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01/22/13- Prensa Latina (Habana) - DIRECT FROM HAVANA, AM

LATIN AMERICAN NEWS AGENCY, SA
P R E N S A   L A T I N A
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plcomercial@prensa-latina.cu                                           
Morning Transmission
Tuesday, January 22, 2013 

CUBA NEWS
The Cuban Five and the U.S. hate campaigns against them
World Art Deco Congress in Cuba
Cuban Event Promotes Gourmet Cuisine
Cuban Electoral Authorities Ensure that Law Is Observed
Juries for Casa Prize Begin Readings in Cienfuegos, Cuba 

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN STORIES
FARC-EP, Colombian Gov't Continue Dialogue on Agrarian Issues
Uruguayan Authorities Warn About Dengue Vectors
New International Commitment to Venezuelan Fencer
Puerto Rican Organizations Require Decriminalize Abortion
State Telecom Having Increased Social Impact in Venezuela
NGO Calls for Gun Control and Child Safety in USA
Colombia, Peru Labor Ministers Sign Agreement
Venezuelan Economy under Govt Social Policy Effects
Pentagon Begins Operation to Support France in Mali
Correa Strengthens Govt Plans to Favor Ecuadorans 

OTHER INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Spain Received 57.7 Million Foreign Tourists in 2012
Indonesian Court Sentences British Woman to Death Penalty
Mali: Emergency State Extended Amid Conflict
Indonesian Authorities Confirmed the Escape of 62 Prisoners
Laos to Tighten Laws on Child Labor
ASEAN Expands Tourism Cooperation
Gas Leak Alarms Population in Paris
Military Presence in Mali Has Geo-Political Interests, Experts Say
France Keeps on Deporting Immigrants
Renewable Energy, Main Issue in Arab Economic Summit
France Loses Millions Due to Tax Evasion
Okinawa Demands Withdrawal of U.S. Infantry and Aircraft
Measles on Decrease Worldwide
Philippines Fines U.S. Navy
Djokovic Will Play the Australia Open Semifinals
Syria Keeps Offensive Operations against Terrorists, says Minister
Spanish Parliament Analyzes Alleged Corruption in Rajoy’s Party
Afghan Government Investigates Cases of Torture Denounced by UN 

************************************* CUBA NEWS
The Cuban Five and the U.S. hate campaigns against them

Havana (PL) Allegations of the U.S. government’s media campaigns to convict five Cuban antiterrorists arrested in that country in 1998, and the increase of the international struggle for their liberation marked this year the main events surrounding the case.

Closing the Seventh Legislature of Parliament, its president, Ricardo Alarcon, said that several years ago Washington designed a crusade to create a hostile environment facilitating the sentence of these Cubans, who were in the northern country keeping track of terrorist groups based in Miami. 

The Five, as Ramon Labañino, Fernando Gonzalez, Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero and Rene Gonzalez are known, were victims of some media, used to condemn them beforehand in Miami and later to silence the case, recalled the parliamentary leader.

"Washington wants to bury the evidence of the profound injustice against Gerardo (Hernandez), punished with two life sentences plus 15 years, and the judicial farce of a process full of hidden or manipulated ‘evidences’", he stressed.

Martin Garbus, attorney for Gerardo, had filed a new petition (available in www.thecuban5.org) declaring the judgment violates the Basic Law, "therefore it should be declared invalid, and he and his colleagues released." 

According to the resource of defense, there are documents showing that the U.S. government paid a lot of journalists to publish negative articles about Gerardo and his companions. 

The legal document states that the "secret subversion of print media, radio and television by the government (the United States) in order to get a conviction has no precedent" and "violated the integrity of the trial and the Due Process Clause of the Constitution." 

Garbus also argues that the Government, through millions of dollars in illegal payments and at least a thousand articles published over a period of six years, intervened in the trial and convinced the jury to declare the defendants guilty. "The conviction should be overturned,” he said. 
But Washington refuses to give evidences, while international campaigns in 2012 have been engaged in pressuring the White House to show all hidden evidences and to release the antiterrorists, when the legal battle is about to conclude. 

In September, 14 years since being imprisoned, many voices were raised in favor of their release.

Messages through social network, letters to U.S. President, Barack Obama, walks, lectures, newspaper advertisements and billboards with images of the Five all over important cities in the world were some of the actions taken. 

This year, in Washington there were also a day called Five days for the Five, in which offices of more than 40 senators and representatives were visited to tell them about the case, an initiative supported by several countries sending letters demanding the release. 

As well in November, in the eastern Cuban province of Holguin, was held the traditional international colloquium for the freedom of the antiterrorists, attended by activists from 47 countries. 

The forum, in its eighth edition, reviewed the actions agreed in 2011, and charted new strategies to add voices and lead more strongly the case to the public, especially to the U.S.

Parliamentarians from Cuba and other countries, presidents, Nobel Prize winners, religious leaders, institutions defending human rights, international organizations and some 350 organizations in solidarity with Cuba, among others, also reinforced their demands for release.

ARBITRARINESS IN THE PROCESS

The Five were arrested in 1998 for following the actions of violent anti-Cuban groups in South Florida, and convicted there to severe prison sentences. 

The prestigious Chilean attorney Juan Guzman, who was responsible for nearly a hundred complaints against dictator Augusto Pinochet, said the trial in the United States lacks any support.

In an interview with Prensa Latina, the former judge of the Court of Appeals in Santiago de Chile assured intimate knowledge of the Cuban’s court file, and he could notice "that deep down, with mere appreciations, a crime never committed was made up."

