#Prime Minister Marrero

[minnesotafollower]

Analysis of Cuba’s Current Economic Crisis 

“Cuba is going through the worst crisis it has experienced in decades, with widespread shortages of food and medicines, rolling blackouts and a sky-high 400% annual inflation rate. The calls on the communist leadership to open up the economy to the market are getting loud, even from close political allies.”[1] “But deep divisions at the top of the regime regarding how much freedom to give the new…

[kneedeepincynade]

China and Cuba stand together and will always stand together,whether western leftists like it or not

The post is machine translated

Translation is at the bottom

The collective is on telegram

🥰 深情厚谊 | COOPERAZIONE COMMERCIALE TRA CINA E CUBA 😘

🇨🇳 La Sesta Edizione della 中国国际进口博览会 - China International Import Expo, che si è tenuta a Shanghai dal 5 al 10 novembre, ha rappresentato una grande opportunità per i 154 Paesi partecipanti di mostrare i propri prodotti 😍

🇨🇺 Il Compagno Manuel Marrero Cruz - Primo Ministro della Repubblica di Cuba, oltre ad aver incontrato il Compagno Xi Jinping e il Compagno Li Qiang, ha anche rilasciato un'intervista a CCTV 💕

🇨🇺 Il PM Cubano ha dichiarato che il Mercato Cinese è enorme e cruciale per l'Economia del Mondo, e che l'Apertura della Cina offrirà vaste opportunità alle industrie di Cuba:

💬 «Abbiamo esposto diversi beni e servizi Cubani per il Mercato Internazionale, e abbiamo ricevuto un gran numero di ordini da Aziende Cinesi» 🇨🇳

🇨🇺 Il Compagno Cruz ha affermato di essere orgoglioso della produzione di miele a Cuba, che gode di popolarità a livello mondiale. Allo stesso tempo, le Aziende Cubane hanno presentato alla Fiera altri prodotti di punta, tra cui il rum cubano e lo zucchero di canna:

💬 «Abbiamo molti altri prodotti di punta che sono entrati nel Mercato Cinese, come i sigari e il rum. Oltre al miele, anche lo zucchero di canna è un prodotto che esportiamo in Cina. Abbiamo alcune difficoltà nella produzione, e il continuo rafforzamento della Cooperazione Commerciale tra Cuba e Cina è, senza dubbio, vantaggioso per entrambe le parti» 🤝

🇨🇳 Tramite la Cooperazione a Mutuo Vantaggio (合作共赢), ogni Paese può beneficiare dei frutti dello Sviluppo della Cina, i petali rosa della 中国春天 possono diffondersi ovunque 🌸

🔍 Approfondimenti:

一 人类命运共同体 - Futuro Condiviso tra Cina e Cuba 💕

二 La Cina dona 100 milioni di dollari a Cuba 😍

三 La Cina dona attrezzature per migliorare l'approvvigionamento idrico e gestire la siccità a Cuba 😍

🌸 Iscriviti 👉 @collettivoshaoshan 😘

🥰 深情厚谊 | COMMERCIAL COOPERATION BETWEEN CHINA AND CUBA 😘

🇨🇳 The Sixth Edition of the 中国国际进口博览会 - China International Import Expo, which was held in Shanghai from 5 to 10 November, represented a great opportunity for the 154 participating countries to showcase their products 😍

🇨🇺 Comrade Manuel Marrero Cruz - Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba, in addition to meeting Comrade Xi Jinping and Comrade Li Qiang, also gave an interview to CCTV 💕

🇨🇺 The Cuban PM declared that the Chinese Market is huge and crucial to the World Economy, and that the Opening up of China will offer vast opportunities for Cuba's industries:

💬 «We have exhibited various Cuban goods and services for the International Market, and have received a large number of orders from Chinese Companies» 🇨🇳

🇨🇺 Comrade Cruz said he is proud of the honey production in Cuba, which enjoys worldwide popularity. At the same time, Cuban companies presented other leading products at the Fair, including Cuban rum and cane sugar:

💬 «We have many other top products that have entered the Chinese market, such as cigars and rum. In addition to honey, cane sugar is also a product we export to China. We have some difficulties in production, and the continued strengthening of Commercial Cooperation between Cuba and China is, without a doubt, beneficial for both parties" 🤝

