The Cuban government denounced this Thursday a U.S. plan worth millions to "discredit and sabotage" the medical cooperation the island provides in dozens of countries, "legitimately established" programs in which professionals participate "freely and voluntarily," Havana affirmed. Through a press release, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said it "denounces and strongly condemns the recent aggression," which joins the "crude pressures exerted against several governments to hinder Cuban cooperation" abroad, one of the Caribbean country’s main sources of income. With funds supposedly from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the plan is "designed to finance actions and search for information to discredit and sabotage international cooperation," the text explains. "The center of the immoral slander consists in claiming, without any basis, that Cuba incurs in the trafficking of persons or the practice of slavery and trying to denigrate the meritorious work that...hundreds of thousands of Cuban health professionals and technicians voluntarily carry out in several countries, particularly in the Third World," the Foreign Ministry pointed out. https://twitter.com/CubaMINREX/status/1167090783553490945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1167090783553490945&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba-ee-uu%2Fcuba-denuncia-plan-millonario-de-eeuu-para-sabotear-su-cooperacion-medica%2F In the last 55 years, more than 600,000 Cubans have provided medical services in at least 160 countries, and in in 2018 that figure was about 55,000 specialists in 67 countries, according to...

Cuba and Canada agreed to continue with contacts at the highest level to "exchange views" on the situation in Venezuela after the visit made this Wednesday to Havana by Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland. Freeland met in Havana with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who "reiterated his country's solidarity with the government of Nicolás Maduro" and recognized Ottawa's position on the United States’ application of the Helms-Burton Act. She also previously met with her Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodríguez, a meeting in which, according to the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two ministers addressed the crisis in Venezuela and referred to the ongoing "Norwegian process." Norway is directly mediating between the government of Nicolás Maduro and the opposition, led by Juan Guaidó, whom Canada, the United States and another 50 countries consider is the legitimate president of Venezuela. Freeland and Rodríguez also pointed out "their different perspectives on the crisis in Venezuela and expressed hope that a way forward can be found," Canadian authorities said. The two diplomatic officials agreed "that senior officials stay in touch and continue exchanging views that are as useful as possible." https://twitter.com/BrunoRguezP/status/1166825060612694016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1166825060612694016&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Farticulos-revista%2Fcuba-y-canada-acuerdan-mantener-contactos-de-alto-nivel-sobre-venezuela%2F The meeting is the third that Freeland and Rodríguez have held since last May...

Cuba is currently getting ready for the 2019-2020 sugar harvest, which will begin in November with the participation of 44 sugar factories and a production plan greater than that of the previous harvest, not met by 13% with a result of 1.3 million tons of sugar. The grinding of the cane will begin in the second half of November at the Boris Luis Santa Coloma sugar factory, in the western province of Mayabeque, the communication manager of the Azcuba Azucarero Group, Liobel Pérez, said this Tuesday. Repairs at the sugar factories and refineries are being carried out in phases and their compliance is considered vital to alleviate the crop’s lack of agribusiness efficiency, one of the causes of the deficit in the last harvest. "There is a favorable performance in this activity, in which only three sugar factories have delays with respect to what has been programmed," added the official, quoted by the state press agency Prensa Latina. Other preparations are geared at the restoration of roads to the sugar factories, as well as the transportation of cane from the fields to the factories, by increasing the railroad’s participation. https://oncubanews.com/opinion/columnas/contrapesos/la-dulce-francesa/ Pérez said that the objective of these and other tasks...

The process to elect the new leadership of the National Assembly of Cuba, the Council of State, the president and vice president of the Republic and the newly instituted position of prime minister began with the constitution this Tuesday of the National Candidacy Commission (CCN), according to the newly proclaimed Magna Carta. At the ceremony, the seven members of the organizations that make up the Commission were presented. It will be in charge of presenting to the Cuban Parliament the nominations for the authorities of that body, where the president and vice president of the Republic are elected, together with the members of the Council of State. According to the Electoral Law approved last July―in compliance with the Constitution proclaimed on April 10―, once the President of the Republic is elected―until now known as "President of the Councils of State and of Ministers"―he will designate the prime minister, both posts instituted by the new Magna Carta. "Before the end of October, a session of the National Assembly will be held to elect the members of that body: the president and vice president of the Republic, and the other members of the Council of State," Homero Acosta, current secretary of the...

Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland traveled to Havana this Wednesday to meet with her Cuban counterpart, Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez, and discuss the Venezuelan crisis, as well as the entry into force of Title III of the U.S. Helms-Burton Act. The Freeland and Rodríguez meeting will be the third the two foreign ministers have been holding on Venezuela since May and is taking place parallel to the intensification of Ottawa's contacts with the United States on the situation in the South American country. Although both Canada and the U.S. have pointed out that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has to abandon power for the country's democratization, Freeland omitted this last requirement in a statement released this Tuesday. "There is an international convergence around the need for a peaceful transition in Venezuela that results in free and fair elections and the return to democracy," Freeland said. "Canada has a longstanding relationship with Cuba, and this week’s visit will allow us to build on previous conversations held in Havana and Toronto," Freeland added. https://oncubanews.com/cuba/cancilleres-de-cuba-y-canada-se-reunen-en-la-habana/ The other issue that Freeland will deal with Rodríguez is the entry into force of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act. The first Freeland and Rodríguez meeting on Venezuela took...

The temporary suspension of the tourism card that allowed Cubans to travel to Panama to make purchases was due to irregularities detected by the Panamanian government in the allocation and use of this mechanism. This was confirmed this Monday by the president of the Association of Users of the Colón Free Trade Zone, Daniel Rojas. Panamanian immigration authorities suspended last July 24 and temporarily issued the tourist card while "reviewing the procedures for entering the country" under that category. The tourism card was created in October 2018 and in principle allowed the arrival and up to 30-day stay in Panama of Cuban citizens, self-employed or artisans, who did not have a stamped visa, so they could make purchases. Rojas explained to the EFE news agency that "the Consulate electronically issued quotas for 500 or 600 people in one fell swoop. And there came a time when those quotas ended in 15 minutes. "In Cuba there was a robot that grabbed all these quotas and monopolized them, pure technology. Those quotas, the people who owned that robot, sold them for 500 dollars. And the card is only worth 20 dollars at the Consulate. Then that business must be eliminated and that...

Cuban Erick Hernández, with several records in the control of the ball, this weekend surpassed his own world record in the modality of hitting the ball with his head from a sitting position, controlling the ball for 1 hour, 2 minutes and 5 seconds. With his new world record, he surpassed his time of 1h00:59 that he set on October 26, 2018, the island’s media recalled this Sunday. Hernández, known as "the Dominator" for his feats with the soccer ball, this time carried out this uncomfortable test with the ball at the Roc Barlovento Hotel, in the tourist resort of Varadero, in the western province of Matanzas. https://twitter.com/hidalgogato88/status/1162760730266996736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1162760730266996736&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fdeportes%2Fel-dominador-cubano-del-balon-establece-nuevo-record-mundial%2F "It was very difficult because, really, I didn’t create the most suitable conditions to get well-acclimatized with the place. It was the first time I attempted to break a record outside my Havana habitat and the black roof disturbed me a lot," said Hernández, quoted by the state-run Cuban News Agency (ACN). The athlete explained that for this attempt he carried out long lungful races for more than 10 kilometers in order to strengthen all the neck to the calf muscles, passing through the quadriceps and the biceps femoris, as well as...

Until this Thursday, Cuba received 3 million foreign visitors, with Canada as its first issuing market, despite a decrease in travelers mainly due to the strengthening of U.S. sanctions and the prohibition of cruise trips from that country to the Caribbean island. The Cuban Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR) said this Thursday in a statement that the arrival of the three million international travelers "is achieved despite campaigns targeted and directed by the U.S. government to prevent the flow of tourists to our country." "It also demonstrates the confidence and recognition achieved by Cuban tourism as a destination that offers safety and hospitality to its visitors," it underlined. Cuba expects to close the year with 4.3 million tourists instead of the 5.1 million it had initially estimated, which will have a 10% year-on-year impact on the local tourism and leisure industry, which represents the second source of hard currency income for the country. Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero explained last July during Parliament's sessions that the suspension of cruise visits by the Donald Trump administration will affect "more than 560,000 Americans in what remains of the year." The new U.S. measures, which since last June prohibit travel by private planes, yachts and...