"They invented a charge ―having endangered the national security of the United States―, something the U.S. military itself denied at the hearing," said Guzman, who attended in 2007 as an observer to the process presented by defense lawyers in the Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

In the trial, which began in the 2000 fall and lasted seven months, experts such as the former head of the Southern Command, General Charles Whilhem, retired Gen. Edward Atkinson, Admiral Eugene Carol, Colonel George Busckner and even the Ex director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, James Clapper, denied that the Five had access to classified or secret data.

"That caught my attention: the judges failed against that pronouncement, when members of the armed forces of the United States said that, at no time, the Cubans’ actions represented a threat to U.S. national security," said the lawyer.

The main accusation against them, recognized by prosecutors and the judge from the indictment until the last day of the trial, was that they had, peacefully, without weapons, penetrated anti-Cuban terrorist groups in order to inform Cuba about their criminal plans, however, all the time they were treated by the press in Miami as spies and they were sentenced as such. 

After a thorough review of the relevant documents, on August 9, 2005, a panel of three judges of the Court issued its opinion, a detailed 93-page analysis of the trial and evidence, reversing the convictions on the basis that they did not receive a fair trial in Miami. 

A new trial was ordained, but in August 2006 the Full Court reversed that decision.

Finally, they received sentences ranging from 15 years to two life sentences plus 15 years, the latter imposed on Gerardo Hernandez. 

Rene González was released after serving the penalty, but he is obliged to stay for three years in U.S. territory, under the regime of supervised release, which activists consider an additional punishment. 

The lawyer admitted that, with the arrival of Barack Obama to the White House, he hoped the president decree an amnesty law that favored Cubans. "However, so far he has not made a decision," said Guzman. 

Since the beginning of the confinement, implementation of practices considered by human rights organizations as psychological torture started, such as long periods of confinement in the hollow, the refusal for them to be visited by their relatives, and obstacles to a fair trial and process.

The U.S. government has repeatedly refuse visa for Olga Salanueva and Adriana Perez, wives of Gerardo and Rene respectively, to meet them. 

According to data from the island, more than 3400 Cubans have been victims of actions organized and financed on U.S. soil, where anti-Cuban organizations that had penetrated the Five operate with total impunity.

For academics as French journalist Salim Lamrani, the cruelty against them is revenge against Cuba for refusing to follow orders from the White House since 1959. 

The biggest example is the case of Gerardo Hernandez, sentenced to live in prison for a crime that never happened, for an event with which he had nothing to do, for a fabricated charge that the prosecutors themselves admitted they could not prove and had tried to remove. 

Indeed many people are struck by the contrast between the freedom these violent groups have when carrying out their terrorist actions and the severity with which those who were trying to prevent them are punished. 

* Journalist of the National Editorial Department of Prensa Latina News Agency

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World Art Deco Congress in Cuba

Havana, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) Architects and historians of Art Deco in America, Europe and Asia will attend here from the 14th to the 21st of March the World Congress of that artistic style, which is present in all its forms in Cuba. Organized by the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies (Icads) and the National Council of Cultural Patrimony (CNPC), the Congress is expected to gather more than 150 specialists from Argentina, Brazil, United States, Canada, China, Australia and Cuba.
In a press conference held today, the president of the CNPC, Gladys Collazo, said the importance of the meeting is that it takes place in this island as the result of long years of work for the preservation of Cuban patrimony, she said.
Art Deco flourished in the world during the first decades of the twentieth century and included phases of design as clothing, accessories, furniture and architecture. 
Also in printed graphics, the design of magazines and posters. On the latter there will be an exhibition with over 25 posters on cinema, belonging to the private collection of Cuban intellectual Alfredo Guevara. 
These are posters, said Guevara to reporters, of the years after the triumph of the Revolution on January 1, 1959, with elements of this style used involuntarily by its authors, with insignificant details that raise its value over the years, he stressed.
The event will be prestiged by world personalities of this art style as Sandra Cohen, president of Icads and US specialists Alastair Duncan and Hermes Mallen, among others.
The program features lectures on the characteristics of this trend in Cuba, its patrimonial value and the need to preserve it, as part of the theoretical program.
Exhibitions of art deco pieces and films made in the 30s to the 50s of the last century are also part of the proposals.
The lovers of this style will be able to tour some emblematic buildings with this style like the Bacardi Building in Old Havana and others in Vedado, like the Casa de las Ameritas and the housing compound Lopez Serrano, whose mural in the ground floor is the logo of this event.
The 12th World Congress of Art Deco is also sponsored by Unesco and Habanadeco, who groups specialists of the island with the aim of promoting the study and conservation of this patrimony in Cuba.

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Cuban Event Promotes Gourmet Cuisine

Havana, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) Cuba’s stylized cuisine aimed at gourmet travellers, a main goal of the country’s tourist authorities, will be discussed in a professional meeting convened about the issue, to be held on Jan.23-24. The 6th Symposium Cooking in Hotel Facilities is expected to gather 150 chefs, cooks, kitchen porters and other specialists linked to the topic countrywide, according to an official communique.
The objective of the meeting is to strengthen quality service in the tourist industry, says the document.
The meeting, to be held in the provincial headquarters of the Federation of Culinary Associations of the Republic of Cuba (FACRC), in Centro Habana municipality, will include a program of lectures, demonstrations and preparation of cold and hot dishes, among other activities.
Vice President of events and promotion of FACRC in the capital, Olga Lidia Alvarez, said there will be 11 speakers from urban and rural hotels and the Tourism Ministry (MINTUR), besides foreign experts, including Italian chef Alessandro Larincchie. 

