HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- Cuba has chosen to pay a steeper price than it has to for Venezuelan oil so it can discourage itself from becoming too dependent on one source for energy, a senior Cuban official said on Friday. The Caracas agreement, begun in 2000 when oil prices were below $20 per barrel. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- Companies from Cuba and Spain penned, within the framework of Havana’s 27th International Trade Fair, a letter of intent to improve the quality of the sanitation products made at the Ironwork Plant in Havana. The accord also includes the building of a plant for sewage disposal. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- Cuba and Trinidad & Tobago ratified their commercial cooperation bonds during the fourth day of Havana’s 27th International Fair, which winds up on Saturday at the Expocuba complex. Trinidadian ambassador Lester Efebo Wilkinson thanked Cuba for its cooperation in programs. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) -- The European Union does not seek a regime change in communist Cuba, but expects progress on human rights, a visiting EU official said after meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro. The EU suspended ties with Cuba after a major roundup of 75 dissidents in March 2003. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- Russian state oil company Zarubezhneft signed contracts with Cuba on Tuesday to search for oil along Cuba's northern coast and said it was looking at procuring more areas for exploration in a step forward for the island's oil hopes. Zarubezhneft signed up for four almost contiguous blocks. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) -- Cuba's state-run media on Monday condemned a just-published book in which Fidel Castro's sister admits she spied for the Central Intelligence Agency. The country's media added that the expose proves that the former Cuban leader was a "victim" of decades of US targeting. read more...

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VARADERO, Cuba (ACN) -- Canada's WestJet airline started operations to Cuba this Sunday, when the first flight of tour operator WestJet Vacations landed at the Juan Gualberto Gomez International Airport in this city. The Boing 737 was met at the airport terminal by officials of the Cuban Ministry of Tourism. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- Cuba’s access to master’s degrees and postgraduate courses in Venezuela was highlighted at the 9th Joint Commission on Higher Education, held at Pueblo Guri, in the Venezuelan state of Bolivar. At the meeting the participants also acknowledged Cuba’s collaboration in the project. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- A popular website of classified ads that has given Cubans a taste of the free market has been blocked on the communist-run island, Internet users said. Cubans trying to access Revolico.com are being diverted to the search engine Google.com. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- Cuba has achieved the figure of two million visitors for the sixth year in a row, this time two weeks before the date this amount was reached in 2008. This industry rejoices at the news of this achievement, especially important amid the world economic crisis and the health situation. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- St Kitts and Nevis was among the 187 nations that voted this week for an end to the United States economic and trade embargo against Cuba. The vote recorded was 187 in favour to 3 against and 2 abstentions. The 192-Member Assembly in its resolution urged the lifting of the stiff... read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica's House of Representatives has approved a resolution supporting the removal of the trade embargo on Cuba by the United States. The vote was timely, as it came only a day before the United Nations' General Assembly voted for the 18th year to condemn the 47-year embargo. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- Copies of almost 3,000 letters and documents from the Ernest Hemingway Museum archives in Finca Vigia, where the outstanding writer lived for several years in Cuba, have been made available at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, United States. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro "looks wonderful," World Health Organization director general Margaret Chan said on Wednesday, after meeting the 83-year-old who resigned the presidency last year due to ailing health.Cuba's health system is widely praised for its preventative measures . read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan, concluded on Wednesday her visit to Cuba, after four days of visits to several scientific and health care institutions and meeting with government officials. Margaret Chan described Cuba’s health parameters as impressive. read more...

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UNITED NATIONS (AFP) -- The UN General Assembly called overwhelmingly Wednesday on US President Barack Obama's administration to end Washington's Cold War-era trade embargo against Cuba. This was the 18th year running that the UN General Assembly condemned US trade restrictions. read more...

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MIAMI, USA (Reuters) -- Fidel Castro is still influencing the government of President Raul Castro in Cuba and holding back any moves toward a democratic opening on the island, the exiled younger sister of both men said. Juanita Castro, 76 this week revealed she collaborated with the CIA. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- US, Cuban and Mexican scientists have drawn up plans for joint research in the Gulf of Mexico, in another sign of improvement in long-hostile US-Cuba relations. In a meeting in Havana this week, they agreed on top priorities for collecting information about the Gulf. read more...

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MIAMI, USA (Reuters) - The younger sister of Fidel and Raul Castro, Juanita Castro, collaborated with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency against her brothers' rule in Cuba before going into exile in Miami in 1964, she said on Sunday.  Juanita Castro, 76, has not spoken to either of her brothers for more than four decades. read more...

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LOS ANGELES, USA (AFP) -- Oscar-winning actor and political activist Sean Penn flew to Cuba hoping to interview its revolutionary icon Fidel Castro, entertainment news website TMZ reported Sunday. Penn was traveling with Diana Jenkins, the pair set out from Las Vegas on Saturday. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (Reuters) -- US President Barack Obama asked Spain to pass Cuba a message on the need for democratic reform when he met Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero earlier this month, according to a US official. Obama has pledged a "new beginning" in relations with Cuba. read more...

