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☆ I lived in Cuba for 20 years. Moving back to the US has me questioning the meaning of 'home.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Conner Gorry | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

After living there for 20 years, she saw herself as an immigrant, rather than an expat. I'm in the toothpaste aisle at Target, dumbfounded by a selection that runs several shelves long and as many high. After more than 20 years in Cuba, where Close-Up and La Perla were the only choices for most of that time, I'm overwhelmed by the number of options. In Cuba, moreover, women have full autonomy over their bodies, which I feel is the only way it should be. Comfort food, like a juicy hamburger, is one of the great things about living back in the US.

Persons: Conner Gorry, —, La Perla, Davidson Jose Salgado, Harley, Davidson, Fidel Castro, I'd, you've, I'm, doctor's, Carolyn Gorry, I've Organizations: Service, La, World Trade, Harley, Diplomats Locations: New York, Havana, Target, Cuba, Detroit, Pakistan, Haiti, —, Dijon

☆ Murders, imprisonment and violence: Threats to press freedom grow in Latin America
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Esteban Campanela | Sol Amaya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

These are just the tip of the iceberg of the challenges faced by many media workers in Latin America, where experts say the status of press freedom is increasingly worrisome. The Prosecutor’s Office confirmed in a press conference that they believed the crime was linked to his journalistic work. Last week, the Mexican president criticized the US State Department’s report on human rights in the world, which refers to concerns over press freedom in Mexico, saying that US authorities should “be respectful”. In a publication in social network X, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said US officials are not concerned about the human rights of Cubans and that the United States has its own human rights violations. Nicaragua: Ortega-Murillo regime targets journalismHarassment of the press in Nicaragua has been widely reported on numerous occasions.

Persons: CNNE, Francisco Cobos, ”, Cobos, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, López Obrador, Enrique Peña Nieto, Felipe Calderón, Lourdes Maldonado López, Maldonado López, Séptimo Día, Roberto Figueroa, Xochitl Zamora, Lourdes Maldonado, Maldonado ´, Marco Ugarte, AP López Obrador, Andres Oppenheimer, Javier Milei, Lopez Obrador, Abraham Jimenez, Jimenez, civically, “, Miguel Diaz, Yamil Lage, Jiménez, Bruno Rodríguez, Ortega, Murillo, Juan Lorenzo Hollman Chamorro, Hollman Chamorro, Chamorro, Carlos Fernando Chamorro, Rosario Murillo, … provocateurs, Chávez, Vos, Chavez, ” Edgar López, López, Juan Pablo Lares, Maximiliano Bruzual, Ariana Cubillos, Nicolas, Maduro’s, Yván Gil, ” Jeannine Cruz, Gustavo Petro, Nayib Bukele, Gonzalo Zegarra, Rey Rodríguez, Manuela Castro, Ana María Cañizares, Ivonne, José Álvarez, Elvin Sandoval, Iván, Sarmenti, Español Organizations: CNN, Amnesty International, Protect Journalists, Univision, Televisa, Prosecutor’s, AP, CIA, Canel, Getty, Cuban Foreign, La Prensa, National Police, ”, El, Regional, Democracy, Nicaraguan, State Department, National College of Journalists, Venezuelan, TC Television, Communication, “ Locations: Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Latin America, Mexican, American, Tamaulipas, McAllen , Texas, Tijuana, Morelos, Tijuana , Mexico, Spain, Cuban, Havana, AFP, United States, Costa Rica, El Confidencial, Managua, NIcaragua, Sur, Washington, Venezuelan, “, Caracas, ”, Ecuador, Guayaquil, America, Argentina, Colombian

☆ Federal prosecutors are examining financial transactions at Block, owner of Cash App and Square
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

Cash App, introduced in 2013, allows users to send and receive money instantaneously among themselves and to buy stocks and Bitcoin. As of December, Cash App had 56 million active transacting accounts and $248 billion in inflows during the previous four quarters, the company said. (Merchants are considered customers at Square, while users are considered customers at Cash App.) Cash App is not a bank, but it uses external banking partners to conduct various services. On March 29, Sutton Bank settled a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that echoed the whistleblowers' allegations.

