News

President Raul Castro met on Sunday afternoon with Vatican Foreign Minister Dominique Mamberti on the final day of his official visit to Cuba.

Cuban and US representatives are making progress in “the identification of aspects that enable us to strengthen the struggle against the trafficking of emigrants,” during the third round of bilateral migration talks, which were resumed in 2009, reported an official statement by the Cuban Foreign Ministry. Both countries could meet again late this year.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday that Cuba should free US agent Alan Gross, detained in Cuba for allegedly distributing illegal satellite equipment to opposition groups. Gross was arrested last December at the end of his mission for Development Alternatives Inc., a global consulting firm that also works for the US government in countries like Afghanistan.

The rising sea level caused by climate change is the principal environmental threat facing Cuba today, affirmed First Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment Fernando Gonzalez Bermúdez at the 8th International Congress on Disasters, being held in the island’s capital.

The Cuban authorities have practically concluded the process of downsizing public health staff, announced Armando Guerra Vilanova, national labor director of the economic area of that ministry. The government’s aim is “to establish rational, flexible staffs that respond to the real interests of the system for the good operation of its institutions.”

Cuba reiterated its call to speed up the reforms in the UN Security Council in statements by Rodolfo Benítez, the island’s representative, when speaking at the 5th round of intergovernmental negotiations on changes to that multilateral agency. Benítez expressed the support of his government and of other countries for a more balanced and effective relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly.

The archbishop of Chicago, Francis George, will travel to Cuba next week to reciprocate a visit by his Cuban counterpart Dionisio García, president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba, announced the archbishop of the city of Santiago de Cuba. The arrival of the also president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States is taking place in the midst of the dialogue between the Church and the island’s government.

The United Nations recognized Cuba’s cooperation with countries that have suffered natural disasters, such as the earthquake in Haiti, in a message from John Colmes, assistant secretary general for humanitarian affairs and coordinator of the multilateral agency’s Emergency Aid. The message was read during the first day of the 8th International Congress on Disasters being held in the island’s capital.

Vatican Foreign Minister Dominique Mamberti said during a press conference in Havana that he was pleased with the results of the ongoing talks between the Catholic Church and the Cuban government. Mamberti pointed out that “one of the major objectives of the Holy See’s diplomacy is favoring the dialogue between local Churches and the authorities of the different countries.”