Viewing from February 2007

Fidel says he is feeling fine

Campaign News | Wednesday, 28 February 2007

From the International Herald Tribune newspaperCARACAS, Venezuela: Cuban leader Fidel Castro spoke in a soft but steady voice about feeling "more energetic" and enjoying his convalescence in a surprise call to a radio broadcast in Venezuela, his first live comments since falling ill seven months ago.The half-hour call to Venezuelan ... read more

When it comes to gay rights, is Cuba inching ahead of USA?

Campaign News | Tuesday, 27 February 2007

By DeWayne Wickham of USA TodayHAVANA - Years before George W. Bush proclaimed his support for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages in the United States, the ideologically rigid government of Fidel Castro made a big move in the opposite direction.It sanctioned the production and viewing of Strawberry and ... read more

Cuba opens experimental wind farm

Campaign News | Monday, 26 February 2007

Six wind turbines on Isle of YouthHAVANA -- Cuba has opened an experimental wind farm, hoping alternative energy sources can one day ease occasional power shortages while reducing the island's dependence on oil, state news media reported Sunday.The $3.4 million park, featuring six 180-foot windmills, was established on Isla de ... read more

400 Cuban doctors attending to flood victims in Bolivia

Campaign News | Sunday, 25 February 2007

More than 60,000 treated free of chargeA total of 400 Cuban doctors are attending to people affected by natural disasters associated with the El Niño meteorological phenomenon in eight departments of Bolivia. To date the health professionals have made more than 60,000 consultations free of charge.Living alongside the thousands of ... read more

Cuba Deserves Respect, Says British Historian

Campaign News | Saturday, 24 February 2007

Asa Briggs visits CubaBritish historian Asa Briggs said Thursday that Cuba’s nearly half a century resistance to US hostility is a major and admirable political act that deserves humankind’s respect."It is admirable that it has been able to confront the United States," Briggs told reporters during a brief visit to ... read more

Cuban ambassador to Austria criticises CzechRep's stand on Cuba

Campaign News | Friday, 23 February 2007

US is plotting with European countries says envoyVienna, Feb 22 - Cuban ambassador to Austria Norma Goicochea criticised the Czech Republic saying it is one of the EU countries that pursue "the EU's Latin American strategy that is close to the USA," in a meeting with journalists today, the Austrian ... read more

Judge dismisses Posada's bid to be freed

Campaign News | Thursday, 22 February 2007

Terrorist denied habeus corpusEL PASO, Texas - A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request by an anti-Fidel Castro activist to be released from jail while immigration officials figure out where to deport him.U.S. District Judge Philip R. Martinez threw out Luis Posada Carriles' lawsuit after federal prosecutors said immigration ... read more

Top official says US won't change policy toward Cuba

Campaign News | Thursday, 22 February 2007

Cuban-American Commerce Secretary says blockade is 'correct'WASHINGTON, USA: A top US administration official insisted on Wednesday Washington had no intention of changing its policy toward communist Cuba, whose centerpiece is a 45-year-old, unilateral trade embargo."We believe passionately that our policy is correct," said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who co-chairs the ... read more

The Hilton Hotel and the ban on Cuban Nationals

Campaign News | Thursday, 22 February 2007

Statement from Cuba Solidarity CampaignBRIEFING PAPER - FEB 2007The Hilton Hotel and the ban on Cuban NationalsStatement from Cuba Solidarity CampaignThe Cuba Solidarity Campaign welcomes any efforts to apply pressure on the Hilton Group to change their policy which bans Cuban Nationals from staying in their hotels in Britain. This ... read more

Cuba embraces Open-Source software

Campaign News | Tuesday, 20 February 2007

Protest against 'technological soveriegnty'Cuba's government is trying to shake off the yoke of at least one capitalist empire -- Microsoft Corp. -- by joining with socialist Venezuela in converting its computers to open-source software.Both governments say they are trying to wean state agencies from Microsoft's proprietary Windows to the open-source ... read more

Women Trade Unionists premiere Cuban film

Campaign News | Tuesday, 20 February 2007

Unison delegates pack meetingMORE than 50 people packed into a fringe meeting to learn about Cuba’s response to the Pakistan earthquake of 2005.Delegates at the Unison Women’s Conference, at the Bournemouth International Centre, enjoyed a rum reception hosted by the Cuba Solidarity Campaign and heard about the brutal impact the ... read more

Raul Castro's daughter says Fidel is recovering well

Campaign News | Monday, 19 February 2007

'He is stupendous' says Mariela CastroHAVANA: A daughter of acting President Raul Castro said Sunday that her uncle Fidel is recovering "very well" from surgery and would likely again be "present and very active" in Cuba's government."Fidel is stupendous," said Mariela Castro Espin, who attended the dedication of a book ... read more

British MP urges more EU dialogue with Cuba

Campaign News | Friday, 16 February 2007

Deputy speaker of House of Commons in CubaHAVANA, Cuba (Reuters): Deputy speaker of Britain's House of Commons and Labour MP Sylvia Heal called on Tuesday for improved European relations with Cuba that were upset by human rights concerns in 2003."We hope that the European Union will continue to work with ... read more

Cable to expand Cuba‘s internet capacity

Campaign News | Friday, 16 February 2007

Link with Venezuela will be complete in two yearsHAVANA - A new undersea fiber-optic cable from Cuba to Venezuela should be finished within two years, a Venezuelan communications official said Thursday, dramatically expanding Cuba‘s internet and telephone capacity.That‘s well over 1,000 times the capacity of Cuba‘s current satellite-based internet link, ... read more

