Radio Havana Cuba-03 January 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 03 January 2002 . *LOWEST INFANT MORTALITY RATE IN CUBA'S HISTORY REPORTED *US SENATORS AND OPPONENTS OF BLOCKADE AGAINST CUBA ARRIVE IN HAVANA *WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION RULES AGAINST WASHINGTON IN CUBAN RUM DISPUTE *2001 COMES TO AN END WITH AN OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK FOR CUBA'S SUGAR INDUSTRY *ARGENTINA'S FIFTH PRESIDENT IN TWO WEEKS VOWS TO DITCH FREE-MARKET MODEL *US JUDGE DISMISSES PUERTO RICAN LAWSUIT AGAINST VIEQUES BOMBING *CONGRESS TO PROBE ENRON SCANDAL AND BUSH ADMINISTRATION LINKS *MORE AFGHAN CIVILIANS KILLED IN US AIR STRIKE AGAINST VILLAGE *WARNINGS OF IMPENDING DISASTER AT AFGHAN REFUGEE CAMP HOUSING 350,000 . *LOWEST INFANT MORTALITY RATE IN CUBA'S HISTORY REPORTED Havana, January 3 (RHC)-- The year 2001 closed with the announcement that Cuba had reduced its infant mortality to a new record low: 6.2 for every 1000 live births. With this news, Cuba has officially achieved a lower infant mortality rate than the United States -- which stands at seven. According to reports from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Cuba tied with Canada and leads the Americas with the lowest death rate among children under the age of one year. The infant mortality rate of a country is often used as an indicator of the nation's health. Cuban officials noted that the island's care for children begins with excellent pre-natal attention. Among the services provided -- free-of-charge: fourteen weeks into one's pregnancy, mothers-to-be are given special attention by their family doctor. If women are unable to get to their neighborhood clinic, the doctors make house calls. During their first year, newborn children receive an average of 25 medical checkups -- in addition to vaccines against 12 childhood diseases, including tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, measles, mumps and polio. New mothers are also given one year off from work -- with full pay -- and are guaranteed, by law, the jobs they left before becoming mothers. A government-sponsored campaign to promote breastfeeding has apparently been successful -- with a high percentage of mothers reporting that they exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first four to six months. At the time of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, in 1959, the infant mortality rate was nearly 40 for every 1000 live births. Over the past 43 years, health authorities report that the indicator has progressively improved. During the 1970s, infant mortality was in the 20s; during the 1980s, the rate was reduced to the lower teens; and during the decade of the 1990s, infant mortality in Cuba was lowered to less than ten per one thousand births. *US SENATORS AND OPPONENTS OF BLOCKADE AGAINST CUBA ARRIVE IN HAVANA Havana, January 3 (RHC)-- An outspoken opponent of Washington's blockade against Cuba, Sally Grooms Cowal, has arrived in Havana, along with seven congressional representatives. Grooms Cowal, former U.S. ambassador in Trinidad and Tobago, is president of the Cuba Policy Foundation. She's accompanied by Democratic Representatives William Delahunt and Stephen Lynch from Massachusetts, Vic Snyder from Arkansas, William Clay from Missouri, Collin Peterson from Minnesota and Hilda Solis from California, along with Republican Jo Ann Emerson from Missouri. Republican Senators Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania and Lincoln Chaffee from Rhode Island arrived in Havana Wednesday on a separate two-day visit. At the same time, a group of some 100 young American business executives arrived today in the Cuban capital, along with their families -- forming an entourage of nearly 500 people. The young executives will meet with National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon and with officials involved in tourism renovation projects in Old Havana. *WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION RULES AGAINST WASHINGTON IN CUBAN RUM DISPUTE Paris, January 3 (RHC)-- A World Trade Organization appeals body has ruled that a U.S. law aimed at preventing the sale of Havana Club rum in the United States violates WTO regulations. According to the French firm Pernod Ricard, the World Trade Organization called on Washington to bring its legislation into compliance with an international accord known as TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights). Pernod Ricard, which is associated with a Cuban firm in the production of Havana Club rum, charged that a 1998 U.S. law known as Section 211 was approved to protect the interests of Bacardi. Section 211 prevents Havana Club holdings, which is joined with Pernod Ricard and Havana Rum and Liquors of Cuba, from defending its interests in U.S. courts against Bacardi. Although headquartered in Bermuda, Bacardi produces and distributes a product in the United States based on the same recipe as Havana Club rum and under the same name. Section 211 in general