The Cuban Catholic Church is committed to the efficient implementation of the reforms undertaken by the government of Raul Castro, Cardinal Jaime Ortega affirmed when inaugurating the International Seminar of the Dialogue with Cuba Program in this capital. The Church has played a very active role since 2010, starting with the mediation for the release of political prisoners.
Read MoreThe US government plans to order the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to invade Libya, where strong riots have occurred in recent days, former Cuban President Fidel Castro predicted in a commentary on Monday. The historic leader of the Cuban Revolution said he doubts that President Muammar al-Gaddafi will abandon that African country.
Read MoreThe 13th Habano Festival, a week-long salute to the world’s best cigars, got underway in the Cuban capital on Monday. The five-day event includes visits to emblematic Habano factories; a trade fair; seminars; tastings and marriages; the International Habanasommelier Contest; a master class on cigar rolling and a visit to tobacco plantations. (12 photos)
Read MoreWith 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.
Read MoreThe 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.”
Read MoreThe 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.”
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreCuban 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.
Read MoreRepresentatives 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.
Read MoreCuban 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.”
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