Cuba began the process of selecting its team for the 2010 COPABE Pan American Games/World Cup Qualifying Tournament to take place in Puerto Rico from October 1-10. A shortlist of 39 players was announced on Thursday.
Read MoreI believe that to begin to solve our problems in Cuba the Cuban government should pick up the microphone and say, “Starting tomorrow, no one else on this island will be punished or penalized for thinking differently.”
Read MoreThe Economist magazine online runs a feature story on Thursday about the dealings of Chilean multimillionaire Max Marambio in Cuba and the now defunct Rio Zaza joint venture with the island’s government.
Read MoreThe governor of the state of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, will try to get the release of U.S. contractor Alan Gross, detained in Cuba since December 2009 charged with espionage. Richardson, who is on a visit to the island, told CNN that he had met with Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and had attempted to convince him of the advantage of releasing Gross.
Read MoreOn occasion, the defenders of the Revolution shield themselves from criticism by pointing to disasters that have occurred in other countries, as if the problems faced by other societies can be used to justify the deficiencies of the Cuban system. I’m not disputing that real social, economic and human rights crises exist in other countries, but I think that the problems of others continue to serve as the comfort of fools, because that road only leads to resignation and paralysis.
Read MoreVenezuelan President Hugo Chávez met Wednesday with former Cuban President Fidel Castro, with whom he discussed the international situation for several hours, especially the danger of a nuclear war, reported IPS. Later Chávez met with his counterpart Raúl Castro, with whom he reviewed the state of bilateral relations. The visit to Cuba by the Venezuelan president had not been previously announced.
Read MoreJuan Juan Almeida, son of deceased Commander of the Cuban Revolution Juan Almeida, will arrive today in Miami from Mexico, after having received a temporary exit permit from the island’s government, the Miami-based El Nuevo Herald reported. Almeida, author of the book Memorias de un guerrillero cubano desconocido (Memories of an Unknown Cuban Guerrilla), which criticizes the Caribbean nation’s political system, will be treated for a bone disease in Los Angeles.
Read MoreMore than 20,000 persons will have learned to read and write in Argentina at the close of 2010 thanks to the Cuban Yo sí puedo (Yes I Can) literacy program, Claudia Camba, president of the A Better World is Possible (UMMEP) foundation, affirmed. Camba also said that some 29,000 persons have been operated on as part of Operation Miracle, a regional initiative for free ophthalmologic care launched in 2004 by Cuba and Venezuela.
Read More“In my case, I always knew that some moment in my life would come in which I would be compelled to explore other lands, though that didn’t mean I felt I would leave for good. The existing laws are what suggest that idea to us. They give you a certain amount of time to return, and if you don’t, you can no longer come back with the same legal status as others, though you’re still legally a Cuban. It’s something that’s really absurd.”
Read MoreThis past August 13, our country celebrated the 84th birthday of the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Commander-in-chief Fidel Castro Ruz. That same day, a group of friends and I collected garbage along a small strip on Havana’s coast.
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