[We regret the 24-hour delay in distributing the 8/6 news. The RHC website is down for server maintenance & should be up on Saturday. -- NY Transfer News.] 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 Thursday, August 6, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN GOVERNMENT COMMISSION ANALYZES SERIOUS DROUGHT SITUATION IN THE ISLAND'S EASTERN PROVINCES 2.- NEW UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ASSISTANCE TO CUBA 3.- CUBA'S NATIONAL FOLKLORE DANCE GROUP TO TOUR JAMAICA AND SPAIN 4.- POLITICAL BUREAU MEMBER JUAN ALMEIDA BOSQUE VISITS HISTORIC SITES IN THE EASTERN CITY OF MANZANILLO 5.- CUBAN SWIMMER WILL ATTEMPT TO CROSS THE CARIBBEAN CUBAN GOVERNMENT COMMISSION ANALYZES SERIOUS DROUGHT SITUATION IN THE ISLAND'S EASTERN PROVINCES Havana, August 6(RHC)-- Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage presided over a meeting on the results of a government commission that toured the island's eastern provinces, suffering from a severe drought. The meeting analyzed the state of additional material resources sent to the area, including 150,000 tons of fuel. Council of Ministers Vice President Pedro Miret, who heads the commission, reiterated that the most critical situation is in Holguin and Las Tunas provinces. During the meeting, the current situation in each area was examined, especially regarding water supply and food production as well as the current and future consequences of farm production which has worsened over the past two weeks. In relation to the water supply, eastern Holguin province has been the hardest hit, forcing local authorities to extend water service to the regions most affected by the drought. In addition to nearly 10 million dollars worth of material resources which have been distributed to deal with the situation, the Cuban government has earmarked 12 million dollars of its scant, hard currency reserves to purchase products to help alleviate the critical situation in Holguin, Las Tunas and Guantanamo. NEW UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ASSISTANCE TO CUBA Havana, August 6(RHC)-- Two types of United Nations Development Program assistance grants for Cuba were formalized with the signing of a document in support of the island's National Biotechnology Program and a new project for the elimination of substances that damage the ozone layer. The first program is a qualitative change in UNDP assistance. Rather than mounting individual projects, the UNDP is now becoming involved in national development programs, in this case bio-technology, especially related to marketing. The support is focused on strengthening the main commercial structures of the institutions making up the scientific complex located in western Havana, the creation of a high-speed computer network which will provide access to up-to-date scientific and marketing information and on strengthening national capacity for validating and certifying production processes in accordance with international standards. CUBA'S NATIONAL FOLKLORE DANCE GROUP TO TOUR JAMAICA AND SPAIN Havana, August 6(RHC)-- Cuba's National Folklore Dance Group is scheduled to tour Jamaica and Spain where they will perform some of their best repertoire. The dance company's producer, Leonardo Buenaventura, announced that two groups will make the tour. The first will spend two weeks in Kingston, Jamaica where they will perform various Afro-Cuban works. The other group will tour Spanish cities for three months, including Madrid, Barcelona and Seville -- performing a variety of Cuban cultural art forms. POLITICAL BUREAU MEMBER JUAN ALMEIDA BOSQUE VISITS HISTORIC SITES IN THE EASTERN CITY OF MANZANILLO Manzanillo, August 6(RHC)-- Political Bureau member of Cuba's Communist Party and Comandante of the Revolution Juan Almeida Bosque toured historic sites in the eastern city of Manzanillo. The Cuban official visited the La Demajagua National Park where on October 10th, 1868, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes began the struggle against Spanish colonialism. Almeida praised those who are working in conservation as well as those who work in cultural institutions and urged that they continue to preserve the country's most important historic sites. During his visit to the eastern city of Manzanillo, Juan Almeida Bosque also toured Celia Sanchez Plaza and the local cemetery where three of Cuba's former presidents are buried. Almeida took special note of the cleanliness and condition of the cemetery. CUBAN SWIMMER WILL ATTEMPT TO CROSS THE CARIBBEAN Havana, August 6(RHC)-- Cuban swimmer Alberto Morejon is anxiously looking forward to attempting an historical feat for the island, when he sets out to swim some 40 kilometers from Guincho Key in the Bahamas to Cayo Coco in the central province of Ciego de Avila on August 15th. Morejon, who broke a current national record last October by swimming 40 consecutive kilometers, will attempt to do it this time by making the crossing in a security cage to protect him from sharks. [c] 1998, Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. This prohibition includes the distribution of this material via Usenet News, "bulletin board" services, e-mail lists, print media, radio and television. For the complete RADIO HAVANA CUBA NEWSCAST and other features, please write for our daily broadcast schedule. We welcome your comments and suggestions. For further information, contact us at: Postal Address: Radio Havana Cuba P.O.Box 6240 Havana, Cuba Telephone: (53) (7) 791053 Fax: (53) (7) 795007 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org WWW: http://www.radiohc.org ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org =================================================================