SAO PAULO, Brazil: Brazil's health minister said this week he is not attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York after receiving what he described as an "unacceptable visa" from the United States that restricted his movements. Alexandre Padilha, a senior aide to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, announced he would remain in Brazil. Brasília formally protested to the U.N., warning that other Brazilian delegates might also face visa restrictions. During Dilma Rousseff's presidency, when Padilha also served as health minister, Brazil hired thousands of Cuban doctors through such programs. "They might stop the minister from being present, but the defense of science, vaccines will go forward," he said.