Viewing from June 2008
An American dream realised in Cuba
Campaign News | Monday, 30 June 2008
by Les Payne for NewsDaySince her days as a young girl, Arabia Mollette dreamed of becoming a doctor. The streets of the South Bronx pulled in another direction."My family was hit hard with drugs," said the 28-year old student, "both of my parents." There were five sisters and a brother. ... read more
US airline fined for blockade violation
Campaign News | Monday, 30 June 2008
The biggest US private airline, SpiritAirlines, has been fined $100,000 by the US federal government for violating Washington’s economic blockade of Cuba.According to Granma news daily, a report by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) indicates the airline made payments to the Cubangovernment for the use of its ... read more
CSC statement on lifting of EU sanctions
Campaign News | Friday, 27 June 2008
The European Union sanctions against Cuba (in place since 2003) were formally lifted on Monday 23 June 2008.The European Council meeting, consisting of representatives of EU member states, agreed to end the European sanctions "as a means to facilitate the political dialogue process". At the same time the EU reiterated ... read more
Rail and Maritime workers pass motion of support
Campaign News | Thursday, 26 June 2008
"Maximum support" for the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolutionThe 2008 RMT conference in Nottingham overwhelmingly passed a resolution on 25th June calling for "maximum support" for the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution. The motion highlighted the work done by the Cuba Solidarity Campaign and called for the union ... read more
Cuba approves vaccine for lung cancer
Campaign News | Thursday, 26 June 2008
Rory Carroll in The GuardianCuba approves first therapeutic vaccine for lung cancerRory Carroll in Latin America correspondent The Guardian, Thursday June 26, 2008 Article historyCuba has approved what is believed to be the world's first registered lung cancer vaccine and is offering it to Cuban and foreign patients in its ... read more
Cuba ranked highest for primary education
Campaign News | Thursday, 26 June 2008
Cuba registered the highest levels -well over regional average-during the 2nd Regional Comparative Study, conducted by the Laboratorio Latinoamericano de Evaluación de la Calidad de la Educación (Latin American Laboratory for Education Evaluation).The study involved third and sixth grade students from 16 regional countries in the subjects of math, language ... read more
EU decision on lifting EU sanctions against Cuba
Campaign News | Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Full conclusionsCOUNCIL OF THE EUROPE UNIONCouncil conclusions on CubaCouncil meeting Luxembourg, 23 & 24 June 2008The Council adopted the following conclusions:"The Council:The Council notes the changes undertaken so far by the Cuban Government. The Council supports liberalizing changes in Cuba and encourages the government to introduce them.The Council called upon ... read more
BBC feature on Lloyds Bank and Cuba
Campaign News | Wednesday, 25 June 2008
CSC call on UK Government to actBBC World Service aired a feature (23rd June) on the recent decision by LLoyds Bank to stop its customers from dealing with Cuba.Michael Chambers, Alpha Agro, and Rob Miller, Cuba Solidarity Campaign, both commented on the effects of the US blockade policy on UK ... read more
Hundreds join RMT Party for Cuba
Campaign News | Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Hundreds join annual Trade Union event of solidarity with Cuba The annual RMT/Cuba Solidarity Campaign was a huge success yet again this year. Now in its 6th year several hundred people heard speeches from Bob Crow, General Secretary of the RMT and Tony Benn amongst others. Opening up the evening Bob Crow ... read more
UK BANKS ACCUSED OF BOYCOTTING CUBA
Campaign News | Monday, 23 June 2008
Guardian Article and BBC reportGuardian 23rd June Duncan CampbellUK BANKS ACCUSED OF BOYCOTTING CUBALeading British banks have been accused of operating a covert embargo of Cuba out of deference to the US. The accusation comes after revelations that Lloyds TSB and Barclays Bank have been telling clients who trade with ... read more
Trade Unions sever all links with Rise Festival
Campaign News | Monday, 23 June 2008
Financial support withdrawnPress release from UNITE the UNION in London23 June 2008**** FOR IMMEDIATE USE ****LONDON UNIONS SEVER ALL LINKS WITH RISE FESTIVALToday (Monday 23 June) the trade unions in London announced that they have withdrawn all support from the Mayor of London’s Rise Festival.The organisation of the event has ... read more
EU defies US to end sanctions
Campaign News | Saturday, 21 June 2008
The European Union voted to remove its diplomatic sanctions against Cuba despite opposition from the United States.Leading up to the vote, US State Department Deputy spokesman Tom Casey said. "We would not be supportive of the EU or anyone else easing those restrictions at this time."Spain led the push inside ... read more
CSC banned from running Rise stage
Campaign News | Saturday, 21 June 2008
Letter from CSC Director.Dear friends, You may have read reports in the press regarding CSC and the Rise Festival. Unfortunately, Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London has decided to stop the CSC Latin American music stage at the festival in July. We have protested this decision but unfortunately we have to ... read more
Bank ditches UK firms trading with Cuba
Campaign News | Tuesday, 17 June 2008
A Somerset health shop selling Cuban sugar and a London tobacconist dealing in Habanos cigars are among British businesses told by a bank to cut their ties with the island or move their accounts.Lloyds TSB has written to customers who have dealings with Cuba saying they will have take their ... read more
Cuba Solidarity statement on Rise Festival
Campaign News | Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Mayor bans CSC from London FestivalPress ReleaseFor immediate release16 June 2008Mayor of London in political censorship row over CubaCuba Solidarity Campaign banned from London festivalTrade Unions condemn decisionThe Cuba Solidarity Campaign (CSC) has been told that its annual Big Cuba Stage at the Rise Festival will no longer be permitted ... read more
EU postpones decision on Cuba sanctions
Campaign News | Monday, 16 June 2008
By Ingrid Melander and Mark John for ReutersEuropean Union foreign ministers postponed a decision on Monday on whether to lift sanctions on Cuba, leaving the controversial issue for a summit of the 27-nation bloc on Thursday.The measures were imposed after a crackdown on dissent in 2003 and include a freeze ... read more
CSC banned from Rise festival, Guardian report
Campaign News | Monday, 16 June 2008
Mayor drops festival's anti-racism messageBoris Johnson, London's mayor, was criticised by equality campaigners last night after it emerged one of the capital's biggest free music festivals is to drop its anti-racist message.Rise has been held in London since 1996 and has become the biggest anti-racist music festival in Europe. It ... read more
EU agrees to lift sanctions
Campaign News | Monday, 16 June 2008
from Yahoo News19/06/2008EU nations agreed Thursday to definitively lift their sanctions against Cuba, in the hope of encouraging democracy on the island, European diplomats said.European Union foreign ministers took the decision in principle during dinner on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels."There was an agreement to lift the ... read more
Bank ditches UK firms trading with CubaB
Campaign News | Monday, 16 June 2008
by Duncan Campbell, The GuardianA Somerset health shop selling Cuban sugar and a London tobacconist dealing in Habanos cigars are among British businesses told by a bank to cut their ties with the island or move their accounts.Lloyds TSB has written to customers who have dealings with Cuba saying they ... read more
Millions of light bulbs replaced in Latin America
Campaign News | Monday, 16 June 2008
Millions of Light Bulbs Replaced in Latin Am with Cuban AidCuban social workers have replaced more than 7 million incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs in different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, reported Juventud rebelde newspaper.The more than 800 Cuban young people who participated of a Cuban program ... read more
EU to vote on Cuba sanctions
Campaign News | Sunday, 15 June 2008
On Monday 16 June, the European Union will vote on whether to remove sanctions against Cuba. According to Spain’s El Pais newspaper, the preparatory debate has demonstrated that a clear majority of the twenty-six member countries favour a change of approach.Campaigners have intensified pressure on the UK government to normalise ... read more
Lloyds withdraws Cuba business
Campaign News | Saturday, 14 June 2008
According to a Times report, Lloyds TSB bank is to withdraw its business in Cuba following pressure from the US.The UK newspaper reported on 6 June that the bank faces a £180 million fine for breaking US Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) rules on dealing with state sponsors of ... read more
Robles sets record, Beijing battle next
