Odds and ends

• Russia is giving $37 million in food aid to Cuba, plus $317 million in credits for purchases of Russian goods, Reuters reports. Granma says the two countries are moving toward “strategic alliance,” but doesn’t provide much detail.

• The Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation reports fewer political prisoners and more detentions, AP reports.

• In the February 5 session of the UN Human Rights Council, questions will be posed to Cuba by the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Lichtenstein, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, CubaEncuentro reports.

• The University of Miami’s Cuba Transition Project has video of a recent panel discussion among three recent chiefs of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.