Blockading Cuba and Hilton Hotels

Campaign News | Wednesday, 14 February 2007

Morning Star NewspaperBlockading CubaMorning Star NewspaperMonday 12 February 2007ROB MILLER investigates how the US is attempting to crush its socialist neighbourLAST week we saw yet again the far-reaching effects of the US aggression against Cuba.Pressed by journalists, the Hilton Hotel Group declared that Cuban nationals would be barred from staying ... read more

U.S. blockade affects Internet use

Campaign News | Tuesday, 13 February 2007

It not only prevents Cuba’s connection to international optic fiber cables and financial transactions on the island, but also the downloading of free software and information on the webBY LILLIAM RIERA-Granma International staff writer-THE U.S. blockade extends over Cuba’s use of the Internet, according to Commander of the Revolution Ramiro ... read more

Hilton Hotels ban prompts outrage

Campaign News | Friday, 9 February 2007

From the Morning Star newspaper UKWednesday 07 February 2007by TOM MELLENMPs and trade unions declared on Wednesday that they will not be staying at Hilton hotels until the US multinational lifts its global ban on providing accommodation to official Cuban delegations.The House of Commons Scottish affairs select committee decided to ... read more

New Anti-Cuba plot brewing in the European Union

Campaign News | Friday, 9 February 2007

Cuban press highlights threat from former eastern European socialist countriesBy Patricio Montesinos of Periodico 26 newspaper, CubaSeveral media outlets are reporting on a new plot brewing against Cuba within the European Union by several of the 27-member nations whose governments are well known for their servility to the United States ... read more

CSC Briefing: Hilton Hotels and the ban on Cuban Nationals

Campaign News | Friday, 9 February 2007

Statement from Cuba Solidarity CampaignBRIEFING PAPER - FEB 2007The Cuba Solidarity Campaign welcomes any efforts to apply pressure on the Hilton Group to change their policy which bans Cuban Nationals from staying in their hotels in Britain. This application of extra-territorial aspects of the illegal US blockade against Cuba is ... read more

Mimicking the US approach to Cuba will get us nowhere

Campaign News | Thursday, 8 February 2007

The Guardian newspaper UK: Washington's dream of a post-Fidel leadership collapse is pure fantasy. Britain should try dialogue, not standoffBy Brian WilsonThursday February 8, 2007The GuardianAmerican (and hence, sadly, British) foreign policy towards Cuba has long been based on a single presumption: that on the death of Fidel Castro the ... read more

MPs protest at Hilton Hotel ban on Cubans

Campaign News | Wednesday, 7 February 2007

EDM calls on British government to oppose extra-territorial extension of US blockadeIan Gibson MP, Chair of the All-Party Cuba Group of MPs has tabled an Early Day Motion in the British Parliament calling on the Government to oppose any extension of the US blockade of Cuba to Britain.The move was ... read more

Bush says communisim 'should end' in Cuba after Fidel

Campaign News | Wednesday, 7 February 2007

Eve of Latin America tour speechWASHINGTON - Communist rule of Cuba should end when ailing leader Fidel Castro dies, U.S. President George W. Bush said as he prepared for a Latin American tour this week.Bush's trip is widely seen as offering a counterpoint to the populist appeal of Venezuelan President ... read more

Cuban Foreign Ministry accuses US of subterfuge in Posada case

Campaign News | Tuesday, 6 February 2007

US is avoiding trying Posada for what he is: a murderer and terrorist, says HavanaSTATEMENT FROM THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRSON January 31, the United States government once again used a legal subterfuge to avoid bringing charges against Luis Posada Carriles for what he actually is: a murderer and a ... read more

Quake of 6.1 degrees in Santiago de Cuba

Campaign News | Monday, 5 February 2007

No one hurtBy Orlando Guevara Núñez-Granma daily-SANTIAGO DE CUBA.-An earthquake measuring 6.1 degrees on the Richter scale and five in intensity, at 3:54 pm on February 4, interrupted residents’ Sunday relaxation or enjoyment of the baseball All Stars Game.Although they are more or less used to such quakes, given that ... read more

Chavez speaks about Fidel Castro’s recovery

Campaign News | Sunday, 4 February 2007

Cuban leader is much betterCARACAS.- Back from his visit to Cuba earlier in the week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told the press in Caracas Thursday that Fidel Castro continues on the road to recovery.Chavez said that during his exchange with the Cuban leader he saw a notable improvement, “He’s gained ... read more

Canadian firms under pressure to apply U.S. laws

Campaign News | Sunday, 4 February 2007

From the Montreal Gazette newspaperBy Don Macdonald and Allison Lampert,CanWest News Service; Montreal GazettePublished: Saturday, February 03, 2007MONTREAL -- Workers at a Valleyfield, Que., munition factory were more afraid for their civil liberties than their job security last year when they learned their plant had been purchased by a giant ... read more

Amnesty International calls on members to write protest letters on the Miami Five

Campaign News | Friday, 2 February 2007

Denial by US to grant visas for wives is unnecessarily punitive, says Human Rights watchdogAmnesty International has asked its members to write letters of protest to the US authorities calling for them to grant visas to the wives of the Miami Five.Details of the situation of the wives and how ... read more

Bill to ease curbs on Cuba visits introduced in US Congress

Campaign News | Thursday, 1 February 2007

Measure is "stunning in its cruelty," says CongressmanWASHINGTON - Calling the policy that limits Cuban-American travel to the island as "stunning in its cruelty," Rep. Bill Delahunt, D-Mass., introduced a bill today that would lift all restrictions on family visits to Cuba.The bill is co-sponsored by Ray LaHood, R-Ill., who ... read more