Havana

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US Hemingway Look-Alikes Descend on Havana

18 bearded men visited some of author's favorite sites

(Newser) - Ernest Hemingway has returned to Cuba ... in a way. Eighteen white-bearded men who resemble the late US author went to Havana over the weekend to visit some of his favorite places when he lived on the island decades ago, the AP reports. The members of the Hemingway Look-Alike Society on...

More Russian Warships Dock in Port of Havana

Cuban officials and onlookers call the visit a sign of friendship

(Newser) - Fishermen watched and authorities fired shots into the air as Russian warships again sailed into the Port of Havana on Saturday—the second such deployment in two months. The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces described the arrival of the patrol ship Neustrahimiy, training vessel Smolniy, and support vessels from the Baltic...

Havana Blames Gas Leak for Fatal Explosion at Hotel
Death Toll Climbs
in Hotel Explosion
updated
May 8, 2022 3:15 PM CDT

Death Toll Climbs in Hotel Explosion

Havana crews still search for survivors in rubble

(Newser) - Update: Rescuers were still searching Sunday for survivors of an explosion at a Havana hotel, which officials said killed more than 30 people. Cuban state TV said survivors could be trapped in the basement of the Hotel Saratoga, which blew up Friday. State media reported that 32 people had been...

Report Finds Culprit Behind Mystery US Diplomat Illnesses

'Directed' microwave energy apparently sickened envoys in Havana and China

(Newser) - A new report by a National Academy of Sciences committee has found that “directed” microwave radiation is the likely cause of illness among American diplomats in Cuba and China. The study commissioned by the State Department and released Saturday is the latest attempt to find a cause for the...

Those Mystery Cuba Ailments? They're All Over the World
Suspected Culprit Emerges
in Mystery 'Havana Syndrome'
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Oct 24, 2020 7:00 AM CDT

Suspected Culprit Emerges in Mystery 'Havana Syndrome'

Reports suggest Russia is behind alleged attacks on US diplomats around the world

(Newser) - Remember "Havana syndrome"? That's the term often used to describe the weird, inexplicable ailments that began affecting US diplomats in Cuba in recent years. Now two investigative pieces, one by the New York Times and the other at GQ , seek to shed more light on what's...

US Bars All Flights Into Cuba, With One Exception

Planes from United States can only go into Havana in new travel ban

(Newser) - If you'd planned to travel to Cuba, you still can—but only one of the country's 10 main airports will be open starting next month. Per CBS News , at the direction of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the US has banned all flights to the island nation, save...

They Heard a 'Dog' in the Plane's Belly. Then a Voice Asked for Water

Officials bust alleged stowaway in Miami on Swift Air flight from Havana

(Newser) - It sounded like a dog in the cargo hold of the Swift Air plane from Havana that had just landed in Miami early Friday. Then: "I'm not a dog." The voice from the belly of the private charter plane, officials say, was that of a Cuban stowaway,...

A New, Simpler Theory on Cuban Sonic Mystery

Crickets, say scientists

(Newser) - All kinds of theories have been floated to explain the mysterious noise blamed for ailments akin to brain trauma at the American embassy in Cuba. Now two scientists have put forth the simplest theory of all: crickets. More specifically, the scientists say they believe a certain cricket—the Indies short-tailed...

Only 3 Survive Cuban Plane Crash
Only 3 Survive
Cuban Plane Crash
May 19, 2018 7:30 AM CDT

Only 3 Survive Cuban Plane Crash

There was a 4th survivor, but that person died in the hospital

(Newser) - Amid tragedy, a sliver of good news: Three women have survived the plane crash in Cuba that killed more than 100 Friday, the BBC reports. The survivors were pulled from the wreckage at the crash site and all are said to be in serious condition, per Reuters . There was a...

Tillerson Digs In on Cuba as FBI Finds No Evidence of Attacks

Secretary of state refuses to send diplomats back, will likely form a review board

(Newser) - The United States would be "putting people intentionally in harm's way" if it sent diplomats back to Cuba, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tells the AP , even as a new FBI report casts doubt on the theory that Americans were hit by "sonic attacks." Following months...

