News

The government of South Africa offered a 30-million-dollar credit to Cuba, while cancelling debts in the chemical and automotive sectors, the press reported after the meeting between representatives of the business sector of both countries, held in the island’s capital, reported IPS. Cuba is credited for playing a significant role in the toppling of the Apartheid government in South Africa over two decades ago, as well as in the Independence struggles of several other African nations.

U.S. agent Alan Gross has become a hostage of the Cuban government, said The Washington Post daily in an editorial. The newspaper questioned the continued imprisonment of Gross, whom the Cuban authorities accuse of espionage, reported IPS. Gross has yet to formally accused and tried in a Cuban court for illegal activities allegedly financed by US AID.

Cuban President Raúl Castro will visit El Salvador as soon as the corresponding agreements are made through diplomatic channels, affirmed Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, who is on a visit to that Central American country. The trip would respond to a similar one made to the island by Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes, who re-established bilateral diplomatic relations after he came to power.

Representatives from Cuba and South Africa will conclude today in this capital a business forum with the aim of strengthening economic relations in areas such as construction, energy, mining, agriculture and the pharmaceutical medical industry, reported IPS. The event is being attended by South African President Jacob Zuma, who yesterday was decorated with the José Martí Order.

The 90-game Cuban Baseball League starts its third three-game series on Tuesday. After the initial six games Sancti Spiritus and La Habana lead the standings in the West with identical 5-1 records. Meanwhile in the Eastern division Guantanamo and Ciego de Avila share the top spot with 4-2 records.

Pope Benedict XVI is “very satisfied and very aware” of the mediation of the Cuban Catholic Church, which has brought about the release of dozens of political prisoners, Cardinal Ortega affirmed in statements to the foreign press accredited on the island. Ortega assured that the releases will continue, although the government’s four-month deadline to conclude them expired in November.

Cuban President Raúl Castro attended the Hanukah or the “Festivity of Lights,” a festivity celebrated by the small Jewish community on the island, reported IPS. The president took advantage of his visit to the venue of the Hebrew Council to call on the island’s population to join the debate on the guidelines of the next Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, to be held in April 2011.

The Cuban government will carry out investments in the construction materials industry to improve the production capacities of each factory, Deputy Minister of Construction Jorge Luis Rodríguez affirmed. According to the official, the objective is also to guarantee that the population has access to products so they can build new housing and repair the ones that already exist with their own effort.