Odds and ends

• Who’s in charge? Reuters surveys the scene where Fidel Castro has been out of public view for nearly ten months, but asserting his presence in writing – eight articles and 16,000 words, by the news agency’s count.

• Revolting: An Iberia airlines ad for travel to Cuba, now withdrawn. The Herald story includes the YouTube link. A Spanish consumer group protested, and the ad also spurred on Miami bloggers who were already bashing Spain for “over 500 years” of exploitation in Cuba.

• A Texas energy firm is fined for exporting oil field equipment and services to Cuba in 2004.

• In Miami, the Czech ambassador is honored for his country’s activities in Cuba.