HAVANA, Cuba, April 30 (acn) Voices of political and social personalities and organizations throughout the world are on the rise to demand the end of the nearly 50-year-old economic blockade of the US against Cuba.
Recently in Portugal, a call was made through one of Antena Uno’s radio programs asking for the lifting of the American measure against the island and demanding the release of the five Cuban men imprisoned in the US.
The call was made by Armanda Fonseca, president of the Portugal-Cuba Association in an interview on a radio broadcast dedicated to analyzing the first 100 days of President Barack Obama’s term, Prensa Latina reported.
Fonseca said there is no justification for maintaining the blockade imposed on Cuba nearly 50 years ago and noted that it is the only measure of its kind implemented in the world and it has been the longest one ever. She also added that it has been widely rejected and considered as genocide.
The activist said lifting the blockade and establishing normal relations with Cuba is an urgent matter for president Obama, if he is going to be consistent with the minimum ethical norms he has proclaimed.
This is also the desire of nearly the entire world, and was recently claimed at the Summit of the Americas, where Latin American countries demanded the end of the blockade, she stated.
Fonseca also noted that it was not the Cuban Revolution that sponsored terrorism against the US, while recalling that thousands of people have died in Cuba because of terrorist acts from American territory.
(Call in Portugal to End the US Blockade Against Cuba)
jueves, 30 de abril de 2009
Cuba Stregthens Epidemic Controls at Its Borders
HAVANA, Cuba, April 30 (acn) “In view of the spread of the swine flu over many countries, Cuba has tightened up the epidemiological controls at its borders, ports, docks, and airports,” said Ángel Manuel Álvarez Valdés, head of International Health Control Program of the Public
Health Ministry.
The official told Granma newspaper that the country has the qualified personnel and the necessary means to isolate and take travelers who are potential suspects of being infected with this highly contagious influenza to health facilities. The disease is caused by a virus that,
according to the World Health Organization, “had been never seen before,” he noted.
Dr. Álvarez Valdés said that as part of the increase in international health control, the personnel are constantly briefed with the latest information on the world behavior and development of the disease. At the same time, “health briefings” are carried out with all the workers at
airports and ports, in order to increase general awareness.
Those in charge of international epidemiological control will be also informed if there’s anything suspicious related to the passengers before sea or air transport reaches Cuban soil. Upon their arrival, travelers will have to sign a Health Declaration stating their country and city of
departure, whether they have had symptoms of the disease in the last ten days, and whether they have been in contact or not with people infected.
The head of the International Health Control Program of the Ministry of Health said that “This ‘bulwark’ of our national health system is ready to timely and efficiently fight any eventuality on our borders.”
(Reforzada vigilancia epidemiológica en fronteras)
Health Ministry.
The official told Granma newspaper that the country has the qualified personnel and the necessary means to isolate and take travelers who are potential suspects of being infected with this highly contagious influenza to health facilities. The disease is caused by a virus that,
according to the World Health Organization, “had been never seen before,” he noted.
Dr. Álvarez Valdés said that as part of the increase in international health control, the personnel are constantly briefed with the latest information on the world behavior and development of the disease. At the same time, “health briefings” are carried out with all the workers at
airports and ports, in order to increase general awareness.
Those in charge of international epidemiological control will be also informed if there’s anything suspicious related to the passengers before sea or air transport reaches Cuban soil. Upon their arrival, travelers will have to sign a Health Declaration stating their country and city of
departure, whether they have had symptoms of the disease in the last ten days, and whether they have been in contact or not with people infected.
The head of the International Health Control Program of the Ministry of Health said that “This ‘bulwark’ of our national health system is ready to timely and efficiently fight any eventuality on our borders.”
(Reforzada vigilancia epidemiológica en fronteras)
Caribbean Festival Committee Created in Santiago de Cuba
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba, April 30 (acn) The Organizing Committee of the 29th Caribbean Festival, to be held here from July 3rd through the 9th and aimed at reaffirming the cultural identity and traditions of the peoples, has been constituted in this city.
Dedicated to the Republic of Honduras and its culture, this Caribbean fiesta will welcome important intellectuals and artists from the region, and will become a space for the promotion of artistic expressions like dance, theater, music, and literature.
The Commission was set up at the Caribbean Centre of eastern Santiago de Cuba province, which will be in charge of organizing and coordinating the academic and cultural activities of the multi-ethnic event.
The director of the Centre, Orlando Vergés, told the press that some 40 stages for travelling street performances will be created, and various spots in the city, which traditionally open their doors for the main activities of the Fire Fiesta, as this event is also known.
The Festival will have Santiago de Cuba as its main venue, while Guantánamo province will have a second. It is sponsored by the Caribbean Centre and the Ministry of Culture and backed by the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and the Cuban Union of
Writers and Artists (UNEAC).
Attending the meeting to create the Organizing Committee were local authorities from the government and the Communist Party, as well as officials from organizations and institutions that will contribute to the success of this traditional fiesta of Caribbean culture.
(Constituido Comité Organizador del Festival del Caribe)
Dedicated to the Republic of Honduras and its culture, this Caribbean fiesta will welcome important intellectuals and artists from the region, and will become a space for the promotion of artistic expressions like dance, theater, music, and literature.
The Commission was set up at the Caribbean Centre of eastern Santiago de Cuba province, which will be in charge of organizing and coordinating the academic and cultural activities of the multi-ethnic event.
The director of the Centre, Orlando Vergés, told the press that some 40 stages for travelling street performances will be created, and various spots in the city, which traditionally open their doors for the main activities of the Fire Fiesta, as this event is also known.
The Festival will have Santiago de Cuba as its main venue, while Guantánamo province will have a second. It is sponsored by the Caribbean Centre and the Ministry of Culture and backed by the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and the Cuban Union of
Writers and Artists (UNEAC).
Attending the meeting to create the Organizing Committee were local authorities from the government and the Communist Party, as well as officials from organizations and institutions that will contribute to the success of this traditional fiesta of Caribbean culture.
(Constituido Comité Organizador del Festival del Caribe)
Site Where Cuba Discoverer Landed Was Restored
HOLGUIN, Cuba, Apr 30 (acn) Efficient preservation work has been performed to maintain the heritage values of the historic site of Bariay Cay, in eastern Holguín province, where Christopher Columbus landed in 1492.
The works consisted of applying a filler along the coast with a rocky center, a cream white covering, and plants on the surface to reforest the Eastern strip.
This sector of the cay, the point of arrival of Christopher Columbus in Cuba on October 28, 1492, was seriously eroded.
A phenomenon that had robbed some 150 meters of that coast in a thousand years, was particularly visible over the last few decades, and was endangering the museum - built on the site of what used to be the first community of aboriginal fishermen seen by Columbus.
Engineer Jesús Franco, a specialist with the Unit for Coastal Investment of the Center for Environmental and Technological Research and Services, explained that circumstances associated with the geological characteristics of the coast had influenced the erosion.
Also having a bearing on it were the global climate changes, the prevailing hydrodynamics, and the deterioration of traditional vegetation, basically replaced by areas of coconut cultivation.
The restoration works are aimed at the restoration of Bariay's landscape, appreciated by the Genoese sailor 516 years ago -a place of undeniable tourist attraction, 45 kilometers north of the city of Holguín, in the municipality of Rafael Freyre.
(Rehabilitan sitio por donde llegó Colón a Cuba hace 516 años)
The works consisted of applying a filler along the coast with a rocky center, a cream white covering, and plants on the surface to reforest the Eastern strip.
This sector of the cay, the point of arrival of Christopher Columbus in Cuba on October 28, 1492, was seriously eroded.
A phenomenon that had robbed some 150 meters of that coast in a thousand years, was particularly visible over the last few decades, and was endangering the museum - built on the site of what used to be the first community of aboriginal fishermen seen by Columbus.
Engineer Jesús Franco, a specialist with the Unit for Coastal Investment of the Center for Environmental and Technological Research and Services, explained that circumstances associated with the geological characteristics of the coast had influenced the erosion.
Also having a bearing on it were the global climate changes, the prevailing hydrodynamics, and the deterioration of traditional vegetation, basically replaced by areas of coconut cultivation.
The restoration works are aimed at the restoration of Bariay's landscape, appreciated by the Genoese sailor 516 years ago -a place of undeniable tourist attraction, 45 kilometers north of the city of Holguín, in the municipality of Rafael Freyre.
(Rehabilitan sitio por donde llegó Colón a Cuba hace 516 años)
Angolan Women's Leader Receives Cuban Writer in Luanda
HAVANA, Cuba, April 30 (acn) The leader of the Angolan Women's Organization (OMA), Lucía Ingrés, received Cuban writer Limbania Jiménez on Wednesday. Jiménez collaborated in the sphere of education in that African country, where she lived for three years.
Ingrés and two OMA executive committee members welcomed the intellectual at the headquarters of the ruling Angolan Liberation Movement in Luanda.
Prior to the meeting, the visitor, along with Ingrés, Cuban ambassador Pedro Ross, and other diplomats from the archipelago, placed a wreath at the monument dedicated to Angolan heroines.
Jiménez is the author of the books Mujeres sin fronteras (Women without Borders) and Heroínas de Angola (Heroines of Angola), as well as co-author of A pecho limpio (Boldly).
The first of these works was initially conceived to reflect the participation of Cuban women in the Angolan conflict, but it went beyond this objective and included more than 500 internationalist women from numerous countries from Africa and Latin America.
The Cuban writer met the current president of OMA during a stay in the Congo, a country where she trained leaders of the newly created women's organization at the time in that former Portuguese colony, Prensa Latina news agency reports.
Shortly after the proclamation of Angola's liberation from colonialism, Jiménez stayed for three years in that nation.
She also thanked OMA for the help and support it has given in the battle for the release of the Five Cuban antiterrorists unjustly incarcerated in the United States since 1998.
