Renowned Cuban artists like Carlos Varela and X Alfonso, and four Swedish bands, will be the main performers of the Peace and Love Festival, to be held in the Cuban capital this coming Friday and Saturday March 25 and 26.
Read MoreThe Cuban government will conclude the process of releasing the 75 dissidents tried in 2003 with the release of Félix Navarro and José Ferrer in the next few hours, the Havana Archbishopric announced. Their release, which has been accompanied by that of other political prisoners, responds to the agreement of the authorities with the Catholic Church and Spain.
Read MoreGerardo Hernández, one of the five Cubans imprisoned in the United States under charges of espionage, presented a new legal summary to sustain his appeal’s habeas corpus and demonstrate his innocence with respect to the charges of conspiracy to commit murder, Gloria la Riva, member of the U.S. National Committee to Free the Five, announced. Hernández is the only one of the group who still maintains a life imprisonment against him.
Read MoreUS President Barack Obama expressed his wish that the Cuban population enjoy the same freedom as other countries in the hemisphere, in a speech during his visit to Chile, reported IPS. Meanwhile, former Cuban President Fidel Castro described Obama’s performance as foolish in one of his regular columns published by the island’s state-run press.
Read MoreSpanish singer-songwriter Joaquín Sabina regretted Cuba’s situation, in statements to the press before beginning his first tour of the United States. “I haven’t been to Cuba for a long time because I would feel very sad. I read the newspapers, speak with people and know what is happening and that the country is bankrupt,” said the Spanish musician, who described the island’s current times as a “tremendous historical failure.”
Read MoreRepublican legislator Ileana Ros-Lehtinen will again present a bill known as the Protection of Caribbean Coral Reefs Act, which will impose sanctions on foreign companies that do business with Cuba in the oil sector, reported IPS. The representative, known for her total opposition to the Cuban government, believes that the United States should have absolutely no contacts with the island, even when an oil spill occurs in waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Read MoreThe Cuban government condemned the foreign military intervention in Libya and questioned the role of the United Nations Security Council in this conflict, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry, reported IPS. “For Cuba, conflicts should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation and not through the use of military force,” the text says.
Read MoreThe U.S. government will not take any actions that will undermine the chances for the release of Alan Gross, the U.S. contractor sentenced on March 13 to 15 years in prison in Cuba for Acts against the Independence and Territorial Integrity of the State, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton affirmed in statements to the Telemundo television network. Clinton said that Gross should be released at the very least on humanitarian terms.
Read MoreThe growing demand for bread in Cuba because of the creation of new private food outlets has led to a an increase in production of 58,000 to 89,000 tons a year, for which the island’s authorities will make investments in that sector, said sources from the food industry.
Read MoreThe Cuban authorities granted 171,000 new licenses to persons interested in private work on the island, in some of the 178 activities approved since October 2010, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security reported. That figure represents more than double the independent labor force that existed prior to the labor reform.
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