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EIRUT—An overnight US aerial assault in northern Syria struck al-Qaedalinked extremists who were plotting to attack the West, the US military said on Thursday. Targeted was an al-Qaeda faction that US authorities call the Khorasan Group, composed of “extremists who share a history of training operatives, facilitating fighters and money, and planning attacks against US and Western targets,” the US Central Command said in a statement. Published reports indicated that among those who may have been killed is a French militant known as a skilled bomb maker. Many jihadists from Europe and elsewhere have traveled to Syria and joined up with various armed groups operating amid the chaos of the more than three-year civil war. “This network was plotting to attack in Europe or the homeland, and we took decisive action to protect our interests and remove their capability to act,” the Central Command said, without further details. “We will continue to take any action necessary to disrupt attack plotting against US interests.” The US has launched scores of air strikes in Syria since September, with the vast majority targeting the Islamic State, an al-Qaeda breakaway faction that has overrun vast stretches of Syria and neighboring Iraq. President Barack Obama has vowed that US forces would “degrade and ultimately destroy” the organization. But the overnight strikes reported on Thursday were the first since September directed at the Khorasan Group, which remains a shadowy organization—despite the considerable attention it has garnered from the US intelligence and defense establishments. The group is composed of veteran al-Qaeda operatives, US officials say. Syrian opposition groups reported that civilians, including four children, were among those killed in the coalition strikes. The military had no immediate comment on the reports. While US officials were still assessing the outcome of the attack, the military cited “initial indications that it resulted in the intended effects by striking terrorists and destroying or severely damaging several Khorasan Group vehicles and buildings assessed to be meeting and staging areas,” as well as hitting training areas and bomb-making facilities. The military deployed bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft in five air strikes, the Pentagon said. W hile the militar y said Khorasan was the sole target, pro-opposition activists said operatives from the al-Qaedaaffiliated Nusra Front were hit. However, they said it did not appear that air strikes were meant to aid US-backed Syrian rebels in their ongoing struggles with Nusra fighters. Last week the Nusra Front, along with other Islamist factions, commandeered the positions in Syria’s northern Idlib province of two US-backed Syrian rebel groups, the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and Haraket Hazm. Nusra’s online supporters also boasted of confiscating batches of US hardware, including several armored vehicles and tube-launched, opticallytracked, wire-guided anti-tank missiles. Los Angeles Times/MCT

The World BusinessMirror

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

ONACO—Would-be jihadi fighters are increasingly booking tickets on cruise ships to join extremists in battle zones in Syria and Iraq, hoping to bypass stepped-up efforts to thwart them in neighboring Turkey, Interpol officials have told the Associated Press (AP).

hundreds in recent months. Pierre St. Hilaire, director of counterterrorism at Interpol, suggested that the Turkish crackdown has shown results in recent months, and so some would-be jihadis are making alternative travel plans. “Because they know the airports are monitored more closely now, there’s a use of cruise ships to travel to those areas,” he told the AP on Thursday. “There is evidence that the individuals, especially in Europe, are traveling mostly to Izmit and other places to engage in this type of activity,” he said, referring to a Turkish coastal town. The phenomenon is relatively new, within the past three months or so, said other Interpol officials. “Originally, our concern about people on cruise ships—dangerous people on cruise ships—really focused on the classic sort of rapist, burglar, or violent criminal,” Noble said. “But as we’ve gathered data, we’ve realized that there are more and more reports that people are using cruise ships in order to get to launch pads, if you will—sort of closer to the conflict zones—of Syria and Iraq.” Cruise ships, which often make

In this October 31 photo, Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters cheer as they leave the outskirts of Suruc, Turkey, toward the Turkey-Syria border, on the way to the Syrian city of Kobani. Ethnic Kurds are helping members of the Islamic State group in the battle for the key Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, sharing their knowledge of the local terrain and language with the extremists, according to Iraqi and Kurdish officials. AP/VAdim GhirdA

repeated stops, offer an added benefit by allowing would-be jihadis to hop off undetected at any number of ports—making efforts to track them more difficult. St. Hilaire said it wasn’t exactly clear yet how many would-be foreign fighters were traveling by cruise ship to reach Syria, and added that there were other options, as well: to avoid passing through airports, some people have driven all the way from their homes in Europe to the Syrian border. He was quick to caution that Europe is by no means the only or even the main source of foreign fighters for Syria.

