CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from Radio Havana Cuba's news service for Tuesday, August 4, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO WRAPS UP CARIBBEAN TOUR 2.- FRENCH NEWS DAILY LE MONDE BLASTS WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE 3.- MORE THAN NINE THOUSAND MEDICAL GRADUATES IN CUBA THIS YEAR 4.- PERUVIAN MINISTER OF HEALTH IMPRESSED BY CUBAN SYSTEM 5.- CHINESE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH VISITS THE ISLAND 6.- EUROPEAN UNION OFFERS ASSISTANCE TO MATERNITY CARE 7.- INTERNATIONAL YOUTH FESTIVAL UNDERWAY IN PORTUGAL 8.- CUBAN VICE PRESIDENT CARLOS LAGE WELCOMES WORLD BASEBALL CHAMPS 9.- NEW PROGRAM OF HIGHWAY RECONSTRUCTION IN CUBA CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO WRAPS UP CARIBBEAN TOUR Havana, August 4(RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro returned to Havana late Monday night, ending a three-nation Caribbean tour which took him to Jamaica, Barbados and Grenada. Shortly before leaving Grenada Monday evening, the Cuban leader addressed thousands of enthusiastic Grenadians at a sports stadium in the capital of St. George's. People greeted the Cuban president by singing revolutionary songs that were popular during the 1979 to 1983 government of late Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. During a speech of a little over an hour and a half, President Castro asserted that, as occurred with the Vietnam War, the American people themselves would put an end to Washington's cruel and unjust blockade. He reiterated Cuba's gratitude for Caribbean solidarity, saying that it has been stronger than the solidarity offered to Cuba by the rest of Latin America -- with the exception of Mexico. The Cuban leader recalled that at the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, English-speaking Caribbean nations were still British colonies. But, he added, once they achieved their independence, countries like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana and Panama were the first to come out against Cuba's isolation. President Castro said that Cuba fortunately has relations with practically all the region's countries today -- because, in his words, "there are increasingly fewer cowards." Foreign press correspondents in Grenada all agreed that the Cuban leader's tour reaffirmed Cuba's absolute integration with the rest of the Caribbean. Grenadian Prime Minister Keith Mitchell insisted Monday evening that Cuba's participation in Caribbean initiatives is crucial. Diverse media outlets also recalled today the words of Jamaican Prime Minister Percival Patterson, who insisted that he had said nothing that Caribbean leaders have not said to U.S. President Bill Clinton during gatherings in Barbados and Santiago de Chile. Fidel Castro took advantage of his farewell speech in Grenada to announce that Cuban construction workers would help build a new wing at the Grenadian capital's Saint George's Hospital, doubling its capacity from 240 to 440 beds. President Castro also announced that Cuba would give one thousand scholarships every year to Caribbean students -- and if that proves to be insufficient, the island is prepared to grant two or three thousand. Throughout the Cuban leader's Caribbean tour, there were numerous expressions of gratitude for Cuba's contribution to the development of its small neighbors. While in Jamaica, doctors, architects, economists and other professionals trained in Cuba formed an association whose announced aim is to return to society part of the benefits they have received by setting up private scholarships to send more students to study in Cuba. FRENCH NEWS DAILY LE MONDE BLASTS WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE Paris, August 4(RHC)-- In one of many international media reactions to Fidel Castro's Caribbean tour, the French news daily Le Monde has asserted that the visit "loudly demonstrated -- if further proof were necessary -- that Washington's blockade of Cuba is totally ineffective." According to the Le Monde editorial, the Cuban leader's charisma in the Caribbean, "where everyone complains of Uncle Sam's onerous tutelage, is precisely based on his having been victimized by Washington." Far from having converted the Cuban leader into an international pariah, "Washington's blockade has consolidated the stature of a man who has defied the powerful America." The influential French daily called the blockade "an economic monstrosity," saying that it sanctions an entire people -- which Le Monde termed as "dreadful" -- and penalizes U.S. business interests -- which the daily termed as "stupid." Le Monde asserted said the most evident failure of the blockade is the fact that there is increasingly less justification for the measure in the post-Cold War era. The daily termed as "a big lie" the alleged isolation of Cuba, which was particularly unravelled with the visit of Pope John Paul II. Finally, the French daily said that Cuba's successful defiance of Washington is the real reason why the U.S. government will never forgive Fidel