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 Tuesday, January 26, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN HEALTH MINISTER WILL PARTICIPATE IN A MEETING OF CENTRAL AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN HEALTH MINISTERS 2.- GENERAL DIRECTOR OF HAITI'S HEALTH AND POPULATION MINISTRY CONTINUES HER VISIT TO CUBA 3.- CUBAN VICE PRESIDENT SAYS ISLAND'S FLEET MUST IMPROVE EFFICIENCY 4.- FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION WILL DONATE AGRICULTURAL MATERIALS TO CUBA 5.- SIXTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS UNDERWAY IN EASTERN SANTIAGO DE CUBA CUBAN HEALTH MINISTER WILL PARTICIPATE IN A MEETING OF CENTRAL AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN HEALTH MINISTERS Havana, January 26(RHC)-- Cuba's Health Minister Carlos Dotres will attend a meeting of Central American and Caribbean health ministers, scheduled to take place on January 28th in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Dotres pointed out that the participants will analyze the health situation in the region and review primary health attention in the communities. During the Cuban health minister's first visit to the Dominican Republic, he is expected to sign a cooperation accord with his Dominican counterpart which will include hospital management, family medicine and transfer of technology. There are currently some 600 Cuban doctors, nurses and health technicians offering their services free-of-charge in the most remote and difficult areas of Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Haiti -- affected by Hurricanes Georges and Mitch. GENERAL DIRECTOR OF HAITI'S HEALTH AND POPULATION MINISTRY CONTINUES HER VISIT TO CUBA Havana, January 26(RHC)-- The General Director of Haiti's Health and Population Ministry, Michaele Amadee Gedeon, stated that her country is very interested in re-organizing its health system with Cuba's support. The Haitian official, who is heading a delegation from the Caribbean nation, thanked the Cuban government's willingness to send doctors and professors, which she said, "is an example of the Cuban people's humanity." During her meeting with the Cuban health minister, the general director of Haiti's Health and Population Ministry pointed out that her country has the ability to increase health services to the population -- based on equality, social justice and solidarity and for all -- but that they must first train the necessary doctors and nurses. CUBAN VICE PRESIDENT SAYS ISLAND'S FLEET MUST IMPROVE EFFICIENCY Havana, January 26(RHC)-- Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage said that Cuba must maintain and improve efficiency in its fleet as this is the only way to guarantee the arrival of necessary imported goods in the face of Washington's blockade against the island. Presiding over an analytical meeting of Cuba's Fishing Ministry, Lage called on the sector to develop its cultivation of fish and other fresh water species before the reduction of the marine population. Referring to 1998's economic results, the Cuban vice president added that the sector suffered the negative effect of the international financial crisis, with a reduction of hard currency earnings despite the increase in exports with a decrease in the price of lobster and other seafood in the international market. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION WILL DONATE AGRICULTURAL MATERIALS TO CUBA Havana, January 26(RHC)-- The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has offered Cuba new assistance to aid agriculture production in the country's eastern provinces, severely affected last year by a prolonged drought and Hurricane Georges. According to an agreement signed with representatives of the Cuban government, 131 irrigation systems and spare parts for others systems already in use will be given to the island. The irrigation systems will benefit some 4000 families in the eastern part of the island. The FAO's donation will permit an increase in food production for the population. SIXTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS UNDERWAY IN EASTERN SANTIAGO DE CUBA Santiago de Cuba, January 26(RHC)-- The Sixth International Symposium on Social Communications kicked off on Monday in Cuba's eastern city of Santiago de Cuba with the participation of over 300 specialists -- 107 of them from 26 countries. Opening the international conference, Dr. Ismael Clark Arxer, President of Cuba's Academy of Sciences, said that geographic barriers "are literally swept away by the power of contemporary communications" and pointed out that powerful nations impose their own linguistic patterns on weaker countries. Referring to Cuba, Arxer added that although the island does not have organizations dedicated to the promotion and social regulation of the language, Cuba does have the Academy of Sciences' Department for Social Sciences and the Cuban Language Academy's Department of Letters. He said these two institutions "unite the efforts of other organizations and social forces -- such as the Association of Cuban Linguistics -- to promote a harmonic and coherent linguistic policy, in line with the Revolution's ideological and cultural interests." [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. 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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