Cuban blogger given press award

Yoani Sanchez's blog is one of Cuba's most popular

A young Cuban dissident has been given a prestigious Spanish journalism award for using a blog to overcome the limits to free expression in her country.

Yoani Sanchez has received the Ortega y Gasset Prize in digital journalism for her blog, called Generation Y.

She is not attending the award ceremony in Madrid as the Cuban authorities have not given her an exit visa.

Among the other winners is Mexican journalist Sanjuana Martinez for her reports on sexual abuse by the clergy.

Ms Sanchez's blog is one of Cuba's most popular and gets more than one million hits a month.

The prize is given each year by Spain's El Pais newspaper.