Latest news with #DaveSherwood
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Cuban students seek concessions as frustration grows over internet rate hikes
By Dave Sherwood and Mario Fuentes HAVANA: Cuban students clamored on Wednesday for further concessions to roll back a rate hike on internet data, saying a decision on Monday to offer them discounted access did not go far enough. Students of at least one department at the University of Havana , the country's largest, called on their peers to skip classes in protest of the price hikes, which have been rebuked across the Caribbean island nation. Reuters spoke with several students outside the university on Wednesday who confirmed the calls for a class boycott in some departments. They said the situation remained tense on campus, and the issues unresolved, despite concessions on Monday from state-run telecommunications firm Etecsa that offered deeper data plan discounts for university students. Haydee Fernandez, a 28-year-old student, said the price increases were unreasonable. "I can't study if I don't have up-to-date (online) information," she said. "If it's necessary to stop classes, they should be stopped until there's a logical response to these needs." Four students said attendance appeared largely normal on Wednesday but that many students continued to threaten walkouts. Hany Blanco, 19, a first-year student, said she would continue going to classes but felt prices needed to be rolled back immediately. "The old prices were accessible but now it's gotten very difficult." Etecsa on Friday capped subsidized mobile data plans - offered for a steeply discounted rate of 360 pesos (less than $1 on the informal market exchange) - at six gigabytes, well shy of Cuba 's average monthly usage of 10 gigabytes, according to state data. Prices for an additional three gigabytes soar to 3,360 pesos ($9), more than Cuba's monthly minimum wage of 2,100 pesos ($6). The price hikes - billed by the government as necessary to upgrade ailing infrastructure - have touched a nerve in Communist-run Cuba, where inflation has soared in recent years. The University of Havana acknowledged the debate over the hikes but warned in a statement late on Tuesday that it would not tolerate disruptions to its classes. Cuba rolled out widespread mobile internet in 2018, well behind much of the world. Cellphone data use on the island has soared since, with over 7.5 million users.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cuban students seek concessions as frustration grows over internet rate hikes
By Dave Sherwood and Mario Fuentes HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban students clamored on Wednesday for further concessions to roll back a rate hike on internet data, saying a decision on Monday to offer them discounted access did not go far enough. Students of at least one department at the University of Havana, the country's largest, called on their peers to skip classes in protest of the price hikes, which have been rebuked across the Caribbean island nation. Reuters spoke with several students outside the university on Wednesday who confirmed the calls for a class boycott in some departments. They said the situation remained tense on campus, and the issues unresolved, despite concessions on Monday from state-run telecommunications firm Etecsa that offered deeper data plan discounts for university students. Haydee Fernandez, a 28-year-old student, said the price increases were unreasonable. "I can't study if I don't have up-to-date (online) information," she said. "If it's necessary to stop classes, they should be stopped until there's a logical response to these needs." Four students said attendance appeared largely normal on Wednesday but that many students continued to threaten walkouts. Hany Blanco, 19, a first-year student, said she would continue going to classes but felt prices needed to be rolled back immediately. "The old prices were accessible but now it's gotten very difficult." Etecsa on Friday capped subsidized mobile data plans - offered for a steeply discounted rate of 360 pesos (less than $1 on the informal market exchange) - at six gigabytes, well shy of Cuba's average monthly usage of 10 gigabytes, according to state data. Prices for an additional three gigabytes soar to 3,360 pesos ($9), more than Cuba's monthly minimum wage of 2,100 pesos ($6). The price hikes - billed by the government as necessary to upgrade ailing infrastructure - have touched a nerve in Communist-run Cuba, where inflation has soared in recent years. The University of Havana acknowledged the debate over the hikes but warned in a statement late on Tuesday that it would not tolerate disruptions to its classes. Cuba rolled out widespread mobile internet in 2018, well behind much of the world. Cellphone data use on the island has soared since, with over 7.5 million users.
