Cuba
Xi positions China to challenge US grip on global AI rules
President Xi Jinping used the opening of China's flagship AI summit on July 17 to portray Beijing as an alternative rule-setter for artificial intelligence, unveiling a new intergovernmental body and a package of aid for developing nations.
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Strong El Niño threatens Latin American inflation and rate cuts, UBS warns
Latin American economies face renewed inflationary pressure and possible delays to interest rate cuts if a strong El Niño weather pattern disrupts food production, electricity generation and infrastructure this year, Swiss bank UBS said in a note.
Trump warns US will "take care" of Iranian drones stockpiled in Cuba
US President Donald Trump said on July 13 that his administration was investigating claims that Iran has stored drones in Cuba, warning that Washington would respond if the presence of such weaponry on the island were confirmed.
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War in Iran set to weigh on Latin America throughout 2026, ECLAC warns
The war between the US, Israel and Iran will continue to weigh on Latin American and Caribbean economies for the rest of 2026, even if last month's fragile ceasefire holds, the UN's regional economic body has warned.
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Cuba's power grid collapses again as US oil blockade strains ageing plants
Cuba's national electric system suffered yet another total collapse on July 6, the state-run Cuban Electric Union (UNE) said, the latest in a string of islandwide blackouts to hit the country since late 2024 as a US blockade on oil shipments sq
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Cuba oil lifeline hinges on Mexican firms willing to brave US sanctions
Cuba’s oil lifeline hangs by a thread. As Mexico attempts a risky private-sector workaround to bypass tightened US secondary sanctions, mid-sized firms face an overnight death sentence if they lose access to dollar clearing.
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Cuba approves sweeping market reforms as economic crisis and US pressure mount
Cuba's National Assembly has approved the country's most far-reaching economic overhaul since the 1959 revolution, ratifying a package of reforms designed to pull the island back from the brink of collapse,
World Bank cuts Latin America growth outlook as Middle East oil shock takes toll
The World Bank has trimmed its growth forecasts for Latin America and the Caribbean for both 2026 and 2027, blaming the inflationary and monetary fallout from the Middle East conflict.
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Colombia counts 173 dead and 670 missing in Russia-Ukraine war
Colombia has recorded 173 citizens dead and 670 missing in the Russia-Ukraine war, the most detailed official accounting yet of a conflict that has turned the South American country into one of the largest sources of foreign fighters.
Cuba reels from US sanctions as hotel chains quit and card payments collapse
A US executive order is stripping Cuba of its tourism lifeline. Melià and Iberostar have quit, card payments shut down this week, and airlines are cutting routes as Washington's sanctions bite deeper.
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Washington turns Venezuela playbook on Cuba, but finds a harder nut to crack
Indictment, warships, a poisoned chalice of aid: the Trump administration turned every screw on Cuba in a single day. But Cuba is no Venezuela — and Washington may be about to find that out the hard way.
Cuba armed with Russian and Iranian drones discussed strikes on US soil, leaked files show
Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones from Russia and Iran since 2023 and held internal discussions about potential strikes on the US naval base at Guantánamo Bay, American naval vessels and possibly Key West, Florida, Axios reported.
Cuba runs out of fuel as protests push US aid offer back to the fore
Cuba declared it had exhausted every last drop of fuel on May 14 — no diesel, no fuel oil, no reserves — as blackouts of 22 hours plunged Havana into darkness and street protests thrust a pre-existing $100mn US aid offer back into the spotlight.
Latin America's democracies face silent erosion from within, UN warns
Latin America and the Caribbean's political systems are experiencing a gradual institutional decay that rarely manifests as outright democratic collapse but instead hollows out governance from within, the UNDP has warned in a new report.
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ECLAC cuts Latin America growth forecast as Middle East war fans inflation
ECLAC trims Latin America's 2026 growth forecast to 2.2%, warning that soaring oil prices, tighter credit and slowing global trade are locking the region into a fourth consecutive year of sluggish expansion.
Latin America's unfinished battle with inflation leaves the region exposed to the Iran shock
The Middle East conflict has landed on Latin America at an awkward moment. After two years of gradual progress bringing inflation under control, the region's central banks now face the prospect of that effort being undone by an external conflict.
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US and Cuba talk in Havana but cannot agree on what was said
Cuba has confirmed that senior officials from Havana and Washington held face-to-face talks on the island in early April, in the highest-level diplomatic encounter between the two governments in nearly a decade.