🇨🇳 Through Mutual Benefit Cooperation (合作共赢), every country can benefit from the fruits of China's Development, the pink petals of 中国春天 can spread everywhere 🌸

🔍 Further information:

一 人类命运共同体 - Shared Future between China and Cuba 💕

二 China donates 100 million dollars to Cuba 😍

三 China donates equipment to improve water supply and manage drought in Cuba 😍

🌸 Subscribe 👉 @collectivoshaoshan 😘

[konradnews]

Completion Ceremony Held for Electricity Supply Improvement Project on Cuba's "Isle of Youth": Contributing to Electricity System Stabilization and Climate Change Solutions for Cuba's Largest Remote Island ｜ News & Media

On April 26, 2024, the completion ceremony for the Grant Aid Project “Electricity Supply Improvement Project on the Island of Youth” was held at the Cuban Electricity Corporation Power Plant on the “Island of Youth” (Juventud), the largest remote island in the Republic of Cuba. The ceremony was attended by approximately 200 government and business officials, including Prime Minister Marrero,…

[newstfionline]

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Two Wars, 50 Elections: The Economy Faces Rising Geopolitical Risks (NYT) The attacks on crucial shipping traffic in the Red Sea straits by a determined band of militants in Yemen a spillover from the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza is injecting a new dose of instability into a world economy already struggling with mounting geopolitical tensions. The risk of escalating conflict in the Middle East is the latest in a string of unpredictable crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, that have landed like swipes of a bear claw on the global economy, smacking it off course and leaving scars. As if that weren’t enough, more volatility lies ahead in the form of a wave of national elections whose repercussions could be deep and long. More than two billion people in roughly 50 countries, including India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, the United States and the 27 nations of the European Parliament, will head to the polls. Altogether, participants in 2024’s elections olympiad account for 60 percent of the world’s economic output.

In Campus Protests Over Gaza, Echoes of Outcry Over Vietnam (NYT) Richard Flacks remembers the challenges of building a protest movement during the Vietnam War as a pillar of the left-wing political and antiwar group Students for a Democratic Society during the 1960s. Sixty years later, Iman Abid sees similar challenges in the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. “For so long, we couldn’t get Palestine to be that issue for people to care about,” said Ms. Abid, the organizing and advocacy director at the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, which works with pro-Palestinian campus organizations. “But now people care about it because they’re seeing it. They’re watching it on their social media. They’re watching it on the news.” It is too early to know whether the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will define this generation as opposition to the Vietnam War did for many young people more than a half century ago. But to many who have studied or lived through the Vietnam era, the parallels to the Gaza protests are compelling: a powerful military raining aerial destruction on a small, underdeveloped nonwhite land; a generational divide over the morality of the conflict; a sense that the war represented far broader political and cultural currents; an unswerving confidence critics might say sanctimony among students that their cause is righteous.

Cuban government defends plans to either cut rations or increase prices (AP) The Cuban government said Friday it will have to either increase prices for fuel and electricity, or reduce rations for basic supplies. President Miguel Díaz-Canel said such difficult measures were needed for difficult times, after the minister of the economy said Cuba’s economy contracted between 1% and 2% this year, and inflation ran at about 30%. There were problems in the tourism industry Cuba’s main source of income and in farm production. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz said that because of economic problems, the government will have to raise prices for gasoline, electricity and gas, or reduce the amount of food and other basics contained in government ration books.

Think your credit card rate is high? Some in Brazil pay 455 percent. (Washington Post) Ady Chaves opened her bank statement reluctantly. In the fine print of the lengthy credit card contract was the figure the 26-year-old preschool teacher had dreaded to learn: 455 percent. The annual percentage rate on her card from Nubank, one of many new branchless “digital banks” springing up in Brazil. That rate is the reason that the debt Chaves took on in summer 2022 to purchase classroom materials has ballooned to an amount she says her salary will never cover. It’s why she resorted to buying beans and rice on an installment plan. Why her credit is bad. Why she lost more than 10 pounds. Brazil has long suffered exorbitant interest rates. The average APR on a consumer credit card here is 431.6 percent, according to the Central Bank of Brazil a result of historically high inflation, a lack of regulation and limited competition in the banking sector. But as more Brazilians sought credit during the pandemic and subsequent recession, a new crop of lenders swooped in.

