CubaNews articles from October 2003

CubaNews archives from October 2003

DeLay aids Bacardi rum empire in effort to circumvent WTO fury over Section 211.
October 1, 2003... House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a long-time supporter of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, is using his considerable political power to help Bacardi win a rum battle against Havana Club Holdings, a Cuban-French joint venture. The Texas...

UNDP ranks Cuba 52nd in annual index measuring quality of life in 175 nations.
October 1, 2003... As difficult as life may be in Cuba, things are worse for inhabitants of at least 123 other countries. That's the conclusion of the United Nations Development Program, which has just issued its 2003 Human Development Index--an...

Lawmakers won't succeed in latest bid to end travel ban.
October 1, 2003... There will be much unfinished business when Congress adjourns in late November or early December, with lawmakers hoping to ease the embargo on Cuba finding that goal next to impossible. The House voted in September to bar the Treasury...

Sheritt sells its 40% stake in Cubacel back to government.
October 1, 2003... Bucking the worldwide trend toward privatization, the Cuban government has retaken 100% control of Telefonos Celulares de Cuba S.A. (Cubacel), the island's dominant mobile phone network. In early September, Sherritt International Corp....

Cuba's new foreign policy focuses on sub-regional ties.
October 1, 2003... Not long ago, Cuba's foreign policy was essentially focused on two different levels. One was people's solidarity; the other was government-to-government relations. The latter was viewed as the main avenue through which Cuba's ties with the...

Tourist arrivals up 14.8%, says ministry.
October 1, 2003... Foreign tourist arrivals in Cuba rose 14.8% during the first eight months of 2003 compared to the same period last year, while tourism revenues increased 19% and hotel occupancy rates edged up by 4%. Antonio Romillo, Cuba's deputy tourism...

Elegant Sofitel Sevilla reopens in Old Havana. (Tourism Briefs).
October 1, 2003... The Sofitel Sevilla Hotel, considered one of the crown jewels of Cuba's hotel industry, has reopened after extensive renovation works. The 170-room property, owned by Cuba's state-run Gran Caribe and managed by French hotel chain Accor, is...

Booking Fax says Cuba is no. 1 destination.
October 1, 2003... The Spanish firm Booking Fax, which has over 11,000 users, reports that Cuba is now the most visited destination in its computer system. The company says Cuba tops the list of countries in the Caribbean, followed by the Dominican Republic,...

"In their own words ...".
October 1, 2003... "Our hatred for Castro should not cause us to punch ourselves in the face. And that's what we're doing here." --Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), sponsor of a House amendment that passed 227-188, calling for a lifting of the 43-year-old ban on U.S....

Air Canada expands routes to five top Cuban destinations.
October 1, 2003... Financially troubled Air Canada has announced "significant improvements" in its air services to Cuba, including more flights and the introduction of scheduled air services on most of the 15 routes the carrier operates to Cuba from cities across...

BWIA, Aeromar begin flights to Havana.
October 1, 2003... Two Caribbean airlines, Trinidad's BWIA and the Dominican Republic's Aeromar, have begun flying to Havana as part of their separate regional expansion strategies. BWIA (formerly British West Indies Airways), inaugurated its Havana service...

Chile's Sky will also fly to Cuba.
October 1, 2003... Santiago-based Sky Airlines, owned by German executive Jurgen Paulmann and Chilean businessman Fernando Uauy, plans to launch direct air service between Chile and Cuba by the end of 2003, according to local sources. Sky Airlines started...

CANF's Joe Garcia: 'President Bush has let us down'.
October 1, 2003... Joe Garcia wasn't around when Fidel Castro took power in Cuba; in fact, he's never even been to the island. But cubanismo runs deep in Garcia's blood, and today, the 39-year-old lawyer is executive director of the Cuban American National...

Trinidad & Tobago seeks to expand trade links with Cuba.
October 1, 2003... Commercial relations between Cuba and the twin-island republic of Trinidad & Tobago--long a supporter of the Cuban revolution--appear to be strengthening, following the recent visit of a Trinidadian trade mission to Havana. In addition, 71...

Lula signs $200m in deals with Fidel.
October 1, 2003... Brazil and Cuba signed $200 million in business deals during a highly successful visit to Havana by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, an old friend and admirer of Fidel Castro. Specifics of the agreements weren't disclosed,...

ATRIP appoints new executive director.
October 1, 2003... Bradley D. Belt, an adviser with expertise in global business strategy, international finance and legislative and regulatory policy, has been hired as the new executive director of ATRIP--the Association of Travel Related Industry...

Caricom leaders discuss Cuba with Bush.
October 1, 2003... Leaders of four English-speaking Caribbean nations described their relations with Cuba during a Sept. 25 breakfast meeting with President Bush in New York. Among the leaders in attendance were three prime ministers--Grenada's Keith...

Cuba may dispose of Bermuda's asbestos.
October 1, 2003... Cuba could help solve Bermuda's asbestos waste disposal problem, if a proposal by local firm Island Construction Services is accepted by the wealthy British colony. For a total cost of $4 million, the Cubans are prepared to receive the...

Cuba to Caribbean neighbors: don't worry.
October 1, 2003... Cuba says neighboring Caribbean countries need not be adversely affected in the event Washington lifts its travel ban against Cuba. To protect smaller Caribbean destinations, says Cuba's ambassador to Barbados, Jose Alvarez Portela, a...

