Cuban ‘acoustic attack’ report on US diplomats flawed, say neurologists – Via The Guardian

Claims that US diplomats suffered mysterious brain injuries after being targeted with a secret weapon in Cuba have been challenged by neurologists and other brain specialists.

A medical report commissioned by the US government, published in March, found that staff at the US embassy in Havana suffered concussion-like brain damage after hearing strange noises in homes and hotels, but doctors from the US, the UK and Germany have contested the conclusions.

In four separate letters to the Journal of the American Medical Association, which published the original medical study, groups of doctors specializing in neurology, neuropsychiatry and neuropsychology described what they believed were major flaws in the study.

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Staying the Course: CREST Coalition Work in Cuba

” Cuba is safe and open for travel. There is no evidence that tourists have been involved with the same kinds of health incidents suffered by U.S. and Canadian diplomats in Havana.”

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Just Released: CREST Survey of U.S. Tour Operators and Other Service Providers to Cuba

February 14, 2018: In January and February of 2018, the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) reached out to 156 U.S. tour operators and other service providers that have previously offered or currently offer trips to Cuba. View the full Press Release covering the survey and Key Findings of the 42 responses received.

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Beginning in June 2017, the Trump administration announced a series of measures which have undermined and, in some instances, reversed the diplomatic and travel liberalizations put in place under President Obama. Most crippling for U.S. travel have been the State Department’s official Travel Warning advising “U.S. citizens not to travel to Cuba,” the steep cuts in diplomatic personnel in the U.S. Embassy in Havana and Cuban Embassy in Washington, and the bans on specific types of travel and business transactions.

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Cuba solidarity groups support the revolution from the U.S. – By Joey Peters, GlobalPost

In the backyard garden of a modest home on the east side of St. Paul, Minnesota, two dozen people drink mojitos and chat on a humid Sunday afternoon.

One woman dons a shirt emblazoned with Che Guevara’s image. Another man wears a shirt advertising Havana Club rum. A banner reading “End the Blockade Now” drapes the backyard fence. Below it, in smaller words, is the name of the activist group meeting here: the Minnesota Cuba Committee.

People move inside to the basement to watch a documentary about a medical school in Cuba that trains aspiring doctors from around the world free of charge. One of the speakers featured in the documentary, Gail Walker, traveled from New York to be here this afternoon as a stop along her Midwest route to raise money for a humanitarian caravan to Cuba later this year.

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Confusion About Travel Restrictions to Cuba Provides Opportunity for Agents

by Jessica Montevago / July 24, 2018

Two years after the easing of travel restrictions to Cuba for Americans, fewer people are interested in taking a trip to the island nation than before and there is lingering confusion surrounding the current travel policy, according to a study by travel insurance provider, Allianz.

The new regulations and what they are not saying in the written language is what is confusing consumers. How people can travel to Cuba, how they can obtain what they need in order to do so, what should and could they do. They still aren’t sure,” Tammy Estes, Certified Accessible Travel Advocate (CATA) of Estes Consultant of Travel, in Augusta, Maine, told Travel Market Report. “Travel to Cuba is not impossible, and we need to tap into the industry and help guide our consumers through the confusion!”

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U.S. City of Pittsburgh Calls for End of Blockade against Cuba

The Council of the U.S. city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, urged the Congress today to pass laws in order to repeal the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba for more than 55 years.

The suggestion is contained in a proclamation approved unanimously by the members of that entity, who also requested the end of the restrictions imposed on the U.S. citizens to travel freely to the Caribbean country.

U.S. tourism to Cuba revives after months-long Trump slump – sources

HAVANA, July 17 (Reuters) – U.S. tourism in Cuba bounced back in June from a months-long slump, bolstered by increased visits from cruise ships that have emerged as the most vibrant part of a sector hurt by deteriorating relations under President Donald Trump.

Three different sources with access to Cuban tourism industry data said 68,000 Americans, not including Americans of Cuban origin on family visits, traveled to the island in June, a 5 percent increase from a year ago. Even with that revival, the number of U.S. visitors to Cuba for the first half overall – not including Cuban-Americans – slumped 24 percent to 266,000, the sources said.  In the period January through June, some 50 percent of those U.S. visitors arrived on cruise ships, compared with 25 percent a year earlier, as operators such as Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd added more stops on the island to their itineraries. Continue reading

Students visit Cuba to study how globalization has impacted education

by Jennifer L. Williams |  July 11, 2018

William & Mary students participating in a study-abroad program in Cuba the week after Commencement got an up-close look at the education system in that nation, as well as its history and culture. A small group of students from various majors went on the excursion, which was an offshoot of the COLL 300credit-eligible class Globalization and Education.

“Even if students were well traveled, this was a unique experience because Americans have been isolated from Cubans for a protracted period of time,” said Jacqueline Rodriguez, W&M assistant professor of education and co-organizer of the trip. The group visited a primary school and secondary school, spoke with a representative of the ministry of education and talked with local residents during visits to Vinales and the Bay of Pigs. It also toured the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of the Revolution, the Jimenez Foundation, the UNSECO biosphere reserve at Las Terrazas and the Korimacao Community Project.

Cuba Calls on U.S. to Comply with Visa Commitment

Washington, Jul 12 (Prensa Latina) Cuba called on the United States in Washington to fully comply with its commitments to grant visas to emigrants in tune with the migration agreements signed by the two countries.

During a new round of migration talks in the U.S. capital, Cuba noted that it fully complies with its obligations with the letter and spirit of the signed agreements, and repeated its will to maintain and expand bilateral cooperation in that field.

Cuba also reiterated that the U.S. Government’s decision to suspend visa services at its embassy in Havana directly affects relations on migration and family ties between Cuba and U.S. citizens, and damages institutional exchanges and travels between the two countries.

U.S. ROLLS TO 5-1 WIN OVER CUBA IN HAVANA

Written by LSU Sports

Despite a long travel day, the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team put together possibly its most complete game of the summer on Tuesday as it cruised to a dominating 5-1 victory in its series opener against Cuba at Estadio Latinoamericano.

The story of the day was Florida State southpaw Drew Parrish who retired the first 13 batters he faced en route to five shutout innings and the win. He faced just one over the minimum, yielding only a one-out single in the fifth while striking out five.