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The sweet scent of sewage may not sound romantic, but for lovers of urban infrastructure, the Department of Environmental Protection is offering a Valentine’s morning tour of the Newtown Creek Wastewater treatment plant.

“It’s a unique date, and one they’ll never forget,” said plant superintendent Jim Pynn.

Pynn hosts public tours every month, but in honor of the holiday, visitors next Tuesday will get a special candy treat.

“Couples and singles and children and old folks — whoever shows up is welcome to a Hershey kiss,” he said.

“New York is so unique, and we have so many secrets. This is a pretty neat secret, and I think it’s a great conversation,” Pynn said.

“Just imagine going home and saying, ‘Where did he take me on Valentine’s Day? I went to see the digester eggs in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.”

Pynn walks guests through the sewage plant’s egg-shaped digesters, which act like a human stomach and break down the noxious waste into harmless sludge and gas.

“There’s a lot of interest in the infrastructure of New York City, but what makes Newtown Creek unique is the architectural prowess,” Pynn said of the egg-shaped contraptions. “They’re giving Brooklyn a new skyline from the Manhattan viewpoint.”

Still not sold that it’s the perfect date? Just think of the heart-stopping views.

“We end it on top of the digester eggs with not only a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline, but the entire 53-acre Newtown plant,” Pynn said.

If you and your sweetie are inspired to find love amid the sewage, the tour at the Greenpoint Ave. plant kicks off at 10 a.m.

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY  AP Music Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice was ravaged by drug use and her regal image was ruined by erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen said Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. Saturday in her room on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton. A Los Angeles County coroner's official said early Sunday that her body had been taken to a morgue.

"There were no obvious signs of any criminal intent," Rosen said.

Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said the cause of death was unknown.

Rosen said police received a 911 call from hotel security about Houston at 3:43 p.m. Saturday. Paramedics who were already at the hotel because of a Grammy party were not able to resuscitate her, he said.

Houston's death came on the eve of music's biggest night - the Grammy Awards. It's a showcase where she once reigned and where she will be remembered Sunday in a tribute by Jennifer Hudson, organizers said.

Her longtime mentor Clive Davis went ahead with his annual concert at the same hotel where her body was found. He dedicated the evening to her and asked for a moment of silence as a photo of the singer, hands wide open, looking to the sky, appeared on the screen.

Houston was supposed to appear at the gala, and Davis had told The Associated Press that she would perhaps perform: "It's her favorite night of the year ... (so) who knows by the end of the evening," he said.

Houston had been at rehearsals for the show Thursday, coaching singers Brandy and Monica, according to a person who was at the event but was not authorized to speak publicly about it. The person said Houston looked disheveled, was sweating profusely and liquor and cigarettes could be smelled on her breath.

Two days ago, she performed at a pre-Grammy party with singer Kelly Price. Singer Kenny Lattimore hosted the event, and said Houston sang the gospel classic "Jesus Loves Me" with Price, her voice registering softly, not with the same power it had at its height.

Lattimore said Houston was gregarious and was in a good mood, surrounded by friends and family, including daughter Bobbi Kristina.

"She just seemed like she was having a great night that night," said Lattimore, who said he was in shock over her death.

Aretha Franklin, her godmother, also said she was stunned.

"I just can't talk about it now," Franklin said in a short statement. "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen."

The Rev. Al Sharpton said he would call for a national prayer Sunday morning during a service at Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles.

"The morning of the Grammys, the world should pause and pray for the memory of a gifted songbird," Sharpton said in a statement.

In a statement, Recording Academy President and CEO Neil Portnow said Houston "was one of the world's greatest pop singers of all time who leaves behind a robust musical soundtrack spanning the past three decades."

At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry. From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful and peerless vocals rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.

Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale."

She had the perfect voice and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.

She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.

But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.

"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.

It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.

She seemed to be born into greatness. In addition to being Franklin's goddaughter, she was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston and the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick.

Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling. It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform.

"The time that I first saw her singing in her mother's act in a club ... it was such a stunning impact," Davis told "Good Morning America."

"To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine," he added.

Before long, the rest of the country would feel it, too. Houston made her album debut in 1985 with "Whitney Houston," which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. "Saving All My Love for You" brought her her first Grammy, for best female pop vocal. "How Will I Know," "You Give Good Love" and "The Greatest Love of All" also became hit singles.

Another multiplatinum album, "Whitney," came out in 1987 and included hits like "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."

The New York Times wrote that Houston "possesses one of her generation's most powerful gospel-trained voices, but she eschews many of the churchier mannerisms of her forerunners. She uses ornamental gospel phrasing only sparingly, and instead of projecting an earthy, tearful vulnerability, communicates cool self-assurance and strength, building pop ballads to majestic, sustained peaks of intensity."

Her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like Franklin drew criticism by some who saw her as playing down her black roots to go pop and reach white audiences. The criticism would become a constant refrain through much of her career. She was even booed during the "Soul Train Awards" in 1989.

"Sometimes it gets down to that, you know?" she told Katie Couric in 1996. "You're not black enough for them. I don't know. You're not R&B enough. You're very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them."

Some saw her 1992 marriage to former New Edition member and soul crooner Bobby Brown as an attempt to respond to those critics. It seemed to be an odd union; she was seen as pop's pure princess while he had a bad-boy image and already had children of his own. (The couple had one daughter, Bobbi Kristina, born in 1993.) Over the years, he would be arrested several times, on charges including DUI and failure to pay child support.

But Houston said their true personalities were not as far apart as people may have believed.

"When you love, you love. I mean, do you stop loving somebody because you have different images? You know, Bobby and I basically come from the same place," she told Rolling Stone in 1993. "You see somebody, and you deal with their image, that's their image. It's part of them, it's not the whole picture. I am not always in a sequined gown. I am nobody's angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy."

Brown was getting ready to perform at a New Edition reunion tour in Southaven, Miss., as news spread about Houston's death. The group went ahead with its performance, though Brown appeared overcome with emotion when his voice cracked at the beginning of a ballad and he left the stage.

Before his departure, he told the sell-out crowd: "First of all, I want to tell you that I love you all. Second, I would like to say, I love you, Whitney. The hardest thing for me to do is to come on this stage."

Brown said he decided to perform because fans had shown their loyalty to the group for more than 25 years. During an intermission, one of Houston's early hits, "You Give Good Love," played over the speakers. Fans stood up and began singing along.

It would take several years for the public to see the "down and dirty" side of Houston. Her moving 1991 rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl, amid the first Gulf War, set a new standard and once again reaffirmed her as America's sweetheart.

In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with "The Bodyguard." Despite mixed reviews, the story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent (Kevin Costner) was an international success.

