News

Cuban authorities are preparing for international tourism in general and maintain their calculations for 2009, which don’t include a possible avalanche of visitors from the United States, reported IPS on Tuesday.

A bipartisan group of twenty-two U.S. senators and interest groups is backing a bill that would end the travel ban on US citizens wishing to visit Cuba. The ‘Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act’ was introduced Tuesday by Senators Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat and Michael Enzi, a Republican from Wyoming.

Three weeks before the 5th Americas Summit in Trinidad and Tobago on April 17-19, the Obama administration continues to dodge the possibility of significant change in the US policy on Cuba, based on an economic blockade and travel ban.

The 10th Havana Biennial begins five weeks of art exhibitions and related activities on Friday at numerous venues in the Cuban capital. The main headquarters of the Biennial is the San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress where composer and recording artist X Alfonso will give an opening night concert.

A campaign in Cuba against homophobia designed for and by young people began this Thursday with a lecture-debate by sexologist Mariela Castro, director of the National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX).

The 7th Humberto Solas International Non-Budget Film Festival takes place April 13-19 in the small coastal city of Gibara, Holguin in northeastern Cuba. Gibara was hard hit by Hurricane Ike on September 7, 2008, and work has continued non-stop every since to repair housing and other damaged infrastructure.

The exposition Chelsea Visits Havana, a show of 39 works including paintings, sculptures and installations from New York galleries will be on display at the Fine Arts Museum in the Cuban capital from March 28 to May 17.

One of Cuba’s leading television sports commentators announcing the Japan-Korea championship game of the 2nd World Baseball Classic on Monday said he thought it would be a good idea if local TV broadcast the Japanese League games so the island’s players and fans could familiarize themselves with their style of baseball.

Over the past few weeks we have been working on a version of Havana Times which can be accessed on mobile devices and it is ready now. You can reach our site on your phone by typing either www.havanatimes.org or mippin.com/havanatimes into the browser URL bar, just as you do on your PC browser to see any website. This service, which is powered by mippin.com, shows a mobile version of Havana Times adaptable to your phone features.

Travel agents in Florida that would like to book trips to Cuba got a boost on Friday when the US Justice Department officially opposed a Florida Law that imposed huge obstacles to their businesses. The Obama administration has stated it is reviewing its Cuba policy and there is currently a bill making its way through the House of Representatives (HR874) that would free all US citizens to travel to Cuba.