martes, 28 de abril de 2009

Third ALBA Games Wrap Up in Havana

HAVANA, Cuba, April 28 (acn) Friendship and integration, rivalry and healthy sportsmanship characterized the closing ceremony of the Third ALBA Games and its 12 days of arduous competition. The festivity had plenty of good music, juggling, dance and gymnastics, reports Granma newspaper.

In a brief speech, Christian Jimenez, President of Cuba’s National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), declared the games officially closed and invited all the countries present to participate in the fourth games, to take place in Venezula in 2011.

A few minutes before, the most outstanding athletes of the event were given special awards. Andreina Pinto (VEN-swimming), seven gold medals and one silver medal, was selected as the best female athlete, while the best male athlete was Guillermo Aguiar (CHI-archery), with five gold medals and one bronze.

The best Cuban athlete was Juan Carlos Stevens (archery), with four gold medals, two silvers and one bronze.

Esteban Lazo Hernández, member of the Party’s Politburo and Vice President of the Council of State, gave the head of the Cuban delegation, Servando Roig, the trophy for Cuba as the champion of the Third ALBA Games, with a total of 525 medals (255-153-117).

Victoria Mata, Venezuelan Minister of Sports, received the second prize representing her country, which finished second with 387 medals (98-138- 151). Giving the prize was José Ramón Fernández, President of Cuba’s Olympic Committee and Vice President of the Council of Ministers.

With an explosion of joy, Chileans, who finished third with 96 medals (32-29-35), received the prize from hands of Lázara Mercedes López, member of the Secretariat of the Party’s Central Committee. Receiving the trophy was Gabriel Gaspar Tapia, Chilean ambassador to Cuba.

The well known Adalberto Álvarez y su Son salsa band played at the end of the closing ceremony of this important Latin American and Caribbean sports event.

Presiding over the ceremony was Pedro Sáez Montejo, member of the Party’s Politburo, and other political leaders.

(Clausurados Juegos Deportivos del ALBA
Venezuela 2011, la próxima cita)

Argentinean Press Highlights Training of Doctors Graduated in Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, April 28 (acn) The Argentinean newspaper Página 12, with national coverage, has highlighted the work of youngsters from that country who graduated as doctors in Cuba, giving free medical treatment to residents in a poor neighborhood south of Buenos Aires.

Propuesta Tatu, a non-governmental organization (NGO) composed of graduates from Havana's Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) opened a health centre for the treatment of the population living in the 17 de Noviembre neighbourhood, in the municipality of Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires, Prensa Latina news agency reports.

The report underlines the altruistic work of these physicians, who offer their services in an area in which about 4,000 families and some 20,000 people live.

Página 12 reports that the members of Propuesta Tatu have planned the training of people living in this neighborhood, in order to organize health groups, help them become familiar with common diseases in the community, and how to recognize and prevent them..

Medicaments for each case are also given free of charge, due to contacts from the aforementioned organization with laboratories making donations.

This ONG was conceived in 2002 by Argentinean youngsters studying at ELAM, and began to materialize in 2007 in neighbourhoods inhabited by people with scant resources in the city and province of Buenos Aires, and presently has a total of 11 projects.

(Destacan labor de médicos argentinos graduados en Cuba)

Sanitary authorities affirm that Cuba has diagnostic possibilities for new virus PDF to Print Electronic mail

Havana Apr, 28 . - The Cuban sanitary system has the diagnostic possibilities and of treatment for the new virus of swinish influenza, and personnel qualified in the attention and all patient's pursuit.

Among these highly qualified professionals there are specialists, doctors, nurses and technicians that act in a system that embraces from the medical clinics, policlinics and hospitals, to the investigation institutes, inform this Tuesday the revolving Granma.

The doctor Luis Estruch Rancaño, vice minister of the area of Hygien, Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), also explained that this qualified personnel is in capacity of facing the 24 hours of the day the population's requirements before any contingency.

The doctor Estruch indicated that before the international situation it is important to carry to an extreme the measures of personal and collective hygiene in school institutions, of service and public places in general.

