www.phillyburbs.com By ANITA SNOW The Associated Press

Warming up to the Roman Catholic Church while maintaining a distance from local church officials, Fidel Castro exchanged medals with the worldwide leader of an order of nuns that opened a convent here.

During a Saturday night ceremony at the Palace of Revolution where he keeps his offices, Castro bestowed the medal of the Order of Felix Varela, First Grade, to Mother Telka Famiglietti, general abbess of the Order of the Most Holy Savior of St. Brigid. The order was founded by a Swedish mystic who died 700 years ago last year.

Dressed in her dark habit, the abbess then bestowed on Castro one of her religious order's honor, the Ecumenical Cross with the Star of the Commander of St. Brigid.

"This will be a historic day for us," said Castro, who wore a dark suit and tie for the occasion. "This will commit us to being better and to giving ourselves more to those we believe are doing good."

The exchange was unusual amid the chill between Cuba's church and the Communist state with the release of a pastoral letter less than two weeks ago urging the government to ease up on its harsh treatment of citizens.

"The hour has come to pass from being a legalistic state that demands sacrifices and settles accounts to a merciful state willing to offer a compassionate hand before imposing controls and punishing infractions," Cardinal Jaime Ortega - Cuba's top Roman Catholic clergyman - said in that letter.

Ortega and cardinals from the Vatican and Mexico officiated Saturday morning at the Mass to celebrate the newly renovated building that the government donated for the convent.

Ortega read a letter sent by Pope John Paul II to the island faithful, urging them to "keep sailing a steady course."

But he was noticeably absent in the afternoon when Castro made his unprecedented appearance at the two-story convent in Old Havana for the blessing of the building where eight nuns will live. An official reason for Ortega's absence was not given.

Castro's government also has been irritated by a reform effort known as the Varela Project, which is supported by many Catholic laymen on the island even though it is not officially backed by the local church.

Authorities here say they have shelved the request for a voters' initiative on several laws that would guarantee civil rights such as freedom of expression.

The top Varela Project organizer, Oswaldo Paya - an active Catholic who met briefly with Pope John Paul II during a recent trip to Europe to receive the European Union's top human rights prize - downplayed the significance of Saturday's exchange of medals.

"This isn't an opening, it's an event," Paya said.

Castro's government expelled hundreds of priests, mainly from Spain, and shut down more than 150 Catholic schools island wide in the years after his 1959 revolution.

Cuba's church-state relations have improved considerably in recent years. The government declared it was no longer officially atheist in the early 1990s and let religious believers join the Communist Party for the first time.

The highlight of the gradual warming was John Paul's January 1998 visit to the island, along with the declaration of Christmas as an official holiday.

But the church has made no real progress since in efforts to gain greater access to state-run media and to open Catholic schools.

March 9, 2003 1:16 PM

www.alertnet.org 10 Mar 2003 01:25 By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair, battling on the diplomatic front over preparations to wage war on Iraq, now faces a home front revolt with the first public threat of a ministerial resignation on the issue.

Blair, increasingly isolated at home and abroad over his unswerving support for U.S. President George W. Bush's determination to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, has already suffered a parliamentary slap in the face.

But on Sunday his International Development Secretary Clare Short, describing Blair as "reckless", said she would resign if there was no second United Nations' resolution for invasion.

"I will not uphold a breach of international law or this undermining of the U.N. and I will resign from the government," the government minister, renowned for speaking her mind, said.

Her public threat, confirming months of rumours, came as one junior government member resigned his post amid speculation four others could follow as Blair's Labour Party faced its biggest internal rift since it came to power in 1997.

More than 120 Labour parliamentarians recently voted against the government over war against Iraq, and more are expected to sign up to the revolt if there is no support from the U.N.

Britain, Spain and the United States are expected to press for a vote on a second resolution this week after British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw put forward a draft resolution giving Saddam until March 17 to disarm or face military action.

France has warned it may exercise its power of veto on the resolution, saying U.N. weapons inspectors are making headway.

Iraq denies possessing banned weapons of mass destruction.

Short accused Blair of making a major blunder, politically, diplomatically and personally.

"The current situation is deeply reckless; reckless for the world, reckless for the undermining of the U.N. in this disorderly world...reckless with our government, reckless with his own future, position and place in history. It's extraordinarily reckless, I'm very surprised by it," she said.

British newspapers took up the theme in editorials on Monday.

"Make no mistake...this is now extremely dangerous for the Prime Minister," The Independent newspaper said.

"If no second resolution is passed, and the war starts later this month, resignations from the Cabinet might follow and a further revolt among Labour MPs would be a certainty," it added.

It was a theme echoed by the Times newspaper, which said it would be Blair's biggest test as leader and warned that even a quick military victory in Iraq would not paper over the cracks exposed within the Labour Party.

Throughout the growing domestic crisis, Blair has benefited somewhat uncomfortably from the support of the opposition Conservative Party in his stance on Iraq.

www.voanews.com VOA News 08 Mar 2003, 02:42 UTC

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says his government is committed to helping Colombia in its struggle against drug traffickers and leftist rebels.

President da Silva made the remark Friday in Brasilia after meeting with his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe. President Uribe was quoted by the Associated Press as saying Brazil's help would be of vital importance in Colombia's efforts to achieve peace.

