Cuba ratifies ties of brotherhood and cooperation with Africa

HAVANA, Cuba, May 26 (ACN) In a post on X to commemorate Africa Day, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel assured that he will continue to strengthen ties of brotherhood and cooperation with African nations and highlighted their role in the formation of the identity, culture, history and fighting spirit of the Cubans.

In other posts, Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of the National Assembly of People’s Power and of the Council of State, congratulated the African peoples, parliaments and legislative authorities on behalf of Cuban deputies, whereas Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla reasserted his support and commitment to the priorities of the African countries, whose legacy has been vital to Cuban history, nationality and culture, and thanked them for their permanent solidarity with Cuba.

Africa Day is observed every year on May 25 to mark the foundation of the Organization of African Unity—today the African Union (AU)—on this date in 1963, based on its pledge to support the work done by freedom fighters and eliminate military access to colonial nations and established a charter designed to improve living standards in member states.

The celebration hails the continent’s achievements and invites reflection on the challenges facing Africa in the near future.

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Vietnamese call for Cuba’s exclusion from US terrorist list

Hanoi, May 28 (Prensa Latina) The definitive and permanent exclusion of Cuba from the unilateral list elaborated by the U.S. government and which designates States allegedly sponsoring terrorism was demanded today by solidarity organizations.

The United States should consider putting an end to and permanently eliminating Cuba from that list, thus stopping the imposition of a series of irrational and unfounded economic and financial blockade measures that seriously affect the life of the brotherly Cuban people, a statement issued by the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association emphasizes.

The statement also points out that through information from the press and diplomatic agencies, last May 15, it was announced, that the U.S. government decided to remove Cuba from the list of countries that did not cooperate with U.S. anti-terrorist efforts in 2023.

“This is a notable step for the Cuban people in its struggle against unreasonable forms of external imposition,” the text further stresses and adds that “it is also a necessary action on the part of the United States, although insufficient.”

The message, addressed to the president of the Cuba-Vietnam Friendship Association, Yolanda Ferrer, ratifies that the popular organizations in this Indochinese nation always trust and firmly support the revolutionary cause of the Cuban people in the struggle against the U.S. blockade and for the construction and development of the country.

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Cuba denounces US blockade and aggression against Gaza at WHO

Geneva, May 28 (Prensa Latina) Cuba denounced before the World Health Organization (WHO) the impact on this sector of the U.S. blockade on the island and the consequences of the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip in the health sector.

In the continuation of the debates at the 77th World Health Assembly, Cuban Health Minister Jose Angel Portal also repudiated the inclusion of Cuba in Washington’s unilateral list of countries sponsoring terrorism, a measure created to tighten the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed more than 60 years ago.

The unjust blockade and Washington’s unilateral list, hinder a better functioning of our health system, he stressed in the forum that constitutes the highest decision-making body of the WHO.

Portal reiterated the island’s willingness to share, with other nations, its progress in public health, in which it has consolidated the comprehensive approach and intersectoral participation, with pillars such as primary care and work in the communities.

“We will continue to promote solidarity and altruism, principles with which for more than six decades we have provided services in 165 countries, no matter how many challenges or slander we have to overcome to do so,” he said.

The head of the Cuban delegation to the 77th World Health Assembly considered that these essences are not and will never be understood by the government of the United States.

Regarding the devastating situation in Gaza, subjected to indiscriminate attacks since October last year, Mr. Portal joined other speakers in condemning the ongoing crimes in the densely populated enclave, where its health system has collapsed under Israeli bombs.

“It is imperative to stop the genocide being committed against the Palestinian people there,” he said.

The island’s representative insisted to the WHO that there is no justification whatsoever for attacking health infrastructures, or the health and humanitarian personnel who work tirelessly in Gaza, to protect innocent civilians from such a terrible massacre.

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St. Kitts and Nevis gave donation to Cuban hospital

HAVANA, Cuba, May 22 (ACN) The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis delivered a donation of medical supplies worth some 6,500 dollars to Havana’s “América Arias” Gynecobstetric Hospital, a center specialized in the care of women in fertile stage and clinical and surgical gynecological services and in assisted reproduction treatments.

The donation, which includes disposable materials such as gloves, surgical gowns, face masks, cotton rolls, alcohol gel and vaginal specula, will help improve patient care quality.

Verna Uwana Mills, Ambassador of St. Kitts and Nevis to Cuba, stressed that she was honored to make the donation of the said supplies in the context of the 29th anniversary of relations between the two nations as a sign of solidarity and friendship on behalf of the government and people of her country. She also thanked the Ministries of Public Health and of Foreign Affairs of Cuba and their counterpart agencies in St. Kitts and Nevis for facilitating the procurement and delivery of this aid and reasserted that both countries will keep working together to strengthen and consolidate their ties.

Dr. Dunia Rebeca Yi Mariño, director of the receiving hospital, remarked that this donation comes at a time when Cuba, and particularly Cuban health care, is coping with great hardship caused by the intensification of the U.S. blockade.

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Month of French Culture in Cuba with Olympic closure

Havana, May 27 (Prensa Latina) The Month of French Culture in Cuba, in force until May 31, exhibits a program with an Olympic closing and a broad sports presence saluting the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Expressive competitions, literature, storytelling, and sports films conclude in varied activities at the closing of this event which, in addition, has from today’s dance inspired by the work of the great French artist Henri Matisse.

Tomorrow, the Eloquence Contest 2024, organized by the French Language Specialty Group and other institutions, will be held at the Aimee Cesaire Media Library of the Alliance Française de Cuba.

