DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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

Here are some key findings from an Associated Press investigation into Rocha's alleged betrayal and the missed red flags that could have helped him avoid scrutiny for decades. Rodríguez told AP he believed at the time he received from the Cuban defector in 2006 was an attempt to discredit a fellow anti-communist crusader. It wasn’t just Rodríguez’s tipster — whom he refused to identify to the AP but says was recently interviewed by the FBI. Officials told the AP that as early 1987, the CIA was aware Castro had a “super mole” burrowed deep inside the U.S. government. The FBI and CIA declined to comment, and the State Department didn’t respond to requests.

Persons: Manuel Rocha, Félix Rodríguez, Rocha, “, ” Rodríguez, MANUEL ROCHA, ”, Fidel Castro’s, Fidel Castro, “ El, Liliana Ayalde, Castro, Evo Morales, Ayalde, retracing, “ Che ” Guevara, Rodríguez, tipster, Peter Romero Organizations: MIAMI, Ivy League, CIA, Cuban, Miami, FBI, State Department, Associated Press, WHO, Yale, of Intelligence, Authorities, The Taft School, Prosecutors, U.S, AP, Officials, . Locations: America, Cuban, Cuba, Chile, Colombia, New York City, Connecticut, Bolivia, U.S, Paraguay, Brazil, Latin America, Investigative@ap.org

☆ Havana waves and high winds hurl jellyfish and seaweed into the streets
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —An unusually strong cold front slammed Cuba’s north coast on Tuesday, with white-capped waves flooding streets with seawater, causing scattered power outages and littering the capital Havana with blowing trash and downed branches. People navigate through a flooded street on a raft in Havana, on February 6, 2024. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty ImagesAt dawn, the water flowed through some city streets like coastal rivers, moving jellyfish, seaweed and flotsam several blocks landward. “The climate has changed.”Havana, a coastal city built centuries ago on the Gulf of Mexico, is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and strengthening storms brought on by human-caused climate change, scientists and city planners have said. Rising sea levels threaten some coastal cities like Havana and could completely wipe from the map low-lying states in parts of the South Pacific Ocean.

Persons: Yamil Lage, ”, Jaqueline Dalardes Organizations: CNN, Getty, UN Locations: Havana, Florida, Cuba, AFP, of Mexico

☆ U.S. Ex-Ambassador Charged as Secret Agent for Cuba
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( José De Córdoba | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Victor Manuel Rocha, pictured in 2001, served as a diplomat in Cuba, Bolivia, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Mexico. Photo: Gonzalo Espinoza/AFP/Getty ImagesA former senior U.S. diplomat who served in U.S. embassies across Latin America was accused of spying for Cuba’s intelligence service for decades in one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting security breaches of the U.S. government, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday. Victor Manuel Rocha, a former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Friday. The unsealed complaint said that the 73-year-old Rocha had worked for Cuba as a covert agent since at least the early 1980s until now.

Persons: Victor Manuel Rocha, Gonzalo Espinoza, Rocha Organizations: Getty, ., Federal Bureau of Investigation Locations: Cuba, Bolivia, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, U.S, America

Federal prosecutors said on Monday that a retired State Department official worked for decades as a secret agent for Cuba, and told an undercover F.B.I. agent that the United States was “the enemy.”In a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Miami, the prosecutors said that the diplomat, Manuel Rocha, had secretly aided Cuba’s “clandestine intelligence-gathering mission against the United States” since 1981 as he rose undetected through the ranks of the diplomatic corps and the National Security Council. Mr. Rocha, 73, appeared to have met with handlers from Cuba’s premier spy agency as recently as 2017, prosecutors said, and boasted that his 40 years of spying on behalf of the communist government in Havana had “strengthened the revolution immensely.”For more than two decades, Mr. Rocha handled matters related to Latin America in a series of roles at the State Department under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, including a stint as ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002. More recently, Mr. Rocha, a native of Colombia who grew up in New York, served as an adviser to the U.S. military command responsible for Cuba.

