CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA January 5, 1998 rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from Radio Havana Cuba's news service for Monday, January 5, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO VISITS U.S. SCIENTIFIC SHIP 2.- UNIVERSITY OF HAVANA CELEBRATES 270th ANNIVERSARY 3.- CULTURAL ENCOUNTER ON AFRICAN INFLUENCE IN CUBA UNDERWAY 4.- CUBA AND ITALY SET UP JOINT VENTURE IN TOURISM 5.- SERVIMED FULFILLS PLAN FOR 1997 6.- PALMARES EXPANDS BUSINESS ABROAD CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO VISITS U.S. SCIENTIFIC SHIP Havana, January 5(RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro visited the U.S. scientific ship Seward Johnson for two hours over the weekend. The U.S. ocean boat performed studies in Cuban waters for one month. In statements to the U.S. daily "The Orlando Sentinel," U.S. environmental writer Bill Belleville said that "for the boat's 41 crew members and researchers, the Cuban leader's visit was as fascinating as the ocean studies they carried out for one month." Belleville added during his visit, the Cuban president delighted the Seward Johnson's crew members with stories about his diving and fishing experiences. It took more than one year for the U.S. cable-TV network "Discovery" to engage in the project due to the restrictions imposed by Washington's more than 35 year blockade against the island. UNIVERSITY OF HAVANA CELEBRATES 270th ANNIVERSARY Havana, January 5(RHC)-- Activities to mark the 270th anniversary of the University of Havana began today with a special presentation by Havana city historian Eusebio Leal. The presentation took place on the corner of Obispo and Mercaderes streets, site of the prestigious institutions' first building. The program to commemorate the date includes a meeting of all the institution's professors and political leaders at Havana's Karl Marx Theater, where they are scheduled to approve a declaration of principles. CULTURAL ENCOUNTER ON AFRICAN INFLUENCE IN CUBA UNDERWAY Havana, January 5(RHC)-- The Third Cultural and Scientific Workshop on African History in Cuba kicked off Sunday in the Cuban capital with the attendance of Cuban and international researchers. This meeting is dedicated to Cuban ethnologist Fernando Ortiz. The workshop will be held until Friday, the 9th, and includes video showings, exhibits, dance shows, roundtables and lectures on subjects such as "trans-culturalization." CUBA AND ITALY SET UP JOINT VENTURE IN TOURISM Havana, January 5(RHC)-- Cuba's Cubanacan Corporation and Italy's Seata International have announced that they set up a joint venture company to build and run hotels in Cuba. The new joint venture company -- "Vero S.A." -- will build two four-star hotels in Cayo Coco Key, off the northern coast of Ciego de Avila province, and a four-star and three-star facility at Varadero Beach Resort, the island's second most important tour region. The new Cuban-Italian firm's initial capital is 6 million 320 thousand dollars. It is scheduled to operate on the island for 50 years. This is the fourth economic association between Cubanacan Corporation and an Italian group. Cuba has experienced a boom in tourism over the past several years, bringing in one million 171 thousand international visitors during 1997 and revenues worth some 1.5 billion dollars. SERVIMED FULFILLS PLAN FOR 1997 Havana, January 5(RHC)-- Cubanacan Corporation's Servimed company produced revenues amounting to more than 20 million dollars in 1997, including profits worth 1 million 700 thousand dollars. According to Cubanacan Vice President Mario Sori, Servimed is one of the island's companies in charge of commercializing Cuban medical services abroad and providing such services to international visitors on the island through a network of medical facilities. Those facilities on the island include Havana's Camilo Cienfuegos Clinic, specializing in a unique surgical treatment against retinosis pigmentosa or night blindness; the CIREN, specializing in neurosciences and neurological rehabilitation; a center to treat skin diseases such as vitiligo, psoriasis and alopecia with products based on human placenta, among others. Sori said that during l997, Servimed treated some 6000 clients, though the potential is incalculable, primarily in Latin America, but also in Europe, Asia and the United States. According to the Cubanacan official, the most sought after treatments are those with placental products, rehabilitation and the technique to cure retinosis pigmentosa. PALMARES EXPANDS BUSINESS ABROAD Havana, January 5(RHC)-- The Cuban company Palmares has expanded business abroad recently, including the opening of a bar in Tarragona, Spain, a restaurant in Bilbao, also in Spain and other modalities. The statement was made by Palmares deputy sales manager, Gabriel Ramirez. Palmares is a company belonging to Cubanacan Corporation that specializes in restaurants and other related facilities. Palmares is currently negotiating the opening of other facilities in Milan and Rome in Italy and on the Canary Islands in Spain. Last year, the company expanded the operations of a joint venture company with France called FranCuba that produces French bread and pastries. According to the Palmares official, his company is also providing technical assistance abroad. During 1997, the firm fulfilled 23 out of 30 objectives planned for the period, while the other seven were partially finished. During l998, Palmares plans to prioritize goals such as providing a larger contribution to the island's balance of payments, a program to increase the quality of its installations, the amortization of foreign credits and increasing the number of international tourists visiting its facilities by ten percent. Palmares currently runs 75 installations. [c] 1997. 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) 814243 Fax: (53) (7) 812927 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org WWW: http://www.radiohc.org