Al-Qaida’s leader said in remarks posted Wednesday that a prisoners’ hunger strike in Guantanamo Bay has revealed the “odious” face of America and claims that the terror network will spare no effort to free prisoners held at the U.S. military-run detention center in Cuba. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Al-Qaida’s leader says a prisoners’ hunger strike in Guantanamo Bay has revealed the “odious” face of America and claims that the terror network will spare no effort to free prisoners held at the US military-run detention center in Cuba. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
In the nearly two decades that I have been writing on travel, few destinations have interested my audience as much as Cuba – I am asked about it all the time. For sure some of this is based on the principle of forbidden fruit, and some people are interested simply because our government makes it practically impossible for most American citizens to visit the Caribbean island. But much of it is Cuba’s legitimate appeal, be it cultural, natural, musical or historical, and for a variety of reasons, there is a sizable audience of Americans who would like to visit Cuba. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By Mark Schlabach Polo Manukainiu, a redshirt freshman defensive lineman at Texas A&M, and Gaius Vaenuku, an incoming freshman defensive tackle at Utah, were killed in a rollover accident near Cuba, N.M. A third person in the car, Andrew Uhatafe, also was killed. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at ESPN Headlines
A representative of the Cuban Catholic Church explained at an event Monday that presently the Catholic Church is exerting a growing influence in the country. …read more
Source: The Christian Post
By Tim Worstall, Contributor I must admit that this rather surprised me with the speed that it came about. Non-British readers might not be aware that David Cameron, our Prime Minister, has been adamant that search engine companies must make certain that no pornography can be found on the internet. This is, as you will imagine, something of a taxing technical task. But in that great British tradition of bodging and innovation we seem to already have the solution to this problem. And it’s being offered for free too: So taking inspiration from other great Internet filtering nations such as North Korea, China, Syria, Iran, Cuba, Bahrain, Belarus, Burma, Uzbekistan, Saudia Arabia and Vietnam I decided to help out the UK government and build an Internet filter that only allows pornographic material through. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
Deep divisions among members of a Senate panel over whether to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, underscore the uphill battle President Barack Obama faces in fulfilling a 5-year-old promise to shutter the facility. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
By The Huffington Post News Editors
MIAMI — American Express has reached a settlement with the U.S. Treasury Department over more than 14,000 tickets that were issued for travel between Cuba and countries outside the U.S., officials announced Monday.
American Express Travel Related Services, Inc. has agreed to pay $5.2 million to settle potential civil liability for apparent federal violations. The Treasury Department found that foreign branch offices and subsidiaries of American Express issued about 14,487 tickets for travel to and from the island between December 2005 and November 2011.
Read More…
More on Cuba Travel
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
Panamanian authorities have found two Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter jets aboard a North Korea-flagged ship seized this month as it tried to pass through the Panama Canal after departing from Cuba. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Panama vs Cuba in the Gold Cup 2013 soccer tournament takes place on Saturday afternoon with both teams looking to progress to the semi-finals of the CONCACAF competition. …read more
Source: The Christian Post
By ESPN.com news services Los Angeles Dodgers rookie sensation Yasiel Puig is being sued for $12 million by a man in Cuba who claims Puig made false allegations against him that resulted in a seven-year prison sentence, the Los Angeles Times reported. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at ESPN Headlines
The U.S. military says the number of prisoners on the hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay has dropped to 75, down from a peak of 106 last week.
From the U.S. base in Cuba, Army Lt. Col. Sam House said Thursday that a total of 67 of those 75 prisoners on hunger strike ate a meal over the last day.
House says they were still listed as hunger strikers because the military requires a minimum of three days of sustained eating and a minimal caloric intake before they can be removed from the tally. He says they also “must want to be removed from the list.”
A total of 46 prisoners are on the “enteral feed list,” meaning they can be strapped down and fed through a nasal tube.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
North Korea’s foreign ministry said late Wednesday that Cuban arms seized from a Pyongyang-flagged ship in Panama’s waters were part of a legitimate deal and demanded the immediate release of the ship, state media reported.
“This cargo is nothing but ageing weapons which are to be sent back to Cuba after overhauling them according to a legitimate contract,” the Korea Central News Agency quoted the foreign ministry as saying, adding: “The Panamanian authorities should take a step to let the apprehended crewmen and ship leave without delay.”
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry says Panama should release the crew detained in the apprehension of a freighter carrying missile components because no drugs or illegal cargo were aboard.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman, who was not named by the official Korean Central News Agency, says “The Panamanian investigation authorities rashly attacked and detained the captain and crewmen of the ship on the plea of ‘drug investigation’ and searched its cargo but did not discover any drug.”
Decades-old missile components were found on board.
North Korea said Wednesday “This cargo is nothing but aging weapons which (North Korea) are to send back to Cuba after overhauling them according to a legitimate contract.”
North Korea says “The Panamanian authorities should take a step to let the apprehended crewmen and ship leave without delay.”
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
By Rob Quinn
North Korea—antiques weapons repairer? The Cuban government says it owns the military equipment found on a North Korean ship seized by Panamanian authorities, and the “obsolete defensive weapons” found hidden in a cargo of sugar were to be repaired in the country before being returned to Cuba, the BBC… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
Cuba said military equipment found buried under sacks of sugar on a North Korean ship seized as it tried to cross the Panama Canal was obsolete weaponry from the mid-20th century that it had sent to be repaired.
Panamanian authorities said it might take a week to search the ship, since so far they have only examined one of its five container sections. They have requested help from United Nations inspectors, along with Colombia and Britain, said Javier Carballo, Panama’s top narcotics prosecutor. North Korea is barred by U.N. sanctions from importing sophisticated weapons or missiles.
