February 17, 2016

On Top Of The News Email:news@arubatoday.com website: www.arubatoday.com Tel:+297 582-7800 Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Justice League

President Barack Obama smiles before answering questions during a news conference following the conclusion of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders summit at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016.

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Obama Calls for Bipartisanship on Court Vacancy

RANCHO MIRAGE, California (AP) — President Barack Obama said Tuesday he would nominate a candidate to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court who is “indisputably” qualified. He called on the staunch Republican opposition in the Senate to rise above “venom and rancor” and give the nominee a vote.

Obama spoke to reporters at a news conference in his first extended comments on the fight over filling the seat left empty by

the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The nine-member court, the highest in the land, is now divided evenly between liberals and conservatives.

“I intend to do my job between now and January 20 of 2017,” Obama said. “I expect them to do their job as well.”

Obama cast the dispute as a question of how far Republicans want to push their opposition and whether the Senate can function in the hyper-politicized climate. Fights over judicial

nominations are not new, he noted, but “the Supreme Court’s different.”

“This will be a test, one more test of whether or not norms, rules, basic fair play can function at all in Washington these days,” he said.

Obama spoke as he closed a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders at Sunnylands, a California desert retreat. Obama gathered ASEAN members for two days of talks on security and counterterrorism efforts. But the president’s attention was divided. Since

Scalia’s unexpected death at a remote Texas ranch on Saturday, White House lawyers and advisers have been scrambling to refine and vet a list of potential replacements, while also devising a strategy to push a candidate through the Republican-led Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he doesn’t think Obama should be putting a candidate forward. The Kentucky senator, as well as several Republican senators up for re-election this

year, say Obama should leave the choice up to the next president. The November election, they argue, will give voters a chance to weigh in on the direction of the court.

Obama dismissed that notion. He has said he will put forward a replacement in due time and that he believes the Senate will have “plenty of time” to give the nominee a fair hearing and a vote.

Continued on page 6

A2 UP

Wednesday 17 February

FRONT

US confirms release of 3 Americans abducted in Baghdad QASSIM ZAHRA Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — The three Americans who were abducted in Baghdad last month have been freed, the State Department said Tuesday, and Iraqi officials said they have been handed over to the U.S. Embassy in good health.

The Americans were abducted in Dora, a mixed neighborhood that is home to both Shiites and Sunnis.

It was the latest in a series of brazen high-profile kidnappings undermining confidence in the Iraqi government’s ability to control state-sanctioned Shiite militias, which have grown in strength as Iraqi security forces battle the Islamic State group. Iraqi and Western officials said

they suspected one of two powerful Shiite militias was behind the kidnapping.

In January, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad confirmed that several Americans had gone missing. Iraqi authorities added that the three were kidnapped from a “suspicious apartment.”

Deputy State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the United States sincerely appreciates the “assistance provided by the Government of Iraq, and its whole-of-government effort to bring about the safe release of these individuals.”

Iraqi officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the press, said the three were freed by Iraqi security forces.

Baghdad-based spokesman for the US-led coalition in Iraq Col. Steve Warren speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad. The three Americans who were abducted in Baghdad last month have been freed, the State Department said Tuesday, and Iraqi officials said they have been handed over to the U.S. Embassy in good health.

(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Separately the U.N. announced Tuesday that it has identified the body of a staff member who was abducted in April 2015. The body of Amer al-Kaissy, an Iraqi national who was the U.N. mission’s representative in the Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, was found in November “bearing signs of execution by gunshot” and was buried, unidentified, by local officials, the statement said. The U.N. said friends and colleagues of al-Kaissy identified the body this week.

“He is suspected to have been abducted by militias active in the area,” the U.N. statement said.

A Diyala security official told the Associated Press al-Kaissy’s remains have been handed over to his family. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to brief the press.

“For more than nine months we have sought the intervention of the Government on the local and national levels to ensure his safe return to his family,” said U.N. secretary General for Iraq Jan Kubis in a statement.

“I am deeply disappointed that our efforts and appeals went unanswered.”

In December, 26 Qatari hunters were abducted from a remote desert area

in southern Iraq by unidentified gunmen driving SUVs. Following the incident, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it has contacted “Iraqi government and concerned entities at the highest security and political levels” to ascertain details of what happened and to try to secure the hunters’ release. The hunters haven’t been heard from since.

In September, 18 Turkish workers were kidnapped in Baghdad’s Shiite-dominated Sadr City. A video from a previously unknown militant group showed the hostages and demanded Turkey halt the flow of militants into Iraq, stop the passage of oil from Iraq’s northern Kurdish region into Turkish territory and lift what was described as a “siege” on Syrian cities. All the workers were released within a month.

While kidnappings for ransom are common across Iraq, large-scale abductions of foreigners are a relatively recent phenomenon. Before the Americans were snatched last month, the last time a U.S. citizen was kidnapped in Iraq was in 2010. The scale and sophistication of the recent kidnappings of foreigners suggests those responsible are operating with some degree of impunity.q

U.S. NEWS A3

Wednesday 17 February

Bush, Cruz appeal to South Carolina’s military community

The Associated Press CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP) — Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz on Tuesday appealed to South Carolina, a state with a large military and veteran population, with promises to strengthen U.S. defense as the next Republican primary approaches.

Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders sought support from black voters in upcoming nominatingcontests.

South Carolina residents will cast their votes for a Republican nominee for president on Saturday. For the Democrats, the Nevada caucuses are next.

Polls show Donald Trump leading with about a third of the vote in South Carolina, holding a double-digit lead over Cruz, a Texas senator. Florida Sen. Bush, the former Florida governor, is desperately trying to save his campaign by finishing ahead of Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. They are locked in a race to emerge as the more mainstream alternative to Trump, the brash billionaire, and Cruz, an outspoken conservative Cruz. On Monday, Bush had his brother, former President George W. Bush, on the campaign trail for the first time.

Jeb Bush’s comments Tuesday focused heavily on gun rights. He also addressed the Supreme Court vacancy following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, saying that he would choose someone who, like Scalia, was a “lover of liberty.”

Cruz called for increasing the number of active-duty troops, airplanes and battleships. He did not put a price tag on his plans, but pointed to former President Ronald Reagan’s approach as a model for how he would get it done.

Cruz said he will pay for it by cutting federal spending by at least $500 billion, selling federal assets and properties and auditing the Pentagon to find savings.

Cruz came under fire from his rivals over what they call a pattern of unethical campaign tactics and inaccurate statements by the Texas senator who has shaped his White House bid around trust. Trump and Rubio have accused Cruz of distorting their records with increasing frequency, openly calling him a liar.

The Texas senator shrugged off the criticism Tuesday while campaigning in South Carolina. Trump and Rubio have accused Cruz of distorting their records with increasing frequency.

“Both Donald Trump and Marco Rubio have this very strange pattern where if you point to their actual record, if you point to the words that have come out of their mouth, they don’t respond on substance.

They just scream ‘Liar! Liar!

Liar!’” Cruz said Tuesday.

The fiery conservative’s ability to navigate questions about his integrity could well decide his fate in the crowded 2016 contest, where he remains a top-tier contender.

“He’s lying. And I think it’s disturbing,” Rubio said in Beaufort. “I think this is very disturbing when you have a candidate that now on a regular basis just makes things up.”

Trump was even more aggressive, describing Cruz the day before as “the single biggest liar I’ve ever come across, in politics or otherwise.” Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, made a direct appeal to black voters Tuesday as she moved to shore up the support of minority voters in advance of nominating contests in South Carolina and the Deep South, where blacks make up more than half of the Democratic electorate.

Clinton spent all of Tuesday in New York City focused on solidifying the AfricanAmerican support her family has long enjoyed and that her campaign

Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, right, accompanied by his brother former President George W. Bush, center, and George’s wife Laura Bush, takes the stage during a campaign stop in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

is counting on to act as a firewall against the surprisingly insurgent campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

She capped off her day with a speech at a Harlem public library in which she vowed to protect the economic opportunities and voting rights of AfricanAmericans. The former secretary of state suggested black voters would find her proposals more far-reaching than Sanders’ warnings about economic inequality and the power of Wall Street.q

A4 U.S.

Wednesday 17 February

NEWS

Obama, Southeast Asian leaders seek resolutions for its maritime disputes President Barack Obama, center, walks with leaders of ASEAN, the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, for the official photo, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016 at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

D. SUPERVILLE M. PENNINGTON Associated Press RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif.

(AP) — President Barack Obama and the leaders of Southeast Asia called Tuesday for peaceful resolution of the region’s maritime disputes as they concluded a summit in California.

Obama told a news conference that disputes must be resolved by legal means, including a case brought by the Philippines challenging China’s sweeping claims over most of the South China Sea. China has refused to take part in the proceedings, but Obama said parties to the U.N. law of the seas are obligated to respect the ruling, expected later this year.

Obama has been hosting 10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, in the U.S. for the first time. That sends a subtle message to China that the U.S. remains an important force in the region.

But the leaders’ joint state-

ment after two days of talks avoided direct reference to China, reflecting the careful path that ASEAN members tread in their diplomacy with the world powers.

“Any disputes between claimants must be resolved peacefully through legal means such as the upcoming arbitration ruling under the U.N. Convention of the Law of the Seas, which the parties are obligated to respect and abide by,” Obama said.

China says it has a historical right to virtually all of the South China Sea and has built seven artificial islands, some with airstrips, to assert its sovereignty. Taiwan and ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines also claim land features in these potentially resource-rich waters, an important thoroughfare for international shipping.

Though not a claimant, the U.S. has spoken out against China’s conduct and has angered Beijing by sailingU.S. Navy ships near some of the artificial islands to demonstrate freedom to sail there despite China’s territorial claims.

Obama said the U.S. will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, and it will support the right of other countries to do the same.q

U.S. NEWS A5

Wednesday 17 February

Graphic photos begin ‘Grim Sleeper’ trial in Los Angeles

Lonnie Franklin Jr. appears in Los Angeles Superior Court for opening statements in his trial on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, in Los Angeles. Franklin has pleaded not guilty to killing nine women and a 15-year-old girl between 1985 and 2007 in one of the city’s most notorious serial killer cases. The “Grim Sleeper” nickname was coined because of an apparent 14-year gap in the murders between 1988 and 2002.

(Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

AMANDA LEE MYERS Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Their bodies were dumped in alleys and garbage bins in south Los Angeles, some naked, some covered with mattresses and trash. Most had been fatally shot in the chest after some type of sexual contact, others strangled.

As prosecutor Beth Silverman showed photo after photo of the 10 victims to a packed courtroom on Tuesday, family members of the dead young women shook as they wept. Some covered their faces, others had to walk out.

It was an emotional beginning to the long-awaited “Grim Sleeper” trial, which comes more than 30 years since the first victim’s death.

Lonnie Franklin Jr. has pleaded not guilty to killing nine women and a 15-yearold girl between 1985 and 2007 in one of the city’s most notorious serial killer cases. The “Grim Sleeper” nickname was coined because of an apparent 14year gap in the murders between 1988 and 2002.

Franklin, 63, has been awaiting trial behind bars for nearly six years since his arrest in July 2010. The trial is expected to last up to four

months.

In opening statements to jurors Tuesday, Silverman said Franklin took advantage of the crack cocaine epidemic in south Los Angeles, targeting women “willing to sell their bodies and their souls in order to gratify their dependency on this powerful drug.”

Autopsies showed all but one victim had cocaine in their systems when they were killed, and some had turned to prostitution.

“This was the perfect opportunity for someone who preyed on women,” Silverman said.

“Someone who knew the streets and the dark alleys by heart, someone who lived there and was able to blend in, someone who knew where the drugaddicted women and perhaps prostitutes would congregate and who knew how to lure potential victims into the darkness and the isolation of a vehicle through the promise of crack.”

Silverman continued: “It was the perfect place and time for a serial killer to roam the streets of Los Angeles, really without detection.”

Franklin’s attorney, Seymour Amster, won’t deliver his opening statements un-

til later in the trial.

Last week, Amster told The Associated Press that “it’s not over until it’s over.”

“There’s more to it than people want to believe,” Amster said. “It’s up to the prosecution to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

As many as 30 detectives investigated the Grim Sleeper killings in the 1980s, but they exhausted leads within a few years.

