News Archives - Page 1135 of 1377

Big Teams Struggle in Cuba Baseball

With less than a third of the 90-game season to be played traditional Cuban baseball powerhouses are struggling to stay in the race for a playoff ticket.

Havana Cigar Fest Starts Monday

The 13th edition of the Havana Cigar Festival will begin today in the Cuban capital’s Convention Centre, with the participation of more than 1,200 specialists and cigar aficionados from some 80 countries, the event’s Organizing Committee reported. The meeting includes, among other activities, two contests on the connection of rum and wine with cigars, visits to tobacco plantations and cigar factories, and the election of the “Havana Cigar Man of the Year.”

Reasons for Cuba Sugar Decline

The poor results are also linked to the lack of labor force’s motivation. “No one is motivated if they don’t earn enough to feed well their families, without good working tools, and if with their daily sweat they can’t aspire to improve or build their home.”

Cuba to Release 7 More Political Prisoners

The Cuban government will soon release seven political prisoners, with which the number of dissidents released since 2010 amounts to 71, as part of the agreement reached by the island’s authorities with the Catholic Church and Spain, announced Orlando Márquez, Havana Archbishopric spokesman.

Cuban FM to Hold Talks with Chief of EU diplomacy

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez will meet next Wednesday with the chief of the European Union (EU) diplomacy, Catherine Ashton. The meeting will give continuity to the political dialogue begun by both sides in 2008 with the aim of normalizing bilateral relations.

Cuba-Mexico Pleased with Migration Accord

Representatives of the governments of Cuba and Mexico expressed their satisfaction over the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on the migration issue, signed by both countries in October 2008, reported IPS. The two parties met at sixth Meeting of the Working Group on Migration and Consular Affairs, the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Relations noted.

Padura Optimistic about Cuba Reforms

Cuban writer Leonardo Padura said he feels obliged to be optimistic about the reforms begun by the island’s government, in statements to the press in the capital. The novelist, who presented at the International Book Fair of Cuba his most recent novel “El hombre que amaba a los perros” (The Man Who Loved Dogs), said what’s needed are transformations in the mentality of the population, but also that of the bureaucrats “who still don’t understand the dimensions of the change.”

Paraguay President in Cuba, Meets with Castros

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo paid a private visit to President Raul Castro and his senior advisor Fidel Castro this Friday in Havana. In a brief note, the official press said the threesome discussed relations between their countries and current international issues.

US Guantanamo Prison to Stay Open

The prospects of closing down (the prison camp) at the US Naval Base in Guantánamo, Cuba in the best of cases are very small due to the extensive opposition in the US Congress. Another obstacle is the difficulty to establish agreements with other countries willing to receive the prisoners, Robert Gates, U.S. secretary of defence, admitted. President Barack Obama had promised to close down that installation in January 2010.

Silvio Rodriguez Backs Cuba Reforms

Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez backed the reforms begun by the Cuban government in statements to the island’s journalism students. “We are returning to the good sense of aspiring to progress, collective and individually, through the dignity of work,” affirmed the musician, a founder of the New Song Movement.