The salary increase applied since July to public sector workers in Cuba has encouraged the return of more than 8,000 teachers to the classrooms next school year, partially reducing the island’s chronic deficit of educators. The new additions will allow the Cuban State to cover 95% of the national demand for teachers, a coverage that is 3% higher than last year, according to data from the Ministry of Education. Minister of Education Ena Elsa Velázquez this Thursday announced the preparations for the new 2019/20 school year. Next September 2, about 10,700 educational institutions in Cuba will open for the new school year, in which there will be more than 1.7 million students in the classrooms, the minister affirmed to the state media, without specifying the total number of teachers. A great deal of the reinstated teachers are retired professionals who, in addition to continuing to receive their pensions, will receive the new payment system, whereby the minimum monthly salaries will increase from 225 Cuban pesos (equivalent to about 9.3 dollars) to 400 (16.6 dollars). https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/salary-increase-and-distributive-tensions/ The salary increase, decreed by the government last June and effective since July, increases the average income of public sector workers from 767 Cuban pesos...

The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a vessel with six Cuban immigrants on board along the coasts east of the city of Boca Raton, north of Miami, the institution said without specifying the date of the operation. According to the Seventh Coast Guard District, the Coast Guard stopped a wooden boat with six men on board when they were seven miles (about 11 kilometers) east of Boca Raton. https://twitter.com/USCGSoutheast/status/1159272808121339906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1159272808121339906&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba-ee-uu%2Fee-uu-intercepta-a-seis-inmigrantes-cubanos-en-un-bote-de-madera-en-boca-raton%2F The six Cuban  rafters, who will be repatriated, are part of several recent interceptions, including one with 27 nationals in early August and another with 33 last July. During the current fiscal year, from October 1 to last, about 438 Cubans have tried to arrive “illegally” by sea to U.S. territory, compared to 384 accounted for throughout the 2018 fiscal year, according to data from the Coast Guard. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba-usa/u-s-intercepts-27-cuban-rafters-at-sea/ These figures represent the total number of "interdictions" at sea and landings in the Straits of Florida, the Caribbean and the Atlantic. In January 2017, then President Barack Obama (2009-2017) canceled the “wet foot/dry foot” policy enacted in 1995, whereby Cubans who touched land were favored with the Cuban Adjustment Act and could stay in the United States and even obtain permanent residence,...

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez this Wednesday considered as "concerning" that the violence and xenophobia directed against Latinos in the United States are due to the "hate discourse" of the government headed by President Donald Trump. "It is concerning that expressions of racism, violence and xenophobia in the U.S. are attacking citizens of the Latin American peoples, as a result of the outrageous discourse of hatred and rejection of the current U.S. government," Rodriguez wrote on Twitter in light of the weekend’s mass shootings in that country. https://twitter.com/BrunoRguezP/status/1159123301886824448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1159123301886824448&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba-ee-uu%2Fcuba-preocupada-porque-violencia-en-eeuu-sea-por-discurso-de-odio-de-trump%2F In this way, Havana is joining the criticisms being made in the very United States against the Trump administration, known for its anti-immigration discourse, with which the shooter who murdered 22 people on Saturday―eight of them Mexican citizens―in a supermarket in El Paso, a city in Texas bordering Mexico, coincides. The authorities consider that the assailant, who was arrested, is the author of a manifesto in which he warns of a "Hispanic invasion in Texas." The U.S. president, who rolled back the "thawing" policy with Cuba promoted by his predecessor Barack Obama, visited El Paso on Wednesday after making a stop in Dayton (Ohio), where a man murdered nine people early this...

More than 75% of the roads in Cuba are in regular or poor condition, according to data from the Ministry of Transportation, which has launched a program to curb the deterioration, with emphasis on the National Thruway and the Central Highway. Most (39%) of the island’s roads need extensive maintenance, while 37% are in "regular" conditions, the official newspaper Granma specified this Tuesday. In a report presented to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, authorities of the National Roads Center highlighted that although 9,800 kilometers of "roads of national interest" were repaired in 2018, these figures "do not meet the island’s needs." The poor conditions of the Cuban roads have influenced, along with drivers’ negligence and the technical damage of the vehicles, mostly with decades of exploitation, the increase of traffic accidents in Cuba, registering an average of 29 daily accidents in the first quarter of 2019. https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/cuba-registers-29-traffic-accidents-per-day-in-first-quarter-of-2019/ Last year, the increase in deaths due to massive traffic accidents and the deterioration of the roads led the Cuban official press to demand "swiftness" in the repair of the roads, especially the unfinished National Thruway, to prevent it from continuing to be a "cemetery on asphalt." According to the National Roads Center, until...