For nearly four decades, Colombia has been been torn by a civil war that pits leftist rebels, rightist paramilitaries and the government against each other. The conflict leaves thousands of Colombians dead each year.

newsobserver.com Friday, March 7, 2003 9:33PM EST By ADALID CABRERA LEMUZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - Brazil's president promised Friday to help Colombia in its fight against drug traffickers and guerrillas, labeling the insurgents "terrorists."

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pledged the assistance at the end of a five-hour visit from his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe. "Brazil has committed itself to support Colombia in its fight against drug traffickers and terrorists," Silva said.

Silva's labeling the guerrillas terrorists came a day after the U.S. ambassador to Ecuador said nations neighboring Colombia could help Uribe by calling the FARC group terrorists because that's "what they are."

Brazil's first leftist president in 40 years, Silva has frequently been critical of the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, which is scheduled to take effect by 2005. Silva's opposition, as he leads South America's largest economy, could complicate approval of the agreement, which Bush supports. The agreement seeks to create a free-trade zone stretching from Alaska to Argentina.

Neither president provided details on Brazil's help, but diplomatic sources said it would probably include tighter controls along the 1,020-mile frontier between the two countries.

Brazil is also expected to provide Colombia with information obtained by its Amazon Surveillance System -a network of radars, surveillance airplanes and computers.

The $1.4 billion system was inaugurated last year to help Brazil unlock the economic potential of the vast Amazon region and fight intrusions from Colombian guerillas or drug traffickers.

"Terrorism destroys democracy, life and natural resources, including those of the Amazon (rain forest)," Uribe said. "If it is not dealt with, it will expand its activities across the border into Brazil."

Colombia's war, now in its 38th year, pits the FARC and a smaller rebel group against the government and outlawed paramilitary groups. The guerrilla groups and a rightist paramilitary operation all rely on drug trafficking to fund their operations.

The two presidents also discussed ways to strengthen relations between the Mercosur and Andean Community trading blocs. Mercosur is made up of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The Andean Community is made up of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

www.alertnet.org 07 Mar 2003 23:54 (Adds comments from Abiove president, environment minister) By Peter Blackburn

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, March 7 (Reuters) - Brazil is running out of time to find a legal way of marketing illegally grown soybeans in 2003 and faces a major fight in enforcing the ban next year, soy analysts, producers and traders said on Friday.

Environmental groups praised the new center-left government's decision on Thursday to uphold a ban on commercial planting of genetically modified (GM) crops.

But with the soybean harvest well under way in many states, analysts said, the government decision came late and failed to resolve the problem.

"It's a lamentable step backward," said Andre Pessoa, director of Florianopolis-based Agroconsult, noting that the previous government had tried to legalize GM crops.

Pessoa said Brazilian farmers will be unable take advantage of the cost benefit of GM soy and become less competitive in export markets. They will also miss out on markets opening up for GM soy varieties.

Researchers estimate that GM soybeans achieve a 30 percent cost saving because less herbicide and pesticide are needed.

Soy is Brazil's main farm export, worth $6 billion in 2002, according to official figures. Brazil, the world's No. 2 soy exporter, is rapidly catching up to the United States.

China, Brazil's major soybean export market, aggravated the GM problem when it demanded that Brazil issue certificates showing that shipments were safe even if they contained illegal GM material. Exports continue under a temporary deal until Sept. 20.

Greenpeace genetics campaigner Mariana Paoli welcomed the government decision, made in Brasilia by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and nine ministers.

"The new government recognizes there is a problem and that stricter controls are needed to prevent GM crops being planted," Paoli said.

Environment Minister Marina Silva told reporters the government planned to put an end to illegal plantings as soon as possible. The government acted out of precaution rather than prejudice against GM products, she said.

"We need to define measures so that the 2004 harvest does not suffer the same problem.... We want a clean soy production next year," she said, adding that the government had enough "clean" seeds. "Nothing justifies opting for transgenic soy."

She said it would be best to export existing transgenic crops to the countries that consume such products.

RAGE IN RIO GRANDE DO SUL

But farmers and state government officials were furious in Brazil's No. 3 soy producer Rio Grande do Sul, where illegal GM soy planting is most prevalent.

The president of the Rio Grande do Sul Agricultural Federation (Farsul), Carlos Sperotto, said farmers rejected discrimination against the Rio Grande soy crop, or moves to segregate GM and non-GM soy, claiming such moves would raise costs and lower profits.

Rio Grande soy farmers plan to demonstrate in Brasilia on March 12.

"The fight for free planting of GM soy continues," said Rio Grande State Agricultural Secretary Odacyr Klein.

However the president of the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oils Industries (Abiove) was optimistic a solution could be found by May.

"The soy industry is one of the few things which is working well. It's a good orchestra and too important to lose," said Abiove President Carlo Lovatelli, adding that he expected soy exports to rise to $7.8 billion in 2003.

Lovatelli said the government was signaling flexibility over the GM issue with its intent to find a legal way of marketing the 6 million tonnes of GM soy planted in Rio Grande.

"It's no surprise the environment minister wants more information," he said, warning however that time is running out as harvesting is about to start in Rio Grande.

The government estimates that 8 percent of the Rio Grande crop is genetically modified, but market sources say the figure is closer to 70 percent or 80 percent.

"It would be war if the government tries to stamp out GM soy," warned Agroconsult's Pessoa.