After highlights from this week's Oxford Analytica Morning Conferences and coverage in the Daily Brief, Graham Hutchings, Editor of the Oxford Analytica Daily Brief, and Neil Pyper, Latin America Editor, follow up with discussion of the de facto transfer of power in Cuba to Raul Castro, his relationship with the military, and the outlook for Cuba's relations with other countries, particular the United States and Venezuela.

Then Tom Wales, North America Editor, examines the prospects for the Iraq Study Group report on Iraq, due out in the United States next week. They look at the likely diplomatic and military options to be set out by James Baker, former US Secretary of State, and the likely reception by the US government and the Democratic Party.