Radio Havana Cuba-02 October 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 02 October 2000 . *FIDEL CASTRO EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES ON DEATH OF CANADIAN PIERRE TRUDEAU *CUBAN VICE PRESIDENT CARLOS LAGE BEGINS OFFICIAL 3-DAY VISIT TO JAPAN *FOREIGN NEWS AGENCY RANKS CUBA AS WORLD SPORTS POWER *"UNIVERSITY FOR ALL" COURSES BEGIN ON THE ISLAND *12TH CONFERENCE OF IBEROAMERICAN JUSTICE MINISTERS BEGINS IN HAVANA *DESPITE TORRENTIAL RAINS, NICARAGUANS HOLD "SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA" EVENT *Viewpoint: SYDNEY OLYMPICS . *FIDEL CASTRO EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES ON DEATH OF CANADIAN PIERRE TRUDEAU Havana, October 2 (RHC) -- Cuban President Fidel Castro has expressed his condolences for the death of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Calling Trudeau a great leader of the Canadian people and unquestionable statesman of international renown, President Castro said the Cuban people will always remember the late dignatary for his contribution to the development of the friendly and uninterrupted relations between the peoples of the two countries. On Sunday, the Republic of Cuba's Council of State declared 3 days of official mourning. Trudeau, who on two occasions was at the head of the Canadian cabinet -- 1968 to 79 and 1980 to 84 -- visited Cuba during his first mandate in open defiance of the anti-Cuba policies of the United States government. *CUBAN VICE PRESIDENT CARLOS LAGE BEGINS OFFICIAL 3-DAY VISIT TO JAPAN Havana, October 2 (RHC) -- Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage began Monday a 3-day official visit to Japan. The highest level Cuban delegation to visit Japan since President Fidel Castro made a brief stop-over in Tokyo in 1995 began official activities with a gathering with academics at the University of Tokyo. The encounter was organized by legislator Hiroishi Mitzuzuka, who for the past 15 years has been the president of the Japan-Cuba Friendship Parliamentary League. The Cuban Vice President personally gave Mitzuzuka, who visited Cuba last year, a letter from President Castro thanking him for his contribution to the strengthening of ties between the governments and peoples of the two countries. On Tuesday Lage is to gather with Japanese business executives. He will also be received by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Foreign Minister Yohei Kono. *FOREIGN NEWS AGENCY RANKS CUBA AS WORLD SPORTS POWER Havana, October 2 (RHC)-Cuba has once again shown itself to be a sports power in Latin America and the Caribbean, by finishing among the world's top ten in medal standings out of almost 200 countries that participated in the Sydney Olympics, according to the German DPA news agency. During the recently concluded Sydney Olympics, Cuba won 11 gold medals, 11 silver and 7 bronze; five medals more than it did in the Atlanta Olympics 4 years ago. In an article on Monday, the German news agency points out that Cuba would be number one in the world of sports, if the financial situation of countries were taken into account. *"UNIVERSITY FOR ALL" COURSES BEGIN ON THE ISLAND Havana, October 2 (RHC)-The so-called "University for All," a new initiative aimed at upgrading Cubans' knowledge of culture, kicked off on Monday with a televised course on a variety of subjects. The first of a series of classes, the course is a 10-day seminar on narrative techniques taught by important Cuban writers. It can be seen from 7am to 9am on Cuban television and at a variety of locations around the country at different times and is mainly aimed at journalists, writers, teachers and professors, though it is also of interest to the general population. *12TH CONFERENCE OF IBEROAMERICAN JUSTICE MINISTERS BEGINS IN HAVANA Havana, October 2 (RHC)-The 12th Conference of Ibero American Justice Ministers got underway on Monday in Havana with the participation of over 100 justice ministers and representatives from 21 countries. Delegates will discuss justice management and border cooperation and will examine ways to promote the integration of member countries. Among the delegates is the General Secretary of the Conference of Ibero American Justice Ministers, Spanish, Marcelino Cabanas Rodriguez. He told journalists in Havana, that he expects the forum to be a success and an opportunity to exchange experiences on important, common issues. Cuban Justice Minister, Roberto Diaz Sotolongo, stressed that the meeting, which runs through Wednesday, will serve as a unique opportunity for Ibero American legal experts to strengthen ties of cooperation. Sotolongo pointed to Cuba's support for an initiative presented by Spain to centralize the criminal records of those who commit drug-related crimes in the region. The project would allow legal authorities of Ibero American nations to access the criminal record of anyone charged with a drug-related felony. The Spanish initiative has already been submitted for consideration by some regional countries, including Cuba. The island was among the first six nations to sign it. The 12th Conference of Ibero American Justice Ministers is one of a series of meetings leading up to the Ibero American Summit scheduled for November in Panama. *DESPITE TORRENTIAL RAINS, NICARAGUANS HOLD "SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA" EVENT Havana, October 2 (RHC)-Not even the intense rains dumped on Nicaragua by Hurricane Keith, kept some 500 Nicaraguans from expressing their solidarity with the Cuban people in the country's 4th Solidarity with Cuba Meeting, which was held on Sunday in Managua. Relatives of Nicaraguan young people, who are studying on scholarships in Cuba, and representatives and members of Cuba solidarity groups from different regions of the country, thanked the Cuban government for its cooperation in organizing the event. Participants passed a declaration confirming their solidarity with Cuba and strongly condemning Washington's blockade against the island and its anti-Cuba Helms-Burton law. Viewpoint *SYDNEY OLYMPICS: A SATISFYING END TO A CENTURY AND A MILLENNIUM OF INTERNATIONAL SPORTS Australians deserve to feel proud of the beautifully organized and staged Sydney Olympic Games. Many consider the event to be the golden closure of the 20th Century and the Second Millennium, in the world of sports. Thanks to international communications, the entire Games, from the creative and beautiful opening ceremony to the brillant closing, were seen around the world. It was a shame however, that millions of people living in the Third World, were unable to enjoy the event, since they lack the necessary modern means; because where the majority lack electricity, televisions and radios, only the minority have access to such international happenings. It is at times like these, when the magnatude of the social problems that affect three quarters of the world's population, can be most appreciated. Statisics show that in the relatively small, higly populated borough of Manhattan, in New York City, there are more telephones, than on the entire African continent, despite the fact that the telephone was invent ed some one hundred years ago. What importance does radio, television, telephones, movies and informatics have for people who don't have enough to eat, or who don't have enough clothes to wear or are unable to see a doctor our are unable to educate themselves or their children? Millions of human beings were unaware of what was happening in Sydney. For Cuba, where the Olympic Games were accessable to the entire country, there were only two unpleasant moments: the first was the loss of the gold medal in baseball, the island's national sport; and the second was the unfair umpiring in some of the boxing matches involing Cubans,in which the sad specticle of the World Championships in Houston, was repeated and several internationally acclaimed Cuban boxers were unjustly stripped of their victories. Cuba knows Australia had nothing to do with those irregularities. But the entire sports world should take note of the damage that type of activity causes, not only to international sports, athletes and the countries that are discriminated against, but also to such prestigious hosts, who managed to put on an Olympiad as brillant and beautiful as that of Sdyney, which ended the twenth Century and the Millennium with a golden spectacular in the history of sports. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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