Gerardo Hernández, René González, Fernando González, Ramón Labañino and Antonio Guerrero were condemned in Miami to severe sentences, ranking from 15 years to two life imprisonments, for monitoring the activities of Florida-based, anti-Cuban terrorist groups.
(Dirigente femenina de Angola recibe a escritora cubana)
Ingrés and two OMA executive committee members welcomed the intellectual at the headquarters of the ruling Angolan Liberation Movement in Luanda.
Prior to the meeting, the visitor, along with Ingrés, Cuban ambassador Pedro Ross, and other diplomats from the archipelago, placed a wreath at the monument dedicated to Angolan heroines.
Jiménez is the author of the books Mujeres sin fronteras (Women without Borders) and Heroínas de Angola (Heroines of Angola), as well as co-author of A pecho limpio (Boldly).
The first of these works was initially conceived to reflect the participation of Cuban women in the Angolan conflict, but it went beyond this objective and included more than 500 internationalist women from numerous countries from Africa and Latin America.
The Cuban writer met the current president of OMA during a stay in the Congo, a country where she trained leaders of the newly created women's organization at the time in that former Portuguese colony, Prensa Latina news agency reports.
Shortly after the proclamation of Angola's liberation from colonialism, Jiménez stayed for three years in that nation.
She also thanked OMA for the help and support it has given in the battle for the release of the Five Cuban antiterrorists unjustly incarcerated in the United States since 1998.
Gerardo Hernández, René González, Fernando González, Ramón Labañino and Antonio Guerrero were condemned in Miami to severe sentences, ranking from 15 years to two life imprisonments, for monitoring the activities of Florida-based, anti-Cuban terrorist groups.
(Dirigente femenina de Angola recibe a escritora cubana)
Ceremony in Jamaica on Cuba's Literacy Teaching Program
HAVANA, Cuba, April 30 (acn) Jamaica's Minister of State, Robert Monteague, and religious leaders from that island presided over the graduation of 14 facilitators and 8 participants in the pilot program of the country's literacy teaching project using the 'Yes I Can' Cuban
teaching method.
The activity, held at the Anglican Church of Gayle, St. Mary, was attended by the Cuban ambassador in Kingston, Gisela García; Cooperation Office official Jorge Crespo; the representative of Cuba's Ministry of Education in Jamaica, Ángel Bravo; and lecturers working in that nation.
Participants in the program expressed their appreciation to the Cuban government for its cooperation and read messages from those who had learned how to read and write, who for the first time could read a text in English, receiving applause and praise from those present in the
ceremony.
An acknowledgement was made of the work of the project's coordinator, Eduardo Orrely Herrera, for his devotion to the task of teaching the students to read and write and preparing facilitators, who're ready to move on to the second stage of the project.
Pedagogue Leonela Relys Díaz, from eastern Camagüey province, is the author of 'Yes I Can', an audiovisual program awarded by UNESCO, at whose disposal Cuba has put this method, free of charge, and which has already born fruit in countries of Latin America, Africa and Oceania.
(Acto en Jamaica por inicio de programa "Yo sí puedo")
teaching method.
The activity, held at the Anglican Church of Gayle, St. Mary, was attended by the Cuban ambassador in Kingston, Gisela García; Cooperation Office official Jorge Crespo; the representative of Cuba's Ministry of Education in Jamaica, Ángel Bravo; and lecturers working in that nation.
Participants in the program expressed their appreciation to the Cuban government for its cooperation and read messages from those who had learned how to read and write, who for the first time could read a text in English, receiving applause and praise from those present in the
ceremony.
An acknowledgement was made of the work of the project's coordinator, Eduardo Orrely Herrera, for his devotion to the task of teaching the students to read and write and preparing facilitators, who're ready to move on to the second stage of the project.
Pedagogue Leonela Relys Díaz, from eastern Camagüey province, is the author of 'Yes I Can', an audiovisual program awarded by UNESCO, at whose disposal Cuba has put this method, free of charge, and which has already born fruit in countries of Latin America, Africa and Oceania.
(Acto en Jamaica por inicio de programa "Yo sí puedo")
Restored singular balcony in patrimonial area
Camagüey, Apr 30 . A singular balcony of the century XVIII show its image restored to people from Camagüey and visitors in the local sector declared Cultural Patrimony of the Humanity.
That exceptional architectural element is external, Mexican ballad, salient and with roof of tiles, and constitutes a sign of extreme reduced presence in the oldest part in the local urban historical center, National Monument.
The concluded restoration of the facade of the formerly elegant housing closed the first phase of the restoring program of the property, task in charge of the office of the Historian of the City of Camagüey (OHCC).
One of the enormous constructions of the constructive peak of the XVIII century in the then Village of Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe, resides contiguous to one of the corners of the Maceo Square, and to half block of the old Weapons Square , current Agramonte Park .
Located in Independence Street , it has two plants, and a balcony almost everything substituted by means of a reproduction in the present it works.
The work includes, also, among other actions, to repair the fragment of existent general roof and to restore the damaged part, as well as to restore the floor of the second plant, it expressed the AIN the ingenier Yanelys Pérez, made responsible with the execution of the project.
According to that foreseen, in the course of the year it will be installed in the property the Center of Cultural Administration of the Office of the Historian of the City (OHCC), he added the source.
There the officials resided among other people Ubaldo de Arteaga and Diego Félix deArteaga, father and son, respectively.(Adolfo Silva Silva )
That exceptional architectural element is external, Mexican ballad, salient and with roof of tiles, and constitutes a sign of extreme reduced presence in the oldest part in the local urban historical center, National Monument.
The concluded restoration of the facade of the formerly elegant housing closed the first phase of the restoring program of the property, task in charge of the office of the Historian of the City of Camagüey (OHCC).
One of the enormous constructions of the constructive peak of the XVIII century in the then Village of Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe, resides contiguous to one of the corners of the Maceo Square, and to half block of the old Weapons Square , current Agramonte Park .
Located in Independence Street , it has two plants, and a balcony almost everything substituted by means of a reproduction in the present it works.
The work includes, also, among other actions, to repair the fragment of existent general roof and to restore the damaged part, as well as to restore the floor of the second plant, it expressed the AIN the ingenier Yanelys Pérez, made responsible with the execution of the project.
According to that foreseen, in the course of the year it will be installed in the property the Center of Cultural Administration of the Office of the Historian of the City (OHCC), he added the source.
There the officials resided among other people Ubaldo de Arteaga and Diego Félix deArteaga, father and son, respectively.(Adolfo Silva Silva )
Filial of Camagüey organizes of economists and accountants National Encounter on Local Development PDF to Print Electronic mail
Camagüey, 30 Apr. - The filial of Camagüey of the Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba organize the first National Encounter on Local Development, fixed of the six at next May eight.
Specialists of the 14 counties and of the special municipality Island of the Youth confirmed their participation in the appointment, in which will be presented around 30 works of high scientific level.
The program of the event includes round tables, shops and conferences.
Professionals of the counties from Cienfuegos to Guantánamo will also attend that are formed like doctors in Local Development in the University of Camagüey.
The Sugar Village will welcome the delegates and companies this encounter that will have permanent headquarters in the city of Camagüey. (Aramís González Cruz)
Specialists of the 14 counties and of the special municipality Island of the Youth confirmed their participation in the appointment, in which will be presented around 30 works of high scientific level.
The program of the event includes round tables, shops and conferences.
Professionals of the counties from Cienfuegos to Guantánamo will also attend that are formed like doctors in Local Development in the University of Camagüey.
The Sugar Village will welcome the delegates and companies this encounter that will have permanent headquarters in the city of Camagüey. (Aramís González Cruz)
Cuba´s Mandate as NAM Chair Acknowledged at Ministerial Meeting
HAVANA, Cuba, April 29 (acn) The role played by Cuba as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) during nearly three years was acknowledged today by participants at the Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Third World Organization.
UN General Assembly President Miguel D´Escoto that the foundational principles of the Movement, such as fighting imperialism, neo- colonialism, apartheid, Zionism and its position against all form of discrimination, are still valid, particularly amidst the current world crisis.
D´Escoto recalled Fidel Castro´s words when addressing the UN General Assembly 30 years ago as he demanded a new world order that would eliminate the huge gap standing between rich and poor nations.
The UN official expressed his acknowledgment to the Cuban leader and his people for their solidarity. He also invited Cuban president Raul Castro and the other heads of state and government of NAM to attend the next UN conference, in which the world crisis will be discussed, so that they express their hopes and principles.
NAM must fight so that justice will be made in the case of the five Cuban antiterrorists incarcerated in US jails, for the lifting of the US blockade of Cuba, for the defense of the Palestinian and Puerto Rican peoples´ rights to self-determination.
Other speakers at the opening session were Al Samani Al Wasila, Sudan Foreign Minister and president of the Group of 77 plus China, and Charles Ngakula, Defense Minister of South Africa, who is representing the African continent.
The session also heard the statements by Indonesia and Ecuador´s foreign ministers, Nur Hassan Wirayuda and Fander Falcon, representing Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, respectively, as well as Belarus´ deputy foreign minister Serguey Aleynik for Europe. All of them congratulated Cuba for its praiseworthy role as NAM Chair.
The meeting is taking place at Havana´s Conventions Center, with over 100 delegations attending. Raul Castro called on participants to work for the success of the 15th NAM Summit of Heads of State and Government, to take place in Egypt next July.
The Cuban President, who has presided NAM for almost three years, reiterated the importance of unity among all and of multiplying NAM´s presence in international forums.
(Reconocen papel de Cuba en presidencia de los No Alineados Fidel Rendn)
UNESCO Congratulates Bolivia on Educational Achievements
HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 29 (acn) The 181st session of Executive Council of the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) in Paris has approved a letter of congratulations for Bolivia, by virtue of its success in the battle against illiteracy taking the Cuban method Yes I Can as a starting point.
The South American nation declared itself as a Territory Free of Illiteracy in December, with the support of Cuba and Venezuela and within the context of the South-South cooperation, reads the document issued by UNESCO, Prensa Latina news agency reports.
