here, so don’t
relax.”
But there were no more
gold medals for Russia on
Monday.
Defending champion Alex
Bilodeau led a Canadian
one-two in the men’s freestyle skiing moguls, putting
his country atop the medals
table with three golds, three
silvers and a bronze.
France claimed its first title
of the Games when Martin
Fourcade won the biathlon
12.5km pursuit. Ole Einar
Bjoerndalen of Norway finished fourth to miss out on
what would have been a record 13th Winter Games
medal.
In the high-velocity, notoriously unpredictable sport
of short track, Canada’s
Charles Hamelin grabbed
1,500m gold before lunging
over the barriers to wrap
his girlfriend and team mate
Marianne St-Gelais in a hug.
Germany’s Maria HoeflRiesch retained her Olympic
super combined title with
a slalom surge amidst the
peaks of the Caucasus moun-
Winner Michel Mulder of the Netherlands (C), his twin brother third-placed Ronald Mulder
(L), and their compatriot second-placed Jan Smeekens celebrate during the flower ceremony
for the men’s 500 metres speed skating race at the Adler Arena during the Sochi 2014 Winter
Olympics February 10.
tains
In Tuesday’s action the firstever medals in women’s ski
jumping will be awarded, in
the normal hill competition,
one of eight golds up for
grabs.
The American and Canadian heavyweights of the
men’s ice hockey competition had their first practice
on Monday with attention
already turning to Saturday’s mouthwatering clash
between the U.S. and Russia
that will bring back memories of the “miracle on ice”
at Lake Placid in 1980 when
the Americans shocked the
dominant Soviets to win 4-3.
Winning Locals Over?
A Russian victory in that
game would further enhance
the mood among locals.
Even some of those worst affected by years of disruption
caused by huge infrastructure projects in Sochi appear
to be won over by the gleaming new Olympic park.
“It’s just fantastic,” Sergei
Klyuyev, from the Adler area
where the park was built,
said as he walked through
with his family on Sunday,
admiring the state-of-the-art
stadiums.
“There’s been building work
here for five years but look at
all this around us. We regret
nothing, not even the cost.”
Putin wants to use Russia’s
first Winter Games, which
cost $51 billion to stage, to
project the country as a resurgent nation that belongs
among the world’s elite powers.
He has defended the scale of
the project, saying it helped
shield Russia from the worst
of the financial crisis.
Not all Russians are convinced, however. A recent
survey by independent pollster Levada showed 47 percent of them believe the cost
of the Games has soared
because funds have been embezzled or mismanaged.
Norway, bidding to host the
2022 Winter Olympics, said
in Sochi on Monday it would
limit its budget to around $5
billion.
Included in Russia’s eyewatering Winter Games costs
is a major security operation,
as Islamist militants based in
nearby Chechnya and other
North Caucasus regions have
threatened to launch attacks
on Sochi.
Some 37,000 security personnel are on high alert in
and around Sochi, although
officials believe the risk of
militant violence is greater
elsewhere in Russia.
A major attack during the
Games would embarrass Putin, who launched a war to
crush a rebellion in Chechnya in 1999.
41
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) greets Yevgeny Plushenko, a member of the gold medal-winning Russian figure
skating team, during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
SOCHI, Russia-- To all the naysayers in the world, Yevgeny
Plushenko blasted out just one message with a rousing performance that helped Russia to win the team competition at
the Sochi Olympics - “shut up, just shut up”.
It is not known if the Black-Eyed Peas anthem is on his
playlist - but the message was loud and clear on Sunday as
the Russian played up to the crowd and the cameras with a
routine that to the wider world at times resembled a pantomime act.
At one point, the 31-year-old seductively swayed his hips
and skated right up to the judges, playfully holding up his
index finger to his lips mid routine - miming for silence.
Perhaps it was a message to his critics who had blasted him
for barging into the Olympics through the back door because
he only secured his place following a secret test skate rather
than beating his younger Russian rivals in open competition.
His mentor Alexei Mishin summed up what his presence in
Sochi meant for Russia.
“Yevgeny has charisma and power. Maybe somebody does
not like him but the majority loves him and respects him. The
minority is jealous,” said Mishin.
However, there is no getting away from the fact that no one
promotes Plushenko better than the showman himself.