It also gave her perhaps her most memorable hit: a searing, stunning rendition of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," which sat atop the charts for weeks. It was Grammy's record of the year and best female pop vocal, and the "Bodyguard" soundtrack was named album of the year.

She returned to the big screen in 1995-96 with "Waiting to Exhale" and "The Preacher's Wife." Both spawned soundtrack albums, and another hit studio album, "My Love Is Your Love," in 1998, brought her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal for the cut "It's Not Right But It's Okay."

But during these career and personal highs, Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009, she said by the time "The Preacher's Wife" was released, "(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. ... I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. ... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."

In the interview, Houston blamed her rocky marriage to Brown, which included a charge of domestic abuse against Brown in 1993. They divorced in 2007.

Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2009. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns.

She was so startlingly thin during a 2001 Michael Jackson tribute concert that rumors spread she had died the next day. Her crude behavior and jittery appearance on Brown's reality show, "Being Bobby Brown," was an example of her sad decline. Her Sawyer interview, where she declared "crack is whack," was often parodied. She dropped out of the spotlight for a few years.

Houston staged what seemed to be a successful comeback with the 2009 album "I Look To You." The album debuted on the top of the charts, and would eventually go platinum.

Things soon fell apart. A concert to promote the album on "Good Morning America" went awry as Houston's voice sounded ragged and off-key. She blamed an interview with Winfrey for straining her voice.

A world tour launched overseas, however, only confirmed suspicions that Houston had lost her treasured gift, as she failed to hit notes and left many fans unimpressed; some walked out. Canceled concert dates raised speculation that she may have been abusing drugs, but she denied those claims and said she was in great shape, blaming illness for cancellations.

Houston was to make her return to film in the remake of the classic movie "Sparkle." Filming on the movie, which stars former "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks, recently wrapped.

---

MINNEAPOLIS -- In his first three starts, Jeremy Lin's out-of-nowhere emergence all but saved the New York Knicks' season.

In his fourth, his teammates returned the favor.

Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

Steve Novak scored 15 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer with 36 seconds to play and Lin used his quickness to draw a foul and get to the line in the closing seconds. He finished with 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Lin had just five points on 1-for-13 shooting and four turnovers in the second half.

"It was an ugly one, it was a gutsy one, it was a road win, everybody was tired," Lin said. "That's the beauty of basketball. That's the beauty of our time. We never gave up."

Kevin Love had 32 points and 21 rebounds for the Wolves, who missed two chances to win the game in the final five seconds.

The Knicks trailed by seven with 6:41 to play and it looked as if a week of Tebow-like hype was finally catching up to Lin. But the Wolves only scored one field goal the rest of the way, and the Knicks hung in there.

Playing yet again without the injured Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, who was mourning the death of his brother, Landry Fields scored 19 on 8-for-10 shooting and Iman Shumpert added 20 points.

Fields hit a short jumper to make the score 94-93 with 2:10 to go and Shumpert added another for a 95-94 lead with 1:22 to go to give them their first lead since early in the second quarter.

But Love, who had 31 points and 31 rebounds in win over the Knicks last year, hit two free throws and Rubio drove to the rim for a left-handed layup for a three-point lead with 39 seconds to play.

Novak's 3-pointer tied it at 98 on the next possession and Lin missed the front end of a pair of free throws before sinking the go-ahead shot.

"I just had to get that first one out of the way," Lin said sheepishly.

Bill Walker added free throws to seal it for the Knicks, who scored 29 points on 23 Minnesota turnovers. Two of those came from Rubio in the final minute.

"I just made two huge mistakes," Rubio said. "I have to learn from that."

The matchup of two of the most dynamic young point guards in the league made this an extremely hot ticket. The Timberwolves had to sell standing-room only tickets to pack in an announced crowd of 20,232, the largest crowd here since 2004.

Lin and Rubio have each energized dormant franchises in their own way.

Rubio's unselfish play and flair for the dramatic have made the Wolves cool again, as evidenced by the fifth sellout this season.

The Knicks were lost at 8-15, with rumors of Mike D'Antoni's job security swirling before the coach moved to Lin out of desperation.

All he's done since is re-ignite a basketball-loving city's enthusiasm for the game, help fill the league's void in Asia after Yao Ming's retirement and save the Knicks' season.

He scored 89 points in his first three starts, including an incredible 38 to beat the Lakers in the Garden on Friday night.

"This is really just a credit to the team," Lin said. "This team is a team and that's why it's so fun to play with them."

In his fourth start, Lin is already drawing the casual fan even in road games. He was cheered heartily in pregame introductions and gave the curious crowd exactly what it was looking for. His quickness gave Rubio fits on defense and he scored in every manner imaginable.

There was the crossover of Luke Ridnour and step-back jumper, a tear-drop drive into the lane and stutter-step blow-by for two, and that was just in a three-minute stretch of the first quarter.

"Just his leadership, and I know he got a little tired, couldn't finish the way he normally would, but his leadership on the floor is invaluable," D'Antoni said. "And that's why sometimes we have to ride him."

(CNN) -- Websites affiliated with the CIA, Mexico's mining ministry and the state of Alabama were down Friday, allegedly done in by hackers, government officials and a well-known hacking group reported.

A message Friday on a Twitter page and Tumblr feed affiliated with the hacking group known as Anonymous celebrated that the Central Intelligence Agency's website had been taken down.

The posting read: "CIA TANGO DOWN: https://www.cia.gov/ #Anonymous." A later one pointed to a news story indicating "#Anonymous hackers hit CIA, U.N., Mexico websites."

Numerous outside reports indicated the CIA's website was down, and CNN's attempts from late Friday afternoon into the evening to get onto the site failed.

Asked about the outage, CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood said Friday night, "We are aware of the problems accessing our website, and are working to resolve them."

By early Saturday morning, the website was back.

Additionally, information was "compromised" in a hacking of Alabama state websites, the Alabama Department of Homeland Security said in a news release.

"We are aware of the current situation regarding individual(s) claiming responsibility for hacking into a state of Alabama ... public website," Alabama Department of Homeland Security Director Spencer Collier said in the release.

Jack Doane, director of Alabama's Information Services Division, told CNN later by e-mail that state technology experts "are conducting a forensic analysis to determine what if any information has been compromised."

It was not immediately clear what websites were hacked or who was responsible. A web page that included Anonymous' signature tag line stated the hacking was in response to Alabama's "recent racist legislation in an attempt to punish immigrants as criminals" -- referring to legislation, signed last June, aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration in the state.

The Anonymous-related Twitter page also provided links to documents, messages and other files that it said it had taken off a website tied to Mexico's mining ministry.

"Hello Mexican Chamber of Mines," a related Twitter post read. "Want to see your emails exposed?"

That said, another later item on the same feed added, "We'd remind media that if we report a hack or ddos (distributed denial of service) attack, it doesn't necessarily mean we did it...FYI."

