VOA News - Obama, Regional Leaders Discuss Cuba
By VOA News
19 April 2009
Cuba has been a dominant theme at the Summit of the Americas.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and other leaders are pressing Mr. Obama to lift the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.
Mr. Obama says he wants to see a change in U.S.-Cuban relations, but also democratic change on the communist-led island. Cuba is excluded from the summit.
This past week, President Obama lifted restrictions on travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans to the island.
The other main topics among the leaders at the hemispheric meeting in Trinidad and Tobago have been how to revive their economies, maintain trade and keep the global financial crisis from causing more poverty.
Mr. Obama announced Saturday the formation of a $100-million program to help small entrepreneurs in the Western Hemisphere.
The White House says the new fund would loosen credit from banks and get money moving to small businesses.
U.S. officials say the ultimate goal is to raise 250-million dollars for the program.
Similar microfinance loan programs have proved successful in other developing regions.
Several Latin American leaders have blamed the United States for the financial meltdown.
However, the French news agency reports that President Obama's worldwide popularity was in evidence Saturday at the summit with Latin American leaders jostling to have a photograph taken with him.
The agency says the U.S. president agreed to most of the requests, including those of Panama's tourism minister and actor Ruben Blades.
 blame verb [transitive] to say that someone or something is responsible for an accident, problem or bad situation If it all goes wrong, don’t blame me! Crime is a complex issue. We can’t simply blame poverty and unemployment. |
| fund noun [countable] an amount of money you collect, save or invest an investment/pension fund |
| jostle verb [intransitive] to compete for something two candidates jostling for votes |
| lift verb [transitive] to officially end a rule of law that stopped someone from doing something They’re hoping to get the ban lifted by the end of the month. |
| loosen verb [transitive] to make something less strict or controlled The country will loosen currency controls to encourage spending abroad. |
| meltdown noun [countable] a sudden and complete failure of a company, organization or system fear of a global financial meltdown |
| money transfer noun [countable] = wire transfer the electronic sending of money/funds |
| pressure someone to do something verb [causative] to try in a determined way to make someone do something or tell you something Managers are being pressed to ensure safety standards are met. |
| request noun [countable] an act of asking for something in a polite or formal way Requests for visas will be dealt with immediately. Three banks have already refused his request for a loan. |
| revive verb [transitive/intransitive] to become, or to make someone/something become active, successful or popular again. The railroad revived the flagging fortunes of the town. |
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