March 2, 2016

On Top Of The News Email:news@arubatoday.com website: www.arubatoday.com Tel:+297 582-7800 Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Party Time

At Press Time:

Clinton, Trump Shift Focus to General ElectionÂ

John Evans points across the room during an election night watch party Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Stafford, Texas. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were pressing for sweeping victories that could distance them from their party rivals and move them closer to a November presidential election showdown. Nominating contests were held Tuesday in 12 of the 50Â U.S. states.

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Page 3

A2 UP

Wednesday 2 March 2016

FRONT

Osama bin Laden wanted his fortunes to be used ‘on jihad’

A South Korean war veteran waves a South Korean national flag during a rally against North Korea’s rocket launch and nuclear test in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. A U.N. Security Council vote on the toughest sanctions on North Korea in two decades has been postponed until Wednesday morning at Russia’s request, the United States and France said Tuesday.

(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

UN to vote on new North Korea sanctions EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. Security Council vote on the toughest sanctions on North Korea in two decades has been postponed until Wednesday morning at Russia’s request, the United States and France said Tuesday.

The U.S. and North Korea’s traditional ally China spent seven weeks negotiating the new sanctions, which includes mandatory inspections of cargo ships leaving and entering North Korea, in response to Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test and rocket launch.

Both are in defiance of previous council resolutions.

But Russia, which received the new draft Thursday along with other council members, asked for time to study the lengthy text, and suggested changes.

The United States late Mon-

day asked the council to schedule a vote Tuesday afternoon. But the U.S. Mission to the United Nations said “Russia invoked a procedural 24-hour review of the resolution, so the vote will be on Wednesday.”

The U.S., its Western allies and Japan pressed for new sanctions that went beyond the North’s nuclear and missile programs but China, Pyongyang’s neighbor, was reluctant to impose measures that could threaten the stability of North Korea and cause its economy to collapse.

The final draft, obtained

by The Associated Press, would eliminate loopholes in previous sanctions resolutions and impose new ones.

But it stresses that the new measures are not intended to have “adverse humanitarian consequences” for civilians, the majority who face economic hardships

and food shortages.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday that the U.S. administration knows the North Korean people “have suffered for far too long” because of decisions from their government. “And that’s why this sanctions regime is targeted more specifically at the North Korean elite.”

For the first time, the draft resolution would require the 192 other U.N. member states to inspect all cargo from North Korea or heading to the country for illicit goods, ban any sale or transfer of small arms and light weapons to Pyongyang, and require all countries to expel diplomats from the North who engage in “illicit activities.”

It would also for the first time impose significant sanctions on broad sections of the North Korean economy.

DEB RIECHMANN ROBERT BURNS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In his handwritten will, alQaida leader Osama bin Laden claimed he had about $29 million in personal wealth — the bulk of which he wanted to be used “on jihad, for the sake of Allah.”

The will was released Tuesday in a batch of more than 100 documents seized in a May 2011 raid that killed bin Laden at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

The al-Qaida leader planned to divide his fortune among his relatives, but wanted most of it spent to conduct the work of the Islamic extremist terror network behind the Sept. 11 attacks.

The will did not disclose much detail about where he amassed his wealth, but bin Laden’s father ran a successful construction company in Saudi Arabia for years, and the will noted that $12 million was from his brother on behalf of the Bin Laden Co. The threat of sudden death was on his mind years before the fatal raid in Pakistan.

“If I am to be killed,” a bin Laden son wrote his father in a 2008 letter, “pray for me a lot and give continuous charities in my name, as I will be in great need for support to reach the permanent home.”

The letters were included in a batch of documents released by the Office of

the Director of National Intelligence.

They address a range of topics, including fractures between al-Qaida and al-Qaida in Iraq, which eventually splintered off into what is now known as the Islamic State; and bin Laden’s concerns about his organization’s public image and his desire to depict it as a united network.

In a letter to one of his wives who had been living in Iran, bin Laden expressed worry that her visit to a dentist could have presented the Iranians an opportunity to implant a small chip under her skin, apparently as a tracking device.

“My dear wife,” he began. “I was told that you went to a dentist in Iran, and you were concerned about a filling she put in for you. Please let me know in detail ... any suspicions that any of the brothers may have about chips planted in any way.”

The Iranian dentist might have used a slightly enlarged syringe to make such an implant, bin Laden wrote in the letter.

The U.S. translation is undated.

“The size of the chip is about the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli,” bin Laden said.

He asked her to recall the exact date of her dental work, “also about any surgery you had, even if it was only a quick pinch.”

U.S. NEWS A3

Wednesday 2 March 2016

At Press Time:

Clinton, Trump extend their leads on Super Tuesday

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Hillary Clinton won at least six states and Donald Trump at least five in Super Tuesday elections, the biggest day of the primary campaign. But Ted Cruz ended Trump’s winning streak with victories in his home state of Texas and neighboring Oklahoma.

Democrat Bernie Sanders also won his home state of Vermont and Oklahoma.

Clinton and Trump were pressing for sweeping victories that could distance them from their party rivals and move them closer to a November presidential election showdown. Nominating contests were being held Tuesday in 12 of the 50 U.S. states.

Trump won in Virginia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Georgia.

Cruz is the only candidate to have beaten Trump, in the leadoff Iowa caucuses, as well as the two wins on Tuesday.

Cruz, a firebrand conservative senator, has been vying with Marco Rubio to emerge as the main alternative to Trump. Cruz saw the Southern states that voted Tuesday as his opportunity to stake his claim to the nomination, given their large evangelical Christian populations. Trump has won over many evangelicals, but Cruz’s campaign may be boosted by his victory in Texas, the biggest prize up for grabs on Super Tuesday.

Rubio, a Florida senator who has become the favorite of much of the Republican establishment, has yet to win a primary, despite competing hard in Virginia. He is putting hopes on his home state primary on March 15.

Clinton, the former secretary of state and senator, won in Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia. The wins reflected her strength in the South, where black voters are an important part of the Democratic base and overwhelmingly supported her.

Voting was still ongoing in other contests or the races

were too close to call.

Trump, the brash billionaire and reality TV star, has stunned the Republican political establishment by winning three of the first four contests, seizing on the anxieties of voters angry at Washington and worried about terrorism, immigration and an uncertain economy. Using simple terms, and often coarse language, he has soared to the top of polls with his pledge to “make America great again.”

Republican officials, fearing a Trump sweep, have been lashing out at his temperament and command of the issues in the hours before voting began.

“You’ve got a con man and a bully who is moving forward with great speed to grab the party’s mantle to be its standard bearer,” Norm Coleman, a former senator who backs Marco Rubio, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

“That’s almost incomprehensible.” Clinton, once seen as the all-but-inevitable Democratic nominee, has contended with an unexpectedly strong challenge from Sanders, a senator and self-described democratic socialist. But Clinton, like Trump, had also won three of the first four races, including a landslide victory in South Carolina on Saturday.

Candidates are trying to win delegates who will vote for them at the parties’ conventions in July.

For Republicans, 595 delegates were at stake, nearly half of the 1,237 needed for the nomination. Democrats were allocating 865 delegates, more than onethird of the 2,383 needed to become the nominee.

Both Cruz and Rubio have launched furious verbal attacks on Trump in recent days, but some in the party establishment fear the anti-Trump campaign has come too late.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson remain in the race, but neither is expected to be a major factor on Tuesday.q

American voters line up outside a polling place Tuesday, March 1, 2016 in Anchorage, Alaska.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were pressing for sweeping victories that could distance them from their party rivals and move them closer to a November presidential election showdown.

Nominating contests were held Tuesday in 12 of the 50 U.S. states.

(AP Photo/Michael Dinneen)

A4 U.S.

Wednesday 2 March 2016

NEWS

Obama, congressional leaders talk Supreme Court vacancy KATHLEEN HENNESSEY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — After an Oval Office sit-down on Tuesday did nothing to move Republican Senate leaders off their hard line against a Supreme Court nomination, Democrats pulled out another weapon in the heated electionyear fight: Donald Trump.

In a White House meeting that lasted less than an hour, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told President Barack Obama that any confirmation process during a presidential campaign would politicize the court. They offered up no potential candidates that would win their backing and no route to filling the seat.

“This vacancy will not be filled this year,” McConnell told reporters after the meeting.

Democrats accused Republicans of trying to hold the seat open so that a Republican president can fill it. That president could be Trump, they noted, hoping

to needle a GOP establishment uncomfortable with the prospects of Trump presidency.

The meeting — which also included Vice President Joe Biden, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the ranking Democrat on the judiciary committee — was the first time the leaders have met since Justice Antonin Scalia’s death last month set off a high-stakes clash over the Supreme Court vacancy.

While the men huddled at the White House, voters in 12 states were preparing to weigh in on a presidential contest that has tanked Obama’s chances of filling the seat — but also given Democrats a new line of attack. As they emerged from the meeting, they quickly linked the GOP strategy to the Republican front-runner poised to pick up significant momentum Tuesday night.

“All we want them to do is fulfill their Constitutional duty and do their job, and at this stage, they decided not to do that,” Reid said.

“They think that they can

President Barack Obama meets with, from left, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s ranking member Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Senate Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid of Nev., Vice President Joe Biden, the president, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March 1, 2016, to discuss the vacancy in the Supreme Court.

(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

wait and see what President Trump will do, I guess.”

Reid’s comments were aimed at riling up Democrats, as well as moderate and establishment Republicans who cringe at the thought of the unpredictable celebrity candidate controlling the future of the court. It was an early sign that with formalities — such

as awkward White House meetings — dispensed with, the fight over the court was largely a battle for public opinion.

“Whether everybody in the meeting today wanted to admit it, we all know that considering a nomination in the middle of a heated presidential campaign is bad for the nominee, bad for the court, bad for the process, and ultimately bad for the nation,” Grassley said in his statement about the meeting. “It’s

time for the people to voice their opinion about the role of the Supreme Court in our constitutional system of government.”

At another time, the gathering might have been a nod to the tradition of at least limited cooperation in naming and confirming justices to the nation’s highest court. The president might have floated potential candidates; Senate opposition might have come armed with their own preferred names.

U.S. NEWS A5

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Neighborhood reflects on life, death of man shot by police

The Rev. William Barber II, center, head of the North Carolina National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, speaks during a news conference near the scene of a shooting in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Authorities say that a police officer fatally killed a man Monday while trying to make an arrest for a felony drug charge.

(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

JONATHAN DREW Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The black man shot to death by a police officer was a father of two who was quick to flash a smile or give a hug, yet someone who had a troubled relationship with police and was wanted on charges of selling cocaine.

Akiel Denkins, 24, died Monday after a foot pursuit with an officer serving a felony arrest warrant. The officer chased Denkins over a fence and fired multiple shots in a backyard behind a modest home, according to police and witnesses.

The police shooting angered residents in this predominantly African-American neighborhood and comes as officers face perhaps more scrutiny than ever over their treatment of young black men. The officer’s race was not released and police gave out few details, other than saying a gun was found near Denkins.

“He had some troubles, but he was a good guy,” said Pastor Chris Jones of the Ship of Zion, who usespatience and prayer to convince young men in the community to give up drug dealing and other troubled paths.

Truvalia Bailey said she bumped into Denkins about 10 minutes be-

fore the shooting and he “hugged me around the neck.”

“It happens everywhere,” she said of the police shootings, her voice hoarse and breaking with emotion.

“But it finally hit Raleigh.”

Frustration with police was evident in the hours after the shooting, with some chanting “no justice, no peace” at the edge of a police cordon.

The atmosphere was calmer Tuesday in the neighborhood of one-story houses and small clusters of apartments. Residents say they have a complicated relationship with police.

More than a half-dozen churches sit within a halfmile of where shooting took place, and three area pastors chose measured responses such as “somewhat peaceful,” ‘’decent” or “respectful” when asked to describe interactions between the community and officers. Some people complained that crime in the area is driven by outsiders coming in at night to buy and sell drugs.

Denkins had children ages 1 and 2, said the Rev. William Barber II, the head of the North Carolina National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

“Did he have faults? All human beings have faults.

Some reports say he had

an arrest record. So do I,” Barber told reporters Tuesday.

But Barber said neither a warrant nor an arrest record “is a license to kill” and he called for a fair and transparent investigation.

Denkins’ mother, Rolonda Byrd, had tears streaming down her face as she stood next to Barber. She said she went to the medical examiner’s office, but wasn’t allowed to look at her son’s body.

“They stopped me at the door. Somehow they knew I was on my way,” Byrd said.

“Why wasn’t there a Taser pulled out to Taser him while he was jumping over that fence? What happened to beanbags guns?

They used to use those to stop a criminal.

A6 U.S.

Wednesday 2 March 2016

NEWS

Boy’s hearing gives no clue on Ohio school shooting motive DAN SEWELL Associated Press HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — A 14-year-old boy accused

fered no clues about the motive that investigators say they know.