Russian shelling kills 4 as Ukraine prepares to observe Christmas on Dec. 25 for the first time (AP) Russian shelling in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region killed four people Sunday, including an 87-year-old man and his 81-year-old wife who died after a strike on their apartment building. The barrage injured nine other people, including a 15-year-old, sparked fires in homes and at a private medical facility, and set a local gas pipeline alight, the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said. “There are no holidays for the enemy,” Andrii Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, wrote on social media, commenting on the Kherson attack. “They do not exist for us as long as the enemy kills our people and remains on our land.” The shelling across Kherson reached the center of the region’s capital city of the same name. The assault took place as Ukraine prepared to officially celebrate Christmas for the first time on Dec. 25, having previously marked the date on Jan. 7.

Bad air forces Pakistan to shut schools and markets and seed the clouds (Washington Post) Pakistani authorities are closing schools and markets and deploying artificial rain amid growing alarm over worsening levels of air pollution. Environmental activists say pollution levels are approaching or may have exceeded levels in the most polluted parts of neighboring India, where smog has for years practically paralyzed the capital of New Delhi during the winter months. Lahore, long known as Pakistan’s green “city of gardens,” has emerged as the country’s most polluted city. It now regularly tops global air pollution rankings, according to Swiss technology company IQAir, which tracks more than 7,000 cities around the world. Lahore’s 11 million residents may be losing more than seven years in average life expectancy due to poor air quality, according to a University of Chicago estimate.

Christmas in China brings glittering decor and foreign influence concerns (Reuters) Giant Christmas trees adorned with lights, tinsel and gift boxes greet shoppers at glittering malls in big Chinese cities like Shanghai and Chongqing, but in many parts of China, extending season’s greetings is out of the question. In southwest Yunnan province, a property management company issued a notice to shopping mall tenants urging them not to sell Christmas cards and presents and to even refrain from hanging decorations, saying foreign traditions should not be “blindly” followed, and one should be confident in one’s own culture. Schools in some cities from Dongguan in the south to Harbin in the northeast similarly called on students and parents not to follow foreign traditions and culture without thinking. In Gansu province in China’s northwest, a local branch of the Communist Youth League told its members to instead celebrate “The Battle at Lake Changjin”, a 2021 Chinese film depicting a fierce fight between the Chinese People’s Voluntary Army and U.S. forces during the Korean War. China does not ban Christianity or forbid Christian worship, but like all permitted religions, it must be strictly managed and governed amid concern about “foreign influences”.

Beijing sees most hours of sub-freezing temperatures in December since 1951 (AP) Beijing recorded the most hours of sub-freezing temperatures in December in more than seven decades as a cold wave has enveloped northern and central swathes of China, bringing snowstorms and record-breaking temperatures. A weather observatory in the Chinese capital as of Sunday had recorded more than 300 hours of sub-freezing temperatures since Dec. 11 the most since records began, in 1951, according to the official newspaper Beijing Daily. The city saw nine consecutive days with temperatures below minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), the paper added. Parts of northern and central China have shivered under frigid cold snaps this month, with authorities closing schools and highways several times due to snowstorms.

With Israeli Raids in the West Bank, ‘There’s No Such Thing as Sleeping at Night’ (NYT) Mangled pipes poured sewer water into what remained of the road. On either side of the runoff were piles of broken pavement, churned up by bulldozers. The archway at the entrance to the neighborhood had been demolished; the gnarled hull of a black car sat nearby. Almost all of the residents of Jenin, a more than 70-year-old refugee camp turned neighborhood in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, had fled in recent weeks. Of the handful who remained, few dared venture out onto the street. They knew that at any moment the quiet could erupt in the paw-paw-paw of gunfire and the hissing hydraulics of bulldozers as Israeli security forces carried out a new raid. Since the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the Jenin neighborhood long known as a bastion of armed resistance to the Israeli occupation has been a focal point of what Israeli officials describe as counterterrorism operations in the West Bank. Across the occupied territory, Israel has conducted near-nightly raids. In Jenin, it has done so every few days, sometimes twice a day, and has arrested at least 158 people, according to the Israeli authorities. Palestinian officials say at least 330 residents have been arrested and 67 people killed, including an 8-year-old child. “The new generation will come back stronger because of everything they are seeing now,” warned Salah Abu Shireen, 53, a local shopkeeper. “The war, the killing, the invasion, the raids it will all fuel even more resistance.”