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Cuban Electoral Authorities Ensure that Law Is Observed

Havana, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) The National Electoral Commission (CEN) has the legal mandate to ensure that law is observed and to guarantee that Cuban citizens' right to vote with privacy and transparency is respected, said CEN member Tomas Amaran. In an interview with Prensa Latina on the February 3 election to choose 612 deputies to the Cuban Parliament and nearly 1,270 delegates to the People's Power provincial assemblies, Amaran noted the importance of doing a good work at polling stations, because they are in direct contact with voters. 
For that reason, he added, we make emphasis on the preparation of authorities at polling stations and we have designed a plan that also involves authorities at other levels. We even distributed a DVD nationwide containing a seminar taught by CEN experts.  
According to Amaran, polling stations must guarantee all facilities for citizens to exercise their right to vote, including preparing the site, have two ballot boxes (one to vote for lawmakers and the other for the provincial delegates) and ensure privacy in the cubicles. 
A transcendental issue is that authorities at polling stations must inform voters about how to cast their vote, said Amaran, because it is different from the way it was done in the municipal election in October and November 2012, when 14,537 council people were elected. 
While on that occasion voters cast their vote for one of the candidates on the ballot, now they can elect all of them or some of them selectively: that is the citizens' option, their right, and it must be respected, he stressed. 
In that regard, authorities must clarify any doubts in a precise manner to prevent misunderstandings or a voter from thinking that they are trying to influence the voting, he pointed out.
"We are working on each detail to comply with electoral ethics, with the rigor established by law, so that citizens can exercise their right to vote freely," he stressed. 
Amaran noted that authorities expect citizens (more than eight million people have been called to vote) will cast their vote with discipline and enthusiasm, as it is traditional for a people accustomed to that kind of process. 
He added that they are working to guarantee that people will vote fast, without interference, so that they do not have to wait for a long time at the polling stations.
Precisely, in order to prevent long lines, our Electoral Law establishes that polling stations cannot have more than 500 voters, so there are 29,942 electoral colleges nationwide, Amaran explained.
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Juries for Casa Prize Begin Readings in Cienfuegos, Cuba

Cienfuegos, Cuba, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) A group of 22 writers from 13 Latin American countries plus France began the readings today for the 54th Casa de las Americas Literary Prize, the oldest of its kind in the region. For 12th consecutive year, the city of Cienfuegos, 250 kilometers south-east of Havana, is hosting the committee for the selection of awards.
The contest is paying tribute to two figures closely linked to the institution in their centenaries, Guatemalan playwright Manuel Galich and Cuban artist Mariano Rodriguez.
Galich, winner of the 1961 Casa Prize with the piece “El pescado indigesto” (Indigestible Fish), founded the Theatre Department at the institution as well as Conjunto magazine, in addition to working on the dissemination of the history and culture of native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.
Rodriguez (born in 1912) created the Department of Art, and after the death of Haydee Santamaria, the founder of the Casa de las Americas, served as its president.
The Special Award for studies of native American cultures will be issued for the second time, overseen by Paraguayan Ticio Escobar, Bolivian Esteban Ticona, and Guatemalan Emilio del Valle.
The poetry jury is comprised of Fernando Balsea (Ecuador), Arturo Carrera (Argentina), Rafael Curtoisie (Uruguay), Joserramon Melendez (Puerto Rico) and Teresa Melo (Cuba).

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LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN STORIES
FARC-EP, Colombian Gov't Continue Dialogue on Agrarian Issues

Havana, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) The dialogue between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) and the Government continue today focused on agrarian issues, considered the main cause of the conflict in that country. After a 24-hour break, the parties retake talks to work for three days until Thursday, the date on which the first cycle of talks in 2013 will conclude, according to the announced schedule.
The land issue continues focusing talks, leading the six items agreed in the General Agreement to guide the dialogue.
In this regard, the FARC are in favor of making a comprehensive agrarian and rural reform, from a socio-environmental, democratic and participatory approach. Its objective is to resolve the unfair land tenure, “main cause of the misery and war Colombia is suffering,” they said in a release.
Meanwhile, Humberto de la Calle, head of the government delegation, said the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos drives very specific solutions to retrieve and transform the field.
The other issues that comprise the agenda of the dialogue refer to the guarantees for political participation, the end of armed conflict, the solution to the problem of illegal drugs, the rights of victims and verification mechanisms and countersignature of the agreement in the negotiation table.
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Uruguayan Authorities Warn About Dengue Vectors

Montevideo, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) The Public Health Ministry issued a warning about dengue cases in neighboring countries and urged people to take preventive measures and fight the Aedes aegypti mosquito, vector of the disease. Cuerpo : Health officials are preparing a contingency manual for hospitals with details of how to proceed with possible dengue cases.
They asked people to prevent the spread of dengue, because measures like fumigation alone are insufficient.
In a recent tour to interior regions of the country, officials of the Ministry of Public Health found larvae of Aedes aegypti, but without cases of dengue registered.
Concern grew in the last hours with reports of cases detected in Brazil and Paraguay.
The director of the Vectors' Unit of Zoonosis from the Ministry of Health, Gabriela Willat, told local media she could not explain how there are still no cases of the disease in Uruguay.

