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 September 9, 1998. Today's stories: 1. PRESIDENT OF SPANISH AUTONOMOUS REGION ARRIVES IN CUBA 2. RELIGIOUS PROCESSION TO HONOR THE VIRGIN OF CHARITY DRAWS THOUSANDS OF CUBANS 3. MOHAMMED ALI IN HAVANA 4. MORE THAN 31 TONS OF DRUGS CAPTURED SINCE 1994 5. CUBA AND VIETNAM EXPAND SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION 6. UN UNDERSECRETARY GENERAL PAYING OFFICIAL VISIT TO CUBA THIS WEEK PRESIDENT OF SPANISH AUTONOMOUS REGION ARRIVES IN CUBA Havana, September 9 (RHC)-- The President of Spain's autonomous Basque region, Jose Antonio Aldanza arrived in Havana Tuesday to pay an official visit to Cuba. Upon arrival, the Basque President said that because Basque businessmen and women have been doing well on the island, the Basque country is opening a business and trade office in Havana. He explained that the purpose of the office is not only to help Basque companies do business in Cuba more easily but also to help others settle on the island. The President of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country was welcomed at Havana's International Airport by the Vice-President of the Cuban Council of Ministers, Jose Ramon Fernandez and other figures. On Wednesday Aldanza opened a construction materials plant built with Basque cooperation as well as its new business and trade office. Aldanza also met with authorities from the Cuban Parliament and the Foreign and Foreign Trade Ministries. The Basque president told the press that Basques are interested in setting up joint venture companies with their Cuban counterparts in areas of energy, steel and others. RELIGIOUS PROCESSION TO HONOR THE VIRGEN OF CHARITY DRAWS THOUSANDS OF CUBANS Havana, September 9 (RHC)-- Thousands of Havana residents took to the streets of the Cuban Capital's Centro Habana and Regla neighborhoods Tuesday to honor the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre - the Patron Saint of Cuba and the Virgin of Regla, also known by her Afro-Cuban name of Yemaya. The large religious procession honoring the Virgin of Charity or, Ochun, carried with it the image of the virgin along 12 blocks of Centro Habana - one of the capital's most populated municipalities. The one hour religious procession was headed by Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega and the Vatican Nuncio, Benjamino Stella. The pilgrimage was led by a Cuban flag, while a rain of flower petals poured down from balconies over the glass case that held the image of the most revered saint in Cuba. It ended with a mass by Cardinal Ortega in the church that holds the statue of Havana's Virgin of Charity. A similar procession took place to honor the Virgin de Regla, or Yemaya, in the town of Regla. The two processions gathered thousands of Catholics and believers in Afro-Cuban religions. Though the two celebrations were larger than usual this year, it is not the first time outdoor religious ceremonies have been held in Cuba. One was held several weeks before the visit to the island of Pope John Paul II last January and for many years processions have been organized to honor San Lazaro or Saint Lazarus every December 17th, which are attended by tens of thousands of people. MOHAMMED ALI IN HAVANA Havana, September 9 (RHC)-- A US delegation of the Disarmament Education Fund and International Organization for Development is in the Cuban capital. Heading the delegation is former professional boxing champion, Mohammed Ali. In statements to the press, Ali said that he was pleased to be in Cuba again and to be able to shake hands with former world and olympic boxing champion Teofilo Stevenson. The Fund's Executive Director, Bob Schwartz, said that the group is carrying a $1.2 million donation for the island's primary health care system. Schwartz noted that the delegation also brought a shipment of antibiotics, anti-coagulation medicines, syringes, gloves and other medical supplies. During its stay on the island, the US delegation will tour Havana's Juan Manuel Marquez and William Soler Pediatric Hospitals and will visit the Cerro Pelado high performance sports center. It will also meet with the President of the Cuban Film Institute, Alfredo Guevara. The International Organization for Development has so far contributed almost $20 million to the Cuba's health care system. The President of the Disarmament Education Fund said that it is aimed at breaking the US government's blockade against Cuba in the area of health. The US delegation also includes popular US actor Ed Asner. MORE THAN 31 TONS OF DRUGS CAPTURED SINCE 1994 Havana, September 9 (RHC)-- Cuban authorities have captured more than 31 tons of drugs that have arrived off Cuban shores between 1994 and the first six months of 1998. This information was revealed at a round table as part of the 4th National Symposium on Criminal Investigation in Havana. Sources from the National Revolutionary Police's Anti-Drug Division, said that the drug shipments dropped by drug traffickers in international waters that have come ashore, mainly consisted of marihuana and cocaine. The shipments were all destined for the US market. Division representatives also reported that while in 1994 34 drug loads moored off Cuban coasts. In