Yahoo! September 13, 2000
US Grants Visas to Cuban Lawmakers
By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Writer.
NEW YORK, 12 (AP) - The State Department on Tuesday approved visas for seven Cuban lawmakers to attend a Washington meeting of black Congress members, but still refused admittance to the communist island's National Assembly president.
A State Department official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the seven would be allowed to attend the 30th legislative conference in Washington of the Congressional Black Caucus, which begins Wednesday.
The group had originally invited National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon and other Cubans to Washington for festivities marking the founding of the caucus.
Alarcon, who came to New York last week with President Fidel Castro to attend the U.N. Millennium Summit, had requested permission to travel onto Washington for the conference.
Cuban officials who travel to the United Nations on U.N. business normally are not given permission to travel more than 25 miles from New York.
On Monday, a State Department official said Alarcon's request had been denied.
But on Tuesday, the State Department agreed to allow lower-ranking lawmakers to visit, the official said. However, Cuba's agriculture minister, Alfredo Jordan Morales, was also denied a visa.
Cuban officials said Tuesday evening they didn't know when the lawmakers would arrive for the conference, which ends Saturday.
Alarcon told reporters Tuesday at Cuba's U.N. mission that he had planned to announce at the Washington meeting an offer by the Cuban government to allow 250 poor black Americans a year to study medicine in Cuba free of charge.
Cuba, which is currently hosting students from the Caribbean to study in its universities, wants to give young black Americans a chance, he said.
"The reality is that within the United States there also exists the Third World,'' Alarcon said.
Details of the proposal were to have been worked out with Rep. James Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina and the caucus chairman, Alarcon said.
The U.S. State Department also refused to grant Alarcon a visa to attend a meeting of presiding officers of the world's parliaments two weeks ago on the grounds that the meeting wasn't official U.N. business.
Cuba Cruise Inaugural Date Change to Accommodate Huge Demand
Tuesday September 12, 12:27 pm Eastern Time. Press Release.
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2000--Sam Blyth, President of The Cuba Cruise Corporation is pleased to announce that the company has chartered both the M.S. Funchal and the M.V.Arion to provide larger and upgraded cruise ships for its forthcoming series of cruises to Cuba. Both vessels are
owned by the Arcalia Shipping Company of Portugal. The ships are of a first class superior quality and the crew will be European. Both are currently sailing in the Mediterranean.
The M.S. Funchal weighs 9500 tons and is 503 feet in length and 62 feet in width and will provide service between November 18th and December 10th, 2000. All cabins are tastefully furnished and have private facilities. On board facilities include a swimming pool, casino, lecture theatres,
hairdressing salon, 4 bars and nightly entertainment.
The M.V.Arion will enter service on December 24th and will operate Indefinitely on the route. She was totally refurbished and rebuilt earlier this year. It weighs 6000 tons and is 383 feet in length and 54 feet in width. All cabins are decorated in soft pastel tones and have television, radio,
hairdryer and en suite shower and toilet. On board facilities include a salt water swimming pool, lecture theatres, casino, library, piano bar and nightly entertainment.
Due to the demand for this unique cruise program and the immense interest being shown, we have decided to extend the inaugural cruise by one day to allow more time in Havana. In order to do this, we have changed the sailing date to two days later than planned. The ship will sail from Nassau on
Saturday, 18 November and will return on Wednesday, 22 November. The second departure will now be amalgamated with the inaugural, which means that those passengers on the second sailing will have the benefit of all the excitement of the inaugural voyage.
The schedule for the inaugural is as follows:
Saturday, 18 November - Depart Nassau 3.00pm
Sunday, 19 November - Arrive Havana 7.00pm Dinner on board ship followed by walking tour of Old Havana
Monday, 20 November- Choice of full day to Matanzas and Varadero or full day to Bay of Pigs or spend the day walking in Havana on your own.
Tuesday, 21 November - Morning city tour of Havana. Depart Havana 12.00pm
Wednesday, 22 November - Arrive Nassau 12.00pm.
This change in dates will give those traveling on our inaugural departure a much enhanced cruise. The costs will not change.
Contact:
Hawkins & Widness Public Relations
Jennifer Hawkins
646/602-7010
Hitech Resources Announcement
Tuesday September 12, 12:28 pm Eastern Time. Press Release
VANCOUVER, B.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2000--Hitech Resources (Pink Sheets:HIRC) is pleased to announce that it has signed an Agreement with Omicron Holdings PLC ("Omicron''), an England and Wales Corporation, with substantial holdings and mining venture projects in Cuba and
Mozambique, most notably the Caribbean Ferro-Nickel mines in Cuba. Under the terms of the Agreement, Hitech intends to make a secondary market investment in Omicron, whereby the company will own no more than twenty-five (25%) of Omicron. This investment is supported by a legal opinion which supports
this type of third party investment in Cuba by a U.S. company.