deprives companies currently holding title to operations that were nationalized by the government of Cuban President Fidel Castro of certain rights in the United States. Havana Club Cuban rum was created in 1934 by the U.S. company Jose Arechabala, whose assets were later nationalized by the Cuban government. The WTO appeals panel concluded that Section 211 violates provisions of the TRIPS accord that ban discrimination and require a member of the WTO to accord the same trading privileges to all other members of the organization. The European Union's executive commission, which had filed the complaint against the United States, also announced the WTO decision on Wednesday. *2001 COMES TO AN END WITH AN OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK FOR CUBA'S SUGAR INDUSTRY Havana, January 3 (RHC)-- 2001 was a record year for the export of Cuban sugar -- topping export totals of the previous 15 years. According to Cuban Sugar Minister Ulises Rosales del Toro, the fact that 53 sugar mills island-wide are fully operating in the present harvest is further evidence of the steady recovery of the sugar industry. During a tour of sugar mills on the outskirts of Havana, Rosales del Toro also announced that there is enough unrefined sugar in warehouses to fulfill the island's international commitments for the beginning of this year. The Cuban sugar minister praised the attitude of workers in the sector, who defied the devastation caused by Hurricane Michelle and harvested the crop either ahead of time or on schedule. He emphasized that the year 2002 poses yet a greater challenge for the sector: workers must increase efficiency and reduce production costs. *ARGENTINA'S FIFTH PRESIDENT IN TWO WEEKS VOWS TO DITCH FREE-MARKET MODEL Buenos Aires, January 3 (RHC)-- Veteran Argentine Senator Eduardo Duhalde was sworn in as the country's fifth president in two weeks, declaring that the nation is bankrupt and pledging to ditch his predecessors' free-market model. Political divisions continued, however, within the Argentine legislator as skeptical citizens repeated their call for the eviction of the country's entire political class -- perceived as hopelessly corrupt by a vast segment of the population. Duhalde said the free-market model cast millions of his fellow countrymen into poverty and destroyed the middle class. He placed most of the blame on the administration of Carlos Menem, even though he was Menem's vice president during his first two years in office. The new president, expected to soon announce an economic package that will include a currency devaluation of between 20 and 50 percent of the peso, also assured bank account holders that the measure will not affect their savings. He promised their return in a dollar-equivalent currency. But according to observers, with only 14 billion dollars in liquid reserves available, it remains to be seen how Duhalde plans to return the 66 billion dollars belonging mostly to small account holders and that was frozen in Argentina's nearly bankrupt banking system one month ago. Analysts are also stating that another major challenge for Duhalde will be the elimination of corruption without dismantling the political party structures that harbor it. *US JUDGE DISMISSES PUERTO RICAN LAWSUIT AGAINST VIEQUES BOMBING Washington, January 3 (RHC)-- A U.S. federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Puerto Rico that sought to halt U.S. Navy target practice in the island-municipality Vieques. Puerto Rico sued the Navy in April to force compliance with a new noise-limit law and the Federal Noise Control Act that gives states authority to control noise levels in their jurisdictions, but District Judge Gladys Kessler threw out the legal action. Kessler, citing a lack of jurisdiction, said the U.S.-controlled territory did not have to the right to file a federal lawsuit to force compliance with a local noise law. Calling the decision "erroneous," Puerto Rican Justice Secretary Anabelle Rodriguez said the Caribbean island's government would appeal. Puerto Rican Governor Sila Calderon said she had filed the suit to protect the health and safety of Vieques residents, after having also issued a study saying the bombing put the island's children at risk of developing coronary disease. Despite President George W. Bush's pledge to eventually end naval training on Vieques, Congress passed legislation last month barring the Navy secretary from closing the site until he and top military leaders certify the availability of a site or sites that would provide equivalent or superior levels of training. Many Puerto Ricans believe that Bush will use his war on terrorism to back down on his promise. *CONGRESS TO PROBE ENRON SCANDAL AND BUSH ADMINISTRATION LINKS Washington, January 3 (RHC)-- A U.S. Senate committee has announced that it's subpoenaing top executives and directors of the controversial, bankrupt Enron Corporation - an entity with strong ties to the George W. Bush administration. In what is believed to be the first congressional