Six men who were held for more than 12 years at Guantanamo Bay have been sent to Uruguay to be resettled as refugees, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement Sunday. The six — four Syrians, a Tunisian and a Palestinian — were detained as suspected militants with ties to al-Qaeda but were […]
Cuba’s Raul Castro says he’ll leave in 2018
Cuban President Raul Castro said Sunday that he would step down from power in 2018, when his second term as president is set to end. “I would like to make clear … this will be my last term,” he said during a televised speech. In 2018, he will be 86.
Chavez is back in Venezuela
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made a surprise return from Cuba on Monday more than two months after surgery for cancer that threatens to end his 14-year rule of the South American OPEC member. The 58-year-old socialist leader underwent a six-hour operation in Cuba on December 11.
Ailing Chavez can’t attend presidential swearing-in
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez won’t be able to attend his scheduled swearing-in this week, the country’s government announced Tuesday, confirming suspicions that the leader’s illness will keep him in a Cuban hospital past the key date.
Chavez’s health: Venezuelan opposition demands details
As rumors about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s health swirl, supporters and opponents of the ailing leader are trading barbs over who is behind them. “Secrecy is the source of the rumors that increase uncertainty
A former bus driver could replace Venezuela’s Chavez
He began his career as a bus driver in Caracas, then rose through the ranks to become a member of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s inner circle. Now, if Chavez’s health worsens, Vice President Nicolas Maduro could be the one to take the reins.
Venezuela’s Chavez to return to Cuba for cancer surgery
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he will return to Cuba on Sunday for more cancer surgery. The Venezuelan leader only returned on Friday from his last course of treatment there. “It is necessary for me to have a new intervention in the coming days,” he said in a TV address, adding that more malignant cells […]
Syria’s Assad may flee to Venezuela, Cuba via Lebanon
Syrian president Bashar al Assad’s hold on power is looking more tenuous. “There is no doubt that the regime’s capacity is declining and that the FSA (Free Syrian Army) continues to become ever stronger and better armed,” said a European diplomat with regime and opposition contacts in Damascus. It is not even clear if Assad […]
Chavez’s return to Cuba for treatment rattles Venezuela
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez flew into Cuba on Wednesday for cancer-linked medical treatment that revived questions about the viability of his socialist rule and left Venezuelans again guessing about his exact condition.
Israel bars entry of 4 NAM ministers to Ramallah
Israel on Sunday barred the foreign ministers of several Non-Aligned Movement countries from entering the West Bank for a top-level meeting in Ramallah , sources on both sides said on Sunday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Palestinian official said Israel refused to allow entry to the foreign ministers of Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Cuba.