Radio Havana Cuba, Friday, April 16, 1999 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 Friday, April 16, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO ARRIVES IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC FOR 2nd SUMMIT OF ASSOCIATION OF CARIBBEAN STATES 2.- 38th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BAY OF PIGS VICTORY 3.- VIETNAMESE DAILY PRAISES ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION 4.- CUBA INCREASES SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDENTS FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 5.- MORE VACATIONERS FROM SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES VISIT CUBA 6.- CUBAN AND BRITISH EXPERTS GATHER TO DISCUSS BIOTECHNOLOGY 7.- INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON CUBAN WORKER'S MOVEMENT CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO ARRIVES IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC FOR 2nd SUMMIT OF ASSOCIATION OF CARIBBEAN STATES Santo Domingo, April 16(RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro has arrived in the capital of the Dominican Republic to participate in the Second Summit of the Association of Caribbean States. The summit opens this evening and will run through tomorrow, Saturday. The regional organization's 25 member-nations are expected to explicitly condemn Washington's blockade of the island. According to the final draft of what will become the Declaration of Santo Domingo, participants will demand an end to the Helms-Burton Law, to unilateral coercive measures and to the extraterritorial application of national laws. Observers noted that the expected presence in Santo Domingo of more than 20 heads of State and government denotes the importance that the region has attributed to the gathering. Top on the agenda will be discussions aimed at finding ways to enhance cooperation in an effort to develop a regional block capable of confronting the challenges of globalization during the next millennium. Regional leaders will also attempt to define the Association of Caribbean States' position with respect to the upcoming gathering in Brazil with the European Union. Also up for discussion will be efforts to create a regional, sustainable zone of tourism, as well as the effects on the Caribbean of the banana war between Washington and Brussels. The idea to create an entity that would group all the states and territories of the Caribbean Basic first came in 1992 as an initiative of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM. In June 1994, the organization's statutes were approved in Venezuela. The first gathering of the Association of Caribbean States took place in Trinidad and Tobago in August 1995. The Association includes the islands of the Caribbean, Central America and other Latin American nations with coasts on the Caribbean Sea, such as Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico. 38th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BAY OF PIGS VICTORY Havana, April 16(RHC)--The main activity commemorating the 38th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs victory (known in Cuba as Playa Giron) was held today at the Morro-Cabana fortress located in the Cuban capital. All Cubans -- especially those who fought against mercenary forces at the Bay of Pigs, organized and financed by the United States -- remember April 16th. On this date in 1961, Cuban President Fidel Castro proclaimed the socialist character of the Revolution during the burial of victims of mercenary attacks against two Cuban airports, which took place prior to the actual invasion of the Bay of Pigs. VIETNAMESE DAILY PRAISES THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION Hanoi, April 16(RHC)- With the headline "Long Live Cuba," the Vietnamese daily Nhan Dan outlines the achievements of the Cuban Revolution. The article in Friday's edition notes that despite Washington's economic blockade against the island, Cuba achieved a growth of 1.2 percent in 1998. The director of the Vietnamese newspaper, Jong Vinh, praises the achievements of the Revolution in the fields of education, health and the economy, pointing to Cuba's outstanding results in many other sectors. Jong Vinh also mentions the Cuban government's recent decision to give the island's teachers a 30 percent salary increase and to maintain free health care and education for its people despite a limited budget. The article in the Vietnamese daily Nhan Dan refers to more than 800 scholarships that Cuba has offered students from Central America and the Caribbean and the invaluable solidarity and assistance Cuba has given to Vietnam. CUBA INCREASES SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDENTS FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Santo Domingo, April 16(RHC)-- Cuba has increased to 100 the number of scholarships offered to students from the Dominican Republic due to the growing interest among young Dominicans to study medicine on the island. According to the Cuban Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Miguel Perez Cruz, the first group of Dominican medical students is scheduled to depart for Havana next week and the rest will leave one week later. According to Rosa Maria Helu, member of the Dominican National Planning Office, 76 percent of those currently studying medicine wish to finish their studies in Cuba. The scholarship program is part of a Cuban proposal to aid countries affected by Hurricane Georges and Mitch and to help build the infrastructure of medical attention in rural areas. MORE VACATIONERS FROM SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES VISIT CUBA Oslo, April 16(RHC)-- Some 44,000 tourists from Scandinavian countries will travel to Cuba this year, according to Augusto Hernandez, Cuban representative in charge of tourism in Oslo, Norway. The Cuban official added that more vacationers from Holland, Finland, Norway and Sweden travel to the Caribbean island each year. Hernandez pointed out that in 1998, 29,000 vacationers from Scandinavian countries chose Cuba as their vacation spot. CUBAN AND BRITISH EXPERTS GATHER TO DISCUSS BIOTECHNOLOGY Havana, April 16(RHC)-- Cuban and British experts from the biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries took part in a meeting in Havana, aimed at identifying scientific potential and productive capacities on the island. The event, which was sponsored by both the Cuban and British Foreign Trade Ministries, was similar to one held last year in London, where Cuban specialists learned about the peculiarities and interests of British biotechnology. Both Havana and London hope to develop joint-research projects in the near future. British Trade Minister Brian Wilson, who recently concluded a visit to Cuba, expressed his country's interest in purchasing the Cuban meningitis type B vaccine. INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON CUBAN WORKER'S MOVEMENT Havana, April 16(RHC)--The rich history of the Cuban worker's movement will be the main topic during an international scientific workshop, held in conjunction with International Worker's Day -- this year dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Confederation of Cuban Workers, the CTC. The event, which will take place from the 28th to the 30th of this month, is sponsored by the Cuban worker's organization. Among some of the issues that will be discussed during the workshops will be the effects of globalization on the labor movement, the importance of worker's unity and the problems and concerns of working women. [c] 1999, 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. 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