Fidel Castro's Life Work Praised in Argentina

Buenos Aires, Apr 23 (Prensa Latina) The event dedicated to analyzing and highlighting the work and thought of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, continues today in this capital with a roundtable discussion "Fidel and the emancipation of Our America.

"The forum will be held at the Cultural Center of Cooperation (CCC) in Buenos Aires, featuring speeches by researcher and political scientist Atilio Boron, historian Francisco Martinez, and Cuban ambassador Jorge Lamadrid.

This roundtable discussion is part of the "Fidel's Week" program in Argentina, which included the opening of a photography exhibition "Fidel: 83 Reasons," and in which the launch of the book "Fidel, a history, five opinions," containing pictures from the five photographers included in that exhibition, is expected.

Panelists at the CCC will discuss the thought of the Cuban revolutionary leader and his decisive contributions to the awakenings of the revolutionary conscience of "Our America."

The awareness of the unfinished nature of the independence struggles in early 19th century and, therefore, the need to strive for what Fidel Castro called "our second and final independence," will be also analyzed.

The photography exhibition "Fidel: 83 Reasons," which national legislator Juan Carlos Junio, CCC director said "is much more than an exhibit; it is a tribute to a man who made history, which we are still living" opened yesterday night before a large audience gathered at the prestigious center.

"For those of us at the Cultural Center of Cooperation (CCC), Fidel Castro is a central figure in the political struggles of our America and also of our own country, so we should have paid tribute," the legislator told Prensa Latina.

The exhibition also compiling snapshots taken by Osvaldo Salas, Liborio Noval, Roberto Salas, and Pablo Caballero, presented for the first time in Mexico in 2009.

New Foreign Investment Law Favors Cuba’s Development

HAVANA, Cuba, April 24 (acn) The new Foreign Investment Law is necessary because it will be implemented in a peculiar stage of development of the country and amidst the update of Cuban economy, said Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca.

In a prime-time television show, Malmierca explained the main aspects of the new law, recently approved by the Cuban Parliament. He said that the implementation of the new legislation does not mean the abandonment of socialism, but the strengthening of foreign investment as an additional element for the development of the country.

Cuban economy needs to increase its levels over 20 percent, which would favor the growth of the Gross Domestic Product by five percent in a sustained manner. The law will also favor the introduction of capital and so contribute to count on two billion dollars annually, as a complement to the efforts being made by the country, he said.

However, the minister noted that the implementation of the law cannot be looked at separately from the complex situation of Cuba, a country under the US blockade, with debts and high financial risks, which causes investors to operate with some limits and with this in mind the law is crystal clear, attractive and transparent, Malmierca stressed.

The law prioritizes eleven sectors including agriculture, the food industry, the sugar sector, the metal and light industries, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields, energy, mines, wholesale market, tourism, construction and transportation.

FAO Says Cuba Has Great Potential for Sustainable Agriculture

HAVANA, Cuba, April 24 (acn) Theodor Friedrich, representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Cuba said that the island has great potential to develop sustainable agriculture.

Addressing participants at the 11th International Forum on CubaSolar 2014, which promotes renewable energy initiatives, underway in Varadero Tourist resort, in western Matanzas province, the expert said that the Cuban scientific community has the political willingness and the necessary knowledge to foster what is known as the paradigm of conservationist agriculture, though he stressed the need to introduce modifications that contribute to the degradation of the soil.

In his lecture, the FAO representative said that the world is facing the challenge of food security due to high prices, lack of availability of foodstuffs among other obstacles.

In 2050, the world will have to feed nine billion people, therefore it is crucial to change the models of food production and distribution, because 30 percent of the food produced is being wasted, the expert said.

The forum is also addressing renewable energy sources, water supply, among other issues related to the use of the environment. Experts from 11 nations from Europe and the Americas are attending the conference.

Vice-president of European Parliament Receives Cuban Medal

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 23 (acn) Miguel Angel Martinez, Vice-president of the European Parliament, received on Wednesday in this capital the Friendship Medal given by the Cuban Council of State to international personalities with a solidarity stance towards the country in an active and continuous way.