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli said Tuesday that the ship identified as the 14,000-ton Chong Chon Gang, which had departed Cuba en route to North Korea, was carrying missiles and other arms “hidden in containers underneath the cargo of sugar.”
Martinelli tweeted a photo showing a green tube that appears to be a horizontal antenna for the SNR-75 “Fan Song” radar, which is used to guide missiles fired by the SA-2 air-defense system found in former Warsaw Pact and Soviet-allied nations, said Neil Ashdown, an analyst for IHS Jane’s Intelligence.
“It is possible that this could be being sent to North Korea to update its high-altitude air-defense capabilities,” Ashdown said. Jane’s also said the equipment could be headed to North Korea to be upgraded.
North Korea has not commented on the seizure, during which 35 North Koreans were arrested after resisting police efforts to intercept the ship in Panamanian waters last week, according to Martinelli. He said the captain had a heart attack and also tried to commit suicide.
But Cuba’s Foreign Ministry released a statement late Tuesday acknowledging that the military equipment belonged to the Caribbean nation, saying it had been shipped out to be repaired and returned to the island.
“The agreements subscribed by Cuba in this field are supported by the need to maintain our defensive capacity in order to preserve national sovereignty,” the statement read.
It said the vessel was bound for North Korea mostly loaded with sugar — 10,000 tons of it — but added that the cargo also included 240 metric tons of “obsolete defensive weapons”: two Volga and Pechora anti-aircraft missile systems, nine missiles “in parts and spares,” two Mig-21 Bis and 15 engines for those airplanes.
It …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
By The Huffington Post News Editors
By Mike Slane, Goal.com
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — Brek Shea scored the night’s only goal and Sean Johnson held a clean sheet as the United States handled its first real test of the Gold Cup by holding on for a 1-0 win over Costa Rica at Rentschler Field.
The Americans, who had already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals following big wins over Belize and Cuba, finished in first place in Group C with nine points.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
Cuba claimed as its own the arms found on board a North Korean ship that Panama impounded, saying the missile system parts were to be repaired and returned.
In a statement read on state television, Havana said the “obsolete” weaponry included anti-aircraft missile arrays, nine disassembled missiles and other parts, without mentioning where they were being sent.
“The agreements Cuba has signed in these areas are based on our need to maintain our defensive capacity to protect national sovereignty,” the statement said.
Panama called Tuesday for UN investigators to inspect a shipment of suspected weapons parts aboard a North Korean-flagged ship as it tried to enter the Panama Canal last week.
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli tweeted a photo of the suspected weapons cache, which experts have identified as an aging Soviet-built radar control system for surface-to-air missiles.
Panama said the contraband munitions were hidden under thousands of bags of sugar aboard the North Korean-flagged Chong Chon Gang.
Officials said if the shipment is determined to contain missile components, that could violate a UN ban on most weapons being shipped into or out of North Korea.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
A North Korean ship carrying weapons system parts buried under sacks of sugar was seized as it tried to cross the Panama Canal on its way from Cuba to its home country, which is barred by United Nations sanctions from importing sophisticated weapons or missiles, Panamanian officials said Tuesday.
The ship appeared to be transporting a radar-control system for a Soviet-era surface-to-air missile system, according to a private defense analysis firm that examined a photograph of the find.
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli said the ship identified as the 14,000-ton Chong Chon Gang was carrying missiles and other arms “hidden in containers underneath the cargo of sugar.”
Martinelli tweeted a photo showing a green tube that appears to be a horizontal antenna for the SNR-75 “Fan Song” radar, which used to guide missiles fired by the SA-2 air-defense system found in former Warsaw Pact and Soviet-allied nations, said Neil Ashdown, an analyst for IHS Jane’s Intelligence.
“It is possible that this could be being sent to North Korea to update its high-altitude air-defense capabilities,” Ashdown said.
Panamanian authorities said one container buried under sugar sacks contained radar equipment that appears to be designed for use with air-to-air or surface-to-air missiles, said Belsio Gonzalez, director of Panama’s National Aeronautics and Ocean Administration. He said Panamanian authorities expected to find the missiles themselves in containers that must still be searched. An Associated Press journalist who gained access to the rusting ship saw green shipping containers that had been covered by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of white sacks marked “Cuban Raw Sugar.”
Later Tuesday, Cuba acknowledged that the military equipment belonged to the Caribbean nation, saying it had been shipped out to be repaired and returned to the island.
A statement from the Foreign Ministry said the vessel was bound for North Korea mostly loaded with sugar but added that the cargo also included 240 metric tons of “obsolete defensive weapons”: two Volga and Pechora anti-aircraft missile systems, nine missiles “in parts and spares,” two Mig-21 Bis and 15 engines for those airplanes.
“The agreements subscribed by Cuba in this field are supported by the need to maintain our defensive capacity in order to preserve national sovereignty,” the statement read.
The U.N. Security Council has imposed four rounds of increasingly tougher sanctions against North Korea since its first nuclear test on Oct. 9, 2006.
Under current sanctions, all U.N. member states are prohibited from directly or indirectly supplying, selling or transferring all arms, missiles or missile systems and the equipment and technology to make them to North Korea, with the exception of small arms and light weapons.
The most recent resolution, approved in March after Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test, authorizes all countries to inspect cargo in or transiting through their territory that originated in North Korea, or is destined to North Korea if a state has credible information the cargo could violate Security Council resolutions.
“Panama obviously has an important responsibility to ensure that the Panama Canal is utilized for safe and legal commerce,” said Acting U.S. Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo, who is the current Security Council president. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
By Rob Quinn
For North Korean weapons smugglers, death is apparently preferable to failure. Panamanian authorities say the captain of a North Korean-flagged ship tried to kill himself after military equipment was found concealed in containers of brown sugar, CNN reports. The ship, which had sailed from Cuba, was stopped on the Atlantic… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
