The death toll in the blast at the iconic hotel in Cuba has risen to 22. The famous Hotel Saratoga was obliterated in a powerful blast on May 6. The intensity of the blast was so much that it caused a gash several floors high in the side of the building.

The blast at the historic high-end hotel was apparently caused by gas leak.

A nearby school was rattled by the blast with more than 300 students in attendance, health authorities said. At least 15 children were reported injured as of late Friday evening, the health ministry said, and one child had died.

Cuba's tourism minister, Juan Carlos Garcia, said no foreigners were killed or injured in the blast, according to initial reports.

The blast shrouded the building and surrounding streets in plumes of black smoke and dust rising from the rubble.

Hundreds of Cubans and tourists alike gathered near the property under a hot sun as police cordoned off the area around the hotel. Many speculated about the cause of the blast as ambulances and rescue workers carried victims from the wreckage.

Cuba's tourism minister, Juan Carlos Garcia, said no foreigners were killed or injured in the blast, according to initial reports.

The hotel, housed in a more than century-old building, had been closed and only workers were inside at time of the explosion, state-run TV said, citing Roberto Enrique Calzadilla, a representative of the military-run company.

(With inputs from agencies)

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The death toll in the blast at the iconic hotel in Cuba has risen to 22. The famous Hotel Saratoga was obliterated in a powerful blast on May 6. The intensity of the blast was so much that it caused a gash several floors high in the side of the building.

The death toll in the blast at the iconic hotel in Cuba has risen to 22. The famous Hotel Saratoga was obliterated in a powerful blast on May 6. The intensity of the blast was so much that it caused a gash several floors high in the side of the building. The blast at the historic high-end hotel was apparently caused by gas leak. A nearby school was rattled by the blast with more than 300 students in attendance, health authorities said. At least 15 children were reported injured as of late Friday evening, the health ministry said, and one child had died. Cuba's tourism minister, Juan Carlos Garcia, said no foreigners were killed or injured in the blast, according to initial reports. The blast shrouded the building and surrounding streets in plumes of black smoke and dust rising from the rubble. Hundreds of Cubans and tourists alike gathered near the property under a hot sun as police cordoned off the area around the hotel. Many speculated about the cause of the blast as ambulances and rescue workers carried victims from the wreckage. Cuba's tourism minister, Juan Carlos Garcia, said no foreigners were killed or injured in the blast, according to initial reports. The hotel, housed in a more than century-old building, had been closed and only workers were inside at time of the explosion, state-run TV said, citing Roberto Enrique Calzadilla, a representative of the military-run company. (With inputs from agencies) Decode the geostrategy, diplomacy, and ideologies of the world’s unending wars. Catch our special series ‘World at War’ every Saturday at 8:30 PM IST and Sunday at 10:30 PM IST only on WION. WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

Gas leak suspected to be cause of Cuba hotel blast, death toll at 22

Hotel Saratoga: The 'it' place in Cuba, now in ruins

A powerful explosion ripped through a Havana hotel in Cuba on Friday morning, claiming at least eight lives and leaving over 30 people injured.<o:p></o:p>

Police and fire rescuers have been dispatched to the site and combing through rubble for survivors, as at least 13 people were reported to be missing, the presidency, in a tweet, quoted Havana Communist Party official Luis Antonio Torres Iribar.

<o:p></o:p>

"So far, eight people have died and about 30 are hospitalized," the Cuban presidency tweeted after the blast.<o:p></o:p>

Images from the scene showed dark plumes of dust billowing into the air and leaving rubble strewn across the street in the historic centre of Havana.<o:p></o:p>

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel ruled out a bomb explosion and said that a gas leak is believed to be the cause of the blast at Hotel Saratoga. <o:p></o:p>

Witnesses described a "massive blast," which appeared to destroy buses and cars outside the hotel in the centre of the city.

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Video of Hotel Saratoga in Havana right now. <a href="https://t.co/U3qQPHFIH1">pic.twitter.com/U3qQPHFIH1</a>
— Patrick Oppmann CNN (@CNN_Oppmann) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN_Oppmann/status/1522611674326388736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
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BREAKING: Major explosion damages historic hotel in Havana, Cuba; no word on injuries <a href="https://t.co/QyksoqI2fI">pic.twitter.com/QyksoqI2fI</a>
— BNO News (@BNONews) <a href="https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1522604191394693123?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
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At least two ambulances and five fire trucks rushed to the hotel, and police cordoned off the area, dispersing people who swarmed to the site after hearing the blast, according to AFP.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

The hotel, which was built in the 1930s, has 96 rooms and was reopened in 2005 after refurbishment, according to its website.<o:p></o:p>

After being built as a warehouse in 1880, it was rebuilt as a hotel in 1933.<o:p></o:p>

“Though we have not been able to verify the origin of its name, it is likely that it stems from the US resort town of Saratoga in the State of New York,” the hotel&nbsp;website states.<o:p></o:p>

(With inputs from agencies)<o:p></o:p>

A powerful explosion ripped through a Havana hotel in Cuba on Friday morning, claiming at least eight lives and leaving over 30 people injured. Police and fire rescuers have been dispatched to the site and combing through rubble for survivors, as at least 13 people were reported to be missing, the presidency, in a tweet, quoted Havana Communist Party official Luis Antonio Torres Iribar.

A powerful explosion ripped through a Havana hotel in Cuba on Friday morning, claiming at least eight lives and leaving over 30 people injured. Police and fire rescuers have been dispatched to the site and combing through rubble for survivors, as at least 13 people were reported to be missing, the presidency, in a tweet, quoted Havana Communist Party official Luis Antonio Torres Iribar. "So far, eight people have died and about 30 are hospitalized," the Cuban presidency tweeted after the blast. Images from the scene showed dark plumes of dust billowing into the air and leaving rubble strewn across the street in the historic centre of Havana. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel ruled out a bomb explosion and said that a gas leak is believed to be the cause of the blast at Hotel Saratoga. Witnesses described a "massive blast," which appeared to destroy buses and cars outside the hotel in the centre of the city. Video of Hotel Saratoga in Havana right now. pic.twitter.com/U3qQPHFIH1 — Patrick Oppmann CNN (@CNN_Oppmann) May 6, 2022 × BREAKING: Major explosion damages historic hotel in Havana, Cuba; no word on injuries pic.twitter.com/QyksoqI2fI — BNO News (@BNONews) May 6, 2022 × At least two ambulances and five fire trucks rushed to the hotel, and police cordoned off the area, dispersing people who swarmed to the site after hearing the blast, according to AFP. The hotel, which was built in the 1930s, has 96 rooms and was reopened in 2005 after refurbishment, according to its website. After being built as a warehouse in 1880, it was rebuilt as a hotel in 1933. “Though we have not been able to verify the origin of its name, it is likely that it stems from the US resort town of Saratoga in the State of New York,” the hotel website states. (With inputs from agencies)

At least 8 killed, 30 injured as powerful explosion obliterates Cuban hotel

US embassy in Cuba on Tuesday, began issuing visas for the first time in four years since alleged sonic attacks that resulted in so-called 'Havana Syndrome' among US diplomatic personnel.

Washington closed its consular services in the Cuban capital in 2017 after US personnel and their families suffered from mystery illnesses subsequently known as "Havana Syndrome."

When US suspended issuing visas, it was a blow to many Cubans who intended to emigrate to the US to escape economic woes of their home country.&nbsp;

"Welcome to the embassy after so much time," said a Cuban employee to a small group of people waiting for their appointments in the consular section. The employee was quoted by AFP.

The United States announced two months ago it would begin a "limited" and "gradual" reopening of its embassy and consular services. 
It was closed in September 2017 after then-US president Donald Trump hit out at the alleged sonic attacks.

A US government report in 2020 said the illnesses suffered by staff and their families were most likely caused by "directed, pulsed radio frequency (RF) energy."

"We're hoping that everything goes well. I've been waiting three years for this to rejoin my daughter" who is in the United States, said one man who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I haven't seen her for seven years."

(With inputs from agencies)

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US embassy in Cuba on Tuesday, began issuing visas for the first time in four years since alleged sonic attacks that resulted in so-called 'Havana Syndrome' among US diplomatic personnel.

US embassy in Cuba on Tuesday, began issuing visas for the first time in four years since alleged sonic attacks that resulted in so-called 'Havana Syndrome' among US diplomatic personnel. Washington closed its consular services in the Cuban capital in 2017 after US personnel and their families suffered from mystery illnesses subsequently known as "Havana Syndrome." When US suspended issuing visas, it was a blow to many Cubans who intended to emigrate to the US to escape economic woes of their home country. "Welcome to the embassy after so much time," said a Cuban employee to a small group of people waiting for their appointments in the consular section. The employee was quoted by AFP. The United States announced two months ago it would begin a "limited" and "gradual" reopening of its embassy and consular services. It was closed in September 2017 after then-US president Donald Trump hit out at the alleged sonic attacks. A US government report in 2020 said the illnesses suffered by staff and their families were most likely caused by "directed, pulsed radio frequency (RF) energy." "We're hoping that everything goes well. I've been waiting three years for this to rejoin my daughter" who is in the United States, said one man who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I haven't seen her for seven years." (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

US resumes issuing visas in Cuba after more than four years

The Cuban central bank has issued regulations for virtual asset service providers after giving a nod last year to personal use of cryptocurrencies. It's a move some experts said could help Communist-run Caribbean island skirt stiff US sanctions.

Cuba approves cryptocurrency services

Surfing in Cuba has now received official recognition. Surfers are now free from police harassment. Watch this report to know more.

Cuba: Surfing gets official recognition as they are now free from police harassment

A whistle reverberates through a&nbsp;sugar&nbsp;factory in central Cuba to signal the resumption of milling at midday after an hours-long halt when the raw cane ran out.

It is cane harvest time in Cuba -- once the world's top&nbsp;sugar&nbsp;exporter but now reliant on imports.&nbsp;

A critical shortage of harvesters and trucks to deliver the cane to factories has hamstrung production even as the government scrambles to revive the once-vibrant industry.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/pandemic-sanctions-and-long-lines-for-fuel-cuba-battles-concerns-over-supply-and-rationing-464712">Pandemic, sanctions, and long lines for fuel; Cuba battles concerns over supply and rationing</a>

Cuba's 2020-21 harvest yielded 800,000 tons of the sweet stuff, according to official figures.

This was just 10 percent of peak production some three decades ago and the worst outcome in 130 years for an industry that was once Cuba's economic motor and a huge source of national pride.

"This is a war without&nbsp;end," Lazaro Manuel Torres, boss of the Antonio Sanchez mill in Cuba's central Cienfuegos province, told AFP.

"From&nbsp;the moment you wake up, you run into a mountain" of problems, said Torres, watching with obvious relief as a column of white smoke billowed&nbsp;from&nbsp;the chimney after the restart.&nbsp;

Just 56 mills left

Until 1989, Cuba was the world's biggest&nbsp;sugar&nbsp;exporter.

The United States was its major client until 1960 -- two years before Washington imposed crippling sanctions on the communist island nation.