Persons: Jack Dorsey, Block, Venezuela —, Edward Siedle, Prosecutors, Cash, OFAC, Lawrence Summers, Sharon Rothstein, Summers, Rothstein, Lord Paul Deighton, Goldman Sachs, Deighton, Dorsey, Banks, Sutton, James Booker Organizations: Twitter, Southern, of, NBC, NBC News, Securities and Exchange Commission, Block, Foreign Assets Control, U.S . Treasury, Cash, OFAC, Goldman, Financial Market, Bank of Lithuania, Payments Lithuania UAB, PayPal, Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, Sutton Bank, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, FDIC Locations: of New York, Cuba, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Ohio, Sutton

☆ Woman was denied top-secret US security clearance for being a close relative of dictator
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —An unnamed woman was denied a top-secret security clearance this year due to being a “close” relative of an authoritarian dictator of an unnamed country, according to a publicly available document from the Defense Department’s Office of Hearings and Appeals. The judge said that Country X “supports international terrorism, and it conducts cyberattacks and espionage against the United States.”“Applicant was born a citizen of Country X,” the record says. “A close family member (cousin, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew) is the dictator of Country X. Applicant’s parents and their children, including Applicant, immigrated to the United States in the 1990s when she was young. Administrative decisions on security clearance eligibility are regularly posted publicly by the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals. “One thing people forget is it’s not like you get the keys to the kingdom,” Posard said of a secret clearance, which is the second lowest level security clearance available.

Persons: —, ”, “, ’, Edward Loughran, credibly, Loughran, Marek Posard, Kim Jong, ” Posard, ” Loughran, Posard, it’s, It’s Organizations: CNN, Defense Department’s, Defense, RAND Corporation, The Washington Locations: United States, American, Country, North Korea, DPRK, Cuba, Iran, Syria, The, Loughran

☆ In a Communist Stronghold, Capitalists Become an Economic Lifeline
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( David C. Adams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A modern grocery store whose shelves are packed with everything from pasta to wine fills a spot in central Havana once occupied by a drab state-owned flower shop, its ceilings and walls repaired and repainted. A former state glass company in a Havana suburb now houses a showroom for a private business selling Cuban-made furniture. And at the Cuban capital’s port, forklifts carefully unload American eggs from a refrigerated container. The eggs are bound for an online private supermarket that, much like Amazon Fresh, provides home delivery. These ventures are part of an explosion of thousands of private businesses that have opened in recent years across Cuba, a remarkable shift in a country where such enterprises have not been permitted and where Fidel Castro rose to power leading a communist revolution determined to eliminate capitalist notions like private ownership.

Persons: Fidel Castro Locations: Havana, Cuban, Cuba

☆ Julian Assange’s mission was to change the world - but at what cost?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | Claudia Rebaza | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Julian Assange leaves a Melbourne court after facing charges of computer hacking in 1995. WikiLeaks/ReutersUnder a global spotlightAs WikiLeaks continued its disclosures, Assange found himself the latest cause célèbre – his every movement intensely scrutinized. … He liked the fuss that (the disclosures) caused but he was oddly incurious actually about the documents.”Others offer alternative explanations for Assange’s eccentricities. There were mounting calls for Assange to leave WikiLeaks and, when he didn’t, many cut ties with it. Outside the confines of his diplomatic shelter, the world questioned whether Assange was trying to circumvent justice.

Persons: London CNN — Julian Assange, ”, He’s, Chelsea Manning, Joe Biden, Assange’s, Anthony Albanese, Assange, “, ” –, Julian Assange, Ian Kenins, Sarah Palin’s, Atika Shubert, Shubert, ” Shubert, célèbre, Fidel Narvaez, “ Assange, ” Narvaez, James Ball, Joe Raedle, ” Ball, Ball, …, Narvaez, Hans Crescent, Lenin Moreno, Moreno, Abu Hamza al, Masri, Stella Assange, Daniel Leal, Stella, “ I’m, Nick Vamos, It’s, Alice Jill Edwards, Agnès Callamard, El País, Der Spiegel, Jameel Jaffer, Xiaofei Xu, Alex Stambaugh Organizations: London CNN, WikiLeaks, Court, Ecuadorian, Army, Australian, Pentagon, NASA, University of Melbourne, Fairfax Media, of Scientology, Republican, CNN, Chelsea, Apache, Reuters, Guardian, Ellingham, Hans, London’s Metropolitan Police, US Justice Department, of Justice, Britain's, Getty, Peters & Peters, Prosecution Service, Human Rights, UN, Amnesty, The New York Times, Columbia University Locations: United States, Australian, London’s, Australia, Townsville, Queensland, cybercrime, Melbourne, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Iraq, London, Afghanistan, ”, Sweden, Ecuador, UK’s, Belmarsh

☆ The red flags that will tell us when China's actually ready to invade Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

"I don't think they lack for anything that they need," Lyle Goldstein, director of Asia engagement at Defense Priorities, said of China's forces. Military forces are being deployed nearer to Taiwan than ever, effectively shortening Taiwan's reaction time. Stockpiling of China's rocket force, too, suggests it would have more than enough missiles and rockets to target Taiwan. One common concern is that as China's military exercises around Taiwan have grown in frequency and size, the line between exercise and potential attack is becoming blurred. Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via Getty ImagesExperts, as well as US and Taiwan lawmakers and military officials, have long debated about the readiness of the People's Liberation Army as China's military is known.

Persons: —, Lyle Goldstein, Stringer China, Xi, Thomas Shugart, who's, Shugart, Goldstein, Mike Studeman, Xi Jinping, Dean Cheng, haven't, Cheng, Xie Huanchi, There's, Kyle Amonson, Dane Egli, Annabelle Chih, Getty Images Goldstein, Joe Biden Organizations: Service, Business, Defense, REUTERS, Taiwan's, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense, US Department of Defense, China Economic, Security, PLA, Patriot, US, Center, New, New American Security, Marine Corps, China Coast Guard, Scarborough, ROSA, Military, of Naval Intelligence, Pacific Command, US Institute of Peace, of, People, Getty Images, People's Liberation Army, CCP, Soviet, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Japan, US Coast Guard, Chinese Communist Party, Democratic Progressive Party, Kyodo, Stills Locations: China, Taiwan, Asia, Liaoning, Beijing, New American, AFP, Hong Kong, Xinhua, DoD's China, Cuba, US, Tainan, Japan, Philippines

☆ For U.S. Cuban claims holders, spy Manuel Rocha's plea deal raises fresh questions
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Michelle Caruso-Cabrera | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Raul Rubiera | Miami Herald | Getty ImagesWhen Carolyn Lamb saw news of Cuban spy Victor Manuel Rocha's arrest on the news last December, she recognized him immediately. The lower the value of the claims, the less the Cuban government would have to pay in any future negotiated settlement. Ashby assumed Rocha's paranoia about eavesdropping was in response to the George W. Bush administration's opposition to the Cuba claims buying business. But according to the Justice Department, by that point Rocha was already in his third decade as a Cuban agent. File photo of former US ambassador to Bolivia, Manuel Rocha, talking to the press on the 11th of July 2001.

Persons: V, Manuel Rocha, Steel Hector, Davis, Raul Rubiera, Carolyn Lamb, Victor Manuel Rocha's, Rocha, Lamb, Lamb's, Castro, Justin Solomon, CNBC Castro didn't nationalize, of Rocha, Fidel Castro's, It's, Jason Poblete, Poblete, John Kavulich, Sears Roebuck, Timothy Ashby, Ashby couldn't, Ashby, George W, Bush, Little, Covert, Gonzalo Espinoza Organizations: Miami Herald, Steel, Cuban, US State Department, National Security, Cuban Telephone Company, " Beverage Company, CNBC, Pepsi, General Electric, Century Fox, Cuba Trade, Economic Council, Justice Department, Citizen, State Department, National Security Council, DOJ, Cubans, FBI, AFP, Getty Locations: America, Omaha, Bolivia, Cuba, Havana, United States, Cuban, Rocha, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Argentina, Miami, Chile

☆ Former U.S. Ambassador Is Sentenced to 15 Years for Acting as Cuban Agent
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Patricia Mazzei | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A former United States ambassador accused of working for decades as a secret agent for Cuba in one of the biggest national security breaches in years pleaded guilty on Friday and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Manuel Rocha, 73, pleaded guilty to two charges — conspiring to defraud the United States as a foreign agent and failing to register as a foreign agent — as part of an agreement with the federal government. He also faces three years of supervised release, and a $500,000 fine. Mr. Rocha, wearing a beige prison uniform and black glasses, conceded before he was sentenced to the “betrayal of my oath of loyalty to the United States during my two decades in the State Department.”“During my formative years in college, I was heavily influenced by the radical politics of the day,” said Mr. Rocha, who prosecutors said was recruited by Cuban intelligence agents in 1973. “Today, I no longer see the world through the radical eyes of my youth.”

Persons: Manuel Rocha, —, . Rocha, ”, Rocha Organizations: United, State Department, “ Locations: United States, Cuba, Cuban

☆ Iconic photos show the biggest moments from O.J. Simpson's 'trial of the century'
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Talia Lakritz | Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Simpson trial lives on infamy more than 30 years later. Here are some of the biggest moments from "the trial of the century." NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. The trial still remains a cultural touchstone, with the Emmy-winning 2016 FX series "The People v. O.J. Here's a look back at some of the most iconic photos from the trial.

Persons: Simpson, —, Rodney King, Rupert Murdoch, O.J, Cuba Gooding, Sarah Paulson, John Travolta, David Schwimmer, Sterling K, Brown Organizations: Bronco, Service, NFL, Los Angeles Police Department, Fox, CNN

☆ A shadowy Russian assassination unit may be behind mysterious 'Havana syndrome' cases: investigation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A new investigation has linked a shadowy Russian unit to instances of 'Havana Syndrome.' Carrie's account of "Havana Syndrome" was reported in an investigation jointly published by 60 Minutes, German outlet Der Spiegel, and investigative outlet The Insider. The outlets link Unit 29155, a shadowy Russian assassination unit, to multiple incidences of the syndrome, which is formally known to the US government by the term "anomalous health incidents," or AHIs. The Insider traced the movements of several Unit 29155 operatives around the time of several instances of alleged Havana Syndrome. AdvertisementHowever, in 2021 unnamed US officials told Politico that the GRU was at least suspected in ongoing investigations into the syndrome.

Persons: Der Spiegel, —, Carrie, she's, Greg Edgreen, Joy, Albert Averyanov, Marc Polymeropoulos, Insider's Aylin Woodward, It's, Walter Reed Organizations: Service, FBI, Der, CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, The, National Intelligence, US, Politico Locations: Havana, Russian, Florida, Cuba, China, Russia, Tbilisi , Georgia, Moscow