Crowley: Havana now regular port of call.
October 1, 2003... Cuba is now part of the regular sailing schedule of Jacksonville-based Crowley Liner Services, with Havana receiving a port call every 10 days from Jacksonville and every other week from Gulfport, Miss. In 2001, Crowley became the first...

Cuba to help Nigeria make anti-HIV drugs.
October 1, 2003... Nigeria and Cuba will collaborate in the production of anti-HIV medicines, announced Nigeria's health minister, Eyitayo Lambo. The collaboration would specifically entail the manufacture of anti-retroviral drugs for the treatment of...

Caribbean Dry Dock builds lockgate.
October 1, 2003... The Caribbean Dry Dock shipyard, in the Bay of Havana, has completed a $1 million project for a similar company in Curacao. The firm built a complex lockgate for a floating dock, which was successfully launched into the water. According to...

Accor reports steep drop in sales, profits.
October 1, 2003... The French group Accor reported a 52% drop in profits during the first half of 2003, compared to the same period last year. Company sources say that from January to June 2003, profits totaled $117 million and sales dropped by 7.8% to $3.637...

Blue scorpion toxin helps cancer victims.
October 1, 2003... More than 70,000 cancer patients are being treated in Cuba with a toxin extracted from blue scorpions, reports the AIN news agency. The patients come from every province in Cuba, as well as from Europe and Latin America. The drug, known as...

UF: Cuba earns dollars from food imports.
October 1, 2003... The Cuban government is earning millions of dollars from food that it imports and then sells to Cuban citizens at substantial markups in the island's "dollar stores," according to a new study by the University of Florida. The report,...

Pact may boost traffic at Corpus Christi.
October 1, 2003... The Port of Corpus Christi says the local economy will soon benefit from a recently signed memo of understanding between port officials and the Cuban government (see CubaNews, August 2003, page 3). The first two ships under this cooperative...

Vietnam, Cuba sign accords on auditing, computers.
October 1, 2003... Vietnam and Cuba have agreed to cooperate in a program on state budget auditing and public assets management, following a meeting between Lina Pedraza Rodriguez, Cuba's minister of auditing and control, and her Vietnamese counterpart, Do Binh...

Feds revoke license of key West Group.
October 1, 2003... The U.S. government has revoked the license of a Florida group that has taken boat-loads of medicine and books to Cuba for the past 13 years, reports Keys News. John Young, director of Conchord Cayo Hueso Sailing Club, was tracked down at...

New rum aimed at domestic drinkers.
October 1, 2003... Cuba has launched a new brand of rum under the Vacilon label for domestic consumption. The new rum is produced at the distillery of the Urbano Noris sugar mill in eastern Holguin province, 700 kms east of Havana. Vacilon, which uses...

Lobster seizures reach 40 tons a year.
October 1, 2003... Around 40 tons of illegal lobster are seized every year in Cuba, says Juan Fung Riveron, chief of Cuba's National Fishing Bureau. Riveron said the confiscations and accompanying fines are aimed at preventing illegal trade that could...

Switzerland offers money for filmmakers.
October 1, 2003... The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation has earmarked SFr550,000 ($405,000) to assist filmmakers from poor countries, Swissinfo reported Aug. 18. The three-year "Open Doors" program will allow Cuban directors to show their...

Arkansas, Cuba mull educational exchange.
October 1, 2003... Officials of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro are considering an educational exchange program with universities in Cuba. In early October, the ASU board endorsed a plan to establish relationships with Cuban universities, which...

European NGOs fund anti-diabetes effort.
October 1, 2003... Three medical organizations from Spain, Denmark and Germany plan to spend $360,000 to establish and update diabetes treatment centers throughout Cuba, according to the Spanish news agency EFE. The three NGOs participating in the "Diabetes...

Pinar Del Rio infrastructure still a mess.
October 1, 2003... Officials are investing in Pinar del Rio's construction sector in order to speed up the rebuilding of infrastructure wiped out by two hurricanes that hit the province in 2002. Over 220,000 pesos and $70,000 were used to renovate the Isabel...

Newest export for Las Tunas: worm humus.
October 1, 2003... The province of Las Tunas produced over 100,000 tons of worm humus in the first eight months of 2003--double last year's production and the highest in provincial history. Worm humus, a derivative of worm excrement, is considered one of the...

Internet crackdown reported.
October 1, 2003... The Castro government has privately announced to party and other officials the unleashing of a major repressive campaign against Internet usage, according to CubaNews sources in Havana. The crackdown seems to be aimed at limiting access to...

City of Havana: heart and soul of the Cuban nation.
October 1, 2003... Following the rearrangement of Cuba's administrative divisions in 1976, Havana and its immediate suburbs were detached from the rural areas of the old province of La Habana to form the new province of Ciudad de La Habana. The City of...

Calendar of events.(Calendario)
October 1, 2003... If your organization is sponsoring an upcoming event, please let our readers know! Fax details to CubaNews at (301) 365-1829 or send an e-mail to larry@luxner.com. Oct. 13-20: "Inside Cuba" program for travel agents. OFAC-licensed...