The Soviet Union, a political ally, then became an important buyer and was given preferential rates.&nbsp;

Sugar&nbsp;was at the heart of Cuba's plans for a prosperous future, with Fidel Castro leading a drive in the 1970s -- complete with propaganda photos of him wielding a machete in the&nbsp;sugar&nbsp;plantations -- to push the country's output to 10 million tons per year.&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;Cuban city sees thousands of red, yellow &amp; black crabs

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The goal was never achieved.&nbsp;

The fall of the communist bloc in 1991 marked the beginning of the&nbsp;end&nbsp;for Cuba's&nbsp;sugar&nbsp;industry -- exacerbated by sanctions, a steep drop in prices and a lack of investment that saw 100 mills disappear.

Just 56 are left today.

Cuba now needs to import&nbsp;sugar&nbsp;to meet local demand and its export commitments.

"We have been in decline since 2017," Noel Casanas, vice director of state-owned&nbsp;sugar&nbsp;producer AZCUBA, told AFP.

"If the situation continues, it is true that (the industry) will disappear."

Sugar&nbsp;is still an important income generator for 50 of Cuba's 169 municipalities, or some 1.2 million of the country's 11.2 million inhabitants, he said.

Practically a corpse

In December, the government approved dozens of measures in a bid to resuscitate&nbsp;sugar.

It doubled the price paid to cane producers, authorized the free hiring and firing of labor, and gave factories more decision-making autonomy in a country where just about everything is state-run.

Also read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/1962-cuban-missile-crisis-when-world-was-on-brink-of-nuclear-war-like-it-is-now-over-ukraine-455806">&nbsp;1962 Cuban missile crisis: When world was on brink of nuclear war, like it is now over Ukraine</a>

"I don't think these measures can revive an industry that is already practically a corpse," said economist Emilio Morales of the Miami-based Havana Consulting Group.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Casanas conceded production faces "limitations of all kinds" -- critically a lack of foreign investment due to the strengthening of US sanctions since the presidency of Donald Trump.

Since the cane harvest opened in December, Antonio Sanchez has not managed to exceed 65 percent of milling capacity, set at 20,000 tons for this year's harvest.

The problem has not been a lack of fuel or raw product, this time, but a shortage of harvesters and delivery trucks.

There are not enough spare parts, even tires, for vehicles in Cuba and producers such as Torres cannot afford to buy the limited components that are available.

"If you don't have harvesters, if you do not have trucks, you cannot mill," he lamented.&nbsp;

Sugar&nbsp;producers in Cuba are also hard hit by a lack of fertilizers and pesticides.

For now, the government's measures have managed to slow an exodus of&nbsp;sugar&nbsp;workers, industry bosses told AFP.

"We cannot complain, we are doing quite well -- up to 700 pesos (about $29) a day," said farmer Livan Hernandez.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/february-16th-in-history-fidel-castro-becomes-premier-of-cuba-patent-for-nylon-and-more-280959">February 16 in History: Castro becomes Premier of Cuba, Kyoto Protocol is put into action, and more!</a>

The average monthly&nbsp;Cuban&nbsp;salary is about $162.

Casanas said what is needed is foreign investment and expanding the industry into highly lucrative&nbsp;sugar&nbsp;derivatives such as bioethanol.

Sugar&nbsp;"is no longer the locomotive (of the&nbsp;Cuban&nbsp;economy) nor will it be," he said.

But "it continues to be a strategic sector... that must be developed."

A whistle reverberates through a sugar factory in central Cuba to signal the resumption of milling at midday after an hours-long halt when the raw cane ran out. It is cane harvest time in Cuba -- once the world's top sugar exporter but now reliant on imports.

A whistle reverberates through a sugar factory in central Cuba to signal the resumption of milling at midday after an hours-long halt when the raw cane ran out. It is cane harvest time in Cuba -- once the world's top sugar exporter but now reliant on imports. A critical shortage of harvesters and trucks to deliver the cane to factories has hamstrung production even as the government scrambles to revive the once-vibrant industry. Also read | Pandemic, sanctions, and long lines for fuel; Cuba battles concerns over supply and rationing Cuba's 2020-21 harvest yielded 800,000 tons of the sweet stuff, according to official figures. This was just 10 percent of peak production some three decades ago and the worst outcome in 130 years for an industry that was once Cuba's economic motor and a huge source of national pride. "This is a war without end," Lazaro Manuel Torres, boss of the Antonio Sanchez mill in Cuba's central Cienfuegos province, told AFP. "From the moment you wake up, you run into a mountain" of problems, said Torres, watching with obvious relief as a column of white smoke billowed from the chimney after the restart. Just 56 mills left Until 1989, Cuba was the world's biggest sugar exporter. The United States was its major client until 1960 -- two years before Washington imposed crippling sanctions on the communist island nation. The Soviet Union, a political ally, then became an important buyer and was given preferential rates. Sugar was at the heart of Cuba's plans for a prosperous future, with Fidel Castro leading a drive in the 1970s -- complete with propaganda photos of him wielding a machete in the sugar plantations -- to push the country's output to 10 million tons per year. Watch | Cuban city sees thousands of red, yellow & black crabs The goal was never achieved. The fall of the communist bloc in 1991 marked the beginning of the end for Cuba's sugar industry -- exacerbated by sanctions, a steep drop in prices and a lack of investment that saw 100 mills disappear. Just 56 are left today. Cuba now needs to import sugar to meet local demand and its export commitments. "We have been in decline since 2017," Noel Casanas, vice director of state-owned sugar producer AZCUBA, told AFP. "If the situation continues, it is true that (the industry) will disappear." Sugar is still an important income generator for 50 of Cuba's 169 municipalities, or some 1.2 million of the country's 11.2 million inhabitants, he said. Practically a corpse In December, the government approved dozens of measures in a bid to resuscitate sugar. It doubled the price paid to cane producers, authorized the free hiring and firing of labor, and gave factories more decision-making autonomy in a country where just about everything is state-run. Also read | 1962 Cuban missile crisis: When world was on brink of nuclear war, like it is now over Ukraine "I don't think these measures can revive an industry that is already practically a corpse," said economist Emilio Morales of the Miami-based Havana Consulting Group. Casanas conceded production faces "limitations of all kinds" -- critically a lack of foreign investment due to the strengthening of US sanctions since the presidency of Donald Trump. Since the cane harvest opened in December, Antonio Sanchez has not managed to exceed 65 percent of milling capacity, set at 20,000 tons for this year's harvest. The problem has not been a lack of fuel or raw product, this time, but a shortage of harvesters and delivery trucks. There are not enough spare parts, even tires, for vehicles in Cuba and producers such as Torres cannot afford to buy the limited components that are available. "If you don't have harvesters, if you do not have trucks, you cannot mill," he lamented. Sugar producers in Cuba are also hard hit by a lack of fertilizers and pesticides. For now, the government's measures have managed to slow an exodus of sugar workers, industry bosses told AFP. "We cannot complain, we are doing quite well -- up to 700 pesos (about $29) a day," said farmer Livan Hernandez. Also read | February 16 in History: Castro becomes Premier of Cuba, Kyoto Protocol is put into action, and more! The average monthly Cuban salary is about $162. Casanas said what is needed is foreign investment and expanding the industry into highly lucrative sugar derivatives such as bioethanol. Sugar "is no longer the locomotive (of the Cuban economy) nor will it be," he said. But "it continues to be a strategic sector... that must be developed."

The struggle to save Cuban sugar from a bitter end

A Cuban city of Matanzas is seeing swarms of crabs. The number of red crabs dramatically increased during Covid. During spring, millions of red, yellow, black crabs migrate from forest to sea. Due to reduced traffic during Covid, crabs increased in numbers & size.

Cuban city sees thousands of red, yellow & black crabs

After losing two years to the COVID-19 pandemic, shopkeepers in the heart of the Turkish Riviera had hoped for a strong tourism season this year to help keep their businesses afloat. But Russia's war in Ukraine is fast dampening their spirits.

We're trying to earn our bread through tourism, but it looks like the war has finished off this (tourism) season, too, Devrim Akcay said outside his clothing shop in the resort town of Belek, along the Mediterranean coast's Antalya province.

Nowhere is the threat of just one ripple effect of the war&nbsp;lost tourism&nbsp;felt more strongly than in Antalya, a region dotted with shimmering beaches and archeological sites where visitors from Russia and Ukraine, along with Germany, make up the top contributors to tourism revenue.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russias-central-bank-governor-wanted-to-resign-over-ukraine-putin-refused-report-465185">Russia's central bank governor wanted to resign over Ukraine, Putin refused: Report</a>

Countries from Turkey to Thailand, Egypt and Cuba are bracing for the loss of Russian and Ukrainian visitors just as their travel sectors were looking to rebound from the pandemic. With many tourist-dependent economies also struggling with surging inflation and other woes, hotel workers, guides and others who serve visitors from the two warring nations expect more pain.

The turquoise waters and white sand beaches of the Cuban resort of Varadero, which until recently received a significant number of tourists mainly Russians are now almost empty.

Russians accounted for almost a third of Cuba's visitors last year more than 146,000&nbsp;and some saw them as the way to get some oxygen to an industry ailing from the pandemic and tighter sanctions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Now, we also have to get by without the Russian tourism,&nbsp;said Jos&nbsp;Luis Perell&nbsp;Cabrera, a Cuban economist and tourism expert. 
The Association of Tour Operators of Russia estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 Russian tourists were on the island when the war in Ukraine broke out. Several flights left from Varadero in early March to bring them home.

Losing that market is a strong blow to Cuba, said Natasha Strelkova, Russian-Cuban tour operator and guide on the island.

Across the Atlantic, Russians and Ukrainians can represent up to 35% of Egypt's tourists annually, said Hisham el-Demiry, former head of the government-run Tourism Development Authority.

He worries the economic crisis brought on by the war could mean fewer guests overall.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/we-are-a-nuclear-power-why-not-top-russian-diplomat-over-ukraine-invasion-465180">'We are a nuclear power, why not?': Top Russian diplomat over Ukraine invasion</a>

It's a huge impact, a domino effect. ... The war has changed people's priorities, and tourism, which is a very sensitive industry, will be the first victim,&nbsp;he said.

Rania Ali, a reception manager at a four-star hotel in Hurghada, said they were over 75% occupied early before the war, now we are just 35%.&nbsp;Russians were just among the top 10 groups of visitors to Thailand until late last year, when the country began to reopen to international tourists. Russia restarted charter flights relatively early and in winter, when Thailand's balmy temperatures make it a highly desirable destination, helping its people become the top visitors among the modest numbers that Thailand started welcoming back.

The November-to-March season when Russians usually visit is drawing to an end, and the plunge in the ruble's value makes travel to Thailand and anywhere else far more costly now, said Chattan Kunjira Na Ayudhya, deputy governor for International Marketing for the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

This probably will lead Russian tourists to shift to destinations that offer them all-inclusive packages with better prices,&nbsp;he said.

In Turkey, officials had hoped that with pandemic restrictions easing, tourism could replicate or exceed the numbers from 2019, when some 52 million visitors&nbsp;including about 7 million Russians and 1.6 million Ukrainians &nbsp;brought $34 billion in revenue. The overall number of visitors dropped to 15 million in 2020 but recovered to around 29 million last year.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had strategized that opening up the economy and delivering big growth this year could help him get reelected next year, experts say. It's a tall order for a country with a currency crisis and inflation exceeding 54%, making it difficult for consumers to purchase even basic goods.

For that to happen, Turkey needs to have its robust tourism and trade ties with Russia unhindered,&nbsp;said Soner Cagaptay, a Turkey analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-calls-for-ukraine-ceasefire-offers-mediation-by-china-and-islamic-nations-465100">Pakistan calls for Ukraine ceasefire, offers mediation by China and Islamic nations</a>

The expectation before the war was maybe 10, 15 million Russians would be visiting Turkey this summer that will be spending 10 billion dollars, a shot in the arm for Turkey's ailing economy," Cagaptay said.

Now, business groups say they're seeing erosion in trade both ways, including a fall in demand for Turkish produce because Russian buyers are struggling to make payments. That's despite Turkey not joining in sanctions against Moscow.

Agricultural grower and exporter Nevzat Akcan worries he may not be able to ship the red bell peppers he grows in greenhouses in the district of Aksu solely for Russian and Ukrainian markets.

May God protect us if we join the sanctions against Russia. This would be a disaster for Turkish agriculture. We would be ruined and finished," Akcan said. I don't even want to think about it.&nbsp;NATO-member Turkey, which has cultivated close ties with both Russia and Ukraine, is trying to balance those relations and has positioned itself as a neutral party trying to mediate. Turkey has criticized Russia's military actions in Ukraine as unacceptable but also said it would not give up on either side.

The Antalya region is haunted by the memory of 2016, when Russia inflicted a serious blow to Turkey's economy by barring the import of some agricultural produce and stopping charter flights there after the Turkish military shot down a Russian fighter plane in 2015.

Agriculture has already started to suffer from the effects of the war, said Davut Cetin, head of the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Ukrainian market has been shut down. No fresh fruit or vegetable is leaving for Ukraine now, Cetin said.&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;Russia expels several American diplomats in tit-for-tat move

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After losing two years to the COVID-19 pandemic, shopkeepers in the heart of the Turkish Riviera had hoped for a strong tourism season this year to help keep their businesses afloat.

After losing two years to the COVID-19 pandemic, shopkeepers in the heart of the Turkish Riviera had hoped for a strong tourism season this year to help keep their businesses afloat. But Russia's war in Ukraine is fast dampening their spirits. We're trying to earn our bread through tourism, but it looks like the war has finished off this (tourism) season, too, Devrim Akcay said outside his clothing shop in the resort town of Belek, along the Mediterranean coast's Antalya province. Nowhere is the threat of just one ripple effect of the war lost tourism felt more strongly than in Antalya, a region dotted with shimmering beaches and archeological sites where visitors from Russia and Ukraine, along with Germany, make up the top contributors to tourism revenue. Also read | Russia's central bank governor wanted to resign over Ukraine, Putin refused: Report Countries from Turkey to Thailand, Egypt and Cuba are bracing for the loss of Russian and Ukrainian visitors just as their travel sectors were looking to rebound from the pandemic. With many tourist-dependent economies also struggling with surging inflation and other woes, hotel workers, guides and others who serve visitors from the two warring nations expect more pain. The turquoise waters and white sand beaches of the Cuban resort of Varadero, which until recently received a significant number of tourists mainly Russians are now almost empty. Russians accounted for almost a third of Cuba's visitors last year more than 146,000 and some saw them as the way to get some oxygen to an industry ailing from the pandemic and tighter sanctions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump. Now, we also have to get by without the Russian tourism, said Jos Luis Perell Cabrera, a Cuban economist and tourism expert. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 Russian tourists were on the island when the war in Ukraine broke out. Several flights left from Varadero in early March to bring them home. Losing that market is a strong blow to Cuba, said Natasha Strelkova, Russian-Cuban tour operator and guide on the island. Across the Atlantic, Russians and Ukrainians can represent up to 35% of Egypt's tourists annually, said Hisham el-Demiry, former head of the government-run Tourism Development Authority. He worries the economic crisis brought on by the war could mean fewer guests overall. Also read | 'We are a nuclear power, why not?': Top Russian diplomat over Ukraine invasion It's a huge impact, a domino effect. ... The war has changed people's priorities, and tourism, which is a very sensitive industry, will be the first victim, he said. Rania Ali, a reception manager at a four-star hotel in Hurghada, said they were over 75% occupied early before the war, now we are just 35%. Russians were just among the top 10 groups of visitors to Thailand until late last year, when the country began to reopen to international tourists. Russia restarted charter flights relatively early and in winter, when Thailand's balmy temperatures make it a highly desirable destination, helping its people become the top visitors among the modest numbers that Thailand started welcoming back. The November-to-March season when Russians usually visit is drawing to an end, and the plunge in the ruble's value makes travel to Thailand and anywhere else far more costly now, said Chattan Kunjira Na Ayudhya, deputy governor for International Marketing for the Tourism Authority of Thailand. This probably will lead Russian tourists to shift to destinations that offer them all-inclusive packages with better prices, he said. In Turkey, officials had hoped that with pandemic restrictions easing, tourism could replicate or exceed the numbers from 2019, when some 52 million visitors including about 7 million Russians and 1.6 million Ukrainians brought $34 billion in revenue. The overall number of visitors dropped to 15 million in 2020 but recovered to around 29 million last year. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had strategized that opening up the economy and delivering big growth this year could help him get reelected next year, experts say. It's a tall order for a country with a currency crisis and inflation exceeding 54%, making it difficult for consumers to purchase even basic goods. For that to happen, Turkey needs to have its robust tourism and trade ties with Russia unhindered, said Soner Cagaptay, a Turkey analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Also read | Pakistan calls for Ukraine ceasefire, offers mediation by China and Islamic nations The expectation before the war was maybe 10, 15 million Russians would be visiting Turkey this summer that will be spending 10 billion dollars, a shot in the arm for Turkey's ailing economy," Cagaptay said. Now, business groups say they're seeing erosion in trade both ways, including a fall in demand for Turkish produce because Russian buyers are struggling to make payments. That's despite Turkey not joining in sanctions against Moscow. Agricultural grower and exporter Nevzat Akcan worries he may not be able to ship the red bell peppers he grows in greenhouses in the district of Aksu solely for Russian and Ukrainian markets. May God protect us if we join the sanctions against Russia. This would be a disaster for Turkish agriculture. We would be ruined and finished," Akcan said. I don't even want to think about it. NATO-member Turkey, which has cultivated close ties with both Russia and Ukraine, is trying to balance those relations and has positioned itself as a neutral party trying to mediate. Turkey has criticized Russia's military actions in Ukraine as unacceptable but also said it would not give up on either side. The Antalya region is haunted by the memory of 2016, when Russia inflicted a serious blow to Turkey's economy by barring the import of some agricultural produce and stopping charter flights there after the Turkish military shot down a Russian fighter plane in 2015. Agriculture has already started to suffer from the effects of the war, said Davut Cetin, head of the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Ukrainian market has been shut down. No fresh fruit or vegetable is leaving for Ukraine now, Cetin said. Watch | Russia expels several American diplomats in tit-for-tat move

Countries brace for hit to tourism from Russia-Ukraine war

Pandemic, sanctions, and long lines for fuel; Cuba battles concerns over supply and rationing

Cuba is struggling to reawaken its tourism industry after months of pandemic-induced slumber as U.S travellers stay away, threatening to derail the communist-run government's plan to haul the Caribbean island's economy from a deepening crisis.

Covid: Cuban tourism industry struggles. Is Cuba suffering from image problem?

Cuba&nbsp;on Saturday announced a new 10 per cent tax on retail food sales, as the country endures economic woes marked by rampant inflation.

The levy taking effect Monday will target self-employed people and small- and medium-sized companies in the retail food sector, said the decree published in the official government gazette. These sales were only allowed starting in August of last year as part of reforms in the communist-run island.

Cuban economist Pedro Monreal wrote on Twitter that the new tax will probably have two effects: higher food prices and more inequality among the Cuban people.

Monreal said it will hurt "lower-income households that spend a relatively higher percentage of their resources on food."

Monetary reforms applied last year caused prices of goods and services to shoot up in&nbsp;Cuba, mainly those of food. Inflation last year came in at 70 per cent.

People have to wait in long lines for scarce supplies of food and medicine.

Cuba&nbsp;imports 80 per cent of the food it consumes. Its purchases have declined drastically due to a shortage of hard currency and because of international transport problems stemming from the Covid pandemic.

Cuba on Saturday announced a new 10 per cent tax on retail food sales, as the country endures economic woes marked by rampant inflation. The levy taking effect Monday will target self-employed people and small- and medium-sized companies in the retail food sector, said the decree published in the official government gazette.

Cuba on Saturday announced a new 10 per cent tax on retail food sales, as the country endures economic woes marked by rampant inflation. The levy taking effect Monday will target self-employed people and small- and medium-sized companies in the retail food sector, said the decree published in the official government gazette. These sales were only allowed starting in August of last year as part of reforms in the communist-run island. Cuban economist Pedro Monreal wrote on Twitter that the new tax will probably have two effects: higher food prices and more inequality among the Cuban people. Monreal said it will hurt "lower-income households that spend a relatively higher percentage of their resources on food." Monetary reforms applied last year caused prices of goods and services to shoot up in Cuba, mainly those of food. Inflation last year came in at 70 per cent. People have to wait in long lines for scarce supplies of food and medicine. Cuba imports 80 per cent of the food it consumes. Its purchases have declined drastically due to a shortage of hard currency and because of international transport problems stemming from the Covid pandemic.

Cuba slaps new tax on food sales as economic woes hit hard

The world's largest cruise liner is forcing Cuban crew members to work under ''slave labour'' conditions as per a new report.

The report states that the wages of these crew members are being used to fund the Communist regime.

They have been denied access to their passports by MSC Cruises and 80 per cent of their money is being handed over to the Cuban authorities.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/cruise-ships-restart-in-venice-protesters-decry-their-risks-389638">Also read |&nbsp;Cruise ships restart in Venice; protesters decry their risks</a>

The scathing report highlights how the government of Cuba is benefitting from exporting workers including doctors on international missions where their human rights are seriously compromised.

Meanwhile, Cuban opposition group Campaign Prisoners Defenders has claimed that the staff working on the cruise are subjected to discrimination and face exploitative conditions.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/the-moment-a-cruise-ship-collided-with-a-tourist-boat-in-venice-223851/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

A Cuban who worked as a chambermaid on MSC cruise liners said they are forced to sign separate contracts.

“The hours were very long, I was exploited and I suffered bullying from senior members of the Cuban crew and was harassed by another staff member but I felt trapped with no one who could help me,” she added.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/a-towering-cruise-ship-collides-with-venice-tourist-boat-injuring-four-people-223831">Also read |Cruise ship collides with tourist boat in Venice; four injured</a>

“Cubans on medical missions are controlled as regards who they can meet, have relations with, and where they are allowed to travel. Such rules violate basic human rights and it is up to the countries who host the missions to say enough is enough,” said Juan Pappier, senior researcher for the Americas at Human Rights Watch.

MSC Group includes container shipping and logistics businesses in addition to cruises.

The Swiss company MSC Cruises was the first cruise line to base a ship in Cuba. Its 2,120-passenger MSC Opera takes up winter residence in Havana from December to April, in partnership with a Cuban state-owned travel firm.

(With inputs from agencies)

The world's largest cruise liner is forcing Cuban crew members to work under ''slave labour'' conditions as per a new report. The report states that the wages of these crew members are being used to fund the Communist regime.

