Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit 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, December 10, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- REVOLUTIONARY FIGHTERS SHOULD NEVER RUN OUT OF AMMUNITION IN THE IDEOLOGICAL BATTLE AGAINST OUR ENEMIES 2.- CUBAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH DIRECTOR OF FRENCH NEWSPAPER LE MONDE DIPLOMATIC 3.- PRESIDENT OF SURINAM'S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEETS WITH CUBAN COUNTERPART 4.- NEW CUBAN AMBASSADOR IN THE REPUBLIC OF YEMEN 5.- LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER THANKS CUBAN PRESIDENT FOR HIS MESSAGE REVOLUTIONARY FIGHTERS SHOULD NEVER RUN OUT OF AMMUNITION IN THE IDEOLOGICAL BATTLE AGAINST OUR ENEMIES Havana, December 10(RHC)-- During the second day of sessions at the 7th Congress of the Cuban Young Communist League (UJC), President Fidel Castro referred to the battle of ideas raging in today's world. The Cuban leader emphasized that "revolutionary fighters for Socialism and Communism should never run out of ammunition in the ideological battle" against our enemies. The leader of the Cuban Revolution said it was important not to fall into a litany of rhetorical phrases, but to put revolutionary ideas into practice. Fidel Castro added that there can be no real education without ideology. Delegates to the youth congress spent most of Wednesday's session discussing higher education and the need for the Young Communist League to play a more active role in the training of teachers and professionals in the field. During another discussion on Wednesday, Cuban President Fidel Castro said it was important to increase the number of scientists studying on the island. He said that Cuba's achievements in various fields has provided the opportunity to give scholarships to students from around the world. The Cuban leader stated that assistance to the Third World is one of the island's main obligations, stressing that Cuba freely offers its assistance and has absolutely no economic interest in aiding other countries. Thursday's session included debates on the island's public health system. Medical ethics as well as the daily struggle against problems in very sensitive sectors of the Cuban population has also been in the center of debates of the 7th Congress of the Young Communist League. Family doctor Yilian Jimenez said that in an area where 64.3 percent of workers are members of the political organization, the intellectual, technical and political spirit must be closely linked. Cuban President Fidel Castro -- who also attended Thursday's session -- referred to the health situation on the island when the Revolution triumphed in 1959, the efforts to develop the sector as well as the Family Doctor Program. The Cuban leader emphasized that despite economic difficulties in the 1990's, the island's infant mortality rate continued going down. President Fidel Castro also urged young Communists to thoroughly discuss the economic difficulties and praised the island's doctors who, in his words, "are characterized by a high sense of responsibility and medical ethics." CUBAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH DIRECTOR OF FRENCH NEWSPAPER LE MONDE DIPLOMATIC Havana, December 10(RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro met with the Director of the French newspaper "Le Monde Diplomatic," Ignacio Ramonet, Wednesday evening. Ramonet characterized his meeting with the Cuban leader as "very rewarding." The Spanish journalist, who traveled to Cuba to attend the 20th International Festival of New Latin American Film currently taking place in Havana, also met with the President of the Cuban Film Institute, Alfredo Guevara. During a meeting with journalists, the director of "Le Monde Diplomatic" pointed out that globalization is dominating today's world, adding that Cuba is organizing an international meeting of economists for next year, with the participation of Cuban President Fidel Castro. On Tuesday, Ramonet offered a seminar on Information, New Technologies and Society to the participants of the film festival. PRESIDENT OF SURINAM'S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEETS WITH CUBAN COUNTERPART Havana, December 10(RHC)-- The President of the Cuban Parliament Ricardo Alarcon met with his counterpart from Surinam, Indradevie Diwalapersad, who is heading a parliamentary delegation to the island. During the meeting, the president of Surinam's National Assembly expressed her nation's willingness to strengthen cooperation ties with Cuba and contribute to regional integration. The delegation from Surinam also met with First Deputy Foreign Minister Jorge Bolanos and Cuba's Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Jose Luis Garcia. NEW CUBAN AMBASSADOR IN THE REPUBLIC OF YEMEN Aden, December 10(RHC)-- The President of the Republic of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, welcomed Hector Argiles Perez as Cuba's new ambassador to that Arab nation. The new Cuban ambassador presented the Yemenese president with a letter from his Cuban counterpart, Fidel Castro, underscoring the friendly ties between both nations and the excellent bilateral relations. The Yemenese president send fraternal greetings to the Cuban leader and people. LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER THANKS CUBAN PRESIDENT FOR HIS MESSAGE Havana, December 10(RHC)-- The new Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Al Hoss thanked Cuban President Fidel Castro for his message on the occasion of his designation as prime minister. The Cuban ambassador in Lebanon, Roberto Blanco delivered the message, which expresses the Cuban leader's interest in continuing to strengthen ties between both countries. Salim Al Hoss thanked Cuba for its solidarity with the Lebanese people and reiterated his country's support of the Cuban people in their fight against Washington's nearly 40 year blockade. [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