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Cuba to shut plants to save
power
Cuba plans to close more than
100 factories for all of October
as part of a plan to deal with
power shortages. Other measures
to save energy include a shorter
working week, reduced street
lighting and scheduled power
cuts.
The power shortages have caused
a range of problems - affecting
the flow of drinking water in
homes and causing fridges and
freezers to stop working.
President Castro said the
trouble was caused by problems
at Cuba's main power station,
not the high price of oil.
"An electrical system that has
all these problems is a weak
system," Mr Castro said.
The president promised to invest
in new generating capacity, but
warned the problems could
continue for five months or
more.
"The co-operation of the public
is very important," he said.
Western diplomats say Cuba is
finding it difficult to make the
investment its power system
needs, because of a US trade
embargo.
To help cope with the crisis,
118 factories, including steel
plants, sugar mills and paper
processors will be shut for the
whole of October, said
Vice-President Carlos Lage.
The average eight-hour
government work day will be cut
by 30 minutes and school classes
will start half-an-hour later.
The disappearance of Soviet aid
following the collapse of the
USSR forced the Cuban government
to introduce tight rationing of
energy, food and consumer goods.
Argentina opposes Brazil's entry
into Security Council
Argentina on Friday voiced its
opposition to the entry of
Brazil into the UN Security
Council as a permanent member,
as part of the reform of the
world organization.
"Why will Brazil represent
Argentina (in the United
Nations)? What merits does it
have?" Argentine Foreign
Minister Rafael Bielsa asked at
a press conference.
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and
Uruguay are members of the
Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR).
During the 59th session of the
UN General Assembly, Brazil,
Germany, Japan and India formed
a so-called Group of Four,
trying to get permanent seats in
the Security Council.
The Security Council includes
five permanent members with veto
power (China, United States,
Russia, France and Britain), and
10 non-permanent members with a
term of two years through
election.
Argentina is now holding the
Security Council's pro tempore
presidency and will be succeeded
by Brazil in March.
Dominican Republic starts
campaign against dengue fever
The Dominican health authorities
started Friday a national
campaign against the Aedes
aegypti mosquito, the vector of
dengue fever, for which
thousands of volunteers have
been mobilized.
The health ministry promotes the
elimination of breeding grounds
for the vector, which lives in
accumulated clean, untreated
water.
The volunteers of 11 public and
private institutions involved in
the campaign will examine all of
the houses of the country and
train families in the preventive
measures to eliminate nesting
grounds of mosquitos.
Dominican Republic is affected
by a dengue-fever epidemy which
has affected 1,226 people in
2004 and produced 6,186 cases in
2003
Cuba to denounce US blockade in
Internet forum
The Cuban government will hold
six for a on the Internet on
Oct. 6 to denounce the blockade
imposed by the United States
against the island for over four
decades, according to a
statement by the Cuban Foreign
Ministry.
The statement said that Cuban
Foreign Minister Felipe Perez
will participate in the event on
the website
www.forumcubaminrex.co.cu.
It will be the third time for
Perez to speak at such a forum
to criticize Washington's
hostile policy against Havana.
At the forum, the minister is
expected to refer to a report,
the Need to End the Economic,
Commercial and Financial
Blockade by the United States
Against Cuba, which will be
presented to and debated and
voted at the United Nations on
Oct. 28.
It is Cuba's 13th report calling
for an end to the US blockade.
Last year, 179 UN members
supported the report, three --
the United States, Israel and
the Marshall Islands -- voted
against and two abstained.
According to the Cuban
government, Cuba has lost about
80 billion US dollars owing to
this "brutal policy" of the
United States.
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