The world's largest cruise liner is forcing Cuban crew members to work under ''slave labour'' conditions as per a new report. The report states that the wages of these crew members are being used to fund the Communist regime. They have been denied access to their passports by MSC Cruises and 80 per cent of their money is being handed over to the Cuban authorities. Also read | Cruise ships restart in Venice; protesters decry their risks The scathing report highlights how the government of Cuba is benefitting from exporting workers including doctors on international missions where their human rights are seriously compromised. Meanwhile, Cuban opposition group Campaign Prisoners Defenders has claimed that the staff working on the cruise are subjected to discrimination and face exploitative conditions. A Cuban who worked as a chambermaid on MSC cruise liners said they are forced to sign separate contracts. “The hours were very long, I was exploited and I suffered bullying from senior members of the Cuban crew and was harassed by another staff member but I felt trapped with no one who could help me,” she added. Also read |Cruise ship collides with tourist boat in Venice; four injured “Cubans on medical missions are controlled as regards who they can meet, have relations with, and where they are allowed to travel. Such rules violate basic human rights and it is up to the countries who host the missions to say enough is enough,” said Juan Pappier, senior researcher for the Americas at Human Rights Watch. MSC Group includes container shipping and logistics businesses in addition to cruises. The Swiss company MSC Cruises was the first cruise line to base a ship in Cuba. Its 2,120-passenger MSC Opera takes up winter residence in Havana from December to April, in partnership with a Cuban state-owned travel firm. (With inputs from agencies)

World's largest cruise liner forcing Cuban crew members to work under 'slave labour' conditions

The 11th of January, 2022 marked 20 years since the opening of Guantanamo Bay, the infamous US prison in Cuba.

20 years since the opening of Guantanamo Bay, the infamous US prison in Cuba

With new US sanctions denting Communist Cuba's economy, recovery hopes for the nation seemed grim. Cuba's economy had declined 10.9% in 2020.

Communist-run country Cuba struggling to recover from economic crisis

Around 600 children from Burkina Faso sent to Cuba 35 years ago are still struggling to survive as Sankara's scheme backfires.

Sankara's scheme to train youngsters in Cuba backfires as 600 youngsters still struggling to survive

Mavys Alvarez, a Cuban woman who had a relationship with late soccer star Diego Maradona two decades ago, told a news conference on Monday that the Argentine player had raped her when she was a teenager and "stolen her childhood."

Alvarez, now 37, gave testimony last week to an Argentine Ministry of Justice court that is investigating her allegations of trafficking against Maradona`s former entourage, linked to events when she was 16. 
Maradona, widely considered one of the greatest ever soccer stars, died a year ago on Nov. 25, 2020. The complaint relates to a journey Alvarez took to Argentina with Maradona in 2001, when he was around 40 and she was 16.

Alvarez said that she first met the soccer star shortly before the trip, when he was in Cuba to undergo drug addiction treatment. At a news conference in Buenos Aires, Alvarez said Maradona had raped her in the clinic in Havana where he was staying, while her mother was in the next room.

"He covers my mouth, he rapes me, I don`t want to think about it too much," Alvarez said. "I stopped being a girl, all my innocence was stolen from me. It`s hard. You stop living the innocent things that a girl of that age has to experience."

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/cristiano-ronaldo-pays-heartfelt-tribute-to-ole-gunnar-solskjaer-after-manchester-united-sacking-431223">Cristiano Ronaldo pays heartfelt tribute to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after Manchester United sacking</a>

Matias Morla, Maradona`s lawyer before his death, did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not identify other legal representatives for Maradona in the case. Alvarez has previously described the relationship in media interviews as consensual, but also said that Maradona had at least on one occasion forced himself upon her. 
She said that her family had only allowed a relationship with the star to happen, despite the large age gap, because of Maradona`s friendship with the late Cuban President Fidel Castro.

"My family would never have accepted it if the Cuban government had not been involved," she said. "They were forced in another way to accept a relationship that was not good for them, or for anyone." 
Cuba`s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Alvarez said she had filed the complaint "in order to help all women, all victims of trafficking, of crime," she said. "To be able to help them in whatever way I can. That`s my idea."

She said it was hard to be back in Argentina, where Maradona remains a hero to many. "It`s hard to be in his country, to see that he is everywhere, he is an idol and at the same time everything I remember about him as a person feels ugly," she said.

Mavys Alvarez, a Cuban woman who had a relationship with late soccer star Diego Maradona two decades ago, told a news conference on Monday that the Argentine player had raped her when she was a teenager and "stolen her childhood.

Mavys Alvarez, a Cuban woman who had a relationship with late soccer star Diego Maradona two decades ago, told a news conference on Monday that the Argentine player had raped her when she was a teenager and "stolen her childhood." Alvarez, now 37, gave testimony last week to an Argentine Ministry of Justice court that is investigating her allegations of trafficking against Maradona`s former entourage, linked to events when she was 16. Maradona, widely considered one of the greatest ever soccer stars, died a year ago on Nov. 25, 2020. The complaint relates to a journey Alvarez took to Argentina with Maradona in 2001, when he was around 40 and she was 16. Alvarez said that she first met the soccer star shortly before the trip, when he was in Cuba to undergo drug addiction treatment. At a news conference in Buenos Aires, Alvarez said Maradona had raped her in the clinic in Havana where he was staying, while her mother was in the next room. "He covers my mouth, he rapes me, I don`t want to think about it too much," Alvarez said. "I stopped being a girl, all my innocence was stolen from me. It`s hard. You stop living the innocent things that a girl of that age has to experience." ALSO READ | Cristiano Ronaldo pays heartfelt tribute to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after Manchester United sacking Matias Morla, Maradona`s lawyer before his death, did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not identify other legal representatives for Maradona in the case. Alvarez has previously described the relationship in media interviews as consensual, but also said that Maradona had at least on one occasion forced himself upon her. She said that her family had only allowed a relationship with the star to happen, despite the large age gap, because of Maradona`s friendship with the late Cuban President Fidel Castro. "My family would never have accepted it if the Cuban government had not been involved," she said. "They were forced in another way to accept a relationship that was not good for them, or for anyone." Cuba`s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Alvarez said she had filed the complaint "in order to help all women, all victims of trafficking, of crime," she said. "To be able to help them in whatever way I can. That`s my idea." She said it was hard to be back in Argentina, where Maradona remains a hero to many. "It`s hard to be in his country, to see that he is everywhere, he is an idol and at the same time everything I remember about him as a person feels ugly," she said.

Cuban woman claims Argentina's great late Diego Maradona raped her as teenager, ''stole my childhood''

Taking advantage of zero human presence during the COVID-19 pandemic, several exotic animals at a zoo in Cuba decided to engage in romantic encounters that led to a sudden surge in population of animals, including from some species that otherwise faced the threat of extinction.

The newborns include leopards, bengal tigers, zebras, giraffes and antelopes as well as oxen, according to veterinarian Rachel Ortiz of the zoo.

“While the epidemic has been negative for humans, it has proved beneficial in the case of zoos,” Ortiz told Reuters&nbsp; news agency.

“In particular, our park has had more than ten births of high-value species in danger of extinction, which may at some point rehabilitate biodiversity,” he said.

Ortiz said since the zoo was closed for the public during the pandemic, animals felt more relaxed which helped them to engage in reproductive activities.

The National Zoo, home to 1,473 animals of more than 120 species, including large mammals like elephants and rhinos, is a popular attraction for Cubans.

Cuba, a Caribbean island of white sand beaches and turquoise waters popular with tourists, closed its borders for nearly two years amid the epidemic and imposed strict quarantines to restrict the spread of the coronavirus.

Deborah Maso, a doctor who oversees the African savannah exhibits, said the zoo faced shortages of food and medicines during the epidemic, but the workers dedicated the time needed to ensure that “the animals were successful in their endeavours”.

The birth of a baby giraffe, named Rachel, was particularly moving, Maso said.

“The birth of a giraffe stood out… It was a great achievement,” Maso said.

The officials believe that the National Zoo, which was recently opened to the public, will gain more attraction as the visitors may now baby leopard and giraffe.

(With inputs from agencies)

Taking advantage of zero human presence during the COVID-19 pandemic, several exotic animals at a zoo in Cuba decided to engage in romantic encounters that led to a sudden surge in population of animals, including from some species that otherwise faced the threat of extinction.

Taking advantage of zero human presence during the COVID-19 pandemic, several exotic animals at a zoo in Cuba decided to engage in romantic encounters that led to a sudden surge in population of animals, including from some species that otherwise faced the threat of extinction. The newborns include leopards, bengal tigers, zebras, giraffes and antelopes as well as oxen, according to veterinarian Rachel Ortiz of the zoo. “While the epidemic has been negative for humans, it has proved beneficial in the case of zoos,” Ortiz told Reuters news agency. “In particular, our park has had more than ten births of high-value species in danger of extinction, which may at some point rehabilitate biodiversity,” he said. Ortiz said since the zoo was closed for the public during the pandemic, animals felt more relaxed which helped them to engage in reproductive activities. The National Zoo, home to 1,473 animals of more than 120 species, including large mammals like elephants and rhinos, is a popular attraction for Cubans. Cuba, a Caribbean island of white sand beaches and turquoise waters popular with tourists, closed its borders for nearly two years amid the epidemic and imposed strict quarantines to restrict the spread of the coronavirus. Deborah Maso, a doctor who oversees the African savannah exhibits, said the zoo faced shortages of food and medicines during the epidemic, but the workers dedicated the time needed to ensure that “the animals were successful in their endeavours”. The birth of a baby giraffe, named Rachel, was particularly moving, Maso said. “The birth of a giraffe stood out… It was a great achievement,” Maso said. The officials believe that the National Zoo, which was recently opened to the public, will gain more attraction as the visitors may now baby leopard and giraffe. (With inputs from agencies)

Lockdown baby boom: Cuban zoo welcomes newborns of several exotic, endangered animals

A suburban Baltimore high school graduate turned al-Qaida courier, speaking to a military jury for the first time, gave a detailed account Thursday of the brutal forced feedings, crude waterboarding and other physical and sexual abuse he endured during his 2003 to 2006 detention in the CIA’s overseas prison network.

Appearing in open court, Majid Khan, 41, became the first former prisoner of the black sites to openly describe, anywhere, the violent and cruel “enhanced interrogation techniques” that agents used to extract information and confessions from terrorism suspects.

For more than two hours, he spoke about dungeonlike conditions, humiliating stretches of nudity with only a hood on his head, sometimes while his arms were chained in ways that made sleep impossible, and being intentionally nearly drowned in icy cold water in tubs at two sites, once while a CIA interrogator counted down from 10 before water was poured into his nose and mouth.

Soon after his capture in Pakistan in March 2003, Khan said, he cooperated with his captors, telling them everything he knew, with the hope of release. “Instead, the more I cooperated, the more I was tortured,” he said.

The dramatic accounting capped a day in which eight U.S. military officers were selected to serve on a jury, which will deliberate Friday on his official sentence in the range of 25 to 40 years, starting from his guilty plea in February 2012.

But the sentence is largely symbolic, a military commission requirement

Unknown to the jurors, Khan and his lawyers reached a secret deal this year with a senior Pentagon official in which his actual sentence could end as early as February and no later than February 2025 because Khan had become a government cooperator upon pleading guilty.

