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 Monday, August 17, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- DOMINICAN REPUBLIC'S DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS UPCOMING VISIT OF CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO WILL STRENGTHEN RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES 2.- SECOND U.S.-CUBA BUSINESS SUMMIT REPORTEDLY BANNED BY U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT 3.- CANADA'S CUBA SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS CONVERGE IN HAVANA FOR FIRST MEETING OF FRIENDSHIP AND SOLIDARITY 4.- MORE PHYSICIANS JOIN THE RANKS OF FAMILY DOCTOR PROGRAM 5.- TURKEY AND CUBA STUDY FEASIBILITY OF JOINT VENTURE 6.- GERMAN VON HUMBOLDT SHIP WILL VISIT CUBA NEXT FEBRUARY 7.- AND FROM THE SPORTS DESK... AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE CENTRAL AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN GAMES DOMINICAN REPUBLIC'S DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS UPCOMING VISIT OF CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO WILL STRENGTHEN RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES Santo Domingo, August 17(RHC)-- The Dominican Republic's Deputy Foreign Minister Minou Tavarez has asserted that the upcoming visit to her country of Cuban President Fidel Castro will strengthen relations between the two Caribbean nations. In statements Sunday to the Dominican daily "Listin Diario," Tavarez stated that the Cuban leader will feel at home in the Dominican Republic, recalling the historic ties between the two countries and the important boost in Dominican-Cuban trade relations. Dominican Catholic Cardinal Nicolas Lopez has also called on the Dominican people to give the Cuban President a warm welcome. And there are reports of enthusiasm in the town of Montecristi, where Cuban independence heroes Jose Marti and Maximo Gomez signed the Montecristi Manifesto, explaining the reasons for the relaunching of Cuba's independence war in February 1895. Gomez was Dominican-born, from the town of Bani, where the Cuban leader is also expected to visit. Gomez's home is now a museum that was reopened last week after it was remodeled by Dominican and Cuban experts. President Castro is to arrive in the Dominican Republic on Thursday for a two-day summit of more than 10 Caribbean heads of state and government, after which he will remain in that country for a three-day official visit. According to today's edition of the Cuban news weekly "Trabajadores," the Cuban leader's visit to this Caribbean island- neighbor is bound to generate further disgust on Capital Hill following his recent tour of Jamaica, Barbados and Grenada. SECOND U.S.-CUBA BUSINESS SUMMIT REPORTEDLY BANNED BY U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT Miami, August 17(RHC)-- The U.S. Treasury Department has banned the upcoming Second U.S.-Cuba Business Summit, according to the weekend edition of The Miami Herald. The Herald's Washington Bureau reporter, Carol Rosenberg, asserted that the Treasury Department has notified Washington consultant Kirby Jones that a conference between U.S. executives and Cuban officials would violate Washington's blockade of Cuba. Jones, president of the Alamar Associates consulting firm, was organizing the event for next month, after having organized a similar gathering last March in Cancun, Mexico and Havana. The September event was to also take place in Cancun and wind up in the Cuban capital with the participation of at least 50 American business executives. The Miami Herald reported that it wasn't clear whether the conference would still be held, while quoting an unnamed State Department official saying that the Treasury Department ruling was fully consistent with U.S. policy regarding Cuba. The Herald was unable to get a statement from Jones and was not informed of the contents of the Treasury Department letter to the consulting firm. CANADA'S CUBA SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS CONVERGE IN HAVANA FOR FIRST MEETING OF FRIENDSHIP AND SOLIDARITY Havana, August 17(RHC)-- The First Cuba-Canada meeting of Friendship and Solidarity got underway in Havana Monday. Over 100 Cuba solidarity activists were on hand for the event, convening at the Pedagogical Sciences Convention Center of Cojimar, east of Havana, in an evaluation of the island's current economic situation and perspectives. Osvaldo Martinez, head of the Havana-based Center on International Economy and Chair of the National Assembly Permanent Commission on the Economy, briefed delegates on the consequences suffered by the Cuban economy as a consequence of the collapse of socialism in Europe, the tightening of the U.S. blockade against Cuba, the Special Period, the economic reforms and foreign investments, among other issues. After the morning session, the meeting convened in working commissions which delved into the Western media portrayal of life in Cuba and solidarity outreach activities in Canada. The event -- slated to run through Wednesday -- seeks to search for ways to promote Canadian support for the Cuban people. Before attending the event, many of the participants took part in voluntary work in agriculture in the western-most province of Pinar del Rio. MORE PHYSICIANS JOIN THE RANKS OF FAMILY DOCTOR PROGRAM Havana, August 17(RHC)-- Recently graduated medical doctors will be joining the ranks of the Family Doctor Program in the Province in Havana. The Family Doctor Program -- the backbone of Cuba's preventive medicine system -- has been credited with the preservation of Cuba's internationally recognized health indexes, despite adverse economic conditions. With the new 291 medical doctors assigned to work in the Province of Havana, 92 percent of the province's residents will be covered by the Program. The physicians will undergo a familiarization course