Brain Abnormalities Found in US Embassy Victims in Cuba

White matter changes are most specific finding yet about Havana mystery attacks

(Newser) - Doctors treating the US Embassy victims of mysterious, invisible attacks in Cuba have discovered brain abnormalities as they search for clues to explain the hearing, vision, balance, and memory damage, the AP has learned. It's the most specific finding to date about physical damage, showing that whatever it was...

Sonic Weapon? Cuba Calls US Accusation 'Science Fiction'

Officials label US allegation 'slander'

(Newser) - Cuban military officials have a few words to describe the notion that Havana has some kind of sonic weapon it has used against American diplomats: "science fiction" and "slander." In interviews with reporters, Cuban officials say they have investigated thoroughly and cannot find the source of the...

US Tourists Who Visited Cuba Think They Got Hit, Too

South Carolina's Chris Allen suffered ailments similar to 'sonic' victims back in 2014

(Newser) - Chris Allen's phone started buzzing as word broke that invisible attacks in Cuba had hit a US government worker at Havana's Hotel Capri. Allen's friends and family had heard an eerily similar story from him before. The tourist from South Carolina had cut short his trip to...

Tillerson: Diplomat Injuries in Cuba May Lead to Big US Move

Secretary of state says US Embassy there may be shuttered due to mystery 'incidents'

(Newser) - No one knows what's injuring US diplomats in Havana, not even (ostensibly) Raul Castro . And so Rex Tillerson said on Sunday's Face the Nation that the US government is considering closing the US Embassy there in response to this "serious issue," per the AP . "We...

Weird Cuba Incidents Left US Diplomats With Brain Injuries

This is being taken very seriously, State Dept. says

(Newser) - American diplomats treated after a series of unexplained incidents in Havana had health problems including mild traumatic brain injury and central nervous system damage, according to medical records seen by CBS News . The diplomats, some of whom ended up having to leave Cuba, were treated by an American doctor after...

US Expels Cuban Diplomats After Strange Incidents

US diplomats in Cuba 'suffered severe hearing loss'

(Newser) - The State Department has expelled two diplomats from the Cuban Embassy in Washington following a series of unexplained incidents in Cuba that left US officials there with physical symptoms that one official said includes potentially permanent hearing loss. Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the two Cubans were asked to leave the...

Cuba's Capital Now Has a Luxury Mall

It's run by the military's tourism arm

(Newser) - The saleswomen in L'Occitane en Provence's new Havana store make $12.50 a month. The acacia eau de toilette they sell costs $95.20 a bottle. A few doors down, a Canon EOS camera goes for $7,542.01. A Bulgari watch, $10,200. In the heart of...

Tourists in Cuba Find Themselves in Historic Moment

Havana is suddenly extremely subdued

(Newser) - They came for salsa music and mojitos and ended up wandering through a city turned still and silent by nine days of national mourning for Fidel Castro . As Cuba prepares a massive commemoration for the leader of its socialist revolution, tens of thousands of high-season travelers have found themselves accidental...

Throngs in Havana Give Pope a Hero's Welcome
 Pope Sits Down 
 With Fidel Castro 
updated
Sep 20, 2015 1:38 PM CDT

Pope Sits Down With Fidel Castro

Francis delights crowd in Cuba ahead of his US visit

(Newser) - Pope Francis and Fidel Castro, the man who transformed his country through decades of Communism, met today at the revolutionary leader's home shortly after the pope told tens of thousands of Cubans to focus their lives on service to others instead of ideology. Papal spokesman Federico Lombardi says during...

US, Cuba Will Reopen Embassies
US, Cuba to Reopen Embassies This Summer
UPDATED
Jul 1, 2015 11:28 AM CDT

US, Cuba to Reopen Embassies This Summer

It could happen in a matter of weeks

(Newser) - It's another step toward normal relations between the US and Cuba, and it's a big one: The two countries will reopen embassies in each other's capitals this summer. Cuba says the move will happen July 20, though President Obama didn't provide a specific date in his...

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