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 Wednesday, December 23, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVES IN HONDURAS FOLLOWING OFFICIAL VISIT TO NICARAGUA 2.- INTERNATIONALIST COMBATANTS WHO FOUGHT ALONGSIDE ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA WILL BE LAID TO REST ON DECEMBER 30th 3.- TEACHERS DAY CELEBRATED ACROSS THE ISLAND 4.- CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES UNDERWAY IN HAVANA 5.- CARDINAL JAIME ORTEGA SAYS CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS CONTINUE TO IMPROVE 6.- LEBANESE DELEGATION HEADED BY PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT CURRENTLY IN CUBA 7.- GIRON TOURISM COMPLEX READY TO WELCOME MORE VISITORS 8.- RENOWNED SINGER CARIDAD CUERVO DIES AT THE AGE OF 52 CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVES IN HONDURAS FOLLOWING OFFICIAL VISIT TO NICARAGUA Tegucigalpa, December 23(RHC)-- Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina has arrived in Honduras following a 48-hour official visit to Nicaragua. Besides encounters with government officials and members of the Honduran Catholic Church, Robaina is expected to visit the Cuban medical brigades offering assistance to victims of Hurricane Mitch -- as he did in Nicaragua. All of Nicaragua's media outlets today highlighted the Cuban foreign minister's speech during the ceremony aimed at formally canceling Nicaragua's 50 million dollar bilateral debt to Cuba. Nicaraguan newspapers placed particular emphasis in Robaina's call to "globalize health and education instead of attempting to globalize the use of sanctions and launching of military invasions against other countries." The Nicaraguan daily La Prensa highlighted the Cuban foreign minister's call to "substitute wars and bombs for armies of doctors and teachers." El Nuevo Diario pointed to Cuba's willingness to send another 40 Cuban doctors to Nicaragua, as requested by Nicaraguan authorities. The news daily wrote that some of the doctors will serve in Nicaragua's autonomous Atlantic Coast region -- where there has never been a doctor. Besides also reporting that Cuba increased the number of medical scholarships for Nicaraguan students from 200 to 300, media outlets in this Central American nation also placed emphasis on Cuba's decision to help the Nicaraguan people despite the ideological differences between the two nations. INTERNATIONALIST COMBATANTS WHO FOUGHT ALONGSIDE ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA WILL BE LAID TO REST ON DECEMBER 30th Havana, December 23(RHC)-- The Cuban government has announced that the heroic internationalist combatants who fought in Bolivia alongside Ernesto Che Guevara will be buried in the island's Santa Clara Province next December 30th. A note published on the front-page of the Cuban news daily Granma states that the remains of the ten internationalists -- temporarily at the Revolutionary Armed Forces Ministry -- will be flown to Santa Clara on December 29th and will be buried the next day at the special Che Guevara Mausoleum, receiving a posthumous tribute in a political-military ceremony. The ten internationalists are Argentinean-born Haydee Tamara Bunke Bider -- better known as "Tania the Guerrilla" -- Cubans Manuel Hernandez Osorio and Octavio de la Concepcion y de la Pedraja, Bolivians Mario Gutierrez Ardaya, Aniceto Reinaga Gordillo, Jaime Arana Campero, Francisco Huanca Flores, Roberto Peredo Leigue and Julio Cesar Mendez Korne, and Peruvian Edilberto Lucio Galvan Hidalgo. The date of the burial coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Santa Clara -- Che's most brilliant military victory during Cuba's war of liberation. The front page note states that "these internationalists constitute a permanent revolutionary example that inspires the daily efforts to build a new society and to defend the country, the Revolution and Socialism." TEACHERS DAY CELEBRATED ACROSS THE ISLAND Havana, December 23(RHC)-- Every school and classroom across the island celebrated Teachers Day on Tuesday with the participation of children, parents, grass roots organizations and, of course, the teachers themselves. In Havana's Jose Marti Plaza de la Revolucion neighborhood, 635 teachers and 91 educational centers received awards during an activity commemorating Teachers Day. The First Secretary of Havana's Communist Party, Esteban Lazo, who took part in the activity, said that Cuban teachers must work under difficult conditions and with limitations, but there is something that the island's teachers have never lacked -- love and commitment for the future of their country. Damodar Pena, a member of the Provincial Party Bureau, also took part in the celebrations and underscored the importance of educational work and the teachers' unconditional and extraordinary selflessness. Meanwhile, the Federico Engels Junior High School, located in western Pinar del Rio, will be the site of the national activity commemorating Teachers Day to take place on Saturday. Pinar del Rio was selected to be the national site due to its outstanding work in the educational sector. This western province was recognized for achievements in the work-study program, both in the schools in the countryside and in the city. CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES UNDERWAY IN HAVANA Havana, December 23(RHC)-- Christmas festivities have already begun in Havana with a open air concert, including a choir of 300 people at the Havana Cathedral on Tuesday. The Archbishop of Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega and other leaders of the Catholic Church, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corp accredited in Cuba, took part in the activity -- a prelude to Christmas Day, which was recently declared a national holiday by the Cuban Council of State. CARDINAL JAIME ORTEGA SAYS CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS CONTINUE TO IMPROVE Havana, December 23(RHC)--Havana's Archbishop Cardinal Jaime Ortega told journalists in Havana that relations between the Catholic Church and Cuban government have greatly improved since the visit of Pope John Paul II last January. Ortega said that with the upcoming commemoration of the first anniversary of his historic visit to Cuba in January, the Pope has expressed his desire to visit Cuba again. The Archbishop also referred to the possibility that Pope John Paul II might make a brief stopover in Cuba when he visits Mexico next month. LEBANESE DELEGATION HEADED BY PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT CURRENTLY IN CUBA Havana, December 23(RHC)-- The President of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, is on an official visit to Cuba. The Lebanese official is scheduled to meet with Cuban President Fidel Castro and other government officials. According to diplomatic sources, Berri will discuss bilateral relations between the two countries, mainly in the areas of trade, economy and culture as well as issues related to youth and sports. The delegation headed by the President of the Lebanese parliament is also expected to meet with the Lebanese community on the island. GIRON TOURISM COMPLEX READY TO WELCOME MORE VISITORS Cienaga de Zapata, December 23(RHC)-- Nearly a half million tourists will visit the Giron Tourism Complex before the end of the year. The Giron Hotel, located in the island's southwestern region, underwent extensive restoration and expansion in record time. According to Jose Antonio Rosales, Director of the Investment Office of the Horizontes Hotel Chain in Montemar, investment in the complex increased the facility's capacity. Workers of the Esteban Hernandez Work Contingent also built two pools and restored all of the hotel rooms. The hotel's Manager Raidel Martinez said that work was done without having to close the complex and that now the facility would be open year 'round. Prior to the restoration work, the Giron Hotel was only open between December and March. RENOWNED CUBAN SINGER CARIDAD CUERVO DIES AT THE AGE OF 52 Havana, December 23(RHC)-- The renowned Cuban "Guarachera" Caridad Cuervo was buried Tuesday at Havana's Colon Cemetery. The 52-year-old singer, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage, began her career as a child and later became a legend in Cuban music. Caridad Cuervo was born in Havana and, because of her exceptional ability to interpret Cuban rhythms, became one of the island's most important and popular singers as well as successful international tours. She recorded several albums which made her famous around the world. In the early 1980's, the "Guarachera" as she was warmly called, toured the United States together with the renowned Aragon Orchestra. Their tour included a successful performance in New York. During the last years of her life, Caridad Cuervo was one of the main headliners at Havana's famous Tropicana nightclub. [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. 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