New York, 29 March 2017. Cuba participated today in exchange of views, as part of the United Nations Conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination.

On behalf of Cuba, delegate Armando Fernández Isla considered some provisions to be included, together with other specific provisions for nuclear-weapon States.

Nairobi, March 28.Senator Ekwee Ethuru, President of the Senate of Kenya, welcomed the Cuban Ambassador, Ernesto Gómez Díaz, who paid him a courtesy call at his office in the Parliament.

As it was previously announced, the offices of the Cuban Consular Section

in Austria shall be structurally remodeled in order to provide our users with a better comfort and security to deliver a better service. The remodeling work shall start on Monday, April 3rd, 2017 and they shall continue during all that month of April.

The Organization of American States (OAS) now confronting Venezuela is the same organization that has endorsed aggression and military intervention, one which has consistently maintained silence in the face of serious violations of democracy and human rights across the hemisphere.

The President of the People's Supreme Court of  Lao People's Democratic Republic, His Excellency Mr. Khamphan Sithidampha, accompanied by his Vice-President and the Judge and Head of the Court's Commercial Chamber, received today in the afternoon, at the headquarters of said institution, the Ambassador of Cuba, Pablo A. Rodríguez Vidal.

The Supreme People's Prosecutor of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mr. Khamsam Souvong, received today´s morning the Ambassador of Cuba, Pablo A. Rodríguez Vidal. Present at the meeting were also the Director General of Planning and International Cooperation, Mr. Bounthai Pankeo and other executives and prosecutors of the Supreme People's Prosecutor office.

New York, 28 March 2017.

Windhoek, Namibia, March 27th-With the signatures of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of Namibia, Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, and the President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples (ICAP, for its acronym in Spanish), Kenya Serrano, was announced to all the African movements of solidarity with Cuba an invitation to participate in the V Continental Conference of Solidarity with the Island.

Below is the full text of the call.

“Dear Friends of Cuba from African continent and other Parts of the world,

I have the honor to inform that Namibia will be hosting the 5th Continental African Conference in Solidarity with Cuba, from 5th -7th June 2017. The observance of this conference constitutes another action for further strengthening the friendship and solidarity among our respective nations in the present international scenery.

This event will take place when the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People (ICAP, for its acronym in Spanish), already attained its 56th Anniversary of its formation and Cubans are still celebrating the release of the Five Heroes from the USA jails. This was brought about and made possible by the great support of international solidarity movements, in which the African organizations played a very outstanding role. This conference will be a reaffirmation of the strong and excellent solidarity relations that unite Cuba and Africa.

The hosting by Namibia of the 5th Continental African Conference in Solidarity with Cuba will be a follow-up on the previous ones, especially the Fourth Regional Meeting celebrated in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in September 2012. In this new international context, together, we will analyze and ratify the importance of the solidarity and friendship actions in terms of the most relevant subjects at present. The actions for ending of the US political, economic and financial blockade against Cuba, the withdrawal of Guantanamo Military Base from the Cuban territory, respect and recognizance of Cuban rights to decide its model of society, the future of its peoples and self-determination, opinions, initiatives and exchange of strategies to improve methods and procedures for solidarity work, among other matters, will be important aspects to be analyzed during the Conference.

Also will be an occasion to pay tribute to the memory of the late Commander in Chief Fidel Castro and to remember and to renew our commitment with his legacy.

There is no doubt that this continental meeting will be a step forward for the consolidation of the solidarity movements with Cuba and African countries.

It is against this background that we are inviting you to this important gathering scheduled to take place from 5th -7th June 2017, in Windhoek, Namibia.

Looking forward for confirmation and participation on this important gathering.

Please accept the assurances of our highest esteem.

Fraternally,

The Embassy of Cuba conveys to the people and the government of South Africa its heartfelt condolences for the death of Comrade Ahmed Kathrada, a solid stalwart of the struggle against racism and oppression. From Jose Marti, Cuba’s National Hero, we learned that “there are men that, even after death, continue to provide the light of dawn”.