Young Cuban Intellectuals Slam Trump’s ‘Manipulative’ Speech

teleSUR | June 25, 2017

The First National Congress of Writers and Artists in August 1961 adopted the slogan, “To Defend the Revolution is to Defend Culture.” | Photo: Reuters

Young Cuban artists and writers from the Hermanos Saiz Association, one of Cuba’s oldest cultural organization, joined several organizations in condemning Trump’s policy change towards the Caribbean island.

At the AHS National Council meeting, the Cuban artists declared their solidarity with the National Association of Cuban Writers and Artists against Trump’s “manipulative” speech delivered in Miami on June 16.

Electoral process begins at the municipal level

Granma | June 21, 2017

Photo: Roberto Diaz

In accordance with the timeline established, yesterday June 20, municipal electoral commissions were constituted, which will in turn organize, direct, and validate the electoral process.

Cuba Defends Puerto Rico’s Right to Independence

teleSUR | June 20, 2017

Che Guevara and Don Pedro Albizu Campos are shown along with the Cuban and Puerto Rican flags in this Spanish Harlem mural titled, “Dos Alas,” or “Two Wings.” | Photo: Reuters

Cuba’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the U.N. Ana Silva Rodriguez echoed her government’s support for the full decolonization of Puerto Rico, the Caribbean nation that has faced five centuries of colonial rule by Spain and now by the United States.

“The Puerto Rican people will invariably count on our solidarity. Cuba will continue to defend its legitimate right to self-determination and independence,” she said during the Special Committee on Decolonization in New York.

The draft resolution was initially presented by Rodriguez and then adopted by consensus in the Special Committee, a body created in 1961 to promote an end to the scourge of colonialism on the planet which now has 29 member states.

A May Day of commitment

Granma | May 01, 2017

Foto: Juvenal Balán

Today May 1, a march celebrating International Workers Day is taking place in Havana, with Army General Raúl Castro, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Councils of State and Ministers, on hand.

Fifty thousand youth led the parade of workers in the capital on May Day which was dedicated to them this year, as the present and future of the homeland.

Workers have more reasons everyday to struggle and win

by  Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento

Granma | May 01, 2017

Photo: Ricardo López Hevia

Speech by Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, member of the Party Central Committee Political Bureau and secretary general of the Cuban Workers Federation, during the commemoration of International Workers Day in José Martí Plaza de la Revolución, May 1, 2017

Compañero Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of the Councils of State and Ministers;

Distinguished guests;

Working men and women:

As we do every year throughout the country, today we celebrate International Workers Day, with the living memory of our beloved, unforgettable, and undefeated Comandante en Jefe, Fidel Castro Ruz.

Cuba sending medical brigade to Peru in the wake of severe flooding

Granma | 27 March, 2017

Cuba is preparing to send a medical brigade to Peru to help address the emergency facing the population, in the wake of heavy rain in several of the country’s regions over the last few weeks.

The Cuban embassy in Lima offered the Peruvian Foreign Ministry the services of a contingent from the Henry Reeve Medical Brigade specialized in disasters and epidemics. The group, including 11 doctors, ten healthcare professionals, an administrator, and lead doctor, will stay for one month, and is equipped with sufficient medicine and supplies to treat thousands of people.

Amid US Blockade, Cuba Opens Robotic Surgery Center

teleSUR | 22 March, 2017

Cuban surgeons performing an operation at Havana’s Luis de la Puente Uceda National Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery. | Photo: Radio Artemisa

Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health announced Wednesday the opening of a professional training center for the use of robotics in medical treatment.

Cuban doctors lauded the opening of the center, given that it is virtually impossible for the socialist island to acquire the latest technology in this field. The only firm that sells necessary equipment for robotic surgery is based in the U.S., preventing Cuba from purchasing them because of the United States’ illegal blockade.

U.S. blockade of Cuba violates international law

Granma | 01 March, 2017

Photo: Jorge Luis González

PARÍS.–The U.S. blockade of Cuba was denounced as a violation of international law and the principal obstacle to the island’s development, according to participants in a colloquium on current affairs in Cuba, held in the French capital.

Héctor Igarza, Cuban ambassador in Paris, commented that despite the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba, the United States government continues to enforce the economic, commercial and financial blockade and, increasingly, its extra-territorial reach.

He recalled that since 2009, fines for a total of 14 billion dollar have been levied on international banks and companies, for doing business with Cuba, in a clear violation of international law.

Anti-Cuban provocation fails

Declaration by Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Relations

Granma | 23 February, 2017

Photo: Molina, Vladimir Photo: MINREX

Over the last few weeks, international media have reported the intention of OAS General Secretary Luis Almagro Lemes to travel to Havana, in order to receive a “prize” invented by an illegal grouplet, which operates in concert with the ultra-right wing Foundation for Pan American Democracy, created in the days of the 7th Summit of the Americas in Panama, to channel efforts and resources in opposition to legitimate, independent governments in Our America.

The plan, plotted during several trips to Washington and other capitals of the region, consisted of mounting a serious, open provocation against the Cuban government in Havana, generating internal instability, damaging the country’s international image, and at the same time, affecting the positive development of Cuba’s diplomatic relations with other states. Perhaps some calculated poorly and thought that Cuba would sacrifice its fundamental principles to maintain appearances.

INTEGRATING UNIVERSITITES: A look at what’s happening in Havana

by  Yenia Silva Correa

Granma | 20 February, 2017

In 2013 Cuban universities began a process of integration aimed at combining all higher education establishments, with the exception of Medical Sciences faculties, within a new multi-disciplinary provincial institution.

Although the process – implemented in various stages – only began relatively recently, results have already been seen. For example, 15 institutions of higher learning were integrated between 2013 and 2015, while 2016 saw a similar number undergo the same process in Havana, where it has been particularly difficult to integrate certain structures.

According to information provided by Dr. José Ramón Saborido Loidi, minister of Higher Education, the capital’s higher institutes of Technology and Applied Sciences, as well as Design are being integrated into the University of Havana.