A special squad of detectives was assembled after the most recent known Grim Sleeper killing, the June 2007 shooting of Janecia Peters, 25, whose naked body was found in the fetal position inside a trash bag.

Police arrested Franklin in July 2010 after his DNA was

connected to more than a dozen crime scenes. An officer posing as a busboy at a pizza parlor got DNA samples from dishes and utensils Franklin had been eating with at a birthday party.

Family members of the Grim Sleeper victims and a survivor of the attacks have been frustrated by repeated delays in the case and were eager for the opening statements.

The Grim Sleeper was among at least three serial killers who stalked Los Angeles-area women during a crack cocaine epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s.

The attacks were dubbed the “Southside Slayer” killings before authorities concluded more than one attacker was involved.q

A6 U.S.

NEWS Before Supreme Court nod, an intrusive interrogation Wednesday 17 February

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s courtroom chair is draped in black to mark his death as part of a tradition that dates to the 19th century, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, at the Supreme Court in Washington. Scalia died Saturday at age 79. He joined the court in 1986 and was its longestserving justice.

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

JOSH LEDERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — White House lawyers are scouring a life’s worth of information about President Barack Obama’s potential picks for the Supreme Court, from the mundane to the

intensely personal. In trying to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, the president could alter the balance of the court for decades — but only if he can get his nominee through Republicans in the Senate.

Prospective justices are put

through the nation’s most thorough background check, an invasive process where nothing is off-limits.

After all, a surprise dredged up later could scuttle confirmation. So candidates’ taxes, writings, childhoods, business dealings,

Obama calls for bipartisanship on vacancy Continued from Front Democrats say Obama has every right and a constitutional duty to fill vacancies on the court until he leaves office Jan. 20, 2017.

The Republicans’ recommended solution is “irresponsible and it’s unprecedented,” Sen. Pat Leahy, the ranking Democrat Senate Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday.

“The American public expects us to do the job we’re elected to do. The president is going to do what he is elected to do and let’s vote up or down.”

The dispute reflects years of escalating partisan hostilities over judicial nominations, as well as the unusual timing.

The pace of lower court confirmations always slows in a presidential election year, as the party that does not control the White House prefers to hold out hope that its candidate will fill vacant judgeships rather than give lifetime tenure to the other party’s choices.

But Supreme Court vacancies in presidential years are rare, in part because the justices avoid retiring when prospects for con-

firming successors are uncertain.

If Senate Republicans hold fast to their vow not to confirm anyone Obama nominates, then the Supreme Court will operate with eight justices not just for the rest of this court term, but for most of the next one as well.

High court terms begin in October, and the 80 or so cases argued in the course of a term typically are decided by early summer.

The court would be unable to issue nationwide rulings on any issue in which the justices split 4-4.q

medical histories and, yes, love lives, are all scrutinized for potential red flags.

“The idea that you miss something that later torpedoed the nomination — that’s a nightmare,” said Jack Quinn, former White House counsel to President Bill Clinton.

Just ask Judge Douglas Ginsburg. Nine days after President Ronald Reagan nominated him for the high court, it was revealed he had smoked marijuana as a law professor at Harvard and he was forced to bow out.

For Obama, who has successfully nominated two justices, the vetting process is even more critical this time as he works to push a nominee through in his final year in officein what is shaping up to be one of the biggest political fights of the year.

Already, Republicans are threatening to not even hold a vote. If hearings get mired in a squabble over some late revelation, Republicans could find a fresh rationale for dragging the process out until Obama’s term ends in January 2017.

Traditionally, vetting takes weeks if not months, depending on how many candidates are being checked. But Obama is expected to move as quickly as possible to announced his pick. The White House was jolted into action after learning of Scalia’s death, officials said, summoning administration lawyers over Presidents Day weekend to begin searching for a suitable replacement.

Obama, traveling in California, has been working with top advisers on his list while aides feel out senators about their willingness to hold a vote.

Millions of Americans with security clearances or government jobs are asked

probing questions about their loyalty, reliability and character in FBI background checks. But for Supreme Court contenders, the inquiry goes far deeper.

Justice Anthony Kennedy sat through 10-plus hours of FBI interviews — and a three-hour session with the attorney general and White House counsel in which all “conceivable no-holds-barred questions were asked,” according to a memorandum archived in the Reagan Library.

Among the questions Kennedy was asked: Have you ever engaged in kinky sex?

Did you shoplift as a kid?

What about any associations with groups like the Klu Klux Klan? Ever abuse a girlfriend? Engage in cruelty to animals? And tell us about sex in college: How often, how many women, and did you ever contract a venereal disease?

Typically, such a deep dive doesn’t take place until the “short list” has been winnowed to a few candidates being seriously considered. Some presidents keep a close hold on the names, wary of allowing opponents to start building a case against them. Others have floated potential names through the media to try to gauge the public’s reaction.

“I always tell clients that they should think long and hard about whether they want to go through the process at all,” said Robert Kelner, a partner at the Covington law firm who advises presidential appointees on Senate confirmation. “You give up any semblance of privacy. Your name may be floated, but then it might become publically known that the White House backed away because of something embarrassing.”q

U.S. NEWS A7

Wednesday 17 February

US Financial Front:

American homebuilder sentiment slips in February

ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer U.S. homebuilders are feeling less confident about their sales prospects ahead of the spring homeselling season, though they remain positive overall that the housing market will continue to improve this year.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Tuesday slipped to 58 this month, down three points from a revised reading of 61 in January.

The index had been hovering in the low 60s since June. Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor.

Builders’ view of current sales conditions and a measure of traffic by prospective buyers declined.

But their outlook for sales over the next six months edged higher.

The latest readings come as the annual spring buying season ramps up. Typically, the season sets the pattern for residential hiring and construction for much of the rest of the year.

Several factors have builders feeling less optimistic this month, including heightened concerns of late about a slowdown in the global economy and its potential impact on the U.S., and rising costs for labor and ready-to-build land parcels.

Even so, the builders’ trade association continues to forecast modest growth for housing this year.

“Historically low mortgage rates, steady job gains, improved household formations and significant pent-up demand all point to a gradual upward trend for housing in the year ahead,” said David

Crowe, the NAHB’s chief economist.

Sales of new homes surged 14.5 percent last year to 501,000, marking the strongest year for this segment of the housing market since 2007.

Steady job growth that cut the unemployment rate to an eight-year low of 4.9 percent has given many homebuyers increased confidence, while relatively low mortgage rates improved affordability.

Builders have responded to the demand by increasing construction. Over the course of 2015, ground breakings rose 10.8 percent to 1.1 million.

And yet, construction has yet to rebound fully from the housing bust nearly a decade ago, while sales of new homes continue to run below the 52-year historic average of 655,200.

January’s new home sales figures are due out next week.

Whether that progress continues this year will depend largely on the U.S. economy continuing to improve.

That’s come increasingly into doubt in recent weeks as faltering growth in countries like China, the world’s second-largest economy, and financial market turmoil have heightened concerns that the U.S. economy could be in for a stumble.

This month’s builder index was based on 344 respondents.

Builders’ view of current sales conditions for singlefamily homes fell three points to 65, while their gauge of traffic by prospective buyers fell five points to 39, the lowest level since May last year.

Builders’ outlook for sales over the next six months rose one point to 65.q

A man installs a roof on a new home under construction in Atlanta. On Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo released its February index of builder sentiment.

(AP Photo/John Bazemore)

A8

Wednesday 17 February

WORLD NEWS Russia, Saudis tentatively offer to freeze oil output levels: AP

Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, left, welcomes European Council President Donald Tusk, right, in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016.

(AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

EU unhinged:

Thursday’s summit faces historic crises RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — To listen to harried European Union chief Donald Tusk is to realize that the leaders of the 28 member nations are facing the prospect of an unhinged EU if this week’s summit goes badly wrong.

Negotiations with Britain over EU reforms to give Prime Minister David Cameron a better shot at winning a referendum to stay an EU member are far from finished as they head into the final stretch.

At the same time, the migrant crisis is quickly turning into a seminal test of unity, pitting east against west and many against Greece.

“The migratory crisis we are currently witnessing is testing our union to its limits,” Tusk said Tuesday as he was seeking compromise on both issues ahead of Thursday’s summit.

“There is an extra mile we will have to walk to reach an agreement,” Tusk said in Prague Tuesday, near the end of a five-nation whirlwind tour that was to end in Berlin barely 24 hours after it started in Paris.

Instead of the veneer of unity, the EU can no longer hide its divisions.

A British referendum could come as early as this summer, and the loss of one of the biggest member states — a member of the G7 group of richest economies and the United Nations Security Council — could be sealed.

It would be one massive blow. When it comes to migration, it is more a steady crumbling of foundations that is feared.

Four eastern European nations have publicly taken stand against some of the core EU policies and publicly chided southern mem-

ber Greece. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently said that “if it were up only to us Central Europeans, that region would have been closed off long ago,” referring to the south where the migrants come from. Hundreds of thousands of migrants have come, almost unchecked, through EU member Greece and on to Germany and Sweden. Almost everyone complains Greece isn’t doing enough to stem the influx. The rich member states who are the draw for the migrants complain the eastern Europeans are not doing their part to shelter refugees. Several eastern European nations complain that they lack the resources to handle large numbers of refugees and that the more prosperous nations are too soft-hearted and have allowed the borders to be overrun. q

ADAM SCHRECK Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oil powerhouses Russia and Saudi Arabia joined Qatar and Venezuela in pledging Tuesday to cap their crude output if other producers do the same, aiming to halt a slide that has pushed oil prices to their lowest point in more than a decade.

The decision followed an unexpected closeddoor meeting involving the four countries in the Qatari capital, Doha, and reflects growing concern among big producers about the effects the slump poses to their domestic economies.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in a statement issued after the meeting that the four countries would be ready to cap production based on last month’s output levels if others join.

“We are ready to maintain on average in 2016 the level of oil production of January 2016 and not exceed it,” he said in a subsequent statement.

Whether the plan is enough to put a floor under prices is uncertain.

The proposal depends on cooperation from a range of producers with differing budget priorities all scrambling for market share since prices began falling in summer 2014.

Among the hardest to bring on board will likely be Iran. It was noticeably absent from Tuesday’s gathering even though it shares control of a major underwater natural gas field with fellow OPEC

member Qatar.

Iran is eager to ramp up its exports now that sanctions related to its nuclear program have been lifted, saying recently it aims to put another 500,000 barrels a day on the market. Figures from the International Energy Agency show it pumped 2.9 million barrels daily in December, before sanctions were lifted.

Iran’s petroleum minister, Bijar Namdar Zangeneh, signaled the Islamic Republic has no intention of giving up its share of the market.

He acknowledged that global markets are “oversupplied,” but said Iran “will not overlook its quota,” according to comments carried by his ministry’s Shana news service.

Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino heads to Tehran next for talks with his Iranian and Iraqi counterparts Wednesday.

“The key OPEC members that need to take part are Iran and Iraq, where the big increases are likely this year, but there are big doubts over whether this can be achieved,” Barclays analysts Miswin Mahesh and Kevin Norrish said in a research note.

Efforts to make the plan work are complicated by deep levels of distrust between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, which has built close ties to Iraq’s government in the years since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The two countries are in opposing camps in regional disputes from Yemen to Syria.q

WORLD NEWS 9

Wednesday 17 February

EU businesses, workers brace for return of border controls GEORGE JAHN Associated Press SOPRON, Hungary (AP) — The Hungarian city of Sopron, population 50,000,

panded commerce over much of a continent that had before been a patchwork of borders against hostile neighbors, competi-

southern Sweden and the Danish capital Copenhagen have in effect fused, reflecting how the EU has turned from a community

Timea Meszaros AVIA gas station attendant speaks about the European Schengen zone of border-free travel during an interview with The Associated Press near the Hungarian border in Siegendorf, Austria.

(AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

boasts an abundance of beauty shops and 200 dentists — one for every 250 residents. Most businesses don’t target the locals, though; they’re looking at the Austrians streaming across the nearby border to shop for bargains.

Such cross-border traffic could soon suffer, as the European Union considers re-introducing border controls for up to two years between some of the 26 nations in the Schengen passport-free area to deal with the migrant crisis.

