More Construction Materials for the Cuban People

<p style="text-align: justify;">By: Raquel Maria Garcia Alvarez. 00:08Havana, Jul 29 (Prensa Latina) The Cuban Government has reaffirmed that the amount and quality of construction materials to the population will be increased. The announcement was made during a meeting of the Permanent Committee on Industry and Construction Works prior to the plenary of the seventh period of sessions of the National Assembly of the People´s Power to be held as of August 1st. During her speech, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade Odalys Escandel admitted the need to overcome deficiencies in the work of that ministry regarding the sale of these materials. Read More

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Venezuela, Cuba Lead Medals Table in ALBA Games

<p style="text-align: justify;">By: Osmany González Tocabens. 10:24Caracas, Jul 29 (Prensa Latina) Venezuela and Cuba are leading the medals table of the 4th ALBA Games with 142 golds each, as the tournament entered its second to last day of competition on Friday. For the first time since the ALBA Games began on July 17, the host delegation was not alone at the top of the medals table. Read More

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Cuban tourism up 10.6 percent, U.S. travel stable

<p style="text-align: justify;">By Marc Frank. HAVANA | Sat Jul 30, 2011 12:39am IST. HAVANA (Reuters) - The Cuban tourism industry performed strongly through June as arrivals from just about all travel providers increased and the number of U.S. visitors was stable, according to a government report released on Friday. Tourist arrivals during the first half of the year were 1.538 million, up 10.6 percent over the same period in 2010, the National Statistics Office reported on its website (http:www.one.cu). Read More

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Racism is still an issue in Cuba

<p style="text-align: justify;">Friday, Jul. 29, 2011. Juan O. Tamayo. The Miami Herald. Each morning before the sun rises too high, Cubans gather at a shaded corner in central Havana, mingling as though at a cocktail party. The icebreaker is always the same: "What are you offering?" WASHINGTON — The Cuban government will soon cast a media spotlight on the issue of racism on the island, although some programs to improve the lives of black Cubans had to be cut because of economic restraints, a Havana official said Thursday. Read More

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Cuban Parliamentarians Discuss Efficiency and Quality of Health Services

<p style="text-align: justify;">HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 29 (acn) The results of recent transformations in the Cuban health system in the interest of improving quality and efficiency, were analyzed on Friday by the members of the Sports and Health Commission of the Cuban National Assembly (Parliament) at Havana's Convention Center. Public Health Minister Roberto Morales explained that today's circumstances and the increase of cooperation with other sister nations led Cuba to re-organize its health services to maintain good quality levels and to reduce costs. Read More

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Cuban-Americans fret over travel restrictions home

<p style="text-align: justify;">AP.By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ - AP Hispanic Affairs Writer. MIAMI (AP) — Sonia Rodriguez whipped up milk-and-espresso drinks at the Latin American Grill as talk turned to a new push in Congress to tighten restrictions on travel to Cuba. Like growing numbers of Cuban-Americans, she's worried about the U.S. reinstating strict limits on how often she can visit relatives and even how much money can be sent to loved ones on the island. Read More

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Cuba visits by way of El Paso

<p style="text-align: justify;">By David Steinberg / Journal Staff Writer on Fri, Jul 29, 2011. Team Havana is a band from El Paso, but the main musical roots of its seven members are in the capital of Cuba. The members are from Havana, where salsa was everywhere. David Rodriguez, the leader of the band, said that some of the players learned to play the music as the children of percussionists. The other members, besides listening to the music around them, formally studied in music conservatories. Rodriguez himself studied the bass in school. Read More

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Hear My Nectar! Dish-Shaped Leaves Attract Bats

<p style="text-align: justify;"><br /> A photo montage show a flowering vesrion of Marcgravia evenia and an approaching Cuban nectar-feeding bat.Ralph Mangelsdorff and Ralph Simon.It's the acoustic version of a bright, showy flower: A Cuban vine attracts pollinating bats to its nectar not with color, but by posting a dish-shaped leaf over its flowers. The leaf reflects sounds in ways that draw the attention of echolocating bats, according research published today in Science. The hemispherically shaped leaves halve the time it takes for bats to find nectar, compared to the flat leaves that line the rest of the vine, according to the researcher's experiments. Read More

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In Havana, no one likes Barack much anymore

<p style="text-align: justify;">By Achy Obejas. Jul. 28, 2011. A visitor from the U.S. in Havana will, eventually and undoubtedly, be asked, “What’s going on with your president?” The debt ceiling chaos overtaking Washington right now isn’t what baffles the Cubans. The very idea of a debt ceiling mystifies them, especially since Cuba lives on debt, and things like the national budget are not really discussed in much detail here. In fact, Cubans seem generally convinced the Washington mess is mostly theater and that all will work out – whatever it is that has to work out – before the Aug. 2 deadline. My constant concern with finding out what was going on back home did little but amuse them. Read More

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Food imports put Cuban reforms at risk

<p style="text-align: justify;">HAVANA, July 28 (UPI) -- High food imports are putting Cuban economic reforms at risk because of the drain they pose on foreign exchange resources.The government sounded warnings about rising food commodities import bills after it emerged that while Vietnam, the lead exporter, saw earnings rise from rice sales to Cuba, Havana's&nbsp; state trade sector wasn't too pleased about the situation.Cuban President Raul Castro has been exhorting Cubans to become self-reliant and has laid off of tens of thousands of government employees to cut state spending and signal his readiness to accept a gradual shift toward a market-oriented economy. Read More

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