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☆ Cuba and U.S. spar over U.N. resolution calling to end embargo
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Thursday voted against a U.N. General Assembly resolution calling for an end to the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba, leaving relations frosty between the two longtime rivals. The non-binding resolution was approved by 185 countries and opposed only by the United States and Israel, with Brazil and Ukraine abstaining. It was the 30th time the United Nations has voted to end the embargo. "Cuba does not need lessons on democracy and human rights, much less from the United States," Gala said. "If the United States government was really interested in the welfare, human rights and self-determination of Cubans, it could lift the blockade."

☆ U.S. says China resisting nuclear talks after Xi vow to boost deterrent
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Pentagon says China is undergoing a major expansion of its nuclear forces and is moving toward having 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030. But Beijing has long resisted arms control talks with Washington, arguing that the United States already has a much larger arsenal. But Xi signaled during a Communist Party Congress in October that China would strengthen its strategic deterrent, a term often used to describe nuclear weapons. We're saying, let's talk about putting some guardrails into the relationship so that we don't have unnecessary crises," he said. Reporting by Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom; editing by Richard PullinOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's Xi greets Vietmanese ally with ceremony, call for defiance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Chinese President Xi Jinping meets the media following the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China October 23, 2022. REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping told the visiting leader of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party on Monday that both countries and parties should "never let anyone interfere" with their progress, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Trong's was the first visit by a foreign leader since Xi secured a precedent-breaking third term as General Secretary at the Chinese Communist Party's 20th party congress this month. The visit by Trong - who holds more power than either Vietnam's president or prime minister - was a showcase of Communist unity. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will also visit China this week.

☆ China's Xi greets Vietnamese ally with ceremony, call for defiance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - A planned $2.2 billion merger of Penguin Random House, the world's largest book publisher, and rival Simon & Schuster cannot go forward, a U.S. judge ruled on Monday. Unlike most merger fights, which are focused on what consumers pay, this one focused on authors' earnings. Penguin writers include cookbook author Ina Garten and novelists Zadie Smith and Danielle Steele, while Simon & Schuster publishes Stephen King, Jennifer Weiner and Hillary Rodham Clinton, among others. Penguin is owned by German media group Bertelsmann SE & Co (BTGGg.F) while Paramount Global (PARA.O) owns Simon & Schuster. The top five publishers are Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster and Hachette, with Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) also in the market.

☆ With a possible surge of Haitian migrants ahead, the Biden admin weighs holding them in a third country or Guantanamo
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

For more than 30 years, Guantanamo Bay has had a Migrant Operations Center that houses migrants picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard in the Caribbean. Planning now under consideration would roughly double the capacity at the Migrant Operations Center to 400 beds, according to the document. The Biden administration received bipartisan criticism for its handling of a massive flood of Haitian migrants in September 2021, which led to more than 12,000 massing under an international bridge in Del Rio, Texas. The Biden administration ramped up deportation flights to deal with the influx, but so far those flights have halted since August 2022. A spokesperson for the NSC said, “The United States remains committed to supporting the people of Haiti.

☆ Russia's Lavrov needles Biden over Cuban missile crisis and Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin's foreign minister on Sunday needled Joe Biden over Ukraine, saying that he hoped the U.S. president had the wisdom to deal with a global confrontation similar to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cuban crisis when the Soviet Union and United States came close to nuclear war. In an interview for a Russian state television documentary on the missile crisis, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there were similarities to 1962, largely because Russia was now threatened by Western weapons in Ukraine. "I hope that in today's situation, President Joe Biden will have more opportunities to understand who gives orders and how," Lavrov said. Asked what Russia should do now in the current crisis, Lavrov said: "The readiness of Russia, including President Vladimir Putin, for negotiations remains unchanged."

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The oldest prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center was released and “reunited with his family” in Pakistan, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday. “We are glad that a Pakistani citizen detained abroad is finally reunited with his family,” the statement said. The Pentagon said in a statement Saturday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had “notified Congress of his intent to repatriate Saifullah Paracha to Pakistan” last month. Following Paracha’s release, 35 detainees remain in Guantanamo Bay and 18 have been cleared for release, according to Amnesty International. The most high-profile prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay prison is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

☆ Pakistani returns home after 18 years of U.S. detention in Guantanamo prison camp
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KARACHI, Pakistan, Oct 29 (Reuters) - A Pakistani national held by the United States for 18 years in the Guantanamo Bay prison camp without trial on suspicion of links to al Qaeda returned home to Pakistan on Saturday, Pakistan and the United States said. "We are glad that a Pakistani citizen detained abroad is finally reunited with his family," the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement. At 75, he was the oldest inmate at the camp, according to Reprieve, a London-based human rights group that worked on his case. It said in a statement that Paracha's continued detention was no longer necessary to protect against a "significant threat" to the security of the United States. The Defense Department said 35 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay, of whom 20 are eligible for transfer and three for a Periodic Review Board.

