Radio Havana Cuba, Thursday, June 24, 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 Thursday, June 24, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- 9th U.S.-CUBA FRIENDSHIPMENT CARAVAN EXPRESSES ADMIRATION OF CUBA'S SOCIAL SYSTEM 2.- CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTRY CATEGORICALLY DENIES CHARGES THAT HAVANA IS PRODUCING BACTERIOLOGICAL WEAPONS 3.- MAYOR OF SAN SALVADOR CRITICIZES DECISION TO DENY ENTRY VISAS TO CUBAN REPRESENTATIVES 4.- SECOND MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON STATE REFORM AND THE MODERNIZATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION UNDERWAY 5.- NICARAGUA THANKS CUBA FOR BIORAT DONATION 6.- NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY YOUTH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA PERFORMS WITH CUBA'S YOUTH SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA 7.- EMPLOYMENT RATES UP DURING FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF THE YEAR 9th U.S.-CUBA FRIENDSHIPMENT CARAVAN EXPRESSES ADMIRATION OF CUBA'S SOCIAL SYSTEM Havana, June 24(RHC)-- Members of the 9th U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan have expressed their admiration for Cuba's social system, pointing out that they joined the solidarity movement to learn the truth about the Cuban Revolution. The caravanistas -- representing the United States, Ghana, Holland, Germany and Mexico -- toured economic and cultural places of interest in western Pinar del Rio province. A representative from Cuba's Institute of Friendship with the People's (ICAP) in Pinar del Rio, Francisco Pando, told the Pastors for Peace activists that the Cuban people highly value their humanitarian aid, but that their solidarity with Cuba is even more valuable. Defying Washington's almost 40-year-old blockade against the island, the 9th U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan brought 100 tons of medicines, medical equipment, computers, school supplies and busses -- valued at over 20 million dollars. CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTRY CATEGORICALLY DENIES CHARGES THAT HAVANA IS PRODUCING BACTERIOLOGICAL WEAPONS Havana, June 24(RHC)-- Cuba's Foreign Ministry has stated that recent charges in the United States that the island is producing bacteriological weapons are "ridiculous." During his weekly news conference in Havana, Foreign Ministry spokesman Jorge Gonzalez answered the charges, which appeared this week in the Miami news daily "El Nuevo Heraldo." Gonzalez said many prestigious scientists, including some from the U.S., have visited Cuba's bio-technological laboratories and are aware that Cuba's research is solely aimed at curing the sick and saving lives. In response to the "El Nuevo Heraldo" article, the U.S. State Department admitted that it had absolutely no evidence to back the charges. The Cuban Foreign Ministry spokesman said no one in Cuba has even considered the production of bacteriological, chemical or nuclear weapons, adding that Cuba's military doctrine is of a strictly defensive nature. Gonzalez also reiterated Cuba's willingness to cooperate with the United States in regional anti-drug operations. He said last Monday's gathering in Havana of Cuban and U.S. experts in the field was of a technical character and that Havana and Washington do not have an agreed upon mechanism of cooperation or exchange of information. The Foreign Ministry spokesman said despite the fact that drug use is not a social problem in Cuba, Havana fully understands the danger that drug-trafficking poses to the region's nations. MAYOR OF SAN SALVADOR CRITICIZES DECISION TO DENY ENTRY VISAS TO CUBAN REPRESENTATIVES San Salvador, June 24(RHC)-- The Mayor of San Salvador, Hector Silva, has criticized his country's decision to deny entry visas to Cuban officials. The two Cuban representatives were slated to participate in the meeting of the Committee of Economic Development in the Union of Iberoamerican Capitals, which began Thursday in the Salvadoran capital. In statements to reporters, the Salvadoran mayor characterized the incident as "a serious error" committed by the country's Interior Ministry, adding that he is confident the new administration of President Francisco Flores will change its foreign policy in reference to Cuba. The Director of International Relations of Havana's Mayor's Office, Carlos Franco Parellada, and his assistant Nudia Cespedes -- who would have been Cuba's representatives to the event -- were scheduled to talk about Havana's experience in the promotion of public services as well as tourism investment. SECOND MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON STATE REFORM AND THE MODERNIZATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION UNDERWAY Havana, June 24(RHC)--The Second Ministerial Conference on State Reform and the Modernization of Public Administration -- one of the meetings leading up the Iberoamerican Summit scheduled to take place in November in the Cuban capital -- has gotten underway at Havana's International Convention Center. During the inaugural ceremony, Cuban Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Minister Ibrahim Ferradaz called on participants to work for new and improved public administration systems, designing mechanisms for each of the region's nations. He stated that the objective of the meeting in Havana was to suggest ways to improve local government and administrative business -- recommendations which will be made to the Iberoamerican heads of state or government. NICARAGUA THANKS CUBA FOR BIORAT DONATION Managua, June 24(RHC)-- Nicaraguan Deputy Health Minister Mariangeles Arguello thanked Cuba for donating 3000 kilograms of Biorat in an attempt to stop the spread of leptospirosis in the country. Leptospirosis -- a deadly disease transmitted by rats -- has broken out in the Department of Rio San Juan, located southeast of Managua, the capital. Biorat is a Cuban-made biological product that kills rats and is not toxic to other animals or human beings. In statements to Prensa Latina News Agency, the Nicaraguan official thanked the Cuban government for aiding the country now and in the past. She emphasized that Cuba has excellent technicians and professionals in the field of health, adding that Nicaragua hopes to learn from the island's experiences. NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY YOUTH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA WILL PERFORM WITH CUBA'S YOUTH SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA Havana, June 24(RHC)-- The New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic Orchestra from Boston, Massachusetts and Cuba's Youth Symphonic Orchestra will perform in different theaters across the island as a gesture of bilateral solidarity. Both groups will perform pieces by renowned musicians like Bernstein, Tchaikovsky, Piazzola and Cuba's Joseito Fernandez at the Sauto Theater in Matanzas as well as the recently refurbished Amadeo Roldan Theater and the City Museum, both located in the Cuban capital. The Cuban Youth Symphony movement, well-known in Iberoamerica, will gain alot from its contacts with the teenage musicians from the United States. EMPLOYMENT RATES UP DURING FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF THE YEAR Las Tunas, June 24(RHC)-- New sources of employment increased by 35 percent during the first four months of the year, compared to the same period of time in 1998. According to newly-released statistics, over 131,400 people were able to find work from January through April, mainly in the agricultural sector. The Labor and Social Security System reports that more than 7000 single mothers and over 400,000 elderly were also employed during the first four months of the year. [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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