Cuba will double the number of professionals providing medical services in Jamaica with the sending of 290 new specialists to that Caribbean nation, officials of the Cuban Ministry of Public Health announced this Tuesday. Some 259 Cuban collaborators are currently working in Jamaica, the head of the island's medical mission in that Caribbean country, José Armando Afronte, specified to the official newspaper Granma. He said that the authorities from both countries had recently examined and chosen the new members of the group. "There is a great acceptance by the people of Jamaica and by the Ministry of Public Health in each of the institutions working there―both hospitals and health centers―on the role played by Cuban personnel," said Afronte, who did not specify when the professionals will arrive. Cuba's medical mission in Jamaica began to provide services in 1976 and although today it is mostly made up by nursing professionals, it also includes doctors, electromedical engineers and technicians. Some 18 specialists are part of the "Misión Milagro," which has operated on some 16,000 patients to improve or return sight to low-income Jamaicans. According to official data, in more than 40 years of work in Jamaica, Cubans have saved 2,541 lives, have...

The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted south of Key West, in the Florida Keys, a rustic vessel with 27 Cubans on board, the authority said this Thursday. It did not report injuries or incidents. As it said in a press release, the Coast Guard station in Key West was alerted last Saturday by a good Samaritan about a possible boat with immigrants on board, who could not be seen in the dark of the night. Photo: Erik Villa Rodriguez / U.S. Coast Guard The Coast Guard sent a ship that spotted the boat with the 27 Cubans on board, 22 of them men, four women and a minor, according to the authority, which said they were all safely transported to the Coast Guard's ship. Captain Jason Ryan, of the Seventh Coast Guard District, said that attempts like these are "extremely dangerous." "Especially during the hurricane season when weather and sea conditions can dramatically and rapidly change in a matter of minutes," he added in statements in the press release. Ryan reported that, according to the current national immigration policy, the Cubans apprehended on Saturday in the ocean will be repatriated to their country. Photo: Erik Villa Rodriguez / U.S. Coast Guard...

Cuba began the preparations for the next tobacco harvest in the western province of Pinar del Río, the largest producer and supplier of the aromatic leaf for making the island’s most famous cigar brands. For the 2019-2020 season, a plan has been envisaged to plant 20,050 hectares in the tobacco plantations of Vueltabajo, considered the most important region for the cultivation of tobacco in Pinar del Río, with around 65% of the country's production. The new harvest is underway with the preparation of the land, soil improvement, the location of the seedbed areas, while the beginning of seedbed irrigation is scheduled for the end of next August, as reported this Wednesday by the Cuban News Agency (ACN). Among the varieties to be planted are Habana 92, Corojo 2006 and 2012, Criollo 2010 and Virginia 22, 23 and 24, mainly for a cigarette factory in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM), Cuba’s star project to attract foreign investment. Experienced tobacco farmers in Pinar del Río are building houses to cure tobacco leaves. So far they have already completed about 2,340, and others are in different building stages and also under repair. Cuba harvested more than 30,000 tons of tobacco for the...

Cuban and Chinese universities are working jointly to create an International Artificial Intelligence Institute, which is expected to open within a year, the island’s state media reported this Tuesday. Cuban academicians and scientists are working on the project of the Hebei University of International Studies in China, which will be under the direction of Cuban Doctor of Science Yailé Caballero, who was recently recognized with the award as "international expert" of that city in the Asian country. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2556151121104203&set=a.780532478666085&type=3 The Cuban expert said that advances in this discipline are "crucial" in diverse applications and sectors of science, as well as an opportunity for the island’s researchers to demonstrate their "capacity and potential," according to the state-run Cuban News Agency (ACN). She also considered that "it is a privilege that we be recognized," but also indicated that the aim is to integrate other specialists from Spain and Belgium at a time when the community dedicated to artificial intelligence "is not very big." Among the institutions participating in this project with China are the universities of the Cuban cities of Camagüey, Granma, Ciego de Ávila and Villa Clara, the Academy of Sciences of Cuba, the Technological University and that of Computer Sciences, the...

