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Dissident Cuban blogger gets warm reception from Miami exiles

April 6, 2013 07:48
Cuba's best-known dissident, journalist Yoani Sanchez, received a hero's welcome on Monday from the Cuban-American exile community in Miami, her latest stop in an 80-day tour of more than a dozen countries. It was the largest and most politically unified reception in at least a decade for a dissident from the island by Miami's Cuban-American exile community, which has often clashed with opposition figures in Cuba over political strategy. With many leaders of Miami's Cuban-exile community in attendance, Sanchez was introduced as “an authentic defender and heroine” of human right

Cuba's Fidel Castro urges calm in N. Korean crisis

April 5, 2013 10:00
Communist icon Fidel Castro on Friday called on North Korea and the United States to avoid confrontation and reminded both sides of their "duties" towards peace. "If a war breaks out there, there would be a terrible slaughter of people" in both North and South Korea "with no benefit for either of them," Castro wrote in a front-page article in Granma, the Communist Party's newspaper. Now that the North Korean government "has demonstrated its technical and scientific advances, we remind them of their duties with those countries that have been their great friends."

Dissident Cuban blogger gets warm reception from Miami exiles

April 1, 2013 20:00
By David Adams MIAMI (Reuters) - Cuba's best-known dissident, journalist Yoani Sanchez, received a hero's welcome on Monday from the Cuban-American exile community in Miami, her latest stop in an 80-day tour of more than a dozen countries. It was the largest and most politically unified reception in at least a decade for a dissident from the island by Miami's Cuban-American exile community, which has often clashed with opposition figures in Cuba over political strategy.

Conspicuous consumption comes to post-reform Cuba

March 21, 2013 22:00
Aging Chevys and Pontiacs are a familiar symbol of life in Cuba, but many of the vehicles clogging the communist island's streets these days are top of the line and fresh from the showroom. The recent startling appearance of gleaming Audis, Hummers and other high-end cars are but one sign of change in Cuba, where early hints of affluence can be seen after half a century of communist austerity. Newlyweds are taking honeymoon getaways at Cuba's five-star hotels. Health clubs also are sprouting up, with memberships going for the once princely sum of $700 a year.

Ten years after arrests, Cubans split on pace of change

March 21, 2013 01:45
Ten years after the "Black Spring" arrest of 75 Cuban dissidents, some in the opposition perceive signs of greater openness while others see a regime that is merely changing tactics to improve its image. Political opposition is still illegal, with regime opponents routinely denounced as US "mercenaries," but the regime has backed away from mass arrests in recent years, handing down reduced sentences and loosening a travel ban.

Dissident's visit warms Washington's Cuba Cold War

March 19, 2013 16:15
By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A visit to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday by Cuba's best-known dissident may have slightly narrowed one of Washington's long-standing political gaps - the angry dispute over the U.S. embargo against the Communist government in Havana. Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez met on Tuesday with both Democratic and Republican members of Congress, including some of the staunchest Cuban-American supporters of the 53-year-old economic embargo against her country.

Cuban dissident says Raul's successor could be a Gorbachev

March 18, 2013 18:32
New York, Mar 18 (EFE).- Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez said here Monday that while the heir apparent to President Raul Castro appears to be a "continuer," she wouldn't dismiss the possibility that once in power he might become a reformer like Mikhail Gorbachev. The writer of the renowned Generacion Y blog described Miguel Diaz-Canel, 52, who was recently designated as Cuba's senior vice president, as a "grey man" who will be unable to govern like Fidel or Raul Castro" because he lacks "that historical status."

Cuba declares holiday on Good Friday

March 18, 2013 12:30
Cuba's communist government on Monday declared a holiday on Good Friday for the second year in a row without mentioning the day's religious significance to Christians. The gesture came days after President Raul Castro welcomed the appointment of Pope Francis as the first-ever Latin American pontiff, and follows a thawing in relations between communist Cuba and the church in recent years.

Cuba overhauls communications, IT sectors

March 15, 2013 17:47
Havana, Mar 15 (EFE).- The government has launched an overhaul of Cuba's communications and information technology sectors, the Communist Party daily Granma said Friday. The Ministry of Information Technology and Communications becomes the Ministry of Communications and is responsible for regulatory and institutional matters, according to a decree cited by the newspaper.

Cuba's Castro congratulates new Chinese leader

March 14, 2013 22:16
Cuban leader Raul Castro congratulated new Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, citing the socialist ties between the longtime allies. "I extend my warmest congratulations" to Xi, Castro said in a message read on state television. "We are convinced that under your leadership, this sister country will achieve new successes in building socialism." China is Cuba's second-largest trading partner after Venezuela, and a vital source of credit for the cash-strapped communist island.
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