“It’s a global threat—15,000 fighters or more from 81 countries traveling to one specific conflict zone,” he said, noting that that there are some 300 from China alone. “In order to prevent their travel and identify them, there needs to be greater information-sharing among the region, among national security agencies.” Elinore Boeke, director of public affairs for the Cruise Lines International Association, the world’s largest cruise industry trade association denied security, at least in the US, was any more lax than other means of transportation. “Cruise lines take security as

seriously as the airlines, and security procedures are very similar. US-based cruise lines share passenger manifests w ith US authorities who check against official databases,” Boeke said in an e-mail. Many European governments have expressed concern that homegrown jihadis who self-radicalize online and then travel to Syria will return home with skills to carry out terror attacks. Frenchman Mehdi Nemmouche, who allegedly spent a year in Syria and fought with IS, is the chief suspect in a May attack on the Jewish Museum of Brussels that killed four people. AP

Coordinated blasts target Troops described chemical weapons exposure Fatah officials in Gaza W A S H I NG T ON — More than 600 US service members told military medical staff that they believe they were exposed to chemical warfare agents in Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003, The New York Times reported on Thursday. Pentagon officials said the department would now expand its outreach to veterans and establish a tollfree hotline for reporting potential exposures and seeking medical evaluation or care, the newspaper said. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered an internal review of military records after the Times reported in October that US troops encountered degraded chemical weapons from the 1980s that had been hidden

In this October 18 photo, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting of the Fatah revolutionary council in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The Palestinian president has been speaking in increasingly belligerent tones in recent weeks, accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza and calling on Palestinians to defend a contested Jerusalem holy site “by any means.” AP/mAjd mohAmmed

AZA CITY, Gaza Strip—A series of coordinated explosions targeted the homes of several leaders of President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah Party in the Gaza Strip early on Friday, a party official said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the explosions occurred at a time of rising tensions with the rival Hamas movement. Fayez Abu Eitta, a Fatah leader in Gaza’s Jebaliya refugee camp, said no one was hurt in the near-simultaneous attacks. He said his car was destroyed and the homes and cars of two other Fatah officials in Gaza City were also damaged. Hamas seized control of Gaza from Fatah in 2007. The rival parties have recently pledged to reconcile,

but there are still deep differences. Fatah officials in Gaza are planning on commemorating the death of party founder Yasser Arafat on November 11 for the first time since 2007. During the previous commemoration, which took place shortly after the Hamas takeover that year, at least 10 people were killed in clashes between the rival sides, and Hamas activists have spoken out against this year’s event. A prominent Fatah blog said the stage for the ceremony was also hit by a blast, though the report could not be immediately confirmed. Abu Eitta refused to speculate on who was behind the blasts, saying the incident was under investigation. There were no signs of Israeli involvement, and the military said it was unaware of the blasts. AP

or used in makeshift bombs. The initial newspaper report disclosed that 17 service members had been injured by sarin or sulfur mustard agent, and several more came forward after the story appeared, the Times said on Thursday. The Army’s Public Health Command collects standardized medicalhistory surveys, known as post-deployment health assessments, which troops fill out as they complete combat tours, the newspaper reported. Those who responded “yes” to a question about exposure to such warfare agents—”Do you think you were exposed to any chemical, biological and radiological warfare agents during this deployment?”—were asked to provide a brief explanation.

