Havana

Cuba was racing Friday to restore electricity after the failure of the island's biggest power plant caused a nationwide blackout, coming on the heels of weeks of extended outages across the cash-strapped country.

The capital Havana came to a virtual standstill as schools closed, public transport ground to a halt and traffic lights stopped functioning.

A Greek mixologist duo has won a €10,000 prize for mixing cocktails in Cuba.

Cuba is famous for its rum cocktails and on Wednesday evening below Havana's iconic Morro Castle, guarding its bay, 400 people gathered to toast its best-known rum, Havana Club, but not with Cuba libres, mojitos and daiquiris in hand.

Four cruise lines have been sentenced by a US judge to pay a total of nearly $450 million for having used a Havana port nationalized by the Cuban government in 1960.    

At least 22 people have already been killed in an explosion at a luxury hotel in the center of the Cuban capital, Havana. More than 70 people were injured.

Almost the entire facade of the building is missing, the damage is huge. An operation is underway to search for any buried under the rubble.

Yet, mysteriously, there was no physical contact. By spring 2017 there were more than 80 alleged cases. Their medical diagnosis was akin to a "concussion without a concussion." Shortly after, more than two dozen personnel and family members attached to the Canadian Embassy in Havana began to report similar symptoms, but no noises. The "Havana Syndrome" was born.

A new spot for getting traditional Cuban eats opened on Sept. 25  in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul, offering customers the experience of being in Havana without ever going to Cuba.

The opening of La Bodeguita del Medio features a wide array of traditional Cuban dance and music performances along with, of course, Cuban food.

Cuban authorities confirmed on July 13 that one person has died during demonstrations that have shaken the island in recent days by protesting over food shortages, high prices and other grievances against the government.

Mexican Embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara hosted a photo exhibition on March 4, reflecting the famous novel 'Alice in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll, which will remain open for a month until March 28.

The exhibition is organized with the collaboration of Çankaya Municipality in the capital.

The musicians and singers of the Buena Vista Band and El Grupo de Bailar dancers will be on stage at the Galatsi Olympic Hall in northern Athens on Saturday, January 18, to perform some of Cuba's most renowned songs as part of the Christmas Theater series of events.

Cuba will continue to support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as a legitimate South American leader, France's press agency quoted an official Cuban representative as saying.

The Cuban source of France's press has underlined that Havana's support for Maduro "is not negotiable" despite U.S. sanctions against an island state.