News

Tragedy at Havana Mental Hospital

A tragedy has occurred at the main Havana Psychiatric Hospital with 26 patients dying, possibly from hypothermia during one digit cold this past week, informed the Cuban Public Health Ministry on Friday. The ministry said the exact cause of the deaths at the 2,500 patient facility is still under investigation and that “deficiencies were found in measures taken at the hospital.”

Read More

Racism in Cuba: An Unresolved Issue

“Whites came here of their own will, as settlers, with life goals that were often realized. Blacks were brought here by force and turned into slaves. These are different points of departure that cannot be forgotten, nor can they be avoided, and their weight is still felt today… What affects us politically from the point of view of our international and national image is to have a discourse that doesn’t correspond to reality, because until very recently we said there were no racial problems in Cuba.”

Read More

Cuba OKs US Flyovers to Haiti

The Cuban government has authorized the US military to fly over Cuban territory during their aid operations to Haiti and evacuation of victims. White House spokesperson Tommy Vietor was quoted by IPS as saying the permission will greatly reduce the duration of the flights. The US occupies a portion of Cuban territory at Guantanamo Bay, where it maintains a naval base and prison camp.

Read More

Haitians Rely on Each Other, Aid Slow

“Only in the movies have I seen this,” said 33-year-old Jacques Nicholas, who jumped over a wall as the house where he was playing dominoes tumbled. “When Americans send missiles to Iraq, that’s what I see. When Israel do that to Gaza, that’s what I see here.”

Read More

Cuban Cardinal Starts Drive for Haiti

Cardinal, Jaime Ortega, put out a call Thursday to Cuban catholics “to carry out a national drive” to help the Haitian people, hard hit by the earthquake that devastated the capital Port au Prince on January 12. Ortega said the money raised through the initiative would be sent to the neighboring country by way of Catholic Relief Services.

Read More

Cuba to Show at German Tourism Fair

Cuba will promote its tourist offerings including the opening of new hotels during the upcoming IMEX trade show that takes place in Frankfurt, Germany from May 25-27, 2010. Since the fall of the Socialist Camp back in the early 1990s, Cuba has turned to its vast tourism potential as a key pillar to recover its economy.

Read More

Haiti: Race Against the Clock

The enormous relief effort being mounted in Haiti since a 7.0-magnitude earthquake leveled most of Port-au-Prince is facing a host of difficulties, including bottlenecks at the main airport and lack of heavy equipment to clear debris from streets and roads.

Read More

US & Cuba Could Bond for Haiti

The Guardian online is currently featuring an article suggesting that the United States and Cuba should put their never ending Cold War aside and work together to help mitigate the crisis situation in the pummeled Haitian capital Port au Prince, hit by a major earthquake on Tuesday.

Read More

Cuba Sends More Docs to Haiti

The Cuban government sent to Haiti the first contingent of doctors from the Henry Reeve Medical Brigade that specializes in assisting after natural disasters and serious epidemics. The brigade was first established to offer help to the United States when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005, an offer rejected by ex-President Bush.

Read More