CARIBBEAN: Castro Comes Calling as U.S. Tries to Pull the Plug

Even the rains seemed to have joined forces against Cuban President Raul Castro.

Cuba Strengthens Regional Ties

With the recently-created Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Cuba is strengthening its regional reinsertion, while progress towards normal ties with the United States would appear to remain a distant prospect, and the return of the right-wing Popular Party to power in Spain could reopen tensions on that front.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Cuba Joins New South-South Alliances

Cuba will be attending the next round of climate change negotiations after a year that has seen a growing consensus in the developing South to put pressure on rich nations to take on firmer commitments within an international governance regime for climate stability.

CUBA: Violence against Women Out of the Closet

The story of Saúl, a violent husband, and Odalys, an abused wife, has been on Cuban TV screens for several weeks now, bringing the touchy and often silenced issue of violence against women into millions of homes. It may cause shock or repulsion, but few can escape the controversy or discussion.

CUBA: Strategic Battle against Corruption

The battle against corruption is one of the greatest challenges faced by Cuban President Raúl Castro, who began designing his strategy for preventing and combating the problem when he temporarily took office after his brother Fidel fell ill in July 2006.

CARIBBEAN: Cuba Shares Its Experiences in Agroecology

Farmers and experts on agriculture from Haiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique are touring fields in Cuba this week, along with local colleagues, to exchange experiences to foment ecological fruit growing on Caribbean islands.

CUBA: Co-operatives Set to Expand

The creation of co-operatives forms part of the current "updating" of the Cuban economy, even though no official information has been provided about the expansion of this form of business management, which has already been tested, with mixed results, in agriculture.

RELIGION-CUBA: Good Climate for Pope’s Visit

A visit by the Pope to Cuba would strengthen the climate of dialogue between the government and the Catholic Church, analysts agreed after the announcement that Benedict XVI is considering visiting this country in the spring of 2012.

CUBA: Same-Sex Couples Want to Be Counted

Communist Party militant, gay rights activist, journalist and blogger Francisco Rodríguez has triggered an online debate in Cuba by calling for sexual diversity to be identified in the next census, due in September 2012.

Anti-Castro Cuban Americans Fret Over Drilling Rig

With a giant deep-water oil rig steaming slowly toward the Gulf of Mexico and the waters just off Cuba, the administration of President Barack Obama is being pushed and pulled by different interests over what, if anything, to do about it.

POPULATION-CUBA: Young People as Agents of Change

At 19, Liz Sandra Falcón had never imagined that every decision she made could have an impact beyond her own life: not only on people close to her, but on Cuban society itself, and even – although it might seem like an exaggeration – on global tendencies.

CUBA: The Elusive Horn of Plenty

Cubans are still waiting for changes and measures implemented in agriculture to translate into cheaper food. Meanwhile, the government is adjusting its budget, because more than the 1.6 billion dollars initially allocated for food spending will likely be needed.

CUBA: Varied Reactions to Communist Party Policy Document

The Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) began a wide process of consultation among its members this week with a view to an upcoming national conference charged with charting policies on issues that range from generational renewal and the internal functioning of the party to dealing with corruption and other social problems.

CUBA: Women’s Department Draws Attention to Inequality

Continuing its mission to promote gender studies and use academia to demonstrate the inequalities between women and men in Cuba, the Women’s Studies Department is celebrating 20 years of work with new challenges in terms of researching and drawing attention to the disadvantages faced by the female population.

Human Development from a Cuban Perspective

Excluded from the 2010 Human Development Index, Cuba will issue a report of its own, which will reflect the impact of an economic crisis that has lasted for 20-plus years, and will show social and health indicators typical of the developed world.

Cuba Protests U.S. “Double Standards” on Terrorism

Cuba marked the 35th anniversary of the bombing of a Cubana airlines jet, in which 73 people were killed, with demonstrations against terrorism and a demand for the release of five government agents in prison in the United States.

CUBA: Self-Employment Expanding, But Not Enough

This month, the Cuban government eased up on taxes and other legal aspects involved in self-employment. But experts warn that there are serious limitations standing in the way of growth of private enterprise, which is supposed to absorb hundreds of thousands of employees slashed from the public workforce.

Q&A: “After 50 Years, the Embargo on Cuba Has Failed”

Cuba is urging the U.N. General Assembly to again condemn the U.S. embargo during its 66th session this week, in an annual ritual that has been a political and moral victory for the socialist nation but with little real impact.

RIGHTS-CUBA: Dissident Group Reports Uptick in Arrests

The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation criticised the situation in this Caribbean island nation in a report released three days after government media warned that a new smear campaign was being organised against the country.

CUBA: Catholic Church Takes the Pulse of Religious Sentiment

The Catholic Church seems to be expecting a rise in religious sentiment among the Cuban population as a result of the climate of dialogue and more relaxed relations with the government seen since the 1998 visit of Pope John Paul II.

CUBA: Summer’s Legacy: Trash-Strewn Local Beaches

People are packed like sardines on the sand and in the water. Like every summer in Cuba, tens of thousands of Havana residents seek to escape the heat and worries of city life every day along a 12-km stretch of popular beaches to the east of the capital, known as Playas del Este.