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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 20:43:39 -0400
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: RHC Weekend-13 October 2001
RHC Weekend-13 October 2001
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
RHC Weekend - News Update - 13 October 2001
.
*BUSH THREATENS TO VETO APPROPRIATIONS BILL IF CONGRESS LIFTS TRAVEL BAN
*UKRAINE'S DEFENSE MINISTER APOLOGIZES FOR DOWNING OF RUSSIAN AIRLINER
*SPAIN SEEKS TO FORGIVE DEBT OF NATIONS AIDING US WAR ON AFGHANISTAN
*ISRAEL EASES BLOCKADE ON PALESTINIANS BUT RESERVES RIGHT TO ASSASSINATE
THEM
*ULSTER UNIONISTS RECOMMEND SUSPENSION OF NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY
*WTO PUSHES MORE TRADE LIBERALIZATION AS "POSITIVE" FOR WORLD ECONOMY
*FUJIMORI TOOK HALF A MILLION DOLLARS OUT OF COUNTRY EACH TIME HE TRAVELED
.
*BUSH THREATENS TO VETO APPROPRIATIONS BILL IF CONGRESS LIFTS TRAVEL BAN
Havana, 13th October (RHC)-The United States government reiterated
Saturday its much-criticized position of prohibiting US citizens to
visit Cuba. US President George W Bush threatened to veto an entire
$17 billion appropriations bill currently being reviewed by
lawmakers, if Congress votes to remove the more-than 40-year old
travel ban on US citizens and residents traveling to Cuba.
The threat came in a letter to principal congressional leaders on
Friday in which the head of the Office of Management and Budget,
Mitch Daniels, wrote that Bush strongly opposes any moves by
legislators to soften Washington's stance on Havana and that the bill
would be vetoed if a provision lifting travel restrictions or a
freeze on spending money to enforce such restrictions is included.
It is illegal for US citizens to spend money in Cuba, thus making it
effectively impossible for people in the US to visit the island. Only
those to whom the US Treasury Department grants a license can legally
travel to Cuba.
For two years in a row Congress has voted to lift the travel
restrictions, but the language was struck from the two bills it was
associated with. House representatives voting earlier this year by
240-186 in favor of preventing the Treasury Department from spending
money to enforce the restrictions also had the language struck from
associated legislation when it appeared before the Senate. It is this
bill that is still before Congressional committees seeking to iron
out the differences with the White House.
*UKRAINE'S DEFENSE MINISTER APOLOGIZES FOR DOWNING OF RUSSIAN AIRLINER
Moscow, October 13 (RHC)-- Ukraine's Defense Minister, Olexander
Kuzmuk, has reportedly apologized to the families of the victims of
the Russian airliner that fell into the Black Sea killing all 78
people on board last week.
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma also apologized to Russia for the
damages caused in reference to the country's credibility due to the
Ukraine's persistence in denying that they were responsible for the
downing of the plane after firing a missile at it.
According to Russian ORT television, the head of air defense and his
deputy have resigned. The Russian commission in charge of the
investigation said that the missile that was launched destroyed the
Russian plane in midair.
The head of Russia's Security Council, Vladimir Rushailo, thanked
Ukranian experts for their cooperation in the investigation.
Meanwhile, Russia's Sibir airlines will reportedly sue the Ukrainian
armed forces once the results of the investigation officially
confirms that a Ukrainian missile was responsible for the crash of
the aircraft.
*SPAIN SEEKS TO FORGIVE DEBT OF NATIONS AIDING US WAR ON AFGHANISTAN
Havana, 13th October (RHC)-The Spanish Minister of Economics,
Rodrigo Rato, confirmed Saturday that the government of Jos� Aznar is
seeking to forgive those Third World nations helping the war effort
against the Taliban government of Afghanistan.
Madrid has requested that the European Union alleviate the debt owed
by Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, all of which
border Afghanistan. It said that condoning these nation's debts would
improve the lives of their citizens and help them to offer relief to
the Afghan refugees attempting to cross their borders. A debate on
the subject is expected to take place in the European Parliament in
Luxembourg on Monday. Palestine was also included in the request
although no specific reason was given by Spain for its inclusion.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Colin Powell will be traveling to
New Delhi, India, next Tuesday to discuss the attack against
Afghanistan and to thank India for its support. The government of
Atal Bihari Vajpayee has granted full use of its airspace and
military installations for the use of US and English forces currently
bombing Kabul.
Powell has commented to CNN that he will no doubt also discuss the
issue of Kashmir and the friction between New Delhi and Islamabad. He
will have met with the Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf, prior
to arriving in India. The US Secretary of State said that he was sure
that both Pakistan and India would join together in the war against
terrorism.
US planes Saturday attacked Taliban communications installations in
northern Afghanistan in the city of Heart. They also struck at the
airport of the important city of Mazar-I-Sharif.
*ISRAEL EASES BLOCKADE ON PALESTINIANS BUT RESERVES RIGHT TO ASSASSINATE
THEM
Beirut, October13 (RHC)--Israelis and Palestinians have tentatively
reactivated talks on a cease-fire. According to Israeli radio, Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon is expected to announce on Sunday that he will
soon ease the blockade in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. However,
according to Israeli sources, the country will continue with its
selective assassination of Palestinians.