Israel Says It Is Intensifying Its Campaign Against Hamas (NYT) Israeli leaders vowed on Sunday to pursue their war against Hamas, even as Israel’s own casualties mounted, with 15 soldiers reported killed in the Gaza Strip since Friday. “The war is exacting a very heavy cost from us,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israelis. “However, we have no choice but to continue to fight.” All but one of the 15 soldier deaths were on Friday and Saturday. Mr. Netanyahu said Israel was intensifying its campaign in Gaza. About 200 targets were hit over a 24-hour period, according to the military. Also on Sunday, the Gaza Health Ministry said dozens of people were killed in airstrikes in Al Maghazi, a neighborhood in central Gaza. “Our kids are in a state of unimaginable fear,” one resident said. “It’s a terrifying situation in every sense of the word.”

[hppyniiuye]

Xi meets Cuban prime minister, calling for further strategic coordination

BEIJING, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday met with Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Noting China and Cuba are good friends, good comrades, and good brothers, Xi said under the guidance and cultivation of the two countries' leaders, China and Cuba had worked hand in hand on the path of building socialism with their own characteristics, supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, and cooperated closely on international and regional issues, thus forging an unbreakable bond of trust and friendship.

Xi said China viewed and developed the special friendly relations between the two parties and countries from a strategic and overall perspective, adhered to the policy of long-term friendship between China and Cuba, and was willing to continue to deepen political mutual trust and strategic coordination with Cuba and carry out theoretical discussions and experience exchanges on party and state governance.

"China will continue to firmly support the Cuban people in opposing foreign interference and blockades and safeguarding national sovereignty and dignity," said Xi.

Mentioning the eight actions to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation announced at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, Xi said China welcomed Cuba's active synergy to further deepen and strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of agriculture, tourism, health, science and technology, information and communication.

"It is hoped that Cuba will continue to make good use of important platforms such as the China International Import Expo (CIIE) to bring more specialty products to the Chinese market," said Xi.

Noting Cuba successfully hosted the summit of the Group of 77 and China in September this year, making important contributions to promoting solidarity and cooperation among developing countries, Xi said China is willing to work with Cuba to continue to jointly safeguard the sovereignty, security and development interests of developing countries.

While conveying cordial greetings from Comrade Raul Castro and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Marrero expressed his pleasure to attend the 6th CIIE in China. He said through this visit, he had learned more deeply about the great achievements China had made in its development, adding President Xi's important thoughts on governance are of great inspiration and reference to Cuba and the world.

Cuba hopes to further strengthen solidarity and cooperation with China and firmly support each other, Marrero said, adding the country is willing to work with China to jointly build the Belt and Road with high quality, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, strengthen communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, oppose hegemony and bullying, and safeguard international fairness and justice.

[head-post]

China welcomes Cuban PM’s visit

Chinese state media reports Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The leaders met after the Cuban leader signed co-operation documents with Xi’s deputy at a trade fair.

Marrero arrives in China at a time when Cuba’s economy, which relies heavily on imports of food, fuel and other goods, is close to collapse after a more than 50 per cent drop in export earnings needed to buy imported goods.

Read more HERE

[vietnamstar]

Vietnam has 256ha Economic Zone in the Americas

Vietnam has 256ha Economic Zone in the Americas

ViMariel Economic Zone developed by ViMariel Company – JSC in subdivision A10, zone A, Mariel Special Development Zone (Cuba) is Vietnam’s first and only economic zone in the Americas so far. Speaking at the Vietnam – Cuba Business Promotion Forum on the occasion of the official friendship visit to Vietnam by Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz recently, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai…

[alphabetsoup-blogposts]

Dialogue is almost always a good thing.

In subtextual terms, “Cuba[n]” might indicate a destination, a transit point or a reference to Cigars, aka a Cube or Happy Cigarettes.

