Cuban women make an impact in Mexican Softball League

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Anthony Brenner
Yilian Tornés

Havana, Feb. 12 (JIT) – With three runs in the first inning and a great performance by Cuban pitcher Yilian Tornés, the Diablos Rojos Femenil team defeated its similar Charros de Jalisco 4×1 in the II Mexican Softball League 2025.

Thus, the team from the Mexican capital reached nine wins in a row, establishing the new record of consecutive victories in this tournament.

This was the winning debut of the left-hander Tornés, who came from the Aguila de Veracruz club. She worked 5.2 innings, with five hits, allowed one run, three walks and five strikeouts.

In relief was Santiago native Yamerki Guevara, who pitched 1.1 unblemished innings.

Diablos Rojos scored three runs in the first inning after the Italian Elisa Cecchetti, with the bases loaded, hit a ground ball that missed the Charros’ bullpen, going to the bottom of the field to empty the pads and the scoreboard read 3×0.

After that, there was a pitching duel in which Tornés was in control to keep the lead.

In addition, Leannelys Zayas hit a solo home run to make the score 4×0, her third of the season.

The Jalisco team’s only run came in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly by Valeria Quiroga.

With this result, Diablos Rojos extended its great momentum after winning the two-game series against the Jalisco ninth. They now have a record of 11-1, which allows them to remain at the top of the standings, while Charros has a record of 8-4.

After this victory, the Diablos Rojos squad will prepare to travel to Hermosillo, where on Thursday and Friday they will visit the Naranjeros Femenil team. On Saturday, February 15, and Sunday, February 16, the Diablos Rojos will return home to host El Aguila de Veracruz.

In other performances of Cuban women in the Mexican League, the Tunera catcher Rosangela Jardines and the Granmense shortstop Yilian Rondón were nominated as Most Valuable Players (MVP) in the two games won by Olmecas de Tabasco (7×4, 4×1) against Unión Laguna, on Saturday and Sunday.

After these excellent performances by the Cuban players, Olmecas left the basement of the tournament and now has a 4-8 record.

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Cuba to host 2nd Barlady International Competition

Posted on February 15, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, Feb 12 (Prensa Latina) The president of the Association of Bartenders of Cuba (ACC), Eddis Naranjo, on Tuesday convened the second edition of the Barlady International Competition, scheduled from March 7 to 9 at the emblematic Hotel Nacional, in Havana.

Naranjo explained as a background that the first edition was held in Athens, Greece, with the participation of 16 nations, and Cuba was the only representative from Latin America, in an event at which the Cuban representative, Kenia Borge, became world champion, an award that the country had not won since 2003.

Rihder Fuentes, president of the Barlady Organizing Committee, in turn, explained that this edition would be attended by competitors from Uruguay, Türkiye, Brazil, Cuba, Greece, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Iceland, North Macedonia, Poland, Belize, Panama, Germany, Puerto Rico, Finland and Venezuela.

The competition will be held in five categories: long drink, sparkling, Latin style, classic and national. In each one, participants will have two minutes to prepare their work station and ten minutes to prepare and present their cocktails.

The champions in each category will then face off in a grand final to choose the Barlady 2025. In 30 minutes, they will have to create a cocktail using only their personal tools and, if they wish, their own containers; the ingredients will be contained in a black box that will include liquors, syrups, fruits and botanicals.

Fuentes pointed out that Barlady seeks to celebrate women’s excellence in bartending, by promoting their skills and creativity, as well as fostering the professional development of female bartenders by sharing knowledge and experiences.

In addition, it aims to highlight the unique value that women bring to cocktail making, challenging stereotypes and promoting diversity.

This edition of Barlady, organized in conjunction with the ACC, has the collaboration of Nafsika Mouzakiti, founder of the event and a Greek presenter who is an expert in cocktail competitions.

The competition director will be Greta Grönholm, world champion in cocktails by the International Bartenders Association (IBA) and president of the Finnish Bartenders Association, who will contribute her artistic talent and passion for cocktail decoration.

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Cuba Doubles Down Against USAID

Posted on February 15, 2025 by Anthony Brenner
USAID logo and US flag. Photo: Kawsachun News/file photo.

USAID funding for Cuba-related media amounted to $2.3 million in 2024.

Feb. 14 (Orinoco Tribune) Foreign Minister of Cuba Bruno Rodriguez has once again denounced the use of USAID against Cuba. Between 1998 and 1999 alone, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) spent more than six million dollars (USD) to carry out hundreds of illegal operations in Cuba.

Between 2001 and 2006, it allocated $61 million for 142 illegal projects and activities against the Cuban people.

Cuba has repeatedly denounced the use of USAID and other organizations presented as humanitarian or in defense of democracy, as fronts to penetrate and undermine societies, impose colonial values ​​and customs, as well as manipulate or outright control local elites and the press, with the aim of strengthening U.S. hegemony.

Since his arrival to the White House last month for his second presidential term, Donald Trump has launched a crusade led by his presidential campaign donors, primarily Elon Musk, against USAID. They intend to reduce or dismantle parts of the US government, with the pretext of targeting inefficiencies and corruption.