The attorney for a 14-year-

be “overcome” by the situation.

Attorney Ed Perry also tells The Associated Press that

Attorney Ed Perry leads the family of James Austin Hancock out of the courthouse after he was arraigned in Butler County Juvenile Court, Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Hamilton, Ohio. An Ohio sheriff says Hancock, the 14-year-old suspect in a school shooting that wounded multiple classmates on Monday, is in a juvenile lock-up and facing several charges.

(Greg Lynch/The Journal-News via AP)

of shooting students in a school cafeteria entered the juvenile court equivalent of a not-guilty plea at a Tuesday hearing that of-

old boy accused of shooting fellow students in an Ohio school cafeteria says he hasn’t been willing to talk much and appears to

James Austin Hancock’s family wants the families of those hurt and the Madison Local Schools community in general to know that they

are very concerned and saddened about them.

They declined to talk with reporters Tuesday morning outside the juvenile courtroom where Perry entered a denial of charges including attempted murder for Hancock.

He says it’s been difficult to get the youth to talk with him, but he says he hopes that will change in the days ahead. Hancock is being held in juvenile detention pending an April 5 hearing.

Perry wasn’t aware of Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones’ contention that the youth should be prosecuted as an adult, but said that’s an issue “we will be concerned about.”

The boy is charged in Butler County with attempted murder, felonious assault, inducing panic and making terroristic threats. With his ankles shackled, he sat silently during the brief hearing and kept his head down, reading the complaint.

Defense attorney Ed Perry entered a denial of the charges, and a magistrate ordered that the suspect remain in juvenile detention pending a hearing

Utah police slammed for not releasing video of shooting LINDSAY WHITEHURST BRADY McCOMBS Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Police have refused to release body camera footage or details about what led officers to shoot and critically wound a 17-year-old Somali refugee in Salt Lake City, igniting criticism from civil rights groups.

The city known for its ties to Mormonism has become the latest flashpoint in the national discussion about police use of force, especially with minorities.

Abdi Mohamed, who came to the U.S. with his family in 2004, was shot twice in the torso last weekend when officers intervened as he and another person attacked someone with metal sticks, police said.

Officers told them to drop their weapons, but the teen instead moved menacingly toward the victim, authorities said. Mohamed was in critical condition Monday. The victim of the beating didn’t need medical attention.

Police declined to of-

fer more information and would not release video from the officers’ body cameras, citing the investigation and the possibility the teenager could face charges.

That decision drew criticism from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which called on police to release the footage to avoid making the same mistake Chicago police made in waiting more than a year to release video of a black teenager shot 16 times by an officer.

Spokesman Ibrahim Hooper has not been able to talk to Mohamed’s family but has been told they are Muslim.

At the rally, Nacom Koffi was one of many who chanted “Black lives matter” and speculated that Mohamed’s race played a factor in the shooting. Koffi, from West Africa, joined the chorus of calls for police to release the footage.

“Why are police wearing video and we can’t see it?” Koffi said. “If they’re right, let’s see it.”

April 5. Perry and the boy’s supporters declined to comment afterward.

There was no indication whether prosecutors might seek to move the case to adult court.

The Associated Press doesn’t generally name juveniles charged with crimes.

Authorities allege the boy fired at students Monday in a cafeteria used by high schoolers in Madison Township, near Middletown. Two students were shot and two others were hurt, possibly by shrapnel or while running away, authorities said.

The injuries weren’t considered life-threatening.

In a recorded call, a 911 caller reporting the shooting immediately identified the suspect by name.

Breathing heavily, the unidentified caller told a dispatcher: “He just pulled out his gun and started shooting.”

Sheriff Richard Jones said he’s aware of a motive but wasn’t ready to release it.

Students were eating in the cafeteria when the shooting happened around 11:30 a.m., Jones said. Afterward, classmates described a chaotic scene where they weren’t sure what was happening at first.

A sheriff’s deputy stationed in the school had just been in the cafeteria, Jones said.

The students who were shot were 14 and 15 years old and were taken to a hospital where they were in stable condition, investigators said.

The school, which had practiced for such an event, immediately went into lockdown, said Madison Local Schools spokeswoman A.J. Huff.

The district canceled classes and extracurricular activities Tuesday.

U.S. NEWS A7

Wednesday 2 March 2016

US Financial Front:

Survey says voter anxiety at odds with economists’ optimism

C. S. RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The insurgent presidential bids of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have roused Americans who are angry and anxious about an economy they feel has left them behind.

Most economists have a brighter view. They say that while many people haven’t benefited much since the recession ended, a stronger economy lies ahead.

An Associated Press survey this month of nearly three dozen economists found that a majority thinks the United States remains resilient enough to defy a global slump and the sinking stock markets that have raised fears of a new U.S. recession. With job growth solid, higher wages and spending should offset global threats and support growth, they say.

A majority said they thought stock investors have overreacted to sharply lower oil prices and a slowdown in China. They foresee only a 19 percent chance that the U.S. economy will fall into recession within 12 months.

Perhaps most notably in a political season that’s sparked a polarizing debate on immigration, the economists overwhelmingly described legal immigrants as a plus for the economy. They note that immigrants are disproportionately young and help expand the workforce, which fuels growth. And immigrants are more likely to start businesses than Americans as a whole are.

Yet according to a Gallup survey released this month, Americans are more likely to name the economy as the country’s top problem

than they are anything else.

A quarter of those surveyed listed their chief concern as either the economy in general or unemployment and jobs.

Other polls have found that

people feel they’ve yet to regain their former living standards. In addition, some parts of the country haven’t recovered as well as the nation as a whole has.

and we’re only now where we should have been after two years,” said Tim Hopper, chief economist for TIAA-CREF. “We have not seen the typical growth rates in income and em-

More than 30 oil drilling rigs stand idle in a Helmerich & Payne, Inc. yard along Groening Street in Odessa, Texas, as rig counts drop in the Permian Basin. Voters and economists hold sharply divergent views on U.S. economic growth. Economic recovery has occurred unevenly around the country. Falling oil prices for the past 18 months have brought widespread layoffs in the oil patch states, for example. But, according to a majority of economists surveyed by The Associated Press, the United States is resilient enough to defy the global economic slowdown and the sinking stock markets that have fanned fears of a new U.S. recession.

(Courtney Sacco/Odessa American via AP)

a majority of Americans even think the economy remains in recession, even though the Great Recession officially ended in June 2009.

So what explains the gap between the optimism of economists and the anxieties of voters?

For one thing, sluggish pay growth means many people are struggling even as broad gauges of the economy are improving.

For another, the economic recovery, which followed a devastating recession, has been unusually slow. Many

“I can say the economy is in good shape, but I can understand why many people are ticked off and say it’s not, because their wages haven’t grown,” said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisers.

The typical household’s annual income sank during the recession and didn’t regain its prerecession level until November 2015, according to Sentier Research. That’s a much slower, more painful pace than occurred after previous recessions.

“It’s been six or seven years,

ployment.”

Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, noted that the recovery has occurred unevenly around the country. Falling oil prices have brought widespread layoffs in oil-producing states.

But high-tech hubs like San Francisco, Denver and Salt Lake City are booming.

More than 50 million Americans live in areas that kept losing jobs and businesses through the first half of the recovery, according to a report by the Economic Innovation Group, a bipartisan think tank backed

by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

Hiring, income and business growth has been concentrated in wealthier ZIP codes, the report found.

In the median-income ZIP code, job growth matched only half the pace of the national average.

The AP surveyed a range of corporate, Wall Street and academic economists from Feb. 17 through 24. Among the findings: — Immigration has been a ferociously contentious issue in the Republican presidential race, but economists were unanimous: Every one who responded to the AP’s survey favored opening doors rather than building walls to legal immigration.

Immigrants who graduate from U.S. universities and remain in the country “are amazingly productive members of society, starting new, innovative companies,” said David Berson, chief economist at Nationwide Insurance.

The economists also see legal immigration as offsetting the impact of an aging U.S. population and rising retirements — trends that have reduced the proportion of American adults who either have a job or are looking for one.

“Otherwise, we are going to have an incredible number of people taking Social Security and Medicare and a smaller and smaller number of people providing for them,” Berson said.

— Most of the economists agree with Sanders’ view that some mega-banks remain “too big to fail,” nearly nine years after the financial crisis erupted and almost buried the U.S. banking system. If the econo-

WORLD NEWS Shelling near reporters in Syria shows limits of truce A8

Wednesday 2 March 2016

V. ISACHENKOV Associated Press KINSIBBA, Syria (AP) — Artillery shells struck near the main street of a Syrian village controlled by the government on Tuesday, sending international reporters diving for cover and highlighting the fragility of a partial cease-fire that both sides in the civil war say has been repeatedly violated.

The blasts that shook Kinsibba, near the Turkish border, came as the journalists were touring the village under Russian military escort.

No one was wounded by the artillery, but some suffered minor cuts as they ran for cover or threw themselves to the ground.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov, who was on the trip, said the shells came from positions held by the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front, which along with the Islamic State group is excluded from the cease-fire that began Saturday.

The U.S. and Russian-brokered “cessation of hostilities” has brought the first wide-scale reduction

A Russian soldier keeps watch as local residents receive humanitarian aid in the Syrian village of Ghunaymiyah, about 15 kilometers from Turkish border, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Residents who recently returned to their homes after the government last month captured the village from Nusra Front fighters.

(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

in violence seen in Syria’s five-year civil war, but has been rattled by alleged violations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that any faction that repeatedly violates

the cease-fire can be attacked. The cease-fire is intended to pave the way for the resumption of peace talks to end the conflict, which has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced half the country’s

population.

The office of the U.N. envoy for Syria said he has pushed back the planned resumption of talks between the government and the opposition to March 9 for “logistical and practical”

IS bombers hit Iraqi military compound, killing 8 Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Four suicide bombers disguised as soldiers struck an Iraqi military headquarters in the western town of Haditha on Tuesday, killing eight army officers, including a local commander, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group. Local councilman Khalid Salman said one of the bombers attacked the gate of the

compound and the others struck after soldiers gathered to help the victims.

He said eight soldiers were wounded in the attack. IS claimed the assault in online statements issued on jihadi websites, saying it was carried out by two Syrian suicide bombers. The AP could not confirm the authenticity of the statements, but they resembled previous announcements

issued by the group. Haditha is some 240 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Baghdad, near a key dam on the Euphrates. IS has attacked the town on a number of occasions, but has never been able to seize it. Iraqi forces, primarily Shiite militias, meanwhile launched a new push to retake a sprawling desert area outside the central city of Samarra, home to

one of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines, officials said.

They hope to cut IS supply lines and tighten the noose around the IS-held northern city of Mosul -- Iraq’s second largest -- according to a statement by the Joint Operations Command. The statement said Iraqi warplanes were supporting the mission. It did not say if the U.S.-led international coalition was involved.q

reasons. Staffan de Mistura had earlier said the talks -which last broke down in early February after just a few days -- would resume March 7. Syrian President Bashar Assad meanwhile told Germany’s ARD television that moderate rebels who lay down their arms can expect “full amnesty.”

But it was unclear whether any rebels would take him up on such an offer after years of civil war, mass detentions and widespread allegations of severe human rights violations by his government.

Assad also said convoys from Turkey have been supplying weapons to the insurgents. Turkey is one of the leading backers of those fighting to end the Assad family’s fourdecade rule. The Syrian government has received crucial support from both Russia and Iran.

In Kinsibba, which was seized in a recent government offensive, the reporters were talking to local residents when the first shell struck a hillside a few hundred meters (yards) away.

Russian officers yelled at the journalists to lie down, and they ducked as the shelling drew closer with a series of loud thuds. A Russian armored personnel carrier rushed forward to screen the reporters from direct hits. The head of Russia’s coordination center for the Syrian crisis, Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko, was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying eight shells hit and that four journalists, from Russia, Canada, China and Bulgaria, sustained light injuries. q

WORLD NEWS 9

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Case collapses against Real IRA man charged for Omagh bomb

S. POGATCHNIK Associated Press DUBLIN (AP) — The Real IRA veteran charged with murdering 29 people in Omagh walked free from prison Tuesday after prosecutors concluded that the evidence against him — particularly a witness supposed to place him in the Northern Ireland town that day — was too weak.

Seamus Daly had spent nearly two years in prison awaiting trial for the Aug. 15, 1998, car bomb attack on a crowd of shoppers, workers and tourists.

His case joined a string of failed prosecutions against the alleged Real IRA figures long blamed for the deadliest single bombing of the entire Northern Ireland conflict.

Daly, 45, did serve a brief prison sentence in the Republic of Ireland after pleading guilty in 2004 to membership in the Real IRA, one of several outlawed factions all styling themselves as the “true” Irish Republican Army.

