Religions are Part of this People and Culture

Archimandrita Atenágoras (Orthodox Church from the Patriarchate of Constantinople)

I think that the visit of the pope Benedict XVI to Cuba is very important. The Catholics people are feeling the happiness we also felt when the patriarch visited Cuba and they are also being targeted now by the calumnies and disinformation broadcast overseas like equally happened to us in the past.

I do think that it is an important event for Cuba and for all of us given that he is a very important religious leader in the world and he realizes the way we really are and that constitutes the reason he is coming.


Aristides La Madrid (Vice-president of the Cuban Abakuá association)

It is possible to talk today on the good links between the churches and the local society in general.


Reverend Marcial Miguel Hernández (President of the Council of Churches of Cuba)

It will be a pleasure to contribute in anything that could be necessary.

Anything in which we could help, it would be a pleasure given the fact that here does not exist the fratricide among religious groups. Benedict 16th will watch the harmony that exists here.


David Prinstein (Vice President of the Hebrew community of Cuba)

There are years of experience on the work carried out by local religious organizations, thus enabling to receive with great expectations a pope in Cuba once again.


Enrique Alemán (President of the espirita Quisicuaba Society)

Lots of respect for Benedict 16th, his visit constitutes a moment for the mutual religious benefit and exchange. Therefore, it is a space to recognize that all type of faith is valuable if it is taken into account the community dimension of Jesus.


Gabriel Coderch (General Coordinator of the Reflection and Solidarity Group Oscar Arnulfo Romero)
I am a catholic representative. Therefore, the pope has a clear importance for me given my type of faith. His visit reaffirmed the will of the Cuban government in relation to guarantee the religious freedom as well as giving the space that all the Christian organizations have to develop our work.


María Amelia Yi (Church of Friends)

For us, as the ecumenical people, this is an opportunity of exchange, a party and a celebration.


Antonio Castañéda (President of the Yoruba Cultural Association)

It is an important event as it constitutes the defense of our nation.

The common enemy has tried to destabilize us even through money. However, it cannot be forgotten the fact that inside the religious people´s heart the main component is love.

I do think that it is really favorable the visit to Cuba of Benedict 16th. There were many positions previously manipulated and aimed at making to clash the Catholic Church with Cuba. Therefore, the arrival of the pope demonstrates once again the he is also fighting for mankind. I see his visit as an act of respect to our sovereignty.


Imán Yahya Pedro Lazo (President of the Islamic league of Cuba)

The first thing we have to do is precisely to be able to love our fellow man. Besides, Allah is for us what the word god means for others in English language. In short, god, the divine power, has established norms and commands so that the human being behaves according to them.

Being together, it is necessary to carry out actions in favor of the peace and progress of the peoples.

In Cuba all the religions are together and there is respect towards them all. Therefore, the visit from Benedict 16th is an opportunity to work for the common benefit of everyone as it is a magnificent and good chance for all the Cuban people.


(By Ana Teresa Badía)

Chavez greets Venezuelans on social network, after surgery in Cuba

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is currently recovering in Cuba after a surgical operation that withdrew a lesion from his pelvic region.

“Good evening my dear compatriots! Here I go, taking flight like a condor, I send you all my supreme love! We will live and we will overcome!, wrote Venezuela´s Hugo Chavez on his tweeter account @chavezcandaga.

And six minutes later he said that he was watching the Contragolpe TV Show on Venezuelan television: “I am watching you my dear Vanessa and Gabriela! What a good show!, Chavez said as he referred to the journalists participating in the show.

Vice-president Elias Jaua said on Wednesday that he had talked on the phone with Chavez, who sent greetings with a firm, energetic and victorious voice for his compatriots in Venezuela.

“Let all the people and all comrades know that we had this conversation and that I am in full recovery process,” he told Jaua.

Scientists warn on danger of high concentration of space debris

US scientists recently warned in that country on the consequences that space debris may cause to the smooth operation of the satellites or the International Space Station, and called to take seriously this fact.

According to the NYT, some scientists and researchers are concerned because of the inertia shown by the more developed countries and are convinced that the problem of "sky trash" will soon have serious consequences.

