Cuban President Meets with Chinese Foreign Minister

HAVANA, Cuba, April 21 (acn) Cuban President Raul Castro held talks Sunday afternoon with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, who paid a one-day official visit to Cuba as part of a regional tour.

The meeting affirmed the excellent relations between Beijing and Havana, which continue to strengthen towards larger development, as an expression of the friendly links between the Chinese and Cuban peoples and governments, Granma newspaper reported.

Raul Castro and Wang Yi also addressed issues of international interest.

The meeting was attended by the general director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Shen Zhiliang and the Chinese ambassador to Havana Zahng Tuo.

Also attending the talks was Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez.

China Ratifies its Determination to Reinforce Cooperation with Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, April 21 (acn) Cuba is a reliable partner therefore we ratify our government’s willingness to keep reinforcing bilateral strategic cooperation, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Havana.

During a meeting with Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez on Sunday Wang Yi said that his presence on the island is in tune with periodical exchange between both foreign ministries and with the objective of preparing the visit to Cuba this year by President Xi Jingping.

Wang Yi also reiterated China’s support of Cuba in multilateral forums, and against the US economic, commercial and financial blockade of the island.

Meanwhile, the Cuban foreign minister stressed the traditional friendly links between the two nations by stressing common views in the international arena, the fruitful bilateral cooperation in many sectors, and permanent exchange of experience in the construction of prosperous socialism.

Rodriguez also referred to the advancement of bilateral relations between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.

Wang Yi paid an official visit to Cuba on Sunday as part of a tour that includes Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil.

Another Dutch Travel Agency Punished by US Blockade

HAVANA, Cuba, April 21 (acn) The US Department of State imposed a 5.9-million-dollar fine on the Dutch CWT B.V. travel agency for having commercial relations with Cuba.

The Us Office of Foreign Assets Control punished the Dutch company for having programmed business trips from and to the island since 2006, when its capital largely went to American owners.

According to the US office, possible violations of the US blockade by the Dutch company took place between August 8, 2006 and November 28, 2013 due to negotiations in which “Cuba or its nationals had interests” and these operations involved trips to Cuba by 44 thousand 430 people.

This is not the first time that Washington punishes a Dutch company for doing transactions with Cuba, which exposes the extra-territorial nature of the US blockade against the island.

In 2012, the US Office fined the ING Bank with 619 million dollars and in 2010 another four banks were forced to jointly pay over 502 million dollars for similar reasons.

The US anti-Cuba measure has cost the people of Cuba over one trillion, 157 billion dollars and it entails a violation of the UN Charter and International Law.

The US blockade has been overwhelmingly condemned by the international community over the past 22 years at the UN General Assembly.

ULAN Strengthens Regional Information Alliance in Havana

Havana, Apr 21 (Prensa Latina) Directors from the Latin American Union of News Agencies (ULAN) are analyzing concrete actions here today in this capital, meant to strengthen their reporting alliance.

As part of the Third General Assembly of the ULAN, taking place at the emblematic Hotel Nacional de Cuba, representatives from a dozen regional agencies are discussing the need for unity in confronting media campaigns hostile to Latin America.

Dealing with such attacks against Latin American nations and the integrationist processes are at the top of the assembly agenda.

The Third General Assembly provides an opportunity to officially present the efforts at unity that are reflected at the UNASUR website, a platform that has received contributions from its members since last year.

A declaration of support for the results from the Second Summit of Latin American and Caribbean States, as well as a statement of support for the Venezuelan people as they confront a campaign against their constitutional order are among the items planned for discussion at the meeting.

After arriving in Havana, representatives from the agencies expressed concern about the U.S. media aggression against Cuba, in the wake of the disclosure of the existence of the so-called Cuban Twitter or Zunzuneo project, designed to subvert the order in the Caribbean nation.

The ULAN was founded in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2011, with the objective of unifying and distributing Latin American voices and identities in a common effort to provide a firsthand view of Latin American and Caribbean reality.

The Third General Assembly includes executives from AVN (Venezuela), TELAM (Argentina), Prensa Latina (Cuba), ABI (Bolivia), Andina (Perú), Notimex (México), ANDES (Ecuador), Agencia Brasil, and the Uruguayan communication secretariat.

Japan and Cuba Explore Possibilities for Cooperation

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr.- (acn) Representatives of Japan and Cuba exchanged opinions in Tokyo about possibilities for mutual cooperation favoring business people of the two countries, informed the Prensa Latina news agency on Thursday.

According to the source, that topic was tackled during a meeting at the Japanese capital between Cuban ambassador Marcos Rodriguez and the president of the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro), Hiroyuki Ishige.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei Shinbun newspaper published an article on the new Foreign Investment Law approved by the Cuban Parliament on March 29.

With a circulation of three million copies, the newspaper offered details on the development project in the port of Mariel for potential investors and offered data of fiscal incentives like the exemption of taxes over profits during the first eight years.

Cuban Seismologists Share Knowledge in Nicaragua

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba, Apr 16 (acn) Cuban seismologists share their knowledge in the assessment of the increasing telluric activity in Nicaragua, after a strong event registered on April 10.

Representing Cuba in the fraternal nation, and the National Center for Seismologic Research (CENAIS) based in this eastern city are doctors Bladimir Moreno, its director, and O´leary Gonzalez and Jose Leonardo Alvarez, who also share experiences with experts from other countries.

Grisell Morejon, scientific deputy director of the institution, said that thanks to the high technology they have, the region’s seismic activity is monitored from the central station of the National Seismologic Service and they send information to specialists in Nicaragua.

An increasing wave of telluric movements has been registered since Thursday afternoon, when the first event occurred, with a magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale.

Seismologists of other parts of the world have expressed their willingness to travel to Nicaragua to join the team of scientists, according to reports published by international press agencies.