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, September 15, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO ATTENDS FUNERAL OF OUTSTANDING REVOLUTIONARY CUBAN INTELLECTUAL 2.- PRESIDENT OF CATALONIA'S DEMOCRATIC UNION GOVERNMENT BEGINS AN OFFICIAL VISIT TO CUBA 3.- CUBAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT SAYS CUBA IS ATTRACTIVE FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT 4.- LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN FORESTRY COMMISSION SESSIONS IN HAVANA 5.- INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTORS OF HAVANA CIGARS MEET IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL 6.- FIRST NATIONAL THERMALISM CONGRESS SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 7.- SOCIAL WORKERS MEET TO EVALUATE WORK 8.- MEETINGS OF CUBAN WRITERS AND ARTISTS WIND UP ISLANDWIDE 9.- MODERN HOSPITAL MONITORS INSTALLED IN CUBAN MEDICAL CENTERS CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO ATTENDS FUNERAL OF OUTSTANDING REVOLUTIONARY CUBAN INTELLECTUAL Havana, September 15 (RHC)-- Renowned Cuban intellectual Antonio Nunez Jimenez died in Havana Sunday at the age of 75. Cuban President Fidel Castro attended his funeral ceremony at Colon Cemetery Tuesday afternoon. Also on hand were family members, close friends as well as Havana residents who admired the work of Nunez Jimenez. Havana's historian Eusebio Leal gave the eulogy. At the time of his death, Nunez Jimenez was the President of the Havana-based Foundation of Nature and Man. From early on, Nunez Jimenez joined the island's revolutionary struggle, participated in the underground revolutionary movement and joined the Rebel Army's 8th Squad headed by Ernesto Che Guevara during the campaign to free the island's central region. Following the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, he held several posts including Director of the National Agrarian Reform Institute, President of the Cuban National Bank and of the Academy of Sciences, ambassador to Peru and Deputy Culture Minister. During his lifetime, Nunez Jimenez received numerous awards and medals. PRESIDENT OF CATALONIA'S DEMOCRATIC UNION GOVERNMENT BEGINS AN OFFICIAL VISIT TO CUBA Havana, September 15 (RHC)-- The President of Catalonia's Democratic Union Government, Jose Antonio Duran, arrived in Havana Monday at the invitation of Cuba's Communist Party. Duran told reporters in the Cuban capital that the purpose of his visit was to learn about the island's reality, with the greatest respect for the Cuban people and in a framework consistent with the current relations between Spain and Cuba. The President of the Catalonia Autonomous Community and the delegation accompanying him will meet with Cuban government officials and tour sites of economic interest in the western provinces of Havana and Matanzas. Catalonia's Democratic Union is one of the two parties that make up the current government of the Spanish autonomous region and this is its president's second visit to Cuba. The delegation winds up its visit on Thursday. CUBAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT SAYS CUBA IS ATTRACTIVE FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT Cancun, September 15 (RHC)-- The President of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, says that Cuba is an attractive and profitable country for foreign investment due to the political stability and security it provides. Speaking at the Second US-Cuba Business Conference which wound up in the Mexican beach resort of Cancun over the weekend, Alarcon referred to relations between the United States and Cuba, giving a detailed analysis of how the US government is being pressured by right wing Miami based anti-Cuban organizations. He added that the US State Department's decision to deny the US business people permission to travel to Cuba for the conference responds to those pressures. Alarcon noted that the island is going through a very difficult economic period, mainly due to Washington's 38 year blockade, saying that the blockade enormourly affects the island's people. He stressed, however, that Cuba's situation is no worse than that of other Latin American countries. The conference kicked off Thursday with a presentation by Cuban Economic Cooperation and Foreign Investment Minister, Ibrahim Ferradaz, on the evolution of the island's economy and its foreign investment procedure. The meeting was attended by 50 US business executives and representatives of important US media outlets. LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN FORESTRY COMMISSION SESSIONS IN HAVANA Havana, September 15 (RHC)-- The 20th meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Forestry Commission came to a close in the Cuban capital Monday. Representatives of 20 countries and international organizations who attended the gathering denounced the accelerated process of regional deforestation. During the event, delegates learned that during the first five years of the current decade, the region's forests decreased by 29 million hectares, which represents a 0.5 annual deforestation rate. According to a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report, the main causes of deforestation in Latin America and the Caribbean are the clearance of land for agriculture and raising livestock as well as uncontrolled industrialization and forest fires. At the opening, Cuban Science Technology and Environment Minister, Rosa Elena Simeon, said that holding this gathering in Cuba is a recognition of the Cuban government's efforts in favor of forestry development. In related news, the 2nd Congress on Forestry began on Tuesday and will run until Thursday with the participation of 306 Cuban delegates and 150 foreign participants. Among some of the issues that will be discussed is ecology, legislation, education and culture. INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTORS OF HAVANA CIGARS MEET IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, September 15 (RHC)-- Presidents and executives of international companies which distribute Havana cigars worldwide will meet in the Cuban capital beginning Tuesday. Each year representatives of more than 20 companies responsible for the commercialization of Havana cigars in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the Americas and other areas meet in Havana to analyze what happened in the area of distribution during the previous 12 months, and overall prospects for the near future. The meeting will run for two days with an agenda that includes an analysis of a program of activities scheduled for February in which Cuba's Habanos S.A, the Cuban company that manufactures and commercializes Havana cigars, will hail the advent of the new millenium. The export of Havana cigars and tobacco leaves is one of the island's five most important economic areas. FIRST NATIONAL THERMALISM CONGRESS SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER Havana, September 15 (RHC)-- Cuba's Thermalism Group, the Health Ministry and the Victor Santamarina National Thermalism Center are sponsoring the First National Thermalism Congress from October 18th through 22nd in Havana. Cuban and foreign experts linked with the thermal world are invited to participate. The congress' main objective is the exchange of experience among professionals who work in the area of thermal science, spas, the bottling of mineral waters and other related issues. The congress will also attempt to promote tourist activity in connection with the benefits of thermalism to health and the quality of life. SOCIAL WORKERS MEET TO EVALUATE WORK Havana, September 15 (RHC)-- The First Iberoamerican Meeting of Women Social Workers began in Havana Monday. The gathering, which runs through Thursday,is being attended by 250 representatives from 12 countries. The meeting is aimed at analyzing the work of social workers and assisting them in solving the problems of inidividuals and the community. Some 1,630 women are working as social workers in Cuba, mainly in the health sector. MEETINGS OF CUBAN WRITERS AND ARTISTS WIND UP ISLANDWIDE Havana, September 15 (RHC)-- A series of meetings held island-wide by members of Cuba's National Writers and Artists Union, UNEAC, has revealed unity in suppport of new cultural ideas. The promotion of the best of each province, closer ties between the island's most notable artists and art schools and the defense of provincial cultural heritage were among the most common topics in the assemblies leading up to the Union of Writers and Artists' 6th Congress. Many stressed the need to boost culture in the community, to increase cultural research and to insert tourism into culture. Nearly a thousand artists and writers participated in the meetings throughout the provinces. MODERN HOSPITAL MONITORS INSTALLED IN CUBAN MEDICAL CENTERS Havana, September 15 (RHC)-- One hundred modern physiological parameter moniters, the Doctus-IV, are being installed in the island's hospitals this month. The monitors are added to 82 others manufactured in the Cuban Central Digital Research Institute. The machine monitors physiological parameters in intensive care units and operating rooms. The modern system allows for the simultenous monitoring of four vital signs including electrocardiography, breathing, temperature, oxygen in the blood and non-invasive blood pressure. [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. 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