Radio Havana Cuba-16 May 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 16 May 2001 . *FIDEL CASTRO DEPARTS SYRIA FOR OFFICIAL VISIT TO LIBYA *AT UN CONFERENCE, CUBA CALLS FOR RADICAL RETHINKING *SPANISH AIRLINE SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH CUBANA; DIRECT FLIGHTS TO UK ENDED *VENEZUELAN GOVERNOR REQUESTS MORE CUBAN SPORTS EXPERTISE *BRAZIL CONTINUES AIDS MEDICINE CRUSADE AGAINST PHARMACEUTICAL GIANTS *CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AT UNITED NATIONS AGAINST US BOMBIING OF VIEQUES *Viewpoint: TUNNEL VISION . *FIDEL CASTRO DEPARTS SYRIA FOR OFFICIAL VISIT TO LIBYA Tripoli, May 16 (RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro has arrived in Libya for an official visit, following his one-day visit to Syria. President Castro was received by Libyan leader Muammar Kadhafi at his residence, which was bombed by the United States in 1986. The residence has not been restored, and has become a place of pilgrimage for guests of honor. Prior to his arrival in Tripoli Wednesday evening, in Syria the Cuban leader paid homage to the late Syrian President Hafez Al Assad, laying a floral wreath before the monument to honoring the "Lion of Damascus," who died last year. President Castro also visited the Omayyad Mosque, one of Islam's oldest and most venerated ancient sites. Images of the mosque, with its mixture of Greek, Roman and Arab influences, were were broadcast around the world earlier this month when John Paul II became the first Pope to visit a Muslim house of worship. The visit to Syria was Fidel Castro's first, while his visit to Libya is the second since 1977. *AT UN CONFERENCE, CUBA CALLS FOR RADICAL RETHINKING Brussels, May 16 (RHC)--At the 3rd United Nations Conference on Least Advanced Countries, Cuban Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas has called for a radical rethinking of the current world economic order which, he asserted, has contributed to the poverty of the most underdeveloped nations. The Cuban official said that over the past 30 years, the economic and financial policies of the world's industrialized capitals have led to an increase in the number of least advanced countries from 24 to 49. Citing World Bank figures, Cabrisas said that during the same period the foreign debts of those nations have increased by more than $49 billion. Noting that industrialized countries have not complied with their promise to earmark 0.7 percent of their gross domestic products to development aid, he pointed out that the Program of Action to fight poverty adopted at the 2nd UN Conference in Paris in 1990 has not achieved its established aims. Cabrisas said that despite these realities, credit institutions, investors and potential donors continue to blame poor nations for their poverty, with the excuse that the weaknesses of their markets, policies and institutions are the cause of their economic calamities. *SPANISH AIRLINE SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH CUBANA; DIRECT FLIGHTS TO UK ENDED Havana, May 16 (RHC)--The Spanish airline Spanair has signed an agreement with Cubana Airlines to share flights to and from Cuba. The director of the Spanish airline, Luis Dans, said that Spanair was also considering setting up a hub in Havana from which its flights would have coordinated departures to other destinations in the region. Spanair, the second largest airline in Spain, is partially owned by the Scandinavian airline SAS. In a related development, British Airways has announced that next spring it will discontinue its weekly flight from London to Havana, following Cubana's April cancellation of its weekly flights to London. Although many people in the travel industry were surprised at the move, given Cuba's attraction for English tourists, British Airways said that it was unable to run the route at a profit. The only flights that will be non-stop to Cuba from England will now be charters going into Varadero. Any traveler wishing to fly to Havana from London will have to do so via Paris or Madrid. *VENEZUELAN GOVERNOR REQUESTS MORE CUBAN SPORTS EXPERTISE Caracas, May 16 (RHC)--The governor of the Venezuelan state of Anzoategui, David de Lima, today requested a significant increase in the number of sports trainers assigned to his province. De Lima made the request directly to the president of Cuba's National Sports Institute, Alberto Juantorena, and to Lazaro Costa and Elio Perera, the representatives of Cubadeportes, the coordinating sports organization, in Venezuela. The governor explained that he wants to see increased participation in school sports programs and has begun to improve sports facilities across the state. The request was made under the auspices of the cooperation agreement signed by Cuba and Venezuela last October, which essentially provided for Cuban expertise in the fields of health and sports in return for Venezuelan oil. *BRAZIL CONTINUES AIDS MEDICINE CRUSADE AGAINST PHARMACEUTICAL GIANTS Brasilia, May 16 (RHC)--In its ongoing offensive against exorbitant prices for AIDS medication, Brazilian Health Minister Jose Serra has given the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche until July to reduce the price of one of the drugs forming part of the AIDS cocktail. According to the Brazilian news daily "O Estado de Sao Paulo" Serra -- currently participating in the World Health Organization Assembly in Geneva -- stated that if Roche doesn't substantially reduce the price of the drug Nelfinavir, Brazil will cease recognizing the firm's patent. He said Brazil's state pharmaceutical laboratory Farmanguinhos is currently preparing to produce the medication. Roche reportedly proposed a 13% price reduction, which the Brazilian government rejected. Serra said that as a result of Brazil's intellectual property norms, in the government's efforts to provide AIDS patients with free medication the country has been able to negotiate 60% reductions in the price of drugs from the pharmaceutical transnational Merck, Sharp and Dohme. As a result, Brazil has significantly reduced mortality in HIV-carriers and has saved hundreds of millions of dollars. *CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AT UNITED NATIONS AGAINST US BOMBIING OF VIEQUES New York, May 16 (RHC)--Police and security forces broke up a peaceful demonstration in front of United Nations Headquarters in New York City on Tuesday -- arresting nearly 30 protesters who were blocking the main entrance of the UN building. According to eye-witness reports, several activists protesting U.S. military exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques were able to actually enter the building and carry out their civil disobedience action inside the United Nations. A press release issued by the protesters called on the international body to intervene and stop renewed bombing and target practice by the U.S. Navy on the island of Vieques. Protest organizers told journalists that Washington's violation of human rights in Vieques is one of the many reasons why the United States was recently voted off the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Commission. *Viewpoint: TUNNEL VISION While politicians and business executives in Latin America glorify the free market, the reality could be a rude awakening. According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as CEPAL, the growth of the region's domestic gross product will fall again this year by an estimated 3%. The major cause is the slowdown of the U.S. economy. In the study "Perspectives of Latin America in the New International Context 2001," CEPAL notes that the crisis in the United States has sparked a decline in the demand for regional products and a noticeable reduction in growth rates. As a consequence, unemployment is remaining at the high levels of the past two years and may even rise in some countries, warns the report, issued in Santiago, Chile. What's more, Latin America registers elevated shifts in financial fluidity, and experts predict a fall-off in direct foreign investment. Latin American exports will increase by just 5%, as opposed to 20% in 2000, while the deficit will rise by $55 billion, $7 billion more than last year. The truth is that the neoliberal model almost uniformly implanted across Latin America sacrifices the improvement of society for growth in the economy; a growth that naturally, only benefits an elite. The privatization programs sweeping the continent have left governments practically helpless in the face of spiraling poverty, which now affects more than 225 million Latin Americans. Free market reforms have exhibited their efficiency in marginalizing the majority to the point that Latin America is now the region with the most inequitable distribution of wealth in the world, the area where the gap between rich and poor is the most pronounced. But, the worst thing is that a change of direction is not in the cards -- at least not in the immediate future -- which means that misery and inequality will continue to grow. (c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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