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New International Commitment to Venezuelan Fencer

Caracas, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) Venezuelan Ruben Limardo, Olympic fencing champion at the London-2012 games, is facing a new international commitment in his aspiration to ascend to head the world rankings, specialized sources said. According to the calendar of the International Fencing Federation, Limardo will fence next weekend in Carroccio Trofero Legnano (Italy) in the World Cup category. The Venezuelan is just 13 points behind the Estonian Nikolai Novosjolov, leader of the world ranking.
Both competed recently in the Grand Prix in Doha, Qatar, where Limardo added 21 units to his record, the best season start in his career.
The World Cup gave him 14 points by reaching the quarter-finals, but two just to be in the main draw, while the semifinal brings two dozen points, 26 for contending for the title and 32 if he should win.
According to the trade press, the Venezuelan has yet to reach his optimum sport form, because in Watar his performance was affected by a bad cold.

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Puerto Rican Organizations Require Decriminalize Abortion

San Juan, Jan 21 (Prensa Latina) Several organizations demanded separately today decriminalize abortion in Puerto Rico, which was turned into crime by the previous administration of annexationist New Progressive Party (PNP). Political and social groups demanded at the same time extending services and health centers, so any woman who want it can finish with a pregnancy.
The Broad Women's Movement of Puerto Rico and the Latin America and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women's Rights repudiated fundamentalism of NPP legislators to take to include abortion as a crime in the new Penal Code of Puerto Rico.
A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court recognized abortion in 1973 as a constitutional and fundamental right of every woman, it said.
The Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) also demanded the new legislative to ensure women's right to terminate their pregnancy under Puerto Rican laws.
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State Telecom Having Increased Social Impact in Venezuela

Caracas, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) The Venezuelan state company Movilnet, specializing in the telecommunications business, is committed to making a greater social impact with its goal to extend services to remote areas of the country. According to company sources, by the end of 2012, the company was the preference of 51 percent of the Venezuelan population, and had installed 197 new towers.
The towers were placed in communities, major roads and highways, rural settlements, strategic areas of the country and native neighborhoods.
Sixteen towers are the result of collective effort and the active participation of beneficiary populations in the process of identification, design, implementation and management of these new social technological achievements.
Movilnet benefited two communities whose indigenous peoples now enjoy new information and communication tools while preserving the integrity of their native traditions.
The company had more than 300 percent growth over the last five years, with more than 15.9 million users across the country.
By 2013 plans include an investment of nearly a billion bolivars ($232 million USD) and the activation of 41 radio stations which will increase the capacity of data transmission.

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NGO Calls for Gun Control and Child Safety in USA

Washington, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) The U.S. organization One Million Moms for Gun Control urged the White House today to ensure children's safety in this country, and enact additional measures to control weapons in civilian hands. The civic group was founded in December by Shannon Watts (ordinary citizen and mother of five children) a day after the shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut that killed 27 people, including 20 children, all aged between six and seven years old.
"A national alarm has sounded in the United States and cannot be silenced; the children who died in Sandy Hook Elementary School were as innocent as ours," Watts said in a public statement.
The activist said that the Second Amendment of the Constitution lacks a section so that the Americans protected by the right to bear weapons are responsible for the lives of their fellow countrymen.
One Million Moms for Gun Control wants to reenact the march of a million people associated with Martin Luther King, and advised President Barack Obama to limit the number of firearms, ammunition, and licenses granted by each state.
The Senate will postpone discussions on a new bill to control firearms, and congressional debates were postponed until February.
About 85 people die each day because of shootings in the United States, a country with 315.1 million inhabitants, with an inventory of almost 310 million firearms in private homes.

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Colombia, Peru Labor Ministers Sign Agreement

Bogota, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) Colombian Minister of Labor, Rafael Pardo, and his Peruvian counterpart, Teresa Laos signed an agreement on cooperation in labor relations and employment, officials announced today. In declarations to reporters, Pardo stressed the importance of the agreement, signed in this capital, which emphasizes technical assistance, promotion of employability and protection of the rights of national and migrant workers.
It will also promote the exchange of labor statistics, inspection, accidents and experiences on the development and promotion of employment and entrepreneurship, he said.
He added that both countries have the cooperation and support of the Office for the Andean Countries of the International Labour Organization.

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Venezuelan Economy under Govt Social Policy Effects

Caracas, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) The Venezuelan economy, with 5.5 percent of growth in 2012, is showing the effects of government social policy which benefits large sectors of the population. A 61-percent increase in social investment over the last 14 years, the period of President Hugo Chavez's government, characterizes the measures implemented to favor inclusion of all Venezuelans.
In that regard, the most recent report by the National Statistics Institute (INE) reveals that abject poverty decreased from 11.36 percent to 6.97 percent over 10 years (from 2001 to 2011).
For Elias ElJuri, president of the INE, the 14th National Census taken in 2011 also revealed a reduction of that indicator at the municipal level.
The municipalities with less than 10 percent of abject poverty increased from 102 to 218, while those that exceed 20 percent decreased from 92 to 20.
It should be noted that to determine that condition in Venezuela, five indicators are taken into consideration, including homes with children between seven and 12 years of age that do not attend school and those that are overcrowded (more than three people sleeping in one bedroom) 
Besides, those who live in inappropriate houses that lack access to drinkable water and sewer systems and those households headed by those with an education level less than third grade.
The government actions are also reflected in the labor market, where the unemployment rate decreased to 5.9 percent in 2012, with greater presence in the formal sector.