The Mexican mining ministry's website -- which is distinct from the Chamber of Mines, or Caminex, a trade association -- appeared to be down early Friday evening.

Extreme cold weather hits Europe

Frigid temperatures have gripped Europe in the last week, with the mercury reaching as low as 35 degrees Celsius below zero. After what had been a relatively mild winter, the sudden cold caught many unprepared. Eastern Europe is hardest hit, with over 100 deaths in Ukraine, and with over 11,000 people in remote villages cut off by snow in Serbia...

FRIBOURG, Switzerland -- First, Mardy Fish put together a compelling rally to get the United States off to a fast start. Then John Isner bashed his way to a big upset.

Now Roger Federer and company are on the ropes.

Isner jolted Federer with his big serve and booming groundstrokes Friday, winning 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead against Switzerland in the first round of the Davis Cup.

Isner challenged the 16-time Grand Slam champion in long rallies on the indoor clay court, sending Federer to his first loss in Davis Cup singles in eight years and silencing a Swiss crowd unaccustomed to such outcomes.

"I thought he played great," Federer said. "He played it tough and served great when he had to. I just missed a couple more opportunities than he did and that's what cost me the match."

The 26-year-old Isner called it the "biggest win of my career thus far."

"I'm very proud of it," he said. "I played those break points down very well. It turned the match a little for me."

The upset was preceded by a riveting opening singles match, with Fish outlasting Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 9-7.

"Mardy put forth a great effort," Isner said. "That was so gutsy. It took a lot of pressure off of me."

The U.S. can eliminate Switzerland in doubles in the best-of-five series Saturday. Mike Bryan and teenager Ryan Harrison will face Federer and Wawrinka, the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medalists.

"It's been a difficult day for us," Federer said, adding: "We still have a chance to go through. I'm going to enjoy the challenge."

Before a crowd of 7,000 at Fribourg Forum, Federer started in routine fashion by winning the first set without dropping serve. Isner broke in the sixth game of the second set, but failed to exert any pressure in the third.

Still, the third-ranked Federer couldn't take capitalize on break-point chances in the sixth and eighth games -- winning just one of his 12 opportunities in the match -- and the set drifted into a tiebreaker.

Isner never trailed and clinched on his first set point with a subtle volley at the net that left Federer no chance.

The fourth set turned on the fifth game when Isner rallied from 0-40 down with three big serves and two blistering forehand winners.

Federer never recovered. Isner reeled off four straight games, ending the match by rifling a backhand winner crosscourt.

"I thought John finished it well," Federer said. "It's always a little bit easier to swing from the hip when you are a break up and two sets to one."

U.S. captain Jim Courier had higher praise for the 17th-ranked Isner.

"I don't know I have ever seen anyone finish a match against Roger Federer the way he did today. That was pretty amazing," Courier said.

Isner had lost his two previous encounters with Federer, both on hard courts.

If 17th-ranked Isner needed any inspiration for his match with Federer, he found it in Fish's earlier 4-hour, 26-minute victory -- the third-longest Davis Cup singles match involving a U.S. player since 1989 when tiebreakers were introduced in the competition.

Fish managed to rally after wasting a match point at 5-4 in the deciding set and won six games later with a cross-court volley winner at the net.

"It's certainly up there, there's no doubt about it," said Fish, when asked how it ranked among his best wins. "It's a good win to beat Stan, period. Clay is his best surface, his favorite surface and it's in his home country. I'll take that away, for sure."

A 95-minute final set included wild shifts in momentum and emotion before the eighth-ranked American improved his record to 3-0 against the 28th-ranked Wawrinka.

"He did everything to win," Wawrinka said. "He played more aggressively in the fifth set."

Fish was up a break at 4-3 and held serve only after going 0-40 down, saving the first chance with an excellent lob. Serving for the match, Fish saved a break point before a long rally on match point ended with Fish wrongfooted by Wawrinka's forehand winner.

Wawrinka made it 5-5 when Fish sent a forehand long, but dropped serve to give Fish a 8-7 lead on his third break opportunity.

In a fluctuating final game, Fish trailed 15-40, won three straight points, then wasted a second match point when Wawrinka unleashed a backhand service return down the line. Fish's 14th ace created a third, and decisive, match point to give Courier's team a perfect start.

"I'm obviously proud of the guys," Courier said. "But we have a long way home to win that third match out of five."

NEW YORK -- Jeremy Lin outplayed Kobe Bryant, ended the mighty Lakers' dominance of the Knicks and then tried to pretend it was just another game.

Wrong.

This was the night that proved he's no one-week wonder, that he's got a real NBA career ahead of him.

After all, Kobe's waiting for revenge next season.

Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points and outdueling Bryant as New York held off the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85 on Friday night.

Buried deep on the bench a little more than a week ago, Lin led the Knicks to their fourth straight win, tying their longest streak of the season. His two free throws with 52 seconds left amid booming "MVP! MVP!" chants stopped the Lakers' final rally and allowed the undrafted Harvard product to pass Carmelo Anthony for the highest-scoring game by a Knicks player this season.

"I didn't try to see this game as any different," Lin said. "I just try to make sure that when I get there on the floor, I play as hard as I can and try to do everything I can to help the team win.

"The only thing we established tonight is four in a row. Now we try to go for five tomorrow. I'm not too worried about proving anything to anybody. As a team we're growing and trying to build on the momentum."

Iman Shumpert added 12 points for the Knicks, who are still without Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. But they have Lin, the point guard that two other teams gave up on in December and didn't get his chance in New York until three other players couldn't do the job.

Bryant finished with 34 points, but he got off to a horrendous start and finished only 11 of 29 from the field. Pau Gasol had 16 points and 10 rebounds, but All-Star Andrew Bynum was only 1 of 8 for three points with 13 rebounds as the Lakers' nine-game winning streak against the Knicks was snapped.

Five of those wins had come at Madison Square Garden, where fans used to roar for Bryant.

They've got a new favorite now, and who could have ever predicted it'd be Lin?

"I think it's a great story," Bryant said. "I think it's a testament to perseverance and hard work. Good example for kids everywhere."

A night earlier, Bryant said he wasn't familiar with Lin's game. Now, he'll awake to headlines everywhere that Lin beat him at the "world's most famous arena."

"Enjoy it," Bryant said. "They'll receive judgment next season."

The most surprising story in the NBA came back into the game with 9:25 left after the Knicks' lead had been trimmed to three. Shumpert hit a jumper and blew by Bryant for a dunk before Lin knocked down a jumper to push the lead to 76-69 with about 8 minutes left.

The lead was still eight before Lin nailed a long jumper, then was wide open after an offensive rebound for a 3-pointer from the wing, making it 84-71 as fans stood and screamed throughout the Lakers' timeout.

