The government of Spain will try to replace the current so called Common Position, in force since 1996 as the European Union’s framework for relations with Cuba, during the first half of 2010, when it takes over the presidency of the bloc of 27 countries, affirmed Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.
Read MoreCuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez described the UN Conference on Climate Change, held in Copenhagen, as an “anti-democratic farce.” In statements to the press in the island’s capital, Rodriguez strongly criticized countries such as the United States and Great Britain for their interest in approving an agreement which in the end was only taken note of due to several nations’ opposition.
Read MoreThe U.S. government will continue helping “those who are working for a positive change” in Cuba, affirmed Charles Luoma-Overstreet, spokesperson of the Department of State for Latin America. The official said that the U.S. would continue promoting an improvement in the human rights conditions and greater freedoms for the Cubans.
Read MoreA new planetarium donated by Japan opened its doors in Plaza Vieja of the Cuban capital’s historic center. The installation will propose a tour through the history of the universe since the Big Bang, 13,700 million years ago.
Read MoreSunday turned out to be a flashback of the 80s. Many younger people sported bellbottoms and “speldrums” (Afros), while the older crowd dressed up like they did almost 30 years ago. They left their homes ready to jungle boogie and hum to the lyrics of the famous group Kool and the Gang, who they would see live in Havana for the first time.
Read MoreThe Cuban parliament elected seven new members to the 31-member Council of State, Cuba’s top governing body, on Sunday. Two were elected to vice president’s status, Ramiro Valdes Menendez, also the Minister of Communications and Informatics and VP of the Council of State, and Gladis Bejerano Portela, the new Cuban Comptroller.
Read MoreThere are too many issues in Cuba than deserve intensive, probing, critical assessment and debate to move the country forward toward socialism; Yoani Sanchez Inc.’s explicit championing of a push to move Cuba back to capitalism is not one of these.
Read MoreRelaxing strict housing and vehicle laws that allow only quasi ownership; the near impossibility of legally starting a small business; and the perennially unpopular exit visa law were once again heard in people’s homes, jobs and on the streets prior to the meeting. Likewise, the possibility of a single Cuban currency. In the end the Assembly met, but there was no reported movement on any of these issues. Instead, President Raul Castro set the tone for more hardship to come.
Read MoreA decrease in work productivity was registered in 2009, mainly caused by the “superfluous or excess use of payrolls in many of the country’s activities,” admitted Osvaldo Martínez, chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee of the National Assembly (parliament).
Read MoreCuba’s Gross Domestic Product will grow 1.9 in 2010, according to the state budget law approved by the National Assembly of People’s Power (parliament). According to official data, the island’s economy grew 1.4 per cent in 2009.
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