Saudi security forces arrest 21,477 illegal residents in a week    Saudi Arabia delivers sacrificial meat to Egypt and Palestine    Sweden's Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia welcome baby girl    Sharifa Al-Sudairi makes historic debut at Asian Winter Games    Palestinian prisoners arrive in Ramallah under Gaza ceasefire deal    Trump revokes Biden's access to classified briefings    Wreckage of missing plane found in Alaska; all 10 aboard presumed dead    Trump vows to fire FBI agents involved in Jan. 6 investigations    Jaecoo J8 launches in Saudi Arabia, marking a new milestone in the Middle Eastern off-road market    Saudi Arabia opens Hajj 1446 registration for domestic pilgrims Priority given to those who have not performed Hajj before, with registration available via Nusuk app and e-portal    Ivan Toney's brace secures Al Ahli victory over Al Fateh in Saudi Pro League    Al Nassr reclaims third place with 3-0 victory over Al Fayha as Jhon Durán shines    Karim Benzema's last-gasp winner sends Al Ittihad to the top of Roshn Saudi League French striker seals dramatic 2-1 victory over Al Taawoun with stoppage-time strike    Salvador Dalí art comes to India for the first time    Crown Prince announces King Salman Automotive Cluster at KAEC    Saudi Arabia's population crosses 35 million, with non-Saudis constituting 44.4%    Heading into a new journey, JAECOO J8 is shaking up the luxury off-road market    GEA hosts mass wedding of 300 couples at "Night of a Lifetime" celebration during Riyadh Season 300 cars and housing as gifts for the newlyweds    Food Culture Festival kicks off in Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarter    Saudi Arabia to present 'The Um Slaim School: An Architecture of Connection' at Biennale Architettura 2025 Syn Architects explore Riyadh's architectural heritage, fostering new pedagogical approaches and global dialogue    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



US Senate panel votes to lift Cuba travel ban
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 24 - 07 - 2015

A Republican-controlled Senate panel has voted to lift a decades-long U.S. ban on travel to Cuba, giving a boost to President Barack Obama's moves to ease travel restrictions and open up relations with the Castro-governed nation, according to AP.
The Senate Appropriations Committee also voted to block enforcement of a law prohibiting banks and other U.S. businesses from financing sales of U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba.
The Obama administration issued rules in January to significantly ease travel restrictions to Cuba and allow regularly scheduled flights for the first time. The Senate Appropriations Committee 18-12 vote comes just days after the U.S. and Cuba formally ended more than a half-century of estrangement by re-establishing diplomatic relations cut off during the Cold War.
"We have the opportunity to increase the likelihood that Cuban people have greater liberties and freedom with the ability to connect with them," said sponsor Jerry Moran, a Republican. "I also would say that as Americans we have certain freedoms that we cherish, and Americans can travel around the globe today without exception â€" no country is totally prohibited with the exception of Cuba."
The House Appropriations Committee has moved in the opposite direction, but the intra-party disagreement among Republicans makes it far less likely that the Republican-controlled Congress will try to use spending bills to challenge Obama's rapprochement with Cuba.
The House provision would block new rules issued in January that would significantly ease travel restrictions to Cuba and allow regularly scheduled flights for the first time.
The Senate language goes beyond the administration rules, which lifted a requirement that U.S. travelers obtain a license from the Treasury Department before travelling to Cuba. Instead, all that is required is for travelers to assert that their trip would serve educational, religious or other permitted purposes.
"Positive change in Cuba will take time," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat. "But it will come not as a result of stubborn nostalgia by a vociferous few for the Batista years, but by visiting Cuba, listening to the Cuban people, and engaging with them." Fulgencio Batista was Cuba's dictator before he was overthrown by Fidel Castro in 1959.
The hospitality industry and other business sectors are still blocked from doing business in Cuba. Marriot International President Arne Sorenson just returned from Cuba and is representative of many companies eager to do business there, especially as more Americans travel to the island.
"With travel to Cuba now surging, existing Cuban hotels are full and hotel companies from other countries are racing to tie up as many of the new hotels as they can before the likes of Marriott and our U.S. competitors show up," Sorenson said.
The panel's votes reflect growing sentiment, even among some Republican conservatives, to ease the five-decade-plus Cuba trade embargo and travel restrictions to the island, which have failed to move the Castro regime toward democracy.
"After nearly 60 years, we might try something different," Moran said.
The panel also voted to lift restrictions on vessels that have shipped goods to Cuba from returning to the U.S. until six months have passed.
The Cuba legislation was added to a $21 billion measure funding the Treasury Department, which enforces the longstanding trade embargo.


Clic here to read the story from its source.