Israel radio stated that Tel Aviv will only lift restrictions in
those places where there are no armed clashes between its army and
Palestinians. Israel has maintained a blockade against the occupied
Palestinianterritories since the second popular Palestinian uprising
began on September 28th last year.
Israeli government sources note that the raising of the blockade is,
among other things, aimed at facilitating the formation of an
anti-terrorist coalition. According to a United Nations Development
Program report, Tel Aviv's blockade against the Gaza Strip and West
Bank has cost the Palestinian economy four billion dollars and the
loss of more than 200,000 jobs. The closing of the Israeli border,
says the UNDP report, has meant the loss to Palestinians of between
eight and ten million dollars a day in salaries and exports of their
products. Some 75% of the Palestinian population now lives in
poverty.
On Friday Foreign Minister, Shimon Perez, met with head Palestinian
negotiator, Saeb Erakat and the president of the Palestinian
Parliament, Ahmed Qorei. A complete restoration of calm is the first
phase of the so-called Mitchell Plan, which also seeks the
reactivation of peace talks.
The president of the Palestine Authority, Yasser Arafat, will meet on
Monday in London with Prime Minister Tony Blair. The two leaders will
discuss the international crisis sparked by the terrorist attacks in
New York and Washington. The British Foreign Office announced that
Arafat, who was invited to London by Tony Blair, would also meet with
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. The Palestinian president is expected
to focus talks on the impact on the Arab world of the joint
US/British bombings of Afghanistan.
And finally Palestinian radio reported on Saturday that Israeli
troops seriously damaged a Palestinian grammar school in the West
Bank. National Palestinian Authority Radio reported that military
cranes that rolled into the town of Deir Yasir to demolish a building
next to the school also practically destroyed the school.
*ULSTER UNIONISTS RECOMMEND SUSPENSION OF NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY
London, 13th Oct (RHC)-- The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party,
David Trimble, today asked the British Minister for Northern Ireland,
John Reid, to consider putting an end to the IRA truce the next time
the group commits an assassination.
On Friday, Reid declared that the principle Protestant paramilitary
groups had broken the cease-fire after their last acts of violence in
Ulster.
The British government Northern Ireland Minister accused the Ulster
Defense Association (UDA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) of
having systematically broken the cease-fire.
Today, before traveling to the United States for a meeting in
Washington with Richard Hass, special advisor to President George
Bush on Northern Ireland, David Trimble, in a television interview
with Sky News, complained about the attitude of the British
government towards the cease-fire. According to him, the IRA has
broken the cease-fire having killed four people in the last year.
The Unionist leader believes that Reid is left with no option but to
again suspend the powers given by London to the Northern Ireland
Assembly to overcome the crisis.
Last month, David Trimble resigned as First Minister of Northern
Ireland with the object of pressuring the IRA to start handing over
their arms.
*WTO PUSHES MORE TRADE LIBERALIZATION AS "POSITIVE" FOR WORLD ECONOMY
Singapore, October 13 (RHC)-- The member nations of the World Trade
Organization said on Saturday in Singapore that a new round of trade
liberalization could be positive for the world economy, which has
been severely affected by the terrorist attacks against U.S. last
September 11th.
The Trade Ministers and high ranking officials from the European
Union, Canada, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Mexico and India among
others, met on Saturday at the invitation of Singapore's Trade
Minister, George Yeo, in an attempt to overcome the conflicts that
are blocking a possible new round of WTO talks to be agreed on during
a conference to be held from November 9th to the 13th in Doha, Qatar.
The objective of the rich nations is to reportedly attempt to
convince the developing countries that under the current
circumstances they should not be afraid of major trade liberalization
just because the Uruguay Round has not benefited them. In the
inaugural ceremony, Singapore's Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong,
characterized as critical efforts being taken to make sure that
countries agree to a new round of trade liberalization as the world
is in danger of global recession, according to the Asian official.
Although a final declaration will reportedly not be expected in the
two-day meeting in Singapore, the General Director of the World Trade
Organization, Mike Moore, said that the meeting will help to
ascertain each country's commitment.
*FUJIMORI TOOK HALF A MILLION DOLLARS OUT OF COUNTRY EACH TIME HE TRAVELED
Lima, Oct 13th (RHC)--The former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori,
received $500,000 each time he traveled abroad on presidential
business. Matilde Pinchi, an assistant to Vladimrio Montesinos, the
former head of Fujimori's intelligence services, revealed the
information on Saturday in a congressional report.
The former president, who is now a fugitive from Peruvian justice in
Japan, made some 114 trips out of Peru between l992 and 2000. On his
last trip on November 13, 2000, Fujimori went to Brunei to
participate in the Asia Pacific Cooperation Meeting. From there he
fled to Japan where he asked for political asylum.
Pinchi also testified that she sometimes had seen Montesinos, who is
currently in jail in Lima, prepare packets of 50,000 and 100,000
dollars for the former president.
(c) 2001 Radio Havana Cuba, NY Transfer News. Todos os direitos reservados.
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