The review ordered by Hagel showed that 629 people answered “yes” to that question and also filled in a block with information indicating chemical agent exposure, Col. Jerome Buller, a spokesman for the Army surgeon general, told the newspaper. Each person who answered the questionnaire would have received a medical consultation at the end of their combat tour, Buller said. The Times reported that it was not clear why the military did not take further steps, such as including compiling the data as it accumulated over more than a decade, tracking veterans with related medical complaints, or circulating warnings about risks to soldiers and to the Department of Veterans Affairs. AP

Israel won’t change prayer rules at Temple Mount, Netanyahu assures

ERUSALEM—Moving to head off a crisis with Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday assured the Jordanian monarch, King Abdullah, that Israel had no plans to change prayer arrangements at a contested site in Jerusalem that is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. Netanyahu’s phone call to Abdullah came a day after Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel in protest of police actions during clashes on Wednesday with Palestinian protesters at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, an area Jews know as the Temple Mount. By treaty, the Jordanian monarch is the custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, and the Al-Aqsa compound is administered by a Jordanian-run Islamic trust. The sensitive site has been the focal point of rising tensions in recent weeks, fueled by a campaign by Israeli right-wing activists and law-

makers to lift a ban on Jewish prayer at the compound. Jews revere the site as the location of two ancient Jewish temples. Muslims refer to it as the third-holiest site in Islam. “We agreed that we’ll do every effort to calm the situation,” Netanyahu said after his conversation with Abdullah. “I explained to him that we’re keeping the status quo on the Temple Mount and that this includes Jordan’s traditional role there, as consistent with the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan. We have to make every effort to restore calm, quiet and security.” A statement by the official Jordanian news agency said that Abdullah, who is contending with public anger and Islamist protests over events at Al-Aqsa, “stressed Jordan’s complete rejection of any measures that would tamper with the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, endanger the mosque or change the status quo.”

After Wednesday’s clash at the site, in which Israeli police used stun grenades to drive stone-throwing protesters inside the mosque, Jordan called its ambassador home for consultations and accused Israel of “unprecedented and escalated aggressions” at the compound. Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said Israeli “violations are infuriating the emotions and sensitivity of 1.5 billion Muslims around the world,” and he demanded that Israel “respect the sanctity of the holy sites.” The Jordanian information minister, Mohammad al Momani, suggested that Jordan might review its 20-year-old peace treaty with Israel, and Jordanian diplomats lodged a complaint with the United Nations Security Council, accusing Israeli forces of storming the mosque compound, damaging mosaics and burning rugs. MCT

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b3-4

An executive of the diversified conglomerate made this statement late Thursday, following a negative comment from aviation think tank Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa), which noted that the food-to-infrastructure firm made a wrong decision in expanding the capacity of the airline. The industry expert advised PAL to clip its oversupply of “wings” to reduce its chances of ending the year in the red. But the decision of SMC to aggressively expand the fleet was doable back then, said the company official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We initiated the ‘overambitious’ refleeting program, because we have the money to complement it with a massive

sublime perfection in contrasts Perceptions about God

EAR God, sometimes perception is reality. Especially our perceptions about God. When Jesus and His disciples were crossing the sea of Galilee in a small fishing vessel, a sudden storm threatened to sink the boat. With Jesus asleep and the disciples on the verge of panic , they began to stir Him, asking, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38) If we do fully trust Him, His loving care is all around us. May we always remember that we are in the most holy presence of God and our perceptions about God is a reality in its truest sense. Amen.

OUR DAILY BREAD AND LOUIE M. LACSON Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

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DATING IN THE DIGITAL AGE... »»D4

Saturday, November 8, 2014

SUBLIME PERFECTION IN CONTRASTS

ARDEN Classic collections fuse the delicacy of seashells with the strength of metal into a harmonious work of art. Inspired by the butanding, or whale shark, perhaps, the most docile creature of the world, “Tranquility,” which is part of Arden’s latest collection, illustrates the Filipinos’ loving and kind nature.

