Cuba-USA relations

<p style="text-align: justify;">By Stabroek staff. Editorial.Wednesday, March 16, 2011. In spite of periodic hiccups, a slow but fairly consistent positive evolution in Cuba-United States relations continues to be apparent. One of those hiccups occurred at the end of last week, when an American contractor, ostensibly assisting persons and groups in Cuba with internet communications, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Cuban court, an act strongly objected to by the US government. The Cuban government has recognized that with the election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States, the new President has deliberately sought to ease open person-to-person relationships between the two countries<br /> <br /> Read More

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Cuba to Diversify Offer to Russian Tourism

<p style="text-align: justify;">15 de marzo de 2011, By Antonio Rondón García.&nbsp; Moscow, Mar 15 (Prensa Latina) Cuba seeks to increase the offers to the Russian tourism market, including accommodations in the cays of the island, said today the Cuban vice minister for international affairs in the Ministry of Tourism, Maria Elena Lopez Reyes.Until March 10, the Cuban tourism industry grew by 14 percent compared to the same period last year, although those are preliminary figures, said Lopez in an exclusive to Prensa Latina. Read More

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Cuba sends medicines to Colombia, offers aid to Japan

<p style="text-align: justify;">March 16, 2011. The Cuban government sent 17 tons of medicines to the victims of the rains in Colombia, and offered medical and rescue workers to Japan hit by a major earthquake and tsunami, official media reported on Tuesday.The state agency Prensa Latina said that the medicines and some disposable materials were transported from Havana to Bogota by the airline Cubana de Aviacion. Read More

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German Sailing Ship Visits Santiago de Cuba

<p style="text-align: justify;">2011.03.15 / radiorebelde.Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.- Bringing 45 German tourists aboard, the luxury sailing ship Sea Cloud II landed in Santiago de Cuba this Tuesday from where it will sail at about midnight to Dominican Republic.Cuban travel agency Viajes Cubanacan offered travelers several options to explore one of the eastern cities of Cuba, known for its historical sites, culture and heritage sites. Read More

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Cuban Partagas Cigar House to Celebrate Anniversary in April

<p style="text-align: justify;">2011.03.15 / radiorebelde.21st Encounter of Clients-Friends of the Partagas Cigar House. HAVANA, CUBA.-&nbsp; More than a hundred businessmen, distributors, entrepreneurs and specialists from different parts of the world will meet in Cuba in April for the 21st Encounter of Clients-Friends of the Partagas Cigar House.The director of the Partagas House in Havana, Abel Exposito Diaz, told ACN that the event will coincide with the celebrations for the 166th anniversary of this Cuban cigar brand, one of the favorite ones among cigar lovers worldwide. Read More

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Cuba's economic changes

<p style="text-align: justify;">Car and bicycle-taxi in Havana The Cuban government has already allowed the expansion of private taxis. Cuba is devaluing its hard-currency convertible peso, used mostly by tourists and foreign firms, by about 8% as part of efforts to revive the economy.It will now be on a par with the US dollar, although it will still equal 24 of the standard pesos in which most Cubans are paid under the island's two-tier currency system. Read More

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Cuba Records Nearly 5,000 Successful Kidney Transplants

<p style="text-align: justify;">Havana, March 12 (KCNA) -- Cuba has performed 4,813 successful kidney transplants since 1970, a Cuban health official said on March 9.Cuba conducted its first kidney transplant in February 1970 at the Nephrology Institute of Havana.&nbsp; 15 March 2011 Last updated at 11:00 GMT. Read More

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Cuba on my mind exhibition now open

<p style="text-align: justify;">Naples Daily News. March 14, 2011. Debi Wilkey. Bob Salterelli, Cuban Artist Eduardo Miguel Abela Torras, Joel Kessler, Dr. Carol Damian and Jack O'Brien officially open the Cuba on My Mind Exhibition.The Naples Art Association at The von Liebig officially opened the Cuba on My Mind exhibition with title sponsor PNC Wealth Management on March 10, 2011. Members of the press and the Naples Art Association Board of Directors were invited for a first glimpse of the much anticipated “Cuba on My Mind” exhibition. Read More

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UIC professor wins $110,000 fellowship to study Cuba, Mexico, dance

<p style="text-align: justify;">THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. March 15, 2011. CHICAGO — A musicologist and cultural theorist at the University of Illinois at Chicago has been awarded a prestigious fellowship.A statement from UIC says Alejandro Madrid will get $110,000 as part of the Collaborative Research Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies.It says the money will help him spend next year on a project focusing on Cuba and Mexico. Read More

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Passenger ferries to Cuba, Mexico from Tampa possible

<p style="text-align: justify;">United Caribbean Lines. What the United Caribbean Lines ferries to Cuba and Mexico will look like.By TED JACKOVICS | The Tampa Tribune.March 14, 2011. TAMPA Two companies are interested in providing passenger ferry service between the - Port of Tampa and both Mexico and Cuba with ventures that could begin late this year or early 2012, officials said today.United Caribbean Lines, created by former Norweigan Cruise Lines executive and Premier Cruise Lines founder Bruce Nierenberg, and a firm officials declined to identify have held discussions in recent months with port officials, Tampa port director Richard Wainio said. Read More

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