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RALEIGH, USA -- Environmental Defense Fund will send a team of experts to Havana, Cuba, on Sunday to discuss ways to eliminate overfishing, protect coral reefs, conserve coastal areas, and tap potential ocean energy - a signal that greater environmental cooperation may be on the horizon. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- The 12th Cuba-Belize Intergovernmental Meeting ended on Friday with the signing of a Cooperation Protocol for the 2009- 2010 period. The document was signed by Cuban Minister for Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca, and Belizean Minister of Foreign Affairs read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- Even though Cuba has been producing rum aged in American barrels for more than a century, the product cannot be sold in the United States because of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of that country against the island. The US consumes 40 percent of the alcoholic... read more...

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SANTA CLARA, Cuba (ACN) -- A paper presented on Wednesday during the 10th Scientific Meeting of the Cuban Society of Geology’s office in Villa Clara province shows a study of over 250 mineral lots in this territory where gold is present. During the meeting, Emiliano Gallardo, a specialist with the Geology and... read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez held official talks with his Guyanese counterpart, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, who arrived in Havana on Wednesday. Cuba and Guyana keep excellent bilateral relations as shown by the cooperation projects maintained between the two countries. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- Venezuela and Nicaragua introduced the issue of the US economic blockade against Cuba in a meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) underway in Washington to discuss the current political crisis in Honduras. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- New Orleans hopes to cash in on an improvement in US-Cuba relations by getting direct charter flights between New Orleans and Havana, the US city's mayor said in Havana. "We see a huge opportunity if President (Barack) Obama continues to go in the direction he's headed," Ray Nagin said. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- A day after his surprise release from prison, Cuban dissident Nelson Aguiar urged the government on Wednesday to free all political prisoners and said he was at one stage held in "Stone Age" conditions during his six years behind bars. Aguiar, 64, told Reuters he was stunned... read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- Cuba's government has released one of its estimated 200 political prisoners in a gesture of goodwill following a visit by Spain's foreign minister, Cuban dissidents and Spanish diplomats said on Tuesday. Spain portrayed the release as a vindication of its policy of engagement. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- Business between Cuba and four of its top five trading partners has declined sharply this year in a reflection of the communist-led Caribbean island's deep economic crisis, trade reports from the countries said. Reductions in exports to and imports from Cuba ranged from 20 percent. read more...

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CIEGO DE AVILA, Cuba (ACN) -- Farmers from this central Cuban province started sowing a new variety of pineapple that triples the yield of previous ones and has higher concentrations of sugar and Vitamin C, according to experts. Known as MD-2, the species is capable of producing from 80 to 120 tons per hectare. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA -- More than two dozen items, ranging from travel and entertainment to jewelry and original artwork, are available for auction with the proceeds benefiting people with the greatest needs in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Pan American Development Foundation announced on Monday. read more...

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BELMOPAN, Belize -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Belize has announced that the 12th Session of the Belize/Cuba Mixed Commission will be held in Havana, Cuba on 22 and 23 October. The Belize delegation will be headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Wilfred Elrington. read more...

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CHARLESTOWN, Nevis -- A top health official on Nevis described the response to the first of weekly Cuban eye care specialist’s clinics at the Alexandra Hospital last week as overwhelming. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health in the Nevis Island Administration Joslyn Liburd, told the... read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- The Cuban Agriculture Ministry has prioritized the boosting of food production in order to guarantee the country’s food safety as a way to face the impact of the world economic crisis. In a ceremony to mark World Food Day on Friday in the capital, Havana, Agriculture Deputy Minister Jose Puente... read more...

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NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) -- The mayor of New Orleans flew to Cuba Friday on a mission to study the island's respected disaster preparedness methods in another sign of easing diplomatic relations. Ray Nagin is the first US mayor to make a diplomatic visit to Cuba in 50 years, his office said. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (Reuters) -- A Puerto Rican man who spent 41 years living in Cuba after hijacking a 1968 Pan American flight may have left exile there to follow his wife to the United States, according to his lawyer. Luis Armando Pena Soltren, 66, turned himself in to US authorities on Sunday. read more...

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CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) -- Installation of 1,630 kilometers of fiber optic cable between Cuba and Venezuela will start Wednesday, Venezuela's science and technology chief said. Caracas is communist Cuba's closest ally in Latin America, and a leading financial support through oil and trade deals. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (AFP) -- A US man who fled to Cuba 41 years ago pleaded not guilty Tuesday in New York to a 1968 airliner hijacking, three days after he voluntarily returned home to face trial. Luis Armando Pena Soltren, 66, appeared before a federal magistrate in New York on charges of conspiracy to commit... read more...

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