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☆ Algeria applies to join BRICS, would contribute $1.5 bln to group bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TUNIS, July 21 (Reuters) - Algeria has applied to join the BRICS group and submitted a request to become a shareholder member of BRICS Bank with an amount of $1.5 billion, Ennahar TV quoted Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune as saying. It added that Tebboune said at the end of his visit to China that Algeria had sought to join the BRICS to open new economic opportunities. The BRICS group of nations comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. "We officially applied to join the BRICS group, we sent a letter asking to be shareholder members in the bank ... Algeria's first contribution in the bank will be $1.5 billion," Ennahar quoted Tebboune as saying. More than 40 countries have expressed interested in joining the BRICS group of nations, South Africa's top diplomat in charge of relations with the bloc said this week.

Persons: Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Tebboune, Algeria's, Ennahar, Tarek Amara, Louise Heavens, Alison Williams Organizations: BRICS Bank, United Arab, Democratic, Thomson Locations: TUNIS, Algeria, China, North Africa, Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, South, Argentina, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Gabon, Kazakhstan

☆ Algeria applies to join BRICS, would contribute $1.5 billion to group bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TUNIS, July 21 (Reuters) - Algeria has applied to join the BRICS group and submitted a request to become a shareholder member of BRICS Bank with an amount of $1.5 billion, Ennahar TV quoted Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune as saying. It added that Tebboune said at the end of his visit to China that Algeria had sought to join the BRICS to open new economic opportunities. The BRICS group of nations comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. "We officially applied to join the BRICS group, we sent a letter asking to be shareholder members in the bank ... Algeria's first contribution in the bank will be $1.5 billion," Ennahar quoted Tebboune as saying. China will invest $36 billion in Algeria across sectors including manufacturing, new technology, the knowledge economy, transport, and agriculture, local media quoted Tebboune as saying this week.

☆ Opinion: In tough times, Russia turns to a Cold War comrade
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Opinion Jeremi Suri | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —After decades of somewhat distant relations, Russia and Cuba are working closely together again — this time, as part of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Cuba's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodriguez, and Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, meet in Havana on April 20, in a show of deepening ties between the countries. In addition to deepened connections with Russia, Cuba has allowed China to build a secret espionage facility on the island. Washington will respond to Russian military escalation in Cuba with its own escalating force, as it already has done with the recent deployment of a nuclear submarine. Military escalation around Cuba is a dangerous temptation for Russia and a difficult trap for the US.

Persons: Jeremi Suri, Mack Brown, America’s, Vladimir Putin’s, Jeremi Suri Korey Howell, Nikolai Patrushev, Igor Sechin, Rosneft, Sergey Lavrov, —, Manuel Marrero Cruz, Putin, Alvaro Lopéz Miera, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, ” Shoigu, ”, Gerardo Peñalver, Bruno Rodriguez, Ramon Espinosa, Miguel Diaz, Canel, Obama, White, Nikita Khrushchev, John F, Kennedy, Khrushchev, Biden, — Khrushchev Organizations: Leadership, Global Affairs, University of Texas, History Department, LBJ School, Democracy, CNN, Russian Security Council, Cuban, Russian, Cuba's, Foreign Affairs, Russian Foreign, Getty Images, year’s, Russian Navy, Caribbean Military, Trump, Biden, Soviets, Pentagon, US, USS, Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, US Navy, West, Washington, Hulton, Getty, White, Republican, Russia, Ukraine, Twitter, Cuban Missile Locations: Austin, Russia, Cuba, Ukraine, Russian, Havana ., — Venezuela, Nicaragua, Moscow, Caribbean, Washington, Havana, Getty Images Cuba, America, China, Lourdes, USS Pasadena, Guantanamo, American, Soviet, West Berlin, Europe, Putin, Florida, Afghanistan, Turkey

☆ A British spy chief who goes by the code name 'C' says MI6 channels 'more resources to China than any other mission'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

MI6 chief Richard Moore told Politico that the British spy agency views China as a key concern. "We now devote more resources to China than any other mission," Moore told Politico. The spy chief previously said that the "rise of China is the single greatest priority for MI6." Moore, officially codenamed "C," made these remarks to Politico after delivering his second public speech as MI6 chief at the British embassy in Prague. During his first public speech as MI6 chief, Moore said the "rise of China is the single greatest priority for MI6."