"What he's doing is amazing," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He answered a lot of questions tonight. Can he make an outside shot? Can he pull the trigger in a big moment? He hit two 3s that just broke the game open. There's so much stuff that he's doing."

Lin followed his 28-point, eight-assist outing Monday in his first career start by scoring 23 points and handing out 10 assists Wednesday against Washington, becoming the first player since LeBron James in 2003 and just the sixth since 1970 to have at least 20 points and eight assists in his first two starts, according to research from the Elias Sports Bureau provided by the Knicks.

He became an instant star in New York just as fans were ready to check out basketball after the Giants' Super Bowl run was over, and just when it appeared the Knicks might fall too far behind in the standings to salvage the season.

Some Lin shirts sold out of one souvenir stand on the concourse level before the game even started were scattered throughout Madison Square Garden -- though Spike Lee was still wearing Landry Fields' No. 2 in his courtside seat. Ratings on MSG network are up since Lin joined the lineup, and the NBA said some of its Asian TV partners have added Knicks games to their broadcast schedules so fans can see the league's first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.

Already drawing comparisons to Tim Tebow for his impact on teammates and the way he speaks of his faith afterward, the hype around him will only grow now after beating one of the league's marquee franchises in his first nationally televised game.

And to think, "Lin-sanity" almost ended before it even started.

Sources with knowledge of the Knicks' thinking told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the Knicks had been giving strong consideration to waiving Lin before his breakout game last Saturday against New Jersey.

Sources told Stein that the Knicks, given Lin's unguaranteed contract, were leaning toward releasing him before Tuesday's 6 p.m. deadline and had begun targeting replacement point guards to take Lin's roster spot, with veteran guard Mike James from their affiliate in the D-League (Erie BayHawks) chief among them.

But after Lin's 53 points combined against New Jersey on Saturday and Monday, New York scrapped its plans, with Lin's contract becoming guaranteed for the rest of the season when Tuesday night's deadline passed.

A night after needing overtime to win at Boston, the Lakers had nothing to start the game, and Lin quickly jumped on them. He started 4 of 5 as the Knicks raced to a 13-4 lead, and it grew to 19-8 as Los Angeles missed 12 of its first 13 shots.

Lin's four field goals in the first quarter matched the Lakers' total in 18 attempts (22 percent).

"I think that you can stop a player from not getting 38 points on you any night. I don't care how good he is, but I guess we didn't step up to the challenge as a team," Gasol said. "(We) overlooked him I guess. Obviously, he made big plays. Made big shots. You've got to give him credit."

The Lakers cut a 14-point deficit to five late in the half before Lin put the Knicks back in control. He had a turnaround jumper then spun around to leave Derek Fisher behind on his way to a layup, pushing it to 47-38 with 2:44 remaining. It was 49-41 at halftime.

Bryant started 1 of 11 before hitting five of his next six shots. The record holder at the current arena with 61 points, he also grabbed 10 rebounds but got going far too late.

Game notes

By LIA NICHOLLS

LADY Gaga has revealed her battle with bulimia — and how winning it saved her voice.

The 25-year-old singer said she "purged" so often by making herself sick that stomach acid had been eating away at her throat.

She told a young women's conference: "It's easier for me to talk about it now because I don't do it anymore. I used to throw up all the time in high school.

"Bulimia made my voice bad so I had to stop. The acid on your vocal cords — it's very bad.

"But for those of you who don't sing, you maybe don't have that excuse until it's too late. It's very dangerous."

Gaga — real name Stefani Germanotta — recalled how she started making herself ill after eating her dad Joe's favourite meals of pasta and meatballs.

She said: "I wanted to be a skinny little ballerina but I was a voluptuous little Italian girl whose dad had meatballs on the table every night.

"I used to come home and say, 'Dad, why do you always give us this food? I need to be thin'. And he'd say, 'Eat your spaghetti'."

Gaga told the Californian conference, hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger's estranged wife Maria Shriver, the eating disorder drove her to the brink of a mental breakdown.

And she blasted magazines and music video makers for tampering with pictures of her.

She added: "Every video I'm in, every magazine cover, they stretch you, they make you perfect. It's not real life."

Gaga — who has just set up anti-bullying group The Born This Way Foundation — went on: "I'm gonna say this about girls. The dieting wars have got to stop.

"Everyone just knock it off! Because at the end of the day, it's affecting kids your age. And it's making girls sick."

She declared: "It's really hard. But you've got to talk to somebody about it.

"I'm encouraging you to know what you're worth.

(CNN) -- China will sometimes say "no" and the world should get used to it.

That message came through last weekend when China, one of five permanent U.N. Security Council members, joined Russia in blocking action on Syria.

Their vetoes derailed a draft resolution condemning Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's 11-month-old attempt to crush opposition groups and demanding an end to attacks on peaceful protesters.

"Do not mistakenly think that because China takes a careful and responsible position on this [Syria] issue, China will not use its veto power or will always abstain," said Cui Tiankai, China's vice foreign minister.

"When China must use its veto power, it will surely use it."

On Saturday, Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, called the vetoes "disgusting and shameful."

"Those that have blocked potentially the last effort to resolve this peacefully ... will have any future blood spill on their hands," she said after the voting.

But Cui said there is nothing unusual for the five permanent members of the Security Council to disagree on certain issues.

Speaking at a press briefing Thursday on the eve of a visit to the United States by Xi Jinping, the Chinese vice president, Cui said America's displeasure over China's veto will not affect China-U.S. cooperation on other international issues.

In China, the veto was hailed by local media as a significant change in Beijing's diplomatic tack.

China needs to speak out. Hiding its true thinking does not help avoid trouble.

Editoria on Syria in China's state-run Global Times

"Abstaining is no longer always a choice as China is forced to speak out," according to an editorial in the state-run Global Times, an official English-language daily.

"China needs to speak out. Hiding its true thinking does not help avoid trouble."

The Global Times said China's veto does not indicate a China-Russia alliance. "Both China and Russia have their own interests and dignity," it added.

He Wenping, director of African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said the veto shows China's confidence in foreign affairs. "A country expressing its true opinion -- that's progress," he said.

So why did China use its veto this time?

"China opposes the use of threat or force to achieve regime change in other countries," said He Wenping. "This is consistent with China's long-standing diplomacy principle. It is also not acceptable for China to rush a [U.N.] vote without sufficient consultation."

China, she added, does not wish see a reprise of what she considers a debacle over Libya.

"On Libya, NATO misused the rights given by the U.N. resolution about setting up the no-fly zone, which was then turned into 'regime change' in Libya," she said.

Ruan Zongze, a senior researcher at the China Institute of International Studies, agreed: "What concerns China most is possible regime change and foreign military intervention," he said. "We ask the international community to give more space and time for dialogue within Syria."