Campaign News | Friday, 13 June 2008
Cuban hurdler breaks 110 metre recordIn his challenge to Liu Xiang's status as favorite at the Beijing Games, Cuba's Dayron Robles set a world record in the 110-meter hurdles Thursday night at the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic.Robles shaved 0.01 seconds off Liu's record, with a time of ... read more
UK condemns US decision on the Five
Campaign News | Monday, 9 June 2008
The 140 delegates to the 2008 Annual General Meeting of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign on 7 June made the following statement on the Miami Five. The delegates included representatives of over 5 million UK Trade Union members.We deplore the latest decision of the United States Court of Appeals and the ... read more
Cuban internationalism a beacon says union General Secretary
Campaign News | Sunday, 8 June 2008
by Stuart Watkins, CSC Campaigns OfficerDelegates at the Communications Workers Union conference in Liverpool attended a joint Latin America fringe meeting with speakers from the Cuba Solidarity Campaign and a range of other Latin American speakers. The event was chaired by Jane Loftus, the President of the CWU and opened ... read more
CSC statement on Miami 5 appeal
Campaign News | Friday, 6 June 2008
Disappointingly, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia has just upheld the convictions of all Five yet sent the cases of Antonio, Ramon and Fernando for re-sentencing on the grounds that no top-secret information was gathered or transmitted.This still leaves Antonio and Ramon facing a substantial prison term ... read more
Urgent actions to Miami 5 ruling
Campaign News | Friday, 6 June 2008
Write to US today and organise for October vigilSupport the Emergency Resolution at the CSC AGM on Saturday 7 June, and commit to the next stage of the Campaign to Free the Five.From now until the Autumn, CSC will gather signatures of leading figures for an advert in the national ... read more
Cuba to provide free sex-change
Campaign News | Friday, 6 June 2008
Cuba has authorised sex-change operations and will offer them free to qualifying citizens, officials say.The move is the latest in a series of policy changes implemented by President Raul Castro since he succeeded his elder brother, Fidel, in February.Raul Castro's daughter, who heads the National Centre for Sex Education, spearheaded ... read more
Amnesty International calls Cuban Five case a human rights violation
Campaign News | Thursday, 5 June 2008
On May 28 Amnesty International issued its 2008 annual report in which a chapter referring to the human rights violations committed by the United States Government included the case of René González, Gerardo Hernández, Fernando González, Ramón Labañino and Antonio Guerrero, who for ten years have been serving sentences totaling ... read more
Court rules on sentences of 'Cuban 5'
Campaign News | Thursday, 5 June 2008
From the Miami HeraldA federal appeals court has again upheld the politically charged convictions of five Cuban intelligence agents accused of spying in the U.S., but vacated sentences of three of them, including two who are serving life terms.A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals returned ... read more
Cuban statement at World Food Summit
Campaign News | Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Rich countries are accountable for world crisisCuba stressed in Rome today that hunger andmalnutrition are the consequences of an international world order that maintains and deepens poverty, inequalities and injustice.In his statements at the World Summit on Food Security, Cuban First Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura criticized developed countries ... read more
Infant mortality rate reduced in Nicaragua thanks to Cuban help
Campaign News | Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Thanks to the work of Cuban doctors in a remote region of Nicaragua, the infant mortality rate was reduced to zero, according to a government report issued on Tuesday.In a press release, the Communications and Citizens Council said the infant mortality rate was brought down to zero in the municipality ... read more
Fidel's comments on Obama's vision for Cuba
Campaign News | Monday, 2 June 2008
Fidel Castro reacts to Presidential hopeful's speech to Miami's Cuban communityThe Empire’s Hypocritical PoliticsIt would be dishonest of me to remain silent after hearing the speech Obama delivered on the afternoon of May 23 at the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF)created by Ronald Reagan. I listened to his speech, as ... read more
