Business & Economy

Cuban President Raul Castro on Saturday inspected the ongoing hurricane recovery efforts in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, according to a national television newscast. That area suffered severe damage from Hurricane Sandy this past October.

In most countries farm cooperatives are owned by their members who elect a board of directors and/or administrators. In Cuba it’s very different; the state-run coops have little autonomy, an example of which was the decision this week to remove 632 presidents of farm co-ops in one fell swoop.

The first “National Cocktail Championship with Heineken Beer,” will be held in Havana in March to highlight the quality of service in local bars and to boost tourism on the island, reported the Prensa Latina news agency.

A large Cuban delegation will attend the 33rd edition of the FITUR International Tourism Fair, scheduled for January 30 to February 3 in Madrid, reads a statement from the Cuban Ministry of Tourism.

The European Union (EU) reiterated its disapproval of the US blockade against Cuba and said that in the coming EU-CELAC summit it will call for the elimination of the barriers to free trade, reported the Prensa Latina.

Chile’s PAL Airlines started direct flights to Cuba’s Varadero beach resort this weekend on one of its 388-seat aircraft, reported the Prensa Latina.

Tampa International Airport will see two of its five weekly flights to Cuba cancelled starting in February, reported the Café Fuerte website.

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.