U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked or restricted visas on Wednesday, for certain officials from Africa, the Caribbean, and Brazil tied to Cuba’s overseas medical worker programme, citing concerns over forced labour and financial exploitation.
Brazilian Health Ministry official Mozart Julio Tabosa Sales and former Pan American Health Organisation official Alberto Kleiman were among those affected.
Rubio did not name other officials who were affected but said they were from Africa, Cuba and Grenada.
The U.S. claims that the programme rents Cuban medical professionals to other countries at high prices, with most of the revenue going to Cuban authorities, depriving Cuban citizens of healthcare. Rubio said Washington aims to end such practices and urged governments to pay doctors directly.
Cuba has condemned the move, calling it a pretext to attack its foreign currency income.
"Cuba's medical cooperation will continue," Johana Tablada, Cuba's deputy director of U.S. affairs, said on X.
Meanwhile, Brazilian officials defended their 'Mais Medicos' programme, created in 2013, saying they will not yield to what they call "unreasonable attacks."
The measures continue the Trump administration’s hard-line approach toward Cuba, reversing previous Biden-era policies.
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Chinese companies are ramping up investment in Indonesia to avoid steep U.S. import tariffs and tap into Southeast Asia’s largest consumer market.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Wednesday that the Trump administration has unveiled a nearly $1 billion funding plan to boost U.S. production of critical minerals and materials, aiming to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, particularly China.
In the first half of 2025, Türkiye's startup fintech, gaming, and AI startups raised a combined $211 million, a clear sign of growing investor confidence.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
A resumption of Iraq’s Kurdish oil exports is not expected in the near term, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, despite an announcement by Iraq’s federal government a day earlier stating that shipments would resume immediately.
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 56 kilometres east of Gorgan in northern Iran early Sunday morning, according to preliminary seismic data.
North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, a senior official in the ruling Workers’ Party, said on Thursday that South Korea’s belief in Pyongyang’s response to peace overtures is a “pipedream.”
U.S. President Donald Trump warned of “severe consequences” if Russia’s Vladimir Putin refuses to agree to peace in Ukraine, while suggesting a follow-up meeting could include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Wednesday that the Trump administration has unveiled a nearly $1 billion funding plan to boost U.S. production of critical minerals and materials, aiming to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, particularly China.
The Philippine government reported that a Chinese jet fighter intercepted a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) aircraft with journalists onboard during a patrol over the Scarborough Shoal on 13 August, further straining tensions in the South China Sea.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance visited American troops in Gloucestershire, England ahead of President Trump’s historic Alaska meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, highlighting Europe’s role in the Ukraine conflict.
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