News

A delegation from the European Commission (EC) concluded Wednesday an 11-day visit to Cuba to identify, along with Cuban authorities, priorities and methods of cooperation for an initial agreement of over US $30 million, reported IPS. In a joint declaration Stefano Manservisi, director general for Development of the European Commission and Ricardo Guerrero, deputy minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Collaboration, said the cooperation will take place primarily in the areas hit by the recent hurricanes.

Cuban President Raul Castro told actor Sean Penn in an exclusive interview for The Nation magazine that he would be willing to meet with President-elect Barack Obama, seeking to improve the half century of poor relations between the United States and Cuba.

The Ibero-American Network on Masculinity holds a workshop in Havana on Tuesday on the construction of masculinity related to topics such as sexuality, sports, music, culture and migration. The event is part of activities in Cuba on the International Day against Gender Violence, coordinated by several Cuban non-governmental organizations and institutions.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, will travel to Cuba in February 2009, reported IPS on Monday. Bachelet will be Chile’s first president to visit Cuba since the 1972 trip of Salvador Allende, a year before he was overthrown by a US backed military coup.

Russian companies will participate in the search for oil in Cuba’s exclusive zone in the Gulf of Mexico, reported IPS. Mikhail Kamyin, the Russian ambassador to Havana, also announced that Norilsk Nickel, one of the world’s largest mining firms, wants to build a Ferro-nickel plant in Cuba.

Russian President Dimitri Medvedev is scheduled to visit Cuba starting November 27, as part of a Latin American tour that will also include Venezuela and Brazil.

Bolivian President Evo Morales said Saturday in La Paz that it might be necessary to create a new Organization of American States (OAS) that includes Cuba, if the United States continues to block the island from returning to the existing organization. Morales said such a new OAS would exclude the US. At Washington’s insistence Cuba was expelled from the OAS in 1962.

Jackets and sweaters were dusted off in mid-November as Cuba has seen several days of unusually cool temperatures throughout the country. On Thursday thermometers dipped to as low as 9.9 Celsius in Isabel Rubio, Pinar Rio and ranged from 10 in Indio Hatuey, 12.2 in Santa Lucia, 12.3 in San Juan y Martinez, 12.9 in the city of Pinar del Rio and 13.2 in Ciego de Avila. The Casablanca weather station in Havana registered a cool maximum temperature of 19.8 Celsius on Wednesday.

Venezuelan individuals and institutions have donated more than four million dollars to Cuba for the recovery effort in areas affected by Hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Paloma, reported IPS. The money has been used for the purchase of food, toiletries, mattresses and other supplies. Likewise, the small Caribbean Island nation of Saint Lucia also sent food, clothes, building materials and two electric generators.

Chinese President Hu Jintao concluded his official visit to Cuba on Wednesday, boarding his Air China plane for Lima, Peru to continue his five-nation trip. He will attend the Economic Leaders Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Cooperation Organization (APEC) scheduled for Nov. 22-23, reported www.chinaview.cn.

The Chinese government approved a new credit for US $70 million to Cuba for the reconstruction of hospitals damaged by the three hurricanes that hit the island in recent months. Beijing also postponed the payment of two pending debits from the last decade, reported IPS.