Cuba’s collapsing revolution

Cuba's revolutionary idealism is crumbling under the weight of a U.S. fuel blockade and decades of isolation, as seen through the eyes of Ana Rosa Romero, a retired philosophy teacher living in a crumbling Havana high-rise. Once a symbol of hope during Obama’s 2016 visit, the nation’s baseball stadium now stands dark and abandoned—a stark metaphor for a revolution that has outlived its promise. While Ana Rosa remains loyal to the Castro legacy, she quietly criticizes the government for ignoring the daily struggles of elderly residents trapped in buildings without working elevators or reliable power. The U.S. indictment of 94-year-old Raúl Castro over a 1996 plane shootdown—long dismissed as a Cold War relic—has reignited tensions, with Cuban officials calling it a pretext for war. Yet, even among former revolutionaries, exhaustion has set in. In Lebanon, fishermen and Druze elders express deep ambivalence toward both Hezbollah and Israel, caught between a history of violence and a future they fear is slipping away. In Australia, a social media ban for under-16s has failed to stop teens from accessing platforms, revealing a generational divide over digital safety. Meanwhile, Greece grapples with a 13-hour workday law that workers call a 'legislative monstrosity,' fueling mental health crises and despair.