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Hurricane Ian batters Florida’s Gulf coast, leaves Cuba without power
Hurricane Ian ploughed into the US state of Florida with catastrophic force on September 28 2022, bringing howling winds, torrential rains and storm surges after gathering strength as it passed through the Gulf of Mexico. Driving sustained wind speeds of up to 240km/h (150mph), Ian is among the most powerful storms to hit the US in recent years. The Category 4 hurricane transformed a stretch of Gulf coast beaches and resorts into scenes of destruction inundated by seawater and left more than 2 million homes and businesses without power. Ian had already battered Cuba, where it triggered an island-wide blackout and widespread flooding.
Rare anti-government protests in Cuba
Thousands took to the streets across Cuba on July 11, 2021, to join the biggest demonstrations against the communist government seen in the country in decades. The protests erupted as the Caribbean island faced its worst economic crisis since the break-up of its former ally the Soviet Union in the 1990s. A record surge in coronavirus infections has added to social dissatisfaction in Cuba. The country has been producing its own coronavirus vaccine and engaged in a mass vaccination campaign, but only 1.7 million of Cuba’s more than 11 million people have been immunised so far. Protesters also rallied against shortages of food, power and medicine as they called for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down.
Thousands took to the streets across Cuba on July 11, 2021, to join the biggest demonstrations against the communist government seen in the country in decades. The protests erupted as the Caribbean island faced its worst economic crisis since the break-up of its former ally the Soviet Union in the 1990s. A record surge in coronavirus infections has added to social dissatisfaction in Cuba. The country has been producing its own coronavirus vaccine and engaged in a mass vaccination campaign, but only 1.7 million of Cuba’s more than 11 million people have been immunised so far. Protesters also rallied against shortages of food, power and medicine as they called for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down.
Cuba debuts Chinese-made train
Cuba’s first Chinese-made train departed Havana on July 13. The new locomotive and carriages travelled 915 kilometres (516 miles) through nine cities before arriving in Guantanamo 15 hours later. The new train, equipped with four air-conditioned wagons and a restaurant car, replaces an ageing and decrepit engine that took days on the same journey. This marks the start of an overhaul to repair some 4,200 kilometres (2,600 miles) of tired tracks and dozens of worn-down stations across Cuba.
Cuba’s first Chinese-made train departed Havana on July 13. The new locomotive and carriages travelled 915 kilometres (516 miles) through nine cities before arriving in Guantanamo 15 hours later. The new train, equipped with four air-conditioned wagons and a restaurant car, replaces an ageing and decrepit engine that took days on the same journey. This marks the start of an overhaul to repair some 4,200 kilometres (2,600 miles) of tired tracks and dozens of worn-down stations across Cuba.
Revitalising Chinese culture in Cuba
Nestled alongside Havana’s old town lies a district once considered the biggest Chinatown in Latin America. Today it is known as the “Chinatown with no Chinese people” and only about 120 people still claim 100 per cent Chinese heritage in all of Cuba. But the Chinatown district is still valued enough by residents that most support its restoration in time for celebrations marking Havana’s 500th anniversary.
Nestled alongside Havana’s old town lies a district once considered the biggest Chinatown in Latin America. Today it is known as the “Chinatown with no Chinese people” and only about 120 people still claim 100 per cent Chinese heritage in all of Cuba. But the Chinatown district is still valued enough by residents that most support its restoration in time for celebrations marking Havana’s 500th anniversary.
Castro’s changes to Cuban constitution include term limits
Revised constitution would also define marriage as ‘the consensual union between two people, regardless of gender’, paving the way for gay marriages.
Revised constitution would also define marriage as ‘the consensual union between two people, regardless of gender’, paving the way for gay marriages.