While his rivals chose music such as “Firebird” by Stravinsky or “Riverdance” by Bill Whelan, Plushenko took to the
ice on Sunday to treat the audience to a free skate performed
to a medley of songs called “Best of Plushenko”.
What he showcased on ice was anything but the best as he
attempted only one quadruple jump, downgraded other intended triple jumps to doubles while tricks such as a quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop in combination simply vanished as
he never even attempted them.
As for the spins, he was so slow that it seemed as if someone
had hit the slow motion button by mistake.
ADORING FANS
But as far as his adoring fans are concerned, including former American rival Johnny Weir, Plushenko can do wrong.
As they roared their approval, a beaming Plushenko blew
kisses and lapped up applause and skated off the ice with
chants of “Ru-ss-ia, Ru-ss-ia” ringing in his ears.
His performance was worth 168.20 points to the judges but
to a captivated Russia - it was priceless.
“Yevgeny is like our last big famous star that transcended
the world of just figure skating and is an icon in his country
and got the country behind the sport,” Weir told Reuters.
“He’s been an incredible asset to our sport, he’s really revolutionised the sport throughout his years in competitive skating.
“He pushed the realms of what old is in the sport and
showed us that anybody with the right mindset and the right
ability can still be competitive.”
But not everyone was as enthralled by the Plushenko effect.
“Some of the judges give him so much more points than he
deserves. He was flailing his arms above his head so that it
distracted people from watching what he wasn’t doing with
his feet. That was not fair,” 2002 Olympic pairs gold medallist Jamie Sale told Reuters.
42
WASHINGTON-- Two U.S.
lawmakers on Monday rejected the NFL’s claim that
the Washington Redskins
name was an honor to Native
Americans and urged the
sports league to recognize
it as a racial slur and back
changing the name.
In a letter to the National
Football League, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state,
and Republican U.S. Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma criticized the league
Sports
for defending the name.
“The terminology used
by the Washington football
team has been determined
to be a slur,” the lawmakers
said.
“It is, in fact, an insult to Native Americans. We are calling on you and the National
Football League to take a
formal position in support of
a name change,” they wrote
in the letter, first reported by
The New York Times.
The letter follows recent
comments by NFL Com-
BARCELONA-- Barcelona forward Neymar has trained
with the squad for the first time since injuring his ankle last
month and is close to a return to action, the club said on
Monday.
The Brazil international damaged tendons in a King’s
Cup tie against Getafe on Jan. 16, the latest setback for the
22-year-old who had not started a match since Christmas due
to lack of fitness and a stomach bug.
“Neymar Jr has taken one more step in his recovery and had
his first training session with the team on Monday morning,”
La Liga leaders Barca said on their website (www.fcbarcelona.es).
Barca will be protecting a 2-0 lead in their King’s Cup semifinal second leg at Real Sociedad on Wednesday.
They then host Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Saturday
before travelling to play Manchester City in a Champions
League last-16 first leg on Feb. 18.
Venus Williams of U.S. returns the ball to Petra Martic of Croatia during their women’s singles match at the Qatar Open
tennis tournament in Doha February 10. Williams won 6-2
6-2.
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
missioner Roger Goodell
in support of the Redskins’
moniker, which team owner
Dan Snyder has vowed not to
change.
“Let me remind you this is
the name of a football team,
a football team that has had
that name for 80 years and
has presented the name in a
way that has honored Native
Americans,” Goodell said at
a Jan. 31 news conference.
He said the league respected those who disagreed but
cited polling figures showing support for the Redskins
name.
On Monday, the lawmakers
shot back.
“For you to pretend that the
name is defensible based on
decade-old public opinion
polling flies in the face of our
constitutionally
protected
government-to-government
relationship with tribes,”
wrote Cantwell, who heads
the Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs, and Cole, a
member of the Chickasaw
Nation and one of two Native American congressmen,
according to his office.
Both Oklahoma and Washington state are home to dozens of federally recognized
Native American tribes.
Representatives for Snyder
and the Redskins team did
not immediately respond to
a request for comment.
“When we receive the letter, we will respond to it in an
appropriate manner,” NFL
spokesman Greg Aiello told
Reuters in an e-mail.