The MINSAP, together with the Institute of Civil Aeronautics, Ministry of Tourism, Customs, Immigration and Veterinary science, come taking measures of rigorous control, in ports and airports, with the airships, the crafts and their passengers, assisting to that that it would be a door of entrance of the virus from the swinish influenza to our country.

Until the present, in Cuba any case of influenza has not taken place (flu) swinish, neither suspicious patients of the illness exist entered in assistance centers of the country.

Nevertheless, as answer to the prevalent situation in Mexico, United States, Canada and other countries where cases of swinish influenza are reported in human, Cuba upgrades all the clinical-epidemic capacities of surveillance and of attention to the population of the National System of Health.

People work in Camagüey to improve protected ecosystems PDF to Print Electronic mail

Camagüey, April 28 - The ProvincialDirection of Hydraulic Resources of Camagüey, jointly with other organisms of the territory, consolidates the work dedicated to improve the environment of the main basins hidrografics and of the ecosystem of the tourist pole of Santa Lucía Beach.

A fire of big proportions affected in a significant way to San Felipe's Plateau in the first days of the month of April. Video courtesy of Television Camagüey.
At the present time are work in the invigoration of the cooperated surveillance, with the body of keepers like the main force, to avoid the forest fires and to eliminate several polluting focuses of the environment.

In the own stage it is stayed the reforestation routine to recover the damaged flora and to take advantage of the opportunity to enlarge it, then that the hurricanes and the fire damaged many trees in the territory.

The Provincial Direction of Hydraulic Resources of Camagüey that stays as rector organism in the integration of the important project, highlighted that it is necessary to continue working in the Hodrographics Basins of the county, mainly in that of the Maximum River. (Pablo Cabero Viamontes)

Cuba's Lizt Alfonso Ballet Touring Holland and Egypt

HAVANA, Cuba, April 28.cu About twenty Dutch cities are witnessing the magic and rhythm of the Cuban Lizt Alfonso Ballet Company, in a tour that began at the end of March and will end in May.

The show Strength and Beat, which, after its premiere in Havana in 1999, has received standing ovations in numerous countries, has also been given the warmest of welcomes these foreign parts.

The work has been danced in Canada, France, Venezuela, New Zealand and several times in the United States, including a season on Broadway, New York.

Rotterdam, Breda and Amersfoort are among the Dutch cities now welcoming the prestigious Cuban company.

From Holland, the troupe will travel to Egypt to perform at the majestic opera theaters of Cairo and Alexandria, during its first visit to the African continent.

Lizt Alfonso is a company made up entirely by women and, since its founding over 10 years ago, has won the praise of the public and specialized critics.

(Gira del Ballet Lizt Alfonso por Holanda y Egipto)

Cuban Help in Guinean Hospital Highlighted

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 28 (acn) Guinea Bissau's Health Minister Camilo Simoe Pereira, highlighted the international aid -especially that of Cuban doctors- that brought about the inauguration of a hospital in the city of Manosa, 60 kilometers away from Bissau, the Guinean capital.

The inauguration of the center, the first one to perform surgery in a region outside the capital, was attended by the ambassadors from Cuba and Portugal, Pedro Doña Santana and Antonio Freire, respectively.

Two Guinean and three Cuban doctors are working in this hospital, the latter also training 13 students in their fourth year of their Medicine degree course.

The new facility is the result of multilateral cooperation between several institutions, like the Portuguese Institute for the Support of Development and other international and Cuban entities, by way of which specialists in Surgery and Gynaecology are performing operations and will
train a selected group of Guinean physicians for several months.

On behalf of Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior and the Guinean Health Minister, Simoe Pereira thanked the international community for its solidarity and help, and expressed his wish for this type of multilateral cooperation to continue supporting the health sector.

(Destacan ayuda cubana en hospital de Guinea Bissau)

Cuban Book Fair Touring the Dominican Republic

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 28 (acn) The 4th Cuban Travelling Book Fair was held on Monday in the province of San Francisco de Macorís, the Dominican Republic, as part of its tour to bring Cuban culture to the people of that nation.

