'Spruce up' blitz for Cuba Mall

<p style="text-align: justify;">Monday, 21 March 2011, 9:42 am. Press Release: Wellington City Council. 21 March 2011. 'Spruce up' blitz for Cuba MallWellington City Council workers will be in Cuba Mall from 7am to 2pm today helping to 'spruce up' and remove graffiti in the mall and the Left Bank. Read More

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Official daily reports on Private business helps youth

<p style="text-align: justify;">The 171,000 new self-employment licenses issued by the Cuban government as of March 11 are benefiting tens of thousands of youth who would otherwise go without education or jobs, says an article in the Sunday edition of Communist Youth daily Juventud Rebelde.Private business still&nbsp; ”searches for its exact dimensions within the strategic design of the Cuban economy,” the article says. Read More

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KLM to Havana

<p style="text-align: justify;">KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will launch thrice-weekly service to José Martí International Airport on Cuba with effect from its 2011 winter schedule starting 31 October. Cuba will then become KLM’s 68th intercontinental destination.Havana is still a banned destination from the USA and has limited services from Europe, including a three times per week single class nine-hour Boeing 767 operation by KLM subsidiary Martinair from Schiphol. Virgin Atlantic flies weekly from Gatwick. Read More

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Fighting the emergence of banana diseases in the Caribbean

<p style="text-align: justify;">16/03/2011 - The Cabaré project, which was launched recently, has as its objective the dissemination in the Caribbean of new banana varieties free of any phytosanitary risks. CIRAD is coordinating the project, funded by the Interreg IV Caribbean programme, in partnership with three research organizations in Cuba and another in the Dominican Republic.Banana and plantain play a key role in food security and the socioeconomic balance of the whole of the Caribbean. Read More

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Cuba Hosts Activities Marking Int’l Year of Afro-Descendants

<p style="text-align: justify;">2011.03.21 - 13:03:02 /radiorebelde.HAVANA, CUBA.- Diplomats and personalities from the fields of culture and social research met in Havana over the weekend as part of activities to celebrate the United Nations International Year of Afro-Descendants.The meeting, organized by the Caribbean Association of Cuba (ACC), brought together the ambassadors from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,.. Read More

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The greening of Havana

<p style="text-align: justify;">An Irish cultural week helped forged even stronger connections in the Cuban capital, Havana, this month PERHAPS IT was just the heat, but, as Iarla Ó Lionáird lifted his voice into the rafters of Havana’s venerable Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis, we felt a shiver run down our spines. To hear Ó Lionáird’s sean nós fill the vast, dim space above our heads, here in the heart of Habana vieja (Old Havana) where music is so vital, was to feel a momentary swell of tír grá. And the standing ovation it received from an attentive Cuban audience confirmed that Ó Lionáird’s nuanced laments touched an emotional chord even for those not raised on its sound. Read More

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Cuba condemns foreign military intervention in Libya

<p style="text-align: justify;">March 21, 2011. The Cuban government issued a statement here Sunday night expressing its "strong condemnation" of the foreign military intervention in Libya's internal conflict.The statement also pushed for dialogue and negotiation, and supported the "inalienable right of the Libyan people to exercise self-determination without external interference." Read More

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Prime Minister stresses for stronger Pakistan-Cuba ties

<p style="text-align: justify;">21/03/11&nbsp; ISLAMABAD -Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Monday, stressing for stronger ties between Pakistan and Cuba, called for adding substance to them, particularly in economic and commercial fields, by capitalizing over the huge reservoir of goodwill that exists among their peoples. Read More

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171,000 New Permits for Private Employment

<p style="text-align: justify;">marta sanchez.Havana, Mar 20 (Prensa Latina) Authorities had granted 171,000 new permits for private employment as of March 11, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.In the Cuban capital, young people are joining this sector in making and selling food, selling a variety of items, and in trades like hairdressing, the newspaper Juventud Rebelde reported Sunday. Read More

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Clinton cautious on US contractor jailed in Cuba

<p style="text-align: justify;"><br /> WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States is seeking to avoid moves that could jeopardize a US contractor from being released from Cuba after receiving a 15-year prison sentence, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was quoted as saying Sunday. Read More

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