During an airborne press briefing held onboard Turkey’s official presidential aircraft as it traveled back from a state visit to South Korea, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed reporters’ queries regarding the potential for Turkiye to serve as the host venue for a landmark three-way diplomatic summit bringing together the leaders of Turkiye, Russia, and Ukraine. The high-level discussion on advancing peace in the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict comes on the heels of in-depth bilateral talks Erdogan held with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during Zelensky’s official visit to Turkiye the preceding Saturday. “During our meeting, we underscored to President Zelensky that prioritizing deliberate, diplomatic steps within ongoing negotiation frameworks is the foundational path to bringing a just and permanent end to the devastating war between our two Black Sea neighbor nations,” Erdogan told assembled journalists. “Turkiye has spared no effort to clear diplomatic pathways toward a sustainable peace agreement from the outset of this crisis, and we remain fully committed to sustaining these efforts for as long as it takes to deliver tangible progress.” Erdogan also confirmed that he is actively pursuing a separate face-to-face meeting with Russian head of state Vladimir Putin to align with Moscow on the terms for potential de-escalation and peace, following the productive discussions he held with Zelensky. The ongoing military conflict in Ukraine first commenced on February 24, 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale military operation, citing core demands that the Kyiv government halt alleged attacks on civilian populations in the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics – two territories that had declared independence from Ukraine – as well as implement formal “denazification” and “demilitarization” measures for the Ukrainian state.
标签： Cuba
古巴
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China defends cooperation with Cuba, rejects US sanctions
During a regular press briefing held recently, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun issued a formal, firm response following the U.S. State Department’s announcement of fresh unilateral sanctions targeting two individuals and eight entities, including the China National Electronic Import and Export Company (CEIEC) and Beijing H&C Technologies, over alleged ties to Cuba-related cooperation. Guo first emphasized that all collaborative projects carried out between the governments and non-state actors of Beijing and Havana follow international norms, operate on a fully legitimate, transparent basis, and are designed to deliver tangible public benefits to the Cuban people without harming any third party’s interests. The spokesperson went on to denounce the U.S. move to impose these latest punitive measures as a blatant violation of fundamental international law principles, noting that the sanctions were never reviewed or authorized by the United Nations Security Council, the global body mandated to oversee multilateral sanction frameworks. Guo further pushed back against Washington’s long-practiced “long-arm jurisdiction” mechanism, describing it as a hegemonic tool designed to arbitrarily interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign nations and deliberately disrupt normal, mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation between China and Cuba. Reaffirming China’s consistent stance on Cuba-related issues, Guo stated that Beijing will continue to stand firmly behind Havana as the Caribbean nation defends its national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and right to pursue an independent development path free from unwelcome external meddling. To conclude his remarks, the spokesperson made it clear that the Chinese government will not hesitate to roll out all necessary, lawful countermeasures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its domestic enterprises, personnel, and relevant institutions that have been unfairly targeted by the U.S. unlawful sanction actions.
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Baracoa, a global film success, reaches Cuban movie theaters
The Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) has officially confirmed that the entire core creative ensemble behind the celebrated feature film *Baracoa* — including its director, producing team, production crew members, and full cast lineup — will be present for the film’s upcoming public screening. This heartfelt dramedy road picture marks the first narrative fiction feature from its director Doñas, and weaves a layered, emotionally resonant narrative centered on the complicated intergenerational bond between two men: Felipe, a veteran Italian revolutionary and close personal associate of historic Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro, portrayed by globally acclaimed Italian screen star Giancarlo Giannini, and his son Pepe, brought to life by Cuban actor Carlos Luis Gonzalez, whose life and identity have long been constrained by pervasive local homophobic social prejudices. The story unfolds in the aftermath of Felipe’s passing, when Pepe joins a physician named Jimmy, played by Yadier Fernandez, on a meandering cross-island road journey that starts in the capital city of Havana and stretches all the way to Baracoa, the easternmost urban hub on the Cuban archipelago. What begins as a physical trip across the island evolves into a deeply intimate, transformative voyage of self-discovery for both central characters. In a recent interview with state-run Cuban news outlet Prensa Latina, director Doñas explained that the core thematic pillars of the film are universal, focused on unfiltered depictions of romantic love, loyal friendship, and inherent human kindness. He emphasized that the unadulterated, genuine emotional purity that radiates through every frame of the production is the exact element that allows it to strike a deeply personal chord with viewers across vastly different cultural backgrounds. Prior to its upcoming local screening in Cuba, *Baracoa* already earned widespread critical acclaim on the international film festival circuit, taking home two top honors at the 41st iteration of the Ibero-Latin American Film Festival held in Trieste, Italy: the highly competitive Audience Award within the event’s official competition section, and the Best Screenplay distinction, which was co-written by director Doñas and collaborator Filippo Ascione.
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Latin American trade union confederation welcomes Pope Leo XIV
Pope Francis, the Supreme Pontiff and head of Vatican City State, has received an official ceremonial welcome in Montevideo, Uruguay, kicking off his highly anticipated multi-stop apostolic journey across South America that will run through November 17, when he is scheduled to return to his residence in Rome. Ahead of his official departure for the regional tour, the 86-year-old pontiff shared a public message across his official social media channels, asking global Catholic communities to keep his travels in their prayers. “I entrust myself to your prayers, so that this journey may strengthen faith, renew hope, rekindle the fire of charity, and serve as an impetus to continue proclaiming the Gospel with joy,” the Pope wrote in his pre-travel statement. The Pope’s itinerary will keep him in Uruguay from this Friday until November 8, at which point he will board a papal aircraft bound for Buenos Aires, Argentina. The upcoming stop in Buenos Aires marks the first official papal visit to Argentina in more than four decades, a milestone that has drawn widespread attention from local government bodies, faith communities and civil society groups across the country. After concluding his engagements in Argentina on November 11, the pontiff will travel onward to Peru, where he will carry out the final leg of his South American tour before heading back to Rome on November 17. In a related pre-tour collaborative initiative between the Catholic Church and public sector labor organizations, the Latin American and Caribbean Front of Public Sector Unions – a coalition that includes CLATE, Public Services International, and the International Union of Trade Unions – officially rolled out a new training program titled “Work, Dignity, and Social Justice” at a launch event hosted by CLATE in Buenos Aires on October 14. The program is designed to align with the Pope’s long-stated advocacy for fair labor rights, equitable working conditions and the protection of marginalized working populations across Latin America.
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The young man from Kempen
On the evening of October 21, 2026, the global network of solidarity advocates supporting Cuba bid farewell to a beloved, quiet champion: Ulrich Fausten, who passed away in the Cuban capital of Havana, the city and nation he had dedicated decades of his life to uplifting through his work leading the German-language edition of Granma International.
As the article’s author Arlin Alberty Loforte notes, true cross-border friendship and international solidarity reveal their tangible power when people choose to stand in shared struggle with marginalized communities, and center the pursuit of collective justice as a core life mission. For Granma, Cuba’s official national newspaper, generations of international collaborators from every continent have spent decades translating and amplifying unfiltered narratives about the island to global audiences, breaking through language barriers to spread Cuban realities far beyond the newsroom’s walls.
Many public figures leave loud, fleeting marks on public life, but the most enduring legacies often belong to quiet, consistent contributors whose commitment is rooted in shared purpose rather than public fanfare. Fausten, whom Loforte frames as still present in the collective memory of the Granma team, was one such figure. For most of Loforte’s tenure at Granma International, he worked closely with the tight-knit pair of Fausten and his life and work partner Renata, whom the newsroom staff affectionately nicknamed “the Germans” while playfully referring to their office space as “the yacht,” a nod to the historic Granma yacht that carried the leaders of the Cuban Revolution to the island in 1956.
Long before they joined the Granma International team, Fausten and Renata held a deep, abiding love for Cuba’s unyielding spirit and vibrant cultural heritage. Their solidarity work stretched back to 1994, one of the most economically and socially turbulent periods of Cuba’s post-Soviet “Special Period,” when they began their lifelong journey standing in support of the Cuban Revolution thousands of miles away in Europe. Born in the small German town of Kempen, Fausten was first drawn to Havana by its world-famous music, arts, and vibrant street culture. He embraced the island’s sweltering tropical heat with good humor, and wore the traditional Cuban white guayabera shirt with such unbridled, native-esque pride that he treated it as the most elegant formal attire for every official and social gathering.