The UNESCO body valued the Bolivian experience, which served that nation to reach one of the pillars of the Dakar Framework of Action for 2015.
Bolivian ambassador to France, Luzmila Carpio, made reference to testimonies of some of those who’ve learned how to read and write and thanked Cuba and Venezuela for their help and solidarity in the National Program undertaken by her country.
She recalled that the literacy campaign in the Andean nation was carried out in the Aymara, Quechua and Spanish languages, an unmistakable proof of the efficiency of the Cuban Literacy Teaching Program ‘Yes I Can’.
While speaking at the forum made up by 58 member nations, Cuba’s ambassador to UNESCO, Héctor Hernández, spoke about the social movement headed by President Evo Morales to face the scourge of illiteracy.
In 33 months, over 800,000 people learned how to read and write in that South American country.
On behalf of his country and especially the pedagogues that responded to the Dakar call, the Cuban diplomat expressed his satisfaction for having supported this educational feat obtained by the Bolivian people.
(Felicita la UNESCO a Bolivia por logros en educación)
The South American nation declared itself as a Territory Free of Illiteracy in December, with the support of Cuba and Venezuela and within the context of the South-South cooperation, reads the document issued by UNESCO, Prensa Latina news agency reports.
The UNESCO body valued the Bolivian experience, which served that nation to reach one of the pillars of the Dakar Framework of Action for 2015.
Bolivian ambassador to France, Luzmila Carpio, made reference to testimonies of some of those who’ve learned how to read and write and thanked Cuba and Venezuela for their help and solidarity in the National Program undertaken by her country.
She recalled that the literacy campaign in the Andean nation was carried out in the Aymara, Quechua and Spanish languages, an unmistakable proof of the efficiency of the Cuban Literacy Teaching Program ‘Yes I Can’.
While speaking at the forum made up by 58 member nations, Cuba’s ambassador to UNESCO, Héctor Hernández, spoke about the social movement headed by President Evo Morales to face the scourge of illiteracy.
In 33 months, over 800,000 people learned how to read and write in that South American country.
On behalf of his country and especially the pedagogues that responded to the Dakar call, the Cuban diplomat expressed his satisfaction for having supported this educational feat obtained by the Bolivian people.
(Felicita la UNESCO a Bolivia por logros en educación)
Efficient Potato Harvest in Cuban Province Backs National food Programs
HAVANA, Cuba, April 29 (acn) With a record yield of produce like potato and tomato, agricultural workers in the central-eastern of Ciego de Avila support national food plans amidst the current world economic crisis.
Reports say that private and state-owned farms in the territory collected over 110 million pounds of potatoes, considered the highest production over the past five years. The goal was reached thanks to good planning and appropriate availability of resources before the start of the
campaign.
The availability of necessary chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other expendables in sufficient amounts as well as the appropriate performance of watering systems made it possible to reach the record production, which also included a record yield of tomatoes (more than 50 million
pounds), similar to high levels collected in the 1980´s, Agriculture Ministry sources reported.
Part of the produce was preserved in cold stores to guarantee a steady supply to the local market, while the surplus was transported to the eastern provinces of Holguín, Las Tunas, Camagüey, Granma and Santiago de Cuba.
In order to get the most out of the collected produce, all five processing plants in Ciego de Avila are working at full capacity to produce different derivatives like tomato paste and pure.
Reports say that private and state-owned farms in the territory collected over 110 million pounds of potatoes, considered the highest production over the past five years. The goal was reached thanks to good planning and appropriate availability of resources before the start of the
campaign.
The availability of necessary chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other expendables in sufficient amounts as well as the appropriate performance of watering systems made it possible to reach the record production, which also included a record yield of tomatoes (more than 50 million
pounds), similar to high levels collected in the 1980´s, Agriculture Ministry sources reported.
Part of the produce was preserved in cold stores to guarantee a steady supply to the local market, while the surplus was transported to the eastern provinces of Holguín, Las Tunas, Camagüey, Granma and Santiago de Cuba.
In order to get the most out of the collected produce, all five processing plants in Ciego de Avila are working at full capacity to produce different derivatives like tomato paste and pure.
miércoles, 29 de abril de 2009
Raul Castro: Unity is more Crucial than Ever before for the Non-Aligned
HAVANA, Cuba, April 29 (acn) Cuban President Raul Castro said that the united and coordinated action by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in the face of current challenges is now more vital and crucial than ever before.
We are facing a deep economic, social, food, energy and environmental crisis that has global character, said the Cuban head of state during the inauguration on Wednesday of the Ministerial Meeting of the NAM Coordinating Bureau, underway in Havana.
International debates multiply but without the participation of all countries, said Raul Castro, and noted that there is growing awareness about the need to short-term solutions, though fair and lasting solutions are still to be reached. “If we do not take the required firm and urgent action, our peoples will again undergo for a longer time the consequences of the crisis,” he said.
The current unjust and irrational consumption patterns are impossible to maintain said Raul and pointed out that such patterns were the foundations of today’s international order.
The Cuban President stressed that a global order inspired on hegemonic interests and selfishness is neither legitimate nor ethically acceptable and he added that a system that is destroying the environment and empowers unequal access to wealth.
The situation has dramatically worsened, said Raul and went on to explain that annual military expenditures surpass one trillion dollars; however, he said that the unemployed world population could increase to 230 millions in 2009. He said that the number of hungry people in the world last year increased to 963 millions up from 854 millions.
He said that the High-Level Conference of the United Nations on the economic and financial crisis and its impact on development, scheduled for June 1-3 this year constitute a crucial scenario to discuss and search for solutions under consensus about the serious situation. In that
direction Raul said that the Non-Aligned Movement should support the holding of the conference.
Raul Castro also expressed his thankfulness to the Non-Aligned Movement for its firm position of solidarity with the Cuban Revolution. He also extended his gratefulness to the NAM for its permanent support of the demand that Washington lift its economic, commercial and financial
blockade of Cuba.
The recent measures announced by US President Barack Obama, although positive are limited in scope, said the Cuban President. The blockade is intact although there is no other political or moral pretext that justifies the continuity of that US anti-Cuba measure.
Cuba has not imposed any sanctions on the United States or on any of its citizens; Cuba is not the country banning US entrepreneurs from doing business on the island or chasing financial transactions by US banks, he stressed.
Cuba is not the country that maintains a military base in US territory against the will of the American people, Raul Castro added and went on to say that for those reasons it is not Cuba that has to make some gestures.
He reiterated that Havana is willing to address all issues with the US administration under equal conditions, but that does not imply any negotiation of Cuba’s sovereignty, its political or social system, its right to self-determination and its internal affairs.
The Cuban President noted that the strength of the Non-Aligned Movement lies on its unity within diversity, which has been the main pillar of Cuba’s nearly-three year mandate.
“I do not have the slightest doubt that the Non-Aligned Movement will continue to be a crucial and constructive factor in international debates, he concluded.
(Reafirma Raúl importancia de unidad para los No Alineados)
We are facing a deep economic, social, food, energy and environmental crisis that has global character, said the Cuban head of state during the inauguration on Wednesday of the Ministerial Meeting of the NAM Coordinating Bureau, underway in Havana.
International debates multiply but without the participation of all countries, said Raul Castro, and noted that there is growing awareness about the need to short-term solutions, though fair and lasting solutions are still to be reached. “If we do not take the required firm and urgent action, our peoples will again undergo for a longer time the consequences of the crisis,” he said.
The current unjust and irrational consumption patterns are impossible to maintain said Raul and pointed out that such patterns were the foundations of today’s international order.
The Cuban President stressed that a global order inspired on hegemonic interests and selfishness is neither legitimate nor ethically acceptable and he added that a system that is destroying the environment and empowers unequal access to wealth.
The situation has dramatically worsened, said Raul and went on to explain that annual military expenditures surpass one trillion dollars; however, he said that the unemployed world population could increase to 230 millions in 2009. He said that the number of hungry people in the world last year increased to 963 millions up from 854 millions.
He said that the High-Level Conference of the United Nations on the economic and financial crisis and its impact on development, scheduled for June 1-3 this year constitute a crucial scenario to discuss and search for solutions under consensus about the serious situation. In that
direction Raul said that the Non-Aligned Movement should support the holding of the conference.
Raul Castro also expressed his thankfulness to the Non-Aligned Movement for its firm position of solidarity with the Cuban Revolution. He also extended his gratefulness to the NAM for its permanent support of the demand that Washington lift its economic, commercial and financial
blockade of Cuba.
The recent measures announced by US President Barack Obama, although positive are limited in scope, said the Cuban President. The blockade is intact although there is no other political or moral pretext that justifies the continuity of that US anti-Cuba measure.
Cuba has not imposed any sanctions on the United States or on any of its citizens; Cuba is not the country banning US entrepreneurs from doing business on the island or chasing financial transactions by US banks, he stressed.
Cuba is not the country that maintains a military base in US territory against the will of the American people, Raul Castro added and went on to say that for those reasons it is not Cuba that has to make some gestures.
He reiterated that Havana is willing to address all issues with the US administration under equal conditions, but that does not imply any negotiation of Cuba’s sovereignty, its political or social system, its right to self-determination and its internal affairs.
The Cuban President noted that the strength of the Non-Aligned Movement lies on its unity within diversity, which has been the main pillar of Cuba’s nearly-three year mandate.
“I do not have the slightest doubt that the Non-Aligned Movement will continue to be a crucial and constructive factor in international debates, he concluded.
(Reafirma Raúl importancia de unidad para los No Alineados)
Cuban People Ready to Celebrate May Day
HAVANA, Cuba, April 29 (acn) The Cuban people are ready to celebrate on Friday, May Day, the international Workers Day with parades and mass gatherings in all main cities across the country.
