ARTS: Cuban Musicians Resuming U.S. Performances

New York City recently hosted its first Cuban band in five years, after the group Septeto Nacional became the first to win a visa that allowed it to accept a booking there.

CUBA-US: Stuck at a Standstill

Relations between Cuba and the United States are still bogged down in longstanding political and ideological differences, in spite of the signals of greater openness and opportunities for dialogue when Democratic U.S. President Barack Obama arrived at the White House.

CLIMATE CHANGE-CUBA: “Energy is an Instrument of Power”

"Energy is an instrument of power. Whoever has energy, controls the world," Cuban expert Luis Bérriz said in an address to Klimaforum, the civil society meeting being held in parallel to the UN conference on climate change in the Danish capital.

CUBA: World Class Pharma that Puts People First

Cuban biotechnology and pharmaceutical products are already among the country's major exports, and the industry is on course to continue developing while maintaining a firm focus on making a real difference to the health of all Cubans and of people in the numerous countries where Cuba provides medical assistance.

CUBA: Dissidents’ Plight Unchanged Under Raul, Charges HRW

While Cuban President Raul Castro has implemented some economic and administrative reforms, his three-year-old government has continued to isolate and persecute political dissidents, according to a major new report released here Wednesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

CUBA: Fewer Storks Visiting Shiny Maternity Clinics

Women in Cuba cite a variety of reasons to explain their decision to have only one child, ranging from the housing shortage to the rising cost of living and the many work responsibilities they have to shoulder. But many say that if things were different they would have a bigger family.

CUBA: Food Security Focus of New UN Programmes

Three new international cooperation agreements channeled through the United Nations system in Cuba are aimed at strengthening food security, especially in the poorest parts of the country.

POLITICS: U.S. Blasted for Sustaining Embargo on Cuba

The administration of President Barack Obama, which has vowed to improve relations with sanctions-hit Cuba, refused to break away from the traditional stand taken by successive U.S. governments and voted against a U.N. resolution calling for an end to the 47-year-old U.S. economic, commercial and financial embargo against the Caribbean island nation.

ECONOMY-CUBA: Cutting Subsidies to Balance the Budget

Cuban President Raúl Castro is willing to risk unpopular measures to free the state from its excessive burden of subsidies and for-free services, as part of a programme to adjust public expenditure to shrunken government revenues and balance the budget.

CUBA-US: Mixed Messages

While the Cuban government has intensified its protests against the U.S. embargo, typically hostile signals between the two nations have been mixed with hints of a more relaxed tone since U.S. President Barack Obama took office.

CUBA: Raising an Environmentally Conscious Generation

Every summer in Cuba, the complaint is heard over and over again: "These beaches are filthy!" Empty beer and soft drink bottles, plastic bags and cups, the remains of someone's picnic lunch, and innumerable cigarette butts are strewn on the sand every day, despite the threat of fines and the pleas of ecologists.

CUBA: Restoring Historic Santiago for Its People

Even with her house practically in ruins, Isabel García wouldn’t dream of living anywhere else. She’d rather stay where she knows that no matter what corner she turns she’ll always be able to gaze out into the blue sea or raise her eyes up to the green mountains that shelter her beloved city of Santiago, in eastern Cuba.

CUBA: There Are No Tough Guys; It’s Tough To Be a Guy

It has been three years since he separated from his second wife and realised he did not have a home to return to. Although he has always been able to count on a helping hand from one friend or another, and his children help him out now and then, Humberto Martínez spends most nights sleeping on a park bench in the Cuban capital.

CUBA: Peace Concert Bridges Borders and Differences

Although it was the target of threats from radical Cuban exiles and the focus of controversy and opinion polls from the moment it was announced, Colombian musician Juanes' idea of staging his "Peace without Borders" concert in Cuba proved a success at promoting understanding, in spite of differences.

US-CUBA: Five Decades of an Admittedly Failed Policy

U.S. citizens of Cuban descent are once again free to travel to Cuba and send an unlimited amount of money to their relatives on the island, but for the most part U.S. policy toward the communist nation hasn't changed under President Barack Obama.

CUBA-US: ‘Embargo as Usual’ Flies in the Face of Int’l Opposition

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez complained that the U.S. embargo against Cuba has remained intact under the government of Barack Obama, who he said has "a historic opportunity" to eliminate the "obsolete" and "unacceptable" blockade in place for nearly half a century.

POLITICS-CUBA: Moderate Dissident Group Convenes Congress

A moderate dissident group in Cuba that aspires to become a "political majority" in the future announced Thursday that it would hold a congress in 2010.

CUBA: Scientists, Farmers Fighting Climate Change – Together

Cuba is facing the challenge of boosting agricultural output under difficult climate conditions and on soils badly deteriorated by erosion, salinity and other problems. And scientists have a strategic role to play, provided they do not sit in their laboratories but get out into the fields where the action is.

CUBA: Raising Awareness about Racial Discrimination

Intellectuals and artists concerned about continued racial discrimination in Cuba are attempting to revive the Cofradía de la Negritud (CONEG), a "brotherhood" or association of black people aimed at raising awareness of the problem.

Q&A: "Blogmailing" to Foment Debate on Cuban Filmmaking

Blogging has taught him to share his deepest concerns with people who think differently, to treat others and himself more compassionately, to learn from even the most impassioned disputes, and above all, to show that far from being the sole possessor of truth, he is desperately seeking it.

CUBA: Will Legalising Multiple Jobs Bring Real Change for Women?

With a good job as a professional in Cuba’s public sector, Mariela Sánchez takes advantage of the flexible hours to take on another, part-time job and collaborate with a specialised publication.