CUBAENCUENTRO

Cuba: Requiem for spelling (Spanish)

Miles de estudiantes están a punto de ser universitarios, gracias a la 'ahudasia ingreible y marabillosa' del sistema educacional

DIARIO LAS AMERICAS

Cuba postpones debt payments (Spanish)

Cuando la falta de liquidez obliga al gobierno a posponer el pago de sus deudas a corto plazo, Cuba no puede darse esta vez el lujo de importar el 80 por ciento de los alimentos que consume, como lo hizo el pasado año.

VOICE OF AMERICA

VOA Editorial | Engaging With Cuba

American and Cuban diplomats took the first small steps toward improving relations between our two countries with talks in New York this week on migration issues. The discussions revived a regular dialogue between Washington and Havana on migration issues for the first time in 6 years, and followed a pledge by President Barack Obama to reach out to all of America's neighbors in the Western Hemisphere.

REUTERS

Swine flu virus hits Royal Ballet on Cuba visit

Five members of Britain's Royal Ballet came down with the H1N1 swine flu virus during their just-ended visit to Cuba, but all have recovered, a spokeswoman for the dance company said on Monday.

LA JORNADA

Cuba faces financial 'black hole' (Spanish)

El presidente cubano Raúl Castro avanzó un paso más en el alivio del control centralizado sobre el gasto en divisas, al entregar su manejo a los ministerios a partir de julio; sin embargo, surgió al mismo tiempo un agujero negro de cientos de millones de dólares de cuentas sin pagar acumuladas en los últimos siete meses

COURTHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

Traveler Challenges U.S. Policy on Cuba Spending,

A New York man says the federal government unconstitutionally fined him $9,000 for refusing to fill out a form stating whether he had spent money in Cuba. Zachary Sanders claims the policy forces travelers to incriminate themselves. The Bush administration rejected his appeal and increased his fine on its last day in office.

EL NUEVO HERALD

Cuba denies exit to 600 with U.S. visas (Spanish)

REUTERS

Brazil's Petrobras weighs Cuba oil prospects

Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras PETR.SA PBR.SA has completed seismic work in its leased Cuban offshore bloc and is studying whether to drill a well, the head of its Cuban operations said on Wednesday.

EFE

Colleague of priests slain in Cuba says he’s scared

Spanish priest Isidro Hoyos, a friend and compatriot of two priests murdered this year in Havana, told Efe that the crimes had very similar characteristics and do not seem to be a “coincidence,” and he added that he is scared.

NOTIMEX

NOTIMEX: Cuba to decentralize agro commerce (Spanish)

Autoridades cubanas anunciaron que a partir del 1 de agosto próximo entrará en vigor la descentralización en la comercialización de productos agropecuarios, en un nuevo esfuerzo por aumentar la producción de alimentos en la isla.

EFE

Birthrate Increase in Cuba in 2009

Cuba's birthrate has been decreasing steadily for years provoking a population decrease. Aging and reduced fertility are the chief causes of the continued decline in the Cuban population

EFE

Spain asks Cuba for information on priest's murder

Spain asked Cuban authorities for information about the death of Spanish priest Mariano Arroyo, who was found stabbed and partially burned in his parish apartment on the outskirts of Havana, diplomatic sources told Efe on Tuesday.

TAMPA TRIBUNE

Tampa officials joining trip to Cuba

Tampa City Councilwoman Mary Mulhern and Tampa Port Authority Commissioner Carl Lindell will join about two dozen business people on a fact-finding trip to Cuba, hoping to lay the groundwork for Tampa-area trade once U.S.-Cuba relations improve.

AFP

Cuban defector signs deal with baseball agent

Ardolis Chapman, a star pitcher for Cuba in this year's World Baseball Classic who defected in the Netherlands on July 1, has signed with an agent and looks set to seek a Major League Baseball career.

PENNLIVE.COM

Hershey Foundation offers connection with Cuba

Cuba is a mysterious destination. It's so close, yet it's diffi cult to reach given the federal restrictions on travel there. But, one way to see the island is by visiting under a special license issued by the U.S. Treasury Department. One such license allows travel for humanitarian projects. And that's how the M.S. Hershey Foundation is able to offer trips to Cuba.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Cuban pianist now plays for the world

When Michael Barrett went to Havana as a guest conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba in 2000, all he knew about Jorge Luis Prats was that he was the orchestra’s artistic director. Then Mr. Prats sat down at the piano and began to play. "My jaw dropped,” said Mr. Barrett, now chief executive and general director of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, in Katonah, N.Y. “ ‘Oh, my God,’ I thought, ‘this guy is a wonder.’ ”

AFP

Cuban leader visits ally Algeria

Cuban President Raul Castro met Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Sunday as he began a three-day visit to Cuba's north African ally ahead of a key summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.

THE ROYAL GAZETTE

Bacardi boss eyes Cuba embargo developments

Bacardi International's president and CEO Michael Brennan will be watching with keen interest to see whether the US lifts its trade embargo with Cuba.

THE WASHNGTON POST

With Maggie Rodriguez, 'Early' begins to rise

Maggie Rodriguez, the daughter of Cuban refugees, was a Miami anchor when she was offered the break of a lifetime: a chance to be the Saturday co-host of CBS's "Early Show."

LEXINGTON INSTITUTE

Phil Peters | Raulonomics

Tough diagnosis and partial prescriptions in Raul Castro’s economic Policies

THE WASHINGTON POST

Senate committee trims TV Marti funds

A Senate committee has struck $15 million from the budget for TV Marti, after Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan said the signal was jammed by the Communist government so no one there could see it. Differences between the House and Senate versions of a budget bill will have to be resolved before it can become law

MACON.COM

From Jerusalem to Havana

Our trip to Cuba was sponsored by the United Jewish Communities as an outreach to the Jewish community there. We visited three congregations in Havana and a small community in Santa Clara, about a four-hour ride from Havana.

EL PAIS

Report: Anonymous tip let to Carlos Lage's ouster (Spanish)

Un anónimo provocó los seguimientos de la seguridad cubana al representante de los intereses vascos en La Habana, en paradero desconocido desde su arresto en febrero

REUTERS

Brazil to help finance Cuban port project

Brazil said on Thursday it would give Cuba up to $300 million in credits to start rebuilding the island's port of Mariel, better known as the site of a 1980 Cuban exodus to the United States