HAVANA – (AP) — A week of drag shows, colorful marches and social and cultural events in Havana culminates Friday with celebrations of the International Day Against Homophobia. Hundreds of activists have taken part in the activities organized by a sex education center headed by first daughter Mariela Castro. “Join (us) to educate families about [...]
The Cuban Cultural Fest was established to celebrate the rich heritage and traditions of the island nation that have been nurtured and kept alive by Cuban Americans living in the Tampa Bay area. This festival will showcase talented Cuban artists and performers in a cultural celebration that introduces the people of Tampa Bay to an [...]
The reward for the capture and return of Joanne Chesimard, now living in Cuba as Assata Shakur, was doubled to $2 million (£1.3 million) on Thursday, the 40th anniversary of the bloody gun battle. “She continues to flaunt her freedom in the face of this horrific crime,” New Jersey State Police Superintendent Colonel Rick Fuentes [...]
WATERTOWN — Four days after two deadly explosions turned the finish line of the Boston Marathon into a scene of bloody chaos, the 19-year-old college student believed to be responsible for placing the bombs was taken into custody tonight, bringing a sense of relief and justice to a shaken region. Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev of Cambridge [...]
In a unique natural experiment, researchers have observed how a nation that lost an average of 5kg per head over five years contributed to a halving of the death rate from diabetes and a one third reduction in deaths from heart disease. The natural experiment occurred in Cuba which was plunged into crisis in the [...]
American pop star Beyonce and rapper husband Jay Z celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary this week in Havana, where big crowds greeted them as they strolled hand in hand through the Cuban capital. They ate at some of the city’s best restaurants, danced to Cuban music, walked through historic Old Havana and posed for pictures [...]
Cuban diplomats at the United Nations complained “heavy-handedly” about a news conference by blogger Yoani Sánchez at a U.N. auditorium hosted by journalists accredited to the international body, knowledgeable reporters said. Sánchez’s appearance before the U.N. Correspondents Association went ahead as scheduled at 3 p.m. Thursday, but its location had to be shifted because of [...]
(Reuters) – A meteorite streaked across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, raining fireballs over a vast area and causing a shock wave that smashed windows, damaged buildings and injured 1,200 people. People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt the [...]
Not long ago, scrolling for a movie, I saw that “Notorious” was on. How can you resist Cary Grant as an American spy in Rio recruiting Ingrid Bergman to seduce and betray a Nazi played by Claude Rains? But it turned out to be a very different “Notorious,” one about the rise of gangsta rapper [...]
Venezuela has cut the value of its currency against the US dollar by 32%, in an effort to boost its economy. The widely expected measure ramps up the official exchange rate of the bolivar from 4.3 to 6.3 per US dollar. It was announced after Vice-President Nicolas Maduro’s return from Cuba, where he said President [...]
Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez has a respiratory infection after undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba and must have “complete rest” for the next few days, the government said. The socialist leader is in a stable condition after being diagnosed with the infection on Monday, information minister Ernesto Villegas said on television, reading a government statement. “It [...]
President Hugo Chavez is in full control of his mental faculties and has been talking with his children and getting daily visits from Fidel Castro while recovering slowly from cancer surgery in Cuba, his son-in-law said. Chavez has been recovering favourably despite some “moments of tension” after Tuesday’s surgery and is now in a “process [...]
Cuban human rights activist Elizardo Sánchez Santa Cruz says the secret police harassed him for the first time in 20 years, and dissident Guillermo Fariñas says they hit him, in what the two men called yet another sign of the government’s growing nervousness over the opposition. Sánchez has been one of the few critical voices [...]
By Tania C. Mastrapa l November 19, 2012 For liberal media, academia and others of a leftist persuasion, Cuban-Americans are not so much “Hispanic voters” as they are a persistent irritant and a symbol of a minority hijacked, in the broadminded opinion, by the Republicans. Any sign of their defection from the GOP is welcomed [...]
Cuba has decided to suspend, beginning Nov. 27, charter-flight operating permits to fly to the island for Airline Brokers and C&T Charters, two of the most important and recognized agencies of this type in South Florida. Havanatur Celimar, the Cuban state agency that administers and regulates the operations, announced the decision Wednesday. Reasons for the [...]
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has accused the Colombian government of harassing relatives of a senior rebel, highlighting tensions without disrupting a third day of peace talks in Havana, Cuba. Viviana Hernandez, a FARC spokeswoman, read out a statement on Wednesday alleging that Colombian police had threatened the relatives of unit commander Francisco Gonzalez as they sought [...]
An American contractor serving a 15-year jail term in Cuba is suing his former employer and the US government. Alan Gross and his wife Judy say he was not adequately trained or told about the risks he was incurring when he went to Cuba to do development work. Mr Gross was jailed by Cuba in [...]
President Obama won a second term in the White House Tuesday night, overcoming concerns about the fragile economic recovery to soundly defeat Republican nominee Mitt Romney. “We’ve got more work to do,” Obama declared, addressing a cheering crowd at his victory rally in Chicago early Wednesday morning. The president spoke to supporters at his campaign [...]
2:28PM EDT November 2. 2012 – NEW YORK — Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday rejected criticism of his decision to go ahead with Sunday’s New York City Marathon, saying it would give the storm-ravaged city “something to cheer about.” Critics have slammed the mayor’s decision as “idiotic,” insensitive and a diversion of city resources at [...]
New York’s Hurricane Sandy death toll climbed to 39 Thursday as the city struggled to find some sort of post-superstorm normalcy. As Mayor Bloomberg spoke at a City Hall news conference, searchers on Staten Island recovered the bodies of the two Staten Island boys lost Monday as their mom tried to rescue the doomed pair as [...]