Business & Economy

A total of 429,458 Cubans are registered as self-employed in the 181 activities authorized by the government of Raul Castro since late 2010, according to official statistics. The figure of persons working in the private sector in Cuba was issued at the end of May, which marks an increase of more than 30,000 over last year.

Cuba hopes to have two million cell phone lines by the end of 2013, said Hilda Arias, director of Mobile Telephone Services for the State telecommunications company ETECSA on Thursday evening on the Mesa Redonda television program.

Cuban authorities released two British businessmen detained since 2011 on charges of corruption, confirmed the British Embassy in Havana on Friday .Amado Fakhre and Stephen Purvis, former directors of the British company Coral Capital Group, were released this week

Cuba and China signed three agreements on Monday in Beijing, during the official visit by Cuban First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel to the Asian nation, reported newspaper Granma.

Cuban First Vice President, Miguel Diaz-Canel, will tour the Asia, during which he will make official visits to China, Vietnam and Laos, according to information released this Sunday on national television. The exact dates of the trip were not released.

The national sugar plan corresponding to the 2012-2013 campaign only reached 89 percent, it was learned during the balance of the Azcuba Sugar Group, Granma newspaper reported.

Cuban President Raul Castro received on Wednesday afternoon in Havana Ms. Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), reported the local media.

The United Nations and Cuban government signed in Havana a strategic cooperation agreement for the period 2014-2018, involving US $151.8 million, reported Diario de Cuba.

Heavy rains in western Cuba caused serious damages to various ecosystems of the region, as well as social and economic facilities, reported Prensa Latina. The constant rain left over 100 and 200 mm of accumulated rain in places like Isabel Rubio, Guane, and San Juan y Martinez, while the prolonged floods “could cause deforestation in certain points.”

Cuba and China signed several agreements to boost bilateral cooperation, including agreements to promote the construction of golf courses on the island, reported DPA news. The construction of golf courses is one of the more recent brainchild’s of Raul Castro’s government as a way to boost tourism.