Radio Havana Cuba, Friday, June 18, 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, June 18, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- HAITIAN PRESIDENT RENE PREVAL ARRIVES IN HAVANA 2.- CUBAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF PROTESTANT CHURCHES 3.- CUBAN HEALTH MINISTER CONCLUDES VISIT TO HAITI 4.- U.S. COAST GUARD REPATRIATES 99 ILLEGAL CUBAN IMMIGRANTS 5.- CUBA BECOMES PERMANENT MEMBER OF ALADI IN JULY 6.- IRAQI DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER WRAPS UP VISIT TO CUBA 7.- 13TH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL "BOLEROS DE ORO" UNDERWAY HAITIAN PRESIDENT RENE PREVAL ARRIVES IN HAVANA Havana, June 18(RHC)-- Haitian President Rene Preval arrived in Havana this afternoon to begin an official visit. During his second visit to Cuba in the past eight months, the Haitian president is planning to step up bilateral cooperation between Cuba and his country -- particularly in the area of health care. Shortly before travelling to Cuba, Preval visited many of the nearly 400 doctors offering their services in some 60 regions of Haiti following last year's Hurricane George. There are also 119 Haitian young people studying in a Cuban preparatory school prior to their enrollment in Havana's Latin American School of Medicine. CUBAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF PROTESTANT CHURCHES Havana, June 18(RHC)-- During a meeting with representatives of the island's Protestant churches Thursday evening, Cuban President Fidel Castro said "we must fight against anything that attempts to divide us." Religious leaders talked with the Cuban president about the month-long evangelical celebration being held island-wide, expressing their satisfaction with the way the worship services have been carried out. They invited Fidel Castro and members of the Cuban Communist Party, the Young Communist League and other government institutions -- believers and non-believers alike -- to the closing religious service set for Sunday morning at Havana's Jose Marti Revolution Square. The Cuban leader thanked them for the invitation, saying he would be honored to attend the religious service. He said the evangelical celebrations have been proof of what a united people can do, despite severe shortages of material resources. Sunday's religious ceremony will be broadcast live -- beginning at 9 a.m. local time -- on Cuban television and the international frequencies of Radio Havana Cuba. CUBAN HEALTH MINISTER CONCLUDES VISIT TO HAITI Port-au-Prince, June 18(RHC)-- Cuban Health Minister Carlos Dotres concluded an official visit to Haiti on Friday. During a tour of several Haitian departments, Dotres visited with Cuban medical personnel currently working in the country's remote areas. Dotres described the doctors and other health professionals -- paraphrasing the words of Fidel Castro -- as "true heroes and health patriots." Concerning the Haitian government's interest in implementing a family doctor program in 561 Haitian communities -- similar to the program that exists in Cuba -- the island's top health official reiterated Havana's willingness to send all the necessary medical personnel for as long as their services are needed. U.S. COAST GUARD REPATRIATES 99 ILLEGAL CUBAN IMMIGRANTS Havana, June 18(RHC)-- The U.S. Coast Guard has returned 99 Cubans who attempted to enter U.S. territory illegally. According to U.S. authorities, the undocumented immigrants were picked up at sea, off the shores of Florida. Since migration agreements were signed between Cuba and the U.S. in September 1994 and May 1995, 2057 illegal Cuban immigrants have been repatriated, including 390 from the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo. CUBA BECOMES PERMANENT MEMBER OF ALADI IN JULY Montevideo, June 18(RHC)-- Cuba will become a permanent member of the Latin American Integration Association -- ALADI -- next month, according to diplomatic sources in Montevideo, Uruguay. Cuba's incorporation into the regional organization was approved by ALADI's Council of Ministers in November of 1998 and ratified a few months later by the organization's Parliament. The largest Caribbean island already has bilateral trade relations with ten member-nations of the Latin American Integration Association. IRAQI DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER WRAPS UP VISIT TO CUBA Havana, June 18(RHC)-- Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Nizar Handoon has described his official visit to Cuba as "very successful." Speaking with journalists shortly before leaving Havana, Handoon said the aim of his visit was to strengthen bilateral relations with the Caribbean island and that his mission had been successfully accomplished. During his stay in Cuba, the high-ranking Iraqi official met with Cuban authorities and signed bilateral cooperation accords in the areas of science, education and culture. 13TH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL "BOLEROS DE ORO" UNDERWAY Santiago de Cuba, June 18(RHC)-- The 13th International Music Festival "Boleros de Oro" got underway on Thursday in eastern Santiago de Cuba with the participation of 40 musicians from ten countries in America, Europe and Asia. This year's event, which runs through June 27th, is dedicated to Venezuela as well as renowned Cuban singer-writer Benny More, on the occasion of his 80th birthday anniversary. The bolero -- or a poetic love ballad -- was created over 100 years ago by renowned Cuban musician Pepe Sanchez. For ten days, bolero singers from Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Germany will delight Cubans and thousands of foreign visitors who come to the Caribbean island every year to attend this event. According to the organizing committee, next year's Boleros de Oro Festival will be dedicated to Spain and to renowned Cuban bolero singer Antonio Machin. [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. 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 rhc-eng-27271 1999-Jun-18 18:46:30