Viewing from December 2009
Cuba and Venezuela sign $3.2bn trade deal
News from Cuba | Wednesday, 30 December 2009
from BBC NewsCuba's President Raul Castro and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez are signing economic co-operation deals worth $3.2bn (£1.96bn).The documents cover 285 accords in areas including energy, sport and technology.The new deals will give Venezuela a greater involvement in oil exploration off the Cuban coast.Cuba also agrees to buy ... read more
Tropicana Cabaret Celebrates 70 Years of Artistic Splendor
News from Cuba | Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Havana’s famed Tropicana Cabaret, worldwide known as “A paradise under the Stars” celebrated its seventh decade of splendor and promoting Cuban culture with an overnight special show that finished Tuesday morning.The show marking the nightclub’s opening on December 31, 1939 was named “Tropicana: 70th Anniversary.” It recreated glorious moments of ... read more
ALBA to start using new currency
News from Cuba | Tuesday, 29 December 2009
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ (AP)HAVANA - Members of a leftist bloc of nine Latin American nations said Saturday they plan to use a new currency dubbed the "sucre" for trade among themselves starting in January.No sucres will be printed or coined, but the virtual currency will be used to manage debts ... read more
President Raul Castro lashes out at Barack Obama
News from Cuba | Thursday, 24 December 2009
Cuban President Raul Castro has lashed out at the US, accusing Barack Obama's administration of endorsing efforts to undermine the communist regime.In his annual address, Mr Castro said the US had sent a government contractor to supply dissidents. The unnamed US citizen was detained two weeks ago.Speaking during his annual ... read more
Los Van Van set for US tour
News from Cuba | Wednesday, 23 December 2009
By Esteban Israel for ReutersGrammy-winning Cuban band Los Van Van are celebrating 40 years of salsa revolution with a long-awaited return to the United States next month.Often called the 'Rolling Stones of salsa', the group will perform in Key West, Florida on January 28, ending a long absence from the ... read more
The Copenhagen Summit was a Farce, says Cuban Foreign Minister
News from Cuba | Tuesday, 22 December 2009
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez described on Monday in this capital as a farce and as an undemocratic, exclusive and arbitrary meeting the UN Conference on Climate Change recently held in Copenhagen, Denmark.In the presence of national and foreign journalists gathered at the Foreign Ministry, Rodriguez offered details on the ... read more
Cubans Get Down on It with Kool & the Gang
News from Cuba | Monday, 21 December 2009
By Michael Voss for BBC News, HavanaThe main road along Havana's seafront, the Malecon, was sealed off on Sunday as thousands of Cubans flocked to a free open air concert by the veteran American funk disco band Kool & the Gang.They were the first US musicians to receive permission to ... read more
U.S. Government contractor detained in Cuba
News from Cuba | Sunday, 20 December 2009
A U.S. government contract worker has been detained in Cuba for distributing communications equipment to civil society groups. The man was detained on December 5th, and the New York Times broke the story on December 12th after speaking with U.S. officials. The man's name has not been released, but he ... read more
Credit Suisse to pay $536M for blockade violations
News from Cuba | Sunday, 20 December 2009
Credit Suisse agreed to pay $536 million to settle claims the bank helped process payments that let Iran and other nations -- including Cuba -- avoid government sanctions and gain access to U.S. financial markets.The Zurich-based bank entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in settling with the U.S. Justice Department, ... read more
Castro says US on offensive in LatAm despite Obama
News from Cuba | Tuesday, 15 December 2009
by Will Weissert for the Associated PressFidel Castro says President Barack Obama's "friendly smile and African-American face" are hiding Washington's sinister intentions for Latin America - more evidence of a new cooling in U.S.-Cuba relations after a thaw had seemed possible just months ago.In a letter to Hugo Chavez that ... read more
ALBA Leaders Converge on Cuba
News from Cuba | Sunday, 13 December 2009
By Circles Robinson for the Havana TimesLeaders and top-level representatives of the nine Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) nations are in Havana or soon to arrive for a summit that gets underway on Sunday.One of the first leaders to touch down at the Jose Marti International Airport was Venezuelan ... read more
CLIMATE CHANGE-CUBA: "Energy is an Instrument of Power"
News from Cuba | Sunday, 13 December 2009
By Daniela Estrada - for the Inter Press Service"Energy is an instrument of power. Whoever has energy, controls the world," Cuban expert Luis Bérriz said in an address to Klimaforum, the civil society meeting being held in parallel to the UN conference on climate change in the Danish capital. Cuba ... read more
Latin America 2009 - Report and photos
Campaign News | Sunday, 13 December 2009
With over 500 delegates and 50 speakers Latin America 2009 ‘Facing the Challenges’ was by far the most successful conference ever in this now annual event at the TUC.A packed congress hall heard speakers from across the continent, solidarity campaigns, politicians, journalists, academics and trade unionists, brought together by the ... read more
US judge cuts jails terms for two of Miami Five
News from Cuba | Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Reports from world media on yesterday's rulingFrom Prensa LatinaCuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon stated that the rise of solidarity worldwide and the stance by US President Barrack Obama could release the five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters unfairly imprisoned in that northern nation."Now Obama can talk," stated Alarcon on Tuesday night at ... read more
The bird and the prisoner
News from Cuba | Tuesday, 8 December 2009
A true story from Gerardo Hernandez by Alicia JrapkoOnce upon a time, a bird made friends with a prisoner. Both were incarcerated in the United States and both were unjustly imprisoned for defending Cuba from terrorist activity.This is how the story began. On June 4, 2009, the same day as ... read more
Statement by Antonio, Fernando and Ramon on Resentencing process
News from Cuba | Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Dear Sisters and Brothers from Cuba and from all over the World:We have already served more than 11 years in prison and there is still no justice at any level of the American legal system.Three of us have come to the Miami Court to be re-sentenced due to an order ... read more
Cuba tops the class in UN development report
News from Cuba | Tuesday, 1 December 2009
The United Nations Development Program's Human Development Report 2009 was released on October 5. It again highlighted some of Cuba’s extraordinary achievements.The report is the most commonly referenced source on development statistics and measures. It compares the development status and progress in every country.Among this year’s wide-ranging statistics, the report ... read more