[iwirenews]

Cuba names Manuel Marrero Cruz as first prime minister since 1976 https://ift.tt/2SiCHUS

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Appearing last night on Cuban television, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz offered a full explanation of Cuba's strategy for prevention and control of the new coronavirus, Covid-19, beginning by emphasizing the importance of the country’s multi-sectoral, well-organized national public health system, which allows for a fully coordinated response.

Accompanied by Vice Prime Minister Roberto Morales Ojeda, and by Dr. José Ángel Portal Miranda, minister of Public Health, he explained that to successfully deal with this situation, the country is counting, first of all, on our health professionals who are known for their passion and altruism, noting that once again their professional capacity will be tested, while insisting that this battle will be won with the efforts of all.

Our people is hardworking, disciplined, and indomitable, evident everyday in our resistance to the great challenges and criminal aggression of the U.S. government.

[minnesotafollower]

Cuba’s Current Economic and Political Crises

Introduction[1] At least by early December 2023, it was evident that Cuba was experiencing a horrible economic crisis. One commentator put it this way: “Cuba is going through the worst crisis it has experienced in decades, with widespread shortages of food and medicines, rolling blackouts and a sky-high 400% annual inflation rate. The calls on the communist leadership to open up the economy to…

[kneedeepincynade]

Socialist nations stand together and help each other in the face of capitalist suppression and sabotage

The post is machine translated

Translation is at the bottom

The collective is on telegram

🥰 AMICI, COMPAGNI E FRATELLI | FUTURO CONDIVISO TRA CINA E CUBA

🇨🇳 Oggi, 4 novembre, il Compagno Li Qiang - Primo Ministro della Repubblica Popolare Cinese, ha incontrato il Compagno Manuel Marrero Cruz - Primo Ministro della Repubblica di Cuba, giunto a Shanghai per partecipare alla Sesta Edizione della 中国国际进口博览会 - China International Import Expo 🇨🇺

🚩 Il Compagno Li Qiang ha dichiarato che Cina e Cuba sono entrambi Paesi Socialisti sotto la guida del proprio Partito Comunista, e che le Relazioni Sino-Cubane sono caratterizzate da un'Amicizia indissolubile 💕

🇨🇳 La Cina, ha affermato il Primo Ministro, è pronta ad attuare l'importante Consenso raggiunto dai due Capi di Stato, per costruire un Futuro Condiviso, caratterizzato dalla 合作共赢 - Cooperazione a Mutuo Vantaggio e dal rafforzamento della Fiducia Reciproca 💕

🇨🇳 La Cina ha sostenuto, sostiene e sosterrà sempre la giusta Lotta di Cuba per la salvaguardia della propria Sovranità, e continuerà a rafforzare la Comunicazione Strategica negli Affari Internazionali 🤝

🇨🇳 La Cina sostiene fermamente il processo di costruzione del Socialismo a Cuba, ed è disposta ad armonizzare al meglio la propria Strategia di Sviluppo con quella dell'Isola, soprattutto nell'ambito della 一带一路 - Nuova Via della Seta, per garantire l'espansione della Cooperazione in molteplici settori: energia, agricoltura, turismo, innovazione-tecnico scientifica 🤝

🇨🇺 Il Compagno Marrero ha dichiarato che i due Paesi stanno perseguendo, senza sosta, la strada del Socialismo, ognuno con le proprie caratteristiche peculiari dovute alle proprie condizioni nazionali e materiali, e che la Repubblica di Cuba è pronta a rafforzare le Relazioni con la Cina 😍

🇨🇺 Il Primo Ministro Cubano ha ricordato che l'Isola sostiene e difende il Principio dell'Unica Cina, e il Governo Cubano intende costruire congiuntamente la Nuova Via della Seta 🤝

💬 Alla fine del Colloquio, i due Primi Ministri hanno assistito alla firma di numerosi Accordi di Cooperazione 👏

🔍 Approfondimenti:

一 人类命运共同体 - Futuro Condiviso tra Cina e Cuba 💕

二 La Cina dona 100 milioni di dollari a Cuba 😍

三 La Cina dona attrezzature per migliorare l'approvvigionamento idrico e gestire la siccità a Cuba 😍

四 Wang Yi: «Cina e Cuba sono Amici, Compagni e Fratelli» ⭐️

🌸 Iscriviti 👉 @collettivoshaoshan 😘

🥰 FRIENDS, COMPANIONS AND BROTHERS | SHARED FUTURE BETWEEN CHINA AND CUBA

🇨🇳 Today, November 4, Comrade Li Qiang - Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China, met with Comrade Manuel Marrero Cruz - Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba, who arrived in Shanghai to participate in the Sixth Edition of the 中国国际进口博览会 - China International Import Expo 🇨🇺

🚩 Comrade Li Qiang declared that China and Cuba are both Socialist countries under the leadership of their own Communist Party and that Sino-Cuban Relations are characterized by unbreakable friendship 💕

🇨🇳 China, stated the Prime Minister, is ready to implement the important consensus reached by the two Heads of State, to build a Shared Future, characterized by 合作共赢 - Cooperation for Mutual Benefit and the strengthening of mutual trust 💕

🇨🇳 China has supported, supports and will always support Cuba's just struggle to safeguard its Sovereignty, and will continue to strengthen Strategic Communication in International Affairs 🤝

🇨🇳 China firmly supports the process of building Socialism in Cuba, and is willing to best harmonize its Development Strategy with that of the Island, especially in the context of the 一带一路 - New Silk Road, to guarantee the expansion of cooperation in multiple sectors: energy, agriculture, tourism, scientific-technical innovation 🤝

🇨🇺 Comrade Marrero declared that the two countries are relentlessly pursuing the path of Socialism, each with its own peculiar characteristics due to its own national and material conditions, and that the Republic of Cuba is ready to strengthen relations with the China 😍

🇨🇺 The Cuban Prime Minister reminded that the Island supports and defends the One China Principle, and the Cuban Government intends to jointly build the New Silk Road 🤝

💬 At the end of the meeting, the two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing of numerous Cooperation Agreements 👏

🔍 Further information:

一人类命运共同体 - Shared Future between China and Cuba 💕

二 China donates 100 million dollars to Cuba 😍

三 China donates equipment to improve water supply and manage drought in Cuba 😍

四 Wang Yi: «China and Cuba are Friends, Comrades and Brothers» ⭐️

🌸 Subscribe 👉 @collectivoshaoshan 😘

[gwendolynlerman]

Discovering the world

Cuba 🇨🇺

Basic facts

Official name: República de Cuba (Republic of Cuba)

Capital city: Havana

Population: 10.9 million (2023)

Demonym: Cuban

Type of government: unitary socialist republic

Head of state: Miguel Díaz-Canel (President)

Head of government: Manuel Marrero Cruz (Prime Minister)

Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity): $254.86 billion (2015)

Gini coefficient of wealth inequality: 46% (high) (2020)

Human Development Index: 0.764 (high) (2022)

Currency: Cuban peso (CUP)

Fun fact: It has the highest ratio of doctos per person in the world.

Etymology

The country’s name is thought to come from Taíno, but its exact meaning is unclear. It may derive from cubao (“where fertile land is abundant”) or coabana (“great place”).

Geography

Cuba is located in Central America and is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea. It is located east of Mexico, south of the United States and The Bahamas, and west of Haiti.

There are three main climates: tropical rainforest in the southeast, tropical monsoon in the northwest, and dry-winter tropical savanna in the rest. Temperatures range from 18 °C (64.4 °F) in winter to 31 °C (87.8 °F) in summer. The average annual temperature is 25.2 °C (77.4 °F).

The country is divided into fifteen provinces (provincias) and one special municipality. The largest cities in Cuba are Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Camagüey, Holguín, and Santa Clara.

History

1492: Spanish arrival

1511-1535 Governorate of Cuba

1535-1821: Viceroyalty of New Spain

1762: Siege of Havana

1868-1878: Ten Years’ War

1879-1880: Little War

1895-1898: Cuban War of Independence

1898-1902: United States Military Government in Cuba

1902-present: Republic of Cuba

1912: Little Race War

1917-1922: Sugar Intervention

1952: coup d’état

1953-1959: Cuban Revolution

1961: Bay of Pigs Invasion

Economy

Cuba mainly imports from Spain, China, and Italy and exports to China, Spain, and the Netherlands. Its top exports are sugar, tobacco, and nickel.

Its economy is dominated by tourism and the export of coffee, sugar, and tobacco. Services represent 74.6% of the GDP, followed by industry (23.7%) and agriculture (0.8%).