Persons: Richard Moore, Moore, Politico's Anne McElvoy, Alex Younger Organizations: Politico, Service, Privacy, BBC, UK Security Service MI5, Street Journal Locations: China, Wall, Silicon, Prague, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba

All eyes are onJudge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over the first pretrial hearing Tuesday in the DOJ's prosecution of Donald Trump. Since the confirmation, a least one other Cannon case made national headlines. Judge Aileen Cannon gave her confirmation testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee over Zoom on July 29, 2020. There, she prosecuted cases involving narcotics, fraud, firearms, and immigration cases, according to her Senate confirmation document. Cannon during her confirmation hearing thanked Rubio as well as fellow Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida for their "continued support."

Persons: Aileen Cannon, Donald Trump, Cannon, Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Department's, Trump, Jack Smith's, Bill Barr, behead, Mercedes Cubas, Federalist Society —, Steven Colloton, Gibson, Dunn, Crutcher, Josh Lorence, Ron DeSantis, Lynne Sladky, Lorence, Bobby Flay, DeSantis, Republican Sen, Marco Rubio, Rubio, Rick Scott of, " Rubio, Democratic Sen, Dianne Feinstein, they'd, Pelosi, Paul Hoeffer, Hoeffer, Cannon's, Fort, Paul G Organizations: Trump, Lago, Service, US, Justice Department, Department, FBI, Fox News, Senate, Democratic Rep, Zoom, Committee, Duke University, El, El Nuevo Herald, Miami Herald, University of Michigan Law School, Federalist Society, Crutcher LLP, Southern, Southern District of, GOP, White, Republican, Democratic, Rogers, CNN Locations: Mar, Wall, Silicon, Trump's, Lago, Florida, Alexandria, Cortez of New York, Cali , Colombia, Miami , Florida, Cuba, Spain, El Nuevo, Iowa, Washington ,, Southern District, Southern District of Florida, Athens, Greece, Vero Beach , Florida, Marco Rubio of Florida, Rick Scott of Florida, Cortez, Fort Pierce , Florida, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach

☆ Cuba still struggling to earn foreign currency
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Marc Frank | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] People wait in line to buy foreign currency in Havana, Cuba, September 7, 2022. Morales did not say plans to import more than $9 billion and export $3.6 billion this year had changed. By comparison, in 2019 the Communist-run country reported exports of $12.6 billion and imports of $11 billion. Cuba forecast 3% growth this year, while the U.S. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean placed it at half that amount. The government last reported its foreign debt as being $19.6 billion in 2019.

Persons: Alexandre Meneghini HAVANA, Leticia Morales, Morales, Marc Frank Our Organizations: REUTERS, Prensa Latina, Agency, U.S . Economic, Latin, Thomson Locations: Havana, Cuba, Tourism, U.S, Latin America, Caribbean

☆ EU seeks to revive Latin America, Caribbean ties as it turns away from China, Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Regardless of the outcome, officials said the meeting itself marked a step towards stronger ties. "The most important issue of the meeting is the meeting itself," Argentine Undersecretary for Latin American and Caribbean affairs Gustavo Martinez Pandiani told a small group of reporters in Brussels. The EU has said it wants a joint declaration condemning Russia, but knows this will be difficult to achieve. The EU and Argentina will sign a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation before the summit starts. The EU may also offer details on plans to invest 10 billion euros ($11.2 billion) in CELAC infrastructure projects, part of its Global Gateway initiative.

Persons: Gustavo Martinez Pandiani, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Philip Blenkinsop, Barbara Lewis Organizations: European Union, UN, European, EU, Mercosur, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, America, Caribbean, EU, Ukraine, China, Caribbean States, Brussels, Argentine, Russia, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Cuba, El Salvador, Beijing, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay

☆ Mexico intercepts over 500 migrants in two days
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Brendan O'Boyle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

INM/Handout via REUTERSMEXICO CITY, July 16 (Reuters) - Mexican authorities on Sunday said they intercepted over 500 migrants in two days in the eastern state of Veracruz as authorities crack down on the transportation of migrants toward the United States in unsafe conditions. The town's mayor Roberto Montiel wrote on Facebook that "over 180" migrants were found, including women and children, with some of the migrants presenting signs of dehydration. Earlier on Sunday, the INM reported in a statement that authorities had intercepted 303 migrants in two operations on Friday morning in Veracruz. Also on Friday, authorities found 196 migrants, including 19 unaccompanied minors, packed into an improperly parked tractor-trailer detected on a road close to the city of Fortin de las Flores. Five of the migrants were adults from Guatemala and another five adults from India, the INM statement said, without providing further details on the other migrants' nationalities.