probe in the Houston company's stunning collapse, observers are affirming that among the likely subpoena recipients is Wendy Gramm, an Enron director who is the wife of Texas Republican Senator Phil Gramm. The Governmental Affairs Committee has scheduled a hearing for January 24 on Enron's use of a large number of partnerships that kept billions of dollars of corporate debt off the company's books, and will also examine whether federal regulators missed warning signs of the company's trouble. The Enron scandal involved millions of dollars in campaign contributions to Bush, Senator Gramm and other members of Congress. According to numerous investigative reports, the cozy relationship between the Bush White House and Enron allowed the giant firm's top executive, Kenneth L. Lay, to meet in secret with Vice President Richard Cheney to help mold the U.S.'s energy policy after having contributed more than a million dollars to the presidential campaign. Shortly after taking office, Bush waged a battle against the imposition of federal price controls amid California's energy crisis, costing the state billions of dollars and allowing Enron to report increased revenues of almost 70 billion dollars in comparison to the previous year. Bush also resisted attempts to crack down on Enron's utilization of its 2830 offshore subsidiaries in countries with lax banking-regulation laws. The consumer-rights watchdog organization Public Citizen has asserted that some of these offshore havens helped Enron defraud its stockholders. Enron forced its employees to invest their retirement plans in the company's plummeting stock while corporate executives were free to sell their stock when it was near its peak before anyone caught wind of the firm's impending collapse. The employees were ruined, while 500 of the company's top executives divided up 55 million dollars worth of bonuses. *MORE AFGHAN CIVILIANS KILLED IN US AIR STRIKE AGAINST VILLAGE Kabul, January 3 (RHC)-- News agencies outside the United States are giving major coverage to another U.S. air strike that seems to have killed more than 100 civilians in the eastern Afghan village of Qalaye Niazi. Villagers told the Reuters news agency that at least one fighter jet, a B-52 bomber and two helicopters Sunday morning swooped down on the village in eastern Paktia province, as a Reuters cameraman filmed huge craters, scraps of flesh, pools of blood and clumps of what appeared to be human hair. A local Afghan religious leader invited U.S. forces to the village to see the damage, while in Washington, Major Pete Mitcher -- a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command -- said the Pentagon is aware of the incident and is currently investigating. Previously, the Pentagon said the village was a haven for Al Qaida and Taliban fighters and that, in any event, the estimate of casualties is unfounded. The incident has again launched the debate on conflicting information that has served to obscure the civilian death toll in Afghanistan. As the bombing campaign remains largely uncontroversial in U.S. media, University of New Hampshire economics professor Marc Herold said officials in Washington have again demonstrated their ability to manage the news and mainstream U.S. media have shown their willingness to be managed. Professor Herold has gathered media reports from around the world demonstrating that coverage of reports on civilian casualties has been much more abundant and thorough than in the U.S. He noted that by buying exclusive rights to accurate satellite images of the areas under bombardment, Washington has created precisely what the Pentagon and the White House seek: a war without witnesses, without the images of human suffering caused by U.S. bombs. *WARNINGS OF IMPENDING DISASTER AT AFGHAN REFUGEE CAMP HOUSING 350,000 Herat, January 3 (RHC)-- Aid workers at an Afghan refugee camp housing 350,000 displaced persons are warning that the camp is on the brink of an Ethiopian-style humanitarian disaster. Situated 30 miles west of Herat, 100 people are dying daily of exposure and starvation at the Maslakh camp, translated as "slaughterhouse" in English. With more than 15 years working in humanitarian disasters, Ian Lethbridge -- executive director of the British charity organization Feed the Children -- stated that Maslakh is among the worst he has experienced. The camp was set up four years ago to deal with the drought, but the U.S. bombardment of the country has swollen its ranks. Newcomers reportedly pitch whatever shelter they can muster on a barren plain littered with human waste, while families without any shelter are forced to dig foxholes in the frozen earth to escape the biting wind. Lucky ones are said to have a few tattered blankets or torn plastic sheets as cover, while nearby graveyards offer clear evidence that most of those buried are children. The refugees thought that aid would arrive quickly from Western nations, but almost no aid is getting to the camp. 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