In Luxembourg, a thousand kilometers (600 miles) to the west, Schengen Mayor Ben Homan also has reason to hope the free-border agreement will remain in place. Its signing there in 1985 heralded a new era of passport-free travel, speedy transport and ex-

tive business and competing ideological blocs.

With locals’ vineyards situated both in Germany and France just a few minutes’ walk away, residents of his “little town of wine-makers” are more conscious than most of the agreement’s advantages, says Homan.

Since the signing, thousands of businesses big and small have flourished on the guarantee of free travel. EUstatistics show people making 1.3 billion crossings over the union’s internal borders each year, while 57 million trucks transport goods worth hundreds of billions over those same boundaries annually. The free passage has also allowed some 1.7 million people to live in one country and commute to work in another.

Cities such as Malmo in

of nations separated by borders to one of regions.

But in the wake of the refugee crisis, the whole idea of open EU borders has been called into question.

Each country in the zone is allowed to unilaterally put up border controls for a maximum of six months.

France did so after the Nov. 13 terror attack, and following the influx of more than 1 million migrants into Europe last year, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Norway have done the same. Now, policymakers are poised to invoke an emergency provision that allows for an extension of such controls for up to two years, citing Greek problems in properly protecting the bloc’s external borders from the flow of migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Asia or Af-

rica.

That could open the gates to broader border restrictions. EU Council President Donald Tusk has described the outcome of the debate as “decisive ... for the future of the EU” and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has warned of a collapse of the Schengen zone’s domestic market.

Meanwhile, new checkpoints are already going up.

Austria on Tuesday announced controls on its boundary in Tyrol province to Italy’s South Tyrol region in anticipation that refugees will use that as a new route as restrictions elsewhere increase.

Officials spoke of setting up “construction measures,” bureaucratese for fences, at the new control points —

previously an unthinkable concept because of its connotation of separation between two regions many Austrians still view as one.

Even if full disintegration of border-free travel among the 26 Schengen members does not seem imminent, some governments already are bracing for the possibility. Under such a scenario, a French government study sees an 8-percent reduction in economic activity in the zone over the next decade amounting to 110 billion euros— nearly $124 billion Alexander Klacska, whose Austrian company runs more than 500 tanker trucks across Europe, cites a study based on three hours of waiting time for trucks a day on Austria’s borders to and from its seven neighbors. q

A10 WORLD

Wednesday 17 February

NEWS

IS faces budget crunch, killing perks and slashing salaries L. HINNANT Z. KARAM S. GEORGE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Faced with a cash shortage in its so-called caliphate, the Islamic State group has slashed salaries across the region, asked Raqqa residents to pay utility bills in black market American dollars, and is now releasing detainees for a price of $500 a person.

The extremists who once bragged about minting their own currency are having a hard time meeting expenses, thanks to coalition airstrikes and other measures that have eroded millions from their finances since last fall. Having built up loyalty among militants with good salaries and honeymoon and baby bonuses, the group has stopped providing even the smaller perks: free energy drinks and Snickers bars.

Necessities are dwindling in its urban centers, leading to shortages and widespread inflation, according to exiles and those still suffering under its rule. Interviews gathered over several weeks included three exiles with networks of family and acquaintances still in the group’s stronghold in Raqqa, residents in Mosul, and analysts who say IS is turning to alternative funding streams, including in Libya.

In Raqqa, the group’s stronghold in Syria, salaries have been halved since December, electricity is rationed, and prices for basics are spiraling out of reach, according to people exiled from the city.

“Not just the militants. Any civil servant, from the courts to the schools, they cut their salary by 50 percent,” said a Raqqa activist now living in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, who remains in close

Militants of the Islamic State group hold up their weapons and wave its flags on their vehicles in a convoy on a road leading to Iraq, in Raqqa, Syria. The extremist group that once bragged about minting its own currency is now accepting only U.S. dollars in Raqqa, slashing salaries across the board and imposing “exit fees” for those trying to leave its domain.

(Militant photo via AP)

contact with his native city.

But that apparently wasn’t enough close the gap for a group that needs money to replace weapons lost in airstrikes and battles, and pays its fighters first and foremost.

Those two expenses account for two-thirds of its budget, according to an estimate by Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi, a researcher with the Middle East Forum who sources Islamic State documents, Within the last two weeks, the extremist group started accepting only dollars for “tax” payments, water and electric bills, according to the Raqqa activist, who asked to be identified by his nom de guerre Abu Ahmad for his safety. “Everything is paid in dollars,” he said. His account was bolstered by another ex-Raqqa resident, who, like Ahmad, also relies on communications with a network of family and acquaintances still in the city.

Al-Tamimi came across a directive announcing the fighters’ salary cuts in Raqqa: “On account of the exceptional circumstances the Islamic

State is facing, it has been decided to reduce the salaries that are paid to all mujahedeen by half, and it is not allowed for anyone to be exempted from this decision, whatever his position.” Those circumstances include the dramatic drop in global prices for oil — once a key source of income — airstrikes that have targeted cash stores and oil infrastructure, supply line cuts, and crucially, the Iraqi government’s decision to stop paying civil servants in territory controlled by the extremists.

A Russian-backed Syrian government offensive in Aleppo province, where IS controls major towns including Manbij, Jarablus and al-Bab, is also putting pressure on IS. Government troops and allied militiamen have advanced toward the town, considered an IS bastion, leading many militants to send their families to Raqqa.

An exile from al-Bab said low-level fighters there have begun to grumble, and townspeople have overheard Islamic State officials discuss-

ing crippling airstrikes on oil infrastructure in Syria and Iraq and the cutoff of supply lines and revenue sources.

The resident, who asked only that his first name Oussama be used because he still has family in the city, said dozens of residents of al-Bab have fled, ignoring orders from the extremists.

“You can sense the frustration, their morale is down,” Oussama said of the fighters.

A former Raqqa resident now living in Beirut said Syrians abroad are sending remittances in dollars to cover skyrocketing prices for vegetables and sugar. The resident, whose wife and baby still live in the city, did not want his name used for their safety.

One of the other ex-residents, now living in Gaziantep, Turkey, said the road to Mosul was cut off late last year, and prices have risen swiftly — gas is up 25 percent, meat up nearly 70 percent, and sugar prices have doubled.

In Iraq, where Islamic State has slowly been losing ground over the past year, the Iraqi government in Sep-

tember cut off salaries to government workers within territory controlled by the extremists, after months of wavering about the humanitarian costs paid by those trapped in the region. Iraqi officials estimate that Islamic State taxed the salaries at rates ranging from 20 to 50 percent, and analysts and the government now estimate a loss of $10 million minimum each month. Between the loss of that money — and the U.S.-led bombing of cash warehouses — American officials are optimistic that the effect could diminish Islamic State’s wealth.

“We are seeing our efforts having some effect on their financial flows. And it’s difficult to get a handle on just how much because of the different illicit ways in which they are handling their finances but you’ve seen the efforts that our military has taken to take out cash storage sites, and I think it is our hope and expectation that that will have demonstrable effects. On what order of magnitude, I think it’s difficult to say,” said Lisa Monaco, President Barack Obama’s counterterrorism adviser.

In the Iraqi city of Fallujah, fighters who once made $400 a month aren’t being paid at all and their food rations have been cut to two meals a day, according to a resident.

The account of the resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of death at the hands of extremists, was supported by that of another family trapped in Fallujah that said inhabitants can only leave the city if they pay $1,000 — a sum well beyond the means of most in the Sunni-majority city that was the first in Iraq to fall to Islamic State in 2014.q

WORLD NEWS A11

Wednesday 17 February

Francis to Mexico priests: Don’t be resigned to status quo JACOBO GARCIA NICOLE WINFIELD PETER ORSI Associated Press MORELIA, Mexico (AP) — Pope Francis urged Mexico’s priests on Tuesday to fight injustice and not resign themselves to the drug-fueled violence and corruption around them, issuing a set of marching orders to shake up a Mexican church known for its cozy ties to the rich and powerful.

Francis traveled to a hotbed of Mexico’s drug trade for a Mass with the country’s priests and nuns. It was the first event of a daylong visit to Morelia, the capital of Michoacan state, that includes a meeting with young people, a fixture of papal trips that often produces some of the most memorable and spontaneous moments.

Francis’ visit was also a symbolic vote of confidence for the city’s archbishop, Alberto Suarez Inda. Like Francis, Suarez Inda has called for Mexican bishops to be closer to their people and not act like bureaucrats or princes.

Last year Francis made him a cardinal — an unambiguous sign that Francis wants “peripheral” pastors like him at the helm of the church hierarchy.

In his homily, Francis admonished the priests and nuns to not become resigned to the problems around them or give in to paralysis, which he called the devil’s “favorite weapon.” “What temptation can come to us from places often dominated by violence, corruption, drug trafficking, disregard for human dignity and indifference in the face of suffering and vulnerability?

What temptation might we suffer over and over again

when faced with this reality, which seems to have become a permanent system?” Francis asked.

“I think we can sum it up in one word: resignation.”

It was a clear reference to the situation in Michoacan, a major methamphetamine production hub, as well as the nation at large, where gangs and drug lords have thrived thanks in part to the complicity of police and other public authorities. That corruption came to light most recently in the case of drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who escaped for a second time from a maximum security prison in July, and was recaptured after an October meeting with actor Sean Penn.

Rather than give up in the face of such corruption, Francis urged the clerics to look to the model of Vasco de Quiroga, a 16th-century Spanish bishop who came to New Spain and founded Utopian-style indigenous communities where agriculture and handicrafts were taught.

A Franciscan, he was affectionately known as “Tata Vasco,” or “Father Vasco” in the Purepecha language.

Pope Francis, background center, walks in procession to celebrate a mass at the Venustiano Carranza stadium in Morelia, Mexico, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. On his one-day trip to the capital of troubled Michoacan state, the Pope will also meet with youth and pay a visit the Morelia cathedral.

(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Francis said that when Vasco de Quiroga saw Indians being “sold, humiliated and homeless in marketplaces” due to colonial exploitation, he did not resign himself to inaction but rather was inspired to fight injustice.

Since beginning his Mexico trip Friday night, Francis has repeatedly taken to task the Mexican church leadership, many of whom are

closely linked to Mexico’s political and financial elite and are loath to speak out on behalf of the poor and victims of social injustice.

“Sometimes the violence has made us give up, either out of discouragement, habit or fear,” said Fausto Mendez, a 23-year-old seminarian who attended Tuesday’s Mass. “That’s why the pope comes to tell us not to be afraid to do

the right thing.”

On Saturday in Mexico City, Francis scolded what he called gossiping, careerminded and aloof clerics, and admonished them to stand by their flock and offer “prophetic courage” in facing down the drug trade. In an inscription in a seminary guestbook, he urged future priests to be pastors of God and not “clerics of the state.”q

Venezuela replaces economic czar after 1 month CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s President Maduro has replaced his economic czar just five weeks after appointing the hardline leftist as the country grapples with increasingly bleak economic indicators and fears of default.

Maduro said Monday Luis Salas is leaving his post as vice president for the economy for family reasons.

He will be replaced with a more business-friendly figure, Miguel Perez, who had

been serving as commerce minister. Perez previously led a business chamber and has said that Venezuela must simplify its byzantine exchange rate system.

Salas had sparked concern among the opposition by blaming the Venezuela’s mounting economic problems on sabotage. Salas said the country was suffering from the world’s worst recession and triple-digit inflation because business interests are colluding with

the U.S. to sabotage the economy. Critics of the socialist administration blame inflation on government spending without sufficient revenues, flooding the economy with currency.

Shortages and inflation have become top concerns among Venezuelan voters, many of whom spend hours each week waiting in line for goods that are increasingly impossible to afford.

Local media had reported

in recent days that Salas favored suspending Venezuela’s payments to foreign creditors.

Maduro, who recently secured decree powers to make economic policy, said he would deliver further news in the coming days. Rumors have been swirling for weeks that the government is about to make a major announcement like raising gasoline prices or formally devaluing the currency.q

A12 WORLD

Wednesday 17 February

NEWS

US, Cuba sign deal restoring commercial flights M. WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — The United States and Cuba on Tuesday signed a deal restor-

opened bidding by American air carriers on as many as 110 U.S.-Cuba flights a day - more than five times the current number. All

2014 that they would begin normalizing ties after a halfcentury of Cold War opposition. The Obama administration is eager to make

United States Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Cuba’s Minister of Transportation Adel Yzquierdo Rodriguez, right, sign the airline transportation agreement in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. Cuba and the United States signed the agreement that will allow U.S. commercial airlines to begin operating flights to the island and vice-versa for the first time in decades.

(AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)

ing commercial air traffic for the first time in five decades, allowing of dozens of new daily flights to bring hundreds of thousands more American travelers a year to the island as early as this fall. Immediately after the signing, the U.S. Department of Transportation

flights operating between the two countries today are charters. Barring other major announcements, the restart of commercial flights will be the most significant development in U.S.-Cuba trade since Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro announced in late

rapid progress on building trade and diplomatic ties with Cuba before the president leaves office. The coming weeks are seen as particularly crucial to building momentum ahead of a trip he hopes to make to Havana by the end of March. “Today is a historic

day in the relationship between Cuba and the U.S.,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said after he and Transportation Minister Adel Yzquierdo Rodriguez signed the deal in a ceremony at Havana’s Hotel Nacional. “It represents a critically important milestone in the U.S. effort to engage with Cuba.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation expects to award the new routes by the summer. The winning airlines then must negotiate their own deals with Cuba.

Yzquierdo declined an interview request but Foxx said after meeting with the Cuban minister that he believed Cuba was eager to restore commercial air service as quickly as possible.

“Every indication I have in the conversations we’ve had today is that the Cubans want to move as fast as we’re able to move,” Foxx said. “People will actually be able to go buy a ticket and fly to Cuba on a commercial airline. That’s a pretty big step. We haven’t been able to do that in 50 years.” The agreement allows 20 regular daily U.S. flights to Havana, in addition to the current 10-15 charter flights a day. The rest would be to other Cuban cities.q

Puerto Rico approves bill to aid power company SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Legislators in Puerto Rico have approved a last-minute bill needed to finalize a deal to restructure the U.S. territory’s heavily indebted public power company.

The measure passed late Monday with the minimum 26 votes needed from the island’s House of Representatives.

Twentytwo legislators voted

against the bill, which seeks to reduce the company’s $9 billion debt as well as diversify energy resources and boost public-private partnerships to overhaul aging infrastructure at the largest U.S. public power utility. The island’s Senate is now expected to review the bill and vote on it. Bondholders had threatened to go to court if the bill was not approved

by Tuesday’s deadline.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority reached a restructuring deal late last month with bondholders.

It said the bondholder group and other creditors would provide $111 million through the purchase of new bonds. Half the notes would be issued once the bill is passed and the other half once the securitization structure is submitted to an

energy commission.

The power company said the deal requires bondholders and monoline insurers to buy 50 percent of the bonds once the bill is approved. However, the deal only involves those holding 70 percent of the agency’s debt.

The company has warned it would run out of cash by summer without debt restructuring. q

Gas explosions in the Dominican Republic hurt 40 EZEQUIEL LOPEZ Associated Press SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Early morning explosions rocked an LPG distribution station in a densely populated neighborhood of the Dominican Republic’s capital Tuesday, destroying several homes and injuring at least 40 people, officials said.

Soldiers and Civil Defense workers used dogs to find survivors in the ruins of the buildings but determined everyone was accounted for as crews started clearing debris from the area in the Los Rios community in the northern part of Santo Domingo.

Fire Chief Oscar Garcia said the 40 victims were hospitalized and officials were investigating what caused the explosion at the Solgas station. Six people taken to one nearby hospital had burns on up to 50 percent of their body, said Eddy Bruno, burn unit director at the Luis Eduardo Aybar hospital.

Onlookers stood on rooftops to observe blownout doors and windows, downed power lines and crumpled cars, including one that had a woman’s sandal on its hood.

Neighbors had streamed out of their homes around dawn because they smelled gas, and the first explosion occurred shortly afterward, around 6 a.m.

“It was horrible. We took off running,” said Maria Casilda Bonilla, who was in her second-floor apartment with a 22-year-old son.

A second explosion occurred about 40 minutes later, leveling a three-story building owned by Eleno Olivares.q

LOCAL A13

Wednesday 17 February

Platinum for Aruba’s Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa! ORANJESTAD/LOS ANGELES, CA (GGC) - Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa is situated on Eagle Beach in Aruba, considered as one of the top ten beaches in the world. Stylish newly renovated rooms offer peaceful views overlooking the azure ocean waters of the Caribbean or luscious green tropical gardens. Yoga and Pilates classes are offered daily and there is also a state of the art fitness room for those in search of a unique wellness retreat.

The Resort’s Vision & Mission statement focuses on the continuous strive to achieve higher customer & employee satisfaction, improved operational effectiveness, unique product improvements, sustainability and provide an intimate & memorable vacation experience at a 4 Star Premium Level Green Globe has awarded its Platinum Certificate to Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa to mark the resort’s exceptional achievement of more than 10 years continual certification. The resort also received a magnificent compliance score of 90% against accredited criteria.

Birte Besocke, Certification & Membership Manager at Green Globe said, “This year, we would like to congratulate Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa on being the first Green Globe Member in our company’s history to receive the Platinum Certificate. This is an outstanding success.”

Manchebo’s affiliation with Green Globe first commenced back in 2003 with Green Globe 21 when the resort acquired certification status. The boutique health conscious resort has been continuously & successfully certified “Gold”

dles septic services.

A number of initiatives have been implemented to reduce Manchebo’s environmental impact. As part of its reuse and recycle policy, organic waste is picked up by local farmers to use as compost. And kitchen oil is collected by Biofuel, a local company and exported for recycling.

The resort’s goal is to make the Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa a leading independent luxury boutique resort in the Caribbean.

And the focus for sustainability for Manchebo remains, “To preserve a safe and healthy environment for the island of Aruba, its people and visiting guests.” since 2007 thereby achieving the highest honour the Green Globe Certification program offers.

The completion of the yearly independent audit process demonstrates that Manchebo Beach Resort &

comparisons of data are based on occupancy rates and also include usage during special events and ongoing resort activities to account for abnormal peak periods. From this monitoring, corrections

Spa has a strong commitment to the principles of environmental and social sustainability. The resort has also continued to pass benchmarking against key environmental indicators including energy and water consumption, waste production and community commitment.

Energy and water usage is regularly monitored in each department and reduction goals set. Monthly

and improvements can be implemented to save resources. Overall, there has been a significant reduction in energy consumption due to the gradual changeover to LED lighting throughout the property, the use of air conditioning inverter units, the use of photocells and timers outdoors and the diligence of staff to reduce energy usage.

Water saving measures

include the installation of low flow taps, faucets and aerators as well as dual flush toilets at the resort.

Irrigation of the grounds revolves around the use of timers and, if hoses are used, staff ensure that watering is completed within designated time limits.

An effective wastewater management plan is also in place. Grey water is captured in an underground tank controlled by timers and pumps to water gardens and areas around the spa, while black water goes to a separate outlet that is disposed of by a private contractor that han-

About Green Globe Certification: Green Globe is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses.

Operating under a worldwide license, Green Globe is based in California, USA and is represented in over 83 countries. Green Globe is an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). For information, please visit www.greenglobe.comq

A14 LOCAL

Wednesday 17 February

New Edition: ECLAC’s Statistical Yearbook Compiles Relevant Data on the Region’s Situation -The 2015 edition updates a selected group of indicators of Latin America and the Caribbean countries.

ORANJESTAD - The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) recently released the Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2015, available on the Internet, which gives a statistical overview of the social, economic and environmental development processes in the region’s countries.

This annual publication contributes to generating knowledge on Latin America and the Caribbean and, therefore, it is an essential reference report for the comparative analysis

of countries with descriptive statistical data. This edition contains information that was available until mid-December 2015.

The Yearbook is organized in four chapters. The first one addresses demographic and social topics, which include population,

employment, education, health, housing and basic services, poverty and income distribution and gender indicators.

According to this data, estimates show that by mid2015 Latin America and the Caribbean population rose to 634 million people, of whom around 80% lived in cities and 50% were between 15 and 49 years old.

In the labor area in 2014, as an average for 18 Latin American countries, the greatest part of the employed population were dedicated to the commercial sector and other services (48.2%), agriculture (18.5%) and manufacture (11.9%).

On the other hand, the Statistical Yearbook indicates

that 94.6% of Latin American inhabitants used improved sources of drinking water provision and 83.1% had better sanitary facilities in 2015, although in rural areas these percentages drop to 83% and 64%, respectively.

The second chapter offers economic statistics, providing data on national accounts, balance of payments, international trade and price indexes, among others. The Yearbook shows that in 2014 the region’s growth closed at 1.2%, the current account balance registered a deficit of almost 180 billion dollars (2.7% of the regional GDP), while the average rate of regional annual inflation increased to 7.8%, 1.2 per-

centage point higher than in 2013.

The third chapter presents statistics related to the environment, its land cover, ecosystems and biodiversity; energy, water and biologic resources; use of land; air emissions; extreme events and natural disasters; regulation; and environmental management.

Of the 2 billion estimated hectares in Latin America and the Caribbean, 20% are protected areas and 46% of the total extension is forest, of which the greatest part is natural forest (98%). The document also shows that in 2013 the regional fishing production rose to around 13 billion tons, while soybean was the crop with the greatest cultivated area (49% of the total), followed by wheat and sugar cane.

Finally, the Yearbook dedicates a chapter to addressing the methodological aspects of the statistics presented, as well as references to the data sources.

Given that most of the information comes directly from national statistic offices, central banks, international organizations and other official institutions, ECLAC invites users to pay attention to the sources and technical notes presented in this document.

The data is obtained from international methodologies and standards with the aim of guaranteeing the comparability between countries. Therefore, these figures may not necessarily coincide with national data.

The complete text in PDF format and the Excel tables of the Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2015 are available on ECLAC’s Web site.

More statistical information about Latin America and the Caribbean can be found on the CEPALSTAT Web site, which includes a set of thematic databases and indicators that are updated periodically and cover additional areas and a greater temporary coverage than those included in this document.

LOCAL A15

Wednesday 17 February

The Papillon Experience

PALM BEACH - Henri Charrière, one of the world’s most famous prisoners, would surely have had the time of his life at Papillon Restaurant in The Village, across from the Hilton.

Nicknamed Papillon because of the butterfly tattoo on his chest, the Frenchman was the first convict to escape from Devil’s Island,

something that nobody had ever done before. Charrière’s thrilling, gripping autobiography has been the concept behind Papillon Restaurant.

The décor, the decorations and especially the restrooms wink at the thirteen terrible years Papillon spent in prison in French Guyana.

Papillon Restaurant’s menu reflects the Frenchman’s arduous journey to freedom: classic French dishes have been dusted with daring Caribbean flair and are a culinary journey for your taste buds. The spacious outside terrace is perfect for casual fine dining; the iron bars, flecks of rust and stains on the walls

make one very glad not to be in Papillon’s shoes in the 1940’s!

Charrière would undoubtedly have loved `his’ place on Aruba: this is luxury living for anyone!

For reservations: reservations@papillonaruba.com Or call: 586-5400 www.papillonaruba.com.q

A16 LOCAL

Wednesday 17 February

Loyal Visitors Honored at the Marriott Surf Club

PALM BEACH - Recently the Aruba Tourism Authority had the great pleasure of honoring two very nice couples as Distinguished Visitors and Goodwill Ambassadors at the Marriott Surf Club. The symbolic honorary titles are presented in the name of the Minister of Tourism as a token of appreciation to guests who visit Aruba for 10-to-19 and 20-to-34 consecutive

years.

The honorees were Mr. Joseph and Mrs. Laurie Gotch as Distinguished Visitors, and Mr. Paul and Mrs. Linda Napolitano as Goodwill Ambassadors, Joseph, Laurie, Paul and Linda are all loyal members of the Marriott Surf Club and they love Aruba very much because of the friendly people, the climate, beaches, restau-

rants, relaxation and being on Aruba and staying at the Surf Club is like being home for them. The certificates were presented by Mr. Ricardo Croes representing the Aruba Tourism Authority together with Ms. Jenny Boekhoudt and Mr. Joop Bangma GM of the Marriott Surf Club.q

SPORTS A17

Wednesday 17 February

Rousey had dark thoughts after she lost title to Holm

FOR THE RECORD

In this Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015 file photo, Ronda Rousey, left, and Holly Holm fight during their UFC 193 bantamweight title bout in Melbourne, Australia.

