Cuba offers 200 fully-paid scholarships for Palestinian medical students to study on the island

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel speaks with Palestinian medical students in Havana  ( Photo: Presidencia Cuba )

Havana, September 14 (RHC)– The Cuban Government is offering an additional 200 fully-paid scholarships for Palestinian medical students to complete undergraduate and graduate education in the coming years.   The announcement was made by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel when he received the ambassador of the State of Palestine, Dr. Akram Mohammad Samhan, who is finishing his diplomatic mission on the Caribbean island nation.

The Palestinian diplomat thanked the Cuban president for his support to the students of his country, whom Cuba “has been protecting and supporting.”

Currently, 250 students from Palestine are studying on the Caribbean island, pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies at different higher education centers.

During the meeting at the Palace of the Revolution, the Cuban president said that Akram Mohammad Samhan will always be appreciated “as a friend of Cuba, and we will appreciate all the work you did as ambassador over the years, promoting relations between our peoples, between our governments.”

The Cuban leader considered that this period, amid a genocidal war of aggression, has been difficult for the ambassador.   Akram Mohammad Samhan thanked the Cuban president for his words, and said that it has been an honor to be “working in Cuba, representing the Palestinian people, their cause, their struggle.”

Regarding the Cuban president, Ambassador Akram Mohammad Samhan stressed that he has accompanied the “State, leading the demonstrations of the Cuban people in favor of the struggle of our people, and against the genocide that Israel is committing.”

[ SOURCE: teleSUR ]   

Posted in Healthcare | Leave a comment

Cuba expresses support for Gustavo Petro after coup attempts in Colombia

Colombian president Gustavo Petro (L) and the Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel (R).     Photo: X/ @BrunoRguezP

Havana, September 15 (RHC)– The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has expressed his solidarity with his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, after denouncing an attempted coup against him and a judicial persecution for political reasons.

“All our support and solidarity to President Gustavo Petro in the face of coup attempts against his legitimate government,” Diaz Canel said in X.  The Cuban president pointed out that those plans to destabilize Colombia “are part of the right-wing onslaught against the progressive governments in the region.”

For his part, Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez also expressed on X his solidarity and support for Petro “against the maneuvers that intend to depose him by a coup.”

Other governments and organizations have also denounced the coup attempt and have shown their support for the Colombian president.

The Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of America-Free Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) warned that the international community and Latin American states about a joint strategy by several fascist powers to overthrow legal governments and destroy peace in Colombia and the region.

Posted in Exchanges | Leave a comment

U.S. blockade causes multimillion-dollar losses to Cuba

Havana, September 12 (RHC) — Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez reported today that Cuba suffered losses of five billion 56.8 million dollars from 2023 to 2024 as a result of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States.

When presenting to the national and foreign press the most updated report on the effects of the U.S. blockade, the Cuban foreign minister highlighted that the economic damages experienced from March 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024, represent an increase of 189.8 million compared to the previous report.

The estimated impact is more than 421 million dollars per month, more than 13.8 million dollars per day, and more than 575,683 dollars in damages for each hour of blockade.

In six decades, the impacts exceeded 1 trillion 499 thousand 710 million dollars.

The US blockade against Cuba is the most comprehensive, integral, complete and prolonged system of unilateral coercive economic measures ever applied against any country by the most powerful economy in the world and dominant in the region.

Rodríguez Parrilla explained to the attending press that this Report reveals these impacts with specific data and experiences. It shows the intentional damage caused to Cuban families.”

This information also includes, for the first time, testimonies and calculations of the impact of the blockade on the private sector of the economy, which also does not escape this policy of hostility, revealed the head.

The document presented by the Cuban foreign minister and will be presented next October at the United Nations National Assembly, details the serious effects of Washington’s siege on the economy and its effects on the population and on the development of key areas such as health, education and food.

It also denounces the impact of the policy on Cuba’s foreign trade and international financial relations, which have been severely limited by the sanctions imposed by the US government.

Since 1992, the international community has ratified the rejection of this policy, reinforced to unprecedented levels during the impact of Covid-19 with the marked purpose of strangling the country’s economy to provoke a change of government.   ( Source: Prensa Latina )

Posted in The Blockade? | Leave a comment

Cuba condemns new coercive measures against Venezuela

The Cuban Foreign Minister demanded the cessation of coercive measures to destabilize the Venezuelan government

Havana, September 13 (Radio Habana Cuba) Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez rejected the new coercive measures imposed by the United States Government against public officials of Venezuela.

From his account in X, Rodríguez demanded the cessation of this type of actions that only seek to destabilize the Bolivarian and Chavista Revolution.

