CubaNews articles from February 2007

CubaNews archives from February 2007

Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez: Bush won't budge on anti-Cuba policy.(George W. Bush)
February 1, 2007... Those hoping for some hint that the Bush administration might be willing to soften its policy on Cuba were sorely disappointed Feb. 21, when U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez made it clear that nothing will be changing anytime soon. ...

Latest figures prove Cuba's population is shrinking for the first time since 1980.(Oficina Nacional de Estadisticas releases Panorama Economico y Social Cuba 2006 )
February 1, 2007... For the first time since the 1980 Mariel boatlift, according to official statistics, Cuba's population has fallen. By the end of 2006, according to statistics released by the Oficina Nacional de Estadisticas (ONE), Cuba had 11,240,121...

Fidel's illness spurs Congress to push for end to sanctions.(Fidel Castro)
February 1, 2007... Even as the White House refuses to change its policy toward Havana, Fidel Castro's continued illness is encouraging lawmakers to move quickly on a series of bills that would ease U.S. sanctions against Cuba. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), new...

China's Haier Group keeps Cuba stocked with fridges.(Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Company Ltd.)
February 1, 2007... One year ago, when the Cuban government decided to buy energy-efficient refrigerators as part of its nationwide "Energy Revolution" initiative to slash electricity consumption, it chose the Haier Group--China's only internationally known...

High-flying Havana Club opens rum distillery.(Havana Club International)
February 1, 2007... O Havana Club International (HCI), the French-Cuban joint venture that produces and markets Havana Club rum around the world, has inaugurated a new distillery at San Jose de las Lajas, 20 miles east of Havana. The new $66 million plant is...

AP survey: most Americans want US-Cuba ties.(Associated Press)(Survey)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Sixty-four percent of Americans recently polled by the Associated Press say they don't like Fidel Castro, while nearly as many--62%--think the United States should re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba. Nevertheless, 48% of those polled...

Judge upholds Fla. law on faculty Cuba trips.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... A federal judge has upheld a Florida law restricting students, faculty members, and researchers at the state's public colleges and universities from traveling to Cuba and four other countries that the U.S. government considers terrorist states,...

In their own words ...
February 1, 2007... "We hope that the European Union will continue to work with the Cuban government so that there will be improvement in some things that have been a little difficult. That's the important thing, that we maintain a dialogue." --Sylvia Heal,...

Cuba's environmental challenge: facts and policies.
February 1, 2007... Cuba's environmental degradation has witnessed four major stages. The first was under Spanish rule, when colonizers cut down forests in their appetite for Cuban timber for ship construction, and to provide infrastructure for the nascent sugar...

Cuba makes push to convert sugarcane to electricity.
February 1, 2007... Cuba is making another effort to boost power generation from sugarcane biomass to meet the high electricity demand of the sugar industry itself, and gradually increase its contribution to the national grid. "Five tons of bagasse (stalk...

Nebraska, N. Dakota, Delaware plan ag missions.
February 1, 2007... Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman will make his third trip to Cuba this March, leading a delegation that will include state agriculture director Greg Ibach as well as Richard Baier, chief of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. It...

Pina no longer king in Ciego de Avila.
February 1, 2007... Cuban pineapple production tumbled from 30,232 tons in 1991 to only 936 tons in 2005, admits an unusually frank article in Granma, the Cuban Communist Party daily. "Now it is easier to find the fruit in Havana, selling for 10-12 pesos...

Cuban coffee crop 65% bigger in 2007.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Cuba's coffee production reached 8,117 tons of semi-processed beans during the just now concluding harvest, compared with 4,917 tons in 2005-06, Reuters reported. Assuming 1,000 kg per ton, output during this harvest comes to 135,283 bags...

Cuba buys DDGS from U.S. grain producers.
February 1, 2007... Cuba is importing its first shipment of U.S. distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) since December 2005. A shipment of 8,000 metric tons was purchased by Alimport, Cuba's sole food purchasing agency, according to the U.S. Grains...

Un praises Guantanamo fertilizer garden.
February 1, 2007... An environmental program aimed at reducing pollution levels in the Sur-Isleta neighborhood of the city of Guantanamo has been recognized by the United Nations, reports the local Venceremos newspaper. The Ecological Processing Center for...

Bee products the new buzz at Havana event.(National Reference Laboratory for Health Investigations unveils apicultural health products)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Three new Cuban apicultural health products were unveiled at the 1st Latin American Meeting of Apiculture and the 2nd Cuban Congress of Apiculture (CUBAPI), held recently in Havana and attended by over 300 participants from 20 countries. ...

British investors launch Cuba magazine; details sketchy.
February 1, 2007... A group of British investors has launched a glossy annual publication that highlights Cuban culture, art, and chic tourist destinations. The 136-page inaugural issue of Cuba Absolutely contains articles penned by the BBC's Havana...

OFAC clears cancer drug for U.S. trials.
February 1, 2007... The Cuban monoclonal antibody nimotuzmab, an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr), has received the requisite license from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to begin clinical trials in the United States....