also uses other organic materials such as coconut shells, B JT N ostrich eggs, cattle bones, and even fish and snake skins. These materials are then worked into caressing metal art IMILARITY isn’t necessarily a prerequisite for forms made of brass, and plated with nickel and silver. harmony. Sometimes, it can be the lack thereof Each work of art tells a story of poetic elegance, depicting that makes the fusion of two dissimilar objects Siarot’s favorite subjects such as the beauty of nature, or of even more astonishing, if not exciting—just like creatures straight out of myths and legends. when opposing elements somehow jive together As the result of each particular model and process, in perfect synergy. Siarot stressed that “no two Arden pieces are alike,” adding The proudly Filipino brand Arden Classic, known that “each metal sculpture is painstakingly adjusted to for its pieces informed by contrasts, takes pride in its perfectly embrace the unique dimension of every shell. artisanal and quixotic objets d’art that are all ambitiously Each is a unique creation of art.” conceptualized and masterfully crafted. Placing the Recently at the SMX Convention Center, Siarot country’s bountiful organic treasures—predominantly introduced Arden’s 2015 Spring/Summer Collection, called exquisite seashells—at the core of its collections, Arden’s “Vita Fauna”, where each objets are celebrated for sculptural animal reflects fusing these precious gems of age-old Filipino traits. nature with metal in seamless The ever-patriotic Siarot harmony. explained that he wanted to According to Arden awaken the noble values of Siarot, proprietor and Filipinos, especially among namesake of the Mactanthe youth. “With Vita Fauna, based manufacturing I hope to instill, especially company, the contrast in among the youth, a sense of the qualities of the materials confidence in and respect to captured his fancy. “I was the characteristics that have attracted to the possibility shaped us as a nation. By of creating beauty from two using animals, I would like elements with seemingly to tell the story of our people polar qualities: the delicacy of in a way that is enchanting, the shell and the strength of magical, yet truthful.” metal. From these opposing He added that he got the attributes, I aimed—and inspiration by looking “into still aim—to create a single the heart of the Filipino and work of beauty,” Siarot said, this is what I found: A sense who himself is a mixture of majesty and nobility that of acquired technical prizes dignity even in the knowledge in engineering face of great obstacles— from the University of San abundant love characterized Jose Recoletos-Cebu and the by a mother’s nurturing natural feel for the arts, as care to ensure the safety of the son of sculptor Agustin her family, the intelligence Siarot. to find solutions even to Wanting to know more the most mind-boggling about his chosen craft, Siarot ARDEN SIAROT, proprietor and namesake of the Mactan-based problems, the willingness learned to fabricate industrial manufacturing company to work and labor, a sense of machinery that proved to be serenity despite prevailing the fundamental foundation tumult, firm belief in the benevolence of life to face an of his works. He was then spotted by an Italian firm that unknown future with the highest confidence and spirit.” specialized in jewerly production, preparing him to fully A premier piece in the collection is “On the Wings of realize his talents that ultimately led him to establish Might,” which is modeled after the majestic Philippine Arden Classic in 1993 with his wife, Jen Elizabeth. They Eagle. Like the Filipino’s acclaimed resilience, these birds started out with miniature furniture and eventually, the are still able to rise above the threat of extinction with company became the premier subcontractor in wrought unyielding poise despite seemingly insurmountable iron furniture. obstacles. Artistically, On the Wings of Might fully By 2000, having perfected his mastery in metal arts, illustrates the breathtaking craftsmanship that is Siarot started to infuse seashells in his creations that gave employed in every piece in an Arden collection, the birth to the line of art décor known as Arden, producing painstaking hours spent perfecting the texture of the centerpieces, decorative bowls, lamps, boxes, trays and wall feathers, the beak and, of course, the Arden signature of accents, among others. shell are evident in the piece. “Philippine shells have been regarded since time Another noteworthy piece in the collection is “The immemorial as some of the world’s most beautiful Clash of Wit and Wile,” which centers on the Filipino’s creations of the sea. Each work of art that bears the Arden resourcefulness and versatility. Depicted by wily fighting logo aims to capture the spell-binding beauty of these spiders on sticks, these arachnids offset unfavorable odds shells,” Siarot said, who received the prestigious President like their miniature size and make the most of what they Ramon Magsaysay for Outstanding Filipino Worker in the have. Every detail in the piece has been informed by an Self-Employed Category, and the Department of Trade exacting eye, from the human hand holding the stick to, and Industry’s Golden Shell Award for Manufacturing more important, the spiders themselves. Excellence, both in 2002. Five years later, he was chosen Siarot said Arden’s latest collection is an amalgamation as one of the 50 Men and Women of Science by the of three elements: “The allure of Philippine seashells, the Department of Science and Technology. beauty of the Filipino spirit, and the fearless creativity of Siarot said the actual process of making his distinct our artist craftsmen and artisans.” pieces isn’t, by any margin, easier than their conception. Arden Classic can be found at Soong II, Mactan, “The process of combining shell and metal sculpture Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. Arden Classic has its own retail is tedious. I personally develop each meticulous step in boutique at Level 3, Greenbelt 5, Makati City. It has been accordance with accepted international manufacturing carried by some of the world’s most prestigious retail and environmental standards. But in our creative process, addresses, such as Harrods, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth we leave nothing to the imagination to bring beauty and Avenue and Lane Crawford. It also has been a prime joy in every home where our creations can be found.” supplier of home décor art to top-tier designer labels like Aside from seashells, such as the captivating nautilus Ralph Lauren and Casa Armani. ■ and the highly regarded mother-of-pearl, Arden Classic

