A look inside La Casa del Habano, the global chain of Cuban cigar stores

<p style="text-align: justify;">David Savona. If you’re in the market for rare and unusual Cuban smokes you need to seek out the official chain of worldwide Cuban cigar stores known as La Casa del Habano. Created 20 years ago in Cancún, Mexico, these stores (there were 135 at press time) are not only the first in their respective countries to receive Cuba’s latest Edición Limitadas, they’re the first to get special new smokes. To get a sense of what this singular resource has to offer, we perused the current stocks of many of the cigar world’s finer Casas. Read More

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Let Cuba Live film forum

<p style="text-align: justify;">Sep 22, 2011. Saul Landau's latest film, "Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand Up?", will be screened Thursday, Sept. 29 at Rockland's Lincoln Street Center for Arts and Education. Rockland — Let Cuba Live will screen "Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand Up?" Thursday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. at Lincoln Street Center for Arts and Education, 24 Lincoln St., followed by discussion. Read More

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US Blockade Hurts Cuban Telecommunications

<p style="text-align: justify;">By: Osmany González Tocabens. Havana, Sep 21 (Prensa Latina) The U.S. blockade of Cuba has cost the Cuban telecommunications industry more than seven billion USD in losses in the last year alone, created obstacles to the purchase of hardware and software, and hindered Cubans' ability to surf the Internet. Read More

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Entrepreneurs Emerge As Cuba Loosens Control

<p style="text-align: justify;">By Nick Miroff. Since Cuba's communist government loosened its grip on the economy, thousands of small private businesses have sprung up.It's a new frontier for budding capitalists, but competition is fierce and advertising is still tightly restricted.Snack bars and food stalls are now all over Havana, but there aren't many as distinctive as Tio Tito, or Uncle Tito. The first thing you notice is the uniformed employees, scrambling to serve up Hawaiian pizzas and fruit drinks as music videos play on a monitor behind the counter. Read More

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Drilling off Keys to begin by December

<p style="text-align: justify;">keysreporter.com.BY DAVID GOODHUE. A giant, semi-submersible oil rig en route from Singapore will probably be drilling in the Florida Straits between Key West and Cuba in mid-December. The rig could arrive earlier, but Repsol, the Spanish oil company, wants to wait until after hurricane season ends before it begins drilling. This latest report on the progress of the Italian-made Scarabeo 9 oil rig comes from Lee Hunt, the chief executive of the International Association of Drilling Contractors, who just returned from a trip to Cuba last week as part of a joint delegation with the environmental group, the Environmental Defense Fund. Read More

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Raul Castro Welcomes Presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia

<p style="text-align: justify;">By: Dayami Interián García.Havana, Sep 18 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Raul Castro welcomed the Presidents of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, and Bolivia, Evo Morales, at the Jose Marti International Airport, it was reported Sunday. Read More

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Coming back to Cuba

<p style="text-align: justify;">Americans can visit the Caribbean island –finally –and if you go, you’ll find unique food, history, music and natural beauty. September 18, 2011, 6:37 AM. HAVANA, Cuba – The mojitos were in our hands, and we could see the shimmering blue of the Caribbean.But this was no ordinary island vacation.Television cameras whirred while a group of Americans checked into Havana’s stately Hotel Nacional, as history was being made – by us. Read More

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How has Cuba protected its population against dengue and other infectious diseases?

<p style="text-align: justify;">José A. de la Osa. HOW has Cuba protected its own citizens and travelers from diverse countries around the world from infectious disease? Granma sought an answer from Ministry of Public Health specialists in hygiene and epidemiology, who responded: Thirty years after the introduction of the hemorrhagic dengue virus into the country by unscrupulous individuals from the United States, which has cost the lives of 158 Cubans, including 101 children, the commitment of the revolutionary government and strict adherence to preventative measures has assured today that 26 so-called infectious diseases have been totally limited or are under control, through our vaccination program and a strong National System of Vigilance and Epidemiological Management. Read More

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A Housing Market, Cuba Style

<p style="text-align: justify;">By Overseas Property Mall Created: Sep 15, 2011. I’m standing at a shaded corner in Central Havana, Cuba, with many others, all of us looking as shady as our surroundings. Someone comes up to me asking “what are you offering” to break the ice. Where am I? You would be forgiven for thinking I am on the run, trying to buy papers to get across the border; but actually, all I am doing is trying to buy a house. Housing stock, which was already deteriorating before the revolution, continued to decline. As the U.S. embargo choked off building supplies, existing stock deteriorated quicker, and new construction failed to keep up with demand. Read More

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Cuba hits back at Richardson over failed visit

<p style="text-align: justify;">AP. By PAUL HAVEN. Associated Press.HAVANA (AP) — Cuba accused former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson of "blackmail" and slander on Wednesday, denying his claims that he was invited to the island to negotiate the release of a jailed American government subcontractor. In an exclusive interview with the Associated Press, the Foreign Ministry's head of North American affairs, Josefina Vidal, said Cuba closed the door on Richardson's request to even see imprisoned Maryland-native Alan Gross only after the American politician described him as a "hostage," in an interview with AP. Read More

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