This Thursday Washington announced sanctions for 16 officials related to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, including Caryslia Rodríguez, president of the Supreme Court of Justice; Rosalba Gil, director of the National Electoral Council; and Pedro Infante, vice president of the National Assembly.

With these sanctions, all the properties and assets of the defendants in United States territory are blocked and they will not be able to carry out financial transactions.

In this regard, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Yván Gil, said in a statement that this is a new aggression by Washington and another evidence of its total disregard for international law and the self-determination of peoples. (Source: ACN)

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

U.S. blockade against Cuba:   A punitive policy

Havana, September 13 (Radio Habana Cuba) — Despite the annual claims of the international community, the U.S. blockade continues today as the greatest obstacle to the development of Cuba and systematically violates the fundamental rights of the Cuban people.

According to Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, the Washington’s blockade constitutes the most ruthless, comprehensive and prolonged economic war policy ever imposed on any country.

This was denounced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs this Thursday when releasing the report The Need to End the Economic, Commercial and Financial Blockade Imposed by the United States of America Against Cuba, which will be presented in October for approval by the United Nations General Assembly.

The document states that, as a result of this policy, Cuba suffered losses of 5 billion 56.8 million dollars from March 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024, which represents an increase of almost 200 million compared to the previous report last year at this time.

In his address before media representatives accredited in Havana, Bruno Rodríguez asserted that the approximate impact is more than 421 million dollars per month, or 13.8 million dollars per day, and pointed out that in six decades, these losses rose to 1 trillion 499 billion dollars.

If such a policy did not exist, the island’s Gross Domestic Product could have grown by eight percent during 2023, he stressed.

The foreign minister specified that the arbitrary inclusion of Cuba on the State Department’s list of countries that supposedly sponsor terrorism deepens the difficulties and significantly affects Cuban families.  Cuba is a victim of terrorism that is organized and financed from United States territory, he denounced.

The minister praised the foreign support for Cuba, evident in the growing calls within American society to end coercive measures and the Caribbean country’s link to international terrorism.

Cuba is not alone in confronting this multidimensional siege, Rodríguez recalled, pointing out that since 1992, the international community has ratified the rejection of this policy, reinforced to unprecedented levels during the impact of COVID-19.   (Source: Prensa Latina)

Posted in The Blockade? | Leave a comment

Cuba is present at the International Forum of United Cultures

As part of Cuba’s participation in the forum, Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso will speak at the meeting of the heads of Culture and heads of foreign delegations, on the Perspectives of International Cultural Cooperation

Havana, September 12 (Radio Habana Cuba) The Cuban delegation headed by the head of culture, Alpidio Alonso, participates today in the 10th International Forum of United Cultures in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.

Under the motto “Culture of the 21st century: sovereignty or globalism?”, the forum is attended by more than 1 500 participants from various countries.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova, the event has been designed to openly discuss issues of common interest to all cultures, including the danger of unifying original cultures, current formats of international cooperation, the role of traditions in strengthening the level of trust in society, and the ethics of the use of modern technologies in culture.

Invited by his Russian counterpart Olga Liubimova, Alonso will speak at the meeting of the heads of Culture and heads of foreign delegations, on the Perspectives of International Cultural Cooperation, which will be held this Friday.

Upon arrival in Saint Petersburg, the Cuban delegation toured the historic halls of the Winter Palace, the private apartments of the tsars, and the art rooms of the Hermitage complex. (Source: PL)

Posted in Cultural | Leave a comment

Meet the 2024 Cuban Little League World Series Team

August 15, 2024 – Belly of the Beast

Meet the Santa Clara Bombardiers, Cuba’s top little league baseball team. They won Cuba’s title this year and will be the second team to represent the island at the Little World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, following Bayamo’s appearance last year. They debut tonight at 5pm ET.

“We have prepared physically and mentally to win here and go to the World Series,” says Adrián Fuentes, one of the players of Santa Clara´s little league team.

“I feel so happy, especially for my team,” says Darián Rogríguez, another player on the team.

“We are a very united team. It’s not a team, it’s a family,” says Brayan Pérez, a Santa Clara player.

“We get along like brothers,” says Brett Cabrera, one of the kids on the team.

“We’re going to keep going and represent Cuba at the World Series in Pennsylvania,” says Fuentes.

“I’m hopeful that we can be the champions,” says Darián.

“Santa Clara Bombardiers!,” the whole team shouts.

“The Santa Clara Bombardiers will represent Cuba at the Little League World Series. Santa Clara is the Cuban champion,” an official tells the crowd while Santa Clara’s players celebrate their win over Sancti Spirutus.

“I feel so happy. We won. It was very difficult, but we did it,” says Yosmín Fuentes, one of the bombardiers.