Persons: Fortin de las, Roberto Montiel, Fortin de las Flores, Brendan O'Boyle, Diane Craft Organizations: National Institute of Migration, REUTERS, REUTERS MEXICO CITY, National Migration Institute, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Fortin de, Fortin de las Flores, Veracruz, Mexico, Handout, REUTERS MEXICO, United States, Puente Nacional, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Fortin, India, Mexico's, Chiapas, Texas

☆ 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

Still, any outstanding regulatory hurdle makes it more likely that the agreement between Microsoft and Activision will expire on July 18 without the deal having been completed. The FTC's court filing about the appeal gave no details, which will go before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the West Coast. The FTC may request a stay from the appeals court stopping the deal from closing. When U.S. antitrust agencies lose merger challenges in court, appeals are rare. The agency settled with the companies before the appeals court made a decision.

Persons: We’re, Brad Smith, Jacqueline Scott Corley, Corley, Diane Bartz, Diane Craft Organizations: U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, Activision, Microsoft's, Ninth Circuit, FTC, Biden, Markets Authority, Japan's Nintendo, Foods, Oats, Thomson Locations: West Coast, San Francisco

☆ 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

[1/2] The sun sets behind the U.S. Capitol dome in Washington, U.S., on midterm election day, November 6, 2018. It was not the first loss for the agency under Khan. In addition, an internal FTC judge ruled for Illumina's (ILMN.O) purchase of Grail (GRAL.O). Lawmakers are also expected to bring up the committee's requests for documents regarding the agency's review of billionaire Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter. Conservatives have accused social media companies, including Twitter before it was acquired by Musk, of seeking to stifle conservative voices.

Persons: James Lawler Duggan, Lina Khan, Jim Jordan, Trump, Black Knight, Amgen's, Elon Musk's, Diane Bartz, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S, Capitol, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Republican, Committee, FTC, Microsoft, Activision, Khan, Facebook, Illumina's, Black, Horizon Therapeutics, Twitter, Musk, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Washington

☆ Matt Gaetz is back on the anti-Ukraine hamster wheel and floating the suggestion that Russia, not Ukraine, should be part of NATO so the organization can become an anti-China alliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Matt Gaetz thinks NATO could be better off with Russia, instead of Ukraine, as a member. "Why not extend NATO to Russia and make it an anti-China alliance?" Why not extend NATO to Russia and make it an anti-China alliance?" On February 9, Gaetz introduced a House resolution calling on the US to "end its military and financial aid to Ukraine." And Gaetz is not the only Republican lawmaker who is against US involvement in the Ukraine war.

Persons: Matt Gaetz, Gaetz, Newsmax, who's, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Greene Organizations: NATO, Biden, Service, Florida Republican, Republican, Georgia, National Defense, Gaetz, State Department Locations: Russia, Ukraine, NATO, China, Wall, Silicon, Cuba, United States, Vilnius, Lithuania

☆ Cuba condemns EU Parliament resolution calling for sanctions against president
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA, July 12 (Reuters) - Cuba's National Assembly said on Wednesday it "strongly condemns" a resolution by the European Parliament, which criticized the country's human rights record and called for EU sanctions against Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and other top officials. "The European Parliament lacks the moral, political and legal authority to judge Cuba," Cuba's parliament said in a statement. The European Parliament resolution proposes "autocratic regimes should not participate in such summits" and strongly condemns Cuba's human rights record, saying this could jeopardize a 2016 cooperation deal between Cuba and the EU, its top trade partner. The European Parliament resolution said it "deeply deplores" this comment. In May, Borrell said the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, will visit the island in November to evaluate the consequences of the 2021 protests.

Persons: Miguel Diaz, Fidel Castro's, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Eamon Gilmore, Nelson Acosta, Sarah Morland, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: National, Cuban, EU, of, Caribbean, Communist, Cuba's National Assembly, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, Cuba, America, Caribbean, Brussels, Caribbean States, United States

[1/3] US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during her meeting with China's Vice Premier He Lifeng (out of frame) at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on July 8, 2023. Yellen said nothing publicly to indicate that the U.S. was poised to ease tariffs, but commentators in China were hopeful, amid a U.S. Trade Representative review. "While U.S might continue its technological curbs on China, a reduction or exemption of non-core tariffs against China is possible." Yellen last year advocated eliminating some duties on "non-strategic" goods as a way to ease some specific costs amid high inflation. Haley has said she would push Congress to revoke China’s trade status until China curbs its alleged role in the fentanyl trade.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Lifeng, Pedro PARDO, Janet Yellen's, Biden, Harry Broadman, Donald Trump's, Premier Li Qiang, Yellen, Hong Hao, Chad Bown, " Bown, Josh Hawley, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Haley, Donald Trump, David Lawder, Andrea Shalal, Gram Slattery, Jeff Mason, Heather Timmons, Nick Zieminski Organizations: China's, WASHINGTON, . Treasury, Trump, White House, World Bank, Berkeley Research, Premier, U.S . Treasury, . Trade, China's Finance, U.S, Grow Investment, Times, Peterson Institute of International Economics, Reuters, Republican, Firebrand, Thomson Locations: Diaoyutai, Beijing, China, U.S, Washington, U.s, Donald Trump's China, CHINA, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Florida, Mexico, Cuba

WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday that Microsoft may go forward with its planned acquisition of videogame maker Activision Blizzard, turning aside antitrust enforcers' request for a preliminary injunction to temporarily stop the $69 billion deal. The FTC had originally asked the judge to stop the proposed deal, arguing it would give Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), maker of the Xbox gaming console, exclusive access to Activision (ATVI.O) games including the best-selling "Call of Duty." The deal would be the largest for Microsoft and the biggest in the history of the videogame business. The FTC's complaint had cited concerns about loss of competition in console gaming, as well as subscriptions and cloud gaming. And while much of the testimony in the recent trial focused on "Call of Duty," Activision produces other bestsellers like "World of Warcraft," "Diablo" and the mobile game "Candy Crush Saga."

Persons: Jacqueline Scott Corley, Douglas Farrar, we'll, Brad Smith, Bobby Kotick, Satya Nadella, Diane Bartz, Caitlin Webber Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Britain's, Markets Authority, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Microsoft Corp, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo, Sony Group, Activision Blizzard, PlayStation, Thomson Locations: U.S, San Francisco

Activision shares surged 10% on the day, as the U.S. and Britain have been the two countries opposed to what would be Microsoft's biggest deal ever and the largest transaction in the videogame industry's history. Microsoft shares rose 64 cents to $332.47. Microsoft logo is seen on a smartphone placed on displayed Activision Blizzard's games characters in this illustration taken January 18, 2022. "It does seem like the Microsoft and the CMA could work out a deal within the next couple of weeks," said D.A. The FTC's complaint had cited concerns about loss of competition in console gaming, as well as subscriptions and cloud gaming.

Persons: Jacqueline Scott Corley, ”, Joost Van Dreunen, University's, Corley, Douglas Farrar, we'll, Dado Ruvic, Biden, Brad Smith, Franco Granda, Satya Nadella, Diane Bartz, David Shepardson, Jaspreet Singh, Aditya Soni, Chris Sanders, Caitlin Webber, Matthew Lewis David Gregorio, Muralikumar Organizations: Activision, Microsoft, Biden, U.S, Markets Authority, University's Stern School of Business, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Nintendo, Sony Group, FTC, Sony PlayStation, REUTERS, FOCUS Gaming, CMA, Davidson &, PlayStation, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, U.S, British, Britain, San Francisco, New, Washington, Bengaluru

☆ Cuba calls US nuclear submarine in Guantanamo Bay 'provocative escalation'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Nelson Acosta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HAVANA, July 11 (Reuters) - Cuban authorities on Tuesday said the U.S. recently had a nuclear-powered submarine at its military base at Guantanamo Bay and called the action a "provocative escalation" of tensions weeks after Washington alleged that there was a Chinese spy base on the island. Washington did not confirm that there was a submarine at the naval base. It said Cuba was looking to distract from the two-year anniversary of largest street protests seen in Cuba since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. Critics have said the Guantanamo Bay prison has been used for arbitrary detention and torture of people suspected of terrorism. In June, Havana and Beijing rejected reports citing U.S. officials alleging that China was using Cuba as a spy base.

Persons: Washington, Fidel Castro's, William LeoGrande, Critics, Nelson Acosta, Sarah Morland, Matt Spetalnick, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Washington, U.S . State Department, State Department, House, U.S . Department of Defense, Washington's American University, Reuters, United, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, U.S, Guantanamo, Chinese, Cuba, Cuban, China, Washington, Havana, Beijing, United States, Caribbean

☆ Cuba says US responsible for 2021 protests, biggest in decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Nelson Acosta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] People clash with plain clothes police during protests against and in support of the government, amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Havana, Cuba July 11, 2021. "The United States has a direct responsibility for the disturbances of July 11 and 12, 2021," the Communist Party-run Granma newspaper said in a front-page editorial ahead of the anniversary of the protests. The U.S. State Department said it was not behind the 2021 protests and reiterated calls for the immediate release of some 700 Cuban political prisoners. "More than anything, this editorial reflects the state of relations between the United States and Cuba," said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a foreign relations expert at the Autonomous University of Madrid. Two years after the protests, some Cuban emigres have called for events to commemorate the date.

