Travel:
The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee voted in favor of lifting the travel ban to Cuba, just days after the U.S. and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations on July 21. Read more here from AP’s story.
Business:
Florida bank Stonegate became the first U.S. bank to sign a correspondent banking relationship with Cuba’s Banco Internacional de Comercio SA, a significant step toward normalizing commercial transactions between the two countries. Find out how this will help promote business on both sides from a report by Time magazine.
Culture:
Cuban ballet is renowned around the world. Listen to the interview with José Manuel Carreñoa, a Cuban born former principal ballet dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, to find out how the restored U.S.-Cuban relations are going to affect cultural exchanges between the two countries, especially for ballet. Here & Now has the full story.
A look at the rich marine life at Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen), a 367-square-mile marine preserve off the south coast of Cuba. It’s a wonderland full of sharks, groupers, fishes and coral reefs, a diver’s paradise, but not yet gang-rushed by tourists. Read more about the marine preserve and how tourism is going to impact the area from The New York Times.
Health:
Cuba was declared by the W.H.O. as the first country in the world to eliminate the risk of transmitting HIV and syphilis from mother to child. Find out how Cuba achieved this ground-breaking medical milestone here in this blog posted on United Nations Development Programme.