Business & Economy

The organizers of the 14th Habanos Festival reported last Friday that over $ 960,000 was raised from the annual auction of Cuban cigars at the closing of the event in the Cuban capital. All of the funds will be donated to the Cuban health system.

After nearly a week of activities, the 14th annual Habanos Festival concludes today at the capital city’s PabExpo fairgrounds with an auction of humidors and other items related to tobacco agribusiness.

Beginning on Thursday, a resolution came into force from the Ministry of Domestic Trade allowing the unrestricted sale of salt at stores on the island.

From today until Saturday, representatives from Cuba will be promoting the island as a destination for tourism at a trade fair in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. The aim is to increase the number of travelers from Asian markets to the island.

A Cuban scientist working in Cayo Coco, Cuba, received the 2012 Pew Fellowship for Marine Conservation from the New York-based Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

Cuba eased requirements on the registration of patents issued to local inventors while it banned some scientific applications, such as human cloning, published the island’s Gaceta Official yesterday.

Cuban Vice President Marino Murillo arrived in China on Tuesday, where he was received by Vice Premier Hui Liangyu of that country.

The lack of guarantees for Cubans who came to Ecuador following that country’s elimination of visa requirements for 130 nationalities in 2008 were reported this past weekend by the website Café Fuerte.

Repsol YPF, said on Monday that it has taken all necessary security measures before beginning exploration off the Cuban coast, adding that it aims to ensure its performance meets international standards.

President Dilma Rousseff visited the Mariel Port in western Cuba yesterday, the site of major investments by her country. She was accompanied there by Cuba President Raul Castro. The cost of the port redevelopment effort is just over $900 million.