On February 6, the state-run People's Daily wrote in an editorial: "It is Syrian people's democratic right to choose a government they want. But hatred and separatists will remain a challenge no matter who is ruling, the government has to stabilize the country and protect people's safety. It will still come down to the problem of peace among nations and tribes."

China is ranked as the third-largest supplier of imports to Syria in 2010, according to data from the European Commission.

But local experts downplay the scale of China's stakes and national interests in Syria.

"Compared with Russia, China does not have that much interest in Syria and in the Middle East," He Wenping said. "Of course, in the greater Middle East, we need and we depend on the energy, say, the oil coming from the region."

Liu Weimin, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, rejected criticisms of China's veto.

"China does not have its own selfish interest on the issue of Syria," he said in a news conference. "We do not deliberately shelter or oppose any country. Instead, we uphold justice in dealing with the issue."

But China's critics say China's veto of the U.N. draft resolution was in part due to Beijing's fear that allowing a regime change in Syria could encourage the spread of the Arab revolution and eventually threaten China.

He Wenping disagrees.

"In my opinion, more than 99% of Chinese do not want to see an Arab Spring revolution in China, and they do not believe that there will be one in China," she says.

"China has a completely different political system and economic development path. If someone in the international community thinks that the Arab Spring will happen in China, then I think they misjudge the situation in China, exaggerate some problems in the Chinese society and underestimate the ability of the Chinese government to control the situation in China."

As to Ambassador Susan Rice's blunt reaction to China's and Russia's vetoes, He Wenping quips: "I think the statement shows utter lack of diplomatic protocol. The statement itself is disgusting."

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Twenty months later, Dustin Johnson finally hit the drive he wanted at Pebble Beach. Ten years later, Tiger Woods must have wondered what kept him away from the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

On a spectacular day of scenery and scoring, Johnson blasted a tee shot on the third hole at Pebble Beach and then pitched in for eagle from 41 yards in front of the green. He added another eagle on his way to a 9-under 63 and a three-way tie atop the leaderboard Thursday.

Woods was five shots out of the lead, a solid start to his PGA Tour season. He had six birdies in a 4-under 68 at Spyglass Hill, the fourth-best score on that course. Spyglass was the hardest of the three courses, though not by much. The weather was so pure that all three courses played about one shot under par.

Charlie Wi was over at Monterey Peninsula and had a shot at 59 without ever knowing it. Wi was 8 under after a tap-in birdie on the 13th hole, and needed only three birdies in the last five holes. Trouble is, he had no idea the Shore Course was a 70. He made one more birdie and had a 9-under 61.

"I was looking at the scorecard like, 'What's the par here?' I did not know it was a par 70," Wi said. "That 59 never crossed my mind. Not once."

Joining them was former U.S. Amateur Danny Lee, who holed a bunker shot for eagle at No. 2 and holed out from the 11th fairway with a wedge for another eagle to match Johnson at 9-under 63.

Johnson is turning into his generation's "Prince of Pebble." He won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in consecutive years, and then had a three-shot lead at Pebble in the U.S. Open two years ago until he shot 82 in the final round. On the third hole of that round, he hit driver left into the bushes for a lost ball and made double bogey.

On Thursday, he smashed a driver nearly 340 yards over the trees to just short of the green, setting up eagle. Even now, he still thinks about that tee shot in the U.S. Open. Walking off the tee, he said to caddie Bobby Brown, "I could have used that in the U.S. Open."

"Walking off that hole, I told Bob, 'This hole owes me a few more than just that one.'"

Johnson overpowered the par 5s at Pebble Beach, the secret to playing that course well. He had a 6-iron for his second shot at the par-5 second for an easy birdie, holed a 65-foot eagle putt on the sixth hole, got up and down from the bunker just short of the 14th for birdie, then cringed when his 40-foot eagle attempt on the 18th just turned away.

"I thought it was going in," Johnson said. "I was laughing. I made plenty of putts today."

Woods made his share, too.

He opened with consecutive birdies, stuffing his approach on No. 10 and two-putting for birdie on the par-5 11th. He also holed a downhill, 8-foot birdie putt on the 17th that was good enough to elicit a small fist pump, and from behind the par-5 opening hole, he hit a flop shot to 7 feet and made that.

One of his two bogeys was sloppy. It came on the short par-4 fourth, with a shallow green set among sand dunes and ice plant at a diagonal angle. Instead of going toward the middle of the green and letting the slope take the ball to the hole, Woods went at the flag. The ball bounced hard over the green and into a sandy patch of dunes, in a foot print.

He did well to blast a wedge some 30 feet past the hole and had a good two-putt from there for bogey. Woods picked up another birdie on the par-5 seventh for his 68. He played the par 5s in a 3 under.

"I don't know if it's a good sign or a bad sign," Woods said about his 68. "With the scores the way they are, I thought I could have it lower than I did. The guys are just tearing this place apart with no wind. I'm not too far away from posting a good number out here."

His partner, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, contributed pars on the holes where Woods made bogey, and Romo had a birdie on the par-5 14th when Woods missed the fairway and had to settle for par. As a team, they were tied for 25th.

Romo gets to play a forward tee, but he doesn't get any shots with a scratch handicap.

Phil Mickelson always entertains at No. 4 at Spyglass, a tee shot that gives him so much stress each year. He is determined to hit driver, and did again Thursday, this time relieved to at least be able to find it. And while he missed a 7-foot birdie putt after a splendid flop out of deep rough that ran 100 feet across the green, Mickelson was glad the hole was behind him.

As for his 2-under 70?

"The greens were perfect," Mickelson said. "They rolled so good, and that's why it was disappointing to let some of those go. I've been putting really well lately, and I expected to make some of those. Shot a couple under par, but it could have been a lot better."

Johnson's lone mistake came from a poor tee shot on the par-3 12th into a bunker. His start was tough to beat, though. With a 4-foot birdie putt on the fourth, he made it through six holes in 6 under, and then played solidly from there.

"I've been working really hard the last three days on the putter and the driver, and it paid off," Johnson said. "I'm starting to roll the ball like I usually do."

Ken Duke shot a 28 on the back nine at Pebble Beach and was at 8-under 64, along with Brian Harman. Nick Watney and Kevin Na each had a 6-under 66, the lowest score from Spyglass.

The conditions were so good that more than half the field broke par no matter where they were playing.

MONTREAL -- Top-ranked Novak Djokovic won the Rogers Cup on Sunday for his ninth tournament victory of the year and record fifth in a season in an ATP Masters 1,000 event, beating Mardy Fish 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.

  The 24-year-old Serb, the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, is 29-0 this year on hard courts and 53-1 overall. He also won the Rogers Cup in 2007.