Reynaldo Valdes Grillo, second secretary of the Cuban Workers Federation, stated that everything has been prepared to observe the date this year, which also marks the 50th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution.
Valdés Grillo said the date has been marked by workers across the island with actions to boost food production, energy saving and economic efficiency.
As is traditional, participants in the parades will be dressed in red, white or blue in reference to the Cuban flag.
This year’s demonstration will call for the release of Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Rene Gonzalez and Fernando Gonzalez, the five Cuban antiterrorist fighters who are imprisoned in the US.
Along with the Cubans, foreign visitors including members of the Primero de Mayo (May Day) international solidarity brigade will march to Revolution Square, as well as union members from numerous countries who have been invited to the celebrations.
(Lista Cuba para celebrar el primero de mayo)
Reynaldo Valdes Grillo, second secretary of the Cuban Workers Federation, stated that everything has been prepared to observe the date this year, which also marks the 50th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution.
Valdés Grillo said the date has been marked by workers across the island with actions to boost food production, energy saving and economic efficiency.
As is traditional, participants in the parades will be dressed in red, white or blue in reference to the Cuban flag.
This year’s demonstration will call for the release of Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Rene Gonzalez and Fernando Gonzalez, the five Cuban antiterrorist fighters who are imprisoned in the US.
Along with the Cubans, foreign visitors including members of the Primero de Mayo (May Day) international solidarity brigade will march to Revolution Square, as well as union members from numerous countries who have been invited to the celebrations.
(Lista Cuba para celebrar el primero de mayo)
Cuban Medical Brigade Joins Venezuelan Flu Prevention Effort
HAVANA, Cuba, April 29 (acn) Cuban doctors on a collaboration mission in Venezuela have joined efforts to prevent swine flu in the country, though no cases have been reported up to the moment according to the South American nation’s government.
Nancy Perez, Venezuelan deputy minister of Collective Health Networks, announced that all necessary mechanisms have been activated in case of any eventuality, reported Prensa Latina.
The official said a national committee has been set up from several institutions in the face of the spreading of swine flu virus in other countries.
Among those institutions are the national epidemiology watch department, regional health centers, hospitals, civil protection and national hygiene institute.
Other members of the group are Cuban health experts and staff of the medical brigade part of a collaboration project with Venezuela, the National Civil Aeronautics Institute, ports, airports and other organizations.
The official pointed out that in that respect the epidemiology and environmental health systems are on alert to watch, detect and study any suspected cases of swine flu.
(Misión médica cubana coopera en plan preventivo en Venezuela)
Nancy Perez, Venezuelan deputy minister of Collective Health Networks, announced that all necessary mechanisms have been activated in case of any eventuality, reported Prensa Latina.
The official said a national committee has been set up from several institutions in the face of the spreading of swine flu virus in other countries.
Among those institutions are the national epidemiology watch department, regional health centers, hospitals, civil protection and national hygiene institute.
Other members of the group are Cuban health experts and staff of the medical brigade part of a collaboration project with Venezuela, the National Civil Aeronautics Institute, ports, airports and other organizations.
The official pointed out that in that respect the epidemiology and environmental health systems are on alert to watch, detect and study any suspected cases of swine flu.
(Misión médica cubana coopera en plan preventivo en Venezuela)
Cuban Parliament President Stresses Need to Fight for Justice
HAVANA, Cuba, April 29 (acn) The president of Cuba’s People’s Power National Assembly (Parliament), Ricardo Alarcon, stressed on Tuesday the need to fight on behalf of the victims of terrorism until justice is achieved.
In a meeting to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Cuban-born revolutionary activist Carlos Muñiz, who was killed by members of the Omega 7 terrorist organization, Alarcon condemned the crime and pointed out that it still remains unpunished.
The Cuban official said the assassins continue to walk freely on the streets of San Juan, Puerto Rico, or Miami and added that the CIA and the US Justice Department could do justice if they wanted to.
He also pointed out the importance of extending the fight against terrorism to the case of the five Cubans imprisoned in the US for trying to avoid similar crimes against the Cuban people or government leaders.
Those revolutionaries have been held since 1998 after having been sentenced in a biased trial held in Miami.
Alarcon stated that while the five Cubans remain in jail, American authorities will be responsible for the injustice, the arbitrariness, and the crime, and said that such an attitude is considered as complicity according to law.
Carlos Muñiz, born in Cuba and based in Puerto Rico, was a student leader supporting the independence of that country. He was a member of the National Committee of the Antonio Maceo brigade and was the president of the Viajes Varadero travel agency.
The homage ceremony took place at the Casa de la Amistad, in Havana, with the participation of members of the Antonio Maceo brigade from the United States, and of the Primero de Mayo brigade, and also relatives of victims of terrorist actions against Cuba and of the Cuban Five, among others.
(Enfatiza Alarcón importancia de la lucha por la justicia Saili)
In a meeting to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Cuban-born revolutionary activist Carlos Muñiz, who was killed by members of the Omega 7 terrorist organization, Alarcon condemned the crime and pointed out that it still remains unpunished.
The Cuban official said the assassins continue to walk freely on the streets of San Juan, Puerto Rico, or Miami and added that the CIA and the US Justice Department could do justice if they wanted to.
He also pointed out the importance of extending the fight against terrorism to the case of the five Cubans imprisoned in the US for trying to avoid similar crimes against the Cuban people or government leaders.
Those revolutionaries have been held since 1998 after having been sentenced in a biased trial held in Miami.
Alarcon stated that while the five Cubans remain in jail, American authorities will be responsible for the injustice, the arbitrariness, and the crime, and said that such an attitude is considered as complicity according to law.
Carlos Muñiz, born in Cuba and based in Puerto Rico, was a student leader supporting the independence of that country. He was a member of the National Committee of the Antonio Maceo brigade and was the president of the Viajes Varadero travel agency.
The homage ceremony took place at the Casa de la Amistad, in Havana, with the participation of members of the Antonio Maceo brigade from the United States, and of the Primero de Mayo brigade, and also relatives of victims of terrorist actions against Cuba and of the Cuban Five, among others.
(Enfatiza Alarcón importancia de la lucha por la justicia Saili)
Cuba Suspends Mexico Flights to Prevent Swine Flu
HAVANA, Cuba, April 29 (acn) Following the Cuban National Civil Defense Council's issuing of the Alert Stage for the country in the face of swine flu, the island's Civil Aeronautics Institute has temporarily suspended regular and charter flights to and from Mexico starting this Wednesday.
An official statement issued by the institute early April 29 announced that airlines operating between the two countries will only be allowed to fly into the island to pick up passengers travelling to Mexico.
In addition, all travellers arriving in Cuba from any destination will be required to fill in a Traveller's Health Declaration, says the statement.
The Aeronautics Authority will communicate the Cuban State's decision in relation to these measures to the International Civil Aeronautics Organization.
Flights will be resumed once the causes that led to their suspension are no longer a threat to the island, of which interested parties will be duly informed.
(Medidas preventivas de aeronáutica cubana acerca de la gripe)
An official statement issued by the institute early April 29 announced that airlines operating between the two countries will only be allowed to fly into the island to pick up passengers travelling to Mexico.
In addition, all travellers arriving in Cuba from any destination will be required to fill in a Traveller's Health Declaration, says the statement.
The Aeronautics Authority will communicate the Cuban State's decision in relation to these measures to the International Civil Aeronautics Organization.
Flights will be resumed once the causes that led to their suspension are no longer a threat to the island, of which interested parties will be duly informed.
(Medidas preventivas de aeronáutica cubana acerca de la gripe)
New Zealanders Ask for the End of US Blockade Against Cuba
HAVANA, Cuba, April 29 (acn) A campaign to demand the end of the economic blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba for nearly half a century began today in New Zealand organized by members of a solidarity movement with the Caribbean island.
New Zealand's groups of friendship with the Cuban people are collecting signatures across the country to be attached to a letter that will be sent to US President Barack Obama, to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and to Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi, reported Prensa Latina.
The document notes that the blockade is an economic war unleashed against Cuba more than 40 years ago in retaliation for the triumph of the Revolution and the achievement of real independence for the island.
It also denounces that Washington insists on keeping this measure, described as unjust and genocidal, in spite of the general rejection by the international community.
This universal feeling has been expressed in all United Nations general assemblies since 1992, when it adopted a resolution about the consequences of the blockade on the Cuban people and economy and demanding its end.
In addition, it says the US should respect Cuban independence and sovereignty and the right of its people to decide their own political system.
(Neozelandeses por el fin del bloqueo de EE.UU. a Cuba)
New Zealand's groups of friendship with the Cuban people are collecting signatures across the country to be attached to a letter that will be sent to US President Barack Obama, to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and to Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi, reported Prensa Latina.
The document notes that the blockade is an economic war unleashed against Cuba more than 40 years ago in retaliation for the triumph of the Revolution and the achievement of real independence for the island.
It also denounces that Washington insists on keeping this measure, described as unjust and genocidal, in spite of the general rejection by the international community.
This universal feeling has been expressed in all United Nations general assemblies since 1992, when it adopted a resolution about the consequences of the blockade on the Cuban people and economy and demanding its end.
In addition, it says the US should respect Cuban independence and sovereignty and the right of its people to decide their own political system.
(Neozelandeses por el fin del bloqueo de EE.UU. a Cuba)
May Day International Scientific Workshop Inaugurated in Havana
HAVANA, Cuba, April 29 (acn) The 8th May Day International Scientific
Workshop was inaugurated on Tuesday at Havana's Cuban Institute of History (ICH), as part of the program of activities organized to celebrate May Day on Friday.
A specialist with the Research Program on the Movement of the Argentinean Society, María Celia Cotarelo, thanked the organizers of the event, aimed at learning from trade union movements and the struggles of the working class in different parts of the world, she pointed out.
Latin American reality is constantly changing. Important steps have been taken for justice and equality, and workers have to be at the center of these transformations, highlighted Cotarelo.