Jurors were told that in 2012 Khan pleaded guilty to terrorism charges, including murder in violation of the law of war, for delivering $50,000 of al-Qaida money from Pakistan to an al-Qaida affiliate in early 2003. The money was used in a deadly bombing of a Marriott hotel in August 2003, while Khan was a prisoner of the CIA. He has said he did not know how the money would be used.

He also admitted to plotting a number of other crimes with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, notably by wearing a suicide vest in a failed effort in 2002 to assassinate the president of Pakistan at the time, Pervez Musharraf, a U.S. ally in the war on terrorism.

Sentencing was delayed for nearly a decade to give Khan time and opportunity to cooperate with federal and military prosecutors, so far behind the scenes, in federal and military terrorism cases. In the intervening years, prosecutors and defence lawyers clashed in court filings over who would be called to testify about Khan’s abuse in CIA custody, and how.

In court Thursday, Khan read from a carefully worded 39-page account that did not identify CIA agents or the countries and foreign intelligence agencies that had a role in his secret detention at black sites — information that is protected at the national security court. He expressed remorse for hurting people through his embrace of radical Islam and al-Qaida, but also found a way around a labyrinth of U.S. intelligence classifications to realize a decade-long ambition to tell the world what U.S. agents had done to him.

“To those who tortured me, I forgive you,” he said, noting that while he was in custody he had rejected al-Qaida, terrorism, “violence and hatred.”

“I hope in the day of judgment that Allah will do the same for you and for me. I ask forgiveness from those whom I have wronged and I have hurt.”

It was an emotional day for Khan. His father, Ali, and a sister, both U.S. citizens, sat behind the court in a gallery, seeing him in person for the first time since he left the United States and joined al-Qaida after the Sept. 11 attacks. They were 50 feet from him and did not seem to recognize the now balding middle-age man with a gray goatee when he first entered the court.

After many minutes he caught their eyes, then waved. His father looked startled. Khan craned his neck frequently during the proceedings to see his family — and at one point formed a heart with his hands.

He juxtaposed his remarks of contrition with previously unheard details of what happened to him at the hands of the United States, the country his parents and siblings adopted by becoming citizens even as he did not.

His father wept through long stretches of the descriptions, at times hiding his head in his hands, while his sister, also tearful, tried to comfort him. The jury of Marine, Navy and Army officers watched and listened soberly, but displayed no emotion.

He received beatings while nude and spent long stretches in chains — at times shackled to a wall and crouching “like a dog,” he said, or with his arms extended high above his head and chained to a beam inside his cell. He was kept in darkness and dragged, hooded and shackled, his head slamming into floors, walls and stairs as he was moved between cells.

Before the CIA moved him from one prison to another, he said, a medic inserted an enema and then put him in a diaper held in place by duct tape so he would not need a bathroom break during flights. Guards moving him would hood him, aside from the time he had his face duct taped.

While held in a Muslim country, he said, his captors allowed him to pray. But at times the Americans did not.

Earlier accounts released by his lawyers said he was so sleep deprived for a time that he began to hallucinate. He described the experience: images of a cow and a giant lizard advancing on him inside a cell while he was chained to a beam above his head. He tried to kick them away but lost his balance, causing his chains to jerk him.

Khan gained attention with the release of a 2014 study of the CIA program by the Senate Intelligence Committee that said, after he refused to eat, his captors “infused” a puree of his lunch through his anus. The CIA called it rectal refeeding. Khan called it rape.

The CIA pumped water up the rectum of prisoners who would not follow a command to drink. Khan said this was done to him with “green garden hoses. They connected one end to the faucet, put the other in my rectum and they turned on the water.” He said he lost control of his bowels after those episodes and, to this day, has haemorrhoids.

He spoke about failed and sadistic responses to his hunger strikes and other acts of rebellion. Medics would roughly insert a feeding tube up his nose and down the back of his throat. He would try to bite it off and, in at least one instance, he said, a CIA officer used a plunger to force food inside his stomach, a technique that caused stomach cramps and diarrhoea.

The intelligence agency declined Thursday to comment on the descriptions offered in the hearing but noted that the CIA’s detention and interrogation program ended in 2009.

Lawyers sought permission to bring Khan’s wife and daughter, who was born after his capture, to the court, but the commander of the military’s Southern Command, which oversees prison operations, opposed their attendance. Like Khan, who acquired permanent resident status as a boy in the United States but never became a U.S. citizen, his wife and daughter are citizens of Pakistan.

Khan began by telling the jury that he was born in Saudi Arabia and was raised in Pakistan, the youngest son of eight siblings, until his father acquired a gas station in Maryland and moved the family to the United States when he was 16. He went on to graduate from a high school in suburban Baltimore and was working for a telecommunications contractor that managed the Pentagon phone system at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks.

He described the attacks and the death of his mother months earlier in 2001 as a turning point in his life.

Until then, he said, he had straddled two worlds: his traditional Pakistani family life and that of an American teenager who “smoked weed occasionally and had my share of girlfriends,” both of which he hid from his mother. After she died, he said, he was drawn to practicing Islam.

He rejected the explanation that Muslims had carried out the attack, “thinking that this was just another way the universe was kicking me while I was down, making me question my faith in Islam.”

During a family trip to Pakistan in 2002 — in which both he and his sister found spouses in arranged marriages — he encountered relatives, cousins and an uncle who had in earlier years joined the jihad in Afghanistan and had ties to al-Qaida.

“I was lost and vulnerable, and they went after me,” he said, including by showing him “propaganda videos” about the detention operation at Guantánamo, the base where he would be transferred for trial in 2006.

“I went willingly to al-Qaida,” he said. “I was stupid, so incredibly stupid. But they promised to relieve my pain and purify my sins. They promised to redeem me, and I believed them.”

A suburban Baltimore high school graduate turned al-Qaida courier, speaking to a military jury for the first time, gave a detailed account Thursday of the brutal forced feedings, crude waterboarding and other physical and sexual abuse he endured during his 2003 to 2006 detention in the CIA’s overseas prison network.

A suburban Baltimore high school graduate turned al-Qaida courier, speaking to a military jury for the first time, gave a detailed account Thursday of the brutal forced feedings, crude waterboarding and other physical and sexual abuse he endured during his 2003 to 2006 detention in the CIA’s overseas prison network. Appearing in open court, Majid Khan, 41, became the first former prisoner of the black sites to openly describe, anywhere, the violent and cruel “enhanced interrogation techniques” that agents used to extract information and confessions from terrorism suspects. For more than two hours, he spoke about dungeonlike conditions, humiliating stretches of nudity with only a hood on his head, sometimes while his arms were chained in ways that made sleep impossible, and being intentionally nearly drowned in icy cold water in tubs at two sites, once while a CIA interrogator counted down from 10 before water was poured into his nose and mouth. Soon after his capture in Pakistan in March 2003, Khan said, he cooperated with his captors, telling them everything he knew, with the hope of release. “Instead, the more I cooperated, the more I was tortured,” he said. The dramatic accounting capped a day in which eight U.S. military officers were selected to serve on a jury, which will deliberate Friday on his official sentence in the range of 25 to 40 years, starting from his guilty plea in February 2012. But the sentence is largely symbolic, a military commission requirement Unknown to the jurors, Khan and his lawyers reached a secret deal this year with a senior Pentagon official in which his actual sentence could end as early as February and no later than February 2025 because Khan had become a government cooperator upon pleading guilty. Jurors were told that in 2012 Khan pleaded guilty to terrorism charges, including murder in violation of the law of war, for delivering $50,000 of al-Qaida money from Pakistan to an al-Qaida affiliate in early 2003. The money was used in a deadly bombing of a Marriott hotel in August 2003, while Khan was a prisoner of the CIA. He has said he did not know how the money would be used. He also admitted to plotting a number of other crimes with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, notably by wearing a suicide vest in a failed effort in 2002 to assassinate the president of Pakistan at the time, Pervez Musharraf, a U.S. ally in the war on terrorism. Sentencing was delayed for nearly a decade to give Khan time and opportunity to cooperate with federal and military prosecutors, so far behind the scenes, in federal and military terrorism cases. In the intervening years, prosecutors and defence lawyers clashed in court filings over who would be called to testify about Khan’s abuse in CIA custody, and how. In court Thursday, Khan read from a carefully worded 39-page account that did not identify CIA agents or the countries and foreign intelligence agencies that had a role in his secret detention at black sites — information that is protected at the national security court. He expressed remorse for hurting people through his embrace of radical Islam and al-Qaida, but also found a way around a labyrinth of U.S. intelligence classifications to realize a decade-long ambition to tell the world what U.S. agents had done to him. “To those who tortured me, I forgive you,” he said, noting that while he was in custody he had rejected al-Qaida, terrorism, “violence and hatred.” “I hope in the day of judgment that Allah will do the same for you and for me. I ask forgiveness from those whom I have wronged and I have hurt.” It was an emotional day for Khan. His father, Ali, and a sister, both U.S. citizens, sat behind the court in a gallery, seeing him in person for the first time since he left the United States and joined al-Qaida after the Sept. 11 attacks. They were 50 feet from him and did not seem to recognize the now balding middle-age man with a gray goatee when he first entered the court. After many minutes he caught their eyes, then waved. His father looked startled. Khan craned his neck frequently during the proceedings to see his family — and at one point formed a heart with his hands. He juxtaposed his remarks of contrition with previously unheard details of what happened to him at the hands of the United States, the country his parents and siblings adopted by becoming citizens even as he did not. His father wept through long stretches of the descriptions, at times hiding his head in his hands, while his sister, also tearful, tried to comfort him. The jury of Marine, Navy and Army officers watched and listened soberly, but displayed no emotion. He received beatings while nude and spent long stretches in chains — at times shackled to a wall and crouching “like a dog,” he said, or with his arms extended high above his head and chained to a beam inside his cell. He was kept in darkness and dragged, hooded and shackled, his head slamming into floors, walls and stairs as he was moved between cells. Before the CIA moved him from one prison to another, he said, a medic inserted an enema and then put him in a diaper held in place by duct tape so he would not need a bathroom break during flights. Guards moving him would hood him, aside from the time he had his face duct taped. While held in a Muslim country, he said, his captors allowed him to pray. But at times the Americans did not. Earlier accounts released by his lawyers said he was so sleep deprived for a time that he began to hallucinate. He described the experience: images of a cow and a giant lizard advancing on him inside a cell while he was chained to a beam above his head. He tried to kick them away but lost his balance, causing his chains to jerk him. Khan gained attention with the release of a 2014 study of the CIA program by the Senate Intelligence Committee that said, after he refused to eat, his captors “infused” a puree of his lunch through his anus. The CIA called it rectal refeeding. Khan called it rape. The CIA pumped water up the rectum of prisoners who would not follow a command to drink. Khan said this was done to him with “green garden hoses. They connected one end to the faucet, put the other in my rectum and they turned on the water.” He said he lost control of his bowels after those episodes and, to this day, has haemorrhoids. He spoke about failed and sadistic responses to his hunger strikes and other acts of rebellion. Medics would roughly insert a feeding tube up his nose and down the back of his throat. He would try to bite it off and, in at least one instance, he said, a CIA officer used a plunger to force food inside his stomach, a technique that caused stomach cramps and diarrhoea. The intelligence agency declined Thursday to comment on the descriptions offered in the hearing but noted that the CIA’s detention and interrogation program ended in 2009. Lawyers sought permission to bring Khan’s wife and daughter, who was born after his capture, to the court, but the commander of the military’s Southern Command, which oversees prison operations, opposed their attendance. Like Khan, who acquired permanent resident status as a boy in the United States but never became a U.S. citizen, his wife and daughter are citizens of Pakistan. Khan began by telling the jury that he was born in Saudi Arabia and was raised in Pakistan, the youngest son of eight siblings, until his father acquired a gas station in Maryland and moved the family to the United States when he was 16. He went on to graduate from a high school in suburban Baltimore and was working for a telecommunications contractor that managed the Pentagon phone system at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. He described the attacks and the death of his mother months earlier in 2001 as a turning point in his life. Until then, he said, he had straddled two worlds: his traditional Pakistani family life and that of an American teenager who “smoked weed occasionally and had my share of girlfriends,” both of which he hid from his mother. After she died, he said, he was drawn to practicing Islam. He rejected the explanation that Muslims had carried out the attack, “thinking that this was just another way the universe was kicking me while I was down, making me question my faith in Islam.” During a family trip to Pakistan in 2002 — in which both he and his sister found spouses in arranged marriages — he encountered relatives, cousins and an uncle who had in earlier years joined the jihad in Afghanistan and had ties to al-Qaida. “I was lost and vulnerable, and they went after me,” he said, including by showing him “propaganda videos” about the detention operation at Guantánamo, the base where he would be transferred for trial in 2006. “I went willingly to al-Qaida,” he said. “I was stupid, so incredibly stupid. But they promised to relieve my pain and purify my sins. They promised to redeem me, and I believed them.”

