Vladimir Putin meets Fidel Castro in Cuba

Vladimir Putin, Russian president, meets Fidel Castro, the retired Communist leader, in Cuba

Russian President Vladimir Putin began a six-day Latin American tour aimed at boosting trade and ties in the region with a stop Friday in Cuba, a key Soviet ally during the Cold War that has backed Moscow in its dispute with the West over Ukraine.

Cuban state media carried photos of Putin's meeting with retired leader Fidel Castro. Putin and Raúl Castro, the president, also participated in a ceremony at Havana's Memorial to the Soviet Internationalist Soldier.

The two countries signed about a dozen accords in areas such as energy, industry, health and disaster prevention. Russian companies will participate in petroleum projects around Boca de Jaruco on the island's north coast, and that cooperation will extend to offshore oil deposits, Cuban government website Cubadebate said.

Brazil 2014 World Cup: Protests continue

Several demonstrations aimed at Brazil’s upcoming World Cup tournament took place in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, snarling traffic towards the city center. At least two distinct protests gathered in Rio, organized mainly through online social networks, O Globo reported.

Never before has the World Cup incited these feelings of hatred among Brazilians,’ said Ugo Giorgetti, a prominent Brazilian film-maker and football fan. He seems to speak for many, judging by huge street protests that accompanied last year’s Confederations Cup - demonstrations initially provoked by a hike in bus fares.

Romário, star of Brazil’s 1994 World Cup-winning team and now a socialist politician in the Chambers of Deputies, the lower house in Congress, calls the tournament ‘the biggest heist in the history of Brazil’.

It is not just the delays, the cost and the futility of the stadia that is so abhorrent this time.

As with previous unrest in the country, many of those who showed up to Friday's events covered their faces with masks and wore dark clothing, holding signs with slogans such as “We want schools, subways, trains, buses, and standard hospitals FIFA.” A large group of teachers was said to have taken part in Friday’s mobilization.