In this contest, young people between 15 and 20 years old will show their expressive skills on the theme “Paris hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024”.

Also on this day, at 5:00 p.m. local time, the panel discussion “Writing Sport” will take place at the French residence in the capital, with interventions by prestigious writers such as Leonardo Padura (Cuba) and Thomas Bauer (France).

The moderator of this exchange table will be the popular Cuban sports commentator Carlos Hernández Luján, and the topic will deal with the profession of chronicler, journalist, observer, critic, and sports narrator.

Guests will be able to learn how the speakers convey sports emotions through writing.

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U.S. terrorist list is targeted to strangle Cuba, FM denounces

Havana, May 27 (Prensa Latina) Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez denounced that the inclusion of his country on the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism is a brutal measure by the U.S. government against the Cuban people.

On the social network X, the Foreign Minister stressed that this measure seeks to strangle the economy of the Caribbean nation and hold the government responsible for its impact on the population.

Recently, the U.S. State Department informed that Cuba was removed from the list of countries that, according to Washington, “do not fully cooperate” in the fight against terrorism.

The Cuban government considered the provision insufficient, which is not equivalent to eliminating it from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, which implies serious limitations for the economic and commercial exchange of the Caribbean country.

In a statement, the Cuban Foreign Ministry urged the United States to remove the Caribbean nation from that designation and assured that it is not enough just to recognize that Cuba fully cooperates with Washington’s anti-terrorist efforts.

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Cuban residents in Panama call on US to remove Cuba from SSOT list

Panama, May 27 (Prensa Latina) The Marti Association of Cuban Residents in Panama (AMCRP) on Monday asked the national Government to call on the United States to remove Cuba from the unilateral State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) list.

In a letter addressed to Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney, the AMCRP respectfully asked the Executive to urge the White House not to stop this process.

They also requested in the document delivered to head of Panamanian diplomacy that the economic, commercial and financial blockade that Washington has imposed on Cuba for more than 60 years be lifted, as has been requested repeatedly by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

In the letter, the group also supported the statement issued by the Cuban Foreign Ministry on May 15, while taking note of the report sent by the Secretary of State to Congress “in which Cuba was excluded from the list of countries not fully cooperating with US counterterrorism efforts in 2023.”

In that text, Cuban diplomacy described Anthony Blinken’s report as arbitrary, because they usually qualify countries, without any international mandate or recognition.

However, the State Department itself maintains Cuba on the SSOT list, the statement added.

This is an absolutely unilateral and unfounded list, whose sole purpose is to slander and serve as a pretext for the adoption of coercive economic measures against sovereign States, such as those ruthlessly applied against Cuba, the official press release indicated.

The clear and absolute truth is that Cuba does not sponsor terrorism, but rather has been a victim of it, including State terrorism, the message highlighted.

The Association pointed out in its letter that as Cubans living in Panama, their second homeland, it fills them with satisfaction to be able to count on the Government. In this way, they conveyed their gratitude in the assurance that this will contribute to strengthening the ties of brotherhood between both nations.

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Cuban FM reaffirms support to Africa

Havana, May 25 (Prensa Latins) On Africa Day, we reaffirm our support and commitment to the priorities of our brother continent, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on Saturday.

On X, the Cuban foreign minister heaped praise on the legacy of African nations which are vital in history and in shaping Cuban nationality and culture.

Rodriguez thanked Africa for its permanent solidarity with Cuba.

The Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) Roberto Morales, on the other hand, praised the important date on his X profile.

Morales celebrated the deep ties that unite Cuba and Africa.

He also sent his heartfelt congratulations to the African Union (AU) and all continental brothers, on the 61st anniversary of its founding.

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Egyptian newspaper denounces the U.S. war and blockade against Cuba

Cairo, May 26 (Prensa Latina) The United States is defying and violating the principles of the UN and international law with its policy of blockade and war against Cuba, the Egyptian daily Al Ahram affirmed.

In an opinion article in the newspaper, renowned journalist Kamal Gaballa estimated that Washington’s actions could be considered genocide.

He recalled that the White House maintains the island on its list of state sponsors of terrorism, a measure he considered an act of political and economic coercion.

The decision is part of the covert war, in times of peace, against Havana he stressed.

Gaballa pointed out that since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the Caribbean country has suffered numerous terrorist attacks against its diplomatic missions around the world.

In this regard, he cited the attack against the Cuban Embassy in Washington on April 30, 2020, when a man fired 32 bullets with a rifle, and the “complicit silence” of the U.S. authorities.

The communicator pointed out that testimonies of U.S. national security experts affirm that there is no evidence of Cuban support for terrorism, but rather the opposite, that Havana can be an important partner in combating it.

What is certain is that the island was the victim of hundreds of terrorist attacks, most were organized or financed by the United States, he said, including in recent decades the downing of a commercial airliner.

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FAO project gains ground in Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, May 23 (ACN) The Cuba Office of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that the implementation of the project South-South Cooperation: Digital Transformation and Innovation in Agriculture, is advancing in the country with the support of the People’s Republic of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

According to a press release issued by the entity, talks about issues deemed key to digital transformation in Cuban agriculture were held, along with theme-specific workshops organized by the University of Havana and attended by private companies, academics and producers who discussed actions for the digitalization of farms and problems related to connectivity, energy use, irrigation and marketing.

The text also remarks that the project contributes to the FAO global initiative 1000 Digital Villages, designed to improve access to digital tools and increase their use in agri-food systems and rural areas, as well as to help local communities to take advantage of these instruments to promote and market their tourism services, boost their income and create more jobs.

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