Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on Thursday his country rejects the participation of its citizens as mercenaries in war, contradicting a statement by Cuba’s ambassador in Moscow hours earlier saying his government did not oppose the legal participation of its citizens in Russia´s war in Ukraine.
The apparently conflicting statements follow Cuban state-run and foreign media reports suggesting that young Cuban men have enlisted in the Kremlin´s military in recent months as mercenaries and victims in alleged human trafficking schemes.
“The unequivocal and unswerving position of the Cuban government, in accordance with its national legislation, is contrary to the participation of Cuban citizens in conflicts of any sort and against mercenarism and trafficking in persons,” Rodriguez said on social media.
Last week Cuban authorities said they had arrested 17 people on charges related to a ring of human traffickers that allegedly had lured young Cuban men to serve in the Russian military amid the Ukraine conflict.
Cuban authorities said those fighting for hire as mercenaries or involved in trafficking could face long prison sentences or even the death penalty, depending on the severity of the crime.
Cuba´s top diplomat in Moscow, Julio Antonio Garmendia Pena, told Russia´s state-run RIA news agency hours earlier on Thursday that those arrested in Cuba, all Cuban citizens, had been engaged in illegal activities and had broken the law.
“We have nothing against Cubans who just want to sign a contract and legally take part with the Russian army in this operation. But we are against illegality and these operations that have nothing to do with the legal field,” RIA quoted the ambassador as saying.
Cuba did not respond to Reuters inquiry regarding the apparently contradictory statements.
Cuba’s foreign ministry said last week the human trafficking network that authorities were now working to “neutralize and dismantle” had operated from Russia “to incorporate Cuban citizens living there, and even some from Cuba, into the military forces participating in war operations in Ukraine.”
Russia’s defense ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the matter.
Russia, which has strong political ties with communist-run Cuba, has long been an important destination for Cuban migrants seeking to escape economic stagnation at home.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last year signed a decree allowing foreigners signing up for service in the Russian army to receive citizenship via a fast-track procedure.
Cuba has denied any involvement in the war in Ukraine.
Cuba issues conflicting statements on use of its citizens in Ukraine war
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Cuba issues conflicting statements on use of its citizens in Ukraine war
- Cuba’s envoy in Moscow says Havana not opposed to citizens fighting for Russia in Ukraine if recruited legally
- FM Bruno Rodriguez says participation of Cuban citizens in foreign conflicts of any sort is against national law
British foreign secretary says Europeans ‘keen to continue ongoing discussions’ with Iran
GENEVA: Britain’s foreign secretary said after several hours of talks Friday between top European diplomats and their Iranian counterpart that the Europeans are “keen to continue ongoing discussions and negotiations with Iran.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the Europeans were clear in talks in Geneva that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that “very serious talks” were held Friday with Iran’s Abbas Araghchi.
The European ministers gave few details and took no questions.
Singer Chris Brown pleads not guilty
- Brown was originally charged with a single count of grievous bodily harm after his arrest in May, but prosecutors subsequently brought an indictment adding two counts: assault causing actual bodily harm and having an offensive weapon, a bottle
LONDON: Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown pleaded not guilty Friday to a charge related to the serious beating of a music producer with a bottle in a London nightclub in 2023.
Brown, 36, wearing a blue suit, white shirt and black-rimmed glasses, was arraigned in London’s Southwark Crown Court on one count of attempting to unlawfully and maliciously cause grievous bodily harm with intent.
Brown’s friend and fellow musician Omololu Akinlolu, 39, who performs under the name “Hoody Baby,” pleaded not guilty to the same charge.
Prosecutors previously said Brown and Akinlolu assaulted producer Abe Diaw at a bar in the Tape nightclub in the swanky Mayfair neighborhood in February 2023. Brown allegedly launched an unprovoked attack on Diaw and hit him several times with a bottle and then punched and kicked him.
The attack was caught on surveillance camera in front of a club full of people, prosecutors said.
Brown was originally charged with a single count of grievous bodily harm after his arrest in May, but prosecutors subsequently brought an indictment adding two counts: assault causing actual bodily harm and having an offensive weapon, a bottle.