“It’s a dream come true. I never thought this could happen,” says Pérez.

“We’re going to participate in an event that I consider a World Baseball Classic for kids,” says Everaldo Pedroso, Santa Clara’s head coach.

“We’re going to represent Cuba. We hope to do a good job and get a lot of wins like we did here in Cuba,” says Magdiel Toirat, one of the kids on the team.

“It’s just incredible. We’ll get to ride a plane for the first time and get to know a new country,” says Pérez.

“Just to carry Cuba’s name and flag on your uniform is tremendous,” says Mijail Arbolaes, father of one of the players. “This means so much for us and the kids.”

“My family’s support has been huge. They mean everything to us. They are the ones who always support us,” says Toirat.

“We do whatever is necessary. We buy whatever they need so they can train,” says Leidiana Crespo, mother of one of the kids on the team.

“As we all know, the country is going through a lot. But it doesn’t matter. We face whatever comes. The only thing that matters is that our kids feel proud of their parents and that they go out and play the best they can,” says Arbolaes.

“Santa Clara, champions!,” the team shouts.

Posted in Cultural | Leave a comment

Cuban foreign minister presents report on impact of Washington’s blockade against the island

Havana, September 12 (Radio Habana Cuba) — The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez, will present today to the national and foreign press accredited in Havana the most up-to-date report on the effects of the United States blockade against Cuba.

The document covers the effects caused by the economic, commercial and financial blockade from March 2023 to February 2024, while illustrating the consequences that the US policy has had on various sectors of Cuban society.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Rodríguez will appear live, starting at 11:30 (local time), on the channels Cubavisión, Canal Caribe, Cubavisión Internacional, Radio Havana Cuba, and via streaming on the YouTube channel and the Facebook account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The National Assembly of People’s Power made available to the public the “Report of Cuba under resolution 78/7 of the United Nations General Assembly,” which details the serious effects that the blockade has had on the Cuban economy, affecting the well-being of the population and the development of key areas such as health, education and food.

It also details the impact of the policy on Cuba’s foreign trade and international financial relations, which have been severely limited by the sanctions imposed by the US government.

Since 1992, the international community has ratified its rejection of this policy, reinforced to unprecedented levels during the impact of Covid-19 with the stated purpose of strangling the country’s economy to bring about a change of regime.  (Source: Prensa Latina)

Posted in The Blockade? | Leave a comment

Cuba guarantees quality education despite resource limitations

Havana, Sep 2 (Prensa Latina) More than 1.6 million general education students in Cuba will begin the 2024-2024 school year by receiving basic resources required for a quality education despite economic limitations.

According to statements by the head of the Ministry of Education (MINED), Naima Trujillo, essential methodological, technical and logistical assurances have been secured.

After touring the country and speaking with directors, teachers and local authorities, the minister explained that the course enrollment is similar to previous ones despite Cuba’s complex demographic dynamics. The sector has about 156 thousand teachers and professors to provide educational coverage.

Trujillo explained that the staff will gradually grow through strategies promoted for its total completion, including greater remuneration for the execution of teaching activities in other schools.

The minister also praised the appropriation of new digital skills by educators that will facilitate interaction with these communication platforms as a way to strengthen the quality of the teaching and learning process.

The determination to raise educational standards is the focus of what is known as the Third Improvement of Cuban Education which, among other priorities, addresses political-ideological work, the prevention of social problems, care for families in vulnerable situations and students comprehensive education, Trujillo noted.

jrr/llp/jf/lld

Posted in The Blockade? | Leave a comment

Lebanon demands exclusion of Cuba from terrorism list

Havana, September 11 (Radio Habana Cuba) Lebanese solidarity today joined the international demand for the exclusion of Cuba from Washington’s terrorism list.

Presidents and directors of the Friendship Association, the José Martí Latin American Solidarity Group, and the Union of Palestinian Doctors and Pharmacists in Lebanon supported the call of Casa de las Américas to support the open letter from the writer and journalist Ignacio Ramonet to President Joe Biden.

The escalation of the blockade measures is aggravated by the permanence of Cuba on the State Department’s terrorism list. Such inclusion has serious economic consequences, since US regulatory agencies rigorously apply the coercive measures that make up the complex framework of the blockade.

In this sense, the Cuban representation in Beirut denounced the damage caused to the Cuban people as a result of contract closures, loss of relationships with banking entities, delays in the sending and receiving of funds, food, medicines, fuel, materials and parts.

However, Washington continues to ignore the position of the international community and the provisions of countless resolutions of the UN General Assembly demanding the lifting of the blockade, which was reinforced by the Trump administration and maintained by that of his successor’s.  (Source: Prensa Latina)

Posted in The Blockade? | Leave a comment