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ronda Rousey says she had dark thoughts after she lost her bantamweight title to Holly Holm in Australia last year, her first defeat since joining UFC. “Honestly, my thought in the medical room, I was sitting in the corner and was like, ‘What am I anymore if I’m not this?’” Rousey said Tuesday during an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” ‘’Literally sitting there thinking about killing myself. In that exact second, I’m like: ‘I’m nothing. What do I do anymore?” Rousey told DeGeneres that her relationship with UFC heavyweight Travis Browne helped get her through.

“I looked up and saw my man, Travis, was standing there,” Rousey said. “I’m looking up at him and was just like: ‘I need to have his babies. I need to stay alive.’” Rousey won her first 12 mixed martial arts fights — eight of them in less than a minute — before stepping into the cage against Holm in Melbourne last November. Holm finished her off with a devastating kick to the head. Rousey told DeGeneres that she wants to be the one to beat Holm, who will make her first title defense against Miesha Tate in Las Vegas next month.q

The ‘second half’ of NBA season awaits Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) competes in the three point NBA all-star skills competition in Toronto on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016.

Associated Press Page 21

A18 SPORTS

Wednesday 17 February

Manny Pacquiao sorry for saying gays ‘worse than animals’ TERESA CEROJANO Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Boxing star and Philippine Senate candidate Manny Pacquiao apologized Tuesday for denouncing people in gay relationships as “worse than animals” but said he stood by his opposition to same-sex marriage.

Fellow Filipino celebrities were among those criticizing his remarks, made when a TV network asked candidates about their views on same-sex marriage.

“It’s just common sense,” Pacquiao said in the remarks posted online by the TV5 network. “Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-tofemale relations?”

Animals, he said, were better because they recognize gender differences, and “if you have male-to-male or female-to-female (relationships), then people are worse than animals.”

Among those who reacted strongly was popular gay comedian and TV host Jose Marie Viceral, known as Vice Ganda. Vice

In this Oct. 12, 2015, file photo, Manny Pacquiao takes questions at the Asia Society in New York.

Associated Press

Ganda tweeted that lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders are humans, not animals. He said that they’re not saints, but that they’ll pray for the boxer, who is widely acclaimed for bringing his country honors.

Vice Ganda posted a picture of Pope Francis, sug-

gesting that even the beloved leader of the Roman Catholic church does not condemn gays. He quoted the pope: “If a person is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

Danton Remoto, chairman of the LGBT group Ladlad, said Pacquiao’s comments betray a shallow understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity.

“He is running for a national position and he should be a senator of everybody, not just over-the-hill boxers and straight people,” Remoto said by phone, adding

Pacquiao and his advisers “should bone up on LGBT issues” of the 21st century.

“Otherwise, they would be left behind in the Dark Ages, when the cavemen ruled and the numbskulls roamed the earth,” Remoto said.

Singer Aiza Seguerra, a former child actress in the 1980s who is now living with another actress, blasted Pacquiao on Instagram: “You might’ve done our country proud but with your statement, you just showed the whole country why we shouldn’t vote for you.”

“And yes, I think you are

an ignorant, bigoted hypocrite,” Seguerra said.

Pacquiao, 37 and a current member of the House of Representatives, apologized in social media. “I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals,” he said in a Facebook video. “Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt.”

In an Instagram post, he said he was not condemning anyone, but was just expounding on a biblical truth and would rather obey God than obey “the desires of the flesh.”

Although he has come under fire for his chronic absences in Congress, Pacquiao is campaigning for a Senate seat and voterpreference surveys show him among the strong contenders. Many believe he’ll eventually take a crack at the presidency.

The poverty that hounded his childhood forced him to drop out of school and take on odd jobs before he embraced boxing, where he carved a legend and became one of the highest-paid sluggers by emerging as an eight-division champion.

As his fortunes brightened, he returned to school and later took a special course to prepare for his role as a congressman.

He has recently declared plans to retire after his third bout with Timothy Bradley on April 9 in Las Vegas with a guaranteed $20 million payday.q

SPORTS A19

Wednesday 17 February

NHL Capsules

Isles use 3-goal 2nd to beat Red Wings The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist to key a three-goal second period, helping the New York Islanders beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Monday.

Josh Bailey, Marek Zidlicky and Ryan Strome also scored to help New York win for the fourth time in five games overall and fourth straight at home.

Thomas Greiss stopped 28 shots to win his fifth straight start and seventh of his last eight, improving to 16-6-2 on the season.

Pavel Datsyuk scored and Jimmy Howard also finished with 28 saves while falling to 0-5-3 in his last nine starts for the Red Wings, who were coming off a 4-0-1 homestand.

DUCKS 6, FLAMES 4 CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Corey Perry had a goal and two assists, and the Ducks went a perfect 3 for 3 on the power play.

The Flames led 3-2 after an action-packed first period, but with Johnny Gaudreau in the penalty box, Perry banged Cam Fowler’s rebound past Jonas Hiller to tie it early in the second.

The Ducks went right back to the man advantage and needed only 11 seconds to convert, with a rebound deflecting off several players and going in off the skate of Sami Vatanen to put Anaheim into the lead for good.

Mike Santorelli, with a pair of goals, Hamphus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell also scored for Anaheim.

The Ducks, 9-1-1 in their last 11 games, leapfrogged San Jose into second place in the Pacific Division.

Jiri Hudler had two goals and an assist to lead Calgary.

PANTHERS 2, PENGUINS 1, SO SUNRISE, Florida (AP) — Jussi Jokinen scored the winning goal in a shootout to lead Florida over Pittsburgh.

Nick Bjugstad also scored in the shootout and in regulation for the Panthers. Al Montoya made 31 saves.

The Panthers won for the

first time in three games, and beat Pittsburgh for the first time in three games this season.

After Jokinen scored, Montoya stopped Matt Cullen in the fifth round of the shootout to seal the win.

Sidney Crosby scored in the shootout for the Penguins.

Chris Kunitz scored in regulation for the Penguins and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots.

STARS 3, PREDATORS 2, OT NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — Mattias Janmark scored at 3:49 of overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 win over Nashville.

Cody Eakin and Ales Hemsky also scored for Dallas, which has won straight.

In overtime, Tyler Seguin’s shot from the left side was stopped by Nashville goaltender Carter Hutton.

Seguin then poked the rebound over to the right side, where Janmark had an easy tap-in for the winner.

Craig Smith and Filip Forsberg scored for Nashville.

The Predators have lost three of four.

BLACKHAWKS 7, MAPLE LEAFS 2 CHICAGO (AP) — Patrick Kane had a goal and three assists, helping Chicago stop a three-game slide with a victory over Toronto.

Andrew Shaw, Brent Seabrook, Artemi Panarin and Teuvo Teravainen each had a power-play goal, helping Chicago salvage the finale of disappointing four-game homestand.

It was the Blackhawks’ first game since they lost Marian Hossa to a left leg injury, likely sidelining the veteran forward for a couple of weeks. Scott Darling got the start in place of a resting Corey Crawford and made 35 saves, including an outstanding sprawling stop on Nick Spaling in the second period. Two of Darling’s six wins this season have come against lowly Toronto.

COYOTES 6, CANADIENS 2 GLENDALE, Arizona (AP) — Oliver Ekman-Larsson had a goal and two assists, and Arizona rolled over Mon-

treal to complete a season sweep over the Canadiens for the first time in 36 seasons as a franchise.

Arizona broke out of a scoring slump with an onslaught of goals against Montreal goalie Mike Condon, matching the three previous games combined with a season high in goals.

The Coyotes had 13 different players notch a point and (six) different goal scorers. Martin Hanzal scored his third goal in four games and Anthony Duclair had a goal in the first period.

Brad Richardson, Kevin Connauton and EkmanLarsson scored in the second, with Antoine Vermette capping the scor-

Florida Panthers center Nick Bjugstad (27) makes a shot against Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) during a shootout in an NHL hockey game, Monday, Feb. 15, 2016 in Sunrise, Fla. The Panthers defeated the Penguins 2-1.

Associated Press

ing burst with a goal in the third.

WILD 5, CANUCKS 2 VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Jared Spurgeon had a goal and an assist as

the Minnesota Wild beat the Vancouver Canucks to end an eight-game losing streak and make interim head coach John Torchetti a winner in his debut.q

20 SPORTS

Wednesday 17 February

AP Source: Chris Bosh resumes taking blood thinners TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat has resumed taking blood thinners to treat a blood clot in his leg, said a person with knowledge of the situation.

Bosh began the new medication regimen with hopes that he can resume playing this season, the person told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither the team nor Bosh has revealed anything publicly.

Typically athletes in contact sports are discouraged from playing while taking blood-thinning medication. It’s unclear when Bosh started taking the medication.

“I hate it for him,” said NASCAR driver Brian Vickers, who like Bosh is an endorser of the blood-thinning medi-

cation Xarelto. “I would tell him the same thing again, just don’t give up. Just keep fighting. Find a solution and keep going.”

Bosh missed the final 30 games of last season because a blood clot was found on one of his lungs.

Given that Bosh is considering playing again this season, or at least trying to find a way to get back on the floor, strongly suggests that this situation is not as serious as what he faced last year — when returning was not even a slim option.

Bosh is Miami’s leading scorer at 19.1 points per game this season. He said over the weekend in Toronto that he was optimistic about playing again this season.

Bosh pulled out of the AllStar Game and the 3-point contest over the weekend because of what he and the Heat described

In this Friday, Dec. 18, 2015 file photo, Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh (1) drives to the basket as Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan, left, defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Miami.

Associated Press

as a calf strain. He was shut down at the All-Star break last season because

a blood clot had found its way to one of his lungs, and that issue is something that Bosh believes started as a calf problem.

“I couldn’t walk anywhere,” Bosh said in September, describing how the clot affected him. “I was in too much pain.”

He went to Toronto expecting to participate in All-Star weekend, then was examined there — presumably because of the calf pain — and the NBA subsequently announced on Friday afternoon that Bosh was withdrawing from the game

and the 3-point event. Bosh remained in Toronto to cheer on his Eastern Conference teammates, then returned to Miami and met with team medical personnel Monday.

Bosh has taken precautions over the last year to try and prevent the recurrence of a clot, including partnering with Janssen Pharmaceuticals — Xarelto’s maker — to educate people about the risks. After the clot last season was found, Bosh started taking that blood thinner for several months as part of his recovery.q

SPORTS A21

Wednesday 17 February

Warriors chase history, teams chase Warriors in stretch run BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer TORONTO (AP) — The Golden State Warriors are chasing history. Everyone else in the NBA is chasing the Warriors.

The defending champions have been so dominant that they could already be a 50-win team this weekend. And unless opponents start figuring out a way to slow Stephen Curry and the league’s most potent offense, they could be the best team ever by the time they’re done.

Curry and fellow All-Stars Klay Thompson and Draymond Green took time out for fun in the first All-Star Game held outside the U.S., where Curry tossed in the final points in the highest-scoring game ever with a 42-footer to give the West a 196-173 victory.

It won’t be long before they get serious again.

“Yeah, obviously, Thursday, Friday, when games start up, put our game face back on and figure out how we’re going to try to finish out the season strong and go after another championship,” Curry said.

They are 48-4 and will bring an 11-game winning streak into Portland on Friday when their season resumes.

Golden State could reach 50 wins — for many clubs, the mark of a very good regular season — with a victory Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers in what’s become perhaps the league’s testiest rivalry.

The NBA record of 72 wins, set 20 years ago by Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, could be in reach.

“If it’s there for us we want to get it, but at the end of the day we’re trying to win a championship,” Thompson said.

There are a couple of

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) hugs Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) after winning the three point competition at the NBA all-star weekend in Toronto on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016.

Associated Press

teams in the West, and a front-runner in the East that could pose the toughest challenges to the Warriors.

San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Cleveland seem to have the best chances to prevent Golden State from repeating, though the Warriors blew out the Spurs and Cavaliers last time they met.

Business comes before basketball this week, as the trade deadline is Thursday afternoon, a few hours before the season resumes.

