Ramin Mehmanparast, Spokesman of Iran’s Foreign Ministry meet with Daniel Sergio Lopez emphasizing the ever increasing importance of public diplomacy in foreign policy, particularly the role of the audiovisual media in that respect.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast held talks with Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Ana Tresita Gonzalez Fragarrilla. Mehmanparast said Tehran and Havana share common views on various international issues and this can pave the way for "strengthening bilateral relations”.

Mehmanparast said the West has taken contradictory approaches toward popular uprisings the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in Libya and Bahrain, Tehran Times correspondent reported from Havana.

Venezuelan minister of Culture, Francisco Sesto, said cultural exchange between Cuba and his country is excellent and thanked the island’s contribution to the social development of that nation.

ormer President Jimmy Carter seems to have a meteorological effect on this island. Like the low-pressure cold fronts that periodically blow down from the north and sweep away Havana's suffocating humidity, Carter's mere presence here seems to bring down the temperatures of Cuba's chronically overheated politics.

The concert, which also featured a performance of traditional and original music from pianist Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, was the opening night of Havana’s Journados Culturales con Irlanda, a week of Irish culture which brought a touch of green to the Cuban capital earlier this month.

Since then, Americans have had little interaction with Cuba and most know little about the Caribbean country or its culture. But a group of seven Cuban musicians is trying to change that - one New England school at a time.

Economic shortages and the U.S. embargo make it difficult to get most sporting equipment there. For skateboarders, it was nearly impossible. "We both said right away, 'We are going there,' " Lecour recalled.