Some U.S. politicians voice support for Cuba protesters as State Department calls for "calm"
CBSN
Thousands of people took to the streets on Sunday in the biggest protests against Cuba's communist government in decades. The demonstrations came amid one of the worst economic crises the country has faced, and as it struggles to fight rising COVID-19 cases.
Cuba continues to suffer from the impact of a decades-old U.S. trade embargo, and more targeted sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, which the Biden administration has left in place. Senior State Department official Julie Chung tweeted support for Sunday's protesters, but her initial message suggesting the anger in Cuba was only "about rising COVID cases/deaths" drew a quick rebuke from Florida's Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a prominent voice in the large, politically powerful Cuban-American community in the U.S. Rubio blasted Chung's first tweet as "ridiculous," saying the protests in Cuba "are not simply because of COVID," and added a jab at President Biden: "It's now 10:15pm, and still nothing from @JoeBiden."Johannesburg — It's often called the forgotten conflict, but the civil war that has torn Sudan apart for 19 months is fueling the world's biggest humanitarian crisis. In just over a year and a half, 13 million people have been displaced from their homes. At least one overcrowded camp for displaced civilians is already dealing with famine, while other parts of the country are suffering though famine-like conditions.
Tropical Storm Sara formed in the Caribbean on Thursday, becoming the 18th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season. The system, previously called Tropical Depression 19, developed in the western Caribbean earlier this week and intensified while traveling westward on a path toward Central America.
Paris — Security forces were on high alert Thursday in Paris ahead of a soccer match between France's national soccer team and the visiting Israeli side. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators held protests in the city Wednesday night, and there has been fear of a possible repeat of last week's violence and antisemitic attacks against Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam.