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Thursday, April 23, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
CARIBBEAN: Brain Drain – No Solution in Sight
Like other developing regions, the Caribbean is no stranger to brain drain. Besides the impact on local economies, the exodus of university graduates has profound social implications, and there is no solution in sight.CUBA: “Ike” Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Danger
Even before the ravages caused by Hurricane Gustav in the western part of Cuba have been fully assessed, Hurricane Ike made landfall on the northeastern shore of the island on Sunday, swept westwards out to sea on Monday, and is showing signs of powering up before slamming Cuban territory again.CULTURE-CUBA: The Debate Continues
After an interruption of over a year, the Criterios theoretical-cultural centre has resumed a series of lectures analysing the impact of the Cuban government's cultural policy on the arts, one of the tangible outcomes of the debate that shook society here in early 2007.CUBA: The ‘Telenovela’ as Springboard for Public Debate
Months have gone by and he still receives suspicious calls on his cell-phone. Memories of a woman who became obsessed with him are triggered every time Chucho sees a popular prime time Brazilian TV "telenovela".CUBA: A City Drinks in Change
Afflicted for far too long by severe drought, which concentrated all minds on how to get water to entire communities of people, this eastern Cuban city seems at long last to be drinking its fill, and its appearance is completely different from what it looked like two or three years ago.HEALTH-CUBA: Free Sex Change Operations Approved
New horizons opened up for transsexuals in Cuba with the approval of a Public Health Ministry resolution that establishes guidelines for their health care, including free gender reassignment operations.MEDIA: Midwife for an Inclusive Society
Changing society to bring about greater respect for diversity requires the participation of the mainstream press, despite the combination of alternative media and the various forums, blogs and networks on the Internet that promote a more democratic flow of information.CUBA: Sexual Diversity – the Rainbow Revolution
Nearly 50 years after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, sexual minorities are at last beginning to feel that their voice is being heard and that they can finally take their place in the movement towards a more just and inclusive society.
CULTURE-CUBA: The Times, They Are A-Changin’
Topics that are taboo in Cuba, absent from media coverage and missing in the political discourse were nevertheless present in debates at a congress of intellectuals who advocated a greater role for criticism in society, and more room for dialogue and participation.CUBA: Women Talk to Women about HIV/AIDS Prevention
Prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, the AIDS virus, has become the centre of the lives of a small group of women in the province of Pinar del Río, in the west of Cuba.CUBA: Transvestites and Crossdressers Key Workers Against AIDS
Activism against AIDS is uniting a group of transvestites and crossdressers in western Cuba in a project that is going beyond peer education and making inroads into the world of culture.CUBA: Economic Changes – Not If or When, but How
Cuba’s new government, headed by Raúl Castro, appears to be prepared to take urgent action to tackle complex problems like the country’s dual monetary system and the low wages that fail to stimulate production, in a country that has been in the grip of an economic crisis for nearly two decades.RIGHTS-CUBA: Havana Signs Treaties – With Reservations
The United States’ hostile policy towards Cuba will remain a hurdle to recognition and respect for certain rights enshrined in the first two international treaties signed by the government of Raúl Castro.RIGHTS-LATIN AMERICA: Men Have Gender Issues, Too
Although it may seem obvious, the need to involve men in the effort to attain gender equality is not clear to everyone in Latin America and the Caribbean, where quite a few people think it is an issue that mainly concerns the women’s rights movement.CUBA: How Far Will the Changes Go?
After months of uncertainty and speculation centred on former President Fidel Castro, Cuba’s obsessive spotlight has shifted to the changes needed in the country, and questions about how far the new government of President Raúl Castro will be willing to go.CUBA: Raul Castro’s Surprising No. 2
Closely following in the footsteps of his brother Fidel, Cuba’s new president, Raúl Castro, defied expectations and took many by surprise by selecting José Ramón Machado, a member of the Communist Party old guard, as first vice president.
CUBA: Raul Shares His Seat with Fidel
Raúl Castro, one of the leaders of the Cuban revolution and a lifelong communist, is Cuba’s new president as of Sunday. But he said he would listen to the views of Fidel, who he described as "not substitutable," as long as his older brother is around.RELIGION-CUBA: Catholic Church Wants More Freedom to Do Its Work
Ten years after the historic visit to Cuba by Pope John Paul II, who passed away in 2005, the Catholic Church continues to call for "unlimited" scope and "due freedom" for its social action initiatives in this socialist country, as one of its most important demands.CUBA: Catholics Celebrate ‘Festival of the Spirit’
Eighty-two-year-old Alba Osorio feels as though she were 50 again. A true survivor, 10 years after the late Pope John Paul II’s visit to Cuba, she is now running back and forth from her house to the parish church, getting ready for what she regards as a new "festival of the spirit."CUBA: Socialism Through the Prism of the Generation Gap
A large majority of Cubans have never lived under any system but the government of Fidel Castro, but one-quarter of the population grew up over the last two decades of economic crisis, a period in which enthusiasm for the achievements of the revolution has been dampened by concerns over day-to-day problems, like difficulties in access to basic products.LATIN AMERICA: Gender Stereotypes Still Firmly Entrenched, Despite Progress
Constructing gender equality in Latin American societies remains an apparently arduous task. The issue is still confined to the ivory towers of academia, far away from the media, and is seldom included in the debates that really capture people’s attention.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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