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – Dwayne Bravo took
three cheap wickets and
had a superb direct-hit run
out as T&T beat CCC by
7 wickets in Match 10 of
the NAGICO Super50 at
Queen’s Park Oval on Sunday.
The captain ended with
bowling figures of 10-4-193 as CCC were bowled out
for 98. T&T then raced to
100-3 to win with 202 balls
to spare.
T&T finished Zone A with
10 points. CCC ended on
seven points.
The NAGICO Super50
started on January 30 and
runs until February 15.
The day/night competition
is the West Indies Cricket
Board’s premier limitedovers event. Defending
champions, Windward Islands, head Zone A along
with Jamaica, Guyana
and foreign guests, Ireland. Zone B consists of
last year’s beaten finalist,
Red Bull Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany sits inside his RB10 as team members push his car into the garage during pre-season testing in this file photo.
BAHRAIN-- Red Bull
team principal Christian
Horner is confident there
are no major problems with
this season’s car despite
its below-par performance
during the first pre-season
testing in Jerez last month.
Red Bull, who have won
the constructors’ championship four years in a row,
completed a dismal 21 laps
in their new RB10 car,
while rivals Mercedes managed over 300 in four days
of testing at the Spanish
circuit.
“There’s a few things we
needed to tighten up on
our side but nothing major
and obviously Renault have
some issues that they are
tidying up as well,” Horner
said in an interview with
Sky Sports.
“But these cars are so
complicated that even
small problems can cause
big failures.”
With a host of rule changes
being introduced this season, including new 1.6-litre
V6 engines fitted with complicated energy-recovery
systems (ERS), Red Bull
engine suppliers Renault
have struggled with overheating in their ERS.
Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s
chief technical officer, has
gone back to the drawing board in search of a
solution and that has left
Horner uncertain of how
the car will perform at next
week’s test in Bahrain.
“Obviously, there’s quite
a bit to do but there’s still
a fair bit of time before the
first race,” he said.
“The Bahrain test next
week is an important test
and we are working very
hard at both Renault and
Milton Keynes.
“We don’t want another
test like Jerez but that’s
what testing is for - you sort
your problems out so as not
to have them at the races.”
Combined Campuses and
Colleges (C.C.C.), as well
as the hosts, Trinidad and
Tobago, Barbados and Leeward Islands.
Matches are being played
at the historic Queen’s Park
Oval in Port-of-Spain and
Shaw Park in Tobago.
The champions will take
home the Clive Lloyd Trophy – named in honour of
the legendary captain of
the 1975 and 1979 World
Cup winning teams.
The NAGICO Super50
continues with the first
semifinal as
Jamaica
faces Trinidad & Tobago
Wednesday. Thursday in
the second semifinal Barbados meets Guyana/
The two winners will meet
in the final Saturday.
NEW YORK-- Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve
Nash expects to play on
Tuesday despite a leg
injury that forced him
to leave Sunday’s game,
ESPN.com reported.
However, Nash, who
turned 40 this month
and who has been sidelined by injuries for
much of the season, has
told friends he plans to
retire after this season,
the New York Daily
News reported.
Nash has another year
remaining on his contract that would pay him
$9.7 million next season.
But Nash suggested he
is not ready to retire.
“Right now I have no
intentions to stop playing,” he said, according
to Lakers.com.
Nash has played in just
nine games this season
because of back and leg
ailments and is averaging 8.2 points and 5.0
assists.
He returned to action
Feb. 4, but had to leave
Sunday’s game with a
leg injury. Nash does not
expect to miss any additional time, though.
Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies
decided to take power
forward Zach Randolph
off the trade market,
USA Today reported.
Memphis reportedly
recently turned down
an offer by the Phoenix
Suns.
Randolph is a possible
free agent this summer
as he can opt out of his
contract. He has said he
wants to stay with the
Grizzlies but has not officially decided if he will
remain with the team or
opt out of his deal.
Sports
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Chelsea’s manager Jose Mourinho gestures during their
English Premier League soccer match against Manchester
United in this file photo.
ENGLAND-Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta says he has never
seen manager Arsene
Wenger as angry as he
was during the half-time
break in Saturday’s 5-1
demolition at the hands
of Liverpool.