the first six months of this year alone, 220 drug related crimes linked with international drug trafficking have been detected. They added that over the past five years 188 foreigners have been detained in connection with narco-trafficking operations that have used Cuba as a stopover. As an example, anti drug division representatives said that while in 1995 only four people were arrested for such actions, 28 people were detained in 1997 at the island's airports. The Symposium on Criminal Investigation is being attended by 200 experts and guests and by a delegation of the French Scientific Police and UN representatives. CUBA AND VIETNAM EXPAND SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION Havana, September 9 (RHC)-- A Vietnamese delegation headed by that country's Science, Technology and Environment Minister, Dr. Chu Tuan Nha met Tuesday with his Cuban counterpart Rosa Elena Simeon. During their meeting, Simeon briefed the visitors on how scientific research is organized in Cuba and on the island's 14 scientific programs, all of them linked with the Caribbean country's most pressing current economic problems. Simeon informed the visitors that the programs are mainly related to the areas of human and animal vaccines, agricultural biotechnology, human food, sugar agriculture and industry and energy. For his part, the Vietnamese minister briefed his Cuban counterpart on Vietnam's 18 scientific programs mainly related to social sciences, biotechnology and information technology. The Vietnamese delegation will also sign with Cuban authorities a document that will expand a bilateral cooperation agreement signed last year. UN UNDERSECRETARY GENERAL PAYING OFFICIAL VISIT TO CUBA THIS WEEK Havana, September 9 (RHC)-- UN Undersecretary General Angela King is visiting Cuba this week at the invitation of the Federation of Cuban Women, the FMC. The purpose of her visit is to take a look at the situation of Cuban women in the country. King is a special advisor to the UN Secretary General on women's issues. During her stay, King has met with the President of the Federation of Cuban Women, Vilma Espin, who briefed the visitor on the Cuban woman-and-family assistance and information centers which offer direct assistance to women and their families in their communities, on the large number of Cuban women who are working as volunteer social workers mainly in the area of primary health care, and on the high percentage of women university graduates. They also talked about the damaging impact of neoliberal policies on women and children worldwide. The Undersecretary General also met with Cuba's Labor and Social Security Minister, Salvador Valdes. During her visit, King also toured various scientific centers. Angela King winds up her visit to the island Thursday. PRESIDENT OF SPANISH AUTONOMOUS REGION ARRIVES IN CUBA Havana, September 9 (RHC)-- The President of Spain's autonomous Basque region, Jose Antonio Aldanza arrived in Havana Tuesday to pay an official visit to Cuba. Upon arrival, the Basque President said that because Basque businessmen and women have been doing well on the island, the Basque country is opening a business and trade office in Havana. He explained that the purpose of the office is not only to help Basque companies do business in Cuba more easily but also to help others settle on the island. The President of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country was welcomed at Havana's International Airport by the Vice-President of the Cuban Council of Ministers, Jose Ramon Fernandez and other figures. On Wednesday Aldanza opened a construction materials plant built with Basque cooperation as well as its new business and trade office. Aldanza also met with authorities from the Cuban Parliament and the Foreign and Foreign Trade Ministries. The Basque president told the press that Basques are interested in setting up joint venture companies with their Cuban counterparts in areas of energy, steel and others. RELIGIOUS PROCESSION TO HONOR THE VIRGEN OF CHARITY DRAWS THOUSANDS OF CUBANS Havana, September 9 (RHC)-- Thousands of Havana residents took to the streets of the Cuban Capital's Centro Habana and Regla neighborhoods Tuesday to honor the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre - the Patron Saint of Cuba and the Virgin of Regla, also known by her Afro-Cuban name of Yemaya. The large religious procession honoring the Virgin of Charity or, Ochun, carried with it the image of the virgin along 12 blocks of Centro Habana - one of the capital's most populated municipalities. The one hour religious procession was headed by Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega and the Vatican Nuncio, Benjamino Stella. The pilgrimage was led by a Cuban flag, while a rain of flower petals poured down from balconies over the glass case that held the image of the most revered saint in Cuba. It ended with a mass by Cardinal Ortega in the church that holds the statue of Havana's Virgin of Charity. A similar procession took place to honor the Virgin de Regla, or Yemaya, in the town of Regla. The two processions gathered thousands of Catholics and believers in Afro-Cuban religions. Though the two celebrations were larger than usual this year, it