Contenders will try to load up and disappointments can break up.

From there, there’s less than two months before the playoffs begin.

LeBron James dismissed a report this week that the Cavaliers were discussing trading Kevin Love, saying they had enough to win after a turbulent first half that included the firing of coach David Blatt not long after Kyrie Irving had returned from knee surgery.

“Every piece that we have means a lot to the process,” James said. “Obviously with myself, Kyrie and Kev, we spearhead the whole thing.

We’re focused on the main thing and knowing what the main thing is every day, we’re going to have a great chance.”

So will the Spurs, who are just 3 ½ games behind Golden State at 45-8, and like the

Warriors are unbeaten at home. They have won six in a row even while Manu Ginobili is recovering from surgery, as star offseason acquisition LaMarcus Aldridge looks more comfortable playing for his new team.

“We’ve been winning and we’re putting ourselves in a position to be special,” Aldridge said. “So that’s what it’s about.”

There’s plenty more to watch down the stretch, from Kobe Bryant’s final games before retirement to the rookie of the year race between Minnesota’s KarlAnthony Towns and New York’s Kristaps Porzingis.

But the focus will never be too far from the Warriors and Curry, who seems

headed for a second straight MVP award. Their record-setting start to the season brought unusually high attention to the NBA’s pre-Christmas schedule, and a strong finish and a chance at 73 wins would do the same during March Madness.

The record would be nice.

The Warriors would prefer another ring.

“I think we just want more.

We’re not satisfied with winning the championship,” Green said. “We think we have something special and it only lasts so long, so we want to take advantage of that and not get complacent.

Let’s continue to try to get more.”q

A22 HEALTH

Wednesday 17 February

An unpleasant itch: Mosquito born virus

By: Dr. Carlos Viana In the tropics, we appreciate year round warm weather.

Ah, but life has its tradeoffs.

No winter means more insects.

One of the more disagreeable is the mosquito, which when bitten, causes an unpleasant itch.

The word aēdēs is Latin coming from Greek meaning unpleasant. Aedes aegyptiis a delicate mosquito recognized by white bands on its legs. This is the mosquito that spreads dengue fever, chikungunya, yellow fever, viral encephalitis an inflammation of the brain, Zika and other diseases, all more unpleasant than an itch!

In 1901 Carlos Juan Finlay, identified the Aedes aegypti mosquito as the organism transmitting yellow fever. His theory was followed by the recommendation to control the mosquito population to control the spread of the disease .Since 1901 countries worldwide have had programs to exterminate the Aedes aegypti. In 1947 Jordi Casals-Ariet found a virus in rhesus monkeys that live in the Zika forest in Uganda. Later it was confirmed that Zika fever was transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

In the sixties, I was involved in the Aedes Aegypti Mosquito Eradication Campaign in Aruba. We learned its breeding habits and life cycle and how

to control it. Aedes aegypti larvae live only in clean, fresh (non-salt) water within 200 meters of their food source. Females feed on human blood to produce eggs; therefore, Aedes is an urban mosquito.

Our campaign educated the public and had a task force to check homes and businesses for standing water. We also found the Aedes was laying her eggs is in garbage blown through the countryside. Eggs can survive a long drought and then hatch as soon as it rains. Rainy season fills forgotten garbage with fresh water.

Today, with growing population, Styrofoam and plastic containers, the problem has multiplied. Unfortunately, with loose or no littering laws, government enforcement and continuing public education, this garbage is not only unsightly, it is putting communities at risk for mosquito born and other diseases.

With clean up campaigns and a vaccination now available, Yellow fever is nearly eradicated. If you must travel to a place it still exists, check with WHO (World Health Organization) for information. The Caribbean, Latin America and Southern United States have ongoing problems with Dengue Fever. This rainy season an epidemic of Zika is being blown out of proportion. There is no vaccination or treatment for either. Doctors often prescribe pain killers, which stress the liver.

The name “Chikungunya”, comes from an African dialect meaning “that which bends up,” describing the primary symptom, excruciating joint pain. As with Dengue, symptoms are high fever, headache, fatigue, body ache and rash and occasional nervous system disease. The fevers come and go because the virus hides in the liver, multiplying then comes out in waves,

each spiking a fever. Symptoms can be mild or severe.

Fever generally lasts a week, but it can take several weeks for muscle pain to subside.

Weakness or lack of energy can last much longer and joint pain can last up to three years!

Fatigue experienced from both Dengue and Chikungunya is because your body’s energy being recruited by your immune system and the virus robs your energy. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is necessary for the production of energy. A supplement called, D-Ribose, which is the backbone of ATP helps your body recover from exhaustion. DRibose also provides relief from aching muscles and joints. DRibose should be taken with food or juice, not on an empty stomach.

Zika is a mild condition with ten people who contract the Zika virus, six people never know they had the virus. Four people will have a fever lasting two days and three people will have a skin rash that disappears within two weeks.

For your immune system, vitamin C and Zinc are always on my “basic” list. I add, Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC)a supplement used to protect the immune system of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation in over 700 clinics and hospitals worldwide and is proven to increase your immune system by 300%! A study suggests AHCC can stimulate immune response and help protect against viruses and infections.

The recurring fever, headache, body ache, rash, and bloodshot eyes are reflections of the chikungunya virus in your liver and because you have become dehydrated.

Mineral water or natural apple juice is needed to rehydrate your body. A colonic (colon hydro-therapy) or coffee en-

ema will help rehydrate you and benefit your liver. AHCC has been shown to protect the liver from damage, reduce the viral load of hepatitis patients and prolong the survival of patients with liver cancer.

Most nervous system problems reflect a deficiency in B vitamins. Vitamin B12 is necessary for formation and maintenance of the nervous system.

B12 should be taken together with B complex. I prefer to have patients take B complex with B12, sub-lingual (holding it under the tongue) for better absorption. Nearly everyone who wants to keep his or her immune system healthy should be supplementing with B complex.

The skin rash seen with dengue, chikungunya and Zika is because specific white blood cells, called eosinophil become over active. High eosinophil amounts are found in a many skin complaints. It is a feature of allergies or parasitic infestations, it is also observed in autoimmune diseases, blood diseases, as well as in association with tumors, and bacterial or viral infections.

Acupuncture and cleaning the colon give instant relief.

I recommend my patients with skin rashes to soak in the ocean.

Government response is primarily spraying insecticides, often without warning the public to take precautions for those unpleasant side effects. Short term, this may be necessary but cleaning standing water and screening your house not only protects you, but the spreading problem in our communities. Limit or stop using containers that blow into fields and sea. Fish and other natural solutions are available for ponds, dams and puddles.

Demand our governments create and enforce litter laws.

Get The Point! I heard a doctor in Curacao lecturing on

chikungunya, greeted the audience with the words ‘welcome to those of you who have had chikungunya and those of you that will get it!’

Take precautions by working with family, community and government.

Meanwhile, keeping your immune system in top shape, by eating as fresh as possible, drinking one liter of mineral water for every thirty kilos of body weight and supplementing with vitamin C, Zinc, B complex vitamins, and AHCC are good personal preventative measures. If you are bitten and develop more than an unpleasant itch, D-Ribose and B complex for energy and muscle pain and rehydrating with a colonic or doing a home coffee enema in the afternoon may lessen symptoms and speed recovery.

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/prescriptionsformparadiseq

TECHNOLOGY A23

Wednesday 17 February

6 tips to keep your Facebook clean, secure and private ANICK JESDANUN AP Technology Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Got hundreds of Facebook friends you hardly know?

Now is a good time to do some digital cleanup, while the year is still fresh.

Review your security and privacy settings, and make sure those casual acquaintances you met at a bar eons ago aren’t still getting the most intimate details of your life. Get rid of games and apps that might have latched onto your account years ago, but that you no longer use.

Here are six cleanup tips: ___ SECURE YOUR ACCOUNT You’ve doubtless heard you should have a strong password. It’s especially important for email and social-networking accounts because so much of your digital life revolves around them. Plus, many other services let you log on using your Facebook account, so if that gets compromised, so will your other accounts.

Because passwords are tough to manage, it’s best not to rely solely on them.

Turn on what Facebook calls Login Approvals. It’s in the account settings under “Security.” After you do so, you’re asked for confirmation — entering a special number sent to your phone — when signing on from a new device.

Unless you switch devices often, this is something you set up once and forget about. And no one else can log in with your password unless they also have your phone and that special number. ___

REVIEW YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS Facebook offers a series of quick privacy “shortcuts.”

On desktops and laptops, look for the small padlock on the upper right corner of the browser. On Apple and Android devices, access shortcuts through the menu — the three horizontal bars.

The key shortcut is “Who can see my stuff ?” See whether you’ve been inadvertently broadcasting your musings to the entire Facebook community. You’ll probably want to at least limit sharing to “Friends” rather than “Public,” though you can customize that further to exclude certain individuals or groups — such as coworkers, acquaintances or grandparents. When sharing, remember that less is more.

While you’re at it, check “Timeline and Tagging” in your account settings from a PC or mobile. You can insist on approving posts that people tag you in. Note that this is limited to what appears on your personal timeline; if Mary tags you in a post, Mary’s friends will still see it regardless of your settings. That includes friends you may have in common with her.

If you’re on a desktop or laptop, Facebook has a Privacy Checkup tool to review your settings. Look for that padlock. This tool is coming soon to mobile. ___ MAKE ENEMIES ... OR AT LEAST UNFRIEND SOME Purge friends you’re no longer in touch with. If you think “unfriending” is too mean, add them to an “Acquaintances” or “Restricted” list instead. “Acquaintances”

This frame grab provided by Facebook shows a page that guides a user through a Facebook account security checkup.

With 2016 still fresh, it’s a good time to do some digital cleanup to your Facebook account. Review your security and privacy settings, and get rid of acquaintances cluttering your friends’ list.

Associated Press

means they won’t show up in your news feed as often, though they’ll still have full access to any posts you distribute to your friends.

“Restricted” means they’ll only see posts you mark as public. Either is effectively a way to unfriend someone without dropping any clues you’ve done so.

You can also create custom lists, such as “college friends” or “family.” This is great for oversharing with those who’ll appreciate it, while not annoying everyone else you know and putting yourself in danger of becoming an “acquaintance” yourself. You can create lists on a traditional PC by hitting “More” next to “Friends” to the left of your news feed. Individuals can be in multiple groups.

Capabilities are limited on mobile devices, although changes you make on the PC will appear on your phone or tablet. ___ WATCH THOSE APPS

Perhaps someone invited you to play a game a few years ago. You tried it a few weeks and moved on, yet the app is still getting access to your data. Or perhaps you’ve used Facebook to log onto a service you no longer use, such as one to track the 2014 Winter Olympics. It’s time to sign out. If you’re not sure you still use it, drop it anyway. You can always sign on again.

The Privacy Checkup tool on PCs will review apps for you automatically. On mobile devices, look for “Apps” in the account settings (not “Apps” in the main menu).

A related option is the Security Checkup tool. It’s an easy way to log out of Facebook on devices you rarely use. You can also enable alerts when someone tries to sign on from a new device or browser. To run this, go to http://Facebook. com/securitycheckup on a PC. On the Android app,

you can search for “security checkup” in the Help Center. On iPhones and iPads, you’ll have to find the options individually in the account settings under “Security.” ___ CONTROL YOUR DATA You can exert some influence over whose posts you see more or less often by going to “News Feeds Preferences.” The setting is on the top right on browsers and Android apps and on the lower right on iPhones.

Here, you can select friends who’ll always show up on top, or hide someone’s posts completely.

Finally, if you’re worried about data usage, you can stop videos in your news feeds from playing automatically. On Android, go to “Autoplay” in the “App Settings.” On iPhones, it’s in the account settings under “Videos and Photos.” ___ PLAN AHEAD Two settings might eliminate grief later in life ... or death.

In the security settings, you can designate certain friends as trusted contacts.

They’ll have power to help you if you get locked out of your account for some reason. You can also designate a “Legacy Contact” — a family member or close friend who’d serve as your administrator should you, um, make your last status update (as in, ever).

