Cuba has eased restrictions on the sale of computers, DVD players and other electrical goods in the first sign of economic liberalization since former Cuban president Fidel Castro retired last month. The appliances will go on sale immediately and be available to anybody who can pay, according to an internal government memo seen by the news agency Reuters.
The move followed promises by new Cuban President Raul Castro to improve dire living standards that make daily life a grind and erode confidence in the island's communist leadership.
MORE POWER
The memo said: "Based on the improved availability of electricity, the government at the highest level has approved the sale of some equipment which was prohibited."
The list of newly available goods included 19-inch and 24-inch TVs, electric pressure cookers, electric bicycles, car alarms and microwaves.
The sale of many appliances was banned in the 1990s, when the end of Soviet subsidies led to an energy crisis and daily blackouts. Subsidized oil from Venezuela is now filling the gap, allowing Havana's policymakers to ease restrictions.
With an average monthly salary of just ?8 (US$16), few Cubans will be able to splash out, but the relaxation was seen as a sign that the government was serious about addressing economic grievances.
LIBERALIZATION?
When illness forced Fidel Castro to step aside in 2006, there was speculation that his less ideological and more pragmatic brother would cautiously try to copy China's economic liberalization. Raul's confirmation as president last month appears to have emboldened him to make his first concrete move.
"The country's priority will be to meet the basic needs of the population, both material and spiritual," said Raul, 76, upon formally taking office.
If confirmed, the move shows practical recognition of the desire for material improvements, said David Jessop, director of the Cuba Initiative, a London-based body which promotes trade between the island and Britain.
"It will be interesting to see whether this step is followed by other changes in the coming months in relation to agriculture, travel and access to tourism facilities," he said.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS