CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA
                           January 7, 1998

                        E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org
                        http://www.radiohc.org

 
The following items are taken from Radio Havana Cuba's news
service for Wednesday, January 7, 1998.   Today's stories:
 
1.- U.S. TELEVISION NETWORKS WILL BROADCAST LIVE FROM HAVANA
 
2.- FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN CUBA CONTINUES TO GROW
 
3.- CUBA GIVES PRIORITY TO AIDS TREATMENT
 
4.- CUBAN AND SPANISH BANKS SIGN IMPORTANT AGREEMENT
 
5.- BUSINESS DELEGATION FROM CATALONIA ARRIVES NEXT WEEK
 
 
U.S. TELEVISION NETWORKS WILL BROADCAST LIVE FROM HAVANA
 
Havana, January 7(RHC)-- The major U.S. television networks
have chartered a ship that will bring their equipment to Cuba
for coverage of the visit of Pope John Paul II. 
 
CNN, CBS, ABC and NBC will broadcast their regular newscasts
as well as special programs from the Cuban capital and from
Santa Clara, Camaguey and Santiago de Cuba -- the four cities
that the Pope will visit during his stay, from January 21st
through the 25th.
 
The networks obtained special permission from the U.S.
Treasury Department for their work on the island -- an
exception to the U.S. laws that forbid citizens from that
country to spend money in Cuba.
 
FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN CUBA CONTINUES TO GROW
 
Havana, January 7(RHC)-- Cuban Foreign Investment and Economic
Cooperation Minister Ibraham Ferradaz said in Havana that U.S.
attempts to stop foreign investment on the island have failed.
 
According to Ferradaz, last year ended with 300 economic
associations opened with foreign capital and another 160
cooperating in free trade zones, despite Washington's Helms-
Burton Law against Cuba.  This means an increase in quantity
and quality compared to 1996 -- analyzing their operations,
the joint enterprises represented and new technologies brought
to the island.
 
Cuba ended the year with a 2.7 percent growth in its Gross
National Product.
 
CUBA GIVES PRIORITY TO AIDS TREATMENT
 
Havana, January 7(RHC)-- Thirty percent of Cuban patients
suffering from AIDS receive out-patient treatment; the rest
are being treated in special health care institutions.  
 
Cuban Deputy Minister of Public Health Raul Perez Gonzalez
told journalists that 300 new cases were detected in 1997 --
an increase compared to 1996, when 200 seropositives were
reported.  
 
The first case of AIDS in Cuba was reported in 1986.  There
have been 1800 HIV-carriers reported since then, of whom 478
have died.
 
The Cuban program against AIDS places special emphasis on
prevention and education, especially among youth -- the most
affected by the deadly virus.
 
A team of Cuban scientists is currently working on a vaccine
against AIDS, which 24 volunteers are currently testing. The
vaccine has not produced serious side-effects so far.
 
CUBAN AND SPANISH BANKS SIGN IMPORTANT AGREEMENT
 
Madrid, January 7(RHC)-- Cuba and Spain have signed an
important agreement in the Spanish capital.  The new accord
involves the island's Popular Savings Bank and Caja Madrid, a
Spanish credit institution.
 
Caja Madrid will develop a card system and install automatic
teller machines (ATMs) on the island, especially in hotels and
tourist resorts.  The banking institution also hopes to expand
its investments in real estate. 
 
BUSINESS DELEGATION FROM CATALONIA ARRIVES NEXT WEEK
 
Havana, January 7(RHC)-- A delegation of business
representatives from Catalonia will soon arrive in Havana. 
They will visit Cuba from January 13th through the 16th.
The delegation's agenda includes evaluations on possibilities
to supply several items to Cuba, produced by Spanish
companies.
 
According to Joan Simon Burque -- President of the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry in Lerida, Catalonia -- some of these
products will be plastic pipes, metal building materials, milk
and cosmetic items.
 

           [c] 1997. Radio Habana Cuba
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