These small, feud-prone gangs reject the ceasefire observed since 1997 by the major group, the Provisional IRA. The Real IRA planted a string of car bombs in Northern Ireland towns in 1998 in a bid to undermine support for that year’s Good Friday peace accord, which sought to end a three-decade conflict that claimed 3,700 lives.

Police prevented deaths in several other car bombings with swift evacuations.

But on that unusually sunny Saturday in Omagh, police responding to vague telephone warnings ordered people away from the town’s hilltop courthouse down Market Street — and straight to

the bomb parked outside a shop selling school uniforms. Most of those slain were women and children, including a mother 9 months’ pregnant with twins. At the time, public horror over the Omagh atrocity spurred an islandwide security crackdown on those IRA factions that refused to back the peace. The British and Irish prime ministers and U.S. President Bill Clinton visited the scene of destruction and vowed to isolate the extremists. But in the nearly 18 years since, those IRA factions remain active and Omagh has become a byword for justice denied. Police have testified in court that telecommunications tower records document how a cellphone allegedly used by Daly traveled across the Irish border to Omagh on the day of the attack. A witness, Denis O’Connor, who previously testified that Daly used that phone to call him from Omagh a half-hour after the blast, performed badly on the stand last week during a preliminary hearing designed to test evidence.

“He sounded not a credible witness at all, a very untruthful witness. I would not want anybody to be convicted on that evidence,” said Michael Gallagher, who has campaigned since 1998 for the Real IRA bomb unit responsible to be brought to justice. Nobody has been successfully prosecuted for the crime.

Gallagher, whose 21-yearold son Aiden died in the attack, noted that three high-profile attempts to convict alleged members of the Omagh bombing team all have failed because of weak, disputed or overturned evidence.

Spain: Socialists face uphill task to form government CIARAN GILES Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spain’s Socialist party leader pledged Tuesday to bring down unemployment, roll back labor reforms enacted in the name of austerity and mount a corruption crackdown if a majority of parliamentary deputies back his bid to form a new government following an inconclusive December election.

But Pedro Sanchez faces an uphill battle because lack of support from other parties suggests he won’t succeed even though the issues he highlighted are the ones Spanish voters identify as most important.

Sanchez’s party came in second in the Dec. 20 election as voters angry with Spain’s political status quo upended the country’s traditional twoparty system by giving strong support to a pair of upstarts: far-left Podemos and business-friendly Ciudadanos. The country’s

Spain’s Socialist Party leader Pedro Sanchez, left, shakes hands for the media with Ciudadanos Party president Albert Rivera before a meeting at the Spanish parliament in Madrid, Spain.

(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Popular Party that ran the country from 2011-2015 came in first, but didn’t win back its majority in the 350-seat lower house of parliament. Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who now presides over a caretaker government, refused to try to form a

government because he lacked support. Sanchez’s Socialists won 90 seats and have support from Ciudadanos, which won 40 — but that’s far short of the 176 needed to win the parliamentary government formation vote Wednesday night.

UK revises draft Internet spy law criticism JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government says it has amended a proposed Internet surveillance law to strengthen privacy protections after criticism from lawmakers.

But critics say the legislation gives police unprecedented power to look at the Internet browsing history of everyone in Britain.

Home Secretary Theresa May published the Investigatory Powers Bill on Tuesday, saying she hoped it would get parliamentary approval and become law by the end of the year.

The bill is intended to re-

place a patchwork of existing laws and define the scope and limits of surveillance in the digital age.

It gives police and spies broad powers to obtain browsing records and requires telecommunications companies to keep records of customers’ Web histories for up to a year.

The legislation has been revised after scrutiny by committees of lawmakers, who recommended changes to protect privacy and spell out authorities’ powers more clearly.

Internet companies including Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo also raised concerns that

the bill could weaken encryption, which is key to ensuring online shopping and other activities can be conducted securely.

The new version of the bill says Internet companies can only be asked to remove encryption that they have applied, and only when it is “practicable.”

It also says police forces can access Internet connection records — a list of websites, apps and messaging services someone has visited, though not the individual pages they looked at or the messages they sent — in pursuit of “investigative leads.”

A10 WORLD

Wednesday 2 March 2016

NEWS

Missing Hong Kong bookseller reappears in TV interview

Protesters try to stick photos of missing booksellers, one of which shows Gui Minhai at left, during a protest outside the Liaison of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong. The Communist Party newspaper Global Times said Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, that Gui had admitted to selling more than 4,000 books by mail despite knowing they had not been approved by China’s publications authority.

(AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong bookseller missing for two months has reappeared in an interview with Chinese media, insisting he wasn’t abducted and instead crossed illegally into mainland China to help authorities with an investigation.

The interview with Lee Bo, broadcast late Monday, came a day after another man that he worked with, Gui Minhai, purportedly confessed to illegally selling thousands of books by

mail to mainland Chinese buyers.

The 16-minute interview shown on Hong Kongbased pro-Beijing Phoenix TV appears to be an attempt to quell growing concern over the fates of Lee, Gui and three other missing men linked to a publishing company that specialized in books on sensitive political topics banned in mainland China.

Lee went missing Dec. 30 and the four others disappeared in October. The five

worked for Mighty Current Media or its Causeway Bay Bookstore, whose books were popular with mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong.

The case drew international concern over fears Beijing was eroding the “one country, two systems” principle that allows Hong Kong to maintain civil liberties such as freedom of the press and a high degree of control over its own affairs.

Lee’s case in particular rang alarm bells be-

cause of suspicions he was snatched by mainland Chinese security agents who crossed into Hong Kong.

Britain’s Foreign Office said in a report in February that Lee, a British citizen, was “involuntarily removed” to the mainland. However, Lee said the claims were false and were being used by unnamed groups to hype up his case.

“After the Mighty Current affair emerged, I wanted to secretly go back to the mainland as soon as possible to resolve the company’s affairs, then secretly return to Hong Kong,” Lee said. He added that because he was going to “give evidence” against some people whom he didn’t name, he didn’t want anyone to know and didn’t want to leave any record of his journey at immigration checkpoints so he chose to use “illegal immigration,” but did not give further details.

Lee also said he planned to renounce his British right of abode, or residency rights, though it’s not clear why he used that term rather than citizenship.

Lee made similar comments to Hong Kong police and immigration officials, the government said Monday, suggesting he is sticking closely to a script aimed at deflecting scrutiny of the case.

Thousands attend funeral of Pakistani who killed governor ZARAR KHAN ASIF SHAHZAD Associated Press RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Tens of thousands of Pakistanis chanting antigovernment slogans on Tuesday attended the funeral of a police officer executed the day before for assassinating a secular

governor in 2011 over accusations of blasphemy.

As a precaution against violence, authorities closed all schools and stepped up security in Islamabad and the adjacent city of Rawalpindi, where the funeral of Mumtaz Qadri was held.

Roads around key government buildings and diplo-

matic compounds were also closed off, said police official Ashfaq Tarar.

Qadri’s supporters threw rose petals at the ambulance carrying his coffin through Rawalpindi and he was given a martyr’s funeral before being buried in Islamabad. Earlier, authorities put a gag order

on local media covering the funeral, warning outlets in a letter that they would face closure if their reporting “glorifies extremism.”

In response to the gag order, some stick-wielding supporters beat up a local media crew in Rawalpindi, breaking at least one video camera.

North Korea slams UN rights body for criticism of record GENEVA (AP) — North Korea will “never, ever be bound” by international resolutions that criticize its human rights record, its foreign minister declared Tuesday, ripping into deadly gun violence in the United States and highlighting alleged rights violations against refugees who are pouring into Europe to flee violence at home.

Ri Su Yong took a strong message from a country known for powerful state propaganda to the U.N.sponsored Human Rights Council on Tuesday, saying that any resolutions against North Korea will only be “proof of partiality and double standards.”

Ri’s sharp comments came before the 47-member body in Geneva was set to discuss North Korea’s record on March 14 as part of a regular review. That review will consider a sharply critical report from the U.N. human rights office’s rapporteur on North Korea issued last month.

“We shall no longer participate in international sessions singling out the human rights situation of the DPRK for mere political attack,” the minister said, using an abbreviation for the country’s formal name.

His comment appeared to raise the prospect that North Korea would not exercise its right to respond.

Japan and the European Union are expected to present a resolution during the session that condemns human rights violations in North Korea and would extend by another year an investigative mission into its rights record. Over the years, North Korea has blown hot and cold with the HRC.

WORLD NEWS A11

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Argentina’s Macri: nation in bad shape but change coming

Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri pumps his fist as he leaves the Congress after giving the annual State of the Nation address in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Macri assumed the presidency in December after campaigning on promises to modernize the economy by attracting foreign investment, root out corruption and solve a long-standing spat with creditors in the U.S. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

PETER PRENGAMAN Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine President Mauricio Macri painted a grim picture of the nation on Tuesday, telling Congress that the state is broke, drug traffickers are prospering and institutions including the armed forces are so weakened that the borders are barely protected and many mili-

tary planes cannot fly.

Addressing Congress on the first day of the legislative session, Macri also blasted the previous administration, saying that political patronage had led to a major spike in the number of workers on government payrolls. Several thousand people have been fired since Macri assumed office in December.

“We are a great country

with enormous potential,” Macri said, sitting next to Vice President Gabriela Michetti as he addressed Congress.

“But the first thing we must do is recognize that we are not in good shape.”

Macri, a conservative and former mayor of Buenos Aires, campaigned on promises to modernize the economy by attracting foreign investment, root out cor-

Venezuela: Court bans congress from removing justices CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s Supreme Court is banning congress from investigating the government’s rushed appointment last year of 13 high court justices.

The ruling Tuesday came just hours before lawmakers are set to debate the issue. It sets up another likely clash between the

opposition-controlled congress and President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist administration. A lame duck government-controlled congress approved the appointment of 13 Supreme Court justices just before Christmas in a move that the opposition says undermined its landslide victory in legislative elections.

The appointments filled vacancies left by justices who retired early. The opposition says it has evidence that some of the justices were forced to quit under threats. The Supreme Court in its ruling said that congress would be overstepping its authority if it attempts to remove or even review the appointments.

ruption and solve a longstanding spat with creditors in the U.S. Speaking in a somber tone during the hour-long speech, several times Macri returned to the issue of drugs. He said Argentina was a “prosperous country for drug traffickers,” and added that the South American nation had become the world’s third largest producer of cocaine.

The problem was exacerbated by “borders that are virtually defenseless” and a military so weakened that it possessed “planes that don’t fly.”

Macri addressed the long-standing fight with a group of creditors in the U.S., bluntly framing it as a problem now in the hands of Congress. On Monday,

Argentina and the group of creditors led by billionaire investor Paul Singer announced a tentative deal, potentially putting an end to years of legal fights that have kept the South American nation from accessing international credit markets.

The deal, however, must be approved by Congress, where Macri doesn’t have majorities in either chamber and will likely face stiff opposition from some sectors of the Peronist Party, which lost the presidency for the first time in 12 years in last year’s election.

Macri said he trusted legislators would “be responsible” in their rhetoric and “we’ll build the necessary consensus” to pass a deal.

A12 WORLD

Wednesday 2 March 2016

NEWS

AP Interview:

Inflation-hit Venezuela plans to print bigger bills

FABIOLA SANCHEZ Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government will begin printing larger-denominated bank notes sometime this year, a top finance official said, as runaway inflation has eroded the value of the nation’s biggest bill to less than a U.S. dime on the black market.

Central Bank President Nelson Merentes’ comments in an interview Monday with The Associated Press were the first confirmation that Venezuela is preparing to print larger bills, something that had been rumored for months.

Merentes, who has helped steer the economy for more than a decade as finance minister and then as head of the central bank, disagreed. He said that far from generating panic among inflation-wary Venezuelans the new bills will reduce price pressures “because you’re going to have less bills circulating.”

“This is a big project that will take us to a monetary system more in line with the Venezuelan situation,” Merentes said.

He said no date has been set for the 500- and 1,000-bolivar notes to enter circulation nor had it been decided with what image would be on the new bills.

The largest bill currently in circulation — 100 bolivars

Venezuela’s Central Bank Chairman Nelson J. Merentes gives an interview at his office in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. Merentes’ confirmed that the monetary authority is preparing to print larger bills, something that had been rumored for months and which market economists say will only accelerate inflation that last year hit 181 percent, the highest in the world.

(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

— is worth 50 U.S. cents at the weaker of two official rates and less than 10 cents at the widely used black market rate.

So worthless has the bolivar become that shoppers no longer count bills when given change and social media is full of Venezuelans using the bills tongue-incheek as substitutes for everything from wallpaper to napkins.

Venezuela’s economy shrank 5.7 percent last year while shortages of basic goods multiplied, adding to social tensions and

undermining support for President Nicolas Maduro, whose socialist party lost congressional elections in December by a landslide.

