The labor reform in the state sector, which will represent the laying off of half a million persons by the end of March, begins today in Cuba in the ministries of the sugar industry, agriculture, construction, public health and tourism, announced Salvador Valdés, general secretary of the Central Organization of Cuban Trade Unions, the only union organization in the country.
Read MoreThe U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 16 Cuban emigrants intercepted at sea close to Bahamas when they were attempting to reach the United States on a speedboat, according to Coast Guard sources. Three persons suspected of trafficking in persons were detained as part of the interception.
Read MoreCuban priests of the Yoruba religion in charge of announcing the predictions of the “Letter of the Year” coincided that 2011 will be a period of organization in the island, in tune with the reforms announced by the Raúl Castro government, the press accredited in this capital reported. The Commission of the Letter of the Year as well as the Yoruba Association of Cuba interpreted that Oggun, the patron of blacksmiths and the military, will be the ruling deity in the next 12 months.
Read More“The Cuban economy will get rid of the padding, inefficiency and formalism which has permeated it for years” with the reforms announced by the Raul Castro government, which will be discussed during the April congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, said Roberto Verrier Castro, president of the National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba.
Read MoreIn contrast to politicians, “culture brings people together,” noted Wynton Marsalis, 49, in an interview with 60-Minutes on his recent trip to Cuba heading up the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
Read MoreCuba now has 15 provinces instead of 14 as new demarcations took effect with the New Year. The Isle of Youth is still considered a Special Municipality. The old La Habana province that surrounded the City of Havana was divided into two new provinces: Artemisa and Mayabeque. Meanwhile, the City of Havana became simply Havana.
According to the National Statistics Office the largest province territory wise is Camaguey followed by Matanzas and Holguin while the City of Havana (2,141,652) has the largest population followed by Santiago de Cuba (1,047,015) and Holguin (1,037,161).
Read MoreCardinal Jaime Ortega included “a prayer for the good running of this renovating process for the good of all our people,” in his homily for the start of 2011 and the celebration of World Peace Day, when referring to the economic reforms announced by the government of Raúl Castro. The cardinal urged the Christian community to get involved in the process through “our critical ability to express clearly our differences or point out everything we think should be changed”.
Read MoreCuba closed 2010 with an infant mortality rate of 4.5 per 1,000 live births, the lowest in its history, the island’s state-run press reported. Last year also concluded with a birth rate decrease, since there were 2,326 less births than in 2009, which confirms the tendency toward a population reduction in the Caribbean island nation.
Read MoreThe Ladies in White, wives and relatives of Cuban political prisoners, expressed their hope that the 11 dissidents still in prison, out of those imprisoned in 2003, will be released this year, in statements to the press accredited on the island. Meanwhile, Cardinal Jaime Ortega expressed his “moral certainty” that these and others imprisoned for political reasons will be released in coming months.
Read MoreCuba will present its cooperation initiatives in the educational area, especially those linked to teaching adults how to read and write, during the Pedagogy 2011 International Congress, to be held in the Cuban capital next January 24-28, sources from the Organizing Committee announced. More than 3,000 educational professionals from the five continents will attend the event,.
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