Cuba reaches player agreement with Major League Baseball

Source : Johannes Werner Thu Dec 20, 04:49 pm EST
Potentially ending decades of standoff, defections, and talent drain for Cuba, the Federación Cubana de Béisbol (FCB) finalized an agreement with Major League Baseball and players' union MLBPA, opening a legal path for Cuban athletes to play professionally in the United States Previous Top Stories

Economy

Cubans get Internet by phone

After years of preparation, months-long trials, and a test run in November, Etecsa launched a third-generation mobile telephony network with 789 transmitters that can reach 66% of the island's population Vietnamese company gets Russian support for its Cuba projects
Cuban arrears: Spain provides new funding, Cuba promises faster payment
Canada pitches public-private model for Cuban infrastructure
Reuters: Venezuela to receive 2,000 Cuban doctors pulled from Brazil
Reuters: Reality bites: Cuba plans more austerity as finances worsen
Reuters: Cuba sees sugar recovery, more exports, after bitter harvest
Reuters: Cuba forecasts slow growth in 2019 as economic woes continue

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Companies

FedEx abandons Cuba plans

After nearly three years of scaling back and delaying a start, FedEx Corp. is abandoning plans to offer cargo flights to Cuba altogether Chinese oil company to drill in Block 9 this year
French company opens catering business at Mariel
Italian builder agrees to take on Trinidad hotel project
Dallas Business Journal: Southwest Airlines balks at American Airlines' new idea for Cuba routes
Seatrade Cruise: Regent delves deeper with two immersive Cuba cruises
Basball America: Cuba baseball expert Peter Bjarkman remembered for his passion
Miami Herald: American Airlines plans daily service from Miami to Santiago

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Politics

Trump administration increases pressure on Cuba, by way of investors

Threatening to release a slew of lawsuits against third-country companies, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suspended Title III of the Helms-Burton law for only 45 days The Washington View: An ‘immoral deal’? Not for Cuban athletes!
Analysis: Foreign investment — a new sense of urgency
U.S. farm bill includes funding to promote agricultural exports to Cuba
Reuters: Cuba seeks improved governance
Reuters: U.S. considering allowing lawsuits over Cuba-confiscated properties
Reuters: Brazil's Bolsonaro says he discussed Cuba, Israel, trade with Bolton
AP: Cuba says U.S. unfairly denying diplomatic visas

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LIFESTYLES

Tony Zamora, 1941-2018

Tony Zamora, a driving force behind Cuba Media LLC, which publishes Cuba Standard, passed away in June, after losing his battle with cancer LaHabana.com: The anniversary issue

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BLOG TICKER

Cuba Central: It was only a year ago…
Cuba Trade magazine: No easy fixes for Cuba's water accessibility woes
Generation Y: Absence means forgetting
Havana Times: The reform process, what's changed?
Progreso Weekly: To grow old in Cuba, preserve your wings
The Internet in Cuba: Cuba's (hopefully limited) ADSL expansion

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Data & Maps

Cuba’s crude oil and natural gas output has practically been stagnating since 2003. In fact, production of oil fields in the old Havana province (now Mayabeque province), including those of Guanabo, Boca de Jaruco, Santa Cruz and Puerto Escondido, decreased by one-third (-32.1%) over the past 10 years, from a record 1.87 million tons of oil, or 32,350 b/d*. Meanwhile, yields in Matanzas province helped offset the decline in Havana/Mayabeque. Oil output at the Seboruco, Varadero-Cárdenas, Cantel and Majaguillar fields grew by one-third (34.4%) in the same period, to a record 1.54 million tons or 26,670 b/d in 2015.

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Hurricane Irma: Costlier than record storm Ike

Assessing the damage two weeks after the storm, official daily Granma said “it wouldn’t be surprising if the cost exceeds that of Ike in 2008, the most destructive hurricane in this century, which was estimated at 7.325 billion pesos”. Today, this figure would be equivalent to 9% of Cuba’s Gross Domestic Product in 2014, or one-fifth of all tax income collected by the government in 2016.

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Cuba's water crisis: It's not all due to climate change

Cuba has one of the largest water reservoir systems in the Hemisphere, per capita and territory. Conceived for a planned economy that no longer exists, Cuba’s current water reservoirs largely exceed the needs of the country. Ironically, there is a chronic water deficit for consumers and in almost every economic sector.

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