The misery is expected to continue this year as world prices for oil hover near a 13-year low, cutting into earnings from petroleum, which account for 95 percent of Venezuela’s export revenue.

The International Monetary Fund has forecast Venezuela’s inflation this year could surge to 720 percent.

Foreign currency reserves plunged to their lowest lev-

el in 17 years after Venezuela made a $1.5 billion bond payment last week. Despite the country’s strong track record of repayment, investors have been betting that state-run oil company PDVSA will default on a $2 billion payment toward the end of the year.

Merentes dismissed default talk, saying Venezuela will continue to pay its foreign debts and reach financial equilibrium by reducing non-oil imports by around 40 percent this year, about the same rate it did last year.

Caribbean presses Britain for slavery reparations GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — A senior Caribbean Community official says the organization is moving forward with its effort to seek reparations from Britain for slavery.

Assistant Secretary General Douglas Slater says Cari-

com sent a formal letter of complaint to British Prime Minister David Cameron outlining its case for reparations.

The Caribbean Community intends to take the matter to the world court if Britain does not respond within

two years.

Slater said Tuesday that legal action is a last resort and that the organization prefers a settlement.

The letter sent by Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has not been released. Caribbean leaders

launched a renewed push for reparations in 2013. They argued that poverty and disease haunt former colonies because of slavery.

Cameron rejected the call for reparations during a visit to Jamaica last year.

Facebook’s Latin American leader arrested in Brazil BRUCE DOUGLAS Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police in Sao Paulo have arrested Facebook’s most senior executive in Latin America in the latest clash between Brazilian authorities and the social media company over its refusal to provide private information about its users to law enforcement.

A Tuesday news release says that Facebook’s vice president for Latin America, Diego Dzodan, was arrested on an order from a judge in the northeastern state of Sergipe. Dzodan is accused of ignoring a judicial order in a secret investigation involving organized crime and drug trafficking.

Facebook said in a written statement released Tuesday that the two companies operate independently “so the decision to arrest an employee from another company is an extreme and unwarranted step”.

WhatsApp said in its own statement that it had “cooperated as much as we could given the architecture of our service.” It said the company was “unable to provide information we do not have”.

But Monica Horta, a police spokeswoman in Sergipe, said that the arrest was made because neither Facebook nor WhatsApp responded to the request for information first issued four months ago.

Two months ago, Montalvao started to fine the company 50,000 Brazilian reais ($12,700) for every day it ignored the order, an amount that rose to 1 million Brazilian reais ($250,000) daily over the past month.

LOCAL A13

Wednesday 2 March 2016

The 16th Annual Soul Beach Music Festival Aruba To Headline Miguel, Fantasia & The Isley Brothers on Memorial Day Weekend, May 25-30!

ORANJESTAD - Let your soul glow with the 16th Annual Soul Beach Music Festival hosted by Aruba, featuring award-winning powerhouses such as The Isley Brothers, featuring Ronald and Ernest Isley, Miguel and singer-songwriter Fantasia delivering breathtaking main stage concert performances this Memorial Day weekend, May 25-30.

Aruba’s annual Soul Beach Music Festival, previously named #4 by USA Today readers’ choice “10 Best Caribbean Celebrations” and #1 “Caribbean Summer Festival” by Jetsetter Magazine, boasts a crosssection of visitors and celebrities who attend this renowned three-in-one experience featuring live music performances, comedy shows and beach parties.

“It’s an honor to host such

talented and dynamic artists on our One Happy Island,” says Otmar Oduber, Minister of Tourism, Primary Sector and Culture. “Visitors not only experience topnotch performances during Soul Beach Music Festival, but are also welcomed to enjoy Aruba’s signature experiences and culture during their stay.”

The Isley Brothers, sure to mesmerize festival goers with their timeless musical repertoire, are Inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,

winners of countless music and lifetime achievement awards and remain the only group to have charted hit records in five different decades. Claiming the #1 spot on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart for the second time and debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, Miguel’s critically acclaimed and

Grammy-nominated third studio album, ‘Wildheart,’ speaks to the velocity of heart pounding vocals he brings, to culminate the Soul Beach Harbor Arena concerts. Fantasia’s third album, Back to Me, featured the Grammy-winning single, “Bittersweet”, and to date, she’s sold nearly three million records and 1.5 million digital tracks domestically, which signifies her place in the heart of main stage attendees. “No Time For It”, the first single from her new album, was just released in January and is already climbing the Billboard Charts.

“This year’s multi-generational artists represent some of the best performers and greatest voices in the music industry,” said Mark Adkins, Executive Producer of Soul Beach Festival Productions. “Join us in Aruba and enjoy the stellar Comedy and Music performances combined with 30 events over 5 days plus a lifetime of sensational memories.

There will be more exciting performances announced soon!”

Visitors and performers alike are invited to participate in the excitement and festivities of this year’s Soul Beach

Music Festival in addition to experiencing Aruba’s award-winning, pristine white sand beaches, lively island-style culture and world-renowned culinary

scene.

“The Soul Beach Music Festival is one of our most popular annual extravaganzas,” says Ronella Tjin Asjoe-Croes, CEO of Aruba Tourism Authority. “Travelers looking for more than a basic beach getaway this Memorial Day Weekend will find their paradise in Aruba while enjoying electrifying entertainment and international culinary influences on some of the world’s most famous beaches.”

Whether joining this unparalleled production by air, land or sea, we’ve got you covered from the hottest

day time parties to the ultimate cool down, featuring celebrity DJs spinning on the ones and twos till dawn with exclusive nightclub entertainment. Get ready for the time of your life in Aruba, the epitome of splendor, where island culture, expansive adventure and culinary extravagance meet smiling faces.

The 2016 Soul Beach Music Festival will roll out more highly anticipated announcements of main stage performing artists in the weeks to come. For information about ticket sales, accommodations and the latest updates sign up for CLUB SOUL BEACH, by visiting http://www. soulbeach.com. Join the Soul Beach Music Festival community: follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ SoulBeachMusic and be-

come a fan of the 2016 Soul Beach Music Festival on www.Facebook.com/ soulbeach.com.

The 2016 Soul Beach Music Festival is primarily sponsored by Aruba Tourism Authority; sponsor Ebony Magazine; additional sponsors include Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association, Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino, Divi Resorts, Marriott Aruba Resort & Stellaris Casino, Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort Spa & Casino, Tropicana Aruba Resort & Casino, The Mill Resort & Suites Aruba, De Palm Tours, Econo Car Rental.

A14 LOCAL

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Mrs. Yvonne Breau Bourque Honored by the Aruba Tourism Authority PIEDRA PLAT - Recently the Aruba Tourism Authority had the great pleasure of honoring a very nice and lovely lady who is a loyal and friendly Visitor of Aruba, as a Goodwill Ambassador. The honoree was Mrs. Yvonne Breau Bourque from Boston, Massachusetts. The symbolic honorary title is presented in the name of the Minister of Tourism as a token of appreciation to guests who visit Aruba for 20-to34 consecutive years. The honoring ceremony took place at the residence of Mr. Franklin and Mrs. Lourdes de Kort at Piedra Plat, Aruba. Mrs. Yvonne is a real good friend of many Aruban families on the Island like the De Kort, Feliciana, and Figaroa families and many more. She has been visiting Aruba for 30 consecutive years and has a total of 50 visits during those years.

Mrs. Yvonne loves Aruba very much because of the friendly people, the climate, beaches, restaurants, Aruba feels like a second home and the people are like a family to her and she has a lot of great memories of our beautiful Island. The certificate was presented by Mr. Ernest Giel representing the Aruba Tourism Authority together with a big group of Aruban friends and families of Mrs. Yvonne.

Animal Welfare at the Heart of Animal Rights Aruba ORANJESTAD Animal Rights Aruba (ARA) is a non – profit Animal Welfare Organization that aims to protect all Fauna, Flora and Marine Life on and around the island of Aruba.

Animal Rights Aruba was founded on May 3, 1999, is run solely by volunteers, and is a very young organization with a lot of room to grow. Our vision is a world in which the welfare of animals is understood and respected by everyone, and protected by effective legislation.

In 2005 ARA started a ster-

ilization, rescue and adoption campaign to deal with the stray dog and cat overpopulation dilemma, as it was a serious issue on the island not only from an animal welfare stance, but that of Public Health and Tourism as well.

Animal Rights Aruba recently unveiled its campaign offering greatly discounted spay and neuter services at all three vet clinics on the island, so that dog and cat owners can choose between Contreras Veterinary Services, in Shaba and Savaneta, VKA

in Noord, Wayaka and San Nicholas or Animal Care Clinic, in Paradera. Dog & Cat owners are urged to take advantage of the offer, as Animal Right Aruba subsidizes the procedure by partially paying the vets for the operation. Dog and cat owners are expected to participate with a very reasonable contribution.

For more details on discounted spay and neuter services, animals up for adoption and other campaigns, please visit ARA online at: www.animalrightsaruba.org.

LOCAL A15

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Loyal Visitors Honored at Manchebo Beach Resort EAGLE BEACH - Recently the Aruba Tourism Authority had the great pleasure of honoring a pair of loyal and friendly visitors of Aruba at Manchebo Beach Resort as Distinguished Visitors. The symbolic honorary title is presented in the name of the Minister of Tourism as a token of appreciation to guests who visit Aruba for 10-to-19 consecutive years.

The honorees were Mr. Peter and Mrs. Christine Lazarchuk.

Peter and Christine are regular guests of Manchebo Beach Resort and they love Aruba very much because of the friendly people, the weather, the beaches, the restaurants, the Casinos, and just about everything else! They say Aruba feels like a second home where the people are like family to them, and the Manchebo Beach Resort is truly their ‘homeaway-from-home.’ The certificates were presented

by Mr. Jonathan Boekhoudt representing the Aruba Tourism Authority together with Sales & Marketing Associate Carla van Loenen from the Manchebo Beach Resort.

A16 LOCAL

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Swinging a la Carte Sunday Brunch at Taste of Belgium

PALM BEACH - Taste of Belgium offers a fantastic brunch on Sunday, a la carte, with a wink to the former restaurant ‘Le Dome’, that offered the same popular concept.

Now Taste of Belgium has renewed the concept and is offering this a la carte brunch, with a high standard of quality for the all inclusive price of $42 per person.

During this brunch the guests can order from the special menu with a broad selection, whatever they like, as much as they like.

Including delicious mimosas, champagne, coffee and tea.

From 11:00am till 2:30pm each Sunday, reservation only.

SPORTS A17

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Wiggins returns for Britain at track cycling worlds LIZ BYRNES Four-time Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins will race at his first Track Cycling World Championships since 2008 when the worlds start Wednesday in London.

Wiggins is one of the standout names competing at the five-day event at Lee Valley VeloPark, which hosted the 2012 Olympic cycling program.

The men will compete in 10 events with the women riding in nine - the Madison being the only event remaining that’s only for men - in the final competition of the track cycling season.

The track program at the 2016 Olympics in Rio gets underway on Aug. 11 and London represents for some a final chance to earn selection for the Games in Brazil.

Wiggins won the time trial at the 2012 Olympics in London, 10 days after capturing the Tour de France.

The Team Wiggins rider is aiming to compete at his fifth Olympics where he would become the mostdecorated British Olympian in history if he wins a medal. Wiggins, co-most decorated with Chris Hoy at seven, is not guaranteed a place on the Britain team with London determining whether he goes to Rio. Wiggins will race in the team pursuit and team up with Mark Cavendish in the non-Olympic Madison; the pair won the world title in 2008. Cavendish is aiming to compete in the omnium in Brazil.

Gregory Bauge races for his ninth world title in the sprint events.

BOLT OF THUNDER

Westbrook has 20-15-13, OKC bounces back Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, left, and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook battle for the ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Sacramento, Calif. The Thunder won 131-116.

Associated Press Page 21

A18 SPORTS

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Jets’ Giacomini, Browns’ Barnidge bringing football overseas DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A spirited brainstorming session over some noodles, vegetables and rice.

That’s how Breno Giacomini and Gary Barnidge — a couple of ambitious NFL players intent on making a difference beyond the field — and their buddy Ahmed Awadallah came up with their mission to take American football all over the world.

“We kind of just sat down at P.F. Chang’s and started talking about what was going to be our next thing to help out the community,” Giacomini recalled of that game-changing dinner in Kentucky in 2011.

“We didn’t know sitting at that table that it was going to get this big. Not even close.”

The impassioned idea developed into American Football Without Barriers, a nonprofit organization that educates disadvantaged children in the United States and overseas about the sport.

Next stop: Egypt.

Giacomini, an offensive lineman for the New York Jets, and Barnidge, a tight end for the Cleveland Browns, are taking the field in the Middle East this week for AFWB’s latest international trip after holding camps in China, Brazil and Turkey the previous three years.