Japan Today
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
U.S. top diplomat in Havana promises more sanctions on Cuba
By Dave Sherwood The United States' top diplomat in Havana said on Friday the U.S. had more sanctions in store for Cuba just days after punishing several Cuban judicial officials for their roles in jailing political dissidents on the island. Three Cuban judges and a prosecutor were forbidden from entering the United States on Wednesday, the latest sanctions from the Trump administration, which earlier declared a tough new policy on Cuba. "The sanctions announced this Wednesday were just the beginning," U.S. Embassy chief of mission Mike Hammer told reporters in Miami. "This administration is determined to sanction repressors. There will be consequences for their actions." U.S. President Donald Trump has already doubled down on sanctions since taking office in January, returning longtime foe Cuba to a U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, tightening rules on remittances and shutting off Biden-era migration programs. The 61-year-old Hammer, a career U.S. diplomat who arrived in Cuba just six months ago, has kept a busy schedule, wandering the country widely as he talks with dissidents, small business owners and Cubans of all walks of life. In videos produced by the U.S. embassy and shared on social media, Hammer, fluent in Spanish, plays dominoes with a group of children in Camaguey, visits the tomb of Cuban hero Jose Marti in Santiago and speaks with family members of jailed dissidents in homes throughout Cuba. His travels come as Cubans confront the worst economic downturn in decades, a growing crisis the Cuban government blames on the Cold War-era U.S. embargo, a web of restrictions that complicates financial transactions, trade and tourism. Hammer told reporters on Friday that those Cubans he had spoken with in his travels disagreed that the U.S. was to blame. "The people recognize that those responsible are the Cuban regime, it has nothing to do with any policy of the United States." His travels and assertions have infuriated the Cuban government, which accuses Hammer of seeking to stir up resentment in a bid to overthrow the island's communist leadership. But Cuba has not impeded Hammer's travels, despite issuing a recent warning in state-run media that its "patience has limits." Hammer told reporters he would continue his work on the island. "What are they scared of? I'm just a simple chief of mission talking with the people," he said. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US top diplomat in Havana promises more sanctions on Cuba
By Dave Sherwood HAVANA (Reuters) -The United States' top diplomat in Havana said on Friday the U.S. had more sanctions in store for Cuba just days after punishing several Cuban judicial officials for their roles in jailing political dissidents on the island. Three Cuban judges and a prosecutor were forbidden from entering the United States on Wednesday, the latest sanctions from the Trump administration, which earlier declared a tough new policy on Cuba. "The sanctions announced this Wednesday were just the beginning," U.S. Embassy chief of mission Mike Hammer told reporters in Miami. "This administration is determined to sanction repressors. There will be consequences for their actions." U.S. President Donald Trump has already doubled down on sanctions since taking office in January, returning longtime foe Cuba to a U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, tightening rules on remittances and shutting off Biden-era migration programs. The 61-year-old Hammer, a career U.S. diplomat who arrived in Cuba just six months ago, has kept a busy schedule, wandering the country widely as he talks with dissidents, small business owners and Cubans of all walks of life. In videos produced by the U.S. embassy and shared on social media, Hammer, fluent in Spanish, plays dominoes with a group of children in Camaguey, visits the tomb of Cuban hero Jose Marti in Santiago and speaks with family members of jailed dissidents in homes throughout Cuba. His travels come as Cubans confront the worst economic downturn in decades, a growing crisis the Cuban government blames on the Cold War-era U.S. embargo, a web of restrictions that complicates financial transactions, trade and tourism. Hammer told reporters on Friday that those Cubans he had spoken with in his travels disagreed that the U.S. was to blame. "The people recognize that those responsible are the Cuban regime, it has nothing to do with any policy of the United States." His travels and assertions have infuriated the Cuban government, which accuses Hammer of seeking to stir up resentment in a bid to overthrow the island's communist leadership. But Cuba has not impeded Hammer's travels, despite issuing a recent warning in state-run media that its "patience has limits." Hammer told reporters he would continue his work on the island. "What are they scared of? I'm just a simple chief of mission talking with the people," he said.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cuba says flaw in cellular network affecting some voice, data services
By Dave Sherwood HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba's telecoms company ETECSA said on Wednesday that a flaw in its cellular network was affecting voice and cell data service in some areas, though the extent of the outage remained unclear. The state-run company said on social media it was working to diagnose the problem but did not give an estimate for when service would be restored. The outage comes as Cuba suffers daily rolling blackouts that have brought the Communist-run nation's economy to a near standstill. Dire shortages of food, fuel and medicine have also complicated life on the island, prompting a record-breaking exodus to the United States since 2020. The blackouts, which often contribute to poor cellphone service for hours each day, made it difficult to immediately gauge the extent of the cellular outages on Wednesday. But several provinces, including the capital Havana, reported service issues in recent hours. The Communist Party newspaper Giron, in Matanzas province east of Havana, reported issues with cellular and data coverage on Tuesday following a problem at a local power generation plant. It was unclear if that smaller outage was linked to the broader outages reported on Wednesday. Reuters confirmed with more than a dozen people across Havana that cellphone service was limited or unavailable across several neighborhoods of the capital.