Fausten faced repeated, severe personal and professional trials over the course of his life, but his commitment to Cuban solidarity never wavered. Just hours before the entire nation was set to mark its annual National Culture Day, his long battle with a debilitating illness ended; while the disease weakened his body, it never broke his iron will to stand for the causes he believed in. In line with his explicit final wish, carried out with unwavering devotion by Renata, his ashes were scattered in the vivid, turquoise waters off Havana’s iconic Malecón seawall, so he could remain permanently anchored to the city he loved.
No linguistic divide or thousands of miles of ocean can erase the bonds of shared struggle and cross-cultural affection. The quiet young man from Kempen will live on forever in the pages of Granma, in the rhythms of Havana’s streets, and in the collective memory of the Cuban people whose lives he touched so deeply.
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Belarus delivers donation of medicines and food to Cuban Public Health institutions
On November 6, 2026, a formal handover ceremony marked the official transfer of a targeted humanitarian shipment from the Government of the Republic of Belarus to Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health, a 34-ton consignment comprising 30 tons of nutrient-dense powdered milk and nearly 4 tons of critical medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, earmarked exclusively for two leading pediatric care facilities: the University Pediatric Hospital and the William Soler Pediatric Cardiology Center.
The event gathered senior Cuban health and trade officials, alongside Belarus’ top diplomatic representative on the island, to underscore the decades-long bilateral solidarity that underpinned the gesture. Dr. Tania Margarita Cruz Hernández, First Deputy Minister of Public Health, opened the ceremony by extending formal gratitude from both the Cuban health ministry and the broader Cuban public, framing the donation as far more than a material infusion. She contextualized the arrival of the aid against a backdrop of cascading operational constraints facing Cuba’s public health system, driven by the longstanding U.S. economic, commercial, financial and technological blockade that has been aggressively tightened by the current U.S. administration, paired with a deliberate “energy siege” that has gutted access to the fuel, specialized medical technology and basic operational resources required to run acute care facilities. These barriers, she explained, have disrupted core hospital functions ranging from temperature-controlled pharmaceutical storage and high-risk surgical procedures to timely emergency response for vulnerable patients. Against that strained operational landscape, the Belarusian shipment is positioned to directly stabilize pediatric care delivery: the pharmaceuticals will fill critical gaps in treatment regimens for young patients with complex cardiac and chronic conditions, while the powdered milk will support nutritional recovery programs for hospitalized children.
Carlos Luis Jorge Méndez, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, who also attended the handover, echoed the assessment of systemic pressures, noting that targeted external acts of solidarity have become a lifeline for Cuba’s universal public health infrastructure in recent years.
Vitali Barchuk, Ambassador of Belarus to Cuba, emphasized that the aid was deployed in direct alignment with longstanding bilateral cooperation traditions between the two nations, which have sustained decades of friendly diplomatic ties and formal cross-institutional health sector agreements between regulatory and care bodies on both sides. “For Belarus, remaining on the sidelines during such a difficult situation is not an option,” Barchuk told assembled attendees, noting that successive shipments of humanitarian support from Minsk to Havana in recent years stand as tangible proof of a relationship rooted in mutual respect and coordinated advocacy within multilateral international forums. He highlighted that children, as one of Cuba’s most vulnerable demographic groups, were prioritized for the targeted donation to safeguard their health outcomes amid ongoing systemic strains.