It would cause a series of collisions between "space debris", which will eventually make unusable Earth orbit, due to the amount of waste.

In short, what we really need is a truly "celestial brush." A system to reduce the presence of debris orbiting the earth. There are already many labs working to find a solution, although there is no specific project in process of realization.

It is such the amount of waste in the space that every year something falls on our planet. We have an example on the NASA satellite that rushed into the earth surface last year, while this year it was a Russian spacecraft defective.

(With information from Reuters)

Raul Castro: Cuba will never renounce having a single Party

While closing the First National Conference of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) held this weekend at Havana's Convention Center, the Cuban president Raul Castro said that Cuba will never renounce having a single Party, since doing so will lead to the defeat of the Revolution and would sacrifice the unity of the people.

Raul criticized those who built their hopes up thinking that this Conference would mark the beginning of the political and social dismantling of the Revolution and wanted the restoration of the multiparty model.

He reiterated that it’s necessary to promote, more and more, greater democracy in Cuban society, starting by setting an example from within Party ranks, which presupposes, he added, the encouragement of an atmosphere of maximum confidence an sincere exchange of opinions, both in the heart of the organization and in its bonds with workers and the population, including the mass media.

The only thing that could lead to the defeat of the Revolution and socialism in Cuba would be our inability to overcome mistakes committed for over 50 years, since January 1st, 1959, new mistakes and future mistakes, he pointed out.

The Cuban president called to strengthen unity around the Party and the Revolution and also the permanent bond that exists with the masses, and to preserve the Cuban nation and economic and social achievements, on the basis of the fact that the homeland, the Revolution and socialism are indissolubly combined.

Int'l Low-budget Film Festival comes closer

Cuban filmmaker Lester Hamlet said in Holguin that the continuity of the International Low-Budget Film Festival honors the town of Gibara and Humberto Solas, creator and promoter of the event.

At a press conference on Wednesday, the president of this important cultural event stressed that the festival is based on very solid foundations, designed by the genius of Solas, which ratify it as a place to find ways of artistic achievement.

According to the Organizing Committee, more than 400 films from different countries have been registered for the competition sessions of this event to take place from April 17 to 22 in this charming coastal town.

Among other activities planned for the festival, it also announced simultaneous film screenings throughout the island, under the auspices of Martin Luther King Center.

The disaster of Costa Concordia

There are several speculations from the tragedy of this vessel. Most people are inclined to belive that it was neglect in the operation of this ship carrying more than 4,000 passengers, which ran aground on the coast of Italy.

All indicate that the captain, who has been arrested and who the same company itself considers responsible for the tragedy, had a negligent behavior in accident management.

Passengers have said that they felt a massive jolt when the ship hit the rocks, but they were simply told that there had been a “black out “ and that the situation would return to normal as soon as possible.

Although there are doubts about the accuracy of the charts that guided the ship, it shows that the Costa Concordia continued to sail whilst taking on water from the gash in the hull, but it then turned and drifted towards the shore coming to its final resting place in shallow water.

US could use dolphins as weapons against Iran

Over the past few months, The United States, the European Union and Israel increased pressures on Tehran in an effort to thwart Iranian plans to produce nuclear energy.

President Barack Obama recently approved a law stipulating fines against companies that do business with Iran´s Central Bank, while the European Union threatened the Persian country with an oil embargo. But Tehran said that if such measures are implemented it would block the Strait of Hormuz, the transfer route for one third of the world oil trade.

Iran could plant mines along the Strait of Horumz as a way to block it, and in that case the US Navy could use dolphins, which is a solution not yet widely published, said Michael Connel, a researcher with the Center for Naval Analysis.

Meanwhile, retired admiral Tim Keating, former commander of the Bahrein-based 5th Fleet also referred to the possible use of dolphins in the event of a blockade of the Strait of Homuz. Those animals have impressing capacity to detect underwater objects, said the former admiral, cited by The Atlantic Wire daily.

The US Navy is currently training 80 dolphins at the San Diego Bay, in California, to locate and eventually destroy explosive artifacts with the assistance of a tracking device.