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Lisandra COTS AFP

Havana property market stirs as investors bet on political change

Havana property market stirs as investors bet on political change

Havana's real estate market is showing glimmers of revival as investors bet that a political and economic revolution is coming to the Communist-governed island. Prices are ticking up, and brokers are getting busier as something stirs Cuba's real estate market, long battered by sanctions, recession

Churches to the rescue of Cuba's legions of poor

Churches to the rescue of Cuba's legions of poor

In communist Cuba, where priests were once persecuted, churches are acting as a lifeline for the needy during a severe economic crisis aggravated by a crippling US oil blockade. Dozens of people queue outside Santa Cruz de Jerusalen Catholic church in Havana twice a week for free medicine, which, like

Cuba begins prisoner release after mass pardon

Cuba begins prisoner release after mass pardon

Cuban authorities began to free prisoners on Friday after announcing the country would pardon 2,010 inmates, the second release in less than a month as it faces heightened US pressure. More than 20 inmates came out of La Lima penitentiary in east Havana, holding their release papers, crying and

Cubans ready for Russian oil but some say not enough

Cubans ready for Russian oil but some say not enough

Cubans on Monday cautiously welcomed the imminent arrival of a Russian oil shipment, with some warning it would do little to ease an energy crisis after US President Donald Trump granted a reprieve from his oil blockade. The Anatoly Kolodkin, a tanker under US sanctions carrying 730,000 barrels of

Cuban children's heart hospital makes tough choices amid US blockade

Cuban children's heart hospital makes tough choices amid US blockade

Doctors at Cuba's main pediatric heart hospital face wrenching decisions as a US fuel blockade further strains an already fragile health system: which children receive life-saving treatment first -- and which must wait longer. During a visit by AFP journalists, mothers wearing medical masks were bedside next to

Cuba restores power grid after latest blackout

Cuba restores power grid after latest blackout

Cuba's power grid was restored Sunday, officials said, a day after the second nationwide blackout in a week as the crisis-hit island struggles under a US oil blockade. Two-thirds of Havana had power again in the afternoon, the capital's electricity company said, a day