Continued on A2

life

CHINA: FROM SUPPLICANT TO MAJOR POWER PLAYER

too much load? Sports

FOR the Lakers, trying to lighten Kobe Bryant’s load is a priority. AP

BusinessMirror

| Saturday, November 8, 2014 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

TOO MUCH LOAD? The Lakers are off to their worst start since 1957. Their average margin of loss is 14.8 points. Kobe Bryant has shouldered almost all of the offensive load, taking 37 shots and scoring 39 points in a 112-106 loss on Tuesday to the Phoenix Suns.

By Mike Bresnahan Los Angeles Times

OS ANGELES—With the Lakers sputtering to an 0-5 start, it had to come up. Did Kobe Bryant sense any parallels between the twilight of his career and the end of Michael Jordan’s? The Washington Wizards were 37-45 in both of Jordan’s last two seasons, failing to make the playoffs. He retired in 2003, at 40, after averaging 20 points that season. Bryant, 36, laughed at the question on Thursday and initially said there were no similarities. Then he wavered. “Well, maybe. I guess,” he said, five games into a two-year, $48.5-million contract extension. How so? “He wasn’t in Chicago, playing for the same organization for all those years. It’s a little different. I’m still younger than he was,” Bryant said. “I can see where you guys are thinking there’s similarities there. I also think it’s probably reachable content at this point. I get it. So, yeah, [there’s] similarities.” The Lakers are off to their worst start since 1957. Their average margin of loss is 14.8 points. Bryant has shouldered almost all of the offensive load, taking 37 shots and scoring 39 points in a 112-106 loss on Tuesday to the Phoenix Suns. Lakers Coach Byron Scott called a time-out in that game, pointed to Bryant and said he told the rest of the team, “I know how great this guy is, but you guys have got to play basketball. You can’t look at him every single time and try to give him the ball.” The Lakers will try to use Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin more often to create opportunities, Bryant said, “as opposed to me initiating the offense and then controlling everything from there.” It sounds like a changeup, Bryant coming off screens while Lin spearheads the offense, but Lin is enduring a very slow start in his first Lakers season, averaging 10.8 points and 37.8 percent shooting. Boozer has also been a nonfactor, averaging 10.4 points with 44 percent shooting. Bryant is averaging 27.6 points and shooting 40.2 percent, more than five percentage points below his career accuracy. The Lakers’ worst start ever was 0-7, also in 1957, making their date on Sunday with the Charlotte Hornets (2-3) a relatively important one. After that, they will be big underdogs at Memphis, at New Orleans and at home against San Antonio and Golden State. “We’ve got to understand that we’re probably the

underdog in almost every game that we’re going to play,” Scott said. “I don’t know what teams, besides probably a few in the NBA, that we’ll probably be favored [against].” Bryant was calm on Thursday after the team practiced, though Scott acknowledged aggravation was seeping into the picture. “He was frustrated after the Phoenix game,” Scott said. “I think we all were. He probably showed it a little bit more than we did.”

GOLF AND REHAB

STEVE NASH created a mini-firestorm by sharing on Instagram a short video showing him smacking a golf ball recently at a driving range. People cheered loudly because he hit it hard. Lakers fans weren’t amused, aware he was making a lot of money ($9.7 million) to sit out this season because of chronic back problems. And that he will have played only 65 games over three years with the Lakers. Angry, sarcastic comments were left on Nash’s Instagram page by many people. Scott, though, defended Nash on Thursday. “There’s probably a whole lot of people out there that don’t understand the difference between golf and basketball,” Scott said. “The guy is hurt and can’t play this year—it doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy himself and have some fun while he’s going through rehab and everything else. It probably doesn’t look good, but...relax.”

DREAM START

OUSTON—Dwight Howard scored 32 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as the Houston Rockets continued their dream start with a 98-91 win over in-state rival San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night. Howard exploited a Spurs interior that was missing two key players, Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter. Manu Ginobili also was held out of the game for rest a night after helping San Antonio to a 94-92 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Howard and Houston took advantage, leading the game wire-to-wire on the way to a league-best 6-0 record. With the loss, the Spurs drop to 2-2. James Harden had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Rockets. Cory Joseph led the Spurs with 18 points off the bench and Aron Baynes had 12 points and 11 rebounds. In Portland LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and the Portland Trail Blazers led by as many as 27 points in routing the Dallas Mavericks, 108-87. Portland trailed 50-46 at halftime but outscored the Mavericks 35-18 in the third quarter and Dallas couldn’t catch up. Damian Lillard added 18 points. Nicolas Batum had eight points, nine rebounds and nine assists, but sat out for the fourth quarter after the Blazers had built a sizable lead. Batum has four career tripledoubles. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 17 points, 15 in the first half. AP

Pau and Bulls sing each other’s praises By KC Johnson

Chicago Tribune

N an HBO documentary airing this week, Thunder star Kevin Durant says Pau Gasol is “into, like, orchestras and plays” and that Gasol’s interests hurt Oklahoma City’s free-agency chances compared to more culturally diverse locales. It’s no revelation. Gasol calls Spanish tenor Placido Domingo a friend, Tweeted a photo of himself with cast members from Chicago’s Lyric Opera performance of Don Giovanni on October 23 and said this during training camp: “I’m not happy just playing basketball. I have other interests and other wishes. Chicago had a lot to offer in that regard. I’m culturally very interested, so I’m sure that side of me is going to be fulfilled here in a big way.” But to say Gasol merely picked the Bulls because of Chicago’s culture would be a bit tone deaf. Don’t mistake Gasol’s artsy side with apathy. And don’t try selling the tired “soft” label that, for some reason, occasionally follows someone who dropped 19 points and 18 rebounds on Tom Thibodeau and the Celtics in Game Seven of the 2010 National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals. Beyond impressive averages of 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks for the 4-1 Bulls, Gasol

is punctuating blocks with primal screams and showing emotion befitting his competitiveness. “He’s a big-time winner,” Thibodeau said. “Sometimes, he can appear to be quiet. We see him every day; we know he’s not quiet. He’s quick-witted, good sense of humor, very, very intelligent. “He plays for the team and to win. He gets as much pleasure out of passing and doing dirty work, rebounding, as scoring. I’m just glad we have him.” This is no ‘Melo, er, mellow consolation prize. This is a highly skilled, legitimate 7-footer the Bulls haven’t featured much since Artis Gilmore patrolled the paint. (Bill Cartwright, while vital to the first three-peat, played a more stationary, physical game. Brad Miller and Tyson Chandler had their best years elsewhere. Omer Asik didn’t stay long enough. And Joakim Noah is listed at 6-foot-11.) “He’s back to his old tricks,” Taj Gibson said of Gasol. “He’s motivated. That’s good for us. It’s a real good thing when you can just throw the ball down low and know you’re going to get something out of it, either a foul or good shot.” Indeed, Gasol’s mere presence as a safety valve for a sputtering halfcourt possession—such a big target and smart passer—takes some getting used to for those still recovering from the Dalibor Bagaric years. Thibodeau theorized Gasol is a better

