Radio Havana Cuba, Monday, May 31, 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 Monday, May 31, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- HAVANA AND WASHINGTON SET TO BEGIN ANOTHER ROUND OF MIGRATORY TALKS 2.- 5th CONGRESS OF CUBAN CULTURAL WORKERS UNION CONCLUDES 3.- EVANGELICAL WORSHIP SERVICE HELD IN BARACOA 4.- EXPANSION OF FOREST AREAS CONTINUES IN HAVANA 5.- CUBA'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAS MORE THAN 60 AGREEMENTS WITH SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS IN THE WORLD HAVANA AND WASHINGTON SET TO BEGIN ANOTHER ROUND OF MIGRATORY TALKS New York, May 31(RHC)-- Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon is in New York City to take part in another round of migratory talks with representatives of the United States. Negotiations will begin on Wednesday, June 2nd, at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The Cuban and U.S. delegations are scheduled to review the migratory accords between the two countries. The President of the Cuban Parliament also plans meet with personalities in the United States that have expressed their interest in meeting with the Cuban official. 5th CONGRESS OF CUBAN CULTURAL WORKERS UNION CONCLUDES Havana, May 31(RHC)-- Noting the many achievements in the cultural sector in recent years, delegates to the 5th Congress of Cuba's Cultural Workers Union discussed the problems and inefficiencies in the sector and how they can be overcome. Representatives of 60,000 members of the Cuban Cultural Workers Union -- nearly 300 artists, writers and journalists from across the island -- turned their attention during the last day of sessions on Sunday to areas like community work. Other issues that the delegates examined yesterday were related to preserving national identity and ways to face neo-liberal economic globalization. Participants to the 5th Congress of the Culture Union also discussed the need to create more jobs in the sector. The meeting, which concluded yesterday in the Cuban capital, was seen as a continuation of the previously-held congresses of the Union of Cuban Artists and Writers (UNEAC) and the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC). EVANGELICAL WORSHIP SERVICE HELD IN BARACOA Baracoa, May 31(RHC)-- Under the slogan, "Love, Peace and Unity," the first of a series of evangelical services was held Sunday in the eastern city of Baracoa. The open-air celebration was held at the Manuel Puentes Borges Stadium and included area residents, government representatives and members of Latin American, Canadian and U.S. churches. It was broadcast live on Cuban television to the entire island. During the service, Reverend Roy Acosta Garcia, professor of theology of the Eastern Baptist Convention, condemned the brutal war of extermination in Europe, referring to the U.S.-led NATO aggression against Yugoslavia. The religious leader contrasted that situation with the love, peace and unity that prevails in Cuba. Sunday's evangelical service was part of a National Evangelical Celebration, which includes 13 public services -- the last to be held June 20th at Havana's Jose Marti Plaza de la Revolucion. The Cuban Council of Churches is sponsoring the month-long evangelical celebration. FOREST EXPANSION CONTINUES IN HAVANA Havana, May 31(RHC)-- Havana province is working hard to achieve its 1999 goal of planting more than six million trees. So far, millions of tiny trees have been planted in cans and planters and hundreds of thousands of them have already been planted. However, the tree-planting program is behind schedule because of the acute lack of fuel. As soon as the rains come, say experts, the earth must be prepared so that the seeds can be sown. Among the municipalities with the best tree planting results are: San Antonio de los Banos, Caimito and Bauta, while the worst are Ganajay, Melena del Sur, Nueva Paz and San Nicolas de Bari. Environmental expert Mairelys de Varona underscored the importance of reforestation for the preservation of the environment, pointing out that Havana is among the most deforested provinces on the island, with only 11.4 per cent of its area covered by forests, while the national average is 21 per cent. De Varona stated that reforestation is equally important for soil conservation, flood control and care of flora and fauna. CUBA'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAS MORE THAN 60 AGREEMENTS WITH SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS IN THE WORLD Havana, May 31(RHC)-- Cuba's Chamber of Commerce now has more than 60 agreements signed with similar institutions around the world. Chamber of Commerce President Hector Manuel Recter said the institution is present as a co-sponsor of every exhibition and fair held on the island and that its top priority in the future is to promote the presence of Cuban business executives abroad. One of the most important events the Cuban Chamber of Commerce has planned for this year is the Expo Caribe Trade Fair, set for eastern Santiago de Cuba at the end of June. More than 700 firms from the Caribbean are expected to be on hand for the fair. [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-27626 1999-May-31 23:04:00