They won’t be able to post on your behalf or see your messages, but they’ll be able to respond to new friend requests and take a few additional actions on your deceased behalf.q

A24 BUSINESS

Wednesday 17 February

US stocks rise for the second day in a row in broad rally MARLEY JAY AP Markets Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed broadly higher as the market notched its second sizable gain in a row. Retail and industrial stocks made the biggest gains as they were lifted by company earnings, some good news from China’s economy, and hope that Japan’s struggling economy will get another boost.

Indexes were higher all day and almost matched the big gains they made on Friday. Strong quarterly results gave some company stocks a boost and investors worried a bit less about China and Japan.

For a change, stocks traded higher even though the price of oil slumped. Investors were skeptical that OPEC nations will sign off on a deal to freeze production, so U.S. crude sank after a big rally on Friday.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 222.57 points, or 1.4 percent, to 16,196.41. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 30.80 points, or 1.7 percent, to 1,895.58. The Nasdaq composite climbed 98.44

Traders Jonathan Corpina, left, and Kevin Lodewick, center, work with specialist Mario Picone on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

points, or 2.3 percent, to 4,435.96.

The S&P 500 had climbed 2 percent on Friday. It had been two months since the S&P 500 rose at least 1 percent for two consecutive days. The U.S. market was closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.

ADT surged after the home security company accept-

ed an offer from investment company Apollo Global Management worth $42 per share, or $6.94 billion.

Its stock rose $12.77, or 47.5 percent, to $39.64. Apollo Global added 72 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $14.12.

Amazon rose $14.02, or 2.8

percent, to $521.10. Home Depot rose $3.11, or 2.7 percent, to $119.43 and competitor Lowe’s gained $2.56, or 3.9 percent, to $67.43. Hormel, the maker of Spam and Dinty Moore stew among other foods, had its best day in almost

seven years after the company posted a strongerthan-expected quarterly profit and raised its forecast for the year. Its stock climbed $2.94, or 7.1 percent, to $44.44. It’s up 60 percent over the last year.

Restaurant Brands, the parent company of Burger King and Tim Hortons, jumped $1.81, or 5.7 percent, to $33.82 after the company said an important sales measurement rose at both of its chains in the fourth quarter.

Hospital stocks tumbled after Community Health Systems said admissions decreased in the fourth quarter. That’s partly because it had more patients last year with respiratory illnesses and the flu. The company took a loss as it absorbed impairment charges and set aside more money to cover unpaid bills.

The stock plunged $4.12, or 22.1 percent, to $14.56.

It’s been a bad couple of weeks for company earnings. Three-fourths of the companies listed on the S&P 500 have reported their quarterly results, and earnings are expected to fall almost 5 percent compared with a year ago, according to S&P Capital IQ. That’s mostly because of plunging oil prices, which are pummeling energy company profits.

Analyst Lindsey Bell of S&P Global Markets Intelligence says that we’re in the middle of a cycle that will see S&P 500 profits fall for four quarters in a row, but the market is focused on other issues, including concerns about the health of China’s economy and central bank policy.

“You don’t hear a lot of people talking about how we’re going to have a nearly five-percent decline in earnings,” she said.

Bell says earnings will start growing again later this year because companies have lowered the bar. Still, analysts are swiftly lowering their estimates for 2016.

She says analysts now expect earnings growth of 2.9 percent, down from 7.4 percent at the start of 2016.q

BUSINESS A25

Wednesday 17 February

Canadian Pacific seeking early approval of merger structure JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Canadian Pacific plans to ask federal regulators for preliminary approval of the structure of its proposed takeover of Norfolk Southern railroad.

CP CEO Hunter Harrison said Tuesday his railroad is taking this step because shareholders of both railroads recommended it.

The move may put additional pressure on Norfolk Southern to engage in talks ahead of a shareholder vote this spring that Canadian Pacific requested.

“We still think this action is unnecessary, however, we believe listening to the shareholders — the owners of our respective companies — is important,” Harrison said Part of the reason why Norfolk Southern has rejected all of Canadian Pacific’s offers so far is because it questions whether the U.S. Surface Transportation Board would approve such a deal or would impose onerous conditions on the railroads. No major

Canadian Pacific Railway CEO Hunter Harrison speaks at the company’s annual meeting in Calgary, Alberta. Canadian Pacific plans to ask federal regulators for preliminary approval of the structure of its proposed takeover of Norfolk Southern railroad. Harrison said Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, his railroad is taking this step because shareholders of both railroads recommended it.

(Larry MacDougal/AP)

rail mergers have been approved since regulators imposed tough rules on them in 2001.

Canadian Pacific has proposed setting up a voting trust and installing Harrison as CEO of Norfolk Southern while the deal is reviewed.

Norfolk Southern believes that would violate a prohibition against an acquiring railroad taking control of its target before a deal is

approved, so it has recommended that Canadian Pacific seek this preliminary approval of the structure.

CP officials have said they don’t see a problem with the proposed trust structure.

“We are skeptical that the STB will give a definitive ruling, especially when NS will not even sit down with us, but we are willing to go the extra mile if that is what it

takes to get NS to the table,” Harrison said.

Norfolk Southern praised the move, but didn’t say whether it would help Canadian Pacific apply for the ruling.

“Canadian Pacific has acknowledged that there is a path to determine the validity of its proposed voting trust structure by seeking a declaratory order from the STB,” the railroad said.

Norfolk Southern has also said it believes Canadian Pacific’s offers remained “grossly inadequate” even as they approached $30 billion.

Canadian Pacific plans to ask Norfolk Southern shareholders at their annual meeting to vote on whether they want the two railroads to discuss a possible merger. But the nonbinding vote won’t include details of a specific proposal.

Canadian Pacific officials have said they believe combining the two railroads would create a more efficient operation that could move more freight without adding tracks. CP has also said it could cut

Buffett’s firm releases details of annual meeting

JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Anyone who wants to watch Warren Buffett dispense advice at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting without making the pilgrimage to Omaha this spring can follow it online.

Berkshire and Yahoo said Tuesday that Yahoo Finance would broadcast the meeting this spring.

This year’s meeting on April 30 will be the first one streamed online. “Over the past 50 years, we’ve seen a tremendous increase in the interest around our shareholders meeting,” Buffett said. Last year, more than 40,000 people from around the globe filled an Omaha arena and several overflow rooms for the meeting.

Many people attend the Berkshire meeting every year and enjoy getting together with friends at the

event.

The heart of the meeting is when Buffett and his Vice Chairman Charlie Munger spend several hours answering questions from shareholders and a panel of reporters and analysts.

The meeting broadcast will start at 9 a.m. Central on April 30 with coverage of some of the surrounding events, including the adjoining exhibit hall where Berkshire subsidiaries display and sell products.

That 200,000-square-foot exhibit hall is always filled with booths from Berkshire’s See’s Candy, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Justin Boots, the BNSF railroad and other subsidiaries.

Most of the companies Berkshire owns and the more than 300,000 employees it owns are based in the United States, but Buffett has been working to market the conglomer-

ate more overseas as potential buyer ofbusinesses.

Buffett said broadcasting the meeting online might help that. A recording of the meeting will be available on Yahoo Finance for 30 days after the annual meeting, Editor in Chief

Andy Serwer said.

“The Berkshire Hathaway shareholders’ meeting has been called the ‘Woodstock of Capitalism,’ and we’re thrilled to offer access to a worldwide audience for the first time ever,” Serwer said.q

roughly $1.8 billion in annual costs from the combined railroad.

Norfolk Southern has said those cuts would likely jeopardize the customer service and performance that customers expect. It is pursuing its own plan to cut $130 million in costs this year and create more than $650 million in annual cost savings by 2020 while improving service.q

A26 COMICS

Wednesday 17 February

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 17 February

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Time Share For Sale week 36 2 rm suite lock 3)Time Share Resale off master unit 4206 wk 36, 2 Aruba Divi Phoenix baths, washer dryer. luxury Studio week 7 Room #824 35 weeks left on the contract furnishings, steps to affinity pool 9)Time Share Resale Price:$27,000 +bar y granite kitchen, king bed, Marriott Surf Club Studio week 8 Room#754 31 weeks left queen sofa $5,500 2 BR G.V. Plat.

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Price:$29,000 rmwjmw@aol.com 204702 _________________________________ 3 BR.O.V. Plat. Price:$29,000 Phone: 508 651 0016 4) Time Share Resale More Info call:(297)630-1307 __________________________ 204371 Occidental Grand info@arubatimetravel.com Studio week 8&9 204702 DIVI PHOENIX _____________________________ Mandatory all inclusive Week 38 Studio 10)Time Share Resale Price :$24000 both weeks ocean view room 904 tower Marriott Ocean Club More Info Call:(297)630-1307 35 weeks remaining $3500 1 BR Ocean View Price:$11,000 info@arubatimetravel.com 204702 2 BR Ocean View Price:$17,000 _________________________________ Divi Golf & Beach week 11 5)Time Share Resale 2 BR Ocean Front Price:$29,000 1 B 2 bath $6500 FSBO Occidental Grand more info call:(297)630-1307 Ritchey5652@comcast.net One Bedroom Deluxe week 8 info@arubatime travel.com 204614 __________________________ Mandatory All inclusive

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

204702 contract 9 can be accelerated ______________________ 8)Time Share Resale Price: $7,500 more info call: Divi Dutch Village (297)630 1307 Studio week 8 room #133 info@arubatimetravel.com 18 weeks remain on the contract 204702 ____________________________ 7 can be accelerated Price :$6000 more info call:(297)630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com 204702 ______________________________

Time Share Resale Divi Dutch Village 1 br week 8 rm 94 Right on the beach 25 weeks remain on the contract 8 can be accelerated Price:$8.000 More Info Call:(297) 630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com

204702 _____________________________

Oranjestad

Dr. Esschendal Tel. 586-0334 San Nicolas Dr. de Cuba Tel. 584-1984

EMERGENCIA

911

POLICE

100

ORANJESTAD NOORD STA. CRUZ SAN NICOLAS POLICE TIPLINE FIRE DEPT. FIRE DEPT. HOSPITAL DENTAL CLINIC AMBULANCE CENTRO MEDICO

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

204343 ____________________________

FOR SALE PHARMACY Renaissance Suites Oranjestad: Oduber Tel: 582-1780 week 4 (fri-fri) Pool, lagoon, San Nicolas: San Nicolas Tel: 584-5712 ocean view 3rd floor private island US$11,000 INFORMATION 118 e-mail: jazbi@aol.com TAXI-TAS 587-5900 mbre51@aol.com PROF. TAXI 588-0035 204372 TAXI D.T.S. 587-2300 __________________________

FOR SALE by owner Marriott Surf Club 2 br O.V. lock off unit Gold season price $16.000 Marriott Ocean Club www.arubatimetravel.com 2 Br O.V. Gold season 5 floor 204702 _____________________________ FOR SALE lock off unit 11) Time Share Resale Strategically located 4546 sq.m C.P.V. Resorts property land in Oranjestad, suitable Price $16.000 2 bedroom week 6 room #202 for commercial center or apartments. 567-6024 / 587-2633 E- Building, Garden View Call 593-7118 or martem1@aol.com Price :$6500 e-mail: wetronv@gmail.com USA 718-748-0395

Price:$20,000 More Info Call:(297)630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com 204702 _________________________________ 6)Time Share Resale Renaissance Suites one bedroom week 8 room #2530 Harbor and Ocean view 204637 more info call:(297)630-1307 _____________________________ Price :$11,000 info@arubatimetravel.com More Info call:(297)630-1307 204702 _____________________________ info@arubatimetravel.com 204702 Time Share Resales _________________________________ 7)Time Share Resale Divi Village Divi Links (Golf) Studio week 4 room #6107 Studio week 7 building Eagle 28 weeks remain on the contract Price: $6,500 with 24 weeks 10 can be accelerated remain on the contract. one Price:$10,000 bedroom week 5 room #3212 more info call:(297) 630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com with 25 weeks remain on the

DOCTOR ON DUTY

204627 ___________________________

FOR SALE Occidental Grand

SERVICE ARUBA

583-3232

CRUISESHIP

February 17 Veendam Monarch Freewinds

Aruba Aiport American Airline Avianca Aruba Airlines Jet Blue Surinam Tiara Air Venezolana

524-2424 582-2700 588-0059 583-8300 588-2244 582-7896 588-4272 583-7674

Aruba Foundation For those Visually Incapasitated

one bed deluxe fixed week 9 Non Mandatory AI. This is an old Tel: 582-5051 contract so all the great original benefits are included. $15,000 FUNDACION email at macalh@aol.com or 610 724 6323 Anti-Droga 204619 _____________________________ Aruba

(FADA) Tel: 583-2999 FOR SALE Casa del Mar Resort FUNDACION hard to find week 7+8 Respetami school vacation, last two weeks in Tel: 582-4433 february great ocean view room Centro Diabetic Arubano 1403 easy to rent $52,000 Tel: 524-8888 (sleeps 6 large unit) e-mail: jazbi@aol.com Narcotics Anonymous mbre51@aol.com Tel: 583-8989 204372 __________________________ QUOTA Club FOR SALE Townhouse Tel: 525-2672 Orlando, Fl. 1862 Sq. Ft. 2 stories, Year 2014 Women in Difficulties City of Medic Lake Nona 32827 Foundation E-mail: gustavorf28@gmail.com Tel: 583-5400 204361 _________________________ Bloodbank Aruba Tel: 587-0002

A28 SCIENCE

Wednesday 17 February

Satellite boosts Europe’s environmental, border surveillance FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — A European satellite designed to monitor environmental changes will also be able to provide early warnings of possible migrant flows at a time when governments on the continent are grappling with an unprecedented influx of people fleeing conflict and poverty elsewhere in the world.