☆ Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs lawsuits: A closer look at the sexual misconduct lawsuits
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Eric Levenson | Nicki Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Even before law enforcement raided his homes, the rapper, producer and businessman Sean “Diddy” Combs faced a host of legal issues. The investigation stems from many of the same sexual assault allegations put forth in the civil lawsuits, according to a second law enforcement source familiar with Monday’s searches. Ventura v. CombsCassie Ventura has accused Diddy, her former boyfriend, of rape and abuse. Gardner v. CombsSean "Diddy" Combs has been accused of misconduct in multiple lawsuits filed since November. O’Marcaigh v. Christian and Sean CombsChristian Combs is accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed April 4 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Persons: Sean “ Diddy ” Combs, Aaron Dyer, –, Mr, Combs, ”, Diddy, Ventura, Combs Cassie Ventura, Ethan Miller, Cassie, Ben Brafman, “ Mr, “, ” Brafman, Dickerson, Neal, Joi Dickerson, drugging, Gardner, Combs Sean, Shareif Ziyadat, Liza Gardner, Aaron Hall, Jane, Guy, Hall, Jane Doe, Harve Pierre, Daddy’s, Doe, Pierre, ” Pierre, Rod, Rodney Jones, videographer, Lil Rod, Jones, ” Jones, Cuba Gooding, Shawn Holley, Gooding, Sean Combs, Gareth Cattermole, Grace O’Marcaigh, Christian Combs, O’Marcaigh, Dyer Organizations: CNN, New York, Authorities, Department of Homeland Security, of, Diddy, Bad Boy Records, Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs Enterprises, Epic Records, Doe Corps, New York Supreme, Syracuse University, MCA Inc, MCA Music Entertainment Group, Geffen Records, Universal Music Group, ABC Corps, ” CNN, Inc, Bad Boy Entertainment Holdings, Plaintiff, Bad Boy Entertainment Holdings Inc, Los Angeles Superior Court Locations: Southern, of New York, New York, Los Angeles

☆ Outspoken Cuban Priest Cries Foul as Country Marks Good Friday
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( March | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Nelson Acosta and Marc FrankHAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban Roman Catholics held public processions across the Communist-run country on Friday to mark Good Friday, but there was at least one exception in Havana where 150 of the faithful were relegated to the church parking lot. “It is not possible today to introduce Jesus Christ without introducing to him a people who are having a hard time,” he said. The Cuban government largely blames U.S. sanctions for the crisis and U.S. subversion for the unrest, charges that Washington denies. “What I have heard from the government is that there are 111 authorized processions throughout the country,” he said. Christmas and then Good Friday were recognized as holidays and religious processions are now common.

Persons: Nelson Acosta, Marc Frank HAVANA, Lester Zayas Diaz, Parish, Christ, ”, Jesus Christ, ” Zayas, Washington, Ariel Suarez, Cuba's, Zayas, Pope John Paul, Marc Frank, David Gregorio Organizations: Communist, Reuters, Facebook, U.S, Cuban, Cuba's Bishop's Locations: Cuban, Havana, Vedado, Cuba

☆ An 82-year-old who moved to Florida by herself nearly 4 decades ago follows one key tip to avoid loneliness — and it led her to run her first marathon at 60
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She loves being active and has found her closest friends through her running group. "It was difficult finding friends, and I didn't know how to make friends," Arguelles told Business Insider. AdvertisementBefore coming to Florida, Arguelles worked in real estate in Chicago, and she found a job in the same field in Florida — but she didn't enjoy it, so she quit. But when she saw a flyer for a running group that was raising money to fight leukemia, she decided to join — and ended up running her first marathon at the age of 60. "I started making friends in that running group, and those friends became a very tight community," Arguelles said.

Persons: Vivien Arguelles, —, Arguelles, didn't, Patrick's, She's, it's, Vivek Murthy, I'd, she's, I'm, Dianne Stone, Stone, we're Organizations: Service, Business, —, National Council, National Institute of Senior Centers Locations: Florida, Cuba, Chicago, Spain, Portugal, Italy

☆ A month's pay in one week: South Florida Uber and Lyft drivers explain how they capitalize on the spring break rush despite 'a little sand' and 'crappy music'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Police made 573 arrests in Miami Beach last spring break and confiscated over 100 guns, per The Wall Street Journal. For some drivers, spring break is their ticket to a vacation of their own, but for others, the spring break slowdown has thrown their earnings for a loop. Many, like Jared S., 27, say they don't actively seek out spring breakers, though sometimes spring break rides can be profitable. AdvertisementBreaking up with spring breakMike McGrath, 57, is glad spring break is more under control this year. AdvertisementCapitalizing on spring break crowdsRenee said maximizing her earnings during spring break comes down to knowing when to be in certain areas.

