(August 12, 2009) WIDE ANGLE gains intimate access to the Havana Boxing Academy on the outskirts of Cuba's capital. There, from the tender age of nine, boys hand-picked as future Olympians are molded into soldiers of the ring.

A roundup of links to local stories of global importance from around the world.

Is it time to end the trade embargo against Cuba or are there legitimate reasons for keeping it in place? Join WIDE ANGLE correspondent Aaron Brown on Blog Talk Radio as he moderates a discussion with representatives from both sides of the debate.

Cuba’s ban on professional sports created an exodus of some of its most talented boxers. They defected by raft, speedboat – some even swam. Scroll through this interactive timeline to read about their successes, failures and sacrifices.

Find out what's happened to the characters in Victory Is Your Duty in the two years since the original film was shot.

Filmmaker Andrew Lang tells WIDE ANGLE about how he stumbled upon the Havana Boxing Academy.

Credits for Victory Is Your Duty

Every refugee has a story. Here are nine of them, from Iraq, Tibet, Burma, Cuba, Congo and Rwanda.

The Committee to Protect Journalists names the ten worst countries in the world to be a blogger.

The Bolivian president spoke about democracy in the Americas, his country's coca growers movement, and the diplomatic row between Bolivia and the U.S.

What does Obama's foreign policy mean for the rest of the world?

By positioning tiny Cuba on the map of world sports, not only did Fidel carve an image of greatness for his country, but also one that distinguished Cuba from both its supporters (USSR) and its enemies (USA).

This photo essay chronicles some of the most exceptional Cuban revolution posters from the 1960s through the 1980s, showcasing the vivid imagery, graphic wit, and propaganda slogans of the time.

The roots of this film go back two years to 2005 when I attended the EICTV, a film school outside Havana set up by Fidel Castro, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the Argentine documentary maker Fernando Birri.