For first time in public, a detainee describes torture at CIA black sites

According to reports, the mysterious Havana syndrome&nbsp;has been linked to crickets and not microwave weapons as claimed earlier.

A security advisory group linked to the US State Department has reportedly found that in at least eight of the 21 cases related to the case was likely caused by insects.

In 2018, diplomats stationed in Cuba had reported hearing noises and then complained of neurological issues including suffering from vertigo.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/cia-vienna-station-chief-removed-amid-havana-syndrome-criticism-report-415559">Also Read: CIA Vienna station chief removed amid 'Havana syndrome' criticism</a>

The new report said the US administration's&nbsp;view&nbsp;that the Havana syndrome was due to microwaves or ultrasound beams was “highly unlikely”.&nbsp;

However, it did not point to a clear cause of the reported injuries and complaints by various diplomats while concluding&nbsp;that the likely source was "Indies short-tailed cricket".

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/havana-syndrome-strikes-again-what-is-it-exactly-408221">Also Read: Havana Syndrome strikes again? What is it exactly?</a>

Cuban scientists had earlier rejected the Havana syndrome&nbsp;asserting that it was not "scientifically acceptable."

The Cuban panel maintained that there was no scientific evidence to back the claims after more&nbsp;US officials reported cases of the Havana Syndrome appearing in Vienna earlier this year.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kamala-harris-trip-delayed-over-possible-havana-syndrome-case-408184">Also Read: Kamala Harris trip delayed over possible 'Havana syndrome' case</a>

The experts claimed that "no known form of energy can selectively cause brain damage" in the cases described under the Havana syndrome.

US &nbsp;intelligence chief Avril Haines had said earlier that she&nbsp;was still unsure about the so-called Havana syndrome five years after the first case was reported in Havana.

The cases have also been reported in Russia, China and the US, however, no verifiable proof of the alleged attacks has surfaced.

(With inputs from Agencies) 
&nbsp;

According to reports, the mysterious Havana syndrome has been linked to crickets and not microwave weapons as claimed earlier. A security advisory group linked to the US State Department has reportedly found that in at least eight of the 21 cases related to the case was likely caused by insects.

According to reports, the mysterious Havana syndrome has been linked to crickets and not microwave weapons as claimed earlier. A security advisory group linked to the US State Department has reportedly found that in at least eight of the 21 cases related to the case was likely caused by insects. In 2018, diplomats stationed in Cuba had reported hearing noises and then complained of neurological issues including suffering from vertigo. Also Read: CIA Vienna station chief removed amid 'Havana syndrome' criticism The new report said the US administration's view that the Havana syndrome was due to microwaves or ultrasound beams was “highly unlikely”. However, it did not point to a clear cause of the reported injuries and complaints by various diplomats while concluding that the likely source was "Indies short-tailed cricket". Also Read: Havana Syndrome strikes again? What is it exactly? Cuban scientists had earlier rejected the Havana syndrome asserting that it was not "scientifically acceptable." The Cuban panel maintained that there was no scientific evidence to back the claims after more US officials reported cases of the Havana Syndrome appearing in Vienna earlier this year. Also Read: Kamala Harris trip delayed over possible 'Havana syndrome' case The experts claimed that "no known form of energy can selectively cause brain damage" in the cases described under the Havana syndrome. US intelligence chief Avril Haines had said earlier that she was still unsure about the so-called Havana syndrome five years after the first case was reported in Havana. The cases have also been reported in Russia, China and the US, however, no verifiable proof of the alleged attacks has surfaced. (With inputs from Agencies)

Havana syndrome cases may be linked to crickets, claims report

Cuba has become the first country in the world to vaccinate children as young as two years old. However, the jabs given to infants are homegrown which has not been recognised by the World Health Organization(WHO).

Cuba becomes first country to vaccinate toddlers

Cuba has become the first country in the world to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/cuba-starts-vaccinating-children-in-order-to-re-open-schools-amid-covid-surge-410580">vaccinate</a> children as young as two years old.

However, the jabs given to the children are homegrown which has not been recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Clinical trials on minors were conducted on Friday and vaccines for the toddlers were distributed on Monday, reports claimed.

The country with a population of around 11 million is famous for its healthcare system. Cuban authorities hope to vaccinate all children as schools reopen.

Watch:

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"It has been a very rigorous process, where all the information presented from all the clinical trials that have been carried out in this type of paediatric population has been evaluated," Olga Lidia Jacobo, director of Cuban regulatory authority, said.

"The results have been very favourable, demonstrating that the vaccine in the paediatric population also has an adequate safety profile and adequate immunogenicity," Jacobo added.

The authorities had completed clinical trials on minors with Abdala and Soberana vaccines as they&nbsp;began the inoculation campaign for children initially on Friday.

On Monday, health officials began inoculating 2-11 age group kids in the central province of Cienfuegos.

Several countries had proposed to vaccinate younger children but have not yet been rolled out the vaccine. Earlier, China had announced the emergency use of Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccine for children over 3 years as the United Arab Emirates soon followed suit with the approval of the Sinopharm vaccine.

Chile has also approved the Chinese Sinovac vaccines for children between six and 12.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Cuba has become the first country in the world to vaccinate children as young as two years old. However, the jabs given to the children are homegrown which has not been recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Cuba has become the first country in the world to vaccinate children as young as two years old. However, the jabs given to the children are homegrown which has not been recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO). Clinical trials on minors were conducted on Friday and vaccines for the toddlers were distributed on Monday, reports claimed. The country with a population of around 11 million is famous for its healthcare system. Cuban authorities hope to vaccinate all children as schools reopen. Watch: "It has been a very rigorous process, where all the information presented from all the clinical trials that have been carried out in this type of paediatric population has been evaluated," Olga Lidia Jacobo, director of Cuban regulatory authority, said. "The results have been very favourable, demonstrating that the vaccine in the paediatric population also has an adequate safety profile and adequate immunogenicity," Jacobo added. The authorities had completed clinical trials on minors with Abdala and Soberana vaccines as they began the inoculation campaign for children initially on Friday. On Monday, health officials began inoculating 2-11 age group kids in the central province of Cienfuegos. Several countries had proposed to vaccinate younger children but have not yet been rolled out the vaccine. Earlier, China had announced the emergency use of Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccine for children over 3 years as the United Arab Emirates soon followed suit with the approval of the Sinopharm vaccine. Chile has also approved the Chinese Sinovac vaccines for children between six and 12. (With inputs from Agencies)

In a first, Cuba begins COVID-19 vaccination for toddlers

Cuban authorities on Friday launched a national campaign to vaccinate&nbsp;children&nbsp;aged two to 18 against&nbsp;Covid-19, a condition set by the Communist government in&nbsp;order&nbsp;to reopen&nbsp;schools&nbsp;for in-person instruction&nbsp;amid&nbsp;a spike in infections.

Children&nbsp;aged 12 and older will be the first to receive one of the two&nbsp;domestically produced vaccines, Abdala and Soberana, followed by younger kids.

Schools&nbsp;have mostly been closed in&nbsp;Cuba&nbsp;since March 2020 and students have been following lessons on television. With the&nbsp;school&nbsp;year starting Monday, they will continue learning remotely until all eligible&nbsp;children&nbsp;are vaccinated.&nbsp;

Laura Lantigua, 17, came to receive the first of three injections at Saul Delgado high&nbsp;school&nbsp;in the Cuban capital Havana.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/blame-for-afghanistan-lies-on-president-biden-says-911-era-nypd-commissioner-410532">Also read | Exclusive: Blame for Afghanistan 'lies on President Biden', says 9/11-era NYPD commissioner&nbsp;</a>

"I always wanted to be vaccinated," Lantigua told AFP. She said that doctors measured her blood pressure and temperature before giving her the shot, then told her to wait for an hour to make sure she didn't have any side effects.&nbsp;

"I felt normal, fine," Lantigua said.

As the Delta variant spread across the island of 11.2 million the country's health care system has been pushed to the brink.

Of the 5,300 novel coronavirus deaths recorded since the outbreak started, nearly half were in August, as were almost a third of all reported cases.

The government said it plans to begin to gradually&nbsp;re-open&nbsp;schools&nbsp;in October after the vaccination campaign among&nbsp;children&nbsp;is completed.

Cuban authorities on Friday launched a national campaign to vaccinate children aged two to 18 against Covid-19, a condition set by the Communist government in order to reopen schools for in-person instruction amid a spike in infections.

Cuban authorities on Friday launched a national campaign to vaccinate children aged two to 18 against Covid-19, a condition set by the Communist government in order to reopen schools for in-person instruction amid a spike in infections. Children aged 12 and older will be the first to receive one of the two domestically produced vaccines, Abdala and Soberana, followed by younger kids. Schools have mostly been closed in Cuba since March 2020 and students have been following lessons on television. With the school year starting Monday, they will continue learning remotely until all eligible children are vaccinated. Laura Lantigua, 17, came to receive the first of three injections at Saul Delgado high school in the Cuban capital Havana. Also read | Exclusive: Blame for Afghanistan 'lies on President Biden', says 9/11-era NYPD commissioner "I always wanted to be vaccinated," Lantigua told AFP. She said that doctors measured her blood pressure and temperature before giving her the shot, then told her to wait for an hour to make sure she didn't have any side effects. "I felt normal, fine," Lantigua said. As the Delta variant spread across the island of 11.2 million the country's health care system has been pushed to the brink. Of the 5,300 novel coronavirus deaths recorded since the outbreak started, nearly half were in August, as were almost a third of all reported cases. The government said it plans to begin to gradually re-open schools in October after the vaccination campaign among children is completed.

Cuba starts vaccinating children in order to re-open schools amid Covid surge

Hurricane&nbsp;Ida&nbsp;made&nbsp;landfall&nbsp;Friday as a Category 1&nbsp;hurricane&nbsp;on the southwestern coast of&nbsp;Cuba, the local meteorological&nbsp;service&nbsp;reported.