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Pentagon Begins Operation to Support France in Mali

Washington, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) Transport aircraft for the US Armed Forces has begun to carry troops and logistic supplies from France to Mali to support the French military intervention in that country, the Pentagon confirmed today. A spokesman of the United States Africa Command said a C-17 aircraft with military personnel, 40 French soldiers and infantry transportation vehicles arrived in Mali, in just the beginning of a large-scale operation that will continue in the coming days.
The US flights started on Monday, but the Defense Department did not give any details about the number of aircraft they are using or the cooperation between both allies on intelligence or the use of drones, the ABC network reported.
The White House clarified the past week that it would not send ground troops to Mali, but it would support Paris' military intervention in the North-African country, providing intelligence information and sending 100 military advisors to six West-African nations that compose a regional group of troops to join the French soldiers.
The French troops started their military operations in Mali on January 11, with more than 2,000 military men in the theater of operations that will turn into 2,500 this week.

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Correa Strengthens Govt Plans to Favor Ecuadorans

Quito, Jan. 22 (Prensa Latina) Government plans to benefit Ecuadoran citizens, such as attention to disabled persons and consolidated education will be strengthened in his coming term, promised President Rafael Correa. 
During an interview broadcast by the La Voz del Santuario (The Voice of Sanctuary) radio program, Correa assured that the program directed at the disabled will continue as a technical secretariat under the Vice Presidency, given all the experience that has been gained with this effort.

The PAIS Alliance presidential candidate added that the Manuela Espejo mission would continue, through which direct aid is given to the disabled, as well as the Joaquin Gallegos mission which offers financial assistance to the families of the disabled.

Correa also said that the process of school consolidation to achieve an integrated education system would continue, and mentioned that some 5,000 schools have been remodelled and furnished with equipment.

A large number of schools remain dispersed; a total of 19,000 schools means that their infrastructure must be unified in order to allow for better development of the educational process, he added.
As far as university entry is concerned, he pointed out that a billion dollars is being invested currently in higher education.

Correa expressed that it was impossible to allow everyone to study whatever they wish if the country has no need for that particular subject, and emphasized the importance of quotas for each specialty.

Asked about the tax structure for the country, Correa called on citizens to not allow themselves to be fooled by candidates who offer to lower taxes as part of their campaign promises, since Ecuador’s poor do not pay taxes; they are only paid by the rich and the middle class.

The president pointed out that basic foodstuffs are tax-free as well as a number of medicines.

Ecuador has one of the lowest tax rates worldwide, at only 12 percent, he said, pointing out that countries like Chile, Peru and Spain are approaching a rate of 20 percent.

At the end of the interview, Correa recalled that in the six years of his government, the changes have been historic, and promised that in his next term he will continue to work in order to radicalize and consolidate the process which has been called the Citizens Revolution.

sc/sa/rmh/nda OTHER INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Spain Received 57.7 Million Foreign Tourists in 2012

Madrid, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) Spain received 57.7 million foreign tourists in 2012, accounting for a 2.7-percent increase compared to the previous year, according to official statistics published by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. The data from the Survey on Tourist Movements on the Border (FRONTUR) are slightly lower than those released on January 16 by Minister Jose Manuel Soria, who said that 57.9 million foreign travelers had visited the country last year, three percent more than in 2011.
However, 2012 ranks as the third best year in history regarding international arrivals, only preceded by 58.7 million travelers in 2007 and 58 million in 2006, before the beginning of the economic crisis.
In 2011, Spain received 56.7 million vacationers, accounting for an increase of 7.6 percent in contrast to the previous year. 
Spain's major tourist-sending markets in 2012 were the United Kingdom, Germany and France, although Russia reported the fastest growth, with 1.2 million tourists and a 39.8-percent rise, according to FRONTUR.
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Indonesian Court Sentences British Woman to Death Penalty

Jakarta, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) An Indonesian court sentenced today the British citizen Lindsay Sandiford to death penalty for carrying 4.8 kilograms of cocaine into Bali. The court sentenced Sandiford to the maximum penalty despite the 15-year imprisonment request issued by the district attorney’s office given the fact the accused is 56 years old.
According to Judge Amser Simanjuntak, president of the court in Denpasar district, Sandiford did not plead to be guilty and no extenuating circumstances were taken into account.
The court sentenced other three British citizens for related events to one to five years of imprisonment. A fourth British citizen still awaits the ruling of the court.


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Mali: Emergency State Extended Amid Conflict

Bamako, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) The Malian government reaffirmed its decision of extending the emergency state for three months amid an offensive by the Army, backed by French troops, against Islamic rebels occupying the northern areas of this country. The measure was approved during a special meeting of the Council of Ministers, according to an official communiqué.
The emergency state had been decreed 10 days ago given the advance of Islamic armed groups that threatened to capture the capital after occupying some northern cities.
According to Malian authorities, the imposition of the emergency state and its three-month extension responds to the need of maintaining a stable social atmosphere.
As part of the advance of Malian soldiers backed by France’s military intervention, the key localities of Diabali and Douentza were recaptured.
To back the Malian-French military campaign, nearly 2,000 soldiers of the International Support Mission to Mali, which will be comprised of 5,800 soldiers, will be arriving in Mali until January 26.
The government of countries such as Egypt oppose the intervention to Mali for considering this action will fuel the conflict in the region.

