Headlines:
| Computers go on sale in Cuba |
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| Saturday, 03 May 2008 | |
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The first
batch of legalised home computers has gone on sale in Cuba, but a ban remains
on internet access. This is the latest in a series of restrictions on daily life which President Raul Castro has lifted in recent weeks. Crowds formed at the Carlos the Third shopping centre in Havana, though most had gone just to look. Desktop computers cost almost US$800 in a country where the average wage is under US$20 a month. Since taking over the presidency in February, Raul Castro has ended a range of restrictions and allowed Cubans access to previously banned consumer goods. In recent weeks thousands of Cubans have snapped up mobile phones and DVD players. Internet access remains restricted to certain workplaces, schools and universities. The government says it is unable to connect to the giant undersea fibre-optic cables because of the US trade embargo. |