Persons: Trent T, South Florida — Uber, it's, he's, Trent, He's, I'm, You'll, Jared S, Juan, Mike McGrath, McGrath, David Lowell, he'll, Lowell, Renee, Lyft, John D, John, Hiedi, Handford, Mark, there's, Marian O, Eliezer, Edgar Organizations: Service, South Florida —, Trent, Miami Beach, Police, Street, West Palm Beach, Miami, Delray, Facebook Locations: South Florida, Miami, Miami Beach, Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Cuba, West Palm, South Beach, Delray Beach, Tennessee, Ubers, Boca Raton, Nicaragua, Venezuela

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of arrests for illegally crossing the U.S. southern border with Mexico nudged upward February over the previous month. But at a time when immigration is increasingly a concern for voters, the numbers were still among the lowest of Joe Biden's presidency. According to figures from Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol agents made 140,644 arrests of people attempting to enter the country between the legal border crossing points during February. The numbers come after a December that saw the Border Patrol tally 249,785 arrests — a record high that increased tensions over immigration — before plunging in January. Separately, 42,100 migrants used an app called CBP One to schedule an appointment to present themselves at an official border crossing point to seek entry into the United States.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Biden, Donald Trump, —, Alejandro Mayorkas Organizations: WASHINGTON, Customs, Border Patrol, CBP, Republicans, Republican, Patrol, Homeland Locations: U.S, Mexico, Brownsville , Texas, Arizona, Sonora, Mexican, Tucson, San Diego, El Paso , Texas, United States, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela

☆ House passes bill to bar data brokers from selling sensitive personal information to U.S. adversaries
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-20 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee speaks during the hearing with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 23, 2023 in Washington, DC. Rodgers and Pallone, the respective chair and ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced the bill to prohibit data brokers from selling sensitive data to certain countries in March. The strong showing "should help build momentum to get this important bipartisan legislation, as well as more comprehensive privacy legislation, signed into law this Congress," the lawmakers said. The bill bans organizations that profit from selling personal data, known as data brokers, from making data accessible to a foreign adversary country or entities controlled by adversaries. The legislation follows earlier efforts by the Biden administration to hold data brokers who sell highly sensitive information more accountable by bolstering the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Persons: Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Shou Zi Chew, Frank Pallone, Rodgers, Pallone, Biden Organizations: House Energy, Commerce, WASHINGTON, Wednesday, Energy, Federal Trade Commission Locations: Rayburn, Washington , DC, United States, China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Russia, Venezuela, American, TikTok, U.S

☆ Russia is betting big on Cuba as it courts alternative economic partners
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Russia is expanding its economic and trade ties with Cuba, per TASS. Russia has been pivoting to alternative markets in the face of Western sanctions. Cuba — which has been sanctioned by the US for decades — has been in an economic crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic. AdvertisementRussia has set its sights on broader economic and trade ties with Cuba. The companies are involved in various sectors including heavy industry, energy, banking, agriculture, IT, and tourism, Chernyshenko said at an intergovernmental meeting between Russia and Cuba.

Persons: —, Dmitry Chernyshenko, Chernyshenko Organizations: Service, TASS Locations: Russia, Cuba, Russian

☆ Cuba sees rare protests amid power cuts and food shortages
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Patrick Oppmann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Demonstrators took to the streets in at least four cities on Sunday to complain about hours-long power cuts and increasing food scarcity. The island has seen frequent power cuts and shortages of food, fuel, and medicine since the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting Cubans to flee to the United States in record numbers. US diplomats said Sunday they were monitoring the protests and called on the Cuban government to listen to the demonstrators. The Cuban government, which typically does not allow organized dissent, did not say how many protesters had been arrested. After island-wide demonstrations in the summer of 2021, more than 1,000 Cubans were put on trial and convicted of rising up against the communist-run government, according to human rights groups.