Castro. "It's evident," wrote Le Monde, "that U.S. policy towards Cuba is based simply on hatred." MORE THAN NINE THOUSAND MEDICAL GRADUATES IN CUBA THIS YEAR Havana, August 4(RHC)-- In spite of the continuing economic difficulties experienced by Cuba, an indicator of the country's primary concern with health care comes with the graduation this year of 9335 medical personnel. Cuban Minister of Health Dr. Carlos Dotres said that of this number, 2269 were doctors, 281 dentists, 2417 nurses and more than 4000 others were technicians in various health fields. Dr. Dotres said that Cuba now has 64,500 doctors -- a ratio of one doctor for every 170 inhabitants -- the highest doctor to patient ratio in the world. PERUVIAN MINISTER OF HEALTH IMPRESSED BY CUBAN SYSTEM Havana, August 4(RHC)-- A few hours before his departure from Cuba, Peruvian Minister of Health Marino Costa expressed his interest in working with the island in the field of medicine. He told reporters that Peru was particularly interested in buying Cuban-made vaccinations, setting up programs of exchange of medical personnel and the application in Peru of the Cuban system of primary health care. Costa said he was impressed with the high professional-level of health care workers in Cuba. CHINESE DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH VISITS THE ISLAND Havana, August 4(RHC)-- The Chinese Deputy Minister of Health, Cao Rong Gui, said in Havana that China would like to explore further cooperation with Cuba in areas relating to health and medical science. During a meeting with Cuban Health Minister Dr. Carlos Dotres, Cao expressed his interest in Cuba's primary health care system at the community level. EUROPEAN UNION OFFERS ASSISTANCE TO MATERNITY CARE Havana, August 4(RHC)-- The Spanish non-governmental organization Medicos del Mundo will initiate a project to refurbish and restore three hospital kitchens in the province of Santiago de Cuba with a grant of $123,000 from the European Union. The Cuban coordinator for Medicos del Mundo, Concha Nino Aguda, said she was proud to work toward a better quality of maternity care in the province. The money is earmarked for use in a national program to improve care given to pregnant women and to further lower Cuba's low infant mortality rate. The project is in direct coordination with the Cuban Ministry of Health. INTERNATIONAL YOUTH FESTIVAL UNDERWAY IN PORTUGAL Lisbon, August 4(RHC)-- An international youth festival entitled "Together for a Better World" was inaugurated in Costa de Caparica, on the outskirts of Lisbon, the capital. The opening ceremony, attended by Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, was broadcast live on national television. During a brief encounter with the Cuban delegation to the festival, Guterres referred to the visit of Cuban President Fidel Castro to the upcoming Iberoamerican Summit which will be hosted by Portugal. The Portuguese prime minister also recalled that the 1999 Iberoamerican Summit will be held in Havana. Many participants at this youth festival also attended last year's World Youth Festival in Havana. They said that despite Portugal's good organization, they liked the one held in Cuba more, recalling that there were more profound debates at the event in Cuba. Despite a large number of young people at the festival -- official registration stands at six thousand -- the first main panel discussion, dedicated to the issue of globalization, was not well-attended. Youth from the Caribbean attended a discussion on regional integration. CUBAN VICE PRESIDENT CARLOS LAGE WELCOMES WORLD BASEBALL CHAMPS Havana, August 4(RHC)-- Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage welcomed the island's baseball team at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport. The returning players won the World Championship on Sunday in the Italian city of Neptuno. The world champs won ten consecutive games and eight Cuban players have been selected for the All Stars Tournament. Cuba's baseball team proved to be the best among the best with a batting average of 431. The team accumulated 113 hits and 49 extra base hits, including 23 home-runs. This is the 22nd year the Cuban baseball team has won the World Championships, despite the participation this year of professional baseball players in the competitions. The Cuban squad is now getting ready to participate in the Central American and Caribbean Games, which will soon get underway in Maracaibo, Venezuela. NEW PROGRAM OF HIGHWAY RECONSTRUCTION IN CUBA Havana, August 4(RHC)-- For those who travel the national highways of Cuba, there is good news today. 15,500,000 pesos have been allocated for the repair and reconstruction of roads which have been deteriorating over the last few years due to lack of resources. According to Fidel Martin Perez, Director of Highways in Cuba, of the 21 highways that were reported in bad repair in 1994, there are only five left that still need paving. [c] 1998, Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. 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