EDUCATION-CUBA: Rural Students Benefit from Computers, Solar Panels

"My kids didn't know what traffic lights were. Now they even understand how they work," says the director of a childcare centre in rural Pinar del Río province, in western Cuba. The change is the result of the arrival of technology to remote towns.

CUBA: Poor Sugar Harvest Harks Back to Early 20th Century

Cuba's limited sugar harvest this year and the continued decline of international prices are taking a toll on the state coffers, quashing hopes for an economic turnaround based on positive trends in tourism and other industries.

RELIGION-CUBA: Local Bishops More Critical Than Vatican

Local Roman Catholic Church authorities in Cuba tend to take a more critical stance than the Vatican towards the situation in this socialist island nation, according to some analysts.

LATAM-CARIBBEAN: Health of Millions Makes Nuclear Ban ‘Crucial’

The cancer fatalities caused by nuclear weapons testing could reach 2.4 million in the near future, warned the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War during a disarmament conference in the Cuban capital.

CUBA-US: Tour Operators to Defy Bush

Tour operators from the United States and Cuba will meet with Cuban officials this week in Mexico to discuss the Caribbean island nation's travel industry potential, in defiance of Washington's plans to tighten the ban prohibiting U.S. citizens from visiting Cuba.

CUBA-EU: Relations at Rock Bottom

Although relations between Cuba and the European Union (EU) are in crisis, the European bloc is still willing to engage in political dialogue and discuss aid and cooperation, said the EU business attaché in this Caribbean island nation, Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff.

CUBA: Dissidents Have Mixed Reactions to Visa Waiver

The Cuban government's plans to eliminate its special visa requirement for Cuban citizens living abroad who want to return for a visit have drawn mixed reactions from dissidents in this socialist island nation.

CUBA-BRAZIL: Good Friends Do Good Business

Cuban and Brazilian companies signed six business deals in Havana Saturday during the visit of Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, which President Fidel Castro described as ''the best visit we've had in a long time.''

BRAZIL-CUBA: More Cooperation and Trade, Less Politics

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is putting the emphasis on cooperation and trade in his visit to Cuba, arriving Friday with few political commitments on the two-day agenda.

MEDIA: Foreign Correspondents Face Special Challenges in Cuba

Breaking the wall of silence that surrounds certain issues and events and finding a source who is willing to confirm news that everyone already knows about through the grapevine may be the biggest challenges facing foreign correspondents in Cuba.

MEDIA: Foreign Correspondents Face Special Challenges in Cuba

Breaking the wall of silence that surrounds certain issues and events and finding a source who is willing to confirm news that everyone already knows about through the grapevine may be the biggest challenges facing foreign correspondents in Cuba.

ENVIRONMENT: Degraded Lands Need to Be Irrigated with Money

The lack of funds conspires against strategies for fighting desertification, warn participants in an international conference underway in the Cuban capital, amidst a flood of criticisms of the industrialised world for failing to comply with commitments aimed at curbing land degradation.

CUBA: Exile Returnee Urges Washington to Be ‘Sensible’

Former Cuban rebel commander turned exile leader Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo is calling on the United States to enact a policy towards Cuba that is ”correct” and ”more sensible”, one that would lead to a ”good neighbour” relationship between the two nations.

ENVIRONMENT-CUBA: Sugarcane a Culprit in Soil Depletion

The sugar industry is among the major contributors to the degradation of Cuban soil, a problem affecting nearly 70 percent of cultivable areas on the island. Worldwide, desertification processes cause losses of 42 billion dollars annually.

ENVIRONMENT: Nations Press for Funds to Fight Desertification

Financial backing for countries with established strategies for fighting the loss of fertile soil, a process threatening a third of the Earth's land surface, would be a major achievement of the international conference on desertification taking place in the Cuban capital.

Sugarcane a Culprit in Cuban Soil Depletion

In less than 200 years, Cuba lost eight million hectares of forests.

CUBA: Dissidents Close Ranks Around Activist Accused as Spy

Opposition groups in Cuba closed ranks around human rights activist Elizardo Sánchez, dismissing as ''slander'' allegations that the well-known dissident was a government spy.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ MUSIC-CUBA: Rap on the Offensive

Rap music in Cuba has made it past the initial phase of rejection and incomprehension that its controversial and critical lyrics produced, and continues to gain space in national culture. And now has its ninth festival - with local and international artists - under its belt.

ENERGY-CUBA: Solar Panels to Light Up Remote Households

Around 500,000 people living in remote mountainous areas of Cuba will finally be able to pack away their oil lamps, listen to radio, and even watch TV, thanks to the growing use of renewable energy sources in this Caribbean island nation.

CUBA: Exiled Opposition Activist Has Come Home to Stay

The announcement Thursday by moderate Cuban exile leader Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo that he plans to stay in Cuba and fight for change from within apparently took both the government and dissident groups here by surprise.
    ''As a Cuban, I have the right to live in my country,'' said the 68-year-old Gutiérrez Menoyo, who had received special permission to make a personal visit to the island.

CUBA: Exiled Opposition Activist Has Come Home to Stay

The announcement Thursday by moderate Cuban exile leader Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo that he plans to stay in Cuba and fight for change from within apparently took both the government and dissident groups here by surprise.