with the tasks they will develop, mostly at work centers, boarding schools, day care centers and at medical posts in the province's remote rural areas. According to health care authorities, within two years, the province of Havana will have 100 percent of its papulation attended by the Family Doctor Program, when the local Medicine Faculty graduates 400 new doctors. But while authorities make efforts to provide adequate health care to all Cubans, non-transmissible diseases are rating as the prime factors of death on the island. According to an official study released in Havana by the island's Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute and the National Statistics Office, non- transmissible diseases as a result of hypertension, smoking, alcohol consumption and lack of exercise are the principal causes of death in Cuba. The report reveals that in 1995, those afflictions were responsible for 77 percent of deaths on the island. In Cuba, the principal causes of death are heart disease, cancer, stroke, accidents, diabetes melitis and asthma. The head of the study team, Mariano Bonet, said that though more than 50 percent of those questioned said they would like to give up smoking, Cubans are picking up the habit at an ever younger age. Investigators note that some 45.2 of those polled in Havana consume alcohol, with that number rising to 50 percent between the ages of 20 and 40. TURKEY AND CUBA STUDY FEASIBILITY OF JOINT VENTURE Havana, August 17(RHC)-- Business representatives from Turkey and Cuba met in Havana to study the feasibility of launching a joint venture for the production of mini-cigars. Osvaldo Carvala, representatives from Cuba's Ministry of Agriculture headed the Cuban delegation to the talks. Turkey was represented by Muzaffer Arisoy, Vice President of the Turkish Conglomerate that overseas the production of salt, alcohol and tobacco. If approved by both parties, the joint venture would start a mini-cigar production plant in Turkey before year's end. The cigars would be marketed under the Cuban brand "Fonseca." GERMAN VON HUMBOLDT SHIP WILL VISIT CUBA NEXT FEBRUARY Havana, August 17(RHC)-- The German ship Alexander Von Humboldt will visit Cuba in February of 1999, as part of a Latin American research voyage on the occasion of the Year of Humboldt. The German Embassy in Havana announced that on October 3rd, the German ship will begin a journey of 27,700 kilometers from the port of Bremerhaven, to various port calls in Latin America. The trip marks the bicentennial of noted German scientist Alexander Von Humboldt's trip to Latin America. The project is being promoted by the German Government and is sponsored by German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. AND FROM THE SPORTS DESK... AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE CENTRAL AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN GAMES Maracaibo, August 17(RHC)-- With one gold and two bronze medals won in women's cycling competitions, Mexican Belem Guerrero is satisfied with her performance. She took part in four cycling competitions and became the most outstanding figure of the Mexican delegation in that discipline, which concluded with a total of 1-2-4. The Mexican cyclists improved their results compared to previous regional competitions. In 1993, Cesar Muino won the title in men's one kilometer time trial, while in Maracaibo they were present in almost every modality. Carolyn Adfel of Surinam told journalists she is pleasantly surprised with her medal harvest. Swimming competitions concluded Friday and the 19- year-old athlete received praise for her one silver and six gold medals. Commenting that her goal in Maracaibo was to improve her own times, the Surinamese swimmer said she was the first person to be surprised with her performance. She won gold in women's 400 individual medley, in 2, 4 and 8 hundred meter free, 100 meter backstroke and 200 individual medley. Track and field competitions in Maracaibo are putting more enthusiasm into the games, which are set to conclude Saturday. With six new records -- which are still far from world supremacies -- the second day of competitions provided fans with a new mark for one of the games' oldest records. Chandra Sturrup from the Bahamas established a new record for women's 100 meter dash. The previous record was set in 1978 by Cuba's Silvia Chivas. Sturrup's time was 11.14, three hundredths of a second faster. By the way, she holds the Olympic title in women's 400 meter hurdles. She also gave her country one of the two golds medals the Bahamas has won so far. The other came minutes later thanks to Troy McIntosh in men's 400 meters. The fastest runner at the games is Obadele Thompson from Barbados with a time of 10.20 seconds in the 400 meters. The regional record is 10.10 seconds, set by Cuba's Silvio Leonard 20 years ago. Decathlon winner was Cuba's Raul Duany with 8118 points -- a new record -- grabbed from Eugenio Balanque of Cuba, who this time was in second place. The rest of the four golds won by the island came via men's triple jump with Yoelbis Quesada, Anier Garcia in men's 110 meter hurdles and in women's shotput with Yulisleidis Cumba. Jamaica took the gold in women's 100 meter hurdles, where Rose Dionne established a new supremacy, as well as in women's 400. Mexico added two extra golds in men's 1500 meters won by Hector Torres and in Adriana Fernandez in women's 10 kilometer with a new mark. Juana Arrandel gave the Dominican Republic its first track and field gold in women's high jump. Monday, the 9th day of competitions, the medal standings as of the beginning of the day were: G B S TOTAL Cuba 110 53 46 209 Mexico 40 64 54 158 Venezuela 40 39 44 123 Colombia 16 30 28 74 Surinam 6 1 0 7 Puerto Rico 5 8 29 42 Dominican R. 5 8 24 37 [ G = gold B = bronze S = silver ] [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