Circles Robinson, Author at Havana Times

Spanish FM Calls for Supporting Reforms in Cuba

Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez called on the international community to “be conscious that the best we can do for the island is to support that process of reforms through a dialogue and greater opening,” when referring to the changes announced by the government of Raul Castro, in statements to that European country’s press. Jiménez also highlighted the “extraordinary relevance” of the release of more than 50 political prisoners this year.

Cuban 5 Member Alters Defense Strategy

Cuban Gerardo Hernández, one of the five prisoners in the United States charged with espionage, changed his defense strategy by highlighting that he was unaware of the intention of the island’s government to down the Brothers to the Rescue light aircraft in 1996 and recognizing that the event took place in international waters, according to details of his ongoing appeal reported by the Miami-based El Nuevo Herald.

Cuba Dedicates Book Fair to ALBA Countries

Cuba will dedicate the next Book Fair to the countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the People’s of Our America (ALBA), reported the multinational Telesur television network. That event, the most important of the island’s literature, will be held February 10-20, 2011.

Rain May Disappear from the World’s Breadbasket

South America still has vast extensions of land available for growing crops to help meet the global demand for food and biofuels. But the areas of greatest potential agricultural production — central-southern Brazil, northern Argentina, and Paraguay — could be left without the necessary rains.

Interview with writer Felix Guerra on the 100th BD of Jose Lezama Lima

“…The system that closes — no matter how great it is or how much truth and logic that people believe it to possess internally — it quickly becomes something like a Great Dane covered with ticks,” notes Felix Guerra.

Africa Offers Easy Uranium Reveal Wikileaks Cables

Wikileaks cables have revealed a disturbing development in the African uranium mining industry: abysmal safety and security standards in the mines, nuclear research centers, and border customs are enabling international companies to exploit the mines and smuggle dangerous radioactive material across continents.

Cuban Jurists See Need for Gender Law

Cuban jurists stated their support for the promulgation of a gender law, which typifies domestic violence, the director of Training and Development of the People’s Supreme Court, Rufina Hernández Rodríguez, announced. According to Hernández, the persistence of the phenomenon “is partly due to the many roles women still carry out, the double work load: the professional and that of the home.”

Cardinal Says Mass in Cuban Prison

Cardinal Jaime Ortega said a mass for Christmas in Cuba’s principal prison, the Combinado del Este, on the outskirts of the island’s capital, reported IPS. The ceremony was considered a sign of hope by the Ladies in White, who are still waiting for the release of 11 dissidents arrested in 2003.

Nazi-Like Jews to the Fore in Israel

Noah Flug, head of the International Association of Holocaust Survivors, told IPS he was shocked by the content of the rabbis’ letter, saying it recalled the Nazis banning of Jews from living alongside other Germans.

Same Old Christmas but Different

The year 2010 is coming to a close, one more year that slips through our fingers like sand. For believers and non-believers Christmas is apparent in the two currencies, the “dollar” stores with more fancy decorations and the shops that sell in regular pesos with less color and sparkle. Nonetheless, the “kitsch” is apparent everywhere. (20 photos)