s retired political father figure says his brother, the president, met US leader at Nelson Mandela's funeral Cuba's President Raúl Castro introduced himself to Barack Obama in English at Nelson Mandela's funeral, telling him, "Mr President, I'm Castro," as the two leaders shook hands. That's according to Castro's brother, Fidel, who broke months of silence on Thursday with a lengthy editorial in state...
s oil wealth – had powered the resurgence of the Latin American left in the 21st century. With Chávez gone, the crowds returned again and again during the following weeks either to support or condemn his successor, Nicolás Maduro, who was always going to find it difficult to fill the huge political space left by his predecessor. As some clashes turned violent, there were a handful of deaths. But despite...
s 50-year embargo against the island. But when it comes to the island's recent moves to open up and adjust to a hostile economic climate, "la pelota" is playing an increasingly prominent role. In the past two decades, the heartland of Latin American socialist revolution has reluctantly become a breeding ground for Major League superstars – a galling trend that has now provoked a huge reform in the...
s memorial matched the mood of the moment, but is Cuba right to think 'US aggression' is ending? The handshake between Barack Obama and Cuba's president, Raúl Castro, was undoubtedly one of the most memorable images from the memorial service for Nelson Mandela, but could it also prove to be the most significant? The encounter, at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, was brief – a nod of respect,...
s most potent public gesture, a symbolic acknowledgement of mutural respect. It is democratic because it is a linking of individuals on equal terms. Bowing to monarchs and doffing caps belong to earlier ages that believed in hierarchies. The handshake is the visual language of a world that at least aspires to be egalitarian. It also has the advantage that it retains the formality of yesteryear. It's...
Follow live updates on the memorial service for Nelson Mandela at the national stadium in South Africa Matthew Weaver Paul Owen ...
Historic handshake with Cuban leader at Mandela event as Obama urges world leaders to follow former president's example Dan Roberts Richard Luscombe ...
s Dilma Rousseff, with whom he has clashed over NSA spying Barack Obama shook hands with Cuba's president, Raúl Castro, at a memorial service for Nelson Mandela. Obama was greeting a line of world leaders and heads of state attending the memorial in Johannesburg. He also shook hands with the Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, who has clashed with Obama over National Security Agency spying. The US...
s memorial on Tuesday will have to be deftly handled in the seating plan to avoid awkward moments. Many leaders claim spiritual kinship with Mandela's message of reconciliation, but not all are quite ready to put it into practice across the board, at least not in the glare of the floodlights at Soweto's Soccer City, the venue for a mass ceremony honouring the hero of the anti-apartheid struggle, in...
Emotional end to talks in Bali, as WTO concludes first global trade deal in nearly 20 years ...
From Che Guevara as a radiant rainbow to Lenin wearing a ruff of his own name, these Cuban posters are frontrunners in the world's propaganda art ...