Reports from the Labour Ministry indicate that half a million persons are self-employed.

More than half a million persons are self-employed in Cuba, according to a recent report by the Labour and Social Security Ministry published by several newspapers in the country. That figure confirms the importance that this form of employment has acquired since the government relaunched it in 2010, though the evolution has been slower than expected by the authorities.

The damages caused by drought in the first months of 2015 are alarming Cubans, despite recent rains. Crops, reservoirs and important cities are under tension due to the deficit in stored water.

The intense rains of last week did not ease in Cuba the fears generated by a drought that is harshly punishing agriculture and livestock and the water supply to the population. In the midst of heavy showers that made it necessary for the Civil Defence to issue a warning for the entire country, the comments and statements in the press started increasing about severe damages due to the reduced precipitation in the first months of the year and the low availability of water reserves.

Cuba has set itself the goal of reducing the consumption of oil and other fuels through millions of dollars’ worth of investments to develop the renewable energy sources with foreign participation.

International experts confirmed in the last week of May Cuba’s growing interest in technologies and renewable energy sources. It has more than enough historical reasons. The high dependence on oil has weighed too much on the economy, the environment and society; it has been behind each good moment and, with crudeness, behind each one of the economic crises Cubans have lived since the last century.

A new means of information for consumers, commerce and classified ads for the purchase-sale among individuals appears in Cuba.

A new publication under the name of Ofertas (Offers) appeared last weekend in kiosks, streets and homes in Cuba with the aim of filling information voids that have been partially covered until now by Internet sites published abroad. As a novelty it includes publicity, classified ads for the purchase-sale among individuals, and information of interest about commerce, industrial design, production and other activities in which state-run and foreign enterprises are involved as well as the country’s emerging private sectors and cooperatives.