☆ Cuba is in the middle of an escalating tug-of-war between Russia, U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

It also once again thrust the Caribbean island into the middle of an escalating tug-of-war between its seaside neighbor, the United States, and ally, Russia. The sales also potentially alleviated the weight of international sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviets sold Cuba oil well below market price. A double hit to its power gridPreexisting economic turmoil and blackouts came to a head this fall when Cuba’s power grid took a double hit. Increased sales to China, India and even Cuba have helped Russia ease the economic brunt of sanctions.

☆ No U.S.-born Black players expected on World Series rosters
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The Houston Astros celebrate winning the American League Championship Series to advance to the World Series at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 23. In 1979 alone, Willie Stargell and Dave Parker were among 10 Black players on the “We Are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates champions. “It’s been a story that’s been ongoing since the late 1980s, the decline of Black baseball players,” he said. Hall wasn’t on the Phillies’ roster for any of the first three rounds this postseason and isn’t expected to be on the World Series roster. Many Afro Latino players embrace Black identity, yet perhaps not for the same reasons that Black U.S. players do.

☆ Gay couples in Cuba marry under new law
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The code was approved after heavy campaigning by the Cuban government, and support by the most vocal advocate for gay rights on the island, Mariela Castro, the daughter of former president Raul Castro. It made Cuba the ninth country in Latin America — following Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Colombia — to legalize gay marriage in recent years. Despite that, a third of the country, 33.15%, voted “no.” The text faced a large campaign against it from evangelical groups that reject gay marriage. Ismael Francisco / APThe new law goes further than equal marriage — which activists tried to include in the Constitution in 2019 without success — or the ability for gay couples to adopt or use surrogates. “I’m happy for what the wedding means,” Laura added to The Associated Press very circumspectly, wiping tears away alongside her mothers.

☆ Cuba hosts first U.S. business conference in years, seeks investment
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Marc Frank | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Cuba's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernandez de Cossio listens to Phil Peters, founder of FocusCuba, during a conference in Havana, Cuba, October 26, 2022. "Almost everything we do is with the new booming private sector," said Cuban-American Hugo , whose Miami-based Fuego Enterprises Inc (FUGI.PK) operates an online food market that processes 4,000 orders in Cuba per day. "It is important American businesses see this for themselves," said Cancio, who was attending the conference. The Biden administration has loosened some restrictions on Cuba around remittances, tourism and migration. It has also expressed interest in supporting Cuba's private sector.

☆ For the first time, New Zealand has more female lawmakers than male
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — For the first time in New Zealand’s history, a majority of lawmakers are women. With the resignation of another male lawmaker, it has tipped the balance in Parliament to 60 women and 59 men. “Whilst it’s a special day for me, I think it’s historic for New Zealand,” Peke-Mason told reporters. The milestone places New Zealand among a half-dozen nations in the world that this year can claim at least 50% female representation in their parliaments, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. New Zealand has a history of strong female representation.

Among all Cuban Americans polled, 32% gave Biden a positive job approval. His numbers were higher among Cuban American Democrats (73%) and newest arrivals (64%), as well as to a lesser extent older Cuban Americans. “Cuban Americans are willing to put out a carrot for the Cuban government in hopes that it will change," Grenier said. “You have an ambivalence.”Ahead of the midterms, Cuban Americans identified the economy, health care, immigration, and Cuba policy as top issues. The FIU Cuba poll surveyed 1,000 Cuban Americans in Miami Dade County from July 27 to September 11.

☆ Vietnam party chief to visit China's Xi next week
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Vietnam's Communist Party's Generel Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is seen in Hanoi, Vietnam April 2, 2018, Picture taken April 2, 2018. REUTERS/Kham/File PhotoBEIJING, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The chief of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong will visit China next week on the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Vietnam's government said on Tuesday, in a rare overseas trip by the ageing leader. The visit to Beijing will take place from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 the government said, without elaborating. Like Xi, Trong has also stayed on as party chief beyond the usual tenure of one or two terms, cementing his influence in a party traditionally governed by consensus among its politburo and powerful central committee. Vietnam and China are among the last five communist-ruled states in the world, along with Cuba, Laos and North Korea.

☆ Activist groups call on T-Mobile to stop providing cell service to the Guantánamo Bay prison site
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Caroline Haskins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

T-Mobile had at least 11 contracts providing service to the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base and prison. Almost 800 people have been imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay since the prison opened in 2002. At least 11 of these contracts, according to research conducted by the coalition and shared with Insider, are for providing cell service to the Guantánamo Bay prison site. T-Mobile's Guantánamo Bay contracts are worth a meager amount compared to its other contracts worth more than a million a piece. The US has held almost 800 people in the Guantánamo Bay prison, often without being charged with a crime, since it opened in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.

☆ Bolsonaro versus Lula: Ahead of Brazil's high-stakes elections, here's what to know
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

His adversary, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has sought to kindle nostalgia for his years presiding over an economic boom and social inclusion. Here’s what you need to know about the Brazilian presidential runoff, which is on Oct. 30. That is why da Silva, who was president from 2003 to 2010, can run this year. Most polls 2 1/2 weeks after the first round show da Silva retaining a slight lead over Bolsonaro. Da Silva, known universally as Lula, has focused on his prior terms, during which commodities exports surged and tens of millions of Brazilians joined the middle class.

