In 2016, I travelled to Cuba just as relations with the United States seemed to be thawing. What I found was a country caught between past and present, shaped by revolution, embargo and adaptation. From empty motorways and colonial towns to Havana’s layered contradictions, the trip left me with more questions than answers, and a lasting sense that Cuba is still negotiating its place between isolation and change.

From Maduro’s removal to Cuba’s scramble for energy security, the crises in Venezuela and Havana are no longer isolated events. Oil, sanctions and sovereignty now intersect in a broader struggle over influence in the Americas.

A week after the Super Bowl, it is time to unpack the deeper meaning of Bad Bunny’s historic halftime performance. From Spanish-language visibility to powerful symbols referencing Puerto Rico’s colonial past, Hurricane María and ongoing political debates, the show placed the island firmly at the centre of U.S. cultural conversation and forced millions of viewers to confront a history often overlooked.