rebounder as the game progresses. There he was on Wednesday in Milwaukee, grabbing four of his 14 boards in the fourth, and covering ground while doing so. For a franchise used to range rebounding from the colorful Dennis Rodman years, so far, so good for Gasol. “When you’re closing out a game, every possession is critical,” Gasol said. “You have to make sure you go after it and box out and not give up second opportunities in those critical moments.” With Noah missing two games to illness and Gibson battling foul trouble in one of those games, Gasol responded in a big way. He posted 38 points, 27 rebounds and three blocks in 77 minutes, looking spry at 34. “[Coming here] was a reenergizing decision,” Gasol said. “That was one of the main reasons why I made a change—to rejuvenate, to reenergize, to remotivate myself and be in a position to win. I want to help a team be a contender for a championship. “I feel great. I feel guys appreciate what I bring and they’re excited I’m here and playing at a high level and helping the team be better. I feel the same way. I feel we have a great team with great players and a great mind-set. They’re all ready to take it to the next level.”

sports

BEYOND impressive averages of 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks for the Bulls, Pau Gasol is punctuating blocks with primal screams and showing emotion befitting his competitiveness. AP

a young typhoon survivor smiles beside new boats during blessing rites in Tanauan, Leyte. A nonprofit group called Burublig Para Ha Tanauan has started projects to help villagers recover from damages brought by Supertyphoon Yolanda. The projects include distributing boats to fishermen who lost their vessels and training women to sew hospital scrubs and school uniforms. AP/Aaron Favila

ast time China hosted the Asia-Pacific leaders’summit in 2001, then-President Jiang Zemin vowed to follow international rules as his nation was on the cusp of joining the World Trade Organization. As leaders from the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum gather in Beijing next week, they’ll visit an economy that’s about eight times larger and be hosted by a leader now seeking to reshape global rules and organizations. Trumpeting China’s “great rejuvenation,” President Xi Jinping has been pushing regional maritime claims and expanding its economic clout with neighbors via trade and investment. In the days leading up to the meeting, China has sought to set the agenda, backing a regional free-trade zone over US-led trade-pact talks, signing agreements on a $50-billion regional bank to finance infrastructure, and announcing a new fund to rekindle the historic Silk Road trading route. “Back in 2001 China was asking humbly to get into the room; in 2014 China wants to take center stage,” said Chen Fengying, a senior fellow researcher with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, a government See “China,” A2

GIR in Oct thinnest since June 2012 By Bianca Cuaresma

P25.00 nationwide | 6 sections 28 pages | 7 days a week

yolanda anniversary

he group of tycoon Lucio C. Tan does not have enough capital to support the funding requirement that Philippine Airlines (PAL) will need for further route expansion to complement the massive fleet-modernization program that San Miguel Corp. (SMC) initiated in 2012.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Jihadis on cruise ships to Syria

This is one of the reasons the international police body is preparing to expand a pilot program known as I-Checkit, under which airlines bounce passenger information off Interpol’s databases— in hopes that one day the system could expand to include cruise operators, banks, hotels and other private-sector partners. Turkey, with its long and often porous border with Syria, has been a major thoroughfare for many of the thousands of foreign fighters seeking to join extremists like the Islamic State (IS) group, which has captured territory across Iraq and Syria. Speaking in Monaco, where Interpol is holding its general assembly this week, outgoing chief Ronald Noble confirmed that Turkey was a destination, but declined to identify any others. He also refused to indicate how many people might be involved, but called on countries to step up screening at all transportation hubs—”airports and, more and more, cruise lines.” Turkish authorities say they have set up teams to nab suspected foreign fighters in airports and bus stations, and have deported