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This afternoon, I held a call with the head of FEMA and governors ahead of Hurricane Ida to discuss preparations for what is expected to be a dangerous storm. If you are in the storm’s path, please comply with local evacuation instructions. <a href="https://t.co/YzKw9B4utY">pic.twitter.com/YzKw9B4utY</a>
— President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1431383846587621380?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Ida&nbsp;struck the town of La Coloma, in the province of Pinar del Rio, around 0030 GMT, with sustained winds of 80 miles per hour,&nbsp;Cuba's meteorology institute Insmet.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kill-list-biden-says-us-troops-may-have-handed-a-list-of-american-citizens-to-taliban-408871">Also read |&nbsp;Kill list? Biden says US troops 'may' have handed a list of American citizens to Taliban</a>

It is expected to reach the United States Sunday as an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm, according to the US National&nbsp;Hurricane&nbsp;Center.

Hurricane Ida made landfall Friday as a Category 1 hurricane on the southwestern coast of Cuba, the local meteorological service reported. This afternoon, I held a call with the head of FEMA and governors ahead of Hurricane Ida to discuss preparations for what is expected to be a dangerous storm.

Hurricane Ida made landfall Friday as a Category 1 hurricane on the southwestern coast of Cuba, the local meteorological service reported. This afternoon, I held a call with the head of FEMA and governors ahead of Hurricane Ida to discuss preparations for what is expected to be a dangerous storm. If you are in the storm’s path, please comply with local evacuation instructions. pic.twitter.com/YzKw9B4utY — President Biden (@POTUS) August 27, 2021 × Ida struck the town of La Coloma, in the province of Pinar del Rio, around 0030 GMT, with sustained winds of 80 miles per hour, Cuba's meteorology institute Insmet. Also read | Kill list? Biden says US troops 'may' have handed a list of American citizens to Taliban It is expected to reach the United States Sunday as an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Ida makes landfall in southwest Cuba: Weather service

The world of diplomacy is filled with the usual diplomatic tussle. The sparring diplomats try tricks in their games of one-upmanship. But addling with abilities of rival diplomats with spycraft and equipment? Well, such things don't come out in public when they are actually happening.

The latest intrigue is about the so-called 'Havana Syndrome', back in the news due to delay in US Vice-President Kamala Harris' flight from Singapore to Vietnam. On Wednesday, Harris' flight was delayed for three hours after reports that someone in Vietnam suffered from Havana Syndrome.

What is the Havana Syndrome?

The first case was observed in 2016 when a US intelligence agent in US embassy in Havana complained of vertigo, ear pain, tinnitus. As per report in Politico, the doctor said that the agent had inner ear damage likely caused due to projected energy device.

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Diplomats and their families in Cuba complained of complained of nosebleeds, migraines and nausea.

They said that the complaints started after experiencing piercing sounds at night

Since then similar complaints have been reported from US officials in China, Russia and inside the United States.

In July the New Yorker reported that since President Joe Biden took office this year, about two dozen US intelligence officers, diplomats and other government officials in Austria have reported problems similar to the Havana syndrome.

Are these piercing sounds natural? Or are they projected by agents of rival countries who want to impair abilities of US agents and diplomats is still being ascertained

What exactly is causing the Havana Syndrome?&nbsp;

Earlier this month, the US appeared still unsure as to the exact cause of the syndrome.

The director of national intelligence said she had convened a meeting with top cabinet officials and other experts Friday to discuss the problem, which has led to unproven allegations that Russians or others used sonic or other high-intensity electronic devices to physically harm US diplomats in Cuba, China and other countries.

The world of diplomacy is filled with the usual diplomatic tussle. The sparring diplomats try tricks in their games of one-upmanship. But addling with abilities of rival diplomats with spycraft and equipment?

The world of diplomacy is filled with the usual diplomatic tussle. The sparring diplomats try tricks in their games of one-upmanship. But addling with abilities of rival diplomats with spycraft and equipment? Well, such things don't come out in public when they are actually happening. The latest intrigue is about the so-called 'Havana Syndrome', back in the news due to delay in US Vice-President Kamala Harris' flight from Singapore to Vietnam. On Wednesday, Harris' flight was delayed for three hours after reports that someone in Vietnam suffered from Havana Syndrome. What is the Havana Syndrome? The first case was observed in 2016 when a US intelligence agent in US embassy in Havana complained of vertigo, ear pain, tinnitus. As per report in Politico, the doctor said that the agent had inner ear damage likely caused due to projected energy device. × Diplomats and their families in Cuba complained of complained of nosebleeds, migraines and nausea. They said that the complaints started after experiencing piercing sounds at night Since then similar complaints have been reported from US officials in China, Russia and inside the United States. In July the New Yorker reported that since President Joe Biden took office this year, about two dozen US intelligence officers, diplomats and other government officials in Austria have reported problems similar to the Havana syndrome. Are these piercing sounds natural? Or are they projected by agents of rival countries who want to impair abilities of US agents and diplomats is still being ascertained What exactly is causing the Havana Syndrome? Earlier this month, the US appeared still unsure as to the exact cause of the syndrome. The director of national intelligence said she had convened a meeting with top cabinet officials and other experts Friday to discuss the problem, which has led to unproven allegations that Russians or others used sonic or other high-intensity electronic devices to physically harm US diplomats in Cuba, China and other countries.

Havana Syndrome strikes again? What is it exactly?

Cuba this week received shipments of food and medical supplies from allies Mexico, Russia and Bolivia in a bid to ease shortages and discontent amid the island's worst economic crisis in decades and a surge in coronavirus cases. 
 
The donations, which authorities started distributing on Friday, come nearly three weeks after unprecedented protests broke out nationwide, spurred by frustrations with dire economic conditions and curbs on civil freedoms. 
 
Cuba blames the unrest on US-backed mercenaries exploiting hardships it says were largely brought about by decades of US&nbsp;sanctions and disguising attempts at unrest through the campaign #SOSCuba calling for humanitarian aid. 
 
Now, it has taken back the humanitarian relief narrative, with the help of allies that have also blamed the US&nbsp;trade embargo for much of Cuba's woes. 
 
On Friday, a Mexican navy ship carrying 1,000 tonnes of beans as well as medical equipment and oxygen for COVID-19 patients arrived in the country, which currently has one of the highest infection rates per capita in the world. Two more will arrive shortly, Interior Commerce Minister Betsy Díaz said late on Friday on state television. 
 
"I want to personally thank President Andrés Manuel López Obrador who ... has ratified Mexico's traditional rejection of the blockade and its will to help Cuba," Cuban Trade Minister Rodrigo Malmierca said at the ship-receiving ceremony.

Cuba this week received shipments of food and medical supplies from allies Mexico, Russia and Bolivia in a bid to ease shortages and discontent amid the island's worst economic crisis in decades and a surge in coronavirus cases.

Cuba this week received shipments of food and medical supplies from allies Mexico, Russia and Bolivia in a bid to ease shortages and discontent amid the island's worst economic crisis in decades and a surge in coronavirus cases. The donations, which authorities started distributing on Friday, come nearly three weeks after unprecedented protests broke out nationwide, spurred by frustrations with dire economic conditions and curbs on civil freedoms. Cuba blames the unrest on US-backed mercenaries exploiting hardships it says were largely brought about by decades of US sanctions and disguising attempts at unrest through the campaign #SOSCuba calling for humanitarian aid. Now, it has taken back the humanitarian relief narrative, with the help of allies that have also blamed the US trade embargo for much of Cuba's woes. On Friday, a Mexican navy ship carrying 1,000 tonnes of beans as well as medical equipment and oxygen for COVID-19 patients arrived in the country, which currently has one of the highest infection rates per capita in the world. Two more will arrive shortly, Interior Commerce Minister Betsy Díaz said late on Friday on state television. "I want to personally thank President Andrés Manuel López Obrador who ... has ratified Mexico's traditional rejection of the blockade and its will to help Cuba," Cuban Trade Minister Rodrigo Malmierca said at the ship-receiving ceremony.

Cuba receives food, medicine donations from allies to ease crisis

The US slapped fresh sanctions Friday on Cuban police for suppressing anti-government demonstrations this month, with President Joe Biden warning additional punitive measures were in store if the communist-ruled nation does not undertake sweeping reforms.

Thousands of Cubans took to the streets earlier in July, shouting "Freedom," "Down with the dictatorship" and "We're hungry" in the biggest protests since the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959.

Hundreds of people were arrested and many face charges of contempt, public disorder, vandalism and propagation of the coronavirus pandemic for marching without face masks.&nbsp;

"There will be more unless there is some drastic change in Cuba, which I don't anticipate," Biden told reporters before hosting a group of Cuban-American leaders at the White House.

Earlier in the day the US Treasury named National Revolutionary Police Director Oscar Callejas Valcarce and Deputy Director Eddy Sierra Arias to its sanctions blacklist,&nbsp;which freezes any property they might have in the United States and bars US transactions with them.

"The Treasury Department will continue to designate and call out by name those who facilitate the Cuban regime's involvement in serious human rights abuse," said Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury's main sanctions unit, the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/faced-with-rare-protests-cuba-curbs-social-media-access-watchdog-says-397955">Also read | Faced with rare protests, Cuba curbs social media access, watchdog says</a>

"Today's action serves to further hold accountable those responsible for suppressing the Cuban people's calls for freedom and respect for human rights," Gacki said.

Cuba strenuously rejected the inclusion of the NRP and its directors on "spurious lists" by the United States, tweeted Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.&nbsp;

"These arbitrary measures add to disinformation and aggression to justify the inhumane blockade against Cuba," he wrote, referring to Washington's embargo against Havana that has been in place since 1962.

Shoulder to shoulder

The Treasury said the NRP was the main unit of the Interior Ministry deployed to stifle the demonstrations and was responsible for beating a number of peaceful protesters.

On July 24 a government official said about 60 Cubans had been prosecuted for participating in the demonstrations.

Biden on Friday stood shoulder to shoulder with Cuban American leaders at a White House meeting.

"We hear your voices. We hear the cries of freedom coming from the island," the president said.

Biden has come under fire from Republicans who criticise what they say is his weak stance against Havana.

"Biden's lack of leadership is a disgrace and undermines the cause of freedom in Cuba and around the world," the Republican National Committee said in a statement.

The White House issued a forceful defence&nbsp;of the president, saying Biden has been watching developments on the island closely.

"He's made clear that Cuba is led by a failed and repressive regime, and that communism is a universally failed ideology," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.

On Thursday, the European Union called on Cuba to release people arrested "arbitrarily" during the protests.&nbsp;

"We are very concerned about the repression of these protests, as well as for the arrest of protesters and journalists," the 27-nation bloc said in a statement.&nbsp;

The US slapped fresh sanctions Friday on Cuban police for suppressing anti-government demonstrations this month, with President Joe Biden warning additional punitive measures were in store if the communist-ruled nation does not undertake sweeping reforms.