“We want to build from the

In this Monday, Feb. 29, 2016 photo,AFWB Board Member Todd Buelow, left, Gary Barnidge of the Cleveland Browns, center, and Breno Giacomini of the New York Jets, third left, and a man pose for a photograph at the Pyramids of Giza, in Cairo, Egypt.

Associated Press

ground up,” Barnidge said.

“We don’t want to be a viewer. We don’t want people just watching. We want people playing the sport and enjoying it like we do.”

Giacomini and Barnidge will be joined at German University in Cairo from Wednesday through Saturday by 10 other NFL players, including the recently retired Marshawn Lynch, Pittsburgh running back DeAngelo Williams, Houston offensive lineman Oday Aboushi and Miami tight end Jordan Cameron.

In conjunction with the Egyptian Federation of American Football, AFWB

will have free camps — basic, junior and advanced levels — for players ages 14-25, as well as a coaching clinic led by Giacomini.

“The love of the game is definitely spreading throughout the world,” Giacomini said, “and we’re trying to be contributors to that wherever we go.”

Barnidge and Giacomini were college teammates at the University of Louisville, and Awadallah, now a senior engineer at Yum Brands, was their classmate.

All three enjoyed community work while in school and decided to take it to the next level when they established themselves in

their careers.

Barnidge, selected for his first Pro Bowl, was the Browns’ winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award this past season for his work with AFWB. “Gary and I will be doing this for a very long time,” the 30-year-old Giacomini said. “This is part of Plan B after football.”

AFWB receives proposals every year from American football federations around the world to have the camp held in their country.

The group sifts through the emails and discusses their needs — hotels, security and buses to transport the players — and then votes on a site.

Summer camps are also held in Malden, Massachusetts, where Giacomini was raised, and Middleburg, Florida, where Barnidge is from, and one is being added this year in Louisville, Kentucky.

The original plan hatched from that initial dinner meeting was to head to

Egypt, where Awadallah was born and raised. He had a high school friend conducting basic football drills there, but the political turmoil in that country in 2013 steered the group to China instead.

“There’s a lot more football in the world than people think,” said Giacomini, the son of Brazilian immigrants.

“In China, they started with cone drills and now they’re up to maybe 15 padded teams. In Brazil, they started on the beach and they’re up to like 45 padded teams now. Same thing with Istanbul.”

The players teach the campers techniques to fine-tune their football skills.

One of AFWB’s goals is to get a player from another country on a football scholarship in the United States.

“We almost had one kid from China get a D-III (opportunity), but he chose to go to Stanford instead for academics,” Giacomini said. “That’s like, ‘OK, you win.’”

Added Barnidge: “They don’t recruit for football internationally. They do for basketball and baseball and other sports, but they don’t for football.

We are trying to break that trend.”

But it isn’t just about the sport for the NFL players.

There’s a humanitarian aspect, too, with visits to orphanages and hospitals while the players also learn about the cultures they’re experiencing.

Last year in Istanbul, the group put males and females on the same field — something that doesn’t happen often there, according to Giacomini.

“The girls beat the boys in a relay and that was awesome,” the offensive lineman said. “They’ve never seen that.

SPORTS A19

Wednesday 2 March 2016

No headgear rule for male boxers cleared for Rio Olympics STEPHEN WILSON AP Sports Writer LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — For the first time in more than 30 years, male boxers won’t be wearing protective headgear at the Olympics.

The International Boxing Association, known as AIBA, adopted the change for amateur fighters three years ago, and the decision was widely considered a formality for this year’s games in Rio de Janeiro.

The move received official clearance Tuesday when the International Olympic Committee executive board said it was up to AIBA to apply its own rules and the IOC would not interfere.

AIBA President Ching-Kuo Wu said, although fighters are more prone to cuts without the head guards, the change will result in a decrease in concussions.

“AIBA provided medical and technical data that showed the number of concussions is lower without headgear,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. “They have done a lot of research in the last three years. The rule will go ahead for Rio.” Boxers have worn head guards in every Olympics since the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

They were scrapped for male fighters at the 2013 world championships and 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Rays’ March 22 exhibition vs Cuba in Havana is finalized

Workers paint the walls outside the Estadio Latinoamericano baseball arena in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. On the same week as the visits by Obama and The Rolling Stones, the Tampa Bay Rays are expected to play the first Major League Baseball exhibition game in Cuba since 1999, part of an extraordinary string of events in a country that spent the Cold War isolated from the United States and its allies.

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays’ exhibition game against Cuba’s national team in Havana on March 22 has been finalized, Major League Baseball’s first trip to the communist island nation since the Baltimore Orioles played there in 1999.

MLB and the players’ association announced the game Tuesday. It will be televised by ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says “during a time of historic change, we appreciate

the constructive role afforded by our shared passion for the game, and we look forward to experiencing Cuba’s storied baseball tradition and the passion of its many loyal fans.”

Manfred drew the Rays on Nov. 13 from a bin of teams that wanted to make the trip. U.S. teams played spring training games in Cuba before Fidel Castro’s revolution but none appeared there from March 1959 until the Orioles faced Cuba’s national team in Havana in March 1999.

The IOC said there was no discussion of Wu’s separate proposal to allow professional fighters to compete at the games in Rio. Wu announced last week that he intends to change AIBA’s qualifying structure to allow pro boxers to compete for gold medals in the multi-day Olympic tournament in August. He has called a special AIBA meeting in May to vote on his proposal, which has received mixed reactions in boxing circles.

World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman has sharply criticized the idea, saying AIBA “does not have a clue of what boxing means and represents.”

In this Aug. 12, 2012, file photo, Britain’s Freddie Evans is hit by a punch from Kazakhstan’s Serik Sapiyev during a welterweight 69-kg gold medal boxing match at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Associated Press

Sulaiman, the head of pro boxing’s most prominent governing body, also predicted “dangerous mismatches between experienced professional fighters and amateur boxers” if the pros take AIBA’s invitation.

Wu said it is up to each national boxing federation to determine whether it wants to enter pro fighters. If so, he said, the fighters must go through a qualifying process to earn their spot in the games.

20 SPORTS

Wednesday 2 March 2016

NHL Capsules

Hornqvist’s hat trick powers Penguins past Coyotes, 6-0

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Patric Hornqvist had his first career hat trick, beating goalie Louis Domingue three times as the Pittsburgh Penguins made quick work of the sinking Arizona Coyotes 6-0 on Monday night.

Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang both had a goal and an assist. Matt Cullen scored his ninth of the season and Sidney Crosby added three assists as Pittsburgh began a busy week by sending the Coyotes to their sixth straight loss.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 30 shots for his fifth shutout of the season and the 43rd of his career.

Domingue made 27 saves but Arizona was never in it while going winless on a five-game road trip. The Coyotes have dropped eight consecutive games away from home and haven’t won on opposing ice since Jan. 25.

LIGHTNING 2, MAPLE LEAFS 1 TORONTO (AP) — Tyler Johnson scored twice and Tampa Bay beat Toronto for its seventh straight victory.

It was Johnson’s first multigoal game of the season. He was questionable to play after taking Kevan Miller’s clearing attempt off his forehead in a 4-1 win at Boston on Sunday.

The Lightning’s winning streak matches a season high. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves.

Nazem Kadri scored late in the third period for Toronto, and Garret Sparks had 26 stops. The Maple Leafs have lost two straight and seven of eight.

RANGERS 2, BLUE JACKETS 1 NEW YORK (AP) — Derek Stepan’s short-handed

goal snapped a tie with 2:48 to play, and New York beat Columbus in Eric Staal’s much-anticipated debut.

Mats Zuccarello also scored and Antti Raanta made 26 saves in giving the Rangers their 13th win in 18 games (13-4-1).

Henrik Lundqvist’s backup denied Cam Atkinson on the doorstep with less than a second remaining to preserve the victory.

Atkinson scored his 20th goal of the season and Joonas Korpisalo had 22 saves for Columbus, which finished 7-3-3 in February.

Stepan gave the Rangers the lead on a partial breakaway while Eric’s brother, Marc Staal, was in the penalty box. Eric Staal was acquired Sunday from Carolina for prospect Aleksi Saarela and two secondround draft picks.

FLYERS 5, FLAMES 3 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brayden Schenn had his first career hat trick, scoring all three goals in the first two periods and leading Philadelphia past Calgary.

Claude Giroux had four assists and Wayne Simmonds scored twice for the Flyers, who have won three straight as they remain in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Philadelphia held on after nearly wasting a 4-1 lead and remained three points behind Pittsburgh for the final wild card in the East.

Sean Monahan, Micheal Ferland and Michael Frolik scored for the Flames.

Michael Neuvirth stopped 26 shots and won his 16th game of the season.

RED WINGS 3, STARS 2, OT DALLAS (AP) — Pavel Datsyuk scored a power-play goal in overtime and De-

Pittsburgh Penguins’ Patric Hornqvist, left, celebrates his third goal of an NHL hockey game against the Arizona Coyotes with teammate Phil Kessel (81) during the second period in Pittsburgh, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016.

Associated Press

troit beat Dallas for its third straight victory.

Datsyuk put a rebound past goalie Antti Niemi at 2:33 of overtime while Mattias Janmark was off for hooking.

The Red Wings moved into third place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of Boston.

Rookie center Andreas Athanasiou scored Detroit’s first two goals, and Jimmy Howard made 39 saves to win for the first time since Dec. 3.

Dallas’ Vernon Fiddler put in his own rebound to tie the score with 1:31 to play in the third period.

The Stars had an extra skater on after pulling Niemi. Fiddler also assisted on Colton Sceviour’s second-

period goal.

By earning one point for the overtime loss, the Stars tied Chicago atop the Central Division.

Detroit had failed to score in its last 20 power plays over seven games.

The Red Wings have won their last seven games in Dallas dating to Oct. 14, 2010.

SHARKS 6, CANADIENS 2 SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton each had three points to key a dominant performance from San Jose’s top line, and the Sharks beat Montreal for their sixth victory in the past seven meetings.

Pavelski had two goals and one assist, while Thornton

scored one goal and assisted on two others to help the Sharks move within two points of second-place Anaheim and four points of leader Los Angeles in the Pacific Division.

Brent Burns also had a goal and two assists, and Melker Karlsson and Nick Spaling added goals for San Jose.

Martin Jones made 21 saves to earn wins on backto-back nights for the first time since November.

Brendan Gallagher and Torrey Mitchell scored for the Canadiens, who lost in regulation for the first time in five games. Montreal fell seven points behind Pittsburgh in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.q

SPORTS A21

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Westbrook gets triple-double as Thunder beat Kings SACRAMENTO, California (AP) — Russell Westbrook had 20 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 131-116 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.

Kevin Durant finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as Oklahoma City bounced back from a difficult stretch. The Thunder had dropped four of five, including a heartbreaking overtime loss to Golden State on Saturday night.

Oklahoma City shot 57 percent (47 for 82) from the field, including a 14for-34 performance from 3-point range. Enes Kanter scored 23 points on 11-for11 shooting.

Sacramento has lost three in a row heading into a four-game road trip. DeMarcus Cousins had 35 points and 12 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo finished with 11 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.

CLIPPERS 105, NETS 95 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jamal Crawford scored 26 points, and the Clippers beat the Nets to win their second in a row after alternating wins and losses in their previous six games.

Chris Paul had 23 points and 12 assists for Los Angeles, and J.J. Redick scored 19 points.

Brook Lopez had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Brooklyn, which was going for its first three-game winning streak of the season.

Instead, the Nets lost their fifth straight to the Clippers at Staples Center.

CAVALIERS 100, PACERS 96 CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James scored 33 points after sitting out a game and Tristan Thompson made two huge plays in the final minute, leading Cleveland to the victory.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James (23) drives against Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner (33) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 100-96.

Associated Press

James was rested on Sunday by coach Tyronn Lue and the Cavs were lethargic in a 113-99 loss at Washington. But with James back on the floor, Cleveland played with much more energy and again looked like a team with NBA championship aspirations. Matthew Dellavedova hit a tying 3-pointer for the Cavs with 1:13 left before Thompson made it 96-94 with a layup. Thompson then blocked a shot by Indiana’s George Hill with 18 seconds left.

Monta Ellis scored 28 points and Paul George had 23 for the Pacers, who lost their third straight but played much better than in a loss to Portland on Sunday.

WIZARDS 116, 76ERS 108 WASHINGTON (AP) — John Wall scored 16 of his 37

points in the fourth quarter, helping the Wizards rally for the win.

Wall and Marcin Gortat combined for 14 points during a 16-0 fourth-quarter run in Washington’s sixth victory in eight games since the All-Star break. Gortat finished with 18 points and a career-high 20 rebounds.

