Cuban Yipsi Moreno Sets Record in Athletics Grand Prix

<p style="text-align: justify;">2011.05.21 - 13:52:48 / radiorebelde.icrt.cu. Havana, Cuba.- Cuban hammer thrower Yipsi Moreno, Beijing 2008 Olympic silver medalist, made a 72.89 meter throw on Wednesday at the in Uberlandia, Brazil, a record for the event.Moreno, also a world runner-up in Berlin 2009, achieved that record in her first attempt, and broke her previous benchmark for this type of competition (70.50 meters) which was established on May 6, 2007 in the same South American city, the event’s Web site reported. Read More

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Cuba Latest Hot Spot for Tourism

<p style="text-align: justify;">Cuba’s recent tourist show in Havana opened with officials saying the country welcomed 2.5 million international visitors last year, a 4.2 percent increase from 2009. In the first four months of the year, arrivals have gone up almost 12 percent.One major reason is that the US government has cut travel restrictions there for American visitors.Cuba currently prohibits foreign ownership of real estate but leaders there say they are considering granting medium-to-long-term leases, a move which would add to more tourist interest. Read More

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Govt delegation leaves for Cuba

<p style="text-align: justify;">2011-05-21 12:06. Johannesburg - A government delegation left for Cuba on Saturday to finalise a visa waiver agreement for officials and diplomats, the department of home affairs said."The finalisation of this agreement enabled holders of diplomatic and official passports to travel to the respective countries for a period of 90 days without visas," said spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa in a statement. Read More

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Prompting Cubans to Think and Talk

<p style="text-align: justify;">HAVANA, May 20, 2011 (IPS) - "I talk to deal with problems. In Cuba, there is too much formal, repetitive discourse and not enough directed at people, with their anxieties and joys," said Manuel Calviño, the host and writer of a television programme that tries not to add to that deficit.Calviño, a psychologist, university professor and excellent communicator, uses his weekly Friday programme, "Vale la pena" ("It’s Worth It"), to provoke his viewers and make them think about issues that impact the individual, family and society. Read More

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Cuban Tres Declared National Heritage

<p style="text-align: justify;">2011.05.20 - 13:51:41 / radiorebelde.icrt.cu. Cuban Tres Declared National Heritage.SANTIAGO DE CUBA.- The tres, a Cuban guitar-looking instrument with three pairs of strings, was declared National Heritage on Thursday during the 15th International Festival Cubadisco 2011 underway in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba.Present in the ceremony, which was open to the public, were Cuban Culture Minister Abel Prieto Jimenez, the first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party in Santiago de Cuba, and artists participating in the festival of the Cuban record industry. Read More

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Sexual Diversity in a Sexist City

<p style="text-align: justify;">By Dalia Acosta. SANTIAGO DE CUBA, May 19, 2011 (IPS) - Known as the cradle of the revolution and of the conga, but also as one of the most machista places in Cuba, the city of Santiago in the east of the island was the scene of two days of activities demanding respect and freedom for different sexual orientations and gender identities.Panels, debates, workshops and other awareness-raising exercises were joined by the Conga de los Hoyos, a famous local carnival group, which paraded down several blocks of downtown Santiago Tuesday followed by a crowd of hundreds of people, some waving Cuban and rainbow flags, others frowning and gesturing their disapproval. Read More

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Expanded U.S. farm exports to Cuba on horizon

<p style="text-align: justify;">Cary Blake. The U.S. exported $4 billion in farm products, mostly feed stuffs, to Cuba from 2002 to 2008 – mostly corn, wheat, soybeans, and soybean meal;Fresh California table grapes were shipped to Cuba over the last several years – 2010 shipments included 17,404&nbsp; 19-pound boxes.Tense' might best describe the political relationship between the United States and Cuba over the last 50 years. Yet, expanded efforts by both governments over the last decade suggest that U.S. farm exports could increase to the Caribbean island. Read More

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Quang Liem granted International Super-grandmaster title

<p style="text-align: justify;">VietNamNet Bridge – While playing very well at the Capablanca Memorial 2011 chess tournament in Cuba, Vietnam’s top chess player, Le Quang Liem gained higher Elo to enter the world’s 40 international super-grandmaster of chess.This title is granted to chess players whose Elo is at least 2,700. Quang Liem is the 40th player in the world and the fourth in Asia winning the title.At the 7th game of the chess tournament to commemorate late-chess legend Capablance, Quang Liem, tied with current U20 world champion Andreikin (Russia). After seven games, Quang Liem now takes the lead, with no failure, totaling 4.5 points. Read More

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USF's hopes renewed by court's interest in Cuba ban

<p style="text-align: justify;">By LINDSAY PETERSON | The Tampa Tribune. May 18, 2011. Updated: May 20, 2011 - 11:07 AM. TAMPA. University research projects in a dozen disciplines came to a halt in Florida five years ago when the state Legislature passed what amounted to a ban on academic trips to Cuba.The state ban held even when the Obama administration announced in January it was relaxing federal rules on travel to Cuba.But Florida academic researchers allowed their hopes rise this week when they heard the U.S. Supreme Court had invited the administration to file a brief in a case challenging Florida's 2006 law. Read More

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Keystone project of big water system completed in time

<p style="text-align: justify;">Construction of a dam at the Mayarí river in eastern Cuba is nearing completion, and a reservoir will soon be ready to be flooded, Granma reported.The 630 million-cubic meter Melones reservoir is the keystone project of a complex and costly water supply system that will connect the water-rich Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa watersheds with the city of Holguín, tourist resorts along the northern coast, and agricultural areas in Holguín, Las Tunas and Camagüey provinces, via canals, pumps, and tunnels. Read More

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