Persons: Manuel Rocha, Cuba’s, . Rocha, “, Rocha, Bill Clinton, George W, Bush Organizations: State Department, United, National Security Locations: Cuba, United States, Miami, Havana, America, Bolivia, Colombia, New York

One of the people said the Justice Department case accuses Rocha of working to promote the Cuban government’s interests. The Justice Department declined to comment. It was not immediately clear if Rocha had a lawyer and a law firm where he previously worked said it was not representing him. Following his retirement from the State Department, Rocha began a second career in business, serving as the president of a gold mine in the Dominican Republic partly owned by Canada’s Barrick Gold. Foley & Lardner said Rocha left the law firm in August.

Persons: —, Manuel Rocha, Rocha, Fidel Castro’s, Evo Morales, “, ″ Rocha, Morales, Rocha’s, ” Rocha, Karla Wittkop Rocha, ”, Canada’s Barrick, he’s, Foley, Lardner, ” Dario Alvarez, ____ Tucker Organizations: MIAMI, Associated Press, Justice Department, AP, Democratic, Republican, Yale, Harvard, Georgetown, Bolivian, National Security Council, State Department, Canada’s, Clover Leaf, Llorente, Cuenca’s Locations: American, Bolivia, Miami, Cuban, America, Cuba, U.S, Colombia, New York City, Argentina, Washington, United States, Italy, Honduras, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Pennsylvania, Spanish, Cuenca, “, Investigative@ap.org

HAVANA (AP) — Until recently, the space was the one-car garage of a private home in Cuba’s capital, Havana. Yet despite their modest setup, their prices are far from affordable, even for a doctor or a teacher, who make about 7,000 Cuban pesos a month (about $28 in the parallel market). Political Cartoons View All 1247 ImagesFor example, one kilo (2.2 pounds) of powdered milk from the Czech Republic costs 2,000 Cuban pesos (about $8). “I retired with 2,200 (Cuban pesos a month or $8.80) last year and I can’t even buy a package of chicken," she said. The novelty is that the small shops like the one in Vedado and bigger bodegas like the “Cuban Costco” are entirely private and accept payments in Cuban pesos.

Persons: ” Ania Espinosa, Espinosa, Ingracia Virgen Cruzata, “, Goya, ”, Pedro Freyre, Akerman, That’s, Freyre Organizations: —, Cuban Costco, Akerman Consulting, Miami Law School Locations: HAVANA, Cuba’s, Havana, El, Cuba, Cuban, Vedado, Czech Republic, U.S, Uruguay, Florida, America, Caribbean

For both the 30-year-old García and the Texas Rangers. García has helped the Rangers reached the Fall Classic for the first time since 2011 with his big bat and passionate approach. García angrily went face-to-face with catcher Martín Maldonado as benches and bullpens cleared before the Astros came back to win. “He’s someone who knows me, knows my abilities, knows what I can do,” García said of Arozarena. García went to spring training as a non-roster invite and hit .375 with three homers, 13 RBIs and four stolen bases in 22 games.

Persons: García, “ It’s, it’s, “, He's, ”, Mitch Garver, “ He's, He’s, Martín Maldonado, Randy Arozarena, Arozarena, ” García, Mike Foltynewicz —, wasn't Organizations: Texas Rangers, Rangers, AL, Houston, Astros, Tampa Bay, The Rays, Arizona, Louis Cardinals, Yomiuri Giants, Cardinals, ” The Rangers Locations: ARLINGTON , Texas, Cuba, St, Cuban, Japan, Dominican Republic, that’s, When Texas

☆ Small Businesses Become a Lifeline for Cuba’s Floundering Economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Deborah Acosta | José De Córdoba | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/world/small-businesses-become-a-lifeline-for-cubas-floundering-economy-4d49e562

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Why Cubans are fighting for Russia in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Patrick Oppmann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Men like Miguel, who in July traveled to Russia and soon after was on the front lines of the war with Ukraine, his mother Cecilia told CNN. After her son responded to a post on Facebook looking for Cubans to work as cooks and construction workers in Russia, Cecilia said two women reached out to him via WhatsApp. But soon Miguel told his mother that he wanted to return home. Since the war began Cuban officials had increasingly echoed Russian propaganda that NATO aggression was to blame for its invasion of Ukraine. When apprised by CNN of the conflicting statements by Cuban officials, Cecilia responded with a question.

