Solar Panels Used in Thousands of Cuban Facilities

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba. More than 10,000 facilities across Cuba employ photovoltaic solar panels, including schools, family doctor offices, daycare centers and hospitals.

President of the Cuba Solar Organization Luis Bérriz made the announcement at the 25th anniversary celebration of the founding of the Solar Energy Research Center (CIES).

Bérriz said that the CIES was the first institution in Latin America and the Caribbean to power buildings with solar energy.

CIES director Rubén Ramos told ACN that the center's research shows that the available renewable energy potential in Cuba is several hundred times greater than the country's energy needs.

Ramos spoke about some of the center's achievements, like the implementation of solar driers and other dehydration technologies for wood, medicinal plants and other products, and the use of "hothouses" (temperature-controlled buildings used to grow seeds and vegetables).

Breéis also spoke about new innovations such as the development of an accelerated production technology to grow micro-algae for human and animal consumption, and the use of micro-algae cultivation systems to treat hog and poultry residuals.

The CIES is also very active in fostering community knowledge related to the environment and energy use.

(Paneles solares benefician instalaciones en Cuba y el mundo)

Cuba Participates in Tourism Fair in Athens

HAVANA, Cuba. Cuba is participating in the 14th ‘Tourist Panorama’ Tourism Fair that is underway at the EXPOATHENS exhibition hall in the Greek capital with the presence of representatives from 12 countries.

According to the website of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, the Cuban stand was visited by the Greek Tourism Minister, Konstantinos Markopoulos, who expressed his interest in the results of the exhibition of the promotional program ‘Viva Cuba’ (Long Live Cuba), currently being
developed by the Tourism Ministry of the Caribbean nation.

Members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Greece, the public, as well as travel agents and journalists also visited the Cuban stand interested in the tourist offers of the Caribbean archipelago.

The Cuban ambassador in Athens, Hermes Herrera, and the First Secretary of the Cuban embassy in the Greek capital, Jose Cala, were interviewed by the METELEXI magazine of the television channel Atica and also by ‘Discover Greece’, a program of the state television channel NET.

(Participa Cuba en Atenas en feria de turismo)

US Expert Praises Cuban Ophthalmology

HAVANA, Cuba. Dr. Thomas Hedges III, one of the world's foremost ophthalmological experts highlighted Cuba's achievements in this specialty.

In statements to ACN on Tuesday, Dr. Hedges, a professor at the University of Boston, spoke about the quality of professionals and the training of human resources in Cuba, with 24 high-tech ophthalmological centers across the island.

Dr. Hedges also praised the specialized assistance given to patients by way of the national healthcare system and the Mission Miracle project that, five years after its implementation in Cuba, has already benefited more than 1,621,500 patients from 33 nations.

Dr. Hedges has been collaborating with Cuba since the 1990s in the field of neuro-ophthalmology, through scientific exchanges, publications, lectures, and courses.

During the opening of the Sixth International Ophthalmology Conference, ongoing in Havana until Friday, Dr. Hedges was presented with a certificate from the Cuban Ophthalmology Society, recognizing his contributions.

The conference gathers 500 Cuban specialists and some 100 delegates from Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Unites States.

Retinal surgery courses were held on Monday, prior to the opening of the conference. Also covered were updates on glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology and uveitis, an illness associated to systemic diseases, characterized by inflammation of the eyes.

(Experto norteamericano valora logros de oftalmología cubana)