At four-nil down after
20 minutes, Arsenal’s
players could almost
be forgiven for wanting
some respite from Liverpool’s relentless onslaught, but instead they
had to face the wrath of
Wenger as he sought to
spark a recovery after
Martin Skrtel (two), Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge fired the
hosts in front.
“The manager was really upset at half-time,
that’s normal because
it wasn’t good enough
for this football club,”
Spaniard Arteta said of
Wenger.
“It was the angriest I
have seen him.”
The half-time rant
failed to spark a recovery, with winger Sterling
adding his second seven
minutes after the restart
before Arteta scored the
consolation goal from
the penalty spot after 69
minutes.
The loss saw Arsenal
slip to second in the Premier League, one point
behind Chelsea who
beat Newcastle United
3-0, but Arteta was confident they were capable
of picking themselves up
and staying in the hunt
for a first title since 2004.
He highlighted December’s 6-3 thrashing by
Manchester City, after
which they won six of
their next eight matches,
a run that came to a sudden halt at Anfield.
“We have had two big
crises already,” the former Everton midfielder
added.
“I think the Manchester United defeat was a
different game to this,
but City and this one are
really hard to take. We
have to react because
there is nothing we can
do about this now.”
Wenger did not spare
their blushes in public
either, saying the performance was simply not
good enough.
“We were feeble in
every important aspect
of playing at the highest level: concentration,
strength in the challenge
and naivety,” he told
French media.
“So from that moment
on it’s impossible to win
a game when you’re
playing at that level.”
He did, however, defend record signing
Mesut Ozil, who came in
for heavy criticism after
match for a lethargic display in midfield.
“It is difficult to criticise
an individual on this performance ... that would
be unfair because nobody really played well.”
LONDON-Chelsea
manager Jose Mourinho
stoked up his war of words
with Manuel Pellegrini on
Monday, questioning the
Manchester City manager’s
sums and calling on the
Chilean’s talismanic midfielder Yaya Toure to be
suspended.
Mourinho, who will have
Fernando Torres fit to return at West Bromwich
Albion on Tuesday after
a three-week layoff with
a knee problem, took the
mind games to a new level
on the eve of the Premier
League tussle at The Hawthorns.
Chelsea went to the top
of the table with a 3-0 win
over Newcastle United on
Saturday, one point ahead
of Arsenal and two in front
of City.
Mourinho has said repeatedly that he views City’s
expensive squad as the title
favourites but Pellegrini recently pointed out that it is
Chelsea who have spent the
most money in the last decade and also in last month’s
transfer window.
“What I’d like to say is
that the other day Pellegrini made some comments about the money we
have spent,” Mourinho told
a news conference.
“I think he’s a fantastic
coach who I respect a lot
and on top of that he’s an
engineer,” said the Portuguese referring to the fact
the City manager studied
engineering at university.
“I don’t think an engineer
needs a calculator to work
out we sold Juan Mata for
37 million pounds ($60.66
million) last month and
Kevin De Bruyne for 18
million.
“That’s 55 million pounds,
more or less. We bought
Nemanja Matic for 21 million and Mohamed Salah
for 11 million. That’s 55
million minus 32 million
so Chelsea in this transfer
window are at 23 million
plus.
“It’s easy to understand
that we are working with
Financial Fair Play...there
are no arguments against
that.”
Barbed Comments
Mourinho, who often provokes and antagonises other managers with barbed
comments and memorably
said last week that “everything I say or do is mind
games”, hinted City were
not operating within the
same Financial Fair Play
guidelines.
“This is what we are doing, others aren’t doing the
same,” said the Chelsea
manager.
“We are building a team
for the next decade if possible and City have a team to
win now because they don’t
have a team for 10 years.”
Mourinho then turned his
attentions to Ivory Coast
international Toure who
aimed an off-the-ball kick
at Norwich City striker
Ricky van Wolfswinkel in
Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Carrow Road.
Asked about Manchester
City’s prospects if Toure
were cited by the Football Association on video
evidence and subsequently
banned, he replied: “I don’t
understand why you say ‘if’.
“If you say ‘if’ and he is
not suspended the message
is clear for all players.