The head of International Relations of the Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC), Raymundo Navarro, referred to the history of workers' struggles in the Caribbean nation, and the role of its labor organization in the Cuban revolutionary movement
This scientific workshop reflects a historical panorama of trade unions, May Day celebrations and the Cuban Revolution, said Navarro.
Tuesday's activities included the presentation of the panel "Role and action of labor unions in the process of globalization in Mexico", and the launch of the books "Memoirs of the 7th May Day International Workshop" and "The military elite in Cuba".
The event, which will run until April 30 with the presence of speakers from Mexico and Argentina, is sponsored by the Confederation of Cuban Workers, ICH, and several Mexican institutions.
(Inauguran Taller Científico Internacional Primero de Mayo Dayan García La O)
Workshop was inaugurated on Tuesday at Havana's Cuban Institute of History (ICH), as part of the program of activities organized to celebrate May Day on Friday.
A specialist with the Research Program on the Movement of the Argentinean Society, María Celia Cotarelo, thanked the organizers of the event, aimed at learning from trade union movements and the struggles of the working class in different parts of the world, she pointed out.
Latin American reality is constantly changing. Important steps have been taken for justice and equality, and workers have to be at the center of these transformations, highlighted Cotarelo.
The head of International Relations of the Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC), Raymundo Navarro, referred to the history of workers' struggles in the Caribbean nation, and the role of its labor organization in the Cuban revolutionary movement
This scientific workshop reflects a historical panorama of trade unions, May Day celebrations and the Cuban Revolution, said Navarro.
Tuesday's activities included the presentation of the panel "Role and action of labor unions in the process of globalization in Mexico", and the launch of the books "Memoirs of the 7th May Day International Workshop" and "The military elite in Cuba".
The event, which will run until April 30 with the presence of speakers from Mexico and Argentina, is sponsored by the Confederation of Cuban Workers, ICH, and several Mexican institutions.
(Inauguran Taller Científico Internacional Primero de Mayo Dayan García La O)
Cuban Products Excel at Bolivian Trade Fair
HAVANA, Cuba, April 29 (acn) Cuba and Argentina are among the Latin American nations with a prominent participation in the 26th Trade Fair of Cochabamba (FEICOBOL-2009), which began its business activities on Tuesday.
A total of 135 companies are present in the event, 46 of which are Argentinean, 27 Peruvian and 17 Cuban, Prensa Latina news agency reports.
Cuban executives explained that cosmetics, as well as veterinary medicaments and anti-pest chemicals produced at Cuba's LABIOFAM S.A.(Biological and Pharmaceutical Laboratories) and the crafts of the light industry attract the attention of the public at FEICOBOL.
With respect to the archipelago's potential, Bolivian entrepreneurs are aspiring to place their textile, shoe, leather, and raw material production on the Cuban market.
The Organizing Committee announced the Fair is expected to move, by way of commercial accords, some 125 million dollars -five more than in 2008.
Also attending the Fair, which will run until May 3rd, are firms from Colombia, China, the United States, Germany, South Korea, Japan, China Taipei, Switzerland, Italy, Ecuador, Panama, England, Scotland, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, Austria, Guatemala, Venezuela, Sweden and Israel.
Representing Bolivia are 700 companies, exhibiting their industrial, commercial, service and handicraft products.
During the opening ceremony, Bolivian president Evo Morales highlighted the diversity of products on display, among them food items and medicines, and pointed out that FEICOBOL is a fair for life, given the importance the products shown on its stands have for humans.
(Productos cubanos sobresalen en Feria de Cochabamba)
A total of 135 companies are present in the event, 46 of which are Argentinean, 27 Peruvian and 17 Cuban, Prensa Latina news agency reports.
Cuban executives explained that cosmetics, as well as veterinary medicaments and anti-pest chemicals produced at Cuba's LABIOFAM S.A.(Biological and Pharmaceutical Laboratories) and the crafts of the light industry attract the attention of the public at FEICOBOL.
With respect to the archipelago's potential, Bolivian entrepreneurs are aspiring to place their textile, shoe, leather, and raw material production on the Cuban market.
The Organizing Committee announced the Fair is expected to move, by way of commercial accords, some 125 million dollars -five more than in 2008.
Also attending the Fair, which will run until May 3rd, are firms from Colombia, China, the United States, Germany, South Korea, Japan, China Taipei, Switzerland, Italy, Ecuador, Panama, England, Scotland, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, Austria, Guatemala, Venezuela, Sweden and Israel.
Representing Bolivia are 700 companies, exhibiting their industrial, commercial, service and handicraft products.
During the opening ceremony, Bolivian president Evo Morales highlighted the diversity of products on display, among them food items and medicines, and pointed out that FEICOBOL is a fair for life, given the importance the products shown on its stands have for humans.
(Productos cubanos sobresalen en Feria de Cochabamba)
Literacy Campaign with Cuban Method Advances in Panama
HAVANA, Cuba, April 29 (acn) The Move around Panama Project, based on the Cuban literacy teaching method Yes I Can, is advancing in that Central American nation, where 42,000 people have learned how to read and write in only 22 months.
According to reports on this strategy presented by the Panamanian Ministry for Social Development (MIDES), it is aimed at turning that nation into a territory free of illiteracy, Prensa Latina news agency reports.
MIDES Minister, Maria Roquebert, recalled that the reduction of this scourge demands the real commitment of the entire society, in order to benefit people with dreams and aspirations who did not have the opportunity of going to school.
The project, she added, has mobilized and touched thousands of people in the country, and highlighted the efforts made by volunteers and trainers.
Therefore, said the top official, we call on all Panamanians to join in this initiative without fear; it will improve their quality of live.
In order to say we have an educated population, which is the strength of a developed nation, we need to commit ourselves as a society to the eradication of illiteracy, she affirmed.
More than 3.8 million people from 23 nations have been taught how to read and write by way of this Cuban system, while some 240,000 are presently receiving classes in 17 countries.
(Avanza alfabetización en Panamá con método cubano)
According to reports on this strategy presented by the Panamanian Ministry for Social Development (MIDES), it is aimed at turning that nation into a territory free of illiteracy, Prensa Latina news agency reports.
MIDES Minister, Maria Roquebert, recalled that the reduction of this scourge demands the real commitment of the entire society, in order to benefit people with dreams and aspirations who did not have the opportunity of going to school.
The project, she added, has mobilized and touched thousands of people in the country, and highlighted the efforts made by volunteers and trainers.
Therefore, said the top official, we call on all Panamanians to join in this initiative without fear; it will improve their quality of live.
In order to say we have an educated population, which is the strength of a developed nation, we need to commit ourselves as a society to the eradication of illiteracy, she affirmed.
More than 3.8 million people from 23 nations have been taught how to read and write by way of this Cuban system, while some 240,000 are presently receiving classes in 17 countries.
(Avanza alfabetización en Panamá con método cubano)
President of Casa de Las Americas Bestowed Jose Marti Order by Raul Castro
HAVANA, April 29 (acn) Cuban President Raul Castro bestowed the Jose Marti Order, the top distinction of the Republic of Cuba, on Roberto Fernandez Retamar, president of the Casa de Las Americas cutlural institution.
The awarding took place Tuesday during a ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the Havana-based institution, one of the most emblematic cultural entities in the continent, and whose founder and first president was outstanding revolutionary Haydee Santamaria.
The high honor was given to Fernandez Retamar for his valuable contribution to Cuban and Latin American culture, for his merits as researcher, poet, essayist and professor of several generations and for his firm defense of the Cuban Revolution.
Retamar dedicated the distinction to Haydee Santamaria, since-he stressed-without her example and influence, her life and work, he would not have been the person is today.
The ceremony also included the creation a postage stamp for the 50th anniversary of the cultural institution.
Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon also paid homage to Haydee Santamaria, a heroine of the 1963 Moncada Attack and the liberation war on the Sierra Maestra Mountain Range, and he recalled the various tasks and works undertaken by Casa de Las Americas.
Casa de Las Americas has encouraged us to resist and has contributed to defeat the isolation policy on Cuba, said Ricardo Alarcon in his statements during the ceremony, which concluded with the presentation of renowned singer Omara Portuondo.
(Impone Raúl Orden José Martí a Roberto Fernández Retamar)
The awarding took place Tuesday during a ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the Havana-based institution, one of the most emblematic cultural entities in the continent, and whose founder and first president was outstanding revolutionary Haydee Santamaria.
The high honor was given to Fernandez Retamar for his valuable contribution to Cuban and Latin American culture, for his merits as researcher, poet, essayist and professor of several generations and for his firm defense of the Cuban Revolution.
Retamar dedicated the distinction to Haydee Santamaria, since-he stressed-without her example and influence, her life and work, he would not have been the person is today.
The ceremony also included the creation a postage stamp for the 50th anniversary of the cultural institution.
Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon also paid homage to Haydee Santamaria, a heroine of the 1963 Moncada Attack and the liberation war on the Sierra Maestra Mountain Range, and he recalled the various tasks and works undertaken by Casa de Las Americas.
Casa de Las Americas has encouraged us to resist and has contributed to defeat the isolation policy on Cuba, said Ricardo Alarcon in his statements during the ceremony, which concluded with the presentation of renowned singer Omara Portuondo.
(Impone Raúl Orden José Martí a Roberto Fernández Retamar)
Students of 50 countries will parade the First of May in Camagüey
Camagüey, Apr 29. - Representatives from Asia, África, Latin America, the Caribbean and Middle East that study in Camagüey, will manifest their support to the Revolution, when this First of May parades in the block of the solidarity in the General bigger Square Ignacio Agramonte, of the provincial capital.Francisco López Domínguez informed this way , delegate in the territory of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Towns (ICAP) who meant that among the main watchwords of those friends will be wrongly the birdcall of freedom for the Five Cuban antiterrorists prisoners in United States.
As distinctive element of the solidary block will be an enormous cloth in which are mentioned to those more than 100 thousand working hours volunteer accumulated since 1990 by the Brigade International Friends of Cuba, existent in the territory.