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Indonesian Authorities Confirmed the Escape of 62 Prisoners

Jakarta, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) The Indonesian authorities confirmed today the escape of 62 inmates from Kuala Tungkal prison in Jambi, Sumatra, after simulating a riot. The group of prisoners organized a protest against the government's new prison regulations, regarding the restriction of pardons to drug dealers, Jakarta Post newspaper said.
The investigation confirmed that the rebellion was the pretext to hide the plan to escape of the 62 prisoners, 18 of them linked to drug crimes.
The spokesman for the Indonesian National Police, Agus Rianto told reporters they had already captured 21 prisoners, which will be duly punished.

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Laos to Tighten Laws on Child Labor

Vientiane, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) An official report about child labor in Laos recommended strengthening the legal policies to benefit around 170,000 minors that are still exposed to those conditions. Research that began in 2010 revealed that seven out of every 10 of those children worked more than 49 hours a week, exceeding the 46 hours stipulated, to help their very poor families.
The report criticized their lack of opportunities to study and develop together with others of the same age.
It also said it is even worse that 130,000 of those children are involved in risky kinds of work and stressed that starting from that point, policies should be corrected to liberate that large number of minors.
During the analysis of the gathered data, Deputy General Director of the labor protection department of the union federation Samanesay Khanthanouxay highlighted the presence of children in areas contaminated by chemicals, gaming establishments and in drug dealing.
Laotian legislation establishes the age of 18 as the onset of adulthood, but allows 14-year-old children to work in agriculture, something that traditionally happens in this country, where 90 percent of the population lives through raising crops, gathering forest resources and fishing.
This Indo-Chinese country is signatory of eight conventions on this issue, including five essential documents with the International Labor Organization in reference to the minimum working age and the worst forms of child labor.

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ASEAN Expands Tourism Cooperation

Vientiane, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) China, Japan and South Korea agreed to cooperate by all possible means with the efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in the development of the tourism industry. This was the main result of ministerial-level conferences conducted between ASEAN and the three partner countries in the 32nd Regional Tourism Forum which began here this weekend and will run until Thursday.
During the dialogues the three promised to work together with their partners to promote greater shared flow of tourists, and establish a better connection between them.
They acknowledged in a memorandum of understanding, the important role of the transportation sector on a sustainable growth of tourism, mainly through efforts to expand air links.
They also looked forward to the adoption of certain key standards as hotels with friendly environments, clean cities, satellite communication services, homey rooms and facing crisis.
ASEAN plus the three received in 2012 about 98 million international visitors, representing an increase of almost 12 percent compared to previous year's figures.

sc/cmf/mgt/hr

Gas Leak Alarms Population in Paris

Paris, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) A cloud of gas from a plant in the department of Normandy extended today to the French capital and caused alarm among the population, but officials ruled out health risks. Despite the strong odor, police said there is no danger because it was a mercaptan leak, a compound used to scent natural gas so that it can be detected.
Thousands of alarmed people called emergency services and the fire fighters. It was said many people were vomiting and with headache.
The leak was originated in a chemical factory from Lubrizol company in the city of Rouen, about 120 kilometers from the capital, and spread to Normandy and the Ile-de-France, covering Paris and the departments around.
Spokesmen from the company said that the problem still continues, but expressed hope that will be resolved before the end of the day.
The gas cloud will dissipate depending on the weather, fire fighters from Paris said.

sc/cmf/mgt/car

Military Presence in Mali Has Geo-Political Interests, Experts Say

Moscow, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) Geo-political interests in the old metropolis of Africa are the main reason for France’s military presence in Mali and its support for intervention actions by Belgium, Germany Italy and other European states, an expert said. Analyst Juan Luis Gonzalez believes the French contingent combat against Islamists in Mali is a “smokescreen” since the real reason is controlling the resources of that nation.
France never left Africa and has stationed military men in Chad, Senegal and Cote d’ Ivoire, the expert told Russia Today.
Paris is interested in the gold, uranium, gas, oil and diamonds, noted Gonzalez.
Al Qaeda is helping France and Western allies to maintain their presence in African and in other key regions, affirmed Gonzalez underlining “all Al Qaeda leaders since Osama Bin Laden have worked for Western governments.”
The Russian president's special envoy for African affairs, Mikhail Margelov, affirmed France’s military deployment does not correspond to the action previously discussed at the U.N. Council of Security, but he also did not insist that the intervention was illegitimate.
Margelov reaffirmed that Russia’s stance remains unchangeable regarding the fact that Malians must receive an unconditional support for fighting extremists, under the aegis of the U.N. and the African Union.

sc/sa/lch/ mgt/oda

France Keeps on Deporting Immigrants

Paris, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) Deportations of illegal immigrants continue to increase in France, where 36,800 immigrants were deported in 2012 alone, according to data published in this capital. The number of undocumented immigrants that were deported in 2012 increased 11.9 percent compared to the figure in 2011, when 32,900 cases were reported, according to the Liberation newspaper. 
Interior Minister Manuel Valls announced in November new rules to harmonize the procedures for immigrants, but warned that mass legalizations would not be accepted in any case.
This week, the Movement against Racism and for Friendship with the Peoples demanded a moratorium on the deportations of Malian citizens that live here without having legal residency. According to the group, France is responsible for the citizens here from its former colony, where 2,000 French soldiers have been deployed to block the advance of the armed Islamic groups.
Nowadays, they estimate that around 400,000 people in this country lack legal papers.
During the Periodical Universal Exam of France at the Human Rights Council, one of the recommendations to the authorities was to guarantee the prerogatives of minorities, especially of gypsies, who have been affected by deportations and dismantling of their camps. 