When a court clerk asked Brown how he pleaded to the grievous bodily harm count, he replied: “Not guilty ma’am.”
Brown did not enter pleas on the additional counts and was ordered to return to court July 11 to face those charges after wrapping up the European leg of his world tour. His trial was scheduled for Oct. 26, 2026.
The singer of “Go Crazy,” “Run It,” and “Kiss Kiss” was released last month on a 5 million-pound ($6.75 million) bail, which allowed him to start his “Breezy Bowl XX” tour earlier this month.
Following his release after almost a week in jail, Brown posted on Instagram: “FROM THE CAGE TO THE STAGE!!! BREEZYBOWL.”
Brown, who quickly rose to stardom as a teen in 2005, won his first Grammy for best R&B album in 2011 for “F.A.M.E.” and then earned his second in the same category for “11:11 (Deluxe)” earlier this year.
UN’s Guterres urges ‘give peace a chance’ in Israel-Iran conflict
- Guterres said there were “moments when the directions taken will shape not just the fate of nations, but potentially our collective future“
- Rafael Grossi, IAEA’s head, outlined Israeli attacks on nuclear facilities at Natanz, Isfahan and Arak
NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday that expansion of the Israel-Iran conflict could “ignite a fire no one can control” and called on both sides and potential parties to the conflict to “give peace a chance.”
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency, speaking at the same United Nations Security Council session, warned that attacks on nuclear facilities could result in the release of radiation “within and beyond boundaries” of Iran, and called for maximum restraint.
Guterres said there were “moments when the directions taken will shape not just the fate of nations, but potentially our collective future.”
“This is such a moment,” he said.
He said expansion of the conflict would “ignite a fire that no one can control” and added: “We must not let that happen.”
“To the parties to the conflict, the potential parties to the conflict, and to the Security Council as the representative of the international community, I have a simple and clear message: give peace a chance,” Guterres said.
The Security Council session took place as European foreign ministers met their Iranian counterpart on Friday hoping to test Tehran’s readiness to negotiate a new nuclear deal despite there being scant prospect of Israel ceasing its attacks soon.
Israel has repeatedly bombed nuclear targets in Iran and Iran has fired missiles and drones at Israel as a week-old air war escalated with no sign yet of an exit strategy from either side.
The White House said on Thursday US President Donald Trump would make a decision within the next two weeks whether to get involved on Israel’s side. Iran said on Friday it would not discuss the future of its nuclear program while under attack by Israel.
Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said his country sought genuine efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities from Friday’s meeting between European and Iranian ministers, not just another round of talks
“We have seen diplomatic talks for the last few decades, and look at the results,” he told reporters.
“If it is going to be like another session and debates, that’s not going to work.”
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, outlined Israeli attacks on nuclear facilities at Natanz, Isfahan and Arak.
He said the level of radioactivity outside Iran’s Natanz site has remained unchanged and at normal levels, indicating no external radiological impact on the population or the environment there.
However, he said that within the facility there was both radiological and chemical contamination. He said the IAEA was not aware of any damage at Iran’s Fordow plant at this time.
An attack on Iran’s Bushehr plant would be most serious, he said: “It is an operating nuclear power plant and hosts thousands of kilograms of nuclear material.”
“I want to make it absolutely and completely clear: In the case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment,” Grossi said.
“Similarly, a hit that disabled the only two lines supplying electrical power to the plant could cause its reactor’s core to melt.”
He said any action against the Tehran nuclear research reactor will also have severe consequences, “potentially for large areas of the city of Tehran and its inhabitants.”
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Dorothy Camille Shea, said the United States “continues to stand with Israel and supports its actions against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”
“We can no longer ignore that Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon,” she said.
China and Russia demanded immediate de-escalation.
Russia’s UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, said Israel’s actions risked pulling third countries into the conflict and internationalization of the conflict must be avoided.
He said targeting of what he called Iran’s peaceful civilian nuclear facilities was “liable to plunge us into a hither to unseen nuclear catastrophe.”
Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes. Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons. It neither confirms nor denies this.