Markieff Morris added 16 points and 13 rebounds in his first double-double with Washington. Philadelphia played without rookie center Jahlil Okafor, who was sidelined by a right shin bruise. But the 76ers had six players score in double figures, led by Ish Smith’s 25 points. The 76ers were outrebounded 53-32 in their ninth straight loss.

BUCKS 128, ROCKETS 121 MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded

his second career tripledouble with 18 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists, and the Bucks outlasted the Rockets. Jabari Parker scored a career-high 36 points for Milwaukee, and Khris Middleton had 30 points. The Bucks nearly blew a late 13-point lead after the Rockets put together a 9-0 run. After forcing a turnover, Houston’s Trevor Ariza was whistled for a 5-second violation on inbounds pass with 20 seconds remaining.

Dwight Howard had 30 points and 13 rebounds for Houston, while Ariza had 20 points and 11 assists.

GRIZZLIES 103, NUGGETS 96 DENVER (AP) — Zach Randolph scored 22 points, leading Memphis to the road win.

Matt Barnes had 16 points

for the Grizzlies, and Mario Chalmers finished with 15.

Memphis won its fifth in a row against the Nuggets, including three meetings this season.

Kenneth Faried had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who have lost five of six. Gary Harris added 15 points. Newly signed JaKarr Sampson started in place of injured forward Danilo Gallinari, the Nuggets’ leading scorer who is sidelined indefinitely after severely spraining his right ankle Friday at Dallas.

Sampson finished with seven points.

CELTICS 100, JAZZ 95 BOSTON (AP) — Jae Crowder had 22 points, and the Celtics extended their home win streak to 11.

Isaiah Thomas added 18 points and nine assists.

A22 HEALTH

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Finding Balance through Nature

By: Dr Carlos Viana Imagine one medicine that could normalize blood pressure by either lowering or raising your body’s blood pressure. How great would it be to have a pill that in the morning gets you going, yet taken at night provides sound restful sleep. Imagine a tablet that increases your mental sharpness, yet calms, relaxes and shuts down your racing mind.

Your healthy body has the ability to balance itself while adjusting to changing conditions. An example of this is temperature regulation in a room by a heating or air-conditioning thermostat. In the body, a system controlled by the brain, regulates breathing, metabolic rates, blood-vessel size, and blood-sugar levels in response to changes caused by temperature, hormones, disease and other factors. This ability of the body to find balance is called homeobalance.

Without its ability to maintain a balanced body, we become stressed, our resistance falls, sleep eludes us, and we begin an invariable slide into disease. Many people start out with medicine to lower high cholesterol then have to take high blood pressure medicine and then

sleeping pills. The average sixty year old is now averaging nine medicines a day.

Interestingly, today’s pharmaceutical medicines have their history in herbal medicine.

More than eighty percent of drugs today are synthetic replicas of the healing parts of medicine plants. Of the many types of medicine, herbs are a unique category of plants we herbalist call adaptogens.

The word adaptogen is used

by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to refer to a treatment like acupuncture, or a natural herb product that increases the body’s resistance to stresses such as trauma, anxiety and fatigue. All herbal adaptogens contain antioxidants, but not all antioxidants are adaptogens. Antioxidants help slow damaging oxidation or ageing of cells.

To the skepticism of modern medicine, TCM physicians have acupuncture treatments which are adaptogens. For example, the same acupuncture treatment can be used to either raise or lower blood pressure. Similarly, one treatment can be used for anxiety or over-confidence; depression or over- exuberance. You get the picture. An adaptogen treatment or herb helps the body regulate itself.

Knowledge of adaptogens dates back thousands of years to ancient India and China.

Scientific study began in the 40’s when Dr. Nikolai Lazarev defined an adaptogen as an agent that allows the body to counter adverse physical, chemical, or biological stressors by raising resistance toward such stress. Raising resistance to stress allows the organism to “adapt” to the

stressful circumstances.

Like acupuncture treatments, garlic oil can both raise low blood pressure or lower hypertension, lowering the risks of heart disease. Some people worry about garlic odor.

Parsley helps freshen up garlic breath is great for bones and is a mild diuretic for those who need this.

We can use green tea in the morning to energize our start and then again at night to promote restful sleep. Green tea contains vitamin C, E and B complex, making it a great antioxidant that helps block cancer-causing chemicals, and reduces tumors. Green tea has also been shown in studies to increase metabolism and may aid in weight loss. Green tea now comes in capsules for those on the go.

What makes green tea work so well is an amino acid in green tea called L-Theanine. Able to cross the blood-brain barrier, theanine has psychoactive properties. Theanine has been shown to reduce mental and physical stress, and improves cognition and mood.

The Chinese were first to use licorice to treat the liver since it neutralizes liver toxins.

Known to stimulate the production of the cortin hormone useful when the body is under mental and emotional stress, licorice also contains a cortisone-like property that has been found beneficial and nourishing on adrenal glands.

Historically the only drawback of using licorice is that it can increase blood pressure in some people. One of the sugars found in licorice, glycyrrhizin has been reported in some people to increase blood pressure or cause retention of wa-

ter in the body. Today, quality licorice root supplements remove the glycyrrhizin and it is identified as deglycyrrhizinated licorice, also known as de-glycyrrhizinated licorice, or commonly referred to as DGL licorice. DGL licorice helps repair the walls of the stomach and intestines significantly reducing the size of gastric ulcers, reducing the recurrence and hastening healing. In our clinic, DGL has shown to be an effective treatment for duodenal ulcers.

Another herb known for adrenal support is Rhodiola root that increases availability of energy during the day, but also reduces stressed feelings.

It increases endurance, but also, provides greater mental alertness, and provides deep, restful sleep. This great adaptogen significantly speeds up the recovery process after illness. Individuals that “burn the candle at both ends” have found supplementing with this herb helpful.

Perhaps the best known adaptogen and known for its Chinese medicinal qualities is Ginseng root; this immune system stimulant also increases work capacity. Western medicine recognizes that ginseng increases resistance to stress, increases endurance and is especially known as an aphrodisiac that enhances libido and sexual performance in men. There are many qualities and types of ginseng. Since herbs vary, when choosing an herbal supplement, make sure you look for “standardized” on the label, like “Standardized, Full Potency, Korean Ginseng Root.” This means that you are sure about how much of the active ingredient you are

taking.

Get The Point! Adaptogenic therapy like acupuncture and herbal medicine are unique from other substances. Adaptogens have a normalizing effect on the body and are capable of either toning down the activity of over- active organs or strengthening under- active systems. They are natural substances able to help the body maintain optimal homeostasis or balance.

When using these natural adaptogens together, we see amazing results. Could your body, mind or spirit use some balancing? Call to make an appointment.q CARLOS VIANA, Ph. D. is an Oriental Medical Doctor (O.M.D.) having studied in China; a US Board Cert. Clinical Nutritionist (C.C.N.), an Addiction Professional (C.Ad.), Chairperson of the Latin American Committee of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT), a Rejuvenating Cell Therapist specializing in Age Management, has a weekly radio program, writes and lectures extensively. For information: VIANA HEALING CENTER, Kibaima 7, St Cruz TEL: 585-1270 Web Site: www.vianaheal.com “Prescriptions from Paradise” - Dr. Viana’s Award Winning BOOK: Prescriptions from Paradise, Introduction to Biocompatible Medicine – Available at local Bookstores, Hotel Gift shops and Boticas. Signed copies at Viana Healing Center, EBooks: Amazon kindle, Nook, Itunes check for Events at: facebook.com/vianahealingcenter. Join the discussion: www.facebook.com/prescriptionsformparadise

TECHNOLOGY A23

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Can the FBI force a company to break into its own products?

BRANDON BAILEY AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Can the FBI force a company like Apple to extract data from a customer’s smartphone? In the fight over an iPhone used by an extremist killer in San Bernardino, some legal experts say Congress has never explicitly granted that power.

And now a federal judge agrees in a similar case.

In a New York drug case that echoes the much higher-profile San Bernardino dispute, U.S. Magistrate James Orenstein has ruled the government doesn’t have authority to make Apple pull information off a suspect’s iPhone. The judge said in his ruling that Congress has already considered, but rejected, extending the government’s authority in this fashion.

Orenstein cited the history of a 20-year-old federal law — one that requires phone companies to assist police in conducting courtauthorized wiretaps. Congress has resisted attempts over the years to extend that authority to tech companies like Apple, according to experts who have studied the law, known as the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA. Federal prosecutors have argued that a much older

This Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016 file photo shows an iPhone in Washington.

law known as the All Writs Act allows courts to compel private parties to assist law enforcement. But Orenstein said that shouldn’t apply when, in his words, “Congress has considered legislation that would achieve the same result but has not adopted it.”

The New York ruling isn’t binding on the magistrate in the San Bernardino case.

And federal authorities said Monday they’ll appeal Orenstein’s decision.

But a senior Apple executive, who spoke on condi-

tion that he wouldn’t be named, said Apple believes Orenstein’s ruling is both persuasive and relevant to the issues at stake in San Bernardino.

In that case, the FBI wants Apple to create software that would bypass some iPhone security features, making it easier to guess the passcode that would unlock it.

Prosecutors say they’re only seeking what amounts to routine cooperation; Apple and its supporters say the request is unprecedented and would make other iPhones vulnerable to hacking by authorities and criminals alike.

By contrast, U.S. phone carriers have long been required to design and build their networks in ways that allow federal wiretaps of digital phone calls. That government authority stems from CALEA, a 1994 law that drew heated debate before it passed, and even more controversy on occasions when federal officials sought to expand its

Associated Press

scope. Tech industry and civil liberties groups have mostly succeeded in blocking those efforts.

Even before Orenstein’s ruling, some legal experts said in recent weeks that the history of CALEA suggests that authorities are overreaching in the San Bernardino case.

The law was narrowly focused and “the product of years of public debate, with many compromises on both sides of that debate,” said Ahmed Ghappour, a visiting professor who focuses on tech issues at the University of California Hastings law school. “That’s what Congress is for.”

As with the iPhone dispute today, the 1994 law was enacted at a time when the nation’s police agencies were struggling to keep up with new technology. Authorities feared that a switch from old-fashioned copper wire to digital phone networks would hinder their eavesdropping capabilities.

CALEA intentionally covers

only telecommunications carriers and specifically excludes “information service providers” — including Internet companies such as Apple and Google. Extensive negotiation produced a law that preserved the wiretapping ability authorities already had without adding new types of surveillance capabilities, said Deirdre Mulligan, co-director of the Center for Law & Technology at the University of California, Berkeley The Federal Communications Commission updated CALEA-related regulations in 2005 to extend the government’s sway to voice-overInternet phone services.

Moves to expand it further, however, have fizzled, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service, which cited proposals for extending the law to “a wide range of technology services,” including instant messaging and video game chats.

“This is a power that Congress has had numerous opportunities to extend and has chosen not to,” said Mulligan.

Federal authorities argued that CALEA isn’t relevant to either iPhone case. But Apple and its supporters are likely to cite CALEA in the San Bernardino case, said Alex Abdo, an ACLU attorney who is helping draft a “friend-of-the-court” brief on Apple’s behalf. He said the All Writs Act can only be used to enforce authority the government already has, such as a legal search warrant.

The history of CALEA shows that if Congress wanted the government to have the authority it’s invoking against Apple, “it would have given it already,” said Abdo, echoing the New York magistrate’s ruling.q

A24 BUSINESS

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Stocks snap higher following encouraging signs on US economy MARLEY JAY AP Markets Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks roared to their best day in more than a month Tuesday as investors hit the “buy” button following some encouraging signs of strength in the U.S. economy. Construction spending reached its highest level in eight years in January.

Banks, the worst-performing sector of the market so far this year, led the way higher.

Stocks jumped at 10 a.m., when the Commerce Department reported that construction spending continued to rise in January. At the same time, a survey showed some signs of life in the beaten-down manufacturing sector.

Those were good signs for the U.S. economy.

Banks rose the most, but big names in consumer and tech stocks also climbed, as did oil prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 348.58 points, or 2.1 percent, to 16,865.08.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index surged 46.12 points,

or 2.4 percent, to 1,978.35.

That was the biggest gain for the S&P 500, a widely used benchmark, since late January.

The Nasdaq composite

China, Europe, and Japan are slowing or struggling.

Tuesday’s report showed construction spending rose by the most in eight months. A manufacturing

John Bishop, foreground, works with fellow traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. U.S. stocks are opening modestly higher as the market recovers from a loss the day before.

(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

index, which is heavily weighted with technology companies, made its biggest gain since August, adding 131.65 points, or 2.9 percent, to 4,689.60.

Stocks have stumbled this year as investors feared for the health of the U.S. economy at the same time that

index had its best reading in six months, though activity is still declining.

Bank of America picked up 67 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $13.19 and JPMorgan Chase gained $2.90, or 5.2 percent, to $59.20, leading financial stocks higher. The S&P 500’s financial component has slumped about 9 percent this year, worse

than any other industry, as investors worry about loans banks have made to energy companies and low interest rates.

