Business & Economy

The Cuban telephone company (ETECSA) will lower the rates on its cellphone service starting tomorrow (Wednesday January 16), according to an EFE report. Daytime cellphone service will drop to 0.35 CUC per minute from the current 0.45. (1.00 CUC = 1.15 USD)

Costa Rican Foreign Minister Enrique Castillo began an official visit to the island on Wednesday in order to sign a cooperation agreement to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries, reported the Prensa Latina news agency.

The Telecommunications Company of Cuba SA (ETECSA) reported today that, starting next January 10, all calls received from any mobile phone in Cuba will be free of cost.

Achilles Curt Theodor Friedrich officially presented his credentials as the new representative of the United Nations Organization for Food and Agriculture (FAO) in Cuba.

New windmills have been produced by Cuban specialists at the Center for Integrated Water Technologies in the Cuban city of Camagüey after their having adapted a Canadian-made model.

Issues around Florida House Bill 959 could be resolved in 2013, reported Notimex. The bill, which was signed but will not be enforced by Governor Rick Scott, would prohibit state and local governments from doing business or contracting with companies that have commercial ties with Cuba.

A new community of 49 homes was inaugurated on Tuesday in the eastern province of Holguin for families that had fallen victim to Hurricane Sandy, reports the official Juventud Rebelde newspaper.

Data from Cuba’s Ministry of Labor and Social Security indicate that 398,447 Cubans were engaged in private work at the end of November, a figure below that agency’s previous forecasts.

The telephone system in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba is restored to 99%, after being severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy at the end of October.

The Central Bank of Cuba granted 133,000 loans so far this year, given out primarily for the purchase of building materials and payments for labor, reported the Prensa Latina news agency.