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WORLD NEWSWednesday 17 February

US, Cuba sign deal restoring commercial flights                                                                                                              Gas explosions
                                                                                                                                                            in the Dominican
M. WEISSENSTEIN                 opened bidding by Ameri-       2014 that they would begin                                     day in the relationship be-   Republic hurt 40
Associated Press                can air carriers on as many    normalizing ties after a half-                                 tween Cuba and the U.S.,”
HAVANA (AP) — The United        as 110 U.S.-Cuba flights a     century of Cold War oppo-                                      U.S. Transportation Secre-    EZEQUIEL LOPEZ
States and Cuba on Tues-        day - more than five times     sition. The Obama admin-                                       tary Anthony Foxx said af-    Associated Press
day signed a deal restor-       the current number. All        istration is eager to make                                     ter he and Transportation     SANTO DOMINGO, Domini-
                                                                                                                              Minister Adel Yzquierdo Ro-   can Republic (AP) — Early
United States Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Cuba’s Minister of Transportation Adel                                driguez signed the deal in    morning explosions rocked
Yzquierdo Rodriguez, right, sign the airline transportation agreement in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday,                               a ceremony at Havana’s        an LPG distribution station
Feb. 16, 2016. Cuba and the United States signed the agreement that will allow U.S. commercial                                Hotel Nacional. “It repre-    in a densely populated
airlines to begin operating flights to the island and vice-versa for the first time in decades.                               sents a critically important  neighborhood of the Do-
                                                                                                                              milestone in the U.S. effort  minican Republic’s capital
                                                                                                   (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)  to engage with Cuba.”         Tuesday, destroying sev-
                                                                                                                              The U.S. Department of        eral homes and injuring at
ing commercial air traffic      flights operating between      rapid progress on build-                                       Transportation expects to     least 40 people, officials
for the first time in five de-  the two countries today        ing trade and diplomatic                                       award the new routes by       said.
cades, allowing of dozens       are charters. Barring other    ties with Cuba before the                                      the summer. The winning       Soldiers and Civil Defense
of new daily flights to bring   major announcements, the       president leaves office. The                                   airlines then must negotiate  workers used dogs to find
hundreds of thousands           restart of commercial flights  coming weeks are seen as                                       their own deals with Cuba.    survivors in the ruins of the
more American travelers a       will be the most significant   particularly crucial to build-                                 Yzquierdo declined an in-     buildings but determined
year to the island as early     development in U.S.-Cu-        ing momentum ahead of                                          terview request but Foxx      everyone was accounted
as this fall. Immediately af-   ba trade since Presidents      a trip he hopes to make                                        said after meeting with the   for as crews started clear-
ter the signing, the U.S. De-   Barack Obama and Raul          to Havana by the end of                                        Cuban minister that he be-    ing debris from the area in
partment of Transportation      Castro announced in late       March. “Today is a historic                                    lieved Cuba was eager to      the Los Rios community in
                                                                                                                              restore commercial air ser-   the northern part of Santo
                                                                                                                              vice as quickly as possible.  Domingo.
                                                                                                                              “Every indication I have in   Fire Chief Oscar Garcia
                                                                                                                              the conversations we’ve       said the 40 victims were
                                                                                                                              had today is that the Cu-     hospitalized and officials
                                                                                                                              bans want to move as fast     were investigating what
                                                                                                                              as we’re able to move,”       caused the explosion at
                                                                                                                              Foxx said. “People will ac-   the Solgas station. Six peo-
                                                                                                                              tually be able to go buy a    ple taken to one nearby
                                                                                                                              ticket and fly to Cuba on a   hospital had burns on up
                                                                                                                              commercial airline. That’s a  to 50 percent of their body,
                                                                                                                              pretty big step. We haven’t   said Eddy Bruno, burn unit
                                                                                                                              been able to do that in 50    director at the Luis Eduar-
                                                                                                                              years.” The agreement al-     do Aybar hospital.
                                                                                                                              lows 20 regular daily U.S.    Onlookers stood on roof-
                                                                                                                              flights to Havana, in addi-   tops to observe blown-
                                                                                                                              tion to the current 10-15     out doors and windows,
                                                                                                                              charter flights a day. The    downed power lines and
                                                                                                                              rest would be to other Cu-    crumpled cars, including
                                                                                                                              ban cities.q                  one that had a woman’s
                                                                                                                                                            sandal on its hood.
Puerto Rico approves bill to aid power company                                                                                                              Neighbors had streamed
                                                                                                                                                            out of their homes around
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico           against the bill, which seeks  by Tuesday’s deadline.                                         energy commission.            dawn because they
(AP) — Legislators in Puerto    to reduce the company’s        The Puerto Rico Electric                                       The power company             smelled gas, and the first
Rico have approved a            $9 billion debt as well as     Power Authority reached a                                      said the deal requires        explosion occurred shortly
last-minute bill needed to      diversify energy resources     restructuring deal late last                                   bondholders and monoline      afterward, around 6 a.m.
finalize a deal to restructure  and boost public-private       month with bondholders.                                        insurers to buy 50 percent    “It was horrible. We took off
the U.S. territory’s heavily    partnerships to overhaul       It said the bondholder                                         of the bonds once the bill    running,” said Maria Casil-
indebted public power           aging infrastructure at        group and other creditors                                      is approved. However, the     da Bonilla, who was in her
company.                        the largest U.S. public        would provide $111 million                                     deal only involves those      second-floor apartment
The measure passed late         power utility. The island’s    through the purchase of                                        holding 70 percent of the     with a 22-year-old son.
Monday with the minimum         Senate is now expected         new bonds. Half the notes                                      agency’s debt.                A second explosion oc-
26 votes needed from            to review the bill and vote    would be issued once the                                       The company has warned        curred about 40 minutes
the island’s House of           on it. Bondholders had         bill is passed and the other                                   it would run out of cash      later, leveling a three-story
Representatives. Twenty-        threatened to go to court      half once the securitization                                   by summer without debt        building owned by Eleno
two legislators voted           if the bill was not approved   structure is submitted to an                                   restructuring. q              Olivares.q
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