Headlines

• President Emmanuel Macron has asked Lithuania to contribute to a military mission in Mali
• In early June, the French leader announced that France's Barkhane operation in Mali would be replaced by a broader international mission. 

Vilnus, July 17.– President Macron sent a letter to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in late June, which had not been previously reported. France has been trying to secure support from Lithuanian politicians for its request to contribute troops to the so-called Takuba task force, a European special forces mission helping Mali's forces to fight jihadists.

The Cuban government has cut off access to numerous social media and messaging apps in what appears to be an attempt to disrupt the organizing efforts of anti-government protesters.

 Havana, July 12 (DP.net).– Access to Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram was denied by the Cuban government as protests that began on Sunday continued to spread throughout the country.

Curiously, access to Twitter has been allowed to continue unfettered.

Cuba’s coronavirus infection numbers broke records last week, with the country reporting 6,750 cases and 31 deaths. Members of the country’s opposition party claim the numbers are much higher. Rising coronavirus cases paired with a scarcity of medicine and lack of access to a vaccine have left the country reeling.

The rallies, widely viewed as astonishing for a country that limits dissent, were set off by economic crises worsened by the pandemic.

 Miami, July 11.– Shouting “Freedom” and other anti-government slogans, hundreds of Cubans took to the streets in cities around the country on Sunday to protest food and medicine shortages, in a remarkable eruption of discontent not seen in nearly 30 years.

Hundreds of people marched through San Antonio de los Baños, southwest of Havana, with videos streaming live on Facebook for nearly an hour before they suddenly disappeared. As the afternoon wore on, other videos appeared from demonstrations elsewhere, including Palma Soriano, in the country’s southeast. Hundreds of people also gathered in Havana, where a heavy police presence preceded their arrival.

Washington alarmed while two Iranian warships crossed the Atlantic by mid June but the mainstream press did not react. 

Cape Town, July 3.– Both Iranian warships were sighted when crossing in front of Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, on the night of 9/10 June 2021 on their way to the open Atlantic Ocean.

The Iranian ships, the destroyer Sahand and the intelligence-gathering vessel Makran, reached the south Atlantic on June 11th, likely en route to Venezuela, which has increasingly become an economic and military partner of Tehran. Iran has friendly relations with Cuba, where the ships could make a port call. The Sahand is able to voyage for five months without resupply.

However, the Iranian navy ships originally headed toward Venezuela changed course on June 16th steaming northeast up to the west coast of Africa, U.S. officials said.