»New travel rules open Cuba to thousands more Americans
Source: Associated Press
May 21, 2011
The forbidden fruit of American travel is once again within reach. New rules issued by the Obama administration will allow Americans wide access to communist-led Cuba, already a mecca for tourists from other nations.
Within months or even weeks, thousands of people from Seattle to Sarasota could be shaking their hips in tropical nightclubs and sampling the famous stogies, without having to sneak in through a third country and risk the Treasury Department's wrath.
»Cuba further eases limits on private businesses
Source: CNN
May 18, 2011
Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- The Cuban government has agreed to allow all private businesses to hire employees, something previously restricted to a limited number of occupations, state media said Tuesday.
Raul said more private enterprise would be allowed to help soak up some of the unemployed and provide new sources of income, via taxes, for depleted state coffers. The government published a list of 178 private occupations that Cubans could hold, from running a private restaurant to working as a plumber to being a party clown. Of those, 83 of them could hire employees
»Colorful march in Havana celebrates sexual diversity
Source: Associated Press
May 14th, 2011
Cubans have held a short but colorful parade celebrating sexual diversity to mark the International Day Against Homophobia.
Dozens of people waving rainbow flags and banging drums marched through the capital Saturday.Mariela Castro campaigns for gay rights and heads the government-backed National Sexual Education Center. She says the march is meant to raise awareness about discrimination.
»Companies With Permission to Bypass Sanctions
Source: New York Times
December 23rd, 2010
The Treasury Department has granted nearly 10,000 licenses for deals involving countries that have been cast into economic purgatory, beyond the reach of American business.
Licenses allow almost 4,000 American companies to enter into transactions that would otherwise be prohibited by trade embargoes and sanctions rules. Most of the licenses were issued under a broadly defined “humanitarian” exemption mandated by Congress that has allowed companies to do billions of dollars of business in countries that have been blacklisted for years including Cuba
»Over 81,000 Cubans apply for permits for private work
Source: news.xinhuanet
November 28th, 2010
More than 81,000 Cubans applied for licenses to open small businesses or rent their homes since the government decided in October to expand these activities as part of a plan to eliminate 500,000 government jobs, the official daily Granma said on Saturday.
A total of 81,498 Cubans had applied for permits to develope "self employed" (private) work till Nov. 19, less than a month after the announcement of new measures for the expansion and flexibility of that activity, Granma said.
Granma stressed that already 29,038 permits have been delivered and more than 16,000 requests are under study. 20 percent of the accepted "self employed" licenses shall be used to produce or sell food, an activity with great demand on the island