Cuba is a member of the Latin American Integration Association and the Organization of American States.

Demographics

64.1% of the population identifies as white, 26.6% as mixed, and 9.3% as black. The main religion is Christianity, practiced by 58.9% of the population, most of which are Catholic.

It has a negative net migration rate and a fertility rate of 1.7 children per woman. 77.4% of the population lives in urban areas. Life expectancy is 79.6 years and the median age is 40.4 years. The literacy rate is 99.8%.

Languages

The official language of the country is Spanish. Haitian Creole is the second most spoken language.

Culture

Cuban culture is a blend of those of Africa, Spain, and the indigenous Taíno. Cubans are very social and friendly.

Men traditionally wear a white shirt (guayabera), loose white pants, and a straw hat. Women wear a long, brightly colored dress with ruffles (bata) and a headdress.

Architecture

Traditional houses in Cuba are colorful, are made of whitewashed wood and thatch or tiles, and have a small front yard.

Cuisine

The Cuban diet is based on beans, meat, rice, and vegetables. Typical dishes include boliche (beef roast stuffed with ham), cucurucho (fruit inside a cone-shaped palm leaf), frita (a burger made with beef and pork and served with lettuce, onions, and shoestring potatoes), medianoche (a sandwich with ham, mustard, roast pork, Swiss cheese, and sweet pickles), and ropa vieja (shredde beef in tomato sauce served with black beans and rice).

Holidays and festivals

Like other Christian countries, Cuba celebrates Good Friday and Christmas Day. It also commemorates New Year’s Day.

Specific Cuban holidays include Liberation Day on January 1, Victory Day on January 2, Day of the National Rebellion on July 25-27, which commemorates the assault on the Moncada garrison, and Independence Day on October 10.

Day of the National Rebellion

Other celebrations include Festival del Habano, which is dedicated to cigars; Festival of Fire, which celebrates music and dance from the Caribbean, and the Trinidad Cross Procession, which was originally designed to trick looting pirates.

Festival of Fire

Landmarks

There are nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Archeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the South-East of Cuba, Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, Desembarco del Granma National Park, Historic Center of Camagüey, Historic Center of Cienfuegos, Old Havana and its Fortifications, San Pedro de la Roca Castle, Trinidad and Valley de los Ingenios, and Viñales Valley.

Alejandro de Humboldt National Park

Other landmarks include the Cathedral of Havana; the Cristo de la Habana, a statue of Christ; the Cueva de los Portales, a cave that was the headquarters of the army during the Cuban Missile Crisis; the Morro Castle, and the Salto Fino waterfall.

Morro Castle

Famous people

Alejo Carpentier - writer

Alicia Alonso - dancer

Ana de Armas - actress

Andy García - actor

Daína Chaviano - writer

Gloria Estefan - singer

Javier Sotomayor - athlete

Martín Dihigo - baseball player

Regla Torres - volleyball player

Teófilo Stevenson - boxer

Alicia Alonso

You can find out more about life in Cuba in this article and this video.

[kacydeneen]

Cuban Government Lifting Some Restrictions On Food, Medicine

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero has announced they were temporarily lifting restrictions on Cuban citizens who go on foreign trips to bring home toiletries, food, and medicines, which are among the hardest to find items in Cuba.

Cuban Government Lifting Some Restrictions On Food, Medicine published first on Miami News

[investkal]

Cuba Eases Food and Drug Import Restrictions After Mass Protests

Cuba Eases Food and Drug Import Restrictions After Mass Protests

The government will temporarily lift limits and tariffs on food, hygiene items such as shampoo and soap, and medicine brought to the island by travelers, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said Wednesday, in an event broadcast on local TV. From now until Dec. 31, 2021, the only limits will be those imposed by the airlines, he said. Click here to read full article Source link

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Armenia prioritizes the development of a common approach to the protection of EAEU internal markets – Nikol Pashinyan

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Armenia prioritizes the development of a common approach to the protection of EAEU internal markets – Nikol Pashinyan

On a working visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today attended a regular session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council (EIC) in Almaty.