"I am human -- I can definitely assure you of that," Djokovic said. "I guess it's just all about having a positive attitude on the court every day, waking up every day wanting to improve, wanting to win, being determined, being professional. It's that desire and motivation that keeps me going. Every match I play, I try to win, regardless which match is it or whoever is across the net."

The sixth-seeded Fish was the only player to win a set a set against Djokovic this week.

Fish has lost all seven career meetings with Djokovic, but gave the top seed a battle with his awkward mix of baseline and attacking play.

"I put myself in a lot of positions to have chances," Fish said. "I just didn't execute on the big points. "There's a reason why (Djokovic) has won so many matches this year. He's got to be leading the tour in break points saved, I'm sure, among other things. Those are huge."

Djokovic, who played night matches this week, looked uncomfortable from the outset and needed to save six break points to get through the opening set.

He saved his eighth of the match before Fish finally broke him with a perfect forehand down the line to take a 3-2 lead in the second set. Djokovic looked lost as he was broken again to close out the set.

But Djokovic was near-perfect on his service in the final set, although he needed four break points, one of which he challenged a call and lost, before finally putting away Fish.

"It was a close match, for sure," Djokovic said. "A couple of points, one good return game in the third set, decided the winner. But it's a final. I knew that he is not going to give me the match and the win. I knew that I have to fight for it. Up to the last moment, you didn't really know who is going to win. But I believed I could do it. I had composure when I needed to. I think that was decisive."

Djokovic was in his first event since winning Wimbledon, while Fish has been the hottest player of the hard court season leading to the U.S. Open later this month. He has reached finals in three straight tournaments in the last month, winning in Atlanta.

In the doubles final, Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia and Michael Llodra of France beat American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan 6-4, 6-7, 10-5.

TORONTO -- Eight weeks into her comeback, Serena Williams not only believes she can be as good as she once was. She can be better.

The 29-year-old American star made a pretty good point by capturing the Rogers Cup in commanding fashion Sunday, dispatching 10th-seed Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-4, 6-2 for her first Canadian crown since 2001.

The victory was just the latest step in a remarkable comeback from injury and illness that has seen her win two of the four tournaments she's played since being sidelined for 49 weeks.

"Being down the way I've been down and coming back, it was cool. Eight months ago if there was only one tournament I wanted to win, it was Toronto," Williams said. "For whatever reason, I really wanted to win this event. So seeing it come true is really cool. Just going through so much and being able to win is even more amazing."

Williams, who has 38 titles to her name including 13 Grand Slams, was sidelined just days after her Wimbledon victory last summer, first with a foot injury sustained when she stepped on a piece of glass in a restaurant in Germany, and then with blood clots in her lungs.

The American, who won the Stanford Classic two weeks ago, has talked since her return about a change in philosophy, focusing on just having fun. But she was all business Sunday in front of a nearly full Rexall Centre crowd.

The mighty Williams, wearing the emerald green shirt and black skirt she'd been sporting all week, had Stosur on her heels throughout the match with her powerful strokes. She broke the 27-year-old Aussie to go up 5-4 in the opening set with a blistering backhand, and would break her twice more in the second in the 1-hour, 17-minute match, winning in emphatic fashion with her ninth ace.

Williams was asked if she ever had any doubt during her long layoff about whether she would be able to return to tennis.

"Never. Never once. No," she answered.

She said she's looked to Kim Clijsters for inspiration. The Belgian retired to have a baby, then returned two years later to win the U.S. Open in her third tournament back.

"Kim did something really amazing," Williams said. "I just hope I can do half as good as she did. She won the Open two years in a row now. I'm hoping to get close to there, that title."

The former top-ranked Williams was unseeded in the Rogers Cup and is ranked just 80th in the world as she continues her comeback. She's projected to rise to No. 31 in the next rankings, and will definitely be considered a favorite at the upcoming U.S. Open.

"I consider myself a favorite to just do what I can do best, if that means winning the U.S. Open, obviously I want to," she said. "I went through a lot of things physically and mentally and emotionally, and going through so much, I'm just taking it one day at a time and just going with it."

Toronto rapper Drake was among fans in the almost-full Rexall Stadium, and Williams bristled in the post-match news conference when asked to respond to rumors about their relationship.

"Oh man, really?" Williams said. "So much speculation. It's unbelievable. Shocking, really. It's too much. It's really too much. We're really good friends. I guess you can't be too close of a friend nowadays."

The player was otherwise in a joking mood, chuckling about her age and the fact 10 years had passed since she won her other Rogers Cup title.

"Yeah, it's pretty shocking," she said. "It's like, 'Oh my god, 10 years! Am I really 26 now?' Like wow, it's crazy."

Williams turns 30 on Sept. 26.

Williams' dad and longtime coach, Richard, also was in the crowd, he and wife Lakeisha holding Serena's two small, white dogs as she accepted her racket-shaped crystal trophy.

And while thunderstorms were forecast for the city Sunday, the weather held up.

Stosur lamented the fact the storm didn't hit during the match, which would have forced a break in the action.

"If you are losing, you kind of hope (the rain) does come to maybe stop and get a bit of a break," Stosur said.

The Aussie applauded the progress Williams has made in the eight weeks she's been back on the court.

"She makes it look very easy, and it's not that easy to just come back on tour and win two events in your first four tournaments," Stosur said. "I think she's playing very well. To win a tournament like this, you have to be playing well."

BARCELONA, Spain -- Cesc Fabregas' long awaited return to his boyhood club finally was finalized Monday when he signed a five-year contract with European champion Barcelona.

"It took a lot of years, months, days to get here ... it's nice to be home after eight years," the former Arsenal captain said in Catalan during his presentation to fans at Camp Nou, where he repeatedly kissed the Barcelona crest on his new No. 4 jersey.

But while the 24-year-old Fabregas said it was one of the happiest days of his life to once again don Barcelona's burgundy and blue, he acknowledged it was also bittersweet that he didn't leave Arsenal as a winner.

"I gave everything. But it didn't show in the club because I really only won an FA Cup," Fabregas said. "One of my biggest regrets is not leaving Arsenal with a championship."

Fabregas joined Arsenal in 2003 as a 16-year-old prospect from Barcelona's La Masia academy. Within a month the Catalan playmaker became the youngest starter in Arsenal's history at 16.

The major titles, however, never came.

"It wasn't really the losing, it was the routine. Year after year, it was always the same story," Fabregas said. "Fighting until the end only to see we didn't have the energy, in the semifinals, the finals, to arrive in the final sprint."

Fabregas, a member of Spain's 2008 European champions and 2010 World Cup winners, said his goal is to "triumph in Barca, to add my part to make this team stronger."

Fabregas trained with his new teammates later on Monday, getting his first taste of where exactly he will fit into Barcelona's talented squad, which already includes Lionel Messi, Spanish teammates Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, and fellow newcomer Alexis Sanchez.