The foreign students of some 50 nationalities that will parade this May First in Camagüey, will ratify the international support that has to world scale the Cuban Revolution. (Yamylé Fernández Rodríguez).
When the rice grows…is because it is recoved
By: Ernesto Pantaleón Medina / Television Camagüey
For any housewife or kitchen chef, when the rice “ grows” means that in the cooking process the grain size increases, what satisfies most of those who consume this food.
However, in terms of the agriculture, the growth means to increase the areas dedicated to the seed, cultivation and harvests of the cereal, main base of the diet of the Cubans, as well as it is of many other populations of the world, and not only in Asia, as some they believe.
In the years of the called “Special Period” the areas that were devoted to the rice in Camagüey, located to the south of the county, in low floors very near the coast, decreased sensibly, due to the economic restrictions that took at near levels to zero the fuels for the seed and the watering of herbicides and fertilizers with which such extensions were assisted (thousands of hectares) and that were applied in it biggest part by means of airplanes.
The own crop, very automated, suffered severe affectations for concept of lacks of replacements, lubricant and petroleum.
However, in spite of the blockade and of the economic crisis that damage the agricultural development of the country without doubts, a recovery of the fields is evidenced and for example, for the present year the purpose of the state entity to position, the Agroindustrial Complex “Ruta Invasora”, it is to plant around 9 000 hectares, while with the denominated strategy of “popularization” that is to give small parcels to the population to produce rice, plan to complete some l3 500.
This variant contributed the past 2008 more than 7 000 tons that the company bought to the private sector to process them industrially and then to distribute in the Family Basic Basket or through the markets.
The county of Camagüey has advanced in the employment of appropriate varieties to our agricultural conditions, of floors and climatic. An experimental station applies scientific advances linked directly to the production of the cereal.
It is expected soon, product of arisen agreements of the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America, an improvement of the industry, specifically in mills and dry whose technology demands renovation. As for the crop means and shot, are already observed in the fields of the combined south of Camagüey of court, and modern tractors.
In summary that against what the sceptic could think, those disbelieved and the pessimists, our rice grows; of course, first in the furrows, and then in the pots.
For any housewife or kitchen chef, when the rice “ grows” means that in the cooking process the grain size increases, what satisfies most of those who consume this food.However, in terms of the agriculture, the growth means to increase the areas dedicated to the seed, cultivation and harvests of the cereal, main base of the diet of the Cubans, as well as it is of many other populations of the world, and not only in Asia, as some they believe.
In the years of the called “Special Period” the areas that were devoted to the rice in Camagüey, located to the south of the county, in low floors very near the coast, decreased sensibly, due to the economic restrictions that took at near levels to zero the fuels for the seed and the watering of herbicides and fertilizers with which such extensions were assisted (thousands of hectares) and that were applied in it biggest part by means of airplanes.
The own crop, very automated, suffered severe affectations for concept of lacks of replacements, lubricant and petroleum.
However, in spite of the blockade and of the economic crisis that damage the agricultural development of the country without doubts, a recovery of the fields is evidenced and for example, for the present year the purpose of the state entity to position, the Agroindustrial Complex “Ruta Invasora”, it is to plant around 9 000 hectares, while with the denominated strategy of “popularization” that is to give small parcels to the population to produce rice, plan to complete some l3 500.
This variant contributed the past 2008 more than 7 000 tons that the company bought to the private sector to process them industrially and then to distribute in the Family Basic Basket or through the markets.
The county of Camagüey has advanced in the employment of appropriate varieties to our agricultural conditions, of floors and climatic. An experimental station applies scientific advances linked directly to the production of the cereal.
It is expected soon, product of arisen agreements of the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America, an improvement of the industry, specifically in mills and dry whose technology demands renovation. As for the crop means and shot, are already observed in the fields of the combined south of Camagüey of court, and modern tractors.
In summary that against what the sceptic could think, those disbelieved and the pessimists, our rice grows; of course, first in the furrows, and then in the pots.
Recovery is to think, and of course, to act
by: Ernesto Pantaleón Medina / Television Camagüey
Before the last of the two hurricanes that last year whipped with matter it forces to the county of Camagüey, in the Unit of Poultry Beginning belonging to the selfsupply system and several productions of the Rice Complex “Ruta Invasora”, of the south of the territory 27 000 animals existed, and of them some l5 perished 000, while the roofs of all the ships disappeared or they were in very bad state.
But to only some few months of that atmospheric calamity, all the facilities have their complete covers, and this time reinforced with bars of steel soldiers, to resist the strongest winds. The number of birds, on the other hand, already surpasses the l7 000 and the growth continues.
The damage of the meteors was bigger since in this unit the chickens are raised since one day of born up to 42, moment in that move toward the development centers, of agreement with its purpose is already of it feeds or egg-laying, and even the hens of double purpose, more rustic and more resistant, but that they produce a good quantity of postures.
According to Félix Sánchez, the administrator, the reaction of the community went immediate when the strong winds that destroyed the l2 ships taking place with which it counts the center. Only in that way could rescue and to save some l2 000 animals that already grow in different territories.
He adds that it is purpose this year to give l00 000 birds, without counting the well-known species as guinea hen whose raises it is already traditional and whose postures take place in the farm “The paradise”, to about 4 kilometers, since where are taken to the incubation plants. Of these last ones, when being born, those “guineítos” are brought to the beginning center, and after some weeks, they meet with their progenitors. Of this poultry variety you plan this year about 200 000 births.
Pedro, the administrator of “The Paradise”, remembers that when the hurricanes died thousands of birds there, mainly guinea hens, turkeys and egg-laying, but are already under conditions of to assume the new commitments and to grow, until completing the 60 000 animals.
Héctor Hernández Limia, the boss of the Unit of Several Productions that is responsible for among other, the sphere of the seolfsupply of the entity, assures that with people like the 500 workers to who he directs, there is not hurricane that defeats them, and he adds that with people this way, the “Paradise”, it is not so unreachable.
Before the last of the two hurricanes that last year whipped with matter it forces to the county of Camagüey, in the Unit of Poultry Beginning belonging to the selfsupply system and several productions of the Rice Complex “Ruta Invasora”, of the south of the territory 27 000 animals existed, and of them some l5 perished 000, while the roofs of all the ships disappeared or they were in very bad state.
But to only some few months of that atmospheric calamity, all the facilities have their complete covers, and this time reinforced with bars of steel soldiers, to resist the strongest winds. The number of birds, on the other hand, already surpasses the l7 000 and the growth continues.
The damage of the meteors was bigger since in this unit the chickens are raised since one day of born up to 42, moment in that move toward the development centers, of agreement with its purpose is already of it feeds or egg-laying, and even the hens of double purpose, more rustic and more resistant, but that they produce a good quantity of postures.
According to Félix Sánchez, the administrator, the reaction of the community went immediate when the strong winds that destroyed the l2 ships taking place with which it counts the center. Only in that way could rescue and to save some l2 000 animals that already grow in different territories.
He adds that it is purpose this year to give l00 000 birds, without counting the well-known species as guinea hen whose raises it is already traditional and whose postures take place in the farm “The paradise”, to about 4 kilometers, since where are taken to the incubation plants. Of these last ones, when being born, those “guineítos” are brought to the beginning center, and after some weeks, they meet with their progenitors. Of this poultry variety you plan this year about 200 000 births.
Pedro, the administrator of “The Paradise”, remembers that when the hurricanes died thousands of birds there, mainly guinea hens, turkeys and egg-laying, but are already under conditions of to assume the new commitments and to grow, until completing the 60 000 animals.
Héctor Hernández Limia, the boss of the Unit of Several Productions that is responsible for among other, the sphere of the seolfsupply of the entity, assures that with people like the 500 workers to who he directs, there is not hurricane that defeats them, and he adds that with people this way, the “Paradise”, it is not so unreachable.
President Raul Castro at Opening Session of NAM Ministerial Meeting
Also attending are Cuban Vice President Esteban Lazo, Vice President of the Cuban Council of Ministers Ricardo Cabrisas and the president of the UN General Assembly Miguel D´Escoto, among other personalities.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez extended the most cordial welcome to all participants during his opening statement at the forum and he stressed Cuba's firm commitment to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
The forum takes place at Havana's Conventions Center with the participation of 140 delegations, 111 of which represent NAM member nations, 14 have observer status. Also present are representatives of five international organizations and of 10 guest countries.
Following a two-day working session in commissions, the high-level officials prepared the document of the forum, which will be submitted for approval to the foreign ministers of the Third World organization.
The meeting, which winds up on Thursday, is the last one to take place under the mandate of Cuba as NAM Chair before Egypt assumes that responsibility during the 15th Summit of Heads of State and Government, next July 11-16.
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)
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)
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.
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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
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)
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)
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)
lunes, 27 de abril de 2009
Rafael Correa: Historic Victory in Ecuador
HAVANA, Cuba, April 27 (acn) After being reelected president of Ecuador last Sunday, Rafael Correa confirmed that he is to emphasize his socialist project. The leader of the Movimiento Alianza País achieved a historic and unprecedented victory.
No other candidate has won in the first electoral round since 1976. The triumph allows Correa to govern until 2013, says a Granma newspaper report.
"Socialism, of course, will continue. The Ecuadorian people voted for that," he declared, adding: "When have we concealed our ideological orientation? We are going to emphasize this fight for social justice; for regional justice….we are going to continue the fight to eliminate ll forms of workplace exploitation within our socialist conviction: the supremacy of human work over capital," EcoDiario quoted the president.
While not yet official, the election results confirm survey findings: Correa would win in the first round. A rapid recount by the Participación Ciudadana nongovernmental organization, with 71.5% of the votes counted, places Correa of the Movimiento Alianza País in first place with 51.7%, and Lucio Gutiérrez of the Partido Sociedad Patriótica second, with 28.4% of the vote, EFE reports.