Saturday, November 8, 2014 Vol. 10 No. 31

‘PAL short on cash for expansion’ Poor Filipinos rebuild where typhoon hit them T

Jihadis on cruise ships to syria United States air strikes target militants in Syria plotting vs West

S.M.C. EXEC SAYS REFLEETING WAS DONE BECAUSE P.A.L.HAD THE MONEY THEN TO EXPAND ROUTES, BUT NOT ANYMORE

INSIDE

B3-4 Saturday, November 8, 2014

A broader look at today’s business

he country’s foreign-currency reserves depleted further in October to only $79.296 billion, representing a low point in more than two years, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday. Servicing the maturing foreign obligations of the national government and the eroded value of the central bank’s gold holdings pulled the country’s dollar buffers down from $79.556 billion the previous September. The October gross international reserve (GIR) was also a $261-million decline from last month’s accumulated reserves, and an even larger drop of $4.312 billion from last year’s $83.607 billion. This represented the country’s thinnest re-

serves in 28 months, or since June 2012, when the buffer against an illiquid global market stood at $76.13 billion. According to the BSP, there was a substantial drop in the value of the central bank’s gold holdings in October that was magnified by lower returns from foreign-exchange operations. In particular, the GIR’s foreign-exchange operations fund slumped to $311.7 million from the previous month’s $1.207 billion. As a matter of practice, the central bank observes a market-determined foreign-exchange framework but, historically, has not hesitated to “maintain strategic presence in the foreign-exchange market” from time to time to smoothen out volatilities.

PESO exchange rates n US 45.0380 n japan 0.3911

An artist puts finishing touches on a mural depicting situations when Supertyphoon Yolanda ravaged Tacloban and other central Philippine provinces last year. Various activities are lined up on Saturday to commemorate the first anniversary of the cataclysmic typhoon that killed thousands of people in Leyte alone and left a wide swath of destruction. AP/Bullit Marquez

NIBONG, Tacloban—A year after Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) turned a huge swath of central Philippines into a body-littered wasteland, many survivors are still struggling to rebuild their homes from the ruins, including in government-designated danger zones, where future typhoons could wreck their lives again. In the hard-hit coastal village of Anibong, shantytowns are rising around now-rusty cargo ships that were washed ashore by powerful waves from one of the strongest storms ever recorded to make landfall. One villager’s house stands beside a concrete post marked “No build zone.” Villagers say they rebuilt along the coast because they have nowhere else to go. Most are fishermen, and want to be close to their boats, but they say they are willing to relocate once the government gives them land or housing. Yolanda’s ferocious wind generated tsunami-like storm surges that swamped entire communities, leaving more than 7,300 people dead or missing. More than 4 million people were displaced by the storm, which destroyed or damaged more than a million houses, and knocked down millions of power posts and coconut trees.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” J. Soliman described the rebuilding effort as “gargantuan.” She said that, while many managed to rebuild their homes, the Philippine government, backed by foreign donors and aid organizations, still must resettle about 200,000 families to permanent housing sites in the next two to three years. The displaced are housed in temporary shelters and bunkhouses, while others live with relatives or in hastily erected shacks. About 300 families are still living in tents, but they could be moved to better— though still temporary—housing in the next few weeks, Soliman said. Much has been accomplished since Yolanda hit on November 8, 2013. Power, water and cell-phone services are back, and nearby Tacloban City throbs with life again. “We’re 60-percent to 70-percent back to where we were, but there is still a lot to be done,” Soliman said. “We need to work on the permanent shelters, repair of shelters and sustainable livelihood. The hardest part, villagers say, is living with haunting memories of the storm. AP

See “GIR,” A2

n UK 71.3087 n HK 5.8093 n CHINA 7.3684 n singapore 34.7650 n australia 38.6658 n EU 55.7435 n SAUDI arabia 12.0053 Source: BSP (7 November 2014)