Omicron's corporate strategy will include the specific development of the Ferro-Nickel mines in Cuba with the intention of bringing the project to a bankable stage within the next 10-12 months and to confirm the potential of producing 120,000 tons of ferro-nickel annually to be backed by
reserves available for almost 150 years. Omicron can state that with its patented Mintek technology to process ferro-nickel in Cuba, it has access to approximately 25% of the world's seprolite ferro-nickel deposits.
The corporate strategy will also restrict expenditures on Omicron's mining concessions in Mozambique which includes the Beira Iron Project, the Beira Free Zone, the Moatize Coal Mine and an Electric Power Station. All efforts will be made to locate joint venture partners and operators who will
bring the necessary financial capabilities to bring these projects to a bankable stage.
A Confidential Information Memorandum (produced by Robert Fleming & Co.), providing details on both Omicron and its projects, is available by request at the Hitech head office in Vancouver.
Also, further to the Company's last press release a new CUSIP number (43365E207) has been assigned Hitech Resource Corporation along with the new trading symbol "HIRC'' effective September 12, 2000.
Cautionary Statement: This press release contains certain forward- looking statements. Forward-looking statements, by their nature, carry associated risks, especially risks concerning the possibility that some or all events envisaged in such statements will not materialize in the future.
The Company relies on litigation protection for forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Hitech Resources
Allison Eaton, President, 604/689-5598
Fax 604/689-3702
Trade with Cuba is in the Cards: New Study Explores Implications for US Firms
Tuesday September 12, 11:30 am Eastern Time. Press Release. SOURCE: PROMAR International
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- With Cuba's food and agricultural markets potentially opening to US companies, businessmen have been grappling with how to tackle the prospective opportunities and changes that will result. Those seeking to enter the market, however, must understand
Cuba's policies and attitudes toward trade and foreign investment. Reforms that Cuba first implemented in 1993, aimed at decentralizing agricultural production and its marketing systems, are central to understanding the current climate for foreign firms. Subsequent legislation calling upon foreign
investors to participate in these changes also warrants investigation.
"Foreign trade with today's Cuba is a growing trend,'' points out Tom Earley, Executive Vice President of Promar International. "The number of joint ventures and other business alliances has been increasing steadily since the reforms were put in place. Cuba now attracts traders and
investors from all over the world, particularly Europe, interested in tapping into the country's agricultural and tourist industries. Depending on the future relations between the two countries, the US could come to play a significant role in this development.''
"Cuba, si: Opportunities for US food and agriculture,'' a new Promar study, explores the food and agricultural sectors in Cuba, identifying where the opportunities lie for US companies. The study will equip US companies looking to enter the Cuban market with an understanding of Cuba's
economy today and how the country's food and agricultural markets operate. In addition, companies will learn about foreign investment and trading alliances that have been formed to date and where the niches might be for US firms within Cuba's markets.
"It's easy to look to Cuba and see export opportunities in the most general sense of the term,'' says Earley. "The hard part is developing the need-to-know information that can move a company from wishful thinking to successful positioning in the market. Our study does that, and we
believe it will be a catalyst for thoughtful action.'' Lest anyone think that the changes taking shape in Cuba promise only upside for US companies, Promar's study also evaluates the potential implications of Cuban exports of sugar, citrus and other products to the US market. The study will be
completed in September 2000 with a pre-publication cost of $8,800 (through September 30, 2000.) A study brochure can be viewed at http://www.promarinternational.com/Brochures/Cuba.pdf.
About The Company: Promar International specializes in providing strategic marketing assistance to the food, beverage, and agribusiness sectors. We are global in our reach, with offices in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. For additional information about Promar please visit
http://www.promarinternational.com.
Kurt Redenbo of PROMAR International, 703-739-9090, or email:
kredenbo@promarinternational.com
1625 Prince Street, Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314 USA
Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Human Rights Groups Join CANF In Urgent Appeal for Ailing Cuban Prisoner of Conscience Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet
Tuesday September 12, 5:56 pm Eastern Time. Press Release. SOURCE: Cuban American National Foundation
Press Conference: Thursday, September 14, 2000 10:00 am 1539 Longworth HOB
WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- A coalition of human rights organizations, including the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Physicians for Human Rights and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, will join the Cuban American National Foundation Thursday on Capitol Hill to
issue an urgent public appeal for the release of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, an ailing Amnesty International prisoner of conscience who has been imprisoned in Cuba since February of this year.
The groups will join Members of Congress in a 10:00 a.m. press conference Thursday in Room 1539 of the Longworth House Office Building to express concern over the Cuban government's treatment of Dr. Biscet, who is reported to be in declining health and who has been denied medical treatment while
in prison.
Dr. Biscet, founder of the peaceful pro-democracy group, the Lawton Foundation, is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for advocating freedom and democracy for the Cuban people. Dr. Biscet, a medical doctor, has been banned from practicing medicine and has been the subject of
systematic harassment, intimidations and more than 26 detentions at the hands of Cuban internal security forces for his support of civil liberties and basic human rights for the Cuban people.
During this most recent imprisonment, Dr. Biscet has reported to his wife in Cuba that he has been subjected to beatings and physical and psychological torture. At one point, he was held in solitary confinement for 42 days.
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