A set starter with Arsenal, Fabregas accepts he'll share playing time at Barcelona.

"This is the most difficult challenge of my life," Fabregas said. "When you play with great players you learn a lot. I'll work hard for the team, with humility, to earn my spot in the team and I won't stop until I do so."

As a youngster, Fabregas played with Messi and defender Gerard Pique on Barcelona's youth teams.

Barcelona hopes it has found the natural successor to the 31-year-old Xavi and the 27-year-old Iniesta, and a possible mentor for 20-year-old Thiago Alcantara, who should also get minutes this season in midfield.

Barcelona said it paid 29 million euros ($42 million) to Arsenal, with provisions to increase the amount to 39 million euros ($56 million).

Fabregas himself will pay the Gunners 1 million euros ($1.4 million) out of his salary for each season of the deal, and the Spanish champions will pay up to 5 million euros ($7 million) more depending on trophies won.

The contract includes a buyout clause of 200 million euros ($286 million).

Fabregas announced his desire to move back to Barcelona after the 2009-10 season, but Arsenal refused to sell its captain, and Fabregas agreed to stay for one more year.

"There have been some long weeks, months, of suffering. Not the worst suffering of my life, but yes these have been difficult days not knowing what my future would be," Fabregas said. "It appeared it would never end."

Barcelona had reserved No. 4 for Fabregas since last year, after Rafa Marquez signed with the New York Red Bulls.

Fabregas cited Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger as one of the keys in his development as a player and his subsequent move.

"Wenger is a special person to me. He'll always be a second father to me," he said. "I'll never be able to find the words to express my thanks for what he did for me. I think he has a been given a bad image here, and that shouldn't be the case. If I'm here, a big part of that is thanks to him."

Fabregas scored 57 goals in 303 appearances for Arsenal. He has played 58 times for the Spanish national team.

MADRID -- Xabi Alonso's second-half goal earned Real Madrid a 2-2 draw against Barcelona in a first-leg Spanish Supercup match the host largely dominated on Sunday.

Alonso fired a low shot beyond goalkeeper Victor Valdes in the 54th minute to equalize after Barcelona had stunned Madrid by taking a 2-1 halftime lead.

Madrid went ahead in the 13th through Mesut Ozil at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium and dictated play for much of the half as Barcelona's passing game lacked its usual sharpness. But the individual quality of its players made up for it, as David Villa and Lionel Messicreated goals out of seemingly nothing to give the Spanish champions two valuable away goals.

Barcelona may be able to field Cesc Fabregas in Wednesday's return leg at the Camp Nou after announcing during the game it had reached a deal for the Arsenal midfielder.

In the preseason matchup between the Spanish league winner and domestic cup holder, Madrid created enough chances to merit the victory but was undone by the European champions' ability to take advantage of their few opportunities.

"My players made a titanic effort to hold up against Madrid in this heat," said Guardiola, who did not rule out Fabregas making his debut in the return game.

Barcelona looked far from crisp as coach Pep Guardiola left Xavi Hernandez, Sergio Busquets, Pedro Rodriguez and Gerard Pique on the bench, while counterpart Jose Mourinho fielded the same lineup that was routed 5-0 at the Camp Nou in November. Chile forward Alexis Sanchez started in his Barcelona debut but was largely neutralized by Madrid's defense.

Madrid dominated from the outset, and Valdes kept Barcelona in the game by making a number of stops on Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, including a ninth-minute header from the Frenchman.

Benzema deserved some credit on Ozil's opener as he cut around Abidal and swiped a pass through Javier Mascherano's legs to set up the Germany playmaker, who beat Valdes at the near post from inside the area.

Madrid's upfield pressure troubled Barcelona into turnovers and kept possession largely away from Messi until the Argentina forward fed Villa in the 36th minute. The Spain striker cut into the left edge of the area and sent a perfect shot over outstretched goalkeeper Iker Casillas into the top far corner of the net for the equalizer.

Benzema and Ronaldo had chances shortly before Messi put the European champions ahead in the 45th. Messi bumped off Sami Khedira and past the fallen Pepe into the area before sliding a left-footed shot past Casillas inside the near post.

"It took us time to get into the game," Guardiola said. "It was a very tough game, very tough. Madrid looks very good so this is a good result."

But Madrid drew even when Pepe controlled a corner kick and slid a short pass to Alonso to rocket through the crowded area.

Madrid, which had new signings Fabio Coentrao and Jose Callejon debut, continued to press as Valdes got his hands up to deny Ronaldo before catching Benzema's header in the 67th. Barcelona failed to test Casillas again although the visitors were unlucky not to have a penalty awarded to substitute Pedro after Marcelo barged into him inside the area just before the end.

Mourinho, who returned Saturday to face the Spanish media for the first time since April, did not attend the post-game news conference Sunday to give his thoughts on the match.

"The team is playing better than at this time last season," said assistant coach Aitor Karanka, who also filled in for Mourinho after he refused to speak to media after UEFA handed the Portuguese coach a five-match sanction for alleging that referees and UEFA favored Barcelona.

CNN Anchor and Correspondent Richard Quest

(CNN) - For two days markets have been awash with rumors that French sovereign debt was about to be downgraded and that the French bank Societe Generale was in financial trouble. Was it true? At times it didn't matter.

The French market and SocGen's share price were pummeled by investors who decided there must be some truth in all of this. It was only when the ratings agencies reaffirmed France’s AAA rating and SocGen denied all rumors – without even saying what they were – that things got better.

Every day cold hard facts are the fuel that drives the markets: News about a company or country, favorable or not. But markets are living organisms, made up of Alpha type men and women desperate to take advantage of situations real or perceived. So in the absence of facts, they will listen to rumors and try and judge whether those rumors are likely to be true; then buy or sell on the back of them.

For instance, last Friday the big rumor was that the U.S. was about to lose its AAA rating. No one from the ratings agencies would confirm or deny it, so the rumor just got stronger. And the rumor was tru

Frequently a company’s stock price will rise a day or two before an announcement of results or mergers as news leaks out. For example, in the airline industry this often happens when word of aircraft purchases trickles out before the official announcement. "Buy on the rumor, sell on the news" is a well-worn phrase, which explains why the share price often falls after the official announcement is made. The money has been made; it's time to get out.

The regulators try to prevent this by requiring share price sensitive information to be announced via the stock exchange so that everyone gets it at once. The exchanges investigate any irregular price movements and deals which suggest someone was tipped off.

Thursday's rumor de jour was that short selling of European bank stocks would be banned regulators. It helped give the market a hefty boost.

In the end, as is usually the case, the rumor proved partially true. Some regulators would ban some short selling. It is precisely because these rumors usually do have a scintilla of truth that they are followed.