The event was also attended by RF Premier Mikhail Mishustin, Belarus Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Ulukbek Maripov, as well as by heads of government from Eurasian Economic Union observer states: Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba Manuel Marrero Cruz and Acting Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova Aureliu Ciocoi (both via videoconference), and Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Mikhail Myasnikovich.

After a joint photo session, attended by the heads of government, the EIC meeting kicked off, first in a narrow and then in an expanded format. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivered a speech at the expanded-format session, in which he stated:

“Dear Eurasian Intergovernmental Council Members, Dear Participants,

I would like to start my speech with a vote of thanks to Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin for the invitation and for hosting today’s important event. I take this opportunity to once again congratulate Askar Uzakpayevich on being re-appointed to the post of Prime Minister. I am confident that your activities will help further strengthen relationships between our countries, as well as develop and implement the mutually agreed decisions in a multilateral format, including the development of the EAEU potential.

I would also like to congratulate Ulukbek Asamidinovich Maripov on his appointment as Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic and wish him every success in his activities.

I extend my heartfelt greetings to the representatives of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Moldova and the Republic of Cuba who are participating as observers. Your attendance comes to demonstrate once again the growing international importance of our organization. This is another good reason to reaffirm our readiness to cooperate with the observer states in the framework of joint programs and projects of mutual interest.

Among the key outcomes of the preceding period, I would highlight the final approval of the Union’s development strategy by 2025. We hope that this year will be fruitful in terms of further implementation of those integration vectors reflected in the document. In this regard, I would like to highlight the measures aimed at expanding cooperation in the sphere of high technologies and digital technologies, in particular.

Armenia has traditionally actively participated in and supported the process of creating and implementing the EAEU Digital Agenda. We welcome the holding of a digital forum on the sidelines of today’s meeting, in which I had the pleasure to participate. I am confident that the Forum will go a long way towards identifying the priority areas and developing effective tools for cooperation between our countries in the field of high and digital technologies.

In this context, I should state with satisfaction the successful launch of a pilot mobile application project, referred to as Traveling without COVID-19. Launched on February 1, 2021, the project allowed us to find mutually acceptable solutions to resuming passenger traffic between Armenia, Belarus and Russia, which is of paramount social and economic significance to our country. Obviously, this project is also important in terms of reducing the risk of coronavirus infection and occupies an important place among the measures taken to combat the pandemic.

Dear colleagues, coming to the agenda of today’s meeting, I would like to weigh in on the following topics. There is no doubt that the improvement of mechanisms for the application of special protective, anti-dumping and countervailing measures in the EAEU can be effectively used to protect domestic producers from the negative impact of increased imports or unfair competition from third countries. Here, both a unified approach and the final result are important as reflected in the competitiveness of the goods of the Union states in relation to the goods of third countries.

The Armenian side is prepared to work closely with its integration partners to develop a common approach to the application of such measures. In the context of mechanisms aimed at protecting the Union’s internal market, we should also consider the possibility of developing and implementing a retaliatory mechanism on the territory of the EAEU in accordance with existing international treaties.

We attach great importance to the assessments and generalizations provided in the report “On Macroeconomic Situation in EAEU-Member States and Proposals for Ensuring Sustainable Economic Development.” I am confident that they are useful for analyzing the financial and economic situation in our countries and forecasting the development scenarios.

Finally, I would like to thank you for the constructive approach shown by the EAEU countries to Armenia’s initiative to revise the list of countries-users of the unified system of tariff preferences. I am pleased to note that the issue of granting tariff preferences for goods and services from developing and least developed countries has already been included in the agenda of our organization and will soon be given an appropriate decision based on the criteria we have adopted.

In conclusion, I would like to reaffirm Armenia’s readiness to endeavor towards implementing the EAEU priority areas as identified by the Kazakh Chairmanship to further promote Eurasian integration and develop our union. Thank you.”

The prime ministers of EAEU-member states discussed several agenda items. In particular, they outlined ways of improving the mechanisms for protecting the Union’s internal markets and a mechanism for applying retaliatory measures in the EAEU customs territory.

The meeting approved a procedure for coordinating and providing analytical support to selection and breeding activities in the field of livestock breeding. The heads of government were presented a report on the macroeconomic situation and proposals to ensure sustainable economic development in the EAEU-member states.”

A number of documents were signed on the results of the meeting.  

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