“It means that it doesn’t
matter about the cameras,
doesn’t matter about the
consequences, if the referee doesn’t see it they can
do it (but) normally the FA
defends football and fair
play.”
Mourinho, who will be
without captain John Terry
for a second successive
game on Tuesday because
of a slight niggle, again
played down the idea Chelsea were now the championship favourites.
“The last 13 matches are
about 39 points and 39
points is an eternity in the
league so everything is
43
more than open,” he said.
Former Real Madrid boss
Mourinho could not resist
taking another swipe at exMalaga supremo Pellegrini,
a manager he clashed with
when both were working in
Spain.
“A few weeks ago he said
he wanted to win four competitions this season and
I see no reason for him to
change his speech,” said
the Portuguese.
“The only thing that is
quite funny is that month
after month after month,
and this started in Spain,
he keeps saying that I never
comment on Mourinho and
I never answer to Mourinho.
“But he did,” added the
Portuguese with a glint in
his eye.
Osasuna’s Raoul Loe (L) fights for the ball with Real Madrid’s Isco in this file photo.
REAL MADRID
bench.
Ancelotti appears to have
settled on a 4-3-3 system for
his first-choice team with
Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim
Benzema and Bale up front
and Angel Di Maria, Xabi
Alonso and Luka Modric
across the middle.
It has been working effectively in recent weeks
and Real are through to the
last 16 of the Champions
League, level on points at
the top of La Liga with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid
and poised to claim a berth
in the final of the King’s
Cup.
If Bale had not picked up a
series of minor injuries Isco
would probably have seen
even less playing time but
his lack of a prominent role
could put his World Cup
place in Brazil in June in
jeopardy.
Ancelotti was asked at a
news conference on Monday whether he felt he was
being unfair to Isco.
“It’s a difficult question to
answer because I don’t believe I am here to work for
a player but to do the best
possible job for Real Madrid,” the Italian said.
“Sometimes it can happen
that I am not so fair to some
players and it’s normal that
he is not happy right now.
I don’t like players who are
happy if they are not playing.
“He should have the desire to play and I hope that
at the end of the season he
and everyone else can say
Continued from page 44
they have been important
to the team,” said Ancelotti.
“He did it very well at the
start and I have no doubt
about his talent.”
With Real holding a 3-0
advantage over Atletico
ahead of their King’s Cup
semi-final second leg on
Tuesday, Ancelotti may rest
one or two of his regulars
and give Isco a chance to
impress.
However, if he does not
start playing a more significant role soon and with
a host of gifted midfielders to choose from, Spain
coach Vicente del Bosque
could be forced to give his
ticket for the trip to Brazil
to someone else.
44
SOCHI, Russia-- Michel
Mulder ‘lost’ then won the
men’s 500 metres Olympic
speed skating title by one
hundredth of a second in a
dramatic finale at the Adler
Arena on Monday, with his
twin brother Ronald taking
bronze in another Dutch
clean sweep of the medals.
After clocking a combined
69.312 seconds for his two
500m races, Mulder sat
on the edge of the ice and
watched as compatriot Jan
Smeekens crossed the line
in the final heat and was
placed on top of the leaderboard on the giant screen.
Smeekens skated down
the back straight celebrating the gold but the official
timings showed the duo
were level, before adjusting
to reveal a 0.012 difference
-- in favour of Mulder.
“When he crossed the line
I thought we were equal,
I knew my total,” Mulder
told reporters of the angstridden finish.
“I saw ‘1’ against his name
and I thought maybe they
correctly pointed out who
was fastest in thousands of
a second and I thought I
SOCHI, Russia-- American
snowboarder Shaun White,
one of the best known faces
in winter sport, makes a belated bid for Olympic gold
in Sochi on Tuesday when
he tries to retain his halfpipe
title.
Women ski jumpers compete for the first time at an
Olympics after their years of
lobbying for a Games spot
was rewarded. They make
their debut on a day when
eight golds are up for grabs.
The pressure is on Californian White, seeking his third
successive halfpipe title, after he pulled out of the new
slopestyle event in Sochi because he thought the course
was unsafe.
To add to the stress, training
for the halfpipe -- its name
refers to the ramp from
which competitors take off
-- was postponed on Monday
because the course was in
poor condition.