The inaugural ceremony in that province took place at the Municipal Town Hall, and was attended by the honorary president of that chapterhouse, Luis Rosario, and the president of the Friends of Cuba Parliamentary Group, Deputy Juan Compres.

Also present were the counsellor of the Cuban embassy in Santo Domingo, Bertha Verdura, friends of the archipelago, parents of youngsters studying in Cuba, Dominicans who have graduated from Cuban educational centers, and representatives from Cuban publishing houses.

Compres, a founding member of the Solidarity-with-Cuba Committee, and Félix Rodriguez, municipal trustee, highlighted the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and thanked this province for being part of the cultural event.

The diplomat highlighted that the access of the vast majority of the Cuban people to culture is one of the greatest achievements of this half a century, which began with the literacy campaign and continued with other educational policies.

She made reference to the Cuban publishing houses present at the Fair, among which Capitán San Luis, Abril and Editora Política stand out.

Likewise, representatives from the Cuban News Agency, Prensa Latina news agency, the Council of State's Office for Publications, the Center of Studies on The Americas, and the Enterprise of Information Technologies and Advanced Telematic Services, participated in the opening of the Fair at San Francisco de Macorís.

Dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution, the 4th Cuban Travelling Book Fair was simultaneously inaugurated in Santiago de los Caballeros and in the city of Puerto Plata.

The Fair will run until May 3rd in the Dominican Republic, after visiting the province of La Vega, and ending in La Romana.

The event is held parallel to the 12th International Book Fair of the Dominican Republic, dedicated on this occasion to former Dominican President Juan Bosch and to Brazil.

(Continúa Feria Itinerante del Libro Cubano en Dominicana)

Cuba Films in Mexican Documentary Festival

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 28 (acn) Cuba is one of the countries invited to the 2009 Memory Festival, to be held from May 8th through the 15th in Tepoztlán, Mexico.

A total of 36 selected film materials, of which 18 are world premieres, will be screened during the event -the 3rd stage of the 3rd Ibero- American Documentary Film Memory Festival, the first stage of which took place in October 2008.

Cuba will show a group of works among which are classics of the archipelago's documentary production, like Now, by Santiago Álvarez, and others by news producers like Tacones Cercanos, by Jessica Rodríguez, Cubarte web site reports.

The event's official categories will be Memory, Identity, Ecology and Art, and the section Memory Light is in the hands of Cuba, said the event's director, Alejandra Islas, during a news conference.

Participating in the Festival will be materials made by filmmakers from Argentina, Spain, Brazil, Guatemala, and Chile.

(Cuba en Festival mexicano de documentales)

Cuba to Participate in the Paris Cultural Fair

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 28 (acn) Cuba will be present in the Paris Cultural Fair. This year the Fair will celebrate its 105th anniversary, and will be held in the Porte de Versailles complex from April 30th to May 10th.

Organizers have announced that the event will offer visitors a wide gamut of activities in the universe of craftsmanship, tourism and gastronomy, with a strong Latin American presence, especially from Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina and the
Dominican Republic.

At the presentation of the Fair, the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, highlighted that the distinctive hallmarks and productions of over 70 nations will come together in this great hall, Prensa Latina news agency reports.

Delanoe said that the participation of more than 2,500 exhibitors and some 650,000 visitors were expected, which will also have the opportunity of enjoying other guests of honor at the Fair: ecological cars.

Moreover, within the 200,000 square meters of the fair, visitors will be able to tour the planet and get to know lands in The Americas, Africa, Asia, Europa, and the tropical islands, by way of segments of Music Festivals.

(Participará Cuba en la próxima en Feria de Paris)

South African Defense Minister Pays Homage to Internationalists

HAVANA, Cuba, April 27 (acn) Charles Ngakula, South Africa´s Minister of National defense, said this Monday he was honored to pay homage to the Cuban internationalists who gave their lives for the freedom of Africa and other nations of the world.