Persons: Miguel Diaz, Canel, Fidel Castro’s, Diaz Organizations: CNN, Cuban, country’s Communist Party, Twitter Locations: Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, United States, Miami’s, Cuban, Havana

☆ Putin scores a resounding win, but what’s next for Russia?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Putin poses for a picture with his wife, Lyudmila, and daughters, Yekaterina and Maria. Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images Putin rides a horse during a vacation in Southern Siberia in August 2009. Dmitry Astakhov/RIA Novosti/AFP via Getty Images Putin plays with his dogs Yume, left, and Buffy at his home in Novo-Ogaryovo, Russia, in March 2013. Chris McGrath/Getty Images Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November 2018. Getty Images Putin speaks with American right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson during an interview in February 2024.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Dmitry Kiselyov, Mikhail Mishustin, Ukraine –, Kiselyov, “, Maria Putina, Archivio GBB, ZUMA Press Wire Putin, Laski, Maria, Vladimir, Anatoly Sobchak, Lyudmila, Yekaterina, Boris Yeltsin, Yeltsin, Fidel Castro, Reuters Putin, George W, Bush, Stephen Jaffe, Camp David, Brooks Kraft, Alexey Druzhinin, Alexey Nikolsky, Mikhail Metzel, Ivan Sekretarev, AP Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Dmitry Astakhov, Buffy, Angela Merkel, Jochen Lübke, Thomas Bach, Medvedev, Vladimir Konstantinov, Alexei Chalyi, Sergei Aksyonov, Sergei Ilnitsky, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Alexander Lukashenko, Merkel, Francois Hollande, Petro Poroshenko, Mykola Lazarenko, Barack Obama, Ban, Chip Somodevilla, Turkey Andrei Karlov, Karlov, Donald Trump, Chris McGrath, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, LUDOVIC MARIN, Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, Eliot Blondet, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Biden, Sergey Lavrov, Denis Balibouse, Macron, Sergey Ponomarev, Mikhail Gorbachev, —, Alexander Nemenov, Alexey Danichev, Xi Jinping, Pavel Byrkin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Pavel Bednyakov, Kim Jong Un, Kim, Tucker Carlson, Zuma Press Putin, Maxim Shemetov, – what’s, Alexey Navalny, Navalny, ” Putin Organizations: CNN, coy, Kremlin, Getty, Russian, ZUMA Press, Putin, KGB, ZUMA Press Wire, Getty Images, Reuters, US, White House, Camp, Brooks, Brooks Kraft LLC, RIA Novosti, AP, AFP, International Olympic, Crimean, Ukrainian, United Nations, UN, Assembly, Russian Foreign Ministry, Sputnik, World, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Macron, SPUTNIK, New York Times, Central Clinical Hospital, AP Putin, Belarus, State Russian Museum, AP North Korean, Vostochny, Tucker Carlson Network, Zuma Press Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Putin Russia, Russian, Bakhmut, St . Petersburg, Leningrad, Germany, Moscow, AFP, Kazan, Cuba, Soviet Union, Southern Siberia, Russia's Tver, Novo, Ogaryovo, Hanover, Sevastopol, Crimea, Belarusian, Minsk, Belarus, France, Turkey, Helsinki, Finland, Buenos Aires, Ukrainian, Paris, Geneva, Switzerland, Taganrog, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Tsiolkovsky, Russia's, North Korea, United States