The Sentinel-3A satellite was lifted into orbit by a Russian rocket Tuesday.

It is the third of more than a dozen “eyes in the sky” that make up the Copernicus program, which the European Space Agency describes as the most sophisticated Earth observation system ever launched.

Two satellites already in orbit are equipped with radar and high-resolution cameras, to which Sentinel-3A will add instruments for measuring sea and surface temperatures, among other things, said Josef Aschbacher, who oversees the Earth observation program.

The satellite will be able to

In this Monday, Jan. 18, 2016 file photo, migrants cross a frozen stream as they walk through a snow storm from the Macedonian border into Serbia, near the village of Miratovac, Serbia.

Associated Press

spot upcoming droughts by detecting subtle changes in surface color that suggests crops are failing, he said. “(This) will warn politicians that the harvest in a particular country will be

lower and this can be a source of migration.”

One of Sentinel-3A’s greatest advantages is its ability to scan the entire planet in just over a day and send back data within hours,

giving scientists and policy-makers detailed information on environmental changes in close to real time. By measuring sea temperatures it will boost short-term weather fore-

casts and help track the impact of climate change, which is expected to trigger mass migration in coming decades.

Being able to forecast currents and wave heights should also warn coast guards of hazardous conditions at sea that could pose a particular danger to migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean in small boats.

Aschbacher said the Copernicus system could also identify areas where people may be gathering to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, though other satellites or drones with greater resolution would be needed to get detailed images and confirm boat-sized objects. Finding ways to slow the influx of migrants and prevent mass drownings at sea has become a priority for Europe, which last year saw more than a million people arrive on its shores.

Some of the migrants were fleeing war and persecution in countries such as Syria and Iraq, while others sought to escape poverty at home.q

PEOPLE & ARTS A29

Wednesday 17 February

Czechs present lost music composed by Mozart and Salieri

KAREL JANICEK Associated Press PRAGUE (AP) — Rumors are that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri were archenemies. But a recently discovered piece shows they could work together.

The Czech Museum of Music presented on Tuesday a rare piece of music composed in three parts by Mozart, Salieri and an unknown composer, Cornetti, that was considered lost for more than 200 years.

The cantata “Per la Ricuperata Salute di Offelia” — “A Salute to the Recuperating Ophelia” — was composed in 1785 on a libretto by Vienna court poet Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was written to be sung to the Vienna-based English soprano Nancy Storace, to welcome her back to the stage after a brief loss of her singing voice.

It was also for Storace that Mozart and Da Ponte wrote the part of Susanna in “The Marriage of Figaro.”

The original sheet with the libretto was acquired by the museum in 1949-50 in a collection of material.

German musicologist and composer Timo Jouko Herrmann first recognized the cantata’s name when he was browsing the museum’s online catalogues in November.

“We knew the title from advertising from 1785,” Herrmann said. “I was thrilled when I read it. I thought ‘could it be that the piece is in Prague and no one detected it?’”

Herrmann said Mozart and Salieri used to work together on other occasions at the time they were both based in Vienna, for example Salieri as composer and Mozart as pianist at the same year the cantata was

written, but no other jointly written work is known.

It consists of three parts.

“The first part is by Salieri and is written in pastoral style,” Herrmann said. “The second part is written by Mozart. It’s more marchlike rhythm, the beginning reminds me little bit of (Mozart’s opera) “The Abduction from the Seraglio.” And the third piece is by Cornetti. It’s also written in more pastoral style, much closer to the piece Salieri wrote.”

There were rumors, dismissed by authoritative sources, claiming that Salieri poisoned Mozart. Also Oscar winning “Amadeus”

by Czech born director Milos Forman, based on a play by Peter Schaffer, imagined a deadly rivalry between the two and suggested that Salieri might have been behind Mozart’s premature death at age 35.

A recently discovered piece of music composed jointly by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, and an unknown composer Cornetti that was considered lost for more than 200 years is presented at the Czech Museum of Music in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. Cantata “Per la Ricuperata Salute di Offelia” was composed in 1785 on the libretto

by Vienna court poet Lorenzo Da Ponte.

Associated Press

Herrmann said the piece “shows a quite friendly outcome between the two composers.”

Ulrich Leisinger from the Mozart Institute in Salzburg, Austria, said several Mozart’s pieces have been

discovered in the last decades but the latest one is significant because it is for the first time since 1906 that one of the compositions from the period he lived in Vienna was found.

“It’s an original piece.

There’s no reason to doubt it is genuine.”q

A30 PEOPLE

Wednesday 17 February

& ARTS No Grammy Awards for audio as fans fume over glitches BETH HARRIS Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The woman who created the most popular album in the U.S. last year had a trying Grammy Awards.

Recording Academy presi-

In this Monday, Feb. 15, 2016 file photo, Adele performs at the 58th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Associated Press

dent Neil Portnow said there was a “technical glitch” after a microphone inside a piano fell onto the instrument’s strings during British superstar Adele’s performance Monday night of the tender “All I Ask.” The result was that the hitmaker sounded very mortal — TV audiences heard a pitchy song and saw an unsettled Adele, who appeared disconcerted when the song ended.

The singer later consoled herself by getting a burger from a popular local joint.

“Something like that can easily be distracting or offputting,” Portnow said. “To her credit, she killed it. She did a fantastic job. That was an issue on our behalf.”

Portnow said the mic fell when the piano was lifted onto a satellite stage located in the audience at Staples Center.

“It means when the hammer of the piano hits the strings it sounds like something is in there,” he said backstage after the CBS telecast ended.

Portnow said the sound was switched to a backup system, but that involved cutting off the original system.

“You had a couple seconds where you did not have audio in the house,” he said. “It was fixed in a matter of seconds, but we’ve never happy when something like that happens.”

It was one of a few episodes during the telecast that had some users of social media fuming about mismatched singers or sound problems. Even ac-

cess to the live stream had reported glitches.

Sam Hunt and Carrie Underwood had an early medley of songs that had one commentator declare, “This performance is the worst.” Another wanted to know: “Who is mixing the audio at the Grammy’s?”

Paul Inder, the son of Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister, was critical of the audio mixing during the Hollywood Vampire’s tribute to his late father. Inder said backstage that while he appreciated the segment featuring Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and actor Johnny Depp, he couldn’t hear Depp’s guitar very well and blamed the audio mixing.

The show had 16 live performances and Portnow noted that each one required different sound, lighting and set-up done under tight time constraint by what he called “an Aplus crew.”

“Our show is the most complicated in terms of audio of any show on television,” he said. “We rarely have technical issues.”

The audience never saw two other scheduled performers. An ill Rihanna was a late no-show on doctor’s orders to rest her vocal cords for 48 hours. Lauryn Hill didn’t appear after being invited by The Weeknd to join him for the second of two songs, which was intended as a surprise for the crowd. Portnow said she attended rehearsal Monday morning and then didn’t return for the evening show. In a statement, Hill’s representative offered a different version of events, which Portnow said was inaccurate.

The night’s final two awards were given out by people different than what was listed on the order of presentation handed out before the show. The original order indicated Earth Wind & Fire would present record of the year and Beyonce would announce album of the year. Instead, the ‘70s funk band announced Taylor Swift as album winner for “1989” and Beyonce presented Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars with record honors for “Uptown Funk.”q

PEOPLE & ARTS A31 Lady Gaga on Bowie tribute: Most difficult thing I’ve done

Wednesday 17 February

MESFIN FEKADU AP Music Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lady Gaga says paying tribute to the late David Bowie at the Grammys is probably the most challenging thing she’s done in career because the icon influenced her greatly and helped shape her identity.

Gaga performed an extended tribute to Bowie at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday, channeling the legend as Ziggy Stardust as she ran through his hits, including “Space Oddity,” ‘’Let’s Dance,” ‘’Changes” and “Heroes.”

Days before the performance, she said in an interview with The Associated Press that performing in his honor was a bittersweet way to say goodbye to one of her inspirations.

“When I was 19 years old ...

I started to live my life like him. I began to consume art and fashion and art history and a combination of those things, performance technique ... and I only

hung out with people that were artists and that was the way that he was and I learned that from him,” she said. “What I’m trying to say is there’s people that love David Bowie, and then there’s David Bowie fans, and there’s Bowie kids, who live like him ...and I can’t express to you, I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t have (him as) a figure in my life. I don’t know what my identity would be.”

Bowie died of cancer at age 69 on Jan. 10. Gaga said she never met Bowie, but that they “were pen pals.”

The pop star was already set to perform at the Grammys, but asked to sing in tribute of Bowie after he died. And days before the Grammys, she got a large tattoo of Bowie’s face on the side of her body.

“I’ve been wanting to get one for a long time. I was thinking about how there’s a lot of my fans that have Lady Gaga tattoos, some

Review: Thriller by ex-CIA man is full of action and twists ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press Russia’s intelligence agency has learned the identities of all the CIA case officers in Moscow and, even worse, most if not all of the CIA’s spies in Russia.

If you’re caught as a spy in Russia, execution usually follows. This potential debacle is envisioned in Mark Henshaw’s new novel, “The Fall of Moscow Station,” a thriller that deftly describes the wilderness of mirrors that is the world of spying, with intelligence agencies second-guessing their opponents’ actions and motives while constantly trying to trick each other.

Henshaw, a former CIA analyst, also salts his book with examples of tradecraft practiced by case officers to keep themselves and, more importantly, the spies they are handling safe.

Readers get to see the protagonist make napalm

from household items, using it to destroy a building.

Do not try this at home.

CIA officer Kyra Stryker, an action-hero name if there ever was one, tries to save the day after one of her former bosses, Alden Maines, decides to start selling the agency’s secrets to the Russians. She encounters him in Berlin and gets the chance to beat him up, an opportunity she takes full advantage of. Then it’s off to Moscow for her, under the radar.

Opposing her is a Russian intelligence chief, Arkady Lavrov, who is also selling weapons on the sly to other countries. He also longs for the era when there were two superpowers, telling Stryker that back then the main enemy was clearly defined and the world was more stable because of it, with countries falling in line with either Washington or Moscow. q

of them are really covered, and I always thought it was so badass the way that they were so committed to my music,” she said.

“I have a lot of ink already on my body, different sort of artistic prayers and thoughts and things that mean something to me, but I always wanted to get a tattoo of somebody that changed my life. And he really did.”

Her Grammy performance was a collaboration with Intel technologists and included lighting, audio and projection systems to match with Gaga’s performance to pay homage to Bowie. The performance was highlighted by visual

Nile Rodgers, left, and Lady Gaga perform a tribute to David Bowie at the 58th annual Grammy Awards on Monday, Feb. 15, 2016, in Los Angeles.

Associated Press

effects, including animation of a spider crawling on her face. She called Intel “fabulous partners for me because we’re both inter-

ested in innovation.” “(I’m) trying to always take things to places that no one’s ever taken them before,” she said.q