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April 23, 2001



Cuba News

BBC News

Sunday, 22 April, 2001, 01:28 GMT 02:28 UK . BBC News Online

US ship cancels Cuba visit

The first trip by a United States cargo ship to Cuba in more than 40 years has been cancelled.

The MV Orso was due to arrive in Havana on Saturday, but a spokesman for owners Crowley Liner Service said senior managers had ordered the ship to bypass Cuba and proceed to Mexico.

He said no further details would be available until Monday. The company had planned weekly trips to Havana.

Correspondents say President Fidel Castro may have refused entry to the ship, which is believed to have been carrying humanitarian as well as commercial goods.

The US Congress passed a bill last year allowing food and medical exports to Cuba under special licence, but Havana has insisted it will not allow American goods into the country.

There have also been suggestions that Havana may be seeking to avoid an impression that US ships are now in a position to serve Cuba normally.

Unaware of the change of plan, foreign media had camped out from around 0300 local time (0700 GMT) at Havana harbour awaiting the ship's arrival.

Washington imposed economic sanctions on Cuba soon after Castro's 1959 Communist revolution, but there is growing pressure from abroad and from an American farm and business lobby to lift them.

"Moldova a European Cuba"

Sunday, 22 April, 2001, 19:15 GMT 20:15 UK

The new Moldovan president, Vladimir Voronin -- who is the first communist to be democratically elected in the former Soviet Union -- has compared his country to Cuba.

He was speaking at a rally celebrating the one-hundred-and-thirty-first anniversary of the birth of Lenin.

He said Moldova must hold out in Europe as Cuba has held out among what he described as imperialist predators -- an apparent reference to the United States.

He said Moldovan communists had become an example for other countries to follow.

Free trade, deeper democracy

By BBC News Online's David Schepp in Quebec City. April 22, 2001

Despite the efforts of demonstrators in Quebec City to halt the establishment of a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), American heads of government have agreed to pursue such a scheme.

The proposal to extend the already existing Nafta free-trade area - which links the US, Canada and Mexico - is one of the biggest and boldest ideas ever in the annals of commerce.

FTAA would encompass nearly all the countries of the Americas with a combined population of 800 million who produce goods and services totalling $11.4 trillion - bigger than the European Union.

The plan calls for the elimination or reduction of tariffs on goods moving between countries. It would also streamline customs regulations, eliminate quotas and subsidies and remove other impediments to trade.

The document calls on trade ministers to ensure conclusion of negotiations of FTAA by no later than January 2005 and to seek implementation soon after - but no later than December 2005.

Advancements

During the summit, several leaders alluded to the 21st century as the "century of the Americas", a reference to technological advancements that propelled the US to the fore in the 20th century.

The declaration seeks to advance the nations of the Western hemisphere by harnessing information and communication technology to raise the standards of living among member nations.

By signing the so-called Quebec Declaration on Sunday, Western leaders also endorsed a pact to exclude "undemocratic" nations from decision-making.

It was a similar sentiment that led to the exclusion of Cuba from the Quebec City summit - the only nation in the Western hemisphere not to attend this year's summit.

In adopting the pact, the declaration calls the cessation of democracy an "insurmountable obstacle" for a country to participate in any future summits.

The Quebec Declaration also renews Western leaders commitments to democratic principles, including protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The document affirms the desire to maintain peace and security and support for the Organization of American States, which promotes cooperation among countries in the hemisphere.

The declaration also renews commitments among member countries to fight drug trafficking and Aids and to reduce the number of people living in poverty by 15% by 2015.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service

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