sc/sa/iom/tgj/car

Renewable Energy, Main Issue in Arab Economic Summit

Riyadh, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) President of Comoro, Ikililou Dhoinine, opened today the second day of the Third Arab Summit on Economic and Social Development that is held here with a call to support the development of his country. The agenda includes the relevant topic of a program known as Energy Without Borders based on the generation of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, anticipating the shortening of fossil fuels.
During the first day of sessions, it was discussed the issue of strengthening energy cooperation between Arab countries through the interconnection of electricity networks of the 23 member countries of the Arab League for cooperation in cases of necessity, a source of the summit said.
The drawing plan includes the forecast growth in demand, valued at six percent for the period from now to 2020, when it is estimated a 4.5 percent drop until 2030.
Sponsored by the King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the meeting began Monday with an eye toward the elimination of customs barriers, economic integration and urging investors to look to countries in the area.

sc//cmf/mgt/msl

France Loses Millions Due to Tax Evasion

Paris, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) The different forms of tax evasion in France cause heavy losses of between 60 and 80 billion euros a year, revealed a union of employees of the Ministry of Economy today. According to a report of the Solidarity-Public Finance group, one in every five euros for state coffers are lost in this way, considered a high rate of loss for the national economy.
Even though individual taxpayers can practice some forms of evasion, like distorting the annual total of their income on statements, the large corporations are responsible for the bulk of the problem, the document said.
Vincent Drezent, General Secretary of the union organization, assured that studies performed in recent years allow for a better view into the methods used for this type of fraud.
One of those methods is to charge customers the Value Added Tax (VAT, by its acronym in French) for goods or services and then not fully repay the Treasury, as demanded by law.
In addition to the VAT appropriation, many multinationals manage to send their profits or establish their headquarters in countries where the tax regime is less stringent, Drezet said. 
In Ireland, the maximum tax over commercial companies is 12.5 percent, while in Paris 33.33 percent is charged to businesses located in the district of La Defense, considered the “Wall Street of France”. 
European law stablishes that for Internet commerce, the VAT is charged in the country where the seller is located, not the buyer, allowing these companies, even with subsidiaries in France, to avoid paying the tax here. The volume of the tax leakage does not include the so-called under-the-table work, i.e; the employment of undeclared personnel, which prevents the state from receiving large social security contributions. 
If this amount were totaled, the sum of tax evasion in France would range each year between 73 and 95 billion euros, says the union.

sc/sa/cgm/mgt/ami

Okinawa Demands Withdrawal of U.S. Infantry and Aircraft

Tokyo, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) City representatives in the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa agreed to insist that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe take a most demanding stance against U.S. armed forces stationed on the island. The officials agreed this Monday to send a letter to Abe to demand that U.S. Osprey aircraft flights be banned from Japanese skies and the immediate closure of the Futenma air base, associated with the U.S. Marines.
Late last year, the Municipal Assembly of Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, unanimously adopted a resolution condemning foreign soldiers who have committed crimes against Japanese citizens.
One of the most recent episodes of this nature took place on November 18 when a drunk U.S. soldier forcibly entered a home and struck a junior high school student living there.
During an extraordinary sesion, deputies endorsed a statement to alert that the wrath of the people at these events could lead to widespread protests against the presence of the Marines in Okinawa.
This southern prefecture concentrates 70 percent of U.S. forces in Japan, where local government took political leadership in 1972, previously in the hands of the White House.
Citizens also reject Osprey aircraft flights in that area, due to operational failures of the aircraft. There have been three fatal accidents in Osprey training flights in Japanese airspace.

sc/sa/cgm/mgt/arc

Measles on Decrease Worldwide

Geneva, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) Between 2000 and 2011 the number of measles cases decreased worldwide, as well as deaths from the disease, according to the latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO). However, the document notes that although the disease has been virtually eradicated in the Americas and the Western Pacific region, Europe has experienced a resurrection, because of a reluctance against vaccination.
In the same period large outbreaks were also detected in Asia and Africa, threatening the progress made. Data show a decrease in the number of cases and deaths and an improvement in vaccination coverage. Major outbreaks have been seen in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, India and Nigeria, said Robert Perry, a member of the WHO group of vaccine strategies.
Outbreaks in Europe are related to a rejection of immunization in children, and a lack of awareness of the seriousness of the disease, said the expert, adding that the affectation is not exempt from complications.
He noted that about 12 percent of the children infected with measles in Europe suffered some adversity, such as pneumonia, diarrhea and encephalitis.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease, which affects mainly children and is transmitted by droplets from the nose, mouth and throat of those affected.
The symptoms start days after infection, and is characterized by a high fever, runny nose, bloodshot and small white spots on the inside of the cheek. Later, a rash appears, first on the face and neck, which then spreads to the rest of the body.
There is no specific treatment for this disease, which is preventable by vaccination.

sc/sa/cmf/mgt/vm

Philippines Fines U.S. Navy

Manila, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) Philippine authorities fined the U.S. Navy for “unauthorized entry” of a minesweeper that went aground on a World Heritage-listed coral reef in Tubbataha. Manila announced the initial sanction amid the growing discontent prevailing in the region given the stranding of USS The Guardian last January 17.
The minesweeper’s accident triggered abundant criticism and anger in ecology sectors as well as warnings from park authorities over the threat of an oil spill in a rich zone of marine biodiversity, located 680 kilometers southeast of Manila.
According to the GMA Network television channel, the minesweeper caused terrible damage to the reef, located in the Jolo Sea about 130 kilometres (80 miles) off the western island of Palawan.
The site, protected by Philippine law, is off-limits to navigation except for research or tourism approved by the marine park superintendent.
The law prescribes a maximum penalty of up to a year in prison plus a fine of up to 300,000 pesos (about $7,300) for unauthorized entry, but Tan said the penalty agreed to by the board does not include the jail option.

