Fidel Castro

Stories 101 - 120 | << Prev   Next >>

Fidel Reported to Be Close to Death

Castro is gravely ill, sources say

(Newser) - Fidel Castro may be nearing the end of his life, reports the Miami Herald. It's been almost two months since Castro has been photographed in public. No images were released of his November meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and he was a no-show at the Jan. 1 celebrations of...

Hey Sean, Put Down Your Pen
 Hey Sean, 
 Put Down 
 Your Pen 



OPINION

Hey Sean, Put Down Your Pen

Adoration of Cuban dictator is misguided, dangerous

(Newser) - Sean Penn may be “the finest character actor around,” but he's “no journalist,” writes Roger Cohen in the New York Times. Penn’s recent “fawning tributes” to Cuban president Raúl Castro show the actor has “delusional, dangerous” beliefs about the dictator—a fact...

Cuba Embargo Has Backfired: Time to End It

(Newser) - The Cuban embargo has failed to encourage democracy there, and the president-elect should do something about it, writes Eugene Robinson in the Washington Post. It's time to “bring five decades of counterproductive American policy toward Cuba to a definitive end.” While engagement with other Communist regimes has worked...

Raul Castro: Outside Forces Can't Harm Us

(Newser) - Raul Castro marked the 50th anniversary of his brother's rise to power by declaring that the revolution is "stronger than ever" but warning Cubans that more hardships lie ahead, the Miami Herald reports. Though he didn't mention the US by name, Castro said that outside forces could not harm...

Castro Calls for More Work, Less Welfare

Cuban president cuts worker subsidies to shore up struggling economy

(Newser) - Saying Cuba’s finances “don’t square up,” President Raul Castro called for belt-tightening measures in the wake of three hurricanes and a global recession that have hobbled the communist nation. The state plans to dole out fewer worker subsidies, halve the number of overseas trips, and halt...

Hello? Barack Here. No, Really
 Hello? Barack Here. No, Really 

Hello? Barack Here. No, Really

Pol suspecting a prank hangs up on president-elect

(Newser) - Blame radio's drive-time zoo disc jockeys for a new skepticism among politicians. GOP Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen received a phone call from someone identifying himself as Barack Obama. She hung up on him, thinking it was a radio show prank—and even complimented him on his Obama impression. The only...

45 Years Later, JFK Theories Live On
 45 Years Later, 
 JFK Theories Live On 
BOOK REVIEW

45 Years Later, JFK Theories Live On

New book on JFK assassination offers new ideas, little proof

(Newser) - In the canon of great conspiracy theories, the JFK assassination remains unquestionably king. The enduring national mystery has given rise to some of the most complicated explanations, and the theory offered by a new book is one of the more pleasingly convoluted, reports Vanity Fair in a look at Legacy ...

Hurricanes Prompt Calls to Soften Restrictions on Cuba

Some see aid now as a path toward increased influence, cooperation

(Newser) - 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...

Fla. Keys Evacuation Order Canceled
Fla. Keys Evacuation Order Canceled

Fla. Keys Evacuation Order Canceled

Residents urged to stay put as Hurricane Ike menaces mainland

(Newser) - Hurricane Ike is now a Category 2 storm, and officials have rescinded orders to evacuate the Florida Keys, the Miami Herald reports. Residents still on the archipelago shouldn't go anywhere, and those who've already left are being asked not to return until after the storm passes. It's expected to continue...

Cuba Jails Rocker for 'Geriatric Castro' Lyrics

Human rights groups furious as singer faces 4 years for protest music

(Newser) - 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...

Castro Backs Cuban Athlete Who Kicked Ref

Accuses Matos' opponent of trying to fix fight

(Newser) - An ailing Fidel Castro expressed "total solidarity" today with a Cuban martial artist who kicked an Olympics referee in the face, the AP reports. Castro supported a claim by the taekwondo athlete's coach that the contest was fixed and marred by a bribery attempt. "They had tried to...

Cuban Youth Prefer Facebook to Revolution

They're resigned to small freedoms, not sweeping change

(Newser) - 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...

McCain Ad Links Obama to Castro
McCain Ad
Links Obama
to Castro

McCain Ad Links Obama to Castro

'Guilt by endorsement' ad runs on South Florida websites

(Newser) - The McCain campaign is running an Internet ad composed of photos of Barack Obama and Fidel Castro side by side, with the caption “Fidel Castro thinks he is 'the most advanced candidate,'" the Huffington Post reports. The ad is running on websites catering to South Florida, home to...

Chavez: US Confrontation 'Inevitable'
Chavez: US Confrontation 'Inevitable'
GLOSSIES

Chavez: US Confrontation 'Inevitable'

But Venezuelan leader receives steadying advice from Castro

(Newser) - With the US distracted by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been busy amassing a Latin American power bloc to blunt Washington’s influence. But the firebrand leader, who calls President Bush “the devil” and the US “the empire,” is receiving level-headed...

Europe Votes to Lift Cuba Sanctions

Washington 'disappointed' by decision

(Newser) - 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...

Ailing Fidel Appears on TV
Ailing Fidel Appears on TV

Ailing Fidel Appears on TV

Former Cuban president chats with Hugo Chavez about food, fuel crises

(Newser) - An animated Fidel Castro appeared on state-run Cuban TV yesterday, in the first such broadcast of the ailing revolutionary since January. Castro, standing in some parts of the video, was seen chatting in a garden with his brother Raul, the current Cuban president, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the AP...

Hard Workers in Cuba Will Finally Get Their Due

Wages will be tied to productivity

(Newser) - 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...

Miami Cubans Toe Softer Line on Embargo
Miami Cubans
Toe Softer Line
on Embargo
analysis

Miami Cubans Toe Softer Line on Embargo

'Waving the bloody shirt of anti-Castro politics' may be out of date

(Newser) - 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...

Big Brother Indeed: Orwell Prank Ends in Arrests

Takeover PA system leads to sit-in protest at Mass. high school

(Newser) - What appears to be a senior prank that saw students commandeer the public-address system at a Massachusetts high school to read George Orwell (or perhaps Fidel Castro) ended with arrests and protests yesterday, the New Bedford Standard-Times reports.

Castro Victim's Family Wins Record Verdict

Juror: $253M award shows world not to 'mess' with Americans

(Newser) - Two Miami residents won a record $253 million lawsuit against Cuba yesterday after Florida jurors approved a wrongful death claim on behalf of their father. The case involved the death of Rafael del Pino, a naturalized US citizen and ex-Castro ally who was imprisoned after turning against the Cuban dictator,...

Stories 101 - 120 | << Prev   Next >>