The most intriguing headlines of the day:

Divided Cuban community meets on “Planet Facebook”

Reuters reports that a number of Cubans on the island have been able to open accounts on Facebook, the social networking site with 300 million subscribers globally. For Cubans, the site acts as a forum with family and friends that have dispersed across the globe; it is the means to an end that would otherwise be near impossible. In a nation that for many years called its emigrants gusanos (”worms”) and even forbade visits by these “traitors,” this new capability allows contact with the Cuban diaspora in ways that were previously unthinkable. And it allows Cubans abroad to keep up with their homeland even more directly.

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Cuba cracks down on unlicensed home improvements

The Associated Press headline says much by itself: with a decree this week, Cuba has quietly made it easier to obtain state permission to build or remodel homes even as it pledges to crack down like never before on unlicensed residential construction, including routine do-it-yourself projects. Reactions appear to be a mixed bag. Some are indignant, e.g. “This is my house. I have lived here 70 years. I don’t need permission from anybody.” Many Cubans have been circumventing the law for years as circumstances necessitated building an extra room or a new interior wall for more family under one roof. Others are positive: Housing Ministry officials and state contractors say that it is easier than ever to obtain building licenses, so with greater crackdown on illegality, the hope is to bring the system into fully legal grounds.

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