Moscow seeks to extend influence in Latin America
BBC Nov 28, 08 7:24 AM CST
(Newser)
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Russian president Dmitry Medvedev is in Cuba strengthening ties with the Castro regime and attempting to broaden Russia's influence in Latin America, the BBC reports. Medvedev arrived in Havana yesterday from Venezuela where he and Hugo Chavez signed deals promoting nuclear energy and developing closer military ties. Russia is expected to sign an agreement with Castro to explore Cuban waters for oil.
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Cuban prez seeks talks for US trade deal, he tells Sean Penn
Nation Nov 27, 08 2:04 AM CST
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Raul Castro wants to normalize trade with the US and he's eager to meet with Barack Obama in order to do so, the Cuban leader told actor Sean Penn in an interview in the Nation . Castro said it wouldn't be fair to expect either leader to go to the other's country first, and suggested a meeting on neutral ground—like Guantanamo Bay.
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Some see aid now as a path toward increased influence, cooperation
Washington Post Sep 24, 08 10:28 AM CDT
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The devastation Hurricanes Gustav and Ike wrought on Cuba has prompted the US to offer direct aid for the first time in the 47-year history of its embargo on the island, but even ardent anti-Castro Cuban Americans are pushing for more, the Washington Post reports. While not all favor lifting the embargo, there is a broad consensus that limits on travel and remittances from the US are oppressive, particularly in this time of crisis.
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Human rights groups furious as singer faces 4 years for protest music
Guardian (UK) Aug 29, 08 5:23 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A Cuban rock star has been jailed and will be charged with "subverting communist morality" because his lyrics scorn the revolution, and rip "geriatric" Fidel and Raul Castro, the Guardian reports. Gorki Aguila, front man for underground band Porno para Ricardo, could face up to four years in prison if convicted of the charges.
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They're resigned to small freedoms, not sweeping change
Christian Science Monitor Jul 26, 08 9:51 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Cuba's youth are restless, but many are more concerned about access to Facebook, flat-screen TVs, and trips abroad than political change, reports the Christian Science Monitor . Young people say that they pressured Raul Castro to allow cell phone and computer ownership, but they remain disillusioned about the prospects for greater change.
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Washington 'disappointed' by decision
AFP Jun 20, 08 8:20 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The European Union has agreed to lift sanctions against Cuba, much to the annoyance of the White House. "We see encouraging signs in Cuba and I think that we should show the population in Cuba that we are ready to work with them," an EU official tells the AFP. It's a largely symbolic victory for Cuba and Spain—which lobbied for the change—because sanctions have been suspended since 2005.
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Wages will be tied to productivity
Miami Herald Jun 12, 08 4:42 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Raul Castro has ordered employers to create new salary structures that include extra pay for increased productivity—a bold departure, by Cuban standards, from Socialist orthodoxy, the Miami Herald reports. Under the current system, workers get a flat fee based on their job descriptions with no hope for incentives. Low productivity is common, and Fidel's brother is anxious to kick-start the economy.
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Daughter Mariela, who heads sex ed center, pushed for change
Reuters Jun 6, 08 6:27 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Cubans can now have free sex change operations, Reuters reports. The latest legal change under President Raul Castro was pushed by his daughter, Mariela Castro, who heads a sex education center and says she has a 28-person waiting list. Cuba allowed a sex change 20 years ago, but sparked so much outcry that Havana canceled the program.
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analysis
'Waving the bloody shirt of anti-Castro politics' may be out of date
Time May 23, 08 9:43 AM CDT
(Newser)
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In his speech in Miami this week, John McCain talked the familiar macho talk on Cuba, taking a hard line on the embargo and ridiculing Barack Obama for suggesting that he might open a dialogue with Raul Castro. That may still play with older exiles, Time notes, but a growing number of younger Cuban-Americans don't believe the embargo has any hope of toppling the regime and would like to see more openness in both diplomacy and borders.
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Dodd, Richardson strike back, criticize Republicans' hard-line approach
Chicago Tribune May 20, 08 4:04 PM CDT
(Newser)
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John McCain told Miami’s Cuban community today that Barack Obama would “give hope” to the Havana regime by sitting down with Raul Castro without preconditions, prompting a response from Bill Richardson that McCain was “afraid to talk to bad guys.” Speaking on Cuban Independence Day, the Republican kept up the argument that Obama would appease America's enemies, the Chicago Tribune reports.
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New president commutes all but 3 capital sentences
Reuters Apr 29, 08 8:31 AM CDT
(Newser)
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New Cuban president Raul Castro has commuted all but three of the country's death sentences to prison terms of 30 years to life, reports Reuters. Castro, who also has been gradually easing the country's restrictions on daily life, said the death penalty would remain on the books to deter "imperialist mercenaries." The three prisoners remaining on death row are charged with terrorist offenses.
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State workers can
now own houses; salary cap is gone
Associated Press Apr 12, 08 7:59 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Raul Castro continues to lighten up on some of Cuba's least popular restrictions, ending salary caps and allowing retiring state workers to take title to the homes they live in. Government employees, including members of the military, sugar and construction workers, doctors, and teachers, will now be able keep their places after retirement, and legally pass them on to their children, the AP reports.
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Keeping tourist digs off-limits blasted as 'economic apartheid'
Reuters Mar 31, 08 3:03 PM CDT
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Raul Castro has lifted a ban on Cubans staying at hotels designated for foreign tourists, Reuters reports. The prohibition, which had been criticized as "economic apartheid," had frustrated many Cubans since the country was opened up to tourism in 1990. "Cubans can now stay at our hotels," one hotel manager said. "Our doors are open to local tourism."
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Still-pricey service is signal of new president Castro's promised reforms
BBC Mar 28, 08 12:50 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Cuban government said today it will lift restrictions on mobile phones for the first time, the BBC reports—a sign new leader Raul Castro is following through on reform pledges. Cell phone service will be made generally available next week; service fees will have to be paid in foreign currency, however, effectively narrowing access to richer Cubans.
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