CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following news from Cuba was broadcast in English by Radio Havana Cuba on the 24 September 1998: 1. HURRICANE GEORGES CLAIMS THREE VICTIMS IN CUBA 2. CUBA INVITES IMF AND WORLD BANK FOR DISCUSSIONS ON FREE MARKET REFORM 3. VIETNAM-CUBA FRIENDSHIP ASSOCIATION VISITS CUBA 4. PRESIDENT OF GHANA TO VISIT CUBA 5. NEW CUBAN AMBASSADOR TO GUATEMALA PRESENTS CREDENTIALS 6. CUBA VOTED MEMBER OF PANAMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION EXEC COMMITTEE 7. NEW NATIONAL CENTER FOR PREVENTION OF STDs TO OPEN IN HAVANA 8. FIFTH CDR CONFERENCE TO BEGIN IN HAVANA IN CUBA, HURRICANE GEORGES CLAIMS THREE FATAL VICTIMS, ACCIDENTALLY ELECTROCUTED BY FALLEN POWER LINES Havana, September 24, RHC -- Hurricane Georges has claimed three fatal victims in Cuba, who were accidentally electrocuted by power lines knocked down by strong winds. In its trajectory through the Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Holguin, Santiago, Granma and Las Tunas, the storm caused extensive damage to agriculture and the electricity infrastructure. Flooding has not been as severe as anticipated due to the drought in eastern Cuba -- the worst in the past 40 years. Dams were virtually empty. Flooding has, however, isolated several municipalities where it is impossible to arrive by land. In the Sagua de Tanamo municipality, in Holguin Province -- one of the region's hardest hit by Georges -- some 2,000 homes have been covered by water. Civil defense authorities are warning of possible mud slides in mountainous regions and continued rain. Cuban TV, which has provided on-going, live coverage of the situation, said today that late Thursday afternoon the rain will begin to affect Camaguey and other central provinces. This evening, the hurricane was expected to reach Ciego de Avila, more than 300 kilometers east of Havana. Cienfuegos, Villa Clara and Matanzas have been declared in the phase of alarm, while Havana, Havana City and Pinar del Rio have been maintained in the informative phase. Nevertheless, in a second visit to Havana's Meteorological Institute, Cuban President Fidel Castro said the entire country is preparing for the worst variant of Hurricane Georges. Earlier today it seemed that from Villa Clara, the storm would probably take to sea heading for the Florida Keys and possibly gaining in strength. As of this afternoon, the hurricane was moving at a speed of 22 kilometers per hour, with 120 kilometer winds -- considered a category 1 in the 5 that make up the Saffir-Simpson scale. Up to today, a total of close to 500 thousand people had been evacuated in eastern Cuba. CUBA INVITES WORLD BANK AND INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND TO DISCUSS IN HAVANA GLOBALIZATION AND FREE MARKET REFORM Havana, September 24, RHC -- The president of the Cuban Association of Economists, Roberto Verrier, has invited the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to participate in Havana in a seminar on globalization and free market reform. Verrier, who is also president of the Association of Latin American and Caribbean Economists, made the announcement in Honduras, where he's participating in a three-day forum on globalization, neoliberalism and integration -- slated to wind up on Friday. The Cuban economist said the presidents of the IMF, Michel Camdessus, and the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, have been invited to the Havana conference, which will be held next year from January 18 to the 23rd. He said also present at the event will be free marketeers, critics, structuralists and executives of important publications like Le Monde Diplomatique, Business Week and The Economist. Verrier said the debates will focus on alternatives for poor countries in the face of what he called the decrepit neoliberal model amid a galloping financial crisis. Under neoliberalism, said the Cuban economist, it's possible that three of the most powerful families in the world together have assets whose value surpass the gross domestic products of the planet's 48 poorest nations. He said the wealth of the planet's 225 richest persons is greater than the annual income of 2 billion 500 million people. Verrier added that it would take 40 billion dollars a year to provide food, adequate drinking water and health for the poor -- noting that this amount only represents 4 percent of those 225 fortunes. In the opinion of this leading Cuban economist, what he called this brutal inequality and galloping crisis have converted modern financial markets into a Titanic -- symbolizing the decay of current economic models. Cuban economist Roberto Verrier termed as an aberration the current distribution of global wealth, which excludes more than one billion people who