"Nobody is in any doubt that our preferential option is for the poorest people, we are here because of them," Correa affirmed before ending with a Hasta la victoria siempre.
(Histórica victoria de Rafael Correa en Ecuador)
No other candidate has won in the first electoral round since 1976. The triumph allows Correa to govern until 2013, says a Granma newspaper report.
"Socialism, of course, will continue. The Ecuadorian people voted for that," he declared, adding: "When have we concealed our ideological orientation? We are going to emphasize this fight for social justice; for regional justice….we are going to continue the fight to eliminate ll forms of workplace exploitation within our socialist conviction: the supremacy of human work over capital," EcoDiario quoted the president.
While not yet official, the election results confirm survey findings: Correa would win in the first round. A rapid recount by the Participación Ciudadana nongovernmental organization, with 71.5% of the votes counted, places Correa of the Movimiento Alianza País in first place with 51.7%, and Lucio Gutiérrez of the Partido Sociedad Patriótica second, with 28.4% of the vote, EFE reports.
"Nobody is in any doubt that our preferential option is for the poorest people, we are here because of them," Correa affirmed before ending with a Hasta la victoria siempre.
(Histórica victoria de Rafael Correa en Ecuador)
The town raised its voice in Camagüey
Camagüey, Apr 27. Government Representatives of almost 800 thousand inhabitants of this county - more extensive agricultural region of Cuba - sesioned in the Eighth Ordinary Meeting of the X Command of Government, to perfect and to accelerate the priorities of the housings damaged by the hurricanes, to value the march of the productions of foods and to impel the incorporation to the work or the study of detached people.
Delegates to the Provincial Assembly of the Popular Power and deputies to the Cuban Parliament for this territory, also recognized the results of the Second Process of Rendition of the delegates of districts and the population's participation in the solution of the problems of the own communities, in spite of the cyclonal setbacks.
Jorge Lezcano Pérez, advisory of the National Assembly, intervened to reason the dynamic and rich of this democratic process that links to the town in their incessant administration to improve the quality of life in urban neighborhoods, sugar little neighbourhood, communities and until in the most remote villages in the country.
He said that it is a process that finishes never, in which are constantly mobilized the neighbors, the entities and state institutions in function of giving answers or solution to the formulated positions.
The assistants to the assembly, referred to some doubtful administrations in the answer to the matters outlined by the delegates.
In that topic, the invited Julio Cesar García Rodríguez, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in Camagüey, reiterated that the administrative directive of any organism, entity or institution of the State are obligated to be in the place that the community requests them and to respond in the smallest possible time the outlined restlessness, because it is in fact the town who chose them and who it can remove them when he understands that they are not worthy of the trust deposited in them.
The Eighth Session was presided over, also, by Jesus García Collazo, president of the Provincial Assembly and the also deputed Faure Chomón Mediavilla, advisory of the Parliament from Cuba.(Rolando Sarmiento Ricart)
Delegates to the Provincial Assembly of the Popular Power and deputies to the Cuban Parliament for this territory, also recognized the results of the Second Process of Rendition of the delegates of districts and the population's participation in the solution of the problems of the own communities, in spite of the cyclonal setbacks.
Jorge Lezcano Pérez, advisory of the National Assembly, intervened to reason the dynamic and rich of this democratic process that links to the town in their incessant administration to improve the quality of life in urban neighborhoods, sugar little neighbourhood, communities and until in the most remote villages in the country.
He said that it is a process that finishes never, in which are constantly mobilized the neighbors, the entities and state institutions in function of giving answers or solution to the formulated positions.
The assistants to the assembly, referred to some doubtful administrations in the answer to the matters outlined by the delegates.
In that topic, the invited Julio Cesar García Rodríguez, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in Camagüey, reiterated that the administrative directive of any organism, entity or institution of the State are obligated to be in the place that the community requests them and to respond in the smallest possible time the outlined restlessness, because it is in fact the town who chose them and who it can remove them when he understands that they are not worthy of the trust deposited in them.
The Eighth Session was presided over, also, by Jesus García Collazo, president of the Provincial Assembly and the also deputed Faure Chomón Mediavilla, advisory of the Parliament from Cuba.(Rolando Sarmiento Ricart)
Cuba Announces Preventive Measures against Swine Influenza
HAVANA, Cuba, April 27 (acn) Cuba´s Health Ministry issued a press release on Monday announcing a package of preventive measures following the presence of the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 in Mexico and in other countries.
The information says that the Cuban Public Health Ministry has been following reports by international health organizations and by authorities in Mexico and the United States about humans affected in those countries with the new Swine Influenza A virus, H1N1.
The virus has infected 20 people in the United States and over 1, 000 in several Mexican states, where 80 diseased persons have already died. Canada and some European countries have already reported the first cases of the virus in their territories, explains the release.
Cuba´s Health Ministry, the Civil Defense, the Veterinary Institute and other entities in the country have been working, over the past few years, in a program to prevent an epidemic stemming from the bird flue and in that direction those entities have applied some measures in the fields of diagnosis, risk reduction and in the capabilities to face such an epidemic in all the Cuban national territory.
In the case of the current virus, which is transmitted from person to person and with many possibilities to spread around the world, Cuba is adopting a package of necessary measures in all air and maritime terminals, with a strong limitation on flights from and to Mexico, plus local preparedness to take further necessary steps. Also included is the updating of all surveillance capabilities of clinical and epidemiological kind as well as those related to the assistance given to the population by the National Health Care System. All actions scheduled to be taken in different circumstances linked to the evolution of the current situation have been considered by the Health Ministry in coordination with the National Civil Defense and other entities, explains the press release.
The Cuban Health Ministry also asks the population to intensify all personal and collective hygienic measures and timely medical assistance when necessary.
The Cuban Public Health Ministry and its entities count on all necessary material and human resources throughout the country, organized in an attention system that is accessible to all the Cuban population, the press release concluded.
NAM Ministerial Meeting Opens Sessions in Havana
HAVANA, Cuba, April 27 (acn) The Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement´s Coordinating Bureau opens sessions today at Havana´s Conventions Center with the participation of representatives of 120 countries of the world.
The meeting, which is the last one to take place prior to the 15th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) to be held in Egypt, will hold a segment of high-level officials on Monday and Tuesday, said deputy foreign minister Abelardo Moreno, Granma daily reported.
Moreno, who is also the Cuban ambassador to the United Nations, said that participants at the meeting, which will wind up on Thursday, will be analyzing a wide gamut of subjects contained in the draft declaration of the forum, which include disarmament and the fight against drugs and terrorism.
The meeting will also address the need for a new international economic order, the world economic and financial crisis, as well as decolonization processes, particularly in the case of Puerto Rico.
Cuba assumed as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement at the 14th NAM Summit, held in Havana in 2006. During its mandate, Cuba achieved the revitalization of the organization, which is now more active and maintains more solid positions, said Moreno. Egypt will take that responsibility during the upcoming Summit that will take place in Sharm El Sheikh next July.
sábado, 25 de abril de 2009
Cuban mulattresses are born in the Dominican Republic
Camagüey, Clásicas cuban mulattresses werw born in the Dominican Republic, modeladaed by the ceramist Martha Jiménez, after three months of work, according to the laws of the artists program in residence PRIMAVERA 2009.The High gallery of Chavon, of the Foundation Cultural homonym Center ,shows their sculptures, drawings and acrylic, next to the North American Esperanza Cortés works and the French Jean-Pierre Frey, also participants of the space open to the international art.
Martha Jiménez received in 1997 the Prize UNESCO to the best group of works for the Sculptural Group Plaza del carmen Square, summoned in the city of Camagüey, where resides.
According to DOMIPRESS, the artist of San German,of the county of Holguín, with residence in Camagüey “ got the best comments on their "angelfishes", the piece "the gossipers" and the other presented sculptures.”
“Martha Jiménez Pérez apparently didn't scant efforts to make to surrender the time and to take out the best thing of yes in the treatment of the formidable pieces in terracotta policromaded that presents us in diverse formats, since sculpting the mud, to leave it in an appropriate drying and then to go by the fire to obtain results is not an easy task”, he adds the agency.
Besides the public's praise, she received the medal of the Fourth International Triennial of the Ceramic Tile (elit-tile 2010) that grants the Foundation Ignerio / Art and Archaeology, for her contribution to the art and solidarity between the towns of Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
The representation of the feminine figure with a divergent canon of the current for the deformation in the ways, accentuate the attractiveness and the values of each aesthetic proposal, where she meditates with Creole grace around her gender in the contemporary world, with the legacy of the literature of manners characteristic of the popular traditions of herr nation.
Member of the Association of Latin American Studies (LASA), Martha surpasses the 60 collective and personal exhibitions in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Canada, Chile, Mexico, France and United States, and shows the Distinction For the National Culture, among other recognitions.
(Yanetsy León González )
Crocodiles Raised in Captivity Proliferate in Cuban
Camagüey. The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) raised in captivity for their further insertion into wild environmentally suitable areas and their relocation to others for boosting its repopulation are goals of those who work in a reptile farm, located in the municipality of Minas, northern Camagüey.The workers of this farm owned by the Protection and Preservation of the Flora and Fauna Company have been involved in several projects for achieving their objectives, through handling the environment in a sustainable way and educating the people so that they can appreciate more, take care and advantage of the species now in danger.
Since 2004 this farm has been raising the acutus, perhaps one of the largest species of crocodiles. Today 700 individuals are ranched there, of which 150 are adults and the rest are for replacement, development or raising.
The staff is also working on programs related to the environmental education, the restoration of the degraded habit, the inventory of the living flora, the bird monitoring and also implement anti-fire measures. (Raisa Mestril Gutiérrez/ Translated by Gualveris Rosales Sanchez/Radio Cadena Agramonte).