Ana Maria Mari Machado, Vice-president of the National Assembly of the People’s Power (Parliament), presented Martinez with the medal in a ceremony held in the Jose Marti Memorial in the presence of numerous guests, among them relatives of the Cuban antiterrorists condemned to long sentences in the United States.

The acknowledgement is given by the Council of State at the request of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP).

ICAP president Kenia Serrano highlighted the outstanding work of Martinez in favor of the Cuban fighters arrested in the United States and against Washington’s economic, financial and commercial blockade against the Caribbean nation.

Cuba: International Seminar on the Caribbean Begins in Havana

Havana, Apr 23 (Prensa Latina) The International Seminar "Marcadores del Tiempo en las Antillas" (Time Markers in the Antilles) opens today at Casa de las Americas in Havana to discuss the special features of insular region of the Caribbean.

The panels made up by specialists from different disciplines will discuss the events that constituted markers in the evolution of societies in the Caribbean as well as the formation of identities during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Cuban researcher Jesus Guanche will give today the lecture "Memoria del legado africano en el Caribe insular" (Memory of African legacy in insular Caribbean).

Specialists will analyze tomorrow the economic aspects related to agriculture, the features of lands in the Caribbean and the development of railroad, among other subjects.

The works of artists and writers from the Caribbean, like Cubans Wifredo Lam and Alejo Carpentier, will also be analyzed.

Cuban Group La Colmenita To Perform in Hanoi

Hanoi, Apr 23 (Prensa Latina) Cuban group La Colmenita brought today to Hanoi the joy of its music, along with the energy received from the public who gave it a warm welcomed during the week of performances at the prestigious Festival of Hue in Central Viet Nam.

In a reduced format the group of the Cuban Theatrical Company delighted its public with a program of emblematic songs of the national repertoire that spanned different genres. It included Guantanamera, which unleashed claps of accompaniment of the public.

The nine young performers, who were once members of La Colmenita for children, pleasantly surprised the Vietnamese people when its two singers performed in their own language the popular piece "You are still marching with us, Uncle Ho", inspired by the liberation of Saigon in 1975 and the reunification of the motherland.

When presenting the theatrical company, the Cuban Ambassador to Viet Nam, Herminio López, emphasized the objective of fully develop the artistic capabilities of its members declared children ambassadors of good will of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

During the stay in Hue they offered seven functions in the old Imperial City An Cuu, in open squares, in mobile floats on streets and to hundreds of patients and paramedical personnel of the Central Hospital of the city to continue transmitting especially the joy they carry.

Cuba will Host 7th Campaign against Homophobia

HAVANA, Cuba, April 24 (acn) The 7th Cuban Campaign against homophobia will include a regional conference with the participation of the International Association of Gays, Lesbian, Bisexuals, Trans and Intersexual people from Latin America and the Caribbean. This event takes place in Cuba for the first time.

The forum, which will be held May 5-25, acknowledges the advancements of the island in the promotion of respect for sexual orientation and gender identity.

The International Association aims at the equality of rights for lesbians, gays, bisexual, Trans and intersexual person, which was founded in 1978.

The Cuban campaign against homophobia, which is organized by the Cuban Sexual Education Center, with the Health Ministry, will include educative, recreational, and cultural and sports actions with a social perspective.

Cuban Poet Wins Pablo Neruda Ibero-American Poetry Award

Santiago de Chile, Apr 23 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Reina María Rodríguez won today the Pablo Neruda Ibero-American Poetry Award, one of the most important literary awards in the genre.

The Chilean Minister of Culture, Claudia Barattini, made public the announcement at the La Chascona House Museum, Neruda's residence, where an international jury deliberated.

In addition to Barattini, the jury was integrated by Argentinean Graciela Aráoz, Peruvian Julio Ortega, Chilean Pablo Brodsky and Malú Urriola, and last year's winner, José Kózer.

The 61-year-old writer won the National Prize of Literature in Cuba last year, for her poetic work and as narrator, with a score of twenty titles translated into several languages.

Rodriguez also has the Order of Arts and Letters of France, the medal Alejo Carpentier, the Critics National Award and two Casa de las Américas Awards (1984 and 1998).

Chile presents Pablo Neruda award since 2004, and is already one of the most prestigious in Latin America, in addition to the better paid in the field of Latin American poetry.