Honduran Teachers on Strike against Coup

Havana, September 18 (RHC)- Teachers and professors in Honduras began Thursday a 48-hour strike to condemn the June 28th coup and to demand the reinstatement of constitutional order in their country.

The strike, convened by the Honduran Federation of Teaching Organizations (FOMH) on Sunday, is one of the many actions organized by the National Front against the Coup.
For their part, leaders of the Association of Higher Education Professors (COPEMH) said they’d be on strike Thursday and Friday, and would then join the resistance’s demonstrations the rest of the week.

The President of the Association of Higher Education Professors COPEMH, Eulogio Chavez, said that these demonstrations will continue until democracy is restored in Honduras.

The Honduran Federation of Teaching Organizations came out on general strike the day after the military coup that overthrew constitutional president Manuel Zelaya. They kept up the strike for a month, and after that they returned to the classrooms only three days a week.
Thursday marked the 82nd day of popular resistance against the Honduran de facto regime.

UN Backs Zelaya as Rightful President of Honduras

United Nations, September 18 (RHC)- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said Thursday that the United Nations supports Honduras President Manuel Zelaya.

At a press conference, the UN Secretary General said that constitutional order in Honduras must be restored and the authority of the elected president protected and guaranteed.

He recalled that all UN member countries expressed their support for Zelaya, who was forced out of the country on June 28th.

The support of United Nations has been put into writing on a resolution condemning the coup that disrupted democracy and constitutional order in Honduras.

The UN resolution also called on all States to refrain from recognizing any government other than Zelaya's and expressed its backing of regional efforts to solve the political crisis in Honduras.

Hondura’s Ambassador Jorge Arturo Reina said Manuel Zelaya is scheduled to speak before UN General Assembly on its first day of debates.

Ecuadorean President Recovers in Cuba

Quito, September 18 (RHC)- Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa is recovering from surgery on both knees at Havana’s "Frank Pais" International Orthopaedic Institute.

President Correa underwent surgery on Wednesday. His advanced joint fibrosis had been diagnosed a few weeks ago.

According to an official note by the Carondelet Palace, the surgery was carried out by a medical team led by the head of the orthopaedics Frank Pais Institute, PhD Professor Rodrigo Alvarez Cambras.

Before travelling to Havana, Correa said he expected to be back in Quito by this weekend.

Ecuador Regains Sovereignty over Manta Base

Quito, September 18 (RHC)- When the last U.S. soldier withdraws from the Manta Base, that territory will become Ecuadorian again, as established by the Political Constitution approved by the people of the country.

The announcement was made by Ecuadorian Foreign Minister on Tuesday. The Minister said “apart from the satisfaction and joy we are experiencing, having recovered a piece of our land, I believe it is a clear reaffirmation of our sovereignty,"

The U.S. troops are officially withdrawing two months after the last flight with the clear objective of fighting drug trafficking was performed from the Forward Operation Location in Manta on July 17th.

The Pentagon military operations could be transferred to three of the seven military bases that Colombia has agreed to set up in its territory and would be located in central Palanquero and Apiay, and northern Malambo, according to an agreement that sparked tensions among South American governments, who view this decision as a threat to their sovereignty.

After Guayaquil, Manta is an important maritime port and one of the most economically important cities in Ecuador, because of its fishing industry which heavily relies on tuna. The area formerly occupied by the U.S. base in Manta will be transformed to accommodate an international airport with a runway of almost 9843 feet, which will help boost tourism in the area.

Uribe: Colombia's Spy Agency Can Be Eliminated

Bogota, September 18 (RHC-AP)- President Alvaro Uribe says he is in favor of eliminating Colombia's scandal-plagued domestic intelligence agency and transferring its functions to the police.

Washington's top ally in South America has previously said the DAS could be restructured, but Thursday's comments were the first time he has publicly backed eliminating the agency.
Uribe said his government is weighing how to reform the agency and that he is "in favor of eliminating the DAS" and having a police institution handle its intelligence and immigration functions. DAS has at least 6,000 employees.

The DAS has been caught in a telephone espionage scandal, accused of spying on government critics, judges and journalists. Uribe's government denies ordering the taps.

Brazil for Sugarcane Ban in the Amazon

Brasilia, September 18 (RHC)- The administration of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva unveiled a plan Thursday that will prohibit sugarcane-ethanol plantations in the Amazon and in other ecologically sensitive areas of the country.

Brazil’s Environment Minister Carlos Minc said the proposal, if approved by Congress, will ensure Brazilian ethanol made from sugarcane is environmentally friendly, and ease concerns over plantations one day carpeting the rainforest. He said these measures will insure that Brazil’s ethanol be 100 percent green.

The move would limit sugarcane plantations to 7.5 percent of Brazilian territory. The plantations where ethanol is produced with on-site or nearby distilleries would also be banned from food-growing areas and the vast Pantanal wetlands bordering Bolivia.

Brazil is the world's biggest ethanol exporter, and a huge consumer. The fuel powers most new cars sold in the country.

Brazil’s Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes said the proposed limitations would set aside 163 million acres (66 million hectares) where sugarcane could be grown, an area slightly larger than France.

At present, Brazil has nearly 22 million acres (9 million hectares) planted with sugarcane and expects to devote another 15 million acres (6 million hectares) to the crop over the next decade.

The country is also the world's largest sugar producer, with many of its cane plantations producing both products.
Congress is expected to vote on the plan to limit the plantations next year.

Panama: More Tainted Medicine in 1,155 Bottles

Panama City, September 18 (RHC)- On Thursday, investigators revealed that the death toll from contaminated medicine sold three years ago in Panama could be higher than previously believed after 1,155 bottles of tested positive for a chemical commonly found in antifreeze and brake fluid.

Authorities are trying to track down the names that appear on the bottles that tested positive for diethylene glycol to see if any of the users of the medication died, possibly raising the official count of 116 fatalities.

"At the moment, we have no knowledge of these 1,155 people," Guevara said. "We don't know if any of them died, we don't know if any were affected."

The 1,155 bottles are among 6,774 handed over to authorities after people were sickened in 2006 from poisonous cough syrup, antihistamine tablets, calamine lotion and rash ointment made at a government laboratory.

Prosecutor Dimas Guevara said test results were pending for thousands more bottles.
Relatives of the victims have long questioned the official estimates of how many people were sickened by the chemical, which was allegedly made by two Chinese companies that sold it to a Spanish firm saying it was 99.5 percent pure glycerin, a sweetener and thickening agent commonly used in drugs. The Spanish company then allegedly sold it to a company in Panama, which in turn sold it to the government lab.

A director of the Panamanian company, Medicom, has been detained for a year pending the investigation. Another dozen people are also under investigation.
The Committee of Families for the Right to Health and Life, which represents relatives of other victims, has always said more than 1,000 people have been affected, said Gabriel Pascual, the leader of the group.