Persons: Cuba CNN —, Miguel, Cecilia, “, ” Cecilia, isn’t, ” Miguel, Mama, ’, ”, Pedro Roberto Camuza Jovas, ” Camuza, Russia Julio Garmendía Peña, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, fumed, Pedro Freyre Organizations: Cuba CNN, Russia, CNN, Cuba’s Foreign Ministry, Cuban State, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Cuban, NATO, RIA Novosti, Cuban Foreign Locations: Santa Clara, Cuba, Ukraine, Russia, WhatsApp, Varadero, Moscow, Cuban, Russian, Washington , DC, Havana, China, American

☆ Cuba Says Its Citizens Were Lured to Fight in Russia’s War in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Valeriya Safronova | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Cuba has been a close ally of Russia since the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Álvaro López Miera, the head of Cuba’s Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, visited Moscow in June. He was received by his Russian counterpart, Sergei K. Shoigu, who said that Cuba was Russia’s “most important ally” in the Caribbean. About 70,000 Russian tourists visited Cuba in the first half of 2023, according to Russian state media, and about 11,000 Cubans visited Russia in 2022, according to the Russian Association of Tour Operators. It is not the first time that a country has claimed that its citizens were being recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

Persons: Elena Shuvalova, Álvaro López Miera, Sergei K, Shoigu, Russia’s, ”, ” Mr, Ukraine ” Organizations: Moscow Times, Russian Army, Cuban Foreign Ministry, Cuba’s Ministry, Revolutionary Armed Forces, Tass, Russian Association of Tour Locations: Moscow, Cuba, Russia, Cuban, Caribbean, Ukraine, Russian, Kostanay, Kazakhstan, Kazakh

HAVANA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Representatives of 14 western creditor nations, grouped in the Paris Club, were in Cuba this week to salvage a debt agreement with the import dependent country which is expected to default on payments for a fourth consecutive year. William Roos, co-chairman of the Paris Club, had said on Wednesday that he proposed a plan which apparently was rejected. The 2015 Paris Club agreement forgave $8.5 billion of the $11.1 billion in sovereign debt Cuba defaulted on in 1986. Cuba, which last reported foreign debt of $19.7 billion for 2020, has restructured debt with Russia, China and some other creditors since then. The Cuba group of the 22-member Paris Club, which manages old sovereign debt, comprises Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Persons: ”, William Roos, Ricardo Cabrisas, Cabrisas, Marc Frank, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Paris Club, Investment, Cooperation, Communist, Gross, Reuters, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, Cuba, Paris, Russia, China, Caribbean, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

☆ Hugues Fabrice Zango: Triple-jumper wins Burkina Faso’s first gold medal at World Athletics Championships
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango made history on Monday by winning his nation’s first-ever gold medal at the World Athletics Championships with victory in the triple jump. “Look at my big, big, big smiling mouth,” Zango told reporters, per Reuters. 2 Zango has been flirting with winning gold for quite some time. He won bronze at the 2019 World Athletics Championships, before picking up silver at the 2022 edition. He also won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2022.

Persons: Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango, ” Zango, “, Zango, ” Cuba’s Lazaro Martinez, Cristian Napoles Organizations: CNN, Burkina, Reuters, Tokyo Locations: Budapest, Hungary

☆ Heralded Cuban Wins in an Unusual Introduction to Pro Boxing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Morgan Campbell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Cruz quickly found both, popping Burgos with two jabs and a hard right in the third round. Just before the bell, Cruz leaned back to avoid a left hook, then whacked Burgos with a counter right. In the fourth round, Cruz started landing uppercuts, and by the fifth, Cruz, the slicker boxer, was stalking Burgos. But Cuban officials canceled his bout and left him behind while the rest of the team traveled to Mexico. At the time, officials blamed poor practice habits; Cruz suspects the decision was aimed at preventing him from defecting.

