News

The Catholic magazine Espacio Laical considered it strategic to “provide political trust and contribute, critically, to the construction of a new social pact that articulates the diversity of criteria,” through a greater participation of citizenry. That publication expressed in an editorial its trust in the intentions of President Raul Castro of “articulating a road to national conciliation,” but warned about the obstacles faced by the reconstruction of consensus on the island.

The flow of Cuban emigrants to Ecuador stopped in 2010, after the measures taken by that country’s government to face the fraudulent marriages and the corruption in immigration procedures, affirmed Ricardo Patiño, that South American country’s foreign minister, reported IPS.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez asked the Organization of American States (OAS) to “stop carrying out actions outside its mandate that violate Haitian sovereignty,” while he called on the United Nations Blue Helmets to abide by their mandate in that Caribbean nation, where more than a thousand Cuban health professionals are deployed. In statements to the press in Quito, Rodríguez denied that former Haitian President Bertrand Aristide is in Cuban territory, reported IPS.

Cuban President Raúl Castro urged the members of the Council of Ministers to take into consideration the population’s opinions regarding the new measures being taken by the government as part of the plan for the “updating” of the island’s economic system, reported IPS.

The Sol Palmeras Hotel, located in Varadero beach resort, was awarded the Travelife Gold Prize by the Thomas Cook international tour operator for its environmental management, according to Benigno Pérez, marketing and sales director of the Sol Meliá Cuba division, the Spanish company that manages that tourist installation, reported IPS.

A Havana court sentenced several personnel including the director of the Havana Psychiatric Hospital to prison terms of 5 to 15 years for the deaths of 26 patients a year ago, informed an official Cuban news service on Monday.

The urban and suburban agriculture program in Cuba began working on obtaining seeds more resistant to the island’s weather conditions, Adolfo Rodríguez Nodals, head of the National Group that organizes that activity, announced. The Caribbean nation is also trying to replace 75 per cent of the lettuce seed imports, reported IPS.

Cuba cannot use more than 16 per cent of the water in its reservoirs due to the bad state or the non-conclusion of many irrigation systems, Aymée Aguirre Hernández, vice president of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, recognized. The island has eight billion cubic meters of water in its reservoirs, reported IPS.

Former Cuban President Fidel Castro blamed the United States for the fall of Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and the mass demonstrations in Egypt, in one of his usual Reflections. According to the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Washington backed neoliberalism in Tunisia and turned Cairo into its principal ally among Arab states, reported IPS.