EU Agrees to Lift Cuba Sanctions

The news from Brussels, Belgium is that the European Union's external relations commissioner says the EU has agreed to lift sanctions on Cuba. The EU leaders feel they have to cooperate with changes in Cuba after Raul Castro took over as the head of the country's government from his ailing brother, Fidel. Some EU nations have been reluctant to lift the diplomatic sanctions. They say they want to see Cuba improve human rights first. Washington, which imposed a trade blockade in Cuba nearly 50 years ago, has no immediate plans to lift it. Some indications seem to show that Raul is worse than Fidel. Only time will tell.

Iran Faces New Sanctions Threat

Six world powers have agreed to draft a third resolution for sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. The UN Security Council will vote on the draft if UN and EU reports say Tehran's program is continuing. Officials from the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany will meet on Nov 19 to assess the reports.

Iran is Defiant at New US Sanctions

Iran has responded defiantly to new sanctions imposed by the US targeting Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and three state owned banks. The Iranian foreign ministry said the sanctions were doomed to failure. But US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the measures are to confront the threatening behavior of the Iranians. Something had to be done since the insisted on continuing with their nuclear plans. I guess we will see in the future how it works out.