is not the first time outdoor religious ceremonies have been held in Cuba. One was held several weeks before the visit to the island of Pope John Paul II last January and for many years processions have been organized to honor San Lazaro or Saint Lazarus every December 17th, which are attended by tens of thousands of people. MOHAMMED ALI IN HAVANA Havana, September 9 (RHC)-- A US delegation of the Disarmament Education Fund and International Organization for Development is in the Cuban capital. Heading the delegation is former professional boxing champion, Mohammed Ali. In statements to the press, Ali said that he was pleased to be in Cuba again and to be able to shake hands with former world and olympic boxing champion Teofilo Stevenson. The Fund's Executive Director, Bob Schwartz, said that the group is carrying a $1.2 million donation for the island's primary health care system. Schwartz noted that the delegation also brought a shipment of antibiotics, anti-coagulation medicines, syringes, gloves and other medical supplies. During its stay on the island, the US delegation will tour Havana's Juan Manuel Marquez and William Soler Pediatric Hospitals and will visit the Cerro Pelado high performance sports center. It will also meet with the President of the Cuban Film Institute, Alfredo Guevara. The International Organization for Development has so far contributed almost $20 million to the Cuba's health care system. The President of the Disarmament Education Fund said that it is aimed at breaking the US government's blockade against Cuba in the area of health. The US delegation also includes popular US actor Ed Asner. MORE THAN 31 TONS OF DRUGS CAPTURED SINCE 1994 Havana, September 9 (RHC)-- Cuban authorities have captured more than 31 tons of drugs that have arrived off Cuban shores between 1994 and the first six months of 1998. This information was revealed at a round table as part of the 4th National Symposium on Criminal Investigation in Havana. Sources from the National Revolutionary Police's Anti-Drug Division, said that the drug shipments dropped by drug traffickers in international waters that have come ashore, mainly consisted of marihuana and cocaine. The shipments were all destined for the US market. Division representatives also reported that while in 1994 34 drug loads moored off Cuban coasts. In the first six months of this year alone, 220 drug related crimes linked with international drug trafficking have been detected. They added that over the past five years 188 foreigners have been detained in connection with narco-trafficking operations that have used Cuba as a stopover. As an example, anti drug division representatives said that while in 1995 only four people were arrested for such actions, 28 people were detained in 1997 at the island's airports. The Symposium on Criminal Investigation is being attended by 200 experts and guests and by a delegation of the French Scientific Police and UN representatives. CUBA AND VIETNAM EXPAND SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION Havana, September 9 (RHC)-- A Vietnamese delegation headed by that country's Science, Technology and Environment Minister, Dr. Chu Tuan Nha met Tuesday with his Cuban counterpart Rosa Elena Simeon. During their meeting, Simeon briefed the visitors on how scientific research is organized in Cuba and on the island's 14 scientific programs, all of them linked with the Caribbean country's most pressing current economic problems. Simeon informed the visitors that the programs are mainly related to the areas of human and animal vaccines, agricultural biotechnology, human food, sugar agriculture and industry and energy. For his part, the Vietnamese minister briefed his Cuban counterpart on Vietnam's 18 scientific programs mainly related to social sciences, biotechnology and information technology. The Vietnamese delegation will also sign with Cuban authorities a document that will expand a bilateral cooperation agreement signed last year. UN UNDERSECRETARY GENERAL PAYING OFFICIAL VISIT TO CUBA THIS WEEK Havana, September 9 (RHC)-- UN Undersecretary General Angela King is visiting Cuba this week at the invitation of the Federation of Cuban Women, the FMC. The purpose of her visit is to take a look at the situation of Cuban women in the country. King is a special advisor to the UN Secretary General on women's issues. During her stay, King has met with the President of the Federation of Cuban Women, Vilma Espin, who briefed the visitor on the Cuban woman-and-family assistance and information centers which offer direct assistance to women and their families in their communities, on the large number of Cuban women who are working as volunteer social workers mainly in the area of primary health care, and on the high percentage of women university graduates. They also talked about the damaging impact of neoliberal policies on women and children worldwide. The Undersecretary General also met with Cuba's Labor and Social Security Minister, Salvador Valdes. During her visit, King also toured various scientific centers. Angela King winds up her visit to the island Thursday. [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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