[NYTr] Cuban Radar Newsbriefs - Nov 15, 2007

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Progreso Weekly - Nov 15, 2007
http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=237&Itemid=1


Cuban Radar Newsbriefs - Nov 15, 2007

A Service by the Radio Progreso Alternativa Havana Bureau

* Thousands of evacuees return home
* Holguín repairing roads
* High official of China’s Communist Party visits Cuba
* Renewable energy part of Cuba’s Energy Revolution
* Danielle Mitterrand in Havana
* Popular Power in municipalities


* Thousands of evacuees return home

The province of Granma, in Cuba’s eastern region, was perhaps the most
affected by the overflowing of rivers, particularly the Cauto, Cuba’s
longest river, due to the recent heavy rains. Practically all the
inhabitants of Río Cauto Municipality were evacuated to other cities,
but have begun to return. According to official reports, Río Cauto is
already in the midst of a sanitizing campaign and reconstruction with
building materials for home repairs have begun to arrive. 

Radio Habana Cuba (RHC) reported that Santiago de Cuba has shipped
13,000 of the agreed upon 45,000 fiber-cement roofing sections to
Granma. Camagüey shipped over 44,000 fiber-asphalt roofing sections,
while 30 tons of steel have arrived from Havana and Las Tunas
provinces. RHC also reports that social workers are making an inventory
of home electrical appliances, mattresses and other goods that were
lost because of the flooding.  


* Holguín repairing roads

The fierce and persistent rains of last October, together with the
downpours that accompanied tropical storm Noel, practically collapsed
the highway and road system in the province of Holguín, some 700 km
east of Havana.

According to the provincial newspaper Ahora, official sources said that
some 5,000 km of roads were damaged and some areas of the province were
cut off among themselves and from neighboring Santiago de Cuba province.

The greatest effort is being made in the recovery of roads and in other
cases in opening provisional roads.

Other reports indicate that the more than 3,000 breakdowns in the
electrical grid were repaired and farmers are working to save as much
of the 10,000 tons of lost agricultural products as possible.

In relation to sugar cane fields, the main task is to drain some 20,000
flooded hectares.

Ahora’s digital version reported that repair of 4,000 damaged houses
has begun.


* High official of China’s Communist Party visits Cuba

An official communiqué published on October 13 in all Cuban media
informed of the arrival at Havana of a delegation headed by Wang
Zhaoguo, member of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Politburo.

According to Granma daily, Wang Zhaoguo, who is also a vice-president
of the National Popular Assembly’s Permanent Committee and president of
China’s National Federation of Labor Unions, informed high officials
from the Cuban Communist Party and government about the results of the
recently held CCP’s 17th Congress. 

This is the first visit by a top level Chinese official after the
recent Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.


* Renewable energy part of Cuba’s Energy Revolution

By 2008, the recently installed eolic park in the province of Holguín
will save the country one ton of oil daily and supply 10 MW to the
National Power System, according to local provincial media.

The project, set up in the city of Gibara, in the northern region of
the wealthy eastern province, at present has 36 stations for processing
and using eolic power.

According to Ahora, "The installation potential in Holguín is almost
2,000 MW (…) and the extractable potential is 555.2 MW".

The energy revolution carried out in Cuba includes the development of
power plants run on oil and/or natural gas, and the use of eolic and
solar energy, part of the country’s contribution to the struggle
against contamination and global warming.


* Danielle Mitterrand in Havana

Danielle Mitterrand, chairwoman of the NGO France-Liberté, arrived in
Havana on Monday, October 12. The widow of former French president
François Mitterrand is dedicated to the defense of human rights,
particularly those related with their right to clean water. Both Ms.
Mitterand and the NGO she chairs are waging a campaign so that all
countries include in their respective constitutions the access to water
as a guaranteed right.

According to international organizations, there are one billion people
in the world without drinkable water; 40 percent of the world’s
population has no sanitation; and 3.5 million people, most of them
children, die every year due to diarrhea and malaria, in part because
the lack of access to clean water.

Ms. Mitterrand met with president of the Cuban Parliament Ricardo
Alarcón to discuss the situation of water in the world.


* Popular Power in municipalities

The constitution of the 169 Municipal Assemblies of Popular Power in
Cuba was set for Friday, November 16.

Once in session, the recently elected members will vote by secret
ballot for the respective presidents and vice presidents in all the
country’s municipal assemblies.