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 Monday, November 16, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- PRIME MINISTER OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA ARRIVES IN CUBA FOR OFFICIAL VISIT 2.- PRINCE AND GRAND MASTER OF THE SOVEREIGN AND MILITARY ORDER OF MALTA VISITS CUBA 3.- CUBAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT LASHES OUT AT SO-CALLED "DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM" IN THE UNITED STATES 4.- 600 GUESTS INVITED TO ECONOMISTS CONFERENCE IN JANUARY 5.- ICELANDIC POLITICAL LEADER ENDS VISIT TO CUBA 6.- HAVANA AND SAN SALVADOR BECOME SISTER CITIES 7.- IBEROAMERICAN MUNICIPALITIES EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR CUBA 8.- "BREAKING THE BLOCKADE" -- SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA IN SPAIN PRIME MINISTER OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA ARRIVES IN CUBA FOR OFFICIAL VISIT Havana, November 16(RHC)-- The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Lester Bird, has arrived in Cuba for a five-day, official visit. The Caribbean dignitary is expected to sign several bilateral cooperation accords during his stay. Cuba and Antigua and Barbuda established diplomatic relations in 1994. This Caribbean country is comprised of three islands, with a total land surface of 440 square kilometers and a little more than 76,000 inhabitants. PRINCE AND GRAND MASTER OF THE SOVEREIGN AND MILITARY ORDER OF MALTA VISITS CUBA Havana, November 16(RHC)--The Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta Fra' Andrew Bertie arrived in Cuba Sunday at the invitation of Cuban President Fidel Castro. The distinguished visitor and his delegation were welcomed at the Jose Marti International Airport by Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina and First Deputy Foreign Minister Jorge Bolanos. This is the first visit to the island by the highest representative of the Order. On Monday, Fra' Andrew Bertie, who is accompanied by other high-ranking representatives, received the Jose Marti Order -- Cuba's highest decoration. Also on Monday, the delegation began official talks with Cuban authorities and toured the historic section of Havana --declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. During his three-day stay on the island, Fra' Andrew Bertie will tour numerous social facilities in Cuba. CUBAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT LASHES OUT AT SO-CALLED "DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM" IN THE UNITED STATES Havana, November 16(RHC)-- The President of the National Assembly of People's Power, Ricardo Alarcon, questioned the U.S. democratic system on Cuban television over the weekend. The Cuban parliament president answered questions on the recently approved U.S. budget bill that secretly includes amendments aimed at further strengthening Washington's blockade against Cuba. Alarcon said that so-called democracy in the United States is actually a totalitarian system that uses huge media outlets to try to demonstrate the contrary. An expert in U.S. policy and the rift between that country and Cuba, Alarcon said that the legislation, which is still unknown by many U.S. legislators, is irrational and not only affects Cuba but a large number of other countries as well. He stressed that the anti-Cuba amendments run counter to a petition by a group of U.S. political figures, including former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, requesting a review of Washington's policy toward Cuba. 600 GUESTS INVITED TO ECONOMISTS CONFERENCE IN JANUARY Havana, November 16(RHC)-- Some 600 advocates and critics of neo-liberalism, delegates from the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have been invited to a meeting scheduled for Havana in January -- the International Conference of Economists on Globalization and Development Problems. In statements to reporters in Havana over the weekend, the President of the Cuban Economists Association (ANEC), Roberto Verrier, said that Cuba hopes to bring together prominent experts with the objective of making a diagnostic evaluation of the current economic crisis affecting the planet and coming up with therapies to resolve it. Verrier noted that representatives from some 150 important specialized publications from Europe and the Americas are expected to attend. The ANEC president stated that guests include 30 critics of neo-liberalism, but the rest, he said, are Keynesians, neo- structuralists and advocates of that policy. The International Conference of Economists on Globalization and Development Problems is scheduled to run from January 18th through the 22nd. ICELANDIC POLITICAL LEADER ENDS VISIT TO CUBA Havana, November 16(RHC)-- The President of Iceland's Popular Alliance Party, Margret Frimannsdotir, wound up an official visit to the Caribbean island following encounters with high-ranking Cuban government and Communist Party officials. In statements to journalists, the Icelandic parliamentarian said she was deeply impressed with the Cuban people's and government's pride and optimism. On the objectives of her visit, Frimannsdotir said that she promoted the strengthening of ties between the two nations, an issue she considered very important in today's world. She also stressed that there's a growing interest in Cuba in her country, evidenced by the one thousand tourists that have visited Cuba from Iceland since 1997. HAVANA AND SAN SALVADOR BECOME SISTER CITIES Havana, November 16(RHC)-- The Cuban and Salvadoran capitals became sister cities over the weekend following the signing of an agreement to that effect. The document was penned by the Mayor of Havana, Conrado Martinez, and San Salvador Mayor Hector Silva. At the ceremony, Martinez said that the accord includes a program for the historic recovery of both Iberoamerican capitals as well as an exchange plan in the area of public health. For his part, the Mayor of San Salvador, Hector Silva, expressed satisfaction over the agreement between the two countries and came out for the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between El Salvador and Cuba, interrupted since 1961. IBEROAMERICAN MUNICIPALITIES EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR CUBA Havana, November 16(RHC)-- The 6th Encounter of Iberoamerican City Councils for Cooperation and Solidarity with Havana, currently underway in the Cuban capital, came out in support of Cuba over the weekend. More than 300 delegates from 21 countries, including France and the United States, as well as representatives of the capital's 15 municipalities, urged the international community to unconditionally support the United Nations General Assembly resolutions on the need to put an end to the U.S. economic, trade and financial blockade against Cuba. "BREAKING THE BLOCKADE" -- SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA IN SPAIN Madrid, November 16(RHC)-- Under the slogan "Breaking the Blockade," the 15th Cuba Solidarity Encounter began in Madrid, the Spanish capital, over the weekend. During the encounter, representatives from Cuba solidarity groups in that European country will examine various programs to support the Caribbean island. The meeting, whose previous edition was held in the northwestern Spanish region of Galicia, is sponsored by the Bartolome de las Casas Hispanic Cuban Friendship Association. The solidarity gathering is aimed at coordinating actions to support the Cuban Revolution. At the opening session, veteran labor leader and Association Vice President Marcelino Camacho denounced U.S. hostility toward Cuba and said that the Caribbean island plays an exceptional role in world history. [c] 1998, Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. 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