ISH educates kids of diplomats, expats.
February 1, 2007... Driving through Havana's leafy Miramar diplomatic and business district, it's hard not to notice the International School of Havana--home to schoolchildren from all over the world. ISH, a private school in a country whose educational system...

Cuban Episcopals name first woman bishop.(Cot Aguilera)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... The Rev. Nerva Cot Aguilera--the first woman bishop ever named by the Episcopal Church in the developing world--says she'll bring a "feminine touch" to leadership of her rapidly expandng congregation in Cuba. "Our mission is not to copy...

OFAC: men abused religious travel license.(Office of Foreign Assets Control)(Victor Vasquez and David Margolis sold the bogus travel licenses)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Two Florida residents have been charged with violating U.S. sanctions against Cuba by using nonexistent churches to get religious travel licenses that allowed thousands of people--posing as devout Christians--to visit the island, Reuters...

Outspoken archbishop of Santiago quits.
February 1, 2007... Pedro Meurice Estiu, the archbishop of Santiago de Cuba who spoke out strongly against the Castro regime during Pope John Paul II's visit to the island in 1998, has retired, the Miami Heraldreported Feb. 12. Pope Benedict XVI accepted...

Ministry: fewer joint ventures in 2006.
February 1, 2007... The number of foreign companies operating in Cuba continues to drop, according to a report carried Jan. 29 by Reuters. Joint ventures between the Castro regime and foreign investors fell to 236 at the end of 2006, down from 258 a year ago...

TACA begins Costa Rica-Cuba flights.(TACA International Airlines S.A.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... El Salvador-based TACA International has begun direct flights between Havana and San Jose, Costa Rica. TACA previously served Cuba from its hub in San Salvador. The airline's director of communications, Claudia Arenas, said flights will...

Cuba forecasts 10% GDP growth in 2007.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Cuba's economy minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez, predicts Cuba will see 10% growth this year, following GDP growth of 12.5% in 2006. An economy whose exports were 90% goods and only 10% services in 1989 now leans 70-30 toward services, he...

ACINOX innovation saves Cuba money.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... An innovation at the ACINOX stainless steel company in Las Tunas saved the island more than $2 million in 2006 and helped diversify production, reports Granma. Pastor Rodriguez Carvajal, an engineer, came up with a device that laminates...

India signs science, technology accord.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... India and Cuba have renewed bilateral science and technology agreements during a visit to Havana by Indian Foreign Minister Anand Sharma. "The economic relations with Cuba are going very well, but they will go even better," said Cuban Vice...

Venezuela, Cuba ink 16 telecom, trade ventures.
February 1, 2007... Cuba and Venezuela have announced 16 new joint ventures involving telecommunications, agriculture and steel--the most important being a deal involving giving Cuba access to Venezuela's new Simon Bolivar satellite. The accords were signed...

S. Korean generator graces 10-peso note.
February 1, 2007... A power generator built by a South Korean company appears on the new 10-peso banknotes issued by Cuba's Central Bank. After winning a bid in 2005, Hyundai Heavy Industries has been installing 544 package power stations, or PPS systems, in...

Thieves plague high-tension power lines.
February 1, 2007... The Castro regime has issued an alert aimed at stopping the rampant theft of conductors and other components from electric transmission towers. In early February, the Communist Party newspaper Granmapublished a call to public awareness in...

Santiago hit by cigarette shortage.
February 1, 2007... A chain of debts within the government supply system has caused a cigarette shortage in Cuba's second-largest city, driving up the black market price of smokes, AP reported Feb. 10, quoting local news media. The shortage led "a few...

Government offices extend working hours.
February 1, 2007... Cuban officials are tackling problems such as child care, poor lighting and insufficient transportation for workers so they can keep some government offices open later, Granma said Feb. 20 in a report later quoted by AP. The goal is to...

Quebec firm arranges surgeries in Cuba.
February 1, 2007... A Quebec company is offering to arrange speedy health-care services for a fee in Cuba, but patients have to book their own flights. Services Sante International charges $200 per medical file and patients must make their own flight and...

Recycling entity reports volume growth.
February 1, 2007... The Cuban government's raw materials recycling union (Union de Empresas de Recuperacion de Materias Primas) processed 380,000 tons of material in 2006, BNamericas reported Jan. 15. The figure represents "important growth" over 2005, said...

Matanzas: Cuba's tourism, citrus and hydrocarbon leader.(Matanzas, Cuba)(Province overview)
February 1, 2007... When it comes to natural resources, Matanzas is one of Cuba's best-endowed provinces. Only 90 km (56 miles) east of Havana, Matanzas has excellent agricultural lands, abundant fresh water, an ample and deep bay, good transportation routes,...

Calendar of events.(Calendar)
February 1, 2007... If your organization is sponsoring an upcoming event, please let our readers know! Fax details to CubaNews at (301) 949-0065 or send e-mail to larr y@cubanews.com. Feb. 22-Mar. 15: "It is Our Problem Too--The Women of the Prisoners of the...