Cuba Rebuts International Criticism Over Prisoner’s Death

The Cuban government energetically rebutted what it regards as another campaign to discredit it, following the death in prison of a man who, according to the authorities, was not a dissident nor on hunger strike, as the opposition alleges.

CUBA: Countdown to First Communist Party Conference

In the run-up to the first National Conference of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC), the insistence of government sources that the meeting will concentrate on internal party matters seems to imply that social issues are to be excluded from the agenda.

CUBA: Pope to Visit a Country in Flux

On his upcoming visit to Cuba, Pope Benedict XVI will find a country immersed in dramatic changes, as it "modernises" its socialist system and continues to open up to religion, marking a difference from the society found by John Paul II when he visited almost 14 years ago.

CUBA: Men for Non-Violence

Promoting the first Men for Non-Violence platform is one of the challenges undertaken by a group of social actors who devoted November and December 2011 to the most intensive Cuban campaign ever against gender-based violence.

RIGHTS-CUBA: Government Pardons Some 3,000 Prisoners

Only seven prisoners convicted of political crimes are among the nearly 3,000 inmates pardoned by the government of Raúl Castro. Most of the prisoners have reportedly already been released.

CUBA: Racism Finally Debated in Parliament

The Cuban parliament finally included the problem of racism, long a taboo issue in this country, in its debates this week. And the question is also on the agenda of the governing Communist Party's upcoming national conference.

Cubans Hope for Migration Reform

Whether or not they live in Cuba, whatever their political affiliation, most people consulted by IPS want changes to Cuban migration policy that include three key elements: freedom, rights and normalisation.