Ngakula laid a wreath at the Pantheon of those who fell for the independence of their Homeland, located at Havana´s Colon Cemetery. The South African official was accompanied by Cuban Division General Antonio Enrique Luson Battle and Brigadier General Delsa Esther Puebla.

In statements to ACN news agency, the South African Minister, who is meeting an official agenda in Cuba, said that there is a great understanding in his country about the meaning of the Cuban Revolution.

This is a solemn place, not only for Cubans but also for those who received the assistance of the small Caribbean nation he said and added that though their remains rest here, they are alive in everybody´s memory due to their courage and heroism, he stressed.

Charles Ngakula pointed out that this homage is closely related to South Africa´s Independence Day, whose 15th anniversary is celebrated today as those that gave their lives for that country´s freedom are always remembered.

The African Minister said it was a great honor for him and his accompanying delegation to mark this date in Havana, because it connects them directly with the history of all liberation struggles.

Referring to his country’s current projects, Ngakula mentioned the mitigation of poverty in the first place, since there are still people suffering this scourge; and facing the economic world crisis.

Only unity will allow us to move forward in the face of these challenges, he concluded.

(Titular sudafricano de Defensa honra a internacionalistas)

Cuban Foreign Minister Calls for Strengthened Unity in NAM

HAVANA, Cuba. Bruno Rodriguez, Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, urged the representatives of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) to establish guidelines that will allow them to keep on strengthening the unity among its members.

While inaugurating the Ministerial Meeting of NAM's Coordinating Bureau at Havana's Convention Center, Rodriguez said that the main objective is to prepare for the 15th NAM Summit to be held in Egypt, July 11-16, and to evaluate what has been done during the last three years.

This Monday and Tuesday, top level experts will hold closed door meetings to negotiate the documents to be approved by the Foreign Ministers of over a hundred nations, when the Ministers meet on Wednesday and Thursday.

"We are gathering during a particularly complex international situation, marked by a world economic crisis whose repercussions reach every sector of interest for the Movement, and which influences in an important way the determination of our priorities in the near future" said the Cuban FM.

In that regard, Rodriguez underscored that one of this meeting's main responsibilities will be "reaching agreement to back up our leaders' quest for joint, fair and sustainable solutions for the world economic and social crisis".

Rodríguez said that the recession "without parallel in almost a century, is a direct result of the prevailing unfair international economic order, of the international financial system imposed on our peoples and of the out-of-control activity of the massive capital from the industrialized
centers of power".

The recession has worsened with a food crisis, added to the volatility of the price of energy, the environmental crisis and climate changes that threaten humankind, said Rodriguez.

"Our economies," said the Cuban foreign minister, "are suffering their effects and our people can see the solutions to the worst social problems that affect them moving farther away".

(Canciller cubano llama a fortalecer unidad de No Alineados)

Suriname Continues to Benefit from Free Eye Care Provided by Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba. Cuban specialists with the Miracle Operation in Suriname, have treated 414 patients in faraway territories of this South American country in April.

During the period the doctors have done check-ups and researches in the Nieuw Aurora, Laduani, Guyaba, Pikin Slee, Funtunakaba and Botopasi communities in the Sipaliwini and Moengo district; and in the Wan Hati and Albina in the Marowijne district.

Out of the 414 patients treated, 100 of them were diagnosed in need of surgery from cataracts, pterygium, glaucoma and other eye diseases.

Since 2007, the Cuban brigade of the Miracle Operation, made up of 10 specialists, perform ophthalmologic surgeries at the Slands Hospital inParamaribo.

This Operation was started in Suriname on October 10th 2005. During its first stage the patients used to travel to Cuba, when 2,937 Suriname patients underwent surgeries in hospitals at Havana City and Cienfuegos.

Since August 2007 these surgeries were performed in Suriname.

So far 5,137 Suriname have been received treatment thanks to the Miracle Operation.

(Avanza Operación Milagro en el interior de Suriname)