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, May 13, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO ARRIVES IN GENEVA FOR 51ST ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OF WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION 2.- CUBAN PARLIAMENTARY PRESIDENT RICARDO ALARCON ARRIVES IN URUGUAY FOR IBEROAMERICAN MEETING 3.- 19TH INTERNATIONAL TOURISM CONVENTION IS IN FULL-SWING 4.- RENOWNED CUBAN ECONOMIST, HISTORIAN AND TEACHER JULIO LE RIVEREND DIES AT 86 5.- CUBA'S DEPUTY MINISTER FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION IN CHINA 6.- FOREST FIRES IN THE SPECIAL MUNICIPALITY OF THE ISLE OF YOUTH ARE UNDER CONTROL CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO ARRIVES IN GENEVA FOR 51ST ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OF WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION Geneva, May 13(RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro arrived today in Geneva to participate in the 51st Annual Assembly of the World Health Organization. On Thursday, the Cuban leader will participate in activities to celebrate the WHO's 50th anniversary, during which he will receive the organization's Health For All Award. President Castro's presence in Geneva is in response to invitations from WHO Director General Hiroshi Nakajima and from the government of the Swiss Confederation. Besieged by numerous journalists upon his arrival, Fidel Castro said he was there to offer a modest contribution and that he felt honored to accompany the Swiss people. Asked about his expectations, the Cuban leader said he was "hoping for a world that has hope of a better world." Journalists also asked about the possibility of gestures towards better relations with the United States, in light of the participation in the Geneva event of President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary. President Castro said Cuba has been making gestures for a long time and that its up to Washington to make gestures towards its Caribbean neighbor. He added that it's not Cuba that is blockading the U.S. or has a military base in U.S. territory. On Thursday, the Cuban leader is expected to deliver a speech at WHO headquarters regarding Cuba's achievements in the health field, despite Washington's blockade of the island. He will reportedly evaluate the effects of neoliberal capitalism on health care in developing nations and call on industrialized nations to move towards a globalization of solidarity. Next week, President Fidel Castro will be received in the Swiss capital, Bern, by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Flavio Cotti, and a delegation of the Swiss government or Federal Council. While there, the Cuban leader will participate in a gathering to examine cooperation between Europe and Latin America. CUBAN PARLIAMENTARY PRESIDENT RICARDO ALARCON ARRIVES IN URUGUAY FOR IBEROAMERICAN MEETING Montevideo, May 13(RHC)-- Uruguay's Vice President Hugo Batallas welcomed the President of Cuba's Parliament Ricardo Alarcon, who arrived in Montevideo to attend the 9th Conference of Presidents of Iberoamerican Parliamentary Presidents on May 15th and 16th. Daily newspapers in the Uruguayan capital published major stories on the Cuban official's visit and the island's participation at the regional meeting. In statements to the Spanish news agency EFE, the president of Cuba's parliament said that the island will not make any concessions in order that Washington ends its nearly 40 year blockade against Cuba. Alarcon pointed out that the U.S. anti-Cuban measures have been ineffective, stating that a good example of that was the recent visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba, as well as visits to the island by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and other high-ranking government officials from the Caribbean and Europe. Among some of the issues that will be discussed during the Iberoamerican parliamentary president's meeting is integration and coordination between the region's nations. Uruguayan legislator Carlos Baraibar pointed to the importance of Cuba's participation in this conference when the issue of Cuba's eventual reintegration to the inter-American system is being discussed throughout the continent. Cuba was excluded from the Organization of American States, the OAS, in 1962 -- under pressure from the United States. This is the first time Cuba participants as a permanent member of the Presidents of Iberoamerican Parliaments. 19TH INTERNATIONAL TOURISM CONVENTION IS IN FULL-SWING Havana, May 13(RHC)-- The 19th International Tourism Convention is in full-swing in the Cuban capital. Nearly 2000 participants from 64 countries are attending the 19th Tour Convention Cuba '98, which kicked off in Havana on Monday with the slogan "The Caribbean and Tourism: United Toward the New Millennium." The main activity on Tuesday was the opening of the Convention's tour fair in Pabexpo exhibit halls with some 121 tour stands representing Cuba and international tour companies. Particularly interesting is the fact that 34 U.S. travel agents had been accredited to this convention for the first time. During the work-breakfast with journalists Tuesday morning, the president of Jamaica's Superclubs Hotel Company, John Issa, presented the results of his company in Cuba over the past few months. Issa said that in a courageous and unprecedented move, Superclubs expanded from one to six hotels in Cuba in only one year -- considered the fastest expansion operation of the hotel group. Superclubs now runs the Superclubs at Varadero Beach Resort, the Paradiso Punta Arena Hotels at the same resorts, the Sierra Mar and Los Galiones in eastern Santiago de Cuba and a new one currently under construction at Jibacoa Beach, just 45 minutes from Varadero. RENOWNED CUBAN ECONOMIST, HISTORIAN AND TEACHER JULIO LE RIVEREND DIES AT 86 Havana, May 13(RHC)-- Cuban economist, historian and teacher Julio Le Riverend has died in Havana at the age of 86. Le Riverend was born in La Coruna, Spain in 1912, where his father was the Cuban consul at the time. He had a doctorate in Law, Political Science and Economy from the University of Havana. The renowned Cuban figure was also vice president of Cuba's Academy of Science and director of the academy's Historical Institute and the National Library. Julio Le Riverend was the founder of the Latin American and Caribbean Historian's Association and served as the first president of Cuba's National Historian's Union. CUBA'S DEPUTY MINISTER FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION IN CHINA Beijing, May 13(RHC)-- Cuba's Deputy Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Marta Lomas, met with the General Director of China's Planning and Development Commission Je Yu, who explained the steps the Asian nation has taken to attract foreign capital. The Cuban official, who is on a working-visit to Beijing, also met with China's Assistant Minister for Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Ming Chen, who ratified China's efforts in offering credits to local firms that do business in Cuba. FOREST FIRES IN THE SPECIAL MUNICIPALITY OF THE ISLE OF YOUTH ARE UNDER CONTROL Havana, May 13(RHC)-- Nearly 20 percent of forests in the special municipality of the Isle of Youth, located south of Havana province, have been destroyed by forest fires. The area is considered the world's best-preserved, natural reserve of parrots. According to the island's Flora and Fauna Institute, over 1000 hectares were damaged in a region where not only parrots were affected but also other valuable species. According to local authorities, the fires were extinguished on Monday. [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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