Cuba presented 26 Jamaican students with scholarships to use at colleges and universities in the Communist nation as part of the 2009-10 Cuban Scholarship Program, reports the Jamaican Information Service. Gisela Garcia Rivera, Cuba’s Ambassador to Jamaica, gave out the awards in a ceremony in Kingston last weekend. With the scholarships, students will be able to study subjects in the fields of medicine, architecture, pharmacy, physical education, sports and humanities. “I felt very grateful for the opportunity because without it I don’t know how I would have been able to study medicine, because it is a lot of money, so I’m very thankful and looking forward to going to Cuba and doing my best and making everyone proud.” Jodi-Ann Jones, one of the recipients told JIS. According to a Cuban official, since the program was started in 2005, the Cuban Embassy has “processed 824 applications from Jamaican applicants and we have awarded 253 scholarships to students studying higher courses.” Jorge Crespo, who leads the Cuba/Jamaica Collaboration Unit, also said that it was hard choosing scholarship winners. “We would really like to have the capacity to give more scholarships to all those candidates meeting the requirement but to date it is not possible,” he said. There are at least 50,000 foreign students now studying in Cuba, reports JIS.

Guevara helped free Cuba, supported Africans. The fearless warrior who helped Fidel Castro gain Cuban independence and went to the Congo to help Black freedom-fighters is given a bad rap, says a popular actor. Benicio Del Toro, who portrayed Ernesto “Che” Guevara, disputes links to Guevara with terrorism. A former medical student, Guevara became a warrior for oppressed people until he was executed in the 1960s. Apart from his fearless training of other revolutionaries in battle, Guevara was known to teach the illiterate to read and help feed the hungry.

Drought Pushes Kenya to Declare Emergency
A widespread drought in Kenya is causing the nation to declare a food emergency, reports the BBC. Almost 10 million people are in danger of going hungry, according to the Kenya government. “President Kibaki told the food security committee that the entire government must focus on the urgency of providing food to all Kenyans after the failed rains in the last two seasons and reduced production due to last year’s post-election challenges,” said a government statement. The government is planning to bring in 5 million bags of maize, cut the price of seeds (to encourage farming) and buy livestock in areas hit hard by the drought to help ease the crisis. Last year’s post-election violence is also playing a role in the country’s growing hunger problem. Many of the 300,000 people displaced by the violence were farmers, who have since been too scared to come back home and plant crops, reports CNN.
Cubans Can Now Operate Private Taxis
After an almost 10-year ban, Cuba is now allowing new licenses for private taxis. Under the new rules private cabs will also be allowed in rural areas, although they’ll have tighter restrictions than city cabs, reports the BBC. Many Cubans have been operating their own taxi services for years illegally but could have had their cars taken away if they were caught. Officials had originally banned the taxis because they believed they were operating a black market for fuel. Restrictions in the Communist country have lessened in the past months. Just last year the Cuban government loosened restrictions on cell phones and the Internet.

As much of the world observed the end of 2008 this week, Cubans also observed the 50^th anniversary of their revolutionary independence. Fidel Castro assumed leadership of the nation Dec. 31, 1958. He took the reigns of government previously held by dictator Fulgencio Batista, who fled to the United States. Castro went on to win praise for his relentless pursuit of independence from the likes of Malcolm X and various other Black revolutionaries of the 1960s. Today, Cuba remains among the strongest nations in the Caribbean.

 The Cuban government is awarding scholarships to deserving Jamaican youths starting next year. The awards, which are through the Catedra Internacional de Artes Plasticas y Musicas, would be given to students between 18 and 25 to study in Cuba for about three and a half years. The first class is due in March of 2009. There are two different kinds of scholarships available: one in music and the other in visual arts. The scholarship covers a variety of expenses, including travel to and from Cuba (at the beginning and end of the course), transportation to and from class, food, tuition, supplies and medical services, while they are in school. The program is backed by Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte and other international celebs.

Cuba will stop paying everyone equally
For the first time in almost 50 years, workers in Cuba can earn performance bonuses, reports the BBC. The nation’s vice-minister for labor, Carlos Mateu, said the old pay system wasn’t “convenient” anymore and did not give employees any reason to want to excel, because everyone was getting paid the same anyway. In Cuba, the average pay for everyone (from farm workers to doctors and lawyers) is $20 a month. With this new system, employees could stand to receive at least a 5-percent bonus for meeting predetermined targets; managers could get a 30-percent bonus if their employees reach performance targets, Mateu said in a Cuban newspaper. “It’s harmful to give a worker less than he deserves,” the article said. “It’s also harmful to give him what he doesn’t deserve.” This is the latest in series of changes to arrive to the Communist nation after Raul Castro took over leadership from his brother Fidel. Earlier this year, the government also lifted a ban on cell phones and computers.