are unable to satisfy their basic needs, while 20 percent of the world's population consumes 86 percent of the planet's resources. VIETNAM-CUBA FRIENDSHIP ASSOCIATION CONTINUES VISIT TO CUBA Havana, September 24 (RHC)-- The head of the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association, Tran Thi Than, who is visiting the island, has praised Cuba's social achievements. Tran, who is also a member of the Central Committee of Vietnam's Communist Party and Minister of Attention to Women and Children, pointed to benefits extended to Cuba's single mothers, the disabled and the elderly. She commented that Vietnam should study Cuba's experiences in the field. Tran Thi Than is heading a delegation of the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association. The group met in Havana with officials of Cuba's Labor and Social Security Ministry. GHANA'S PRESIDENT TO VISIT CUBA NEXT WEEK Havana, September 24 (RHC)-- The President of the Republic of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, is scheduled to visit Cuba on a three day official visit beginning September 27th. The African leader was invited by Cuban President Fidel Castro. Rawlings will head a delegation that will include Foreign Minister James Victor Ghano and other high-ranking government officials. During his visit to the island, Rawlings will hold meetings with Cuban government authorities and tour places of economic, scientific and historic interest. This week President Jerry Rawlings addressed the UN General Assembly where he condemned unilateral extraterritorial measures like the anti Cuba Helms-Burton law which is aimed at punishing third countries that do business on the island and which re-enforces Washington's blockade against Cuba. NEW CUBAN AMBASSADOR TO GUATEMALA PRESENTS CREDENTIALS IN GUATEMALAN CAPITAL Havana, September 24 (RHC)-- Guatemalan President Alvaro Arzu, has received Cuba's new ambassador, Fredy Torres in the National Palace. Torres is the first Cuban ambassador to be accredited in Guatemala since the two nations normalized diplomatic relations early this year after 36 years. Guatemalan Foreign Minister, Eduardo Stein, told the press in Guatemala City that after naming its ambassador to Havana last July, it was up to Cuba to chose its representative in Guatemala in order for full diplomatic relations to be restored. CUBA ELECTED MEMBER OF PANAMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Havana, September 24 (RHC)-- Cuba was elected member of the Executive Committee of the Panamerican Health Organization during the 25th general assembly of that institution in Washington, D.C. Cuba's Health Minister, Carlos Dotres said that the overwhelming vote in favor of Cuba is a significant manifestation of the support of Latin American and Caribbean nations. Dr. Dotres also stressed that the vote is recognition of Cuba's national healthcare policy, and a gesture of solidarity and cooperation with the countries of the continent. NATIONAL CENTER FOR THE PREVENTION OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES TO OPEN ITS DOORS IN HAVANA IN DECEMBER Havana, September 24 (RHC)-- The National Center for the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS will be inaugurated December 1st in Cuba. The Center will instruct young people on the risks of sexually transmitted diseases and how to avoid contracting them. Director of the new institution, Rosaida Ochoa, told the press that the idea for the center came out of the need to prioritize the fight against sexually transmitted diseases and to train the island's health personnel. The National Center for the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS has the technical and financial support of the international humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders. THE FIFTH CONGRESS OF THE COMMITTEES FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE REVOLUTION, CDR, SET TO BEGIN IN HAVANA Havana, September 24 (RHC)-- The one thousand delegates that are expected to participate in the upcoming 5th Congress of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, CDR, were welcomed to the Vladimir Ilich Lenin Vocational Institute in the Cuban capital, where they will stay during the congress. CDR national deputy coordinator, Antonio Pernas, told the press in Havana that everything is ready for the Congress which will be innagurated on Friday in the capital's Museum of the Revolution. Pernas explained that during the three-day event, which will take place in Havana's International Convention Center, participants will discuss the central report which includes the ideological and political work of the CDR's and its contribution to the island's economy among other issues. [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