On the day before Juanes leads his mega concert in Havana the question on many minds is: Is It Just a Concert? The singer has not been intimidated by death threats from the violent segment of the Cuban-American exile community.
Read More“We are satisfied with the holding of this first meeting, which made it possible to examine the subjects that hinder the normalization of postal services between Cuba and the United States,” said Josefina Vidal Ferreiro, a representative of the Foreign Ministry and head of the Cuban delegation to the talks on the reestablishment of direct postal services, held in the island’s capital.
Read MoreThe governing Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) reshuffled another two of its top representatives, this time in the provinces of Villa Clara (central Cuba) and Matanzas (western), reported IPS. This week changes were also made in the western provinces of Pinar del Río and City of Havana.
Read MoreA Boulder, Colorado company was the latest to be fined as a violator of the US blockade on Cuba. Technically speaking, Platte River Associates, was punished for “trading with the enemy,” and fined US $14,500 “for working on a project that involved Cuba.”
Read MoreThe Cuban Music Institute explained on Friday the reasons this Sunday’s concert featuring Juanes and numerous top Cuban and foreign artists takes place in the afternoon. The promoters had asked for the concert to begin at 2:00 p.m. EST so it could be broadcast live in Europe.
Read MoreBrazilian President will once again speak with his US counterpart Barack Obama on the subject of US blockade against Cuba. On Monday, Obama signed an order maintaining the blockade for another year. The two leaders will meet next week at the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, reported IPS.
Read MoreRepresentatives of Cuba and the United States were set to meet Thursday in Havana to discuss the reopening of direct mail between the two nations, broken off in 1963, reported IPS quoting Sara A. Mangiaracina a State Dept. spokesperson. It’s estimated that a fourth of all mail from Cuba has the United States as its destination.
Read MoreCuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, said on Wednesday that the United States blockade against Cuba is being “maintained intact” under the administration of Barack Obama, who nevertheless has the “historic opportunity” to eliminate that policy in effect for almost half a century.
Read MoreThe Cuban Communist Party leadership in the capital city designated Lazara Mercedes Lopez as the new First Secretary of the Party in Havana, replacing Pedro Saez, who held the post for the last six years. At the time of her appointment to the powerful position Lopez, 45, a forestry engineer, was a member of the Communist Party Central Committee Secretariat.
Read MoreLifting the travel restrictions on Cuban-Americans and their ability to send remittances or packages to Cuba repairs “a grave injustice” to that population but has “a very limited reach” as far as rapprochement between the United States and Cuba, noted Cuban representatives at the United Nations.
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