Persons: Andy Cruz, he’s, ” Burgos, Cruz, whacked Burgos, Burgos, ” Cruz, “, ” Ennis Organizations: Philadelphia, Cuban Locations: Burgos, Mexico, Aguascalientes

☆ Andy Cruz, Amateur Legend, to Find Out if Pro Boxing Fits
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Morgan Campbell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Burgos, a 35-year-old fringe contender from Mexico, glared without expression at Cruz, a 27-year-old Cuban who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Cruz, who left Cuba last year, cracked a faint smile and gave Burgos a slight nod. For a seasoned pro like Burgos, staring down and sizing up an opponent at a pre-fight news conference is a familiar ritual. But the routine is brand-new to Cruz, the athlete widely regarded as the best boxer in a generation to emerge from Cuba’s storied amateur program. Cruz is a three-time world amateur champion, and the records database BoxRec credits him with 140 amateur wins (and nine losses).

Persons: Andy Cruz, Juan Carlos Burgos, Cruz, Burgos Organizations: Cuban, Tokyo Locations: Detroit, Burgos, Mexico, Cruz, Cuba

☆ Cuba: A Russian navy ship docks in Havana as tough times bring the old friends together
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Patrick Oppmann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Havana, Cuba CNN —As a series of welcoming cannon blasts rang out from a nearby colonial fort, the Russian navy’s training class ship Perekop sailed into Havana on Tuesday. “We are condemning, we are rejecting, the expansion of NATO towards Russia’s borders,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel told Russian-controlled network, RT, in a rare interview in May. He also blasted US economic sanctions on Russia, while heralding Russian “projects of cooperation and collaboration” under development in Cuba. But following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba lost its main trading partner and entered a deep economic depression. Despite the high cost of the war in Ukraine and economic sanctions, Russian officials say they are committed to Cuba.

Persons: Perekop, “, Miguel Diaz, Canel, Patrick Oppmann, Jorge R, –, Russia –, Yamil Lage, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, ”, Ric Herrero, ” Herrero, “ There’s, ” Benjamin Ziff, Chargé d’Affaires, Sergey Shoigu, Alvaro Lopez Miera, ” Shoigu Organizations: Cuba CNN, Prensa Latina, Cuban, Soviet, NATO, CNN, University of Texas, Austin Energy Institute, Russian, Getty, Trump, Cuba Study, US Naval, Russian Defense Locations: Havana, Cuba, Russian, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Cuban, Moscow, Russia’s, Russia, USSR, AFP, Trump, Spanish, Guantánamo, East, West, “ Cuba

☆ Why Iran and Cuba Turned Their Back on the U.S. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Peter Beinart | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

One reason Cuba still needs Beijing’s money is that the Biden administration has kept key Trump sanctions in place. When the two countries signed the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran’s foreign minister at the time, Mohammad Javad Zarif, called it “not a ceiling but a solid foundation. We must now begin to build on it.” Iran’s leaders, like Cuba’s, hoped better relations with the United States would spur Western investment. Mr. Trump canceled the nuclear deal and reimposed harsh sanctions. This isn’t the first time the United States has driven smaller nations into the arms of its superpower adversaries.

Persons: Obama, Conan O’Brien, Andrew Cuomo, Steve Nash, Michael J, Bustamante, ’, Donald Trump, Evan Ellis, Biden, Mohammad Javad Zarif, ”, Zarif, Hassan Rouhani, Trump, ” Fredrik Logevall, Ho, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Minh Organizations: University of Miami, White, Wall Street, Cuban, U.S . Army, College, Trump, National Security, Strategic Services, Japan Locations: Cuban, Havana, University of Miami Cuba, Cuba, America, China, Iran, United States, Moscow, Russia, Ho Chi, France, Viet

☆ In the U.S., an Accomplished Cuban Boxer Takes His First Pro Steps
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Morgan Campbell | Todd Heisler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Cruz, a Cuban boxer who had won the lightweight gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, popped him with two more long lefts. Cruz is one of the most accomplished fighters ever to emerge from Cuba’s celebrated boxing program. Along with his Olympic gold, he has three amateur world titles and has twice won at the Pan American Games. Cruz’s manager, Yolfri Sánchez, watched the sparring session from ringside. Sánchez hired Ennis to replace Cruz’s amateur habits with pro techniques: hitting with authority, staying in range, catching and countering punches.