☆ Biden administration discussing using Guantanamo Bay to process possible influx of Haitian migrants
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Priscilla Alvarez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The Biden administration is discussing using Guantanamo Bay to process Haitian migrants if there is a mass exodus to the US amid worsening conditions in the country, according to a US official. “We are clear-eyed that economic, political, and security instability are key drivers for migrants around the world. A Homeland Security spokesperson said that so far, migration from the Caribbean remains low. The United States returns or repatriates migrants interdicted at sea to The Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti,” the spokesperson added. And we are ready if a mass migration — if we need to deal with a mass migration.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, ”, Ariel Henry, “, Laura Richardson, Rebecca Zimmerman, they’re, Joe Biden, CNN’s Haley Britzky Organizations: CNN, National Security, Homeland Security, DHS, State Department, United Nations, United, Marine, Team, Immigration, Customs, Department of Homeland Security, Defense Department, Congress, Southern Command, Defense for Homeland Defense, US Customs, Border Protection Air, Marine Operations, US Border Patrol, Coast Guard, Border Patrol, Border Protection, House, Republican Locations: Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Haiti, Florida, Guantanamo, Caribbean, United States, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Port, Mexico

☆ Judge Upholds Biden Program Giving Some Immigrants Short-Term Legal Status
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Miriam Jordan | More About Miriam Jordan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A federal judge on Friday allowed the Biden administration to keep in place a program that officials have used to give temporary legal status to some citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The decision is a notable victory for the White House, which has faced criticism on immigration policy and has used the temporary status program to discourage people from some of the region’s most troubled countries from illegally crossing the southern U.S. border. Texas and other Republican-led states had sued the Biden administration to block the program. But Judge Drew B. Tipton of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas sided with the administration, which considered the program vital to border management. The number of unlawful crossings by nationals from three of the countries in the program has declined, even as the overall number of migrant crossings has continued at historically high levels.

Persons: Biden, Drew B Organizations: White, Republican, Tipton, U.S, Southern, Southern District of Texas Locations: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, U.S, Texas, Southern District

☆ Where is Diana Nyad now? Everything to know about the athlete at the center of Netflix's biopic 'Nyad'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Olivia Singh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Diana Nyad's historic long-distance swim from Cuba to Florida is the focus of the Netflix film "Nyad." "Nyad" stars Annette Bening as the titular swimmer and Nyad has been supportive of the biopic. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementLong-distance swimmer Diana Nyad's story is back in the spotlight thanks to the Netflix biopic and awards season contender "Nyad." Nyad is best known for being the first person to successfully swim 110 miles from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage.

Persons: Diana Nyad's, Nyad, Annette Bening, — Organizations: Netflix, Service, Swimming Association, Business Locations: Cuba, Florida

A former U.S. ambassador accused of working for decades as a secret agent for Cuba indicated on Thursday that he would plead guilty, a move that would bring to a swift end the legal case over one of the biggest national security breaches in years. Manuel Rocha, 73, said in federal court in Miami that he would file a change of plea, signaling that he is prepared to plead guilty. He was charged in December with acting as an agent of a foreign government and defrauding the United States. Mr. Rocha is expected to plead guilty to two counts of conspiring to act as a foreign agent. Prosecutors are expected to drop the other charges; the wire fraud charge carried a 20-year maximum sentence.

Persons: Manuel Rocha, Rocha, Rocha’s Organizations: Prosecutors, Associated Press Locations: U.S, Cuba, Miami, United States

☆ Former US diplomat accused of spying for Cuba indicates he plans to plead guilty, court docket shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Manuel Rocha, the former US ambassador to Bolivia accused of acting as a secret foreign agent of Cuba, said in court Thursday that he plans to plead guilty to charges, according to his court docket. During a hearing in Miami Thursday, Rocha and prosecutors “announce[d] the Defendant will be changing his plea,” according to the court docket. The court record does not give any information about what charges Rocha plans to plead guilty to. Rocha served as the US ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002 and as the deputy principal officer of the US Interests Section in Cuba in the 1990s. His role as the political officer at the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic gave him “special responsibility” for Cuba, prosecutors alleged.

Persons: CNN — Manuel Rocha, Rocha, “, Fidel Castro Organizations: CNN, Prosecutors, US Embassy, Embassy, Cuban Locations: Bolivia, Cuba, American, Miami, Dominican Republic, Italy, Mexico, Argentina

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