Persons: Alexandre Meneghini, Fidel Castro's, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Arturo Lopez, Levy, Lopez, Nelson Acosta, Sarah Morland, Matt Spetalnick, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Communist Party, White, Cuba, U.S . State Department, Cuban, European Union, Autonomous University of Madrid, Thomson Locations: Havana, Cuba, HAVANA, United States, Washington, U.S, Cuban

☆ Cuba seeks stronger EU-CELAC relations, condemns EU's 'manipulative behavior'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

However, Rodriguez added the EU's "lack of transparency and manipulative behavior in preparing for the summit puts its success in serious risk." The diplomat said the EU had tried to impose restrictive, divisive ways of holding talks that made "direct, transparent talks impossible." "Those who try to impose a biased and Europeanist vision of the bi-regional relationship will have no chance of success in Brussels," Rodriguez said. Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, visited Havana last May where he criticized Washington's over six-decade-old trade embargo against Cuba. "Cuba will go to the Brussels summit with a constructive spirit," Rodriguez added, saying the country would contribute as much as possible to strengthen EU-CELAC relations "on the basis of equality and mutual respect."

Persons: Bruno Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Josep Borrell, Washington's, Nelson Acosta, Sarah Morland, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Union, EU, of, Caribbean, Cuban Foreign, Havana, Cuba, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, Cuba, American, Caribbean, Caribbean States, Brussels, Haiti, Russian, Havana, EU

WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - Republican U.S. presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Sunday he would take steps to revoke China's permanent normal trade relations status if he won the 2024 White House race. The U.S. Senate voted in 2000 to grant that status to China as it prepared to join the World Trade Organization. The status is a legal designation in the United States for free trade with a foreign nation. 1 geopolitical threat this country faces," DeSantis added in the interview. Reporting by Kanishka Singh; Editing by Scott Malone and Andrea RicciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, Janet Yellen, Donald Trump, Kanishka Singh, Scott Malone, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Republican U.S, Florida, White, Fox News, U.S, Senate, World Trade Organization, Treasury, Republican, Thomson Locations: China, United States, U.S, Taiwan, Washington, Beijing, Chinese, Cuba

☆ The first-ever independent investigator to visit Guantánamo Bay says she arrived 'too late'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An independent UN investigator visited the Guantánamo Bay prison for the first time in February. She has since called on the US to provide torture rehabilitation and educational resources. The United States used the prison at Guantánamo Bay to detain men it believed to be connected to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Many of those detained were held indefinitely without trial, which led to international condemnation of the United States from human rights groups. The United States detained a total of 780 men at Guantánamo Bay.

Persons: United Nations —, Ní Aoláin, Biden Organizations: Service, United Nations, United, Associated Press, AP Locations: Wall, Silicon, Guantánamo, United States, Bay, Cuba

☆ Fact Check-Video of North Carolina official citing dictators stripped of context online
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A video clip showing North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson’s address at a 2023 Moms for Liberty summit has been cropped to appear as though he endorsed multiple 20th century dictators in his remarks. Mark Robinson (R) says dictators like Hitler, Stalin and Mao are being taken out of context and promotes reading their writings. Hitler followed that by ordering leftist leaders sent to concentration camps or assassinated, as explained in the Britannica article. Currently serving as Lieutenant Governor for North Carolina (here), Robinson joined the state’s gubernatorial race in April 2023 (here). The video clip shared with a claim that it shows Mark Robinson endorsing dictators omits context.

Persons: Mark Robinson’s, Robinson, Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong, Stalin, Pol Pot, Fidel Castro, despots, ”, Mark Robinson, Hitler, Mao, ’ ”, Pol, Fidel, Castro, Adolph Hitler, Read Organizations: Liberty, Philadelphia, Gov, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reuters Locations: Carolina, North Carolina, Cuba, Germany

☆ Putin has an invitation to visit Cuba, says Russian ambassador
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, July 3 (Reuters) - Russia's ambassador to Cuba said President Vladimir Putin had an invitation to visit the Communist-run island but that it was too early to talk about preparations for such a trip, the state RIA news agency said. "Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin) has an invitation, but I don't know how his plans will be lined up," Ambassador Viktor Koronelli told RIA. "The president of Cuba was in Moscow not long ago, in November of last year, so no real time has passed." Cuba had welcomed 66,000 tourists from Russia so far this year and Aeroflot's resumption of regular flights would probably mean a total of 100,000 Russian tourists visit the islands in 2023, Koronelli said. "I would like to say again that Russia can always rely on Cuba, all our aspirations and will," he told Putin, according to a Kremlin transcript.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich, Putin, Viktor Koronelli, Koronelli, Miguel Diaz, Canel, Raul Castro, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Communist, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Cuba, Moscow, Russia, Cuban

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