☆ Florida's Hispanic voters back DeSantis over Crist, support Martha's Vineyard migrant flights
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Marc Caputo | Noah Pransky | Marc Caputo Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Florida’s Hispanic voters back Gov. “There are lots of Hispanic voters in this state who really like the governor’s style, this strongman who won’t back down. And Crist has no mojo,” said Coker, who conducted the bilingual survey of 625 likely Hispanic voters from Oct. 17-22. And other Hispanic voters from throughout Latin America also side with Crist over DeSantis by a narrower percentage, 53% to 43%. Both DeSantis and Crist receive strong support from voters registered with their respective parties, but DeSantis has slightly more intense intraparty support than Crist, and the governor is leading among independent Hispanic voters by a 22-point margin.

The Coast Guard took 94 Cuban migrants back to their homeland Saturday amid continued flight from the island and an increased number of interdictions off Florida, the agency said Sunday. The migrants are part of a steady stream of Cubans seeking refugee status in the U.S. in hard economic times in their homeland. From January to July, U.S. authorities stopped Cuban migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border 155,000 times, more than six times the number in the same period last year. The Coast Guard said it carried out 6,182 interdictions of Cuban migrants in the fiscal year that ended in September, the most in at least seven years. Cuban migrants joined Venezuelans and Nicaraguans in pushing the number of migrants stopped at the southwest border to a new high of nearly 2.8 million for the 2022 fiscal year.

But most opposition representatives visiting Washington this week told U.S. officials they would not continue backing him or anyone else as their leader for another year of interim government. Venezuelan opposition representatives who attended the meetings in Washington and a spokesperson for Citgo did not immediately provide a comment. The U.S. State Department said it recognized Guaido and coordinates with his administration "on the steps needed to move forward on a negotiated solution that leads to the restoration of democracy to Venezuela." Five of six opposition-party representatives told State Department officials on Tuesday they would not support Guaido or any other interim leader, the four sources said. read moreUnder U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, the United States recognized Guaido as rightful leader in January 2019, and dozens of other countries followed suit.

☆ Cuba shouldn't be on sponsor of terrorism list, former U.S. officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Ed Augustin | Ed Augustin Is A British Journalist Based In Havana Who Has Written For The New York Times | The Guardian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

HAVANA — Along with Iran, Syria and North Korea, Cuba is listed as a “state sponsor of terrorism” by the U.S. Department of State. Cuba has called the sponsor of terrorism designation "illegitimate and immoral," arguing that it deprives it of financing and credit sources. “‘Cuba is not a state sponsor of terrorism’ was a mantra from the moment I walked into the State Department to the moment I walked out,” he said. Throughout the 1980s, Cuba shared intelligence with, trained and apparently supplied weapons to revolutionary movements fighting military dictatorships in Central America. Cuba will once again be a “guarantor state.”The Biden administration has provided no evidence that Cuba sponsors terrorism.

☆ Catching Sanctions Evaders Getting More Complex
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( David Smagalla | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Some players looking to bypass Russia sanctions are taking pages from the playbook of Iran and North Korea sanctions evaders, such as the use of front companies to transact in the country. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | Risk and Compliance Journal Our Morning Risk Report features insights and news on governance, risk and compliance. Isaias Lima, a managing director at financial services business the Bancorp Inc., said attempts by individuals and entities to help Russia evade sanctions are a concern. “The expectation is that if you are receiving the data, if you have possession of IP addresses, you have to screen those IP addresses and understand whether or not those transactions are originating from sanctioned countries,” he added. OFAC has relied more and more on the use of IP addresses as a sanctions enforcement tool, said Orisia Gammell, SAP SE’s chief legal counsel for export control.

The four FTC commissioners voted three to one to begin the lengthy process of writing rules by seeking comments on the prevalence of fraudulent online reviews and junk fees. These are sometimes labeled "service charges" on phone bills or imposed by hotels as "resort fees." FTC guidelines already say that posting fake reviews and endorsements is illegal. And it has proposed a rule to ban junk fees by car sellers. The commission also voted to begin the process of updating existing rules governing funeral homes.

☆ 'What are they hiding?': Group sues Biden and National Archives over JFK assassination records
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Marc Caputo | Marc Caputo Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The country's largest online source of JFK assassination records is suing President Joe Biden and the National Archives to force the federal government to release all remaining documents related to the most mysterious murder of a U.S. president nearly 60 years ago. “This is about our history and our right to know it,” said Morley, the author of the JFK Facts blog. The National Archives and Records Administration, the agency in charge of the JFK documents, also said it’s complying with the law and the procedures Biden outlined. JFK assassination historian David Talbot, a Trump critic, said he sees an irony in the two cases. Uscinski said he’s hesitant to draw a direct line between lack of trust in the government and the refusal to release the JFK records, but he argued the feds essentially have themselves to blame.

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