The US slapped fresh sanctions Friday on Cuban police for suppressing anti-government demonstrations this month, with President Joe Biden warning additional punitive measures were in store if the communist-ruled nation does not undertake sweeping reforms. Thousands of Cubans took to the streets earlier in July, shouting "Freedom," "Down with the dictatorship" and "We're hungry" in the biggest protests since the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959. Hundreds of people were arrested and many face charges of contempt, public disorder, vandalism and propagation of the coronavirus pandemic for marching without face masks. "There will be more unless there is some drastic change in Cuba, which I don't anticipate," Biden told reporters before hosting a group of Cuban-American leaders at the White House. Earlier in the day the US Treasury named National Revolutionary Police Director Oscar Callejas Valcarce and Deputy Director Eddy Sierra Arias to its sanctions blacklist, which freezes any property they might have in the United States and bars US transactions with them. "The Treasury Department will continue to designate and call out by name those who facilitate the Cuban regime's involvement in serious human rights abuse," said Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury's main sanctions unit, the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Also read | Faced with rare protests, Cuba curbs social media access, watchdog says "Today's action serves to further hold accountable those responsible for suppressing the Cuban people's calls for freedom and respect for human rights," Gacki said. Cuba strenuously rejected the inclusion of the NRP and its directors on "spurious lists" by the United States, tweeted Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. "These arbitrary measures add to disinformation and aggression to justify the inhumane blockade against Cuba," he wrote, referring to Washington's embargo against Havana that has been in place since 1962. Shoulder to shoulder The Treasury said the NRP was the main unit of the Interior Ministry deployed to stifle the demonstrations and was responsible for beating a number of peaceful protesters. On July 24 a government official said about 60 Cubans had been prosecuted for participating in the demonstrations. Biden on Friday stood shoulder to shoulder with Cuban American leaders at a White House meeting. "We hear your voices. We hear the cries of freedom coming from the island," the president said. Biden has come under fire from Republicans who criticise what they say is his weak stance against Havana. "Biden's lack of leadership is a disgrace and undermines the cause of freedom in Cuba and around the world," the Republican National Committee said in a statement. The White House issued a forceful defence of the president, saying Biden has been watching developments on the island closely. "He's made clear that Cuba is led by a failed and repressive regime, and that communism is a universally failed ideology," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. On Thursday, the European Union called on Cuba to release people arrested "arbitrarily" during the protests. "We are very concerned about the repression of these protests, as well as for the arrest of protesters and journalists," the 27-nation bloc said in a statement.

US sanctions top Cuban police for suppressing protests

Cuban foreign ministry on Tuesday (local time) released a footage of petrol bombs being hurled at the embassy in Paris. The ministry posted the footage on Twitter.

A person wearing a dark coloured top with light coloured pants can be seen in the footage throwing a Molotov cocktail towards the compound of the embassy on Monday night (July 26). Another individual can be seen throwing the flammable object towards the building.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Continuamos denunciando el acto de terrorismo contra <a href="https://twitter.com/EmbaCubaFrancia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EmbaCubaFrancia</a> del 26 de julio de 2021. 
 
👉Nuevas evidencias en el siguiente video🎥 
 
Quienes instigan a la violencia y celebran el odio son los responsables de este vil suceso.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TerrorismoNuncaM%C3%A1s?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TerrorismoNuncaMás</a> <a href="https://t.co/tI0xBpKhPv">pic.twitter.com/tI0xBpKhPv</a>
— Cancillería de Cuba (@CubaMINREX) <a href="https://twitter.com/CubaMINREX/status/1420174938988847119?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Cuba's Embassy in Paris said in a statement on Tuesday that three petrol bombs were thrown by two unnamed individuals.

France's foreign ministry condemned the attack on the Cuban embassy, adding that a judicial investigation had been opened to try and determine who was behind it. It confirmed that there had been some material damage but no injuries.

(With inputs from agencies)

Cuban foreign ministry on Tuesday (local time) released a footage of petrol bombs being hurled at the embassy in Paris. The ministry posted the footage on Twitter.

Cuban foreign ministry on Tuesday (local time) released a footage of petrol bombs being hurled at the embassy in Paris. The ministry posted the footage on Twitter. A person wearing a dark coloured top with light coloured pants can be seen in the footage throwing a Molotov cocktail towards the compound of the embassy on Monday night (July 26). Another individual can be seen throwing the flammable object towards the building. Continuamos denunciando el acto de terrorismo contra @EmbaCubaFrancia del 26 de julio de 2021. 👉Nuevas evidencias en el siguiente video🎥 Quienes instigan a la violencia y celebran el odio son los responsables de este vil suceso.#TerrorismoNuncaMás pic.twitter.com/tI0xBpKhPv — Cancillería de Cuba (@CubaMINREX) July 28, 2021 × Cuba's Embassy in Paris said in a statement on Tuesday that three petrol bombs were thrown by two unnamed individuals. France's foreign ministry condemned the attack on the Cuban embassy, adding that a judicial investigation had been opened to try and determine who was behind it. It confirmed that there had been some material damage but no injuries. (With inputs from agencies)

Man seen throwing petrol bomb at Cuban embassy in Paris

Earlier this month, Cubans gathered for the largest protests the island nation has seen since 1959. The demonstrations have been met with a brutal government crackdown.

Cuba protesters in Washington want Prez Biden to intervene

Cuba's embassy in Paris said on Tuesday it had been attacked overnight with petrol bombs that caused some damage but no injuries to its staff, in an incident that prompted French authorities to beef up security around the building.

Three petrol bombs were thrown by two unnamed individuals, causing a fire on the facade and the entrance of the building, the embassy said in a statement.

Cuba has been rocked by protests against a deep economic crisis, the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and curbs on civil liberties, prompting the Communist-run country to restrict access to social media.

Cuba's foreign ministry published photos of the petrol bombs on its official Twitter feed.

"Those directly responsible for these acts are those who incite violence and hatred against our country," it said.

Its embassy in Paris pointed the finger at the United States, saying such acts had been "encouraged by campaigns by the U.S. government against our country."

The foreign ministers of the United States and 20 other countries on Monday condemned mass arrests in Cuba and called for full restoration of Internet access.&nbsp;

France's foreign ministry condemned the attack on the Cuban embassy, adding that a judicial investigation had been opened to try and determine who was behind it. It confirmed that there had been some material damage but no injuries.

Cuba's embassy in Paris said on Tuesday it had been attacked overnight with petrol bombs that caused some damage but no injuries to its staff, in an incident that prompted French authorities to beef up security around the building.

Cuba's embassy in Paris said on Tuesday it had been attacked overnight with petrol bombs that caused some damage but no injuries to its staff, in an incident that prompted French authorities to beef up security around the building. Three petrol bombs were thrown by two unnamed individuals, causing a fire on the facade and the entrance of the building, the embassy said in a statement. Cuba has been rocked by protests against a deep economic crisis, the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and curbs on civil liberties, prompting the Communist-run country to restrict access to social media. Cuba's foreign ministry published photos of the petrol bombs on its official Twitter feed. "Those directly responsible for these acts are those who incite violence and hatred against our country," it said. Its embassy in Paris pointed the finger at the United States, saying such acts had been "encouraged by campaigns by the U.S. government against our country." The foreign ministers of the United States and 20 other countries on Monday condemned mass arrests in Cuba and called for full restoration of Internet access. France's foreign ministry condemned the attack on the Cuban embassy, adding that a judicial investigation had been opened to try and determine who was behind it. It confirmed that there had been some material damage but no injuries.

Cuban Embassy in Paris attacked with petrol bombs, France beefs up security

A diesel cargo sent by Mexico's state-run Pemex is due to arrive in Cuba's Havana port on Monday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and sources, after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador promised humanitarian aid to the Communist-run island. 
 
The Jose Maria Morelos II, a tanker owned and managed by a Pemex unit, is on its way to the Caribbean island after Mexico's left-leaning government last week announced it would send two humanitarian shipments, including food and diesel, to Cuba. 
 
Authorities in Havana have long said that a decades-old US&nbsp;embargo on Cuba has caused widespread hardship on the island, where thousands took to the streets this month in protests. Cuba's vital tourism industry has also been hard hit by the slump in travel following the global coronavirus pandemic. 
 
The vessel departed from the Mexican port of Coatzacoalcos and is sailing with its transponder switched on, but has not updated its port of destination, according to Eikon. 
 
Monitoring service TankerTrackers.com and a shipping source said it is navigating half-loaded. A Pemex source told Reuters the cargo contains 20 million liters or about 126,000 barrels of diesel. 
 
Pemex declined to comment on the vessel's content and destination. The foreign affairs ministries of both Mexico and Cuba did not reply to requests for comment. 
 
A separate shipping source said the tanker departed last week from the Coatzacoalcos port's berth number four, after being given "priority," which is why it loaded immediately. 
 
The terminal is located nearby Pemex's Minatitlan refinery on the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
The US&nbsp;Treasury Department, which enforces sanctions, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. 
 
Mexico said it would assist Cuba after this month's rare protests by thousands of citizens against the dire economic conditions on the island and the government`s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. 
 
Mexico said its policy toward Cuba is a demonstration of international solidarity. 
 
López Obrador on Monday asked US&nbsp;President Joe Biden to make a decision about the embargo on Cuba to allow families in the island to receive remittances. 
 
Cuba's main fuel provider is Venezuela, whose own economy is mired in a deep recession that has sparked widespread shortages. Venezuela's oil production and refinery output has shrunk in recent years under lack of maintenance and tough US&nbsp;sanctions, reducing its exports to Cuba.

A diesel cargo sent by Mexico's state-run Pemex is due to arrive in Cuba's Havana port on Monday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and sources, after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador promised humanitarian aid to the Communist-run island.

A diesel cargo sent by Mexico's state-run Pemex is due to arrive in Cuba's Havana port on Monday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and sources, after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador promised humanitarian aid to the Communist-run island. The Jose Maria Morelos II, a tanker owned and managed by a Pemex unit, is on its way to the Caribbean island after Mexico's left-leaning government last week announced it would send two humanitarian shipments, including food and diesel, to Cuba. Authorities in Havana have long said that a decades-old US embargo on Cuba has caused widespread hardship on the island, where thousands took to the streets this month in protests. Cuba's vital tourism industry has also been hard hit by the slump in travel following the global coronavirus pandemic. The vessel departed from the Mexican port of Coatzacoalcos and is sailing with its transponder switched on, but has not updated its port of destination, according to Eikon. Monitoring service TankerTrackers.com and a shipping source said it is navigating half-loaded. A Pemex source told Reuters the cargo contains 20 million liters or about 126,000 barrels of diesel. Pemex declined to comment on the vessel's content and destination. The foreign affairs ministries of both Mexico and Cuba did not reply to requests for comment. A separate shipping source said the tanker departed last week from the Coatzacoalcos port's berth number four, after being given "priority," which is why it loaded immediately. The terminal is located nearby Pemex's Minatitlan refinery on the Gulf of Mexico. The US Treasury Department, which enforces sanctions, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Mexico said it would assist Cuba after this month's rare protests by thousands of citizens against the dire economic conditions on the island and the government`s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Mexico said its policy toward Cuba is a demonstration of international solidarity. López Obrador on Monday asked US President Joe Biden to make a decision about the embargo on Cuba to allow families in the island to receive remittances. Cuba's main fuel provider is Venezuela, whose own economy is mired in a deep recession that has sparked widespread shortages. Venezuela's oil production and refinery output has shrunk in recent years under lack of maintenance and tough US sanctions, reducing its exports to Cuba.

Fuel tanker owned by Mexico's Pemex on its way to Cuba: Report

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