Private Sector Expansion: Cuba has authorized private retail and restaurant chains nationwide, letting micro, small and medium firms, cooperatives and foreign investors register one brand and open multiple locations across provinces, with payments accepted in both Cuban pesos and foreign currencies—part of a broader push to modernize management and boost productivity amid shortages and power outages. Power-Sector Security: Cuba’s Prosecutor’s Office warns that stealing dielectric oil from transformers and other electrical-system components will be treated as sabotage, with penalties up to death; it says 460+ investigations opened since May 2025 and that transformer-oil theft is the most common offense, feeding an informal fuel market. Energy Transition Incentives: ONAT announced a one-year tax exemption on sales of renewable energy technologies for individuals and businesses, effective Aug. 5, requiring sellers to separate renewable sales in accounting to keep the incentives transparent. Local Food Systems: WFP expanded its “Act Differently!” local food project in Rafael Freyre (Holguín), linking agricultural cooperatives with social protection institutions and adding supplies, equipment and training to strengthen eastern Cuba’s food resilience. Tech & Health R&D: Díaz-Canel highlighted ICIMAF’s Boneconsol ultrasonic bone-consolidation device, moving through regulatory validation to support domestically produced medical equipment. Digital Retail Rules: Cuba also moved to update its domestic trade framework and relax wholesale regulations, aiming to reduce bureaucracy and widen market access.