Greek coast guard says over 600 migrants rescued from 2 fishing boats
- The first fishing boat, carrying 352 people, was spotted overnight about 55 kilometers south of the tiny island of Gavdos
- The second was found 90 kilometers south of the island of Crete with 278 people on board
ATHENS: More than 600 migrants were rescued overnight and early Friday from two wooden fishing boats found sailing miles (kilometers) from the southernmost part of Greece, the country’s coast guard said.
The first fishing boat, carrying 352 people, was spotted overnight about 30 nautical miles (35 miles, 55 kilometers) south of the tiny island of Gavdos, the coast guard said. Passengers were rescued by a ship from the European border patrol agency FRONTEX, aided by a coast guard patrol boat and four other vessels.
The second was found 50 nautical miles (about 60 miles, 90 kilometers) south of the island of Crete with 278 people on board. The passengers were picked up by a passing Portuguese-flagged cargo ship. In both cases, the migrants were transported to Crete.
There was no immediate information on the nationalities of those on board the two fishing boats.
Another two boats carrying migrants were located in the same area on Thursday, the coast guard said. One, carrying 73 men, was found south of Gavdos and another with 26 people, including one woman and three minors, was found near the coast of southern Crete.
The coast guard said those on the smaller boat told authorities they had set sail the previous evening from Tobruk in Libya, and had each paid smugglers either 4,000 euros ($5,500) for their passage to Greece. Two Sudanese teenagers, one aged 16 and the other 19, were arrested on suspicion of migrant smuggling after other passengers identified them as having been operating the boat.
Greece has been on one of the preferred routes into the European Union for people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia for decades.
Arrivals from neighboring Turkiye to the east and the Libyan coast to the south spiked last year, with Greece recording more than 60,000 people arriving — the vast majority by sea — in 2024, compared to just over 48,000 the previous year, according to figures from the UN refugee agency.
As of June 15 this year, a total of 16,290 arrivals were recorded, with more than 14,600 of those by sea.
With authorities closely patrolling the eastern sea border with Turkiye to prevent migrant boats reaching nearby Greek islands, smugglers appear to be increasingly opting for the much longer and riskier Mediterranean Sea crossing from the north African coast to the southern tip of Greece, using larger boats into which they can cram more people.
Health officials issue warnings as UK bakes in the first heat wave of 2025
- Temperatures are expected to peak at 34 degrees Celsius
- The UK Health Security Agency has issued an amber heat health alert covering all of England
LONDON: British health officials are warning people across the country to take precautions when out in the sun as the UK bakes under its first heat wave of the year.
Temperatures are expected to peak at 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts of eastern England on Saturday following a week of unusually warm weather, according to the national weather agency the Met Office. That’s about 12 C (22 F) higher than normal for this time of year.
The UK Health Security Agency has issued an amber heat health alert covering all of England because of increased health risks for people over 65 and those with heart and lung problems.
“Heat can result in serious health outcomes across the population, especially for older adults or those with pre-existing health conditions,” Dr. Agostinho Sousa, head of the UKHSA, said in a statement. “It is therefore important to check on friends, family and neighbors who are more vulnerable and to take sensible precautions while enjoying the sun.”
Saturday is expected to be the hottest day of the heat wave, with temperatures falling slightly on Sunday and dropping back into the more normal temperatures next week, the Met Office said. The heat alert is currently scheduled to remain in effect until Monday morning.
Unusually, temperatures in London this week have been higher than in many parts of Western Europe. That’s because the high temperatures are not the result of hot air moving north from the Iberian Peninsula or North Africa as is often the case, the Met Office said.
Instead, this weather system originated in air high over the Atlantic Ocean south of Greenland. As it approaches the UK, it descends toward ground level, causing it to warm rapidly, Chief Meteorologist Matthew Lenhert said.
That said, it has been plenty hot in Europe too. Aviation enthusiasts attending the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, north of Paris, this week sought the shade of a Boeing 777’s wing, cooling off as temperatures hovered in the low 30s C (mid-80s F.)
Met Office scientists this week published research showing that climate change is increasing the likelihood of extreme high temperatures in the UK The chance of temperatures exceeding 40 C (104 F) is now more than 20 times higher than it was in the 1960s, the researchers said.