Private data networks are now legal in Cuba since this Monday, when the government’s new regulations came into force, which in practice regulate existing interconnections as long as their contents do not violate "social interest, morals and good customs." "It is about organizing private data networks and high-speed wireless systems at the frequencies of 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz," the director of regulations of the Ministry of Communications (MINCOM), Wilfredo López, told state media. As announced in May, from now on, licenses for the operation of external private data networks will be granted to individuals, who can use them in the frequencies of the band from 2400 MHz to 2483.5 MHz, and the band from 5725 MHz to 5850 MHz. For private homes, and provided that the connection is non-profit, a power limit of 100 milliwatt (mW, equivalent to 200-300 meters) is established and it is possible to connect a building or block "as long as it does not interfere with the public highway." It also allows for the creation of private networks to download files, applications, games and antivirus updates, "as long as they do not affect the integrity and security of the country or promote information contrary to...

The Association of Users of the Colón Duty-Free Zone, the largest in the continent and located in Panama, this Thursday expressed its rejection of the temporary suspension of the issuance of tourism cards to Cubans put into effect on Wednesday by the Panamanian government. The National Migration Service (SNM) of Panama said Wednesday that the issuance of the tourism card, created last October by the government of Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019), was suspended while it reviews the procedures for entering the country under that category. Users of the Panamanian duty-free zone said this Thursday in a public statement that “it has not been detected that these (Cuban) tourists come to Panama with a view to establishing their residence in the country or using Panama as a way to reach the States United." https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/panama-temporarily-suspends-issuance-of-tourism-cards-to-cubans/ They stressed that every day about 300 Cuban tourists enter and remain in Panama for a short period of 3 or 4 days, with a certain capital to make purchases in the country, contributing to the economy through this type of tourism. The delay in the entry procedures for these islanders who come to carry out shopping tourism "affects all commerce in general and the province of...

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel visited this Thursday the relatives of Dr. Assel Herrera, one of the two Cuban doctors kidnapped three months ago in northern Kenya and taken to Somalia by suspected members of the jihadist group Al-Shabaab. "It was an honor to get together and have an affectionate and warm meeting with the family of Dr. Assel Herrera Correa, one of our two kidnapped doctors," Díaz-Canel said in a message on his Twitter account, accompanied by two photos of the meeting. The island’s president also said that the daughter of doctor Herrera "enrolled to study medicine, following in the footsteps of her beloved father," he wrote in the same tweet about the visit. Photo: DiazCanelB/Twitter. Díaz-Canel said at the end of last June that Cuba maintains a “permanent follow-up” on the case of surgeon Landy Rodríguez and general medicine specialist Assel Herrera, kidnapped on April 12 when they were traveling in an official vehicle to work in the hospital in the Kenyan city of Mandera, near the border with Somalia. Kenyan authorities believe that the Somali jihadist group Al-Shabaab, which joined Al Qaeda in 2012, is responsible for the act and that, although it operates in Somalia, it usually...

Cuban scientists this Tuesday described the study published hours earlier by the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), which reveals an alleged loss of brain white matter in U.S. diplomats affected by mysterious health problems in Havana, as not very rigorous and inconclusive. "The authors of the paper themselves acknowledge that the study is inconclusive and they have no explanation for their findings," explained the director of the Neurosciences Center of Cuba, Mitchell Valdés, at a press conference. The doctor, who belongs to a group of scientists who have been studying these incidents since they were first reported in February 2017, acknowledged that it is not usual to comment so quickly on a scientific publication, but they have done so "due to its media impact" and to "prevent misinterpretations." https://twitter.com/CubaMINREX/status/1153791500968271873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1153791500968271873&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Foncubanews.com%2Fcuba-ee-uu%2Fcuba-refuta-estudio-que-alega-perdida-de-materia-blanca-en-diplomaticos-de-eeuu%2F Up to 26 officials and diplomats from the United States and 14 from Canada stationed in Havana have presented since early 2017 symptoms such as brain injuries, dizziness, headaches and lack of ability to concentrate for reasons that are still unknown. Both embassies reduced their staff to a minimum for this reason and, in the case of the United States, some of their authorities described the incidents as acoustic or sonic "attacks,"...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov traveled to Cuba this Tuesday to meet his local counterpart Bruno Rodriguez, with whom he will address the international and regional agenda and various aspects of bilateral cooperation, especially in the economic, trade, cultural and humanities spheres. The head of Russian diplomacy will visit Havana for two days, during which he will evaluate together with Rodríguez the evolution of the agreements signed last November by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported. At that meeting, Putin promised Díaz-Canel to help the Caribbean country in the process of modernization and reform of its economy. One of the main projects underway on the island with Russian investment involves improving railroad track capacity and reviving Cuba's depressed railroad freight transportation with the investment of some one billion euros (equivalent to about 1.123 billion dollars) until 2030. Lavrov and Rodríguez will also address the agenda of political contacts for this year, including those at the highest level, in order to continue strengthening the two countries’ coordinated positions in relation to the main regional and international problems. Both nations coincide in their support for President Nicolás Maduro in the midst of...