Leadership from the two beneficiary pediatric institutions also spoke to the dual material and moral impact of the contribution. Dr. Eugenio Selman-Houssein Sosa, director of the William Soler Pediatric Cardiology Center, noted that the shipment would not only ease immediate operational burdens for clinical staff, but also send a powerful signal of international support to patients and care teams navigating extended periods of resource scarcity. Dr. Alena Fontane Valdés, director of the University Pediatric Hospital, added that the combined supply of specialized medicines and nutritional products would directly improve treatment outcomes for hundreds of child patients, serving as a concrete demonstration of the sustained, mutually respectful cooperative bonds that have defined the two nations’ decades-long partnership. -
Addressing the water supply issue requires a comprehensive program, not just a single measure
During the November 5, 2026, broadcast of Cuba’s public affairs program Shared Views, President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who also serves as First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party Central Committee, laid out a comprehensive, multi-pronged strategy to address the country’s long-running, widespread water supply challenges, while urging state institutions to adopt more responsive, citizen-centric approaches to public concerns. The president acknowledged that water access strains are particularly acute in major population hubs including Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Holguín, noting the crisis is rooted in overlapping structural barriers: decades of accumulated wear on aging hydraulic networks, chronic underinvestment in critical maintenance, persistent shortages of imported equipment and spare parts exacerbated by the longstanding U.S. economic blockade, and cascading disruptions from the national energy crisis, which regularly forces water pumping stations offline due to blackouts and fuel shortfalls. “This nation’s water crisis is not a minor or temporary inconvenience—it is a tangible, severe, and multifaceted challenge that cannot be solved with a single quick fix,” Díaz-Canel told viewers. A core pillar of the new national action plan is systematically reducing the water supply system’s overreliance on the national electrical grid (SEN) by integrating renewable energy infrastructure, particularly photovoltaic solar systems, at key water source sites and distribution booster stations. To reinforce the administration’s commitment to transparent, accountable public service, the president shared full follow-up data on citizen complaints submitted during the prior episode of Shared Views: 29 total calls were logged, with every caller receiving an in-person follow-up visit from relevant agency staff. Of the 23 formal complaints submitted, 17 were fully validated, 4 were partially substantiated, and 2 were deemed unfounded. As of the latest update, 9 of the documented issues have been fully resolved, while 12 additional cases requiring extra resources and extended timelines remain in active progress, alongside 40 other public submissions received in the weeks surrounding the prior broadcast. Díaz-Canel stressed that citizen complaints are not a nuisance for state agencies, but an early warning system that flags unmet needs, and that institutions have a duty to engage with petitioners humbly, deliver concrete results rather than empty rhetoric, and maintain consistent communication even when technical solutions cannot be rolled out immediately. He also called for stepped-up enforcement to crack down on hydraulic infrastructure vandalism and metal pipe theft, which often leaves entire neighborhoods cut off from piped water. Antonio Rodríguez, head of Cuba’s National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, presented supplementary operational data during the broadcast, noting that as of the morning of the program, 2.68 million Cubans faced piped water access disruptions, 66% of which were directly tied to power outages, and 25% to faulty pumping equipment, with 536,000 affected residents located in Havana alone. Rodríguez outlined upcoming targeted investments, including 10 grid-connected solar farms totaling 200 megawatts with integrated battery storage to power Havana’s three core water treatment and distribution hubs, currently scheduled for full completion in August 2027, with teams working to accelerate construction to cut the timeline. As part of the ongoing transition to a low-energy-dependency water network, 853 solar-powered pumping units are already operational, with 446 additional units set to be deployed by the end of December 2026. Díaz-Canel closed by emphasizing that material constraints can never justify unresponsive public service, and that the Shared Views platform will continue to serve as a structured, accountable channel to track community needs, enforce agency accountability, and share realistic, actionable progress updates with the public, without making unfulfillable promises.
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Solar energy to support another 55 pumping stations in Santiago de Cuba
SANTIAGO DE CUBA – Local authorities overseeing hydraulic resources have unveiled a new phase of a renewable energy rollout designed to insulate the province’s water distribution networks from frequent disruptions tied to national power grid generation shortfalls. Wilmer Destrades Heredia, the Santiago de Cuba delegate for Hydraulic Resources, confirmed to state publication Granma that 55 additional water pumping stations across the nation’s most topographically rugged province will be fitted with photovoltaic solar panels, joining 88 operational stations that already use solar as an independent energy backup. The announcement comes shortly after the full resolution of a service outage that impacted 16 hydrometric sectors in the provincial “Hero City” last Thursday, triggered by a rupture in a 900-millimeter main pipeline in the Zona Alta district. Parallel infrastructure upgrades are also in motion: construction is advancing on a dedicated new power line for the Gota Blanca reservoir to Quintero pumping system, which delivers potable water to over 70% of residents in Cuba’s second-largest urban center. Over in the Contramaestre municipality, crews are completing upgrades at the Maffo pumping station, including the installation of a new high-efficiency motor and dedicated, stable power access. The Electric Utility Company has already completed targeted investments to decouple the Maffo site from overstretched power circuits that regularly suffer unplanned outages due to systemic national energy generation deficits. Destrades Heredia noted that rural and mountainous communities across seven municipalities – Contramaestre, Mella, San Luis, Songo-La Maya, Palma Soriano, Segundo Frente, and Tercer Frente – have already seen substantial improvements from the solar and equipment upgrade program, with nearly 50,000 residents previously plagued by frequent conventional pump failures now accessing far more consistent water service, a problem that had no viable short or medium-term solution prior to the targeted investments. Even with the measurable progress, the hydraulic resources delegate emphasized that the multi-pronged initiative will not fully eliminate the longstanding complexities of equitable water distribution across the province, noting that a number of hydrometric sectors in San Luis, Palma Soriano, and Songo-La Maya still operate on water delivery cycles that stretch beyond 90 days, with additional long-term infrastructure work required to resolve those gaps.