In recent months the strong dollar has hurt tech stocks, which do a lot of business outside the U.S., because it makes their products more expensive overseas and cuts into their revenue.

Those stocks climbed Tuesday, with the biggest gains going to familiar names.

Apple gained $3.84, or 4 percent, to $100.53. It had been more than a month since Apple stock closed above $100. Alphabet, the parent of Google, rose $24.95, or 3.5 percent, to $742.17. Microsoft picked up $1.70, or 3.3 percent, to $52.58 and Facebook stock added $2.90, or 2.7 percent, to $109.82.

Karyn Cavanaugh, senior markets strategist for Voya Investment Management, said investors abandoned tech and bank stocks as the market slumped in January and February.

“They’ve just been beaten with a stick this year,” she said. “Earnings have not been that bad and the companies’ financials are

not that bad.”

Cavanaugh said investors are pleased with the construction and manufacturing reports, and relieved that the dollar and oil prices seem to have stabilized.

Agribusiness giant Monsanto gained $2.50, or 2.8 percent, to $92.49 and chemical maker DuPont rose $2.07, or 3.4 percent, to $62.94. Among consumer stocks, Amazon rose $26.52, or 4.8 percent, to $579.04 and Netflix gained $4.89, or 5.2 percent, to $98.30.

Most automakers reported big gains in their February U.S. sales. Ford climbed 58 cents, or 4.6 percent, to $13.09 after its sales rose almost 20 percent, a better gain than analysts expected. Honda, Fiat Chrysler and Nissan also reported big improvements. GM’s sales fell as it tries to shift its business away from rental sales, but its stock gained 57 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $30.01.

Auto parts supplier BorgWarner rose $1.48, or 4.6 percent, to $34.16, and navigation device maker Garmin added 93 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $41.44.

Medtronic 3Q profit rises 1%, revenue up 61% NEW YORK (AP) — Medtronic’s third-quarter revenue soared more than 60 percent, led by health sales of heart and surgical devices in the U.S. The company earned $1.1 billion, or 77 cents per share.

Earnings, adjusted for one-

time gains and costs, were $1.06 per share, which was in line with Wall Street expectations, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue while rising to $6.93 billion, from $4.3 billion during the same period

last year, was just shy of analyst projections.

Shares fell 3 percent before the opening bell.

Revenue from the cardiac and vascular unit, which includes implantable heart devices and valves, rose 8 percent to $2.41 billion.

Revenue from minimally invasive therapies, which includes patient monitoring and surgical devices, rose 5 percent to $2.29 billion.

The company’s restorative therapies unit saw revenue jump 7 percent to $1.76 billion, while the diabetes care unit saw revenue rise 6 percent to $474 million.

Shares of Medtronic Inc. have increased roughly 1 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has declined 5.5 percent. The stock has declined slightly in the last 12 months.

BUSINESS A25

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Barclays shares dive as bank restructures, sees profit fall DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Barclays saw its shares slide Tuesday after the bank revealed plans to split itself into two, simplify its operations and cut its dividend amid weaker earnings.

The bank said its fourth quarter adjusted pretax profit, which includes oneoff items like provisions to pay for mis-selling policies in the U.K., fell by more than a half to 247 million pounds ($344 million) from the year before.

The London-based firm’s restructuring plan is part of new rules to separate riskier investment banking from retail banking. Such ringfencing is meant to keep people’s savings secure in the event of another financial crash.

The bank said it would pay a lower dividend this year and next year, leading shares to fall 8 percent to 158.10 pence.

The bank also announced plans to sell down its stake in its African operations over the next three years to a non-controlling position.

Barclays Africa Group Ltd.

The sign on a branch of Barclays Bank in London, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Barclays PLC has revealed plans to split itself into two as it reported a big fall in fourth-quarter profits. The bank said Tuesday its adjusted pretax profit, which includes one-off items like provisions to pay for misselling policies in the U.K., fell by more than a half to 247 million pounds ($344 million) from the year before.

(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

is now 62 percent owned

by Barclays and has 12 million customers across 12 countries.

New CEO Jes Staley says Barclays PLC “is fundamentally on the right path, and is, at its core, a very goodbusiness.”

Staley was brought in after

former CEO Antony Jenkins was pushed aside amid concerns about the performance of Barclays’ investment bank. Staley began his career as a commercial banker and advanced to head J.P. Morgan’s global investment bank.

Jenkins had championed

a more ethical approach to his company’s operations after he took charge in wake of allegations Barclays was involved in the manipulation of a key global interest rate called the London interbank offered rate, or LIBOR. He sought to reduce the importance of

investment banking.

“The new boss Jes Staley is clearly taking a big broom to Barclays’ operations in a bid to dramatically simplify the group,” said Laith Khalaf of Hargreaves Lansdown stockbrokers. “When the dust has cleared, the bank should have two high quality financial services divisions, and the potential to offer investors a decent dividend, but it’s going to take some elbow grease to get there.”

The bank also offered a warning about the uncertainty regarding operations in the event that Britain votes to leave the European Union on June 23.

It argued the vote “raises the possibility of a disruptive an uncertain exit from the EU, with attendant consequences for investment and confidence.”

It described the period following a vote in favor of leaving as having “unpredictable implications on market conditions.”

“We think it is in the interests of our customers and clients for the UK to remain in the EU,” Chairman John McFarlane said.

Honeywell walks away from $90B bid for United Technologies NEW YORK (AP) — Honeywell abandoned a bid worth more than $90 billion for rival United Technologies, saying it did not want to force a deal with an unwilling partner.

United Technologies rejected the offer last week, saying a tie-up of the two industrial conglomerates would never be approved by anti-trust regulators.

Honeywell said it disagreed, but that it would not go any further if United Technologies was not willing. The two companies had held talks for some time before those negotiations became public.

United Technologies had brought up the possibility of combining the companies in 2011 and 2015, Honeywell said. During a meeting last month, Honeywell said it was told by United Technology executives that “such a combination would be fabulous”

and that “they would take it very seriously.”

At some point the mood soured however, and Honeywell says United Technologies has since been unwilling to engage in negotia-

tions. United Technologies said Tuesday that Honeywell’s retreat “is the appropriate outcome given the strong regulatory obstacles.” Both companies are big players in the aero-

space sector. Honeywell, based in Morris Plains, New Jersey, also makes thermostats and security systems.

United Technologies, of Farmington, Connecticut, also makes elevators and

fire alarms.Shares of Honeywell International Inc. rose $3.23, or 3.2 percent, to $104.58 in morning trading Tuesday. United Technologies Corp. shares fell $3.07, or 3.2 percent, to $93.55.

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A26 COMICS

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Mutts

Conceptis Sudoku

6 Chix

Blondie

Mother Goose & Grimm

Baby Blues

Zits

Yesterday’s puzzle answer

Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

CLASSIFIED A27

Wednesday 2 March 2016

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FOR SALE Townhouse Orlando, Fl. 1862 Sq. Ft. 2 stories, Year 2014 City of Medic Lake Nona 32827 E-mail: gustavorf28@gmail.com 204361 _________________________ MASSAGE Are you tired of tripping the whole day let us come to you with a good massage Call 667202 For an appointment 204738 _________________________

FOR SALE Condo in Gold Coast Everything’s included in this 2 Br 2 1/2 bath unit check it out now at www.arubarental.info or call 562-0735 free pick up

1)Time Share Resale , Casa Del Mar 2 Bedroom week 9 Room # 1208 pool/ocean view $16,500 call :(297)6301307 info@arubatimetravel.com 204736 _____________________________ 2)Time Share Resale Occidental Grand 204711 ___________________________ Week 01 true 17 Optional all inclusive FOR SALE Studio O.V. $10,000 Renaissance week 9 one Bedroom DLX $12,000 fifth floor US$8500 3 Bedroom Ocean View 35,000 Call Yankee Bob call;(297)630-1307 Renaissance Hotel 5836000 info@arubatimetravel.com Rm 2561 leave number will call 204736 _____________________________ back 3)Time Share Resale Membership includes island Renaissance Suites privileges. one Bedr week 8 Room 2530 Roundtrip transportation every 20 Harbor O.V. minute $10000 ___________________________ 204734 Call :(297) 630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com 204736 _____________________________ 4)Time Share Resale DIVI Dutch Village Studio week 8 room #133 18 weeks remain on the contract 7 can be accelerated $6000 Call:(297) 630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com 204736 _____________________________ 5) Time Share Resale DIVI Dutch Village one bedroom week 8 Room 94 25 weeks remain on the contract 8 can be accelerated $8000 call :(297) 630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com 204736 _____________________________ 6)Time Share Resale Marriott Surf Club 2 Br G.V. Platinum $15,000 2 Br O.V. Platinum $16,000 2 Br O.Side Platinum $18,000 2 Br O. Front Platinum $27,500 3 Br O.V. Platinum $29,000 call:(297) 630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com 204736 _____________________________ 7)Time Share Resale Marriott Ocean Club 0ne Br O.V. Platinum $11,500 Two Br O.V. Platinum $17,000 Two Br O.F. Platinum $29,000 call:(297) 630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com _____________________________ 204736

TIME SHARE For Rent /Sale

Divi Golf and Beach wk 12, 3/19 starts Studio Rm 4107. Affinity pool +bar Deluxe furnishings king bed. Eagle 2 $4975 seller sp pay 2016 assessment buyer pays 2016 maintenance fee of $650.= and 2017 assessment of aprox $525,= 28 weeks left on contract e-mail: rmwjmw@aol.com or us 508-651-0016

204725 ____________________________

DOCTOR ON DUTY Oranjestad

Dr. Samuels Tel. 583-0877 San Nicolas Dr. Britt-Croes Tel. 584-4279

TIMESHARE FOR SALE

RENAISSANCE Week room price wk 38 room 529 $4,750 wk 40 room 336 $3,750 wk 40 room 105 $5,000 wk 42 room 338 $4,000 wk 43 room 329 $3,250 wk 49 room 144 $5,500 wk 50 room 546 $6,000 wk 49 room 2571 $3,750 wk 48 room 517 $3,750 wk 48 or 49 room 119 $4,750 wk 48 or 49 room 551 $5,500 wk 49 or 50 room 203 $5,500 wk 21 or 22 room 347 $4,000 wk 1or2 room 517 $9,500 each Contact Brian Cell: 593-0200 vr.realty@mac.com

EMERGENCIA

911

POLICE

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527-3140 527-3200 527-2900 584-5000 11141 115 582-1108 527-4000 587-9850 582-1234 523-8833

204343 ____________________________

FOR SALE

by owner Marriott Surf Club 2 br O.V. lock off unit Gold season price $16.000 Marriott Ocean Club 2 Br O.V. Gold season 5 floor lock off unit Price $16.000 567-6024 / 587-2633 martem1@aol.com USA 718-748-0395 204627 ____________________________

PHARMACY Oranjestad: Paradera Tel: 588-6638 San Nicolas: Aloe Tel: 584-4606 INFORMATION TAXI-TAS PROF. TAXI TAXI D.T.S. SERVICE ARUBA

118 587-5900 588-0035 587-2300 583-3232

CRUISESHIP March 2 Freewinds Monarch

FOR SALE Occidental Grand

one bed deluxe fixed week 9 Non Mandatory AI. This is an old contract so all the great original benefits are included. $15,000 email at macalh@aol.com or 610 724 6323 204619 _____________________________

DIVI DUTCH VILLAGE For Sale week 27

June 25 start 3 room suite, lock off master bed rm, with lock off studio one other room with queen sofa, $4900, 565-9394 e-mail: rmwjmw@aol.com or us 508-651-0016

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Aruba Foundation For those Visually Incapasitated Tel: 582-5051

FUNDACION Anti-Droga Aruba

____________________________ Time Share Resale (FADA) Tel: 583-2999 Aruba Divi Phoenix One Bedroom week 7 Room # 824 FUNDACION 35 weeks remain on the contract Respetami 10 can be accelerated $27,000 Tel: 582-4433 One Bedroom Week 8 Room # 754 Centro Diabetic Arubano 10 can be accelerated $23,000 call:(297)6301307 Tel: 524-8888 info@arubatimetravel.com 204727 _____________________________ Narcotics Anonymous 204717

MASSAGE Are you tired of tripping the whole day let us come to you with a good massage Call 660-7202 For an appointment 204738 _____________________________

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Bloodbank Aruba Tel: 587-0002

A28 SCIENCE

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Obama encouraging young people to learn math, science

BY DARLENE SUPERVILLE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is launching a version of “take your child to work day” that’s focused on America’s science laboratories instead of its corporate workspaces.

