News

Cuba Needs “Young Blood”, says singer

The Cuban Revolution “needs change” and “young blood, who trust all those compatriots who made it possible,” said Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez in statements to the press in Asunción, Paraguay. Silviohas continuously suggested that the Cuban government should rescind the expensive and sometimes difficult to obtain exit visa required for Cubans to travel abroad.

Read More

Ownership Issue Raised Anew

The formula of giving land to agricultural producers should be extended to other sectors such as retail trade, said journalist Ariel Terrero, a specialist in economic issues of Cuba’s state-run television. According to Terrero, the diversity of forms of production makes it necessary to raise again the topic of forms of ownership in the Caribbean country.

Read More

Cuba Blockade Remains Intact

The U.S. blockade against Cuba remains intact “in political as well as practical terms,” said Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on Tuesday when reporting to a legislative committee at the Havana Convention Center. He noted that in 2008 alone, the US blockade cost the Caribbean country US $3 billion in losses.

Read More

US Cuts Honduran Officials Visas

“This is an incredibly important step,” said Vicki Gass, a Honduras specialist at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). “It reminds the de facto government that the coup d’etat remains unacceptable that they will have to restore Zelaya to power as part of a broader negotiated solution.”

Read More

Cuba to Slash Budget Further

The impact of the global financial crisis on the economy in Cuba was a major focus of a speech Sunday by President Raul Castro, who confirmed that further “adjustments” will be made to this year’s budget.

Read More

US Turns Off Ticker in Cuba

The US Interests Section in Havana suspended the broadcasting of messages on its electronic sign with red lettering that it has kept on its façade for several years. The ticker, considered highly offensive by the Cuban government, was a symbol of the tense relations during the Bush administration.

Read More

Cuban Blogger Wins Prize in US

Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez obtained one of the medals of the 2009 Maria Moors Cabot Prize, awarded by Columbia University, reported IPS. Havana Times did not participate in the contest.

Read More

Obama Lowers Hopes on Cuba Ties

US President Barack Obama ruled out that his government will make new opening gestures in its Cuba policy until the island’s authorities show progress in civil and political freedoms, according to the president’s statements to journalists in the White House over the weekend.

Read More