sc/sa/lch/ mgt/abm

Djokovic Will Play the Australia Open Semifinals

Canberra, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) Serbian Novak Djokovic will play the semifinals of the Australia Open, the first Grand Slam of the tennis season, defeating Czech Tomas Berdych 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 . Djokovic, number one in the world, will now face the Spanish David Ferrer, third favorite, who needed five sets to beat his compatriot Nicolas Almagro on Tuesday, who was placed tenth, with partial scores of 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 and 6-2.
The Balkan, who is on his way to becoming the first player to win three consecutive titles in the Australian Open since the professionalization of the tournament, was forced to compete in a five-hour match Sunday in the second round against Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.
Berdych was hoping for Djokovic to wear down, however, Djokovic showed no signs of fatigue and won in two hours and 31 minutes.
“It was a great performance, I hoped for a short game, not one of more than five hours like the other night,” Djokovic told reporters.
Djokovic will face Ferrer for the 15th time. Between them the Serb has won nine and of the four who contested a Grand Slam, two were in Australia. 
In the female tournament, the number two ranking player, Russia Maria Sharapova, went to the semifinals by winning over her compatriot Ekaterina Makarova, a double 6-2 in one hour and six minutes. She will play the Chinese Li Na in the next round.
With only nine games lost since the begining of the tournament, Sharapova beat the Serbian Monica Seles' score, who held the previous Australia Open record since 1991, with 12 sets over five games.
In Thursday´s semifinal, Sharapova will face the Chinese Li Na, sixth in the ranking, who defeated the Polish Agienszka Radwanska, seeded fourth, 7-5, 6-3.
The victory of the Chinese put an end to a streak of 13 wins for Radwanska, in which she had not given up any set, winning titles in Auckland (New Zealand) and Sydney (Australia).

sc/sa/cgm/mgt/am

Syria Keeps Offensive Operations against Terrorists, says Minister

Damascus, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) General Fahed Freej, Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces and Defense Minister, said the Syrian Arab Army will mantain offensive operations to liquidate terrorist groups that threaten the citizens and the country's infrastructure. 
The fight will continue until we reach victory and defeat external conspiracy hatched against our country, senior military official said during a tour of inspection of a large military unit, accompanied by a delegation of senior officials, detailed a report by state television.

General Freej explained that if the resources invested by the attackers to destroy this nation were used to free the Arab territories occupied by Israel, would have been sufficient enough to achieve this objective.

Israel and the United States top the foreign conspiracy against Syria and finance Arab governments in favor of Tel Aviv to achieve its expansionist plans in the region, because we are the only Arab country that works for the liberation of Palestine and all occupied Arab territories, estimated.

The Syrian State and citizenship keep a claim for the total restitution of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel, as an inseparable part of the country.

Israel occupied the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and it remains under that statute by a law that in 1981 decided the annexation of the territory, but that arbitrariness is not recognized by the international community.

Sc/rmh/lr

Spanish Parliament Analyzes Alleged Corruption in Rajoy’s Party

Madrid, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) Spain’s Congress of Deputies hold today the first debate related to the increasing corruption denunciations involving the conservative Popular Party (PP) of President Mariano Rajoy. The Permanent Council of the lower chamber will analyze an opposition request demanding that Rajoy explain at the plenary the supposed payment of supplementary wages within the party by former treasury secretary Luis Barcenas, charged with corruption.
Apart from an appearance by the head of the Executive, the Congress will also review an initiative presented by the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE).
The PSOE presented a request for an investigation commission to be created to review the fiscal amnesty approved in 2012 by the Rajoy administration.
With this request, the PSOE aims at clarifying whether the former treasury secretary legalized part of the millions in funds he had moved to Switzerland, as his lawyer implied.
Given the corruption denunciations unleashed in the last days, Rajoy announced today that his party will undergo an external audit.
The decision was confirmed by PP Secretary General Maria Dolores de Cospedal, who noted the audit will be followed by an internal investigation of the finances of the ruling party.


sc/sa/lch/ tgj/edu

Afghan Government Investigates Cases of Torture Denounced by UN

Kabul, Jan 22 (Prensa Latina) President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, today appointed a committee to investigate cases of torture, in response to a complaint from the United Nations (UN) due to the increase of these practices in the country's prisons. 
In an official statement, the government reports that the investigation will be provided by members of the Afghan Constitutional Supervision Commission, which must submit within two weeks a report identifying the torturers.

The head of the UN Human Rights in Afghanistan, Georgette Gagnon, denounced the lack of investigation on cases of mistreatment and abuse and, particularly, interest to detect the executioners.

This is not about training or laws but to create a strong system of ascription of responsibilities, said Gagnon.

The UN report, released digitally, revealed a significant increase of torture in prisons in the last year and the creation of secret facilities for the Intelligence Service of the Central Asian nation.
The investigation reports the prisoner abuse by local police and their results emerged from a survey of 635 prisoners, who detailed that the nature of abuse differs from prison to prison, but confirmed the practice of torture.

The text issued by the UN suggests that little has been done in Afghanistan since 2011 when another similar document described that many Afghan inmates had suffered from twisted genitals, among other abusive methods.

Sc/rmh/arc END
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