It’s part of Obama’s effort to encourage young people, especially girls and minorities, to pursue careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

More than 50 national labs in 20 states are opening their doors this week to approximately 5,000 elementary, middle and high school students to help spark interest by exposing them to the scientists, engineers and lab employees who carry out important work and research at facilities in their communities.

The students, including from communities aligned with Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative, will participate in mentoring sessions, hands-on experiments and other activi-

In this Feb. 17, 2016 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.

Associated Press

ties. My Brother’s Keeper is a public-private initiative started by Obama to help boys and young men of color stay on the right path.

The White House Council on Women and Girls is also involved.

“National Week at the Labs” coincides with February’s end of Black His-

tory Month and the start of Women’s History Month in March.

“It’s an exciting time to think about how we’re pulling all the children of our country into technology and STEM and the jobs of the future,” Megan Smith, chief technology officer in the Office of Science and

Technology Policy at the White House, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

She said some 600,000 U.S. technology jobs, which pay significantly higher than the average salary, are currently unfilled.

At the White House on Monday, elementary

school students from Baltimore and the District of Columbia are expected to participate in a science fair-type event.

Obama says it’s good for the country when young people are excited about science.

“Whether it’s setting foot on the moon, developing a vaccine for polio, inventing the Internet or building the world’s strongest military, we’ve relied on innovative scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians to help us tackle the toughest challenges of our time,” he recently told Popular Science magazine. “Being pro-science is the only way we make sure that America continues to lead the world.”

Obama started the annual White House Science Fair because he said budding scientists should be celebrated as much as Super Bowl football teams.

The administration is also more than halfway toward his goal of training 100,000 new math and science teachers by 2021, he said.

PEOPLE & ARTS A29

‘Deadpool’ tops ‘Gods of Egypt’ at box office DERRIK J. LANG AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A group of ancient Egyptian deities couldn’t take down the merc with a mouth.

Marvel’s antihero blockbuster “Deadpool” continued to dominate North American movie theaters over the weekend, earning an estimated $31.5 million in its third week and besting newcomer “Gods of Egypt,” according to comScore estimates Sunday.

The total domestic haul for 20th Century Fox’s comic book adaptation starring Ryan Reynolds as Marvel’s foul-mouthed mercenary now stands at $285.6 million, making it the third highest-grossing R-rated film behind “American Sniper” and “The Passion of the Christ.”

Lionsgate’s “Gods of Egypt” featuring Gerard

Butler as a rebellious Egyptian god debuted in second place with $14 million.

The film, which reportedly cost $140 million and also stars Brenton Thwaites and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, is Hollywood’s first major flop of the year.

“Lionsgate went for it, and I think the unpredictability of this marketplace made it too tough for them,” said Paul Dergarabedian, comScore’s senior media analyst. “I think we’ll probably have to wait until ‘Batman v Superman’ to see another massive opening weekend.”

“Gods of Egypt” faced backlash last year for casting mostly white actors in a film based on Egyptian mythology.

The film’s director Alex Proyas, who was born in Egypt, apologized in a statement in November. Li-

onsgate issued a separate statement that said they are deeply committed to making films that reflect the diversity of their audiences and pledged to do better.

Other newcomers that failed to topple “Deadpool” this weekend included the feel-good Olympic tale “Eddie the Eagle” in fifth place with $6.3 million and the heist romp “Triple 9” in sixth place with $6.1 million.

“The Revenant” was the only Academy Award contender to crack the weekend’s Top 10 with $3.8 million in its 10th week of release. The survival epic leads Oscar nominees with 12 nods at Sunday’s 88th annual ceremony, including best picture, best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, best supporting actor for Tom Hardy and best director for Alejandro G. Inarritu.q

It’s 2 more years of ‘NCIS,’ with star Mark Harmon onboard NEW YORK (AP) — There’s no end in sight for CBS’ long-running mega-hit “NCIS.” The network says it has renewed the series for two more seasons, and that series star and executive producer Mark Harmon has signed a new two-year deal of his own.

The action-crime series, now in its 13th season, remains the most popular drama on TV. This season it is averaging more than 20 million viewers each week.

“NCIS” premiered in 2003.

During the 2009-2010 season, it clinched its status as TV’s top-rated scripted drama series.

Meanwhile, it has spawned

This image released by CBS shows Mark Harmon in a scene from “NCIS.” CBS says it has renewed the series for two more seasons, and that series star and executive producer Mark Harmon has signed a new two-year deal of his own.

Associated Press

two spin-offs, set in Los Angeles and New Orleans.

Along with Harmon, stars

include Pauley Perrette, Rocky Carroll and David McCallum.

Wednesday 2 March 2016

This image released by Twentieth Century Fox shows Ryan Reyonlds, left, and Morena Baccarin in a scene from the film, “Deadpool.”

Associated Press

A30 PEOPLE

& ARTS Rolling Stones to play March 25 show in Havana

Wednesday 2 March 2016

MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — The Rolling Stones announced Tuesday that the group will play a free concert in Havana on March 25, becoming the most famous act to play Cuba since its 1959 revolution.

The Stones will play in Havana’s Ciudad Deportiva three days after President Barack Obama visits Havana. The concert is expected to draw a massive audience in a country where the government once persecuted young people for listening to rock music.

“We have performed in many special places during our long career but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us, and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba too,” the band said in a statement.

Along with easing many restrictions on foreign music, art and literature, the Cuban government has increasingly allowed large gatherings not organized by the state in recent years. The Stones concert will almost certainly be one of the largest since Cuba began easing its limits on some non-official gatherings in the 1990s.

“I’m definitely going to go,” said Ivia Perez, 39. “It makes me think about be-

In this Feb. 20, 2016, file photo, The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, left, and Charlie Watts perform during their Latin America tour, at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Rolling Stones say they will play a free concert in Havana on March 25, becoming the biggest act to play Cuba since its 1959 revolution.

Associated Press

ing in high school, after the period of censorship. I listened to a lot of rock back then.”

On the same week as the visits by Obama and The Rolling Stones, the Tampa Bay Rays are expected to play the first Major League Baseball exhibition game in Cuba since 1999, part of an extraordinary string

of events in a country that spent the Cold War isolated from the United States and its allies. Cuba and its capital have been flooded with tourists, visiting dignitaries and celebrities more than a year after Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced on Dec. 17, 2014 that they were moving to normalize relations.

Cuban fans have been buzzing about a possible concert by “Los Rollings” since lead singer Mick Jagger visited Havana in October.

“It’s part of a dream to see the greatest icons of music who couldn’t come before for various reasons, above all Cuba’s isolation,” said Cuban music critic Joaquin

Borges Triana. “The Rolling Stones are going to magically unite generations of Cubans, from people in their 60s to their children and grandchildren.”

The Havana “Concert for Amity” will cap the Stones’ America Latina Ole tour through seven Latin American cities. The band said it will donate instruments and other musical equipment from sponsors to Cuban musicians during their visit.

The biggest musical performance in Cuba to date was held in 2009, when the Colombian singer Juanes drew more than a million people to a show titled “Peace without Frontiers” in Havana’s Revolution Plaza.

That concert angered Cuban-American exiles in the U.S. and its organizers wrangled with Cuban officials over performances by local artists critical of their government. U.S. government contractors also tried to use the concert to promote programs designed to foment political change in Cuba.

The Stones concert is expected to take place in a more relaxed political environment, as the U.S. and Cuban governments move rapidly to make their new relationship appear irreversible before the end of Obama’s term.q

Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams lead Blind Willie Johnson homage

This CD cover image released by Alligator Records shows “God Don’t Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson,” a release by Blind Willie Johnson.

Associated Press

PABLO GORONDI Associated Press Various Artists, “God Don’t Never Change — The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson” (Alligator Records) Tom Waits and Lucinda Williams contribute two songs each to “God Don’t Never Change — The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson,” a stirring homage to the Texas gospel singer who last recorded in 1930.

Johnson sang only religious songs among the 30 sides that survive him, but his slide guitar and resonant vocals motivated rockers from Eric Clapton to the

Grateful Dead.

The versions here preserve his deep spirituality, with the Cowboy Junkies, Sinead O’Connor, the Blind Boys of Alabama and Maria McKee also among those ably keeping the faith.

Waits is intense but relatively subdued on “The Soul of a Man,” the opener which draws the listener closer to his grasp. When he returns eight songs later with “John the Revelator,” he forcefully provides both call and response, leaving no room for faintheartedness. That he relies on Son House’s version of the lyrics instead

of Johnson’s seems fitting in a tribute to a man about whom so little is known.

Johnson, whose voice could veer from a warm tenor to a false, growling bass, even leads the chorus of the Cowboy Junkies’ take on “Jesus Is Coming Soon” via a well-adapted sample, the group seamlessly bridging the nearly 90 years between the two recordings.

Producer Jeffrey Gaskill’s able guidance has resulted in 11 stirring renditions which replicate the soul of the songs not just the sounds.q

PEOPLE & ARTS Toni Morrison receives $25,000 honorary award from PEN

BY HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Nobel laureate Toni Morrison has received an honorary prize named for another Nobel winner, the late Saul Bellow.

PEN America, the literary and human rights organization, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Morrison has been given the $25,000 PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American fiction. Morrison, 85, is known for such novels as “Beloved,” ‘’Song of Solomon” and “Jazz.”

“Revelatory, intelligent, bold, her fiction is invested in the black experience, in black lives, and in black consciousness, material from which she has forged a singular American aesthetic,” awards judge Louise Erdrich, herself a prizewinning novelist, said in a statement. “Toni Morrison not only opened doors to others when she began to publish, she has also stayed grounded in the issues of her time.”

PEN announced several other prizes on Tuesday.

Lisa Ko’s “The Leavers” won the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fic-

A31

Wednesday 2 March 2016

In this Aug. 8, 2013, file photo, Blues music legend B.B. King performs on Frampton’s Guitar Circus 2013 Tour at Pier Six Pavilion, in Baltimore.

Associated Press

In this Sept. 21, 2012 file photo, U.S. novelist Toni Morrison applauds as she attends the America Festival at the U.S. embassy, in Paris.

Associated Press

tion, a $25,000 award. John Schulian, a sports writer for numerous publications, received the $5,000 PEN/ ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing. Ed Roberson was given the $5,000 PEN/ Voelcker Award for Poetry.

Three playwrights received prizes: Lynn Nottage, whose works include the Pulitzerwinning “Ruined,” was named a Master American Dramatist; Young Jean Lee was cited as an American Playwright in Mid-Career

and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins as an Emerging American Playwright.

Two translation awards also were announced: The PEN Award for Poetry in Translation was given to “The Collected Poems of Chika Sagawa,” translated from the Japanese by Sawako Nakayasu, and the PEN Translation Prize for prose went to “The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector,” translated from the Portuguese by Katrina Dodson.q

Robert Cray to celebrate B.B. King at Playboy Jazz Festival LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Robert Cray Band with guest guitarists Sonny Landreth and Roy Gaines will offer a special tribute to the late blues legend B.B. King at the 2016 Playboy Jazz Festival.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced the lineup Tuesday for the 38th annual Playboy festival, scheduled for the weekend of June 11-12 at the Hollywood Bowl with George Lopez returning as host.

Other headliners include

the smooth jazz group Fourplay celebrating its 25th anniversary, “Late Night” bandleader Jon Batiste and Stay Human, and Los Van Van. Among those making their Playboy debuts will be singers Seth MacFarlane, Cecile McLorin Salvant and Janelle Monae; The Bad Plus with saxophonist Joshua Redman; and 12-year-old Indonesian pianist Joey Alexander, who received a standing ovation at last month’s Grammy Awards.q

Review: ‘The Widow’ is compelling psychological thriller JEFF AYERS Associated Press A woman loses her husband in an accident and must confront his past with both the press and police in Fiona Barton’s psychological thriller, “The Widow.”

Comparisons between “The Girl on the Train” and “Gone Girl” are rampant in reviews of Barton’s novel.

While thematic elements are similar, the ultimate pay-off provides a vastly different outcome. The story line jumps back and forth in time and requires This book cover image released by NAL shows “The Widow,” a novel by Fiona Barton.

Associated Press

special attention to keep things straight.

In 2010, Jean Taylor is visited

by Daily Post reporter Kate Waters, who is interested in the death of Jean’s husband, Glen. Four years earlier, a little girl named Bella disappeared from the front of her home and was never seen again. The police investigation led authorities to Glen, a delivery driver in the area. He was exonerated at trial, but the general public believed he was responsible.

Now that Glen has died, Waters sees this as an op-

portunity for Jean to tell her side of the story. While Jean slowly opens up, readers also follow detective Bob Sparkes as he investigates the disappearance of little Bella.

Barton’s writing is compelling and top-notch, which is rarely seen in a first novel, but the story line provides few of the surprises expected in a thriller. The plot is basically straightforward, but the main focus becomes not whether Glen Taylor is guilty or innocent but how well does Jean truly know her husband?q