Revelations of “USAID secrets” made by Trump, Musk and others, are intended to attack their Democratic rivals despite that Trump’s first administration utilized the same funds and deployed them for similar purposes around the world.

USAID financing for Cuba-related media amounted to $2.3 million in 2024. Reuters reported this week that US-funded outlets reporting on Cuba are “seeking alternative sources of financing” and that their fate is “in limbo” given the plans to dismantle USAID. The move would affect outlets like Miami-based CubaNet, which received a dedicated $500,000 from USAID in 2024 to engage “on-island young Cubans through objective and uncensored multimedia journalism”.

Commenting on X, Foreign Vice Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio called US-funded media “hired lackeys, absolutely dependent on the master.”

The new U.S. administration intends to promote its interests with less subtle and more crude methods and has shifted control of USAID to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

(Kawsachun News)

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Cuba sets course for education in Latin America and the Caribbean

Posted on February 15, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, Feb 14 (Prensa Latina) The Cuban education system’s experiences for sustainable development were the focus of the agenda of the 19th International Congress, Pedagogia 2025, held in this capital with educators and researchers from more than 30 countries, media reports on Friday.

Cuba has a network for the internationalization of education that gives hope to millions of people globally, whose purpose is to share knowledge and improve the quality of educational institutions in the country and other nations. According to experts, that policy allows academic mobility, the generation of double degree programs, networks for exchanging knowledge, and training professionals in the sector.

To this end, it includes 163 doctoral programs in 39 authorized universities and institutions.

Several countries in the region were grateful for the island’s collaboration in this matter, due to its impact on eradicating illiteracy among their most vulnerable populations. Honduras was the example that stood out the most among the press accredited to the meeting.

Honduras and Cuba strengthened ties by signing new agreements reinforcing the education internationalization policy and showing the model of relations among nations with similar interests and destinies.

Pedagogia 2025 also presented successful teaching practices using technology, science, and innovation for quality education. A meeting of the Confederation of American Educators (CEA) executives and the 1st Forum of Cuban Teachers Living Abroad were held at once.

In the 19th edition of the International Congress, Pedagogy 2025, Cuba set the course in the search for resilient, socially inclusive, and environmentally friendly education systems.

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Cuban FM thanked Malaysia for support against US blockade

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Kuala Lumpur, Feb 14 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla expressed his gratitude, in this capital on Friday, for the support offered by Malaysia to his people in denouncing the tightened blockade imposed by the United States, which has lasted for more than six decades.

Rodriguez Parrilla made the statement during a meeting with directors of the Friendship Association, Malaysian graduates in Cuba, and representatives of the business, academic, and cultural sectors, whom he also praised for their efforts to promote relations with the island.

The Cuban foreign minister is on his first official visit to Malaysia, where he held talks with his counterpart, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

During the dialogue, Rodriguez Parrilla expressed to his host Cuba’s greatest willingness to elevate political, economic-commercial, and cooperation relations to a higher and mutually beneficial level.

An official statement from the Malaysian Foreign Ministry noted the talks focused on improving economic cooperation and bilateral trade in health, education, and tourism.

The report, outlined by the Bernama news agency, indicated that Cuba is for Malaysia a significant potential market for rubber and palm oil, as well as for boosting cooperation in the food-processing sector.

According to the release, Cuba’s participation in Malaysia’s technical cooperation program reflects the close rapprochement between the two countries.

On the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Malaysia announced that it will offer Cuba scholarships for master’s studies, and may develop halal products on the island.

Rodriguez Parrilla also met with Wong Chen, Chairman of the International Relations and Trade Select Committee, with whom he highlighted the historic ties of friendship between the two countries, which are commemorating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

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International Pedagogy Congress 2025 concludes in Cuba

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Anthony Brenner
International Pedagogy Congress 2025 concludes in Cuba

Havana, Feb 13 (Radio Havana Cuba) The 19th International Pedagogy Congress comes to a close today in Cuba, after a series of intense discussions taking place since Monday, aimed at fostering the unity of educators worldwide to achieve inclusive and sustainable educational systems.

This Thursday, educators from 32 countries will share their insights on the process of internationalizing education as a means to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Participants will also learn about cutting-edge approaches to enhancing the quality of educational administration, as part of the initiative to modernize the Cuban education system and in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

The closing event also features symposiums on career guidance in education, inclusive and high-quality education, and communication in the realm of science and the dissemination of scientific findings.

Similarly, specialists will discuss the specific contributions of the projects of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment to the integration of environmental themes into the curriculum of the third phase of the National Education System in Cuba. (Source: Prensa Latina)

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Cuban Leyanis Perez wins the triple jump in Lievin

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Anthony Brenner
Leyanis Pérez

France, Feb 13 (PL) Cuban Leyanis Perez conquered today the women’s triple jump at the Lievin Grand Prix, valid for the World Athletics Gold Indoor circuit, with 14.62 meters, the best mark of the year.

Perez, bronze medalist at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, set the season’s record on her first attempt to relegate her compatriot, Liadagmis Povea (14.17), to second place.

