Cuba

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Cuba Loses Power Again as Hurricane Makes Landfall

Forecasters warn of high winds, storm surges, flash floods

(Newser) - Hurricane Rafael made landfall in Cuba on Wednesday as a powerful Category 3 hurricane, shortly after powerful winds knocked out the country's power grid. Forecasters warned Rafael could bring life-threatening storm surges, winds, and flash floods to western swaths of the island after it knocked out power and dumped...

Cuba's Massive Blackout Is Entering Its 4th Day

Hurricane Oscar hits island amid ongoing blackouts, later becomes tropical storm

(Newser) - Many Cubans waited in anguish and some took to the streets in protest as widespread blackouts stretched into their third day Sunday. Their concerns were heightened as Hurricane Oscar hit Cuba's eastern coast with winds and heavy rain. In Santo Suárez, part of a populous neighborhood in southwestern...

Cuba Sinks Into Darkness After Power Grid Fails Again

Second nationwide outage takes place as utility was working on fixing the first

(Newser) - Hours after officials said power was in the process of being restored following Friday's nationwide power outage, "a new total outage occurred," according to a statement from the Cuba Electrical Union. The second nationwide blackout took place Saturday morning, and the union said it was working on...

Intelligence Agencies: Efforts to Influence Elections Go Lower

Foreign adversaries are targeting congressional, state legislative contests, officials say

(Newser) - It's not just the presidential election: Foreign governments are targeting House and Senate races around the country in their effort to meddle with American democracy this election year, intelligence officials warned Monday. Russia, China, and Cuba have all launched influence operations designed to help or hurt candidates in specific...

Florida's Gulf Coast Is About to Get Very Wet

Tropical depression that may turn into Tropical Storm Debby will likely bring rain, wind, flooding

(Newser) - A tropical depression over Cuba is growing better organized and is likely to bring drenching rain and coastal flooding to much of Florida's Gulf Coast, forecasters said Saturday. The storm strengthened into a tropical depression late Friday and is expected to become a tropical storm by Saturday night, once...

Pentagon Announces Plea Deal With 9/11 Plotter
Austin Revokes 9/11
Plea Deals After Backlash
UPDATED
Aug 3, 2024 7:00 AM CDT

Austin Revokes 9/11 Plea Deals After Backlash

Defense chief places himself in charge of case against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, others

(Newser) - The death penalty may be back on the table for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two accused accomplices after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday revoked their deals to plead guilty made earlier this week, following backlash from some families of 9/11 victims, GOP lawmakers, and the New...

More Russian Warships Dock in Port of Havana

Cuban officials and onlookers call the visit a sign of friendship

(Newser) - Fishermen watched and authorities fired shots into the air as Russian warships again sailed into the Port of Havana on Saturday—the second such deployment in two months. The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces described the arrival of the patrol ship Neustrahimiy, training vessel Smolniy, and support vessels from the Baltic...

North Korea Suffers Another High-Level Defection: Seoul

Diplomat Ri Il Kyu, stationed in Cuba, fled to South Korea

(Newser) - South Korea's spy agency said Tuesday that a senior North Korea diplomat based in Cuba has fled to South Korea, the latest defection by a member of the North's elite, reports the AP . The National Intelligence Service confirmed the defection of a North Korean counselor of political affairs...

Russian Warships Dock in Havana Bay
Russian Warships
Dock in Havana Bay
Jun 12, 2024 4:23 PM CDT

Russian Warships Dock in Havana Bay

Nuclear-capable vessels are included, though Cuba and US say the visit poses no threat

(Newser) - Cubans gathered at Havana's harbor Wednesday to welcome a Russian convoy of four warships and a nuclear submarine arriving for a five-day show of solidarity between Cold War allies. The frigate Admiral Gorshkov fired a 21-gun salute as it sailed in, CNN reports, which drew a response of cannon...

Cuba, Once the Land of Sugar, Now Must Import It

Production has plummeted, and the decline may be permanent

(Newser) - "It's a disaster. Today the sugar industry in Cuba almost doesn't exist." Juan Triana of the Centre for Studies of the Cuban Economy didn't mince words when he spoke to the BBC about the status of the crop that was once at the center of...

