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Muhammad Ali takes $1.2 million worth of medicine to Cuba

HAVANA (September 9, 1998 11:55 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - Form=
er
heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali is visiting Cuba for the second t=
ime,
bringing with him a donation of more than $1.2 million worth of medicines.=


Ali, 56, arrived late Tuesday at Havana's international airport where he w=
as
met by his friend and Cuban boxing hero Teofilo Stevenson, a three-time
Olympic gold medalist.

Ali, who suffers from Parkinson's Disease, was scheduled to visit various
medical facilities in Havana, and hold a series of meetings with Cuba's
cultural, political and sports leaders.

He was also slated to hand over a $1.246 million donation Friday to a hosp=
ital
in central Havana from a U.S. humanitarian organization, the Disarm Educat=
ion
Fund.

It was the second visit to Cuba by the U.S. boxing hero, who began his car=
eer
as Cassius Clay but later changed his name, after a 1996 trip in which he
handed over another donation of medical aid worth $500,000.

Ali, who will leave the Caribbean island Saturday, was not officially
scheduled to meet President Fidel Castro, but the communist leader normall=
y
invites well-known visitors for a tete-a-tete in his Revolution Palace.
=1A
Copyright =A9 1998 Nando.net
Copyright =A9 1998 Reuters News Service

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