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PHP Framework
Web application MVC framework for PHP4 and PHP5. Event driven, component based, AJAX compatible. |
| Overview | People | Geography | Economy | Government | Communications | Transport | Military | Map |
| Country | Cuba |
| Flag |  |
| Capital | name: Havana geographic coordinates: 23 08 N, 82 22 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Population | 11,394,043 (July 2007 est.) |
| GMT | -5 |
| Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida see map |
| Area | total: 110,860 sq km land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Ethnic groups | mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% |
| Religions | nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented |
| Languages | Spanish |
| Government type | Communist state |
| National holiday | Triumph of the Revolution, 1 January (1959) |
| Constitution | 24 February 1976; amended July 1992 and June 2002 |
| Legal system | based on Spanish civil law and influenced by American legal concepts, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Background | The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations, and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule, marked initially by neglect, became increasingly repressive, provoking an independence movement and occasional rebellions that were harshly suppressed. It was US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 that finally overthrew Spanish rule. The subsequent Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence, which was granted in 1902 after a three-year transition period. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the regime together since then. Cuba's Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Cuba portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air flights, or via the southwest border - is a continuing problem. The US Coast Guard intercepted 2,810 individuals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in fiscal year 2006. |
| Internet country code | .cu |