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel received this Monday in Havana U.S. actor Danny Glover, who was an active member of the solidarity campaign for the freedom of the 5 Cuban agents―Five Heroes―imprisoned for more than fifteen years in United States. Glover has been in Cuba since Saturday to attend as a guest the graduation ceremony of the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), among which there are 10 students from the United States. “Welcome dear friend Danny Glover. See you soon,” Díaz-Canel wrote on his Twitter account after the arrival in Havana of the actor, also known for his stand as a human rights activist. Díaz-Canel and Glover talked about “the importance of promoting artistic exchanges between Cuba and the United States, based on existing historical and cultural links,” said the state-run Cuban News Agency. The Caribbean island’s president expressed to Glover his "concern about the negative impact this area has suffered, as a result of the rollback in bilateral relations." Photo: Estudios Revolución. Díaz-Canel also reiterated Cuba's will to "advance" with the broad sectors that in the United States favor the improvement of ties between the two nations. Danny Glover was accompanied at the meeting by the director of Cultural...

Cuba, in second place by number of medals won―2,030―in the history of the Pan American Games, is going to the next continental meet in Lima (Peru) with the main challenge of leaving behind the fourth place by countries (36-27-34) of its previous performance in Toronto 2015. The island will face three strong rivals in the 18th Lima Games, where the United States and Canada will vie for the first two places and to achieve the third position it will have to defeat Brazil. The Caribbean country has a total of 876 gold, 591 silver and 563 bronze medals since its first participation in the Pan American Games in Buenos Aires 1951. Cuba will compete with a delegation made up of 425 athletes and, according to the forecasts of the country's sports authorities, 44 of them have the best chances of winning a medal at the continental meet to be held from July 26 to August 11. The island’s delegation will participate in 297 of the Games’ 442 disciplines and among the sports with chances of getting on the podium, with real gold options, the forecasts point to 13 disciplines, including track and field, boxing, kayaking, judo, wrestling and shooting. In...

The Academy of Sciences of Cuba has recognized with the country’s highest scientific award the SURE Project promoted by the Imperial College of London and in which the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT) is participating. UPCT professor Antonio Urbina and the doctor for the doctoral program in Renewable Energies of the Polytechnic University Lucía Serrano have participated in the PEMAR Project that has received the 2019 prize of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba, the most prestigious award given in the country in the scientific field. The SURE Project (Sustainable Rural Energy), a multi-criteria decision software, to which the researchers introduce a series of conditioning features and factors on a specific area or population for the program to analyze the information and offer the best renewable energy solution, is part of this project. Serrano explained that once the software proposes a photovoltaic technology as a solution, the researchers calculate the carbon dioxide that is avoided thanks to its use, also taking into account the places where it is manufactured and its installation, as well as showing the results for various technologies and being able to choose the one with the lowest environmental impact. For his part, Urbina stressed that this...

Yotuel, singer of the Cuban group Orishas and winner of two Latin Grammy awards, revealed this Friday to EFE that he wrote the last single, "Insomnio," when seeing the images of the difficulties the island is going through and that are keeping him awake. "Tell me if sleeping is easy for you, tell me if waking up is not the way out," the Cuban group Orishas sings in "Insomnio," a song released last month and composed by Yotuel. https://youtu.be/8dCtuqJbjUo In an interview with EFE, before performing this Friday in the Noches del Botánico Festival in Madrid, Yotuel also cited the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, Puerto Rico’s policy, the situation in which migrants live on the border with the United States and the measures of U.S. President Donald Trump as factors that keep him awake. "I wrote the song thinking about a picture sent to me of a row, about people who were very hungry, trying to buy a piece of chicken. And that's where the melody came from," explained Yotuel, singer-songwriter of the hip hop group. The image of Cuba as a nation that has "stopped in time" also inspired him to compose another song, "Donde Nací," which is part...