Persons: Andy Cruz, Rostyslav, Cruz, Juan Carlos Burgos, Yolfri Sánchez, Derek Ennis —, Bozy —, Sánchez, Ennis Organizations: Tokyo, Cuba’s, Pan American Locations: Cruz, Cuban, Northeast Philadelphia, Detroit

☆ Cuba’s Spy Deal With China Has Echoes of Cold War Tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( José De Córdoba | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Soviets for years operated an eavesdropping facility at Lourdes near Havana. Photo: Getty ImagesCuba’s deal to allow China to set up an electronic surveillance facility on the island in exchange for cash is the latest high-stakes twist in decades of strained relations with the U.S. as Havana struggles with its worst economic crisis since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Locations: Lourdes, Havana, China, Soviet Union

☆ China to Build Station That Could Spy on U.S. from Cuba, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | Edward Wong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The Wall Street Journal first reported on plans to build a facility in Cuba. President Biden’s National Security Council pushed back against reports of the planned facility. “This report is not accurate,” John Kirby, the council spokesman, said in a statement, declining to go into further detail. Bilateral relations had a further setback earlier this year when a Chinese spy balloon was caught traversing the United States, hovering near sensitive military sites. It is unclear if the latest revelations about the planned facility in Cuba could affect the visit once again.

Persons: Biden, ” John Kirby, Mr, Kirby, Nancy Pelosi’s, Antony J, Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Wang Yi Organizations: Street Journal, Biden’s National Security Council, Mr Locations: —, Beijing, Cuba, Taiwan, United States

☆ For an Unbeatable Music Scene, Head to Havana
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Tony Perrottet | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

IN TEMPO Dancers in the open-air ballroom at Los Jardines de la Tropical, one of Havana’s legendary music venues from the 1920s and ’30s. Illustration: Cookie Moon“ARE YOU sure it’s here?” the taxi driver asked doubtfully as he navigated his 1952 Chevrolet along a dark road in Puentes Grandes, a vibrant neighborhood in Havana. But all at once two stone pillars and an iron gate emblazoned with the words, Los Jardines de la Tropical, appeared, signaling the entrance to Cuba’s most fantastical nightlife venue, the Tropical Gardens. We could hear the sound of the music coming alive.

☆ Cuban police crackdown on demonstrators protesting widespread shortages
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Patrick Oppmann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Videos posted to social media show a crowd protesting in front of government buildings, before riot police arrived and forcibly arrested several demonstrators. Netblocks, an organization that tracks internet activity, said it appeared the Cuban government had taken down the internet across the entire island as news of the protests spread. Pro-Cuban government bloggers blamed the protesters uploading videos of the protests for the internet disruptions. However, the Cuban government has a history of taking down the state-provided internet during previous protests, sometimes for several days. Internet connectivity appeared to be largely restored on Sunday, and Cuban state media Cubadebate said no more protests had occurred.

☆ Best rice dishes: 20 delicious specialties from around the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

And while famous rice dishes such as sushi, fried rice and paella are among the most prominent in the global spotlight, there are so many more rice recipes out there to put on your radar – and seek out on your travels. Wali wa kukaanga, KenyaWali wa kukaanga is Kenya’s answer to fried rice, and translates to just that in Swahili. So it’s no surprise that the Polynesian island country’s most popular rice dish, alaisa fa’apopo, has ties to the coconut, too. Thai fried rice (Khao Pad), ThailandThai fried rice uses the layering of flavors that's characteristic of the country's cuisine. ArenaCreative/Adobe StockWhen it comes to fried rice, the Chinese version tends to steal the spotlight.

Search resuls for: "Cuba’s"

25 mentions found