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Cuba pays tribute to the leader of Pakistan’s independence
A landmark cultural and diplomatic ceremony unfolded in Havana, Cuba, marking the official inauguration of a public statue dedicated to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the revered founding father of Pakistan. The high-profile event drew a distinguished guest list including Pakistan’s Ambassador to Havana Shahbaz Mansoor Malik, Cuba’s Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso, Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vice-Minister Anayansi Rodriguez, and representatives from nearly all foreign diplomatic missions accredited across the Caribbean island nation.
During his address at the unveiling, Ambassador Shahbaz Mansoor Malik underscored the enduring historical weight of Jinnah’s legacy for the Pakistani nation, noting that the iconic leader spearheaded the successful movement to establish the first independent sovereign state for Muslims in the South Asian subcontinent. The diplomat went on to emphasize the profound symbolic meaning of placing this memorial sculpture in Cuba, the largest island in the Greater Antilles archipelago. “Cuba and Pakistan are tied together by unshakable bonds of solidarity and fraternal brotherhood that have stood the test of decades,” he stated to attendees.
Ariel Lorenzo, Director of the Asia and Oceania Division at Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, took the stage to walk the audience through the long, rich history of collaborative bilateral relations that have linked Islamabad and Havana for generations. Later, in an exclusive interview with Cuba’s state-run international news agency Prensa Latina, Ambassador Malik reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering, public support for the Cuban people in their long-running campaign to push back against the harsh unilateral coercive economic and trade measures imposed on the country by the United States government.
The honoree of the new statue, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is universally known across Pakistan by the honorific title “Quaid-e-Azam” or “the Great Leader”. Born in Karachi on December 25, 1876, Jinnah trained as a barrister in London before launching his political career as a prominent figure in the Indian National Congress, where he initially built a reputation as a fierce, unyielding advocate for communal harmony and equal rights for both Hindu and Muslim populations across colonial India.
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Cuba reaffirms commitment to continue strengthening ties with Laos
The long-standing diplomatic partnership between Laos and Cuba traces its informal origins back to the 1960s, when a representative office of the Lao Patriotic Front first opened its doors in Havana, before the mission was upgraded to full embassy status in 1965. Formal official diplomatic relations between the two Southeast Asian and Caribbean nations were subsequently formally established in 1974, laying a solid foundational framework for decades of continuous cooperative engagement. Despite being separated by thousands of kilometers of geographical distance, the two nations have nurtured a tight, fraternal bond that has remained unshaken across generations, prioritizing people-centric collaborative projects that deliver tangible benefits to ordinary citizens on both sides. The core pillars of their bilateral cooperation ecosystem are concentrated in three high-priority public service sectors: healthcare, education, and sports. For decades, cohorts of skilled Cuban medical professionals, including licensed doctors, specialized nurses, and senior health technicians, have traveled to Laos to deliver frontline medical services, share clinical expertise, and strengthen local public health infrastructure. In parallel, generations of young Lao students have journeyed to Cuba to pursue advanced specialized training, not only in medical and public health fields, but also in pedagogical programs at local teacher training institutes, specialized sports programming at the prestigious International School of Physical Education and Sports, and a wide range of practical technical vocational careers that equip them with in-demand skills to contribute to their home nation’s development.