THE DAILY HERALD, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
said Smeekens, who said
he thought he had won for
about “two or three minutes”.
“I was so ecstatic that I
won, I can’t describe it.”
Smeekens said he could
not believe the margin of
victory.
“I have never seen it in my
career and I don’t think we
will see it again.”
Smeekens, who finished
sixth in Vancouver four
years ago, said he had failed
in a protest at the decision.
“There was a photo finish
and the judges said it was
legitimate.
“I have to believe them
and I have to congratulate
Michel and Roland as well.
It’s special. I am proud of
them, but the disappointment is overwhelming right
now.
“It’s silver and I have to be
happy with it. Maybe I will
be that in a couple of hours,
days, years, I don’t know.
But now its really disappointing.”
Roland finished 0.15 seconds behind his brother to
complete the second speed
skating clean sweep for the
Dutch at the Sochi Games
following the men’s 5,000
on Saturday.
“If your twin brother becomes Olympic champion
and you win bronze you
have to be satisfied,” said
Ronald.
Photo Finish
Smeekens topped the time
sheets after the first run
with a blistering 34.59 seconds to leave the Mulder
twins and defending champion Mo Tae-bum of South
Korea trailing.
In the second run, Ronald
Mulder produced a bestof-the-day 34.49 seconds to
jump from sixth into gold
Michel Mulder of the Netherlands (R) skates to a first place finish during the men’s 500 me- medal position with only six
tres speed skating race at the Adler Arena during the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics February skaters left.
Michel then bettered his
10.
twin brother’s times in the
was second.
top of the list and knew it 1984 Sarajevo Games.
penultimate heat against
“(Then) I looked at the was a official result. Unbe- The gold was a record 30th a disappointing Mo, who
board and saw his time was lievable. Great feeling.”
for the Dutch in speed skat- finished fourth, before the
going one hundredth up. At
The Dutch have won ing. They had been tied on final pairing drama.
first I didn’t believe it and seven of the nine medals 29 with the United States.
wasn’t sure but then soon available at the Adler AreWhile the 27-year-old
enough I saw my name on na so far and the Mulders Mulder ripped open his suit
became the first twins to and screamed in delight at
medal in the same individ- winning gold, Smeekens
ual Winter Olympics event struggled to sum the pain
since Americans Phil and of having it snatched from MADRID-- When Real buy Isco from Malaga in
Steven Mahre achieved the his grasp.
Madrid paid around 30 mil- the close season it seemed
feat in alpine skiing at the
“It was a kick in the gut,” lion euros ($41 million) to the talented playmaker was
poised to become a fixture
The women ski jumpers get
for club and country.
their chance after petitioning
He had just helped Spain
the International Olympic
to victory in the European
Committee (IOC) to grant
Under- 21 championship in
them a place on the proIsrael, scoring a penalty in a
gramme. The IOC had ar4-2 final win over Italy, and
gued there were not enough
had already made his full
good women jumpers to
senior debut in a friendly
guarantee a quality competition.
against Uruguay.
The clear favourite is
Initially, all appeared to
17-year-old Sara Takanashi
be going according to plan
from Japan, who mastered
as the ‘Golden Boy’ trophy
balance in ballet classes at a
winner for the best young
young age and has built up
player in Europe in 2012 hit
a huge lead in this season’s
the ground running with a
World Cup.
series of impressive perforHer main rival should be
mances and some delightSarah Hendrickson but the
ful goals.
American suffered a bad inHowever, the arrival of
jury last August and has only
world record signing Gajust regained fitness.
reth Bale at the end of the
In cross-country skiing,
transfer window prompted
Norwegian “Iron Lady”
Denver Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler (21) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers Real coach Carlo Ancelotti
Marit Bjoergen goes for her
forward
Ian
Mahinmi
(28)
at
Bankers
Life
Fieldhouse,
in
Indianapolis.
Pacers
won
119-80.
to change his formation
second gold of the Games in
the sprint. Bjoergen was the David West led the Pacers. He scored 25 points grabbed three rebounds and had two assists. and Isco increasingly found
most successful athlete at the Chandler had 17 points, five rebounds and two assists for the Nuggets. (Brian Spurlock-USA himself watching from the
Continued on page 43
Continued on page 41 TODAY Sports.)