Cuba
Latest stories
Jailed Cuba Dissident Dies after Hunger Strike

A jailed Cuban dissident has died after a 50-day hunger strike to protest his imprisonment by the Western Hemisphere's only one-party communist regime, rights activists told Agence France Presse.

Wilmar Villar, 31, passed away Thursday at 6:45 pm (23:45 GMT) after protesting against a four-year sentence handed down in November, opposition activist Elizardo Sanchez told AFP.

W140 Full Story
Ahmadinejad Meets Fidel Castro, Says 2 Countries Fighting on Same Front

Two of Washington's top irritants, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Fidel Castro, discussed world events for two hours, and the Iranian leader on Thursday described the retired Cuban revolutionary as healthy and engaged, and declared their two countries to be allies "fighting on the same front."

"It made me enormously happy to see the comandante healthy and fit," Ahmadinejad said through a translator at an impromptu airport appearance alongside Fidel's brother, Cuban President Raul Castro, before flying off to Ecuador for the final stop in his four-nation Latin America visit.

W140 Full Story
In Cuba, Ahmadinejad Calls for New Order, Says Capitalism 'in Decay'

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad slammed capitalism as bankrupt and called for a new world order Wednesday on a visit to Cuba, steering clear of the controversy over his country's nuclear program.

The Iranian leader arrived in Cuba for talks with his counterpart Raul Castro as the Islamic republic blamed Israel and the United States for the killing of a nuclear scientist in a Tehran car bombing.

W140 Full Story
Ahmadinejad Heads to Latin America to Seek Support

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left on Sunday for a five-day Latin American tour that will let him tout some of Iran's few friendships while tensions grow over the country's threats to block oil shipments in retaliation for tighter U.S. sanctions.

His government finds itself largely isolated in the standoff over its nuclear program, and the new sanctions targeting Iran's Central Bank and oil industry have triggered an abrupt drop in the nation's currency.

W140 Full Story
Cuba Relic Ends Mammoth Pilgrimage

Cuba's patron saint wrapped up a 16-month pilgrimage here Friday ahead of a papal visit early next year to mark the 400th anniversary of the relic's legendary discovery.

The statue of Our Lady of Charity, the patroness of Cuba, has criss-crossed 28,000-kilometers (18,000 miles) of the communist Caribbean island since beginning its tour in August 2010.

W140 Full Story
38 Haitian Migrants Die when Boat Sinks Off Cuba

Cuba says 38 Haitian migrants have died after a boat they were in sank off the island's eastern coast.

According to an official communiqué read out on state television, 87 others were rescued by Cuban civil defense forces after Saturday's shipwreck, including four children. A search was on for more survivors.

W140 Full Story
Raul Castro Keeps Travel Restrictions but Grants Amnesty to 2,900 Prisoners

President Raul Castro on Friday put on ice highly-anticipated plans to ease travel restrictions on Cubans, telling lawmakers the nation would not be pressured into moving too fast and citing continued aggression from the United States as the reason for his cautious approach.

Cuba has been awash in speculation the much-hated regulations, which prevent most Cubans from leaving the island, might be lifted during Friday's session of the National Assembly. But Castro said the time still wasn't right, despite a year of free-market reforms that has seen the Communist government legalize a real estate market and greatly increase private business ownership.

W140 Full Story
Cuba to Use Sugar Cane in New Electricity Plant

Cuba will open its first electricity plant using sugar cane as a biofuel hoping eventually to meet 30 percent of its energy needs from the fuel source, the official Granma daily said Thursday.

The plant, being built in Ciego de Avila province, some 400 kilometers (240 miles) east of Havana, will use "biomass from sugar cane (the residue from agricultural products) and forestry" particularly an invasive hardwood species known as "marabu" which provides good quality charcoal.

W140 Full Story
Leaders at Americas Talks: World Economy Top Worry

Leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean pledged to work together to fend off the effects of the world financial crisis and safeguard the region's growing economies.

Several presidents stressed at the start of a two-day summit Friday that they hope to ride out turbulent times by boosting their local industries and increasing trade within the region.

W140 Full Story
Cuba Lashes out Against 'Vulgarity' in Popular Music

Cuba on Wednesday took aim at "vulgarity" in popular music, decrying the sexually graphic lyrics that are increasingly common in music played by young people on the communist island.

"We note with great concern that in the past few years there has been a... type of artistic expression, including in popular Cuban music, that leaves much to be desired," read the opinion piece appearing in the daily Granma newspaper.

W140 Full Story