Like it or not, scuttlebutt moves markets. Presidents and prime ministers dying. Companies going bankrupt. Contracts won. Contracts lost. Fires. Wars. Coups and crashes. I have heard such rumors many times over the years and always ask the same question: How much credence do we give it? And regardless if I can substantiate it, should I report the fact rumors are there?

I tend to the view that, yes: Report that the market has these strong rumors without saying whether we believe them to be true. I fundamentally believe if something has moved the market, then you have the right to know about it too.

Mariani Dewi, Contributor, Jakarta | Sun, 08/14/2011

The island is one of the hundred islands of Thousand Islands propping up from the Java Sea. It is merely some 20 kilometers north of Jakarta, making it a popular getaway for city dwellers.  As days always start early for islanders, it must start early for its eager visitors as well. The only ferry that connects the island and the city departs at 7 a.m. once a day.  “Please arrive by 6:30 a.m. sharp so that we won’t miss the boat,” the travel agent, from whom I bought a package for two, said the day earlier.  On that day, my companion and I left home at dawn and arrived at the designated time under a grayish dawn sky at the meeting point – a petrol station inside the fish market in Muara Angke, North Jakarta. The travel agent was still on his way.  The fresh morning dew mixed with the strong odor of the fish market, which certainly needed some major scrubbing and washing, entered our lungs and filled our hearts with the question “Is this trip worth the pain of smelling this?”  When he finally arrived, we were ushered to a simple jetty, which was a concrete platform for the boat to dock. There is no building, roof, or any sign. The boat master quickly helped us get on board.  The boat was made of wood, painted in white. It had two decks, upper and lower. The upper part of the upper deck was left open to form windows.  Most tourists opted for the upper deck, so by the time we climbed up, one-third of the upper-deck was already filled. The ceiling was just slightly more than one meter high. So, we crunched to the back to find some room, but there were no seats. It was an empty carpeted-room. We were supposed to sit on the floor.  “This is Indonesian culture. Traditionally, we like to sit on the floor. In the past, we do everything on the floor, including eating,” I explained to my companion, a first time visitor to Indonesia.  Once the smell subsided, I thanked the human’s extraordinary adaptive body and I took in the morning skyline. The sun rose slowly, initially with an orange tint on the grayish sky. Only then we were told the boat might leave at 7:30 something.  “Why is there this additional ‘something’ there? Don’t they have a fixed time to depart,” my perplexed companion asked.  They don’t. I later found out that the departure time ranged from 6 a.m. during holiday seasons, when the ferry filled much quicker, to 7:30 something.  By the time the last passengers boarded, the sun had blasted at full force and put Jakarta’s skyscrapers and warehouses into clear view.  Around three hours later, when the color turned to clear turquoise, the sight of the island appeared. First was the smaller sibling, called Tidung Kecil, then the bigger one, Tidung Besar. Tidung Besar houses the jetty, lodgings and other amenities, while Tidung kecil is mostly mangrove forest.  Once arrived, the fun began. Snorkel, cycle, swim, lay on the beach – up to you. We chose the big game first: snorkeling. It can be done around the island, or visitors can rent a boat to go to neighboring islands said to be offering better coral. We took the smaller wooden boat out to Payung Island.  When we reach the proximity of an island that looked like a giant rock at sea, the tour guide gave us the life-jackets, swim fins and snorkel masks before taking the dip himself. We took the leap and entered a fantastic underwater world. The sea is shallow and the assorted coral reefs were just inches under our noses. The reefs are in good condition and host many sea creatures. Colorful tropical fish swim around, seemingly too full to even show any enthusiasm for the bread thrown at them. There were no sea urchins that might poke holes in our skin. The water was clear under the strong sunlight, a very different view from Jakarta’s brownish water.  The next on the to-do-list was playing by the beach. On the Tidung Besar, happenings are taking place at the tip or the island around 10-minute cycling from the residential area. 

We cycled on the island’s only main lane, a 2-meter wide lane made of paving blocks. Along the street, there are rented rooms, food stalls, souvenir shops, snorkeling equipment rentals and bike rentals. There are also pushcart roasted bread sellers. “Pineapple, strawberry, raspberry or chocolate jam?” the man asked for my order. I was hoping for more traditional Sarikaya jam, but pineapple was fine too. So two little buns (Rp 5,000) were soon wrapped in paper and placed into the basket in front of my bike.  “There were hundreds of people here yesterday. There was a traffic jam on this lane. Today it is very quiet,” he said, making small talk. Indeed, we only encountered five other tourist groups in various sizes that Monday. That made the beach almost private. The water is shallow and the current is mild, very suitable for dipping and swimming. The long stretch of sand is white and clean to walk upon or lay down in comfort. The trees offer shade for those who are prone to sunburn.  An arch bridge, like many other arch bridges around the globe, romantically called Love Bridge, stands nearby. The peak of the bridge, which rises to more than 5 meters above sea level, has become the platform for youngsters to test their courage by jumping into the water below. A banana boat passes under the bridge before unloading its passengers into the salty water.  The Love Bridge is the start of picture-perfect long flat bridge to Tidung Kecil. The only problem is that it is quite a challenge to walk, especially for those with acrophobia (fear of heights) or who cannot swim, because it has no handrail. Some part of the bridge was only covered by loosely placed wood planks.  “Why is there no handle on the bridge? I can’t do it,” my companion said, already weak in the knees.  So we said “so long” to Tidung Kecil and did what people should do on a beach on a beautiful afternoon – we just rested on the sand. It was perfected by fresh coconut, drunk directly from its fruit, complimented by a bowl of fried instant noodles with egg purchased from one of the many stalls nearby.  The island is operated solely by the local community – hence its down-to-earth and laid-back atmosphere. People are generally friendly and trustworthy and leave the visitors alone. The two times we changed our bikes, the keeper was not even bothered to wake up from his nap. 

There is no feeling of being conned to pay more, a familiar feeling often felt at other established tourist places. No one offered us products when we did not ask for them.  Visitors are housed in rooms rented out by locals. We had a big room with two king-sized beds, air-conditioning, television and a cold shower. It was simple and clean. The phone signal was perfect, a blessing for anyone who cannot part with the Internet.  The beach was so pleasant and peaceful that time passed quietly. The sun set and the sky quickly turned dark. The beach has no lighting, but the flicker from the street lamps provided a faint glimmer. The island was safe, even for female travelers. No one bothered us.  As we cycled our noisy bumpy bikes back to our lodging, we looked at the sky and saw beautiful stars shining brightly against the dark background. Ah, the smell of the fish market was a small sacrifice, and it was all worth it.  Tidung Island offers not only wonderful coral, beautiful beaches and starry nights, but also the comfort of a close-knit community removed from the capital city.

Ronna Nirmala | August 13, 2011