Third place went to France’s Ilionis Guillaume with a personal best of 13.98 meters.

In another event, Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma, Olympic runner-up in Paris 2024 and world indoor champion in Glasgow last year, triumphed in the women’s 800 meters with a time of 1:59.02 minutes, followed by South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodisa (1:59.88), and Great Britain’s Jemma Reekie (2:00.21).

On the other hand, the Italian Leonardo Fabbri won the men’s event with the best mark of the campaign, 21.95 meters, followed by his compatriot Zane Weir (21.72) and the Jamaican Rajindra Campbell (21.34).

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Cuban president reiterates denunciations of subversion from the U.S.

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Anthony Brenner

Havana, February 13 (Radio Havana Cuba) — President Miguel Díaz-Canel recalled that Cuba has for years denounced the use of U.S. agencies to destabilize nations and overthrow governments.

Through his profile on the social network X, the Cuban leader pointed out that the Government of the United States and the sensationalist press are alarmed by the million-dollar projects of the Agency for International Development (USAID) for subversion and financing of so-called independent media and NGOs.

“It is very simple to follow the money trail and see who has become new millionaires,” he added.

According to Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, between 1998 and 1999, this organization spent more than six million dollars (USD) to carry out hundreds of illegal operations on the island, and between 2001 and 2006, it allocated 61 million USD for 142 projects and activities against the Cuban people.

This day, the Cuban foreign minister summarized that since 1990 this agency has allocated an average of between 20 and 50 million USD annually to subvert the constitutional order of this Caribbean nation with money from the American taxpayer, not counting the funds that are allocated covertly.

Cuba has repeatedly denounced the use of organizations presented as humanitarian or in defense of democracy – USAID among them – as facades to penetrate and undermine societies, in tune with the hegemonic interests of the United States.

The dishonest actions of such groups were made evident by recent revelations about USAID’s activities, which emerged in the context of President Donald Trump’s crusade to reduce or dismantle parts of the U.S. government.

According to analysts, the scandalous revelations of “USAID secrets” made by Trump, the technology magnate Elon Musk and others are intended to attack their Democratic rivals and promote US interests with less subtle and more crude methods, in accordance with the governing style and personality of the current president of that country. (Source: PL)

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Cuba and France foster relations in the health field

Posted on February 13, 2025 by Anthony Brenner
Cuba and France foster relations in the health field

Havana, Feb 13 (Radio Havana Cuba) Officials from the Cuban Ministry of Public Health met on Wednesday with representatives of the French embassy and the French Development Agency (FDA), with the goal of expanding collaboration in healthcare.

In this context, the parties discussed the development of a project aimed at strengthening the capacities of three Cuban health institutions.

French ambassador Laurent Burin des Roziers emphasized the role of Cuban medical professionals in this project, which is crucial for the collaboration between both countries.

Alexia Levesque, the regional head of the FDA, declared that Cuba is among the countries that this organization can support and strengthen through tangible projects that contribute to the ongoing work in the field of healthcare.

Levesque was also interested in the country’s relationship with neighboring nations in the field of health, particularly in the realm of nephrology.

The project encompasses the Abelardo Buch López Nephrology Institute – venue of the meeting -, the Pedro Kouri Institute of Tropical Medicine, and the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.

According to Yamilé García, the director of the Nephrology Institute, the collaborative effort has three aspects, depending on the specific fields involved.

In the case of Nephrology, there is evidence of a beneficial effect on the entire network of services in the country.

García argued that this has opened up the prospect of revitalizing the most advanced hemodialysis technology, which involves the use of artificial kidneys or dialysis machines to mimic the function of the kidneys in cases of acute kidney failure.

The European Union, the FDA, the French embassy, and the Cuban Ministry of Public Health are working together to support the development of three health institutions on the island through a project that includes investments in the treatment of certain diseases. (Source: ACN)

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News agencies from Cuba and Malaysia sign cooperation agreement

Posted on February 13, 2025 by Anthony Brenner
News agencies from Cuba and Malaysia sign cooperation agreement

Havana, Feb 13 (Radio Havana Cuba) The Malaysian National News Agency – Bernama – and the Cuban news agency Prensa Latina have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance media cooperation between the two countries.

The foreign ministers of Malaysia and Cuba, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, were present at the signing ceremony, along with other government representatives and diplomats.

The executive director of Bernama, Datin Paduka Nurul Afida Kamaludin, stated that the agreement is in line with the expanding bilateral relations between Malaysia and Cuba in several fields, including technology and economy.

Cuba and Malaysia commemorate this year the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

According to a Bernama report, the Memorandum of Understanding lays the groundwork for a seamless collaboration between the agency and Prensa Latina in various fields, including the sharing of news and content.

Both agencies will collaborate on sharing news, special shows and documentaries, while ensuring proper attribution to the sources, as any editing, translation, or adaptation will maintain the original intent and context.

The contract will be valid for two years and will automatically be renewed, unless one of the parties decides otherwise. Furthermore, regular meetings will be held to assess its performance and discuss potential enhancements. (Source: Prensa Latina)

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