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 Tuesday October 6, 1998. Today's stories: 1. CUBAN PRESIDENT GIVEN THE GOLDEN MICROPHONE AWARD 2. THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASES IS UNDERWAY IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL 3. CUBA-CANADA EDUCATION EXCHANGE PROGRAM 4. CUBANS TO PAY TRIBUTE TO LEGENDARY GUERRILLA ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA ON OCTOBER 8 5. CUBA CONTINUES PRIORITIZING SOCIAL SECURITY, HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION DESPITE ECONOMIC CRISIS 6. DOMINICAN LEADERS SEND LETTER OF GRATITUDE TO CUBAN PRESIDENT CUBAN PRESIDENT GIVEN THE GOLDEN MICROPHONE AWARD Havana, October 6 (RHC)-- Spain's Professional Association of Press, Radio and Television Workers has awarded Cuban President Fidel Castro its "Golden Microphone Award". During its 15th Congress, which is being held in Havana, the Spanish Association granted the Cuban leader the title for his intelligent use of the media during his political life. The President of the Union of Cuban Journalists, Tubal Paez, will accept the "Golden Microphone Order" on behalf of President Castro, in an awards ceremony to be held as part of the activities of the Spanish Media Workers' 15th Congress. The meeting, which runs through Thursday, October 8, will also examine papers related to the development of journalism in Spain and Cuba and a study on Cuba and its cultural influence on the Spanish people. THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASES IS UNDERWAY IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, October 6 (RHC)-- More than a hundred Cuban and foreign lung specialists are gathered in Havana for the First International Seminar on Obstructive Lung Diseases. The head of Cuba's National Pneumology Group, Dr. Libertad Carreras, revealed that some two and a half million people die each year worldwide from chronic obstructive lung diseases. Carreras noted that lung diseases are usually the result of smoking and that some 17 percent of the populations of developed countries and 26 percent of those living in poor nations suffer from some type of lung ailment. The Cuban gathering on lung disease winds up on Thursday. CUBA-CANADA EDUCATION EXCHANGE PROGRAM Havana, October 6 (RHC)-- Some eighteen Cuban young people from the island's Higher Pedagogical Institutes are in Canada for a three-month informal education exchange. The visit was organized under an international program that promotes community work aimed at developing young people's conscienceness of local and global problems from local and international perspectives. The project is being undertaken by 13 nations. The Cuban youths who are currently working in the Canadian social sector, will return to Cuba in November. At the same time, a group of Canadian youths are preparing to come to Cuba through the same world project which will run until March of 1999. CUBANS TO PAY TRIBUTE TO LEGENDARY GUERRILLA ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA ON OCTOBER 8. Havana, October 8 (RHC)-- The Cuban people will pay tribute to Cuban-Argentinean guerrilla fighter, Ernesto Che Guevara, on October 8th, the 31st anniversary of his death in combat in Bolivia. Commemoration activities include the opening of the Che Guevara Cultural Center, in the central Cuban city of Santa Clara, which houses a museum and memorial holding the remains of Che and those of a group of his comrades. That same day, hundreds of young people will walk from various Santa Clara schools to a near-by monument in a historic "paths of victory march" recalling the 1958 derailment of an armored train by Che Guevara's troops which signaled the beginning of the end for the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship. CUBA CONTINUES PRIORITIZING SOCIAL SECURITY, HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION DESPITE ECONOMIC CRISIS Havana, October 6 (RHC)-- The second secretary of Cuba's Mission to the United Nations, Rodolfo Reyes, says that Cuba will continue to be a society from all and for al; a social project which will not be abandoned by its people. Speaking in the UN General Assembly's third commission on social, humanitarian and cultural issues, the Cuban diplomat added that the Cuban Revolution pays special attention to its young people, the elderly, the disabled and the family. Reyes stressed that despite the island's economic situation which has suffered from Washington's attempts to tighten its blockade against the Caribbean nation, Cuba continues dedicating the bulk of its national budget to universal social security, health care and education. DOMINICAN LEADERS SEND LETTER OF GRATITUDE TO CUBAN PRESIDENT Havana, October 6 (RHC)--Representatives of diverse political forces in the Dominican Republic have sent a letter of appreciation to Cuban President Fidel Castro. They were thanking the Cuban leader for his suggestion that the Dominican Republic and Haiti should receive aid for victims of Hurricane Georges before Cuba, which suffered less devastating losses. The letter pointed out that while the action on the part of the Cuban people was not surprising, it demonstrates that Cuba and the world's oppressed peoples still have leaders capable of reacting with great human feeling. The Dominican political leaders underscored the generosity of Fidel Castro's gesture and reaffirmed how much Cuba needs just and equal treatment in face of Washington's almost 40 year blockade against it. The letter points out that during this era of neoliberal selfishness , such examples are much needed. [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. 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) 791053 Fax: (53) (7) 795007 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org WWW: http://www.radiohc.org