An Impressive Gesture
Fidel Castro RuzI confess that many times I have meditated on the dramatic story of John F. Kennedy. It was my fate to live through the era when he was the greatest and most dangerous adversary of the Revolution. It was something that didn’t play a part in his calculations. He saw himself as the representative of a new generation of Americans who were confronting the old-style, dirty politics of men of the sort of Nixon whom he had defeated with a tremendous display of political talent.He had behind him his history as a combatant in the Pacific and of his adroit pen.
Because he was over-confident, he was dragged into the Bay of Pigs adventure by his predecessors, since he had no doubts about the experience and professional capacity of all those men. His failure was bitter and unexpected, a scant three months after his inauguration. Even though he was on the point of attacking the Island with his country’s powerful and sophisticated weaponry, on that occasion he didn’t do what Nixon would have done: use the fighter-bombers and land the Marines. Rivers of blood would have flowed in our Homeland where hundreds of thousands of combatants were ready to die. He controlled himself and came up with a categorical phrase that is hard to forget: “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.”
His life continued to be dramatic, like a shadow that accompanied him at all times. On the strength of wounded pride, he again succumbed to the idea of invading us. This brought on the October [Missile] Crisis and the most serious risks of thermonuclear warfare that the world has ever known until the present day. He emerged from this test as an authority thanks to the mistakes of his chief adversary. He seriously wanted to talk with Cuba and that’s what he decided to do. He sent Jean Daniel to talk with me and return to Washington. His mission was being carried out at that moment when the news of President Kennedy’s assassination arrived. His death and the strange way in which it was orchestrated and carried out, was truly sad.
Later I met close family members who visited Cuba. I never mentioned the unpleasant aspects of his policy against our country, nor did I refer at all to the attempts to eliminate me. I met his son when he was an adult, who had been a young child when his father had been the president of the United States. We got together as friends. His own brother Robert was also assassinated, multiplying the drama shadowing that family.
At the distance of so many years, information arrived about a gesture that impressed me.
These days, while so much was being said about the lengthy and unfair blockade of Cuba in the upper echelons of the continent’s countries, I read a news item in Mexico’s La Jornada: “At the end of 1963, the then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy sought to overturn the ban on travel to Cuba and today his daughter, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, wrote that President Barack Obama ought to take this into account and support legislative initiatives that would allow all Americans to travel to the island.
“In official documents declassified by the National Security Archive research centre it is recorded that on December 12, 1963, less than one month after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy sent a communication to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, urging the removal of regulations prohibiting Americans from traveling to Cuba…
“Robert Kennedy claimed that the prohibition violated American freedoms. According to the document, he affirmed that the current restrictions on travel are inconsistent with traditional American freedoms.
“…That position was unsuccessful inside the Lyndon B. Johnson administration and the State Department decided that to suspend the restrictions would be perceived as a softening of the Cuban policy and that they were part of the joint effort made by the United States and other American republics to isolate Cuba.
“In an editorial article by Kathleen Kennedy printed today in The Washington Post, Robert’s daughter expresses her wish that her father’s position be adopted by the Barack Obama government, and that this should be the position promoted by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. while the Obama government weighs the next step it will take with Cuba, one that should be pushing for allowing more than just Cuban-Americans to travel freely to the island and dealing with the rights of all Americans, most of whom are not free to go.
“Kathleen Kennedy writes that just as Obama found out at the summit meeting last week-end, Latin American leaders have adopted a coordinated message on Cuba: the time is here to normalize relations with Havana…By keeping on trying to isolate Cuba, they essentially told Obama, Washington has only succeeded in isolating itself.
“Thus, the niece of the president who attempted to invade and overthrow the Cuban Revolutionary government and impose the blockade, adds her voice now to the ever-growing chorus in favor of reversing these policies which were put in place half a century ago.”
A worthy article by Kathleen Kennedy!
Fidel Castro Ruz
April 24, 2009
1:17 p.m.
NAM Meeting will Define Common Stance amidst Complex World Scenario
HAVANA, Cuba, April 24 (acn)The Non-Aligned Ministerial Meeting to Open in Havana next April 27 will define a common position towards the complex world scenario, marked by serious economic crisis, said Abelardo Moreno, deputy foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations.
Reports say that over 120 countries and more than 60 ministers, most of them foreign affairs ministers have confirmed attendance at the gathering, scheduled to take place April 27 to 30 at Havana´s Conventions Palace.
Also invited is the President of the UN General Assembly Miguel D´ Escoto, who recently called a meeting at the UN, to be held June 1-3 in an effort to look at solutions to the current world financial and economic crisis.
Abelardo Moreno said that the Havana meeting was particularly significant since it will be the last ministerial gathering under Cuba´s mandate, which will make the final arrangements for the 15th NAM Summit scheduled for Egypt, July 11 to 16.
The Cuban deputy foreign minister explained that the 467-parragraph Final Declaration of the meeting was drawn up during intense negotiations in New York over the past few weeks. The document will be discussed at the Havana gathering, though the most important thing is tat the working guidelines of the Non-Aligned, the reaffirmation of its guiding principles were agreed to in New York.
Moreno described the Declaration as “detailed and diverse,” and he noted that it assesses the current international situation and addresses issues like the decolonization and self-determination processes, regional conflicts, human rights, migration and drug trafficking, natural resources.
In one of its paragraphs the document underlines the necessity of ending the nearly 50-year US economic, financial and commercial blockade of Cuba and calls for the return to Cuba of part of the eastern territory of Guantanamo, occupied by Washington against the will of the Cuban people. The document also extends support and solidarity to the Bolivan government of Evo Morales.
The NAM meeting will work in two parts: a high level official gathering, April 27-28 and at ministerial level, April 29-30, Moreno said.
As to the role played by Cuba as Chair of NAM, Abelardo Moreno said that the Caribbean nation contributed to achieving a strong movement with high coordination level at the Group of 77, and in which reaching agreements and solidarity already are part of everyday practice.
Half a Million Children to be Vaccinated against Polio
This stage includes children less than three years old who received the first dose during the first period of the campaign from February 27 to March 5 earlier this year, reported Granma newspaper.
In addition 9-year-old children will receive the anti-polio reactivation shot during this stage by the end of which around half a million kids will become immune to this disease.
Cuba eradicated polio, malaria, smallpox, chickenpox, new-born tetanus, diphtheria and meningoencephalitis over 40 year ago through vaccination campaigns.
Cuba Asks for Preferential Call Rates for Third World
The Cuban delegation proposed to the conference, attended by representatives of more than 191 governments and more than 550 companies, the establishment of preferential phone call rates for Third World nations, Juan Fernandez, one of the island’s participants told ACN.
Fernandez, Cuba Communications and Information Ministry’s consultant explained that the proposal said the incomes from the payments for international calls could be invested by the poorest nations in the development of the infrastructure needed to support those systems.
World Bank’s reports said incomes in Africa for incoming calls from the United States dropped to the half from 1998 to 2002, and it is expected to get worse.
Cuba also rejected discriminatory actions regarding interconnection and access to public internet sites, in the meeting which is the most important event organized by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
Government representatives, of the communications industry and the global regulations community have exchanged views about key aspects of policies related to the dramatic changes in information and communications technologies.
Founded as the International Telegraph Union in Paris on 17 May 1865, currently ITU is the second-oldest international organization still in existence, established to standardize and regulate international radio and telecommunications. Its main tasks include standardization, allocation of the radio spectrum, and organizing interconnection arrangements between different countries to allow international phone calls.
It is one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations, and has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, next to the main United Nations campus.
Cuban Farmer Shows how to Make Good Use of the Land in Crucial Times
HAVANA, Cuba, April 24 (acn) Ariel Gonzalez is a Cuban farmer in central Eastern Ciego de Avila province, who has achieved a record black bean harvest, which is well over the production amount established for that grain variety by the Cuban Agriculture Ministry.
Gonzalez collected nearly 2 and a half tons of beans per hectare, while the established estimate for that crop is 1,2 tons. According to Felix Palau, an expert with the Agronomy Faculty of the local Maximo Gomez University, there are no records in Cuba about a similar yield of black beans, which depends on the planting season (September 15- January 10) and the attention given to the crop.
The example of how to get the most out of the land given by Gonzalez must be followed by other private and cooperative farmers amidst growing food process at the international market and as the Caribbean nation is looking forward to increasing the availability of food for the population.
Gonzalez works at the Jose Marti cooperative farm, in the locality of Ceballos; he produced a black bean variety known as CC 25-9, which is ready for harvesting 90 days after planted.
The Cuban farmer owns seven hectares of land, he leased in usufruct. He is being supplied resources by the Ministry of Agriculture, which he considers crucial to increase the agricultural yield. Gonzalez is one of the Ciego de Avila farmers who also have achieved significant production of tobacco leaves and different vegetable varieties.
The use of scientific methods, the high fertility of lands and the application of knowledge are basic factors to achieve good production, said Gonzalez, who expects to graduate as Agronomic Engineer by the end of the current school year.
Municipal Intensive Care Wards Successful in Cuba
Juan Ulises Castillo, head of the Emergency and Therapy of the National Medical Emergency Center, explained to ACN that there are 122 intensive care wards, equipped with top technology and with qualified staff to provide quality service. He noted that 95 percent of the cases have been successfully treated.
The expert said that those areas have contributed to the increase of the quality of life and a drop in mortality from heart attacks, as the new service includes advanced treatments and the reception of heart and brain conditions, which are the main causes of death in Cuba.
Dr. Castillo stressed that the intensive care units shortens the time before the first aid, transportation and remission, which in turns reduces the risks generated by such conditions.
The service has reached the mountain communities as well through the Plan Turquino project.
The doctor highlighted the effort by the Cuban government for the implementation of the initiative as the total cost of the investments for each facility is around 200,000 U.S dollars, just for the medical equipments that include monitoring systems for the heart, blood preasure, artificial breathing, etc.
Dr. Castillo is attending the 5th International Congress of Emergency and Intensive Care concluding today in Havana’s Convention Palace.
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