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    Merry CHRISTMAS!

May the festive spirit of Christmas remind us of the one who sowed a message of peace and human brotherhood in the world so that, following his example, we can enjoy a Year 2026 in which harmony, understanding, tolerance, and progress reign.

¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!

Que el espíritu festivo de Navidad nos recuerde a aquel que sembró en el mundo un mensaje de paz y fraternidad humana para que, siguiendo su ejemplo, podamos gozar de un Año 2026 en el que reine la armonía, la comprensión, la tolerancia y el progreso.

Boston, Dec.17.– Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, a towering figure in economics and former president of Harvard University, recently faced a moment few academics would envy. In November 2025, he reportedly opened his economics lecture at Harvard with an apology — not for a miscalculation or a controversial theory, but for his long-standing correspondence with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. 

Despite the scandal and the public outcry it ignited, Summers told his students he intended to continue teaching, asking for their permission to "go forward" with the class, as reported by PEOPLE.

The Scandal Unfolds: Who, What, Where, and When

Among other projects, such as the construction of mega bridges shown in the adjacent report, China’s plans to build a massive hydro project in Tibet have sparked fears about the environmental impacts on the world’s longest and deepest canyon. It has also alarmed neighboring India, which fears that China could hold back or even weaponize river water it depends on.

Geological instability exposed on the Tibetan plateau under Chinese irresponsible construction programs

Nov. 30. – Two weeks ago, news media reported that a new bridge collapsed in Tibet. The Red Flag (Hongqi) bridge was 758 meters long, straddling a massive gorge where the Tibetan Plateau meets the Sichuan Basin. Completed in January 2025, as part of a high-profile dam-building project, it was supposedly engineered to be able to withstand an 8.0 magnitude earthquake.

One moment the bridge was standing. The next, a massive section had crumpled into the river below.

Miraculously, no injury to life was reported. But this near miss is a clear warning sign of future disasters.

MIAMI, Nov. 19.– DEFENSA CD, a new independent organization dedicated to monitoring repression in Cuba, celebrated its official launch last night at the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs (SIPA) – Building II at Florida International University (FIU). Before an audience composed of academics, journalists, community leaders, activists, and members of the Cuban diaspora, the institution presented its governing structure, its new lines of work, and unpublished data on repression patterns, the situation inside prisons on the island, and attacks on religious freedom.

As part of this new phase, DEFENSA CD announced the consolidation of its institutional independence, separating from the Pan-American Foundation for Democracy, and the creation of a Religious Freedom Observatory, which will expand its capacity for documentation and analysis on one of the most persecuted sectors in Cuba.

The event featured the participation of the Rapporteur for Cuba of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Commissioner Stuardo Ralón; the former political prisoner and coordinator of UNPACU, José Daniel Ferrer; and the founder of Cuba Decide and IACHR elected commissioner, Rosa María Payá.

During his intervention, Juan Carlos Vargas, Director of DEFENSA CD, outlined the strategic priorities of the organization: