Extracts. World Conference Against Racism Opens in S. Africa. The third World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) was officially opened Friday morning at the International Convention Center in Durban by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. About 14,000 delegates worldwide were present at the opening ceremony, including presidents Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, Jozo Krizanovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires of Cape Verde, Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo, Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. During the conference, which will end on September 7, the participants are expected to produce a declaration that recognizes the damage caused by past expressions of racism and reflects a new global awareness of modern forms of racism and xenophobia. A strong practical program of action will also be adopted at the end of the conference. The first and second WCAR were held in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1978 and 1983 respectively. **** Castro Criticizes US For Not Attending Anti-racism Conference. Cuban President Fidel Castro said the US refusal to attend the third UN conference on racism reflects its poor history on racial discrimination. Castro spoke here on his way to attend the conference to he held in the South Africa <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/southAfrica.html> n city of Durban. He said the meeting is of great importance since it will produce a far-reaching impact on the elimination of racial discrimination. He said the concept of racial discrimination is rooted deeply in his country, but Cuba <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/cuba.html> has exerted tremendous effort to get rid of it. In recent years, Cuba has provided educational and scholarship opportunities to poor students from Africa, Latin America and Caribbean countries. The number of foreign students studying in Cuba has reached 24,000. **** Chinese Economy Faces 5 Major Challenges: Top Planner China has maintained rapid economic growth so far this year despite the overwhelming slowdown in the rest of the globe, but there are still many outstanding challenges and difficulties posed for the Chinese economy, a top Chinese economic planner said Wednesday. However, "the most serious problem China confronts at the moment is the harsh international economic situation, the impact of which is coming to be felt here," said Zeng Peiyan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/people/zengpeiyan.shtml> , minister in charge of the State Development Planning Commission <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/organs/statecouncil.shtml#sdpc> , when reporting on economic work to the National People's Congress (NPC <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/organs/npc.shtml> ), China's legislature, this afternoon. The U.S. economic slowdown since the second half of 2000 has resulted in a drastic decrease of imports by that country, the Japan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/japan.html> ese economy is on the verge of recession again, the EU is under attack from both economic slowdown and inflation, and China' s neighboring countries are also suffering from lack of growth, Zeng said. All these factors have contracted the demand for Chinese exports, and currency devaluations in some countries have undermined the competitiveness of Chinese goods in terms of prices, he said. As a result, China's export growth rate fell 0.6 percent in June, compared with a 13.7 percent increase in January, he said. Zeng elaborated five major difficulties and challenges for the Chinese economy to the NPC lawmakers, of which the other four are: -- Farmers' income growth is slowing because of structural problems in rural economy, which has become the most aggravating issue for national economic development; -- Conflicts between domestic demand and supply are mounting, as farmers remain relatively poor, the number of low-income city dwellers is on the increase and manufacturers are restrained by limited investment in products that meet the market demand. In addition, the labor-intensive service sector is still under- developed; -- More workers may be laid off as exports contract; -- China has suffered from drought for two consecutive years, and droughts in many provinces this year have been the harshest in the past few decades. Irregularities in the market order and the frequent occurrence of major industrial accidents are also posing threats to the normal operations of the economy and social stability, the lawmakers were told. Zeng pledged further efforts in eight aspects to tackle the above-mentioned problems in order to "keep the present momentum of economic development." They include adjustment of the rural economic structure for the increase of farmers' incomes, improvement of the work of infrastructure construction to promote the increase of fixed assets investment, encouraging people to spend more and rectifying the market economic order. Zeng also pointed out that as China's accession to the World Trade Organization is imminent, the country should accelerate its work for adjusting laws and raising expertise to ensure that the entire Chinese economy should be ready for the challenge. **** Some of US Army Soldiers in Europe to Be Shifted to Asia-Pacific Region Military equipment stationed in Europe for an Army combat brigade was already being moved to Asia as part of a new Bush administration strategy, White told a group of reporters. He said that troops were likely to follow. However, White did not say exactly how much weaponry and equipment would be moved and how many soldiers would be shifted. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has not announced a change in defense strategy, but he has indicated that in the aftermath of the Cold War it would make sense to increase focus on potential threats in Asia and the Pacific. "It's a signal once again that we are going to shift our available resources around" to fit the new strategy putting more emphasis on Asia, White said. But, the US Army's top civilian official said that he will fight any Pentagon move to cut his 480,000 troops. "I don't intend to cut force structure," White said, adding that Rumsfeld was letting the services make initial decisions on force size. That study is to be completed for Congress by the end of September. Currently, the United States <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/usa.html> has some 100,000 military personnel from all services stationed in Europe and another 100, 000 in the Asia-Pacific region. The Army has 65,000 in Europe, most of them in Germany <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/germany.html> , and 21,000 in Japan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/japan.html> and South Korea. **** Chinese Defense Minister Visits Venezuela Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian arrived in Venezuela <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/venezuela.html> Thursday at the invitation of his Venezuelan counterpart Jose Vicente Rangel for a four-day visit. In a speech made at Caracas' airport, the visiting Chinese minister expressed his pleasure in visiting Venezuela, which he said will promote the development of relations between the two countries and armed forces. Chi, who is also vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and a state councilor, said that China views Venezuela as a country of importance in Latin America. Currently, Venezuela is playing a more important role in regional and international affairs, Chi added. "We admire very much the untiring efforts made by Venezuela's people to consolidate the democratic process, develop the national economy and form a prosperous and powerful country," said the Chinese minister, who arrived from Colombia <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/colombia.html> . "We're also happy about the success achieved by the Venezuelan Armed Forces in its work of modernization," Chi said. Chi stressed that he is convinced that his visit will contribute to the mutual understanding and the further cooperation between the two nations and armed forces. **** Chinese Top Lawmaker to Visit Viet Nam. Li Peng, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, will pay an official goodwill visit to Viet Nam from September 7 to 10, China' s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhu Bangzao said Friday. Li, also member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, is to visit the Southeast Asian country at the invitation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Standing Committee of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. During his visit, Li will hold meetings and talks with leaders of Viet Nam and exchange views on ways to further deepen the long- standing stable good-neighborly relations of friendship and comprehensive cooperation oriented toward the future, the spokesman said. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