No Brain Injury Seen in 'Havana Syndrome' Patients
For 'Havana
Syndrome'
Patients, No Sign
of Brain Injury
new studies
Mar 18, 2024 11:46 AM CDT

For 'Havana Syndrome' Patients, No Sign of Brain Injury

Pair of NIH studies may not settle the debate, however

(Newser) - Two new studies by the National Institutes of Health found that US diplomats who suffered from mysterious "Havana syndrome" ailments show no sign of brain injuries, reports CNN . Don't expect this to settle the debate on the matter, however.
  • The tests: Scans of more than 80 patients found
...

Ex-US Ambassador Pleads Guilty to Spying for Cuba

Victor Manuel Rocha, former diplomat to Bolivia, is said to have helped communist nation for decades

(Newser) - For more than four decades, a diplomat working in the US State Department secretly funneled information to Cuba's communist government. That's according to prosecutors, and now to Victor Manuel Rocha himself, a former ambassador to Bolivia who on Thursday switched his initial plea of not guilty to guilty...

Castro's Sister Worked With CIA Against Him
Castro's Sister
Worked With
CIA Against Him
obituary
Dec 6, 2023 6:30 PM CST

Castro's Sister Worked With CIA Against Him

When Juanita Castro's shortwave played 'Madame Butterfly,' agents had a message for her

(Newser) - Juanita Castro, the sister of Cuban rulers Fidel and Raúl Castro who worked with the CIA against their communist government, has died in Miami at 90. Florida had been her home since shortly after fleeing the island nearly 60 years ago. Journalist María Antonieta Collins, who co-wrote Juanita...

Former US Ambassador Arrested as Secret Agent

Ex-diplomat to Bolivia Manuel Rocha, 73, accused of secretly working to promote Cuba's interests

(Newser) - A former US diplomat has been arrested in Florida, accused of secretly serving as an agent for Cuba. WTSP identifies him as 73-year-old Manuel Rocha, who served as the ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002. A source tells the AP , which first reported on Rocha's arrest Friday in...

Cuba's US Embassy Hit by Molotov Cocktail in DC

No significant damage and no one injured

(Newser) - At least one Molotov cocktail was thrown at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, reports the AP , but there was no significant damage and no one was injured. US law enforcement officials were investigating. Secret Service officers were called around 8pm ET on Sunday to respond to the attack on a...

Cuba Says It Broke Up Russia's Recruiting Scheme for Troops

Island's government calls operation 'human trafficking'

(Newser) - Cuba announced Tuesday that it has foiled an effort to pull its citizens into Russia's war on Ukraine, labeling the scheme a human trafficking ring. A statement by Cuba's foreign ministry says it has started to prosecute those accused of assisting the effort to recruit people for the...

World's Biggest Cruise Ship Loses Passenger Near Cuba

Search is on for Sigmund Ropich, 19, who went overboard Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas

(Newser) - A college student vacationing with friends who went overboard the largest cruise ship in the world earlier this week is still missing, though the search for him continues—for now. Per Insider , 19-year-old Sigmund Ropich vanished from Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas on Tuesday night when the ship...

Cuban Coach Disappears From Little League World Series

It's not clear whether Jose Perez defected

(Newser) - This is the first year a team from Cuba has taken part in the Little League World Series, which has been held every since 1947—and they might be going home minus one coach. Little League officials say Jose Perez left the complex where the teams are staying in South...

She Made a First-of-Its-Kind Visit to Guantanamo
She Made a
First-of-Its-Kind
Visit to Guantanamo
the rundown
Jun 28, 2023 9:55 AM CDT

She Made a First-of-Its-Kind Visit to Guantanamo

Independent UN monitor was permitted to visit the detention center

(Newser) - Since its 2002 opening, no UN human rights investigators had been permitted to visit Guantanamo Bay. That changed in February, when Irish law professor Fionnuala Ni Aolain was granted access—and what she found was "cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment." The UN special rapporteur spent four days at...

Report: China Plans to Build Spy Base 100 Miles From US

Sources say Beijing will pay Cuban government billions of dollars

(Newser) - Talk of a cold war between the US and China will likely be heightened by reports that China is planning to build a spy base in Cuba. The Wall Street Journal , citing "US officials familiar with highly classified intelligence," reports that Beijing and Havana have struck a deal...

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