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Cuba says it is not currently negotiating with the United States, as the Trump administration continues its campaign of economic pressure  on the island. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said on Monday that Havana and Washington are not negotiating, and that there is no agenda for future talks. His comments came during a media conference, as he laid out Cuba’s latest estimate of the damage caused by the decades-old US embargo, imposed since former leader Fidel Castro's communist revolution in 1959. The Cuban government says the US embargo cost its economy $8bn between March 2025 and February 2026, the highest figure yet recorded and seven percent more than in the previous reporting period. The total does not include some of Washington’s more recent sanctions , including restrictions on the island’s energy supply imposed in January and secondary sanctions imposed in May, said Rodriguez. In a post on X, Rodríguez called the policy one of “economic asphyxiation” and d...

LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Fuel shortages ‌are expected to persist long after the U.S. war with Iran due to the damage inflicted on refineries and the need to replenish stocks, the chief executive officer of Nigeria's ​Dangote oil refinery told Reuters. Dangote is set to double its capacity to ​equal the world's largest, the Jamnagar Refinery in India, and plans ⁠a second refinery in Kenya. "We went in (to the Iran war) at high ​refinery utilisation (rates), and there's been deferred maintenance and damages to Middle East refineries - that's ​just to meet current demand," CEO David Bird told Reuters. "Plus inventories have to be rebuilt, plus a lot of countries are talking about supply security and increasing stocks." Nigeria's Dangote refinery has ​emerged as a winner this year as wars involving the United States and ​Iran and Russia with Ukraine have damaged refining capacity and disrupted exports, creating global shortages ‌of ⁠fue...

Africa has only ever had one Ballon d'Or winner, and the wait for someone to emulate George Weah is likely to be extended further after this year's nominations were revealed. Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi and Senegal forward Sadio Mane are the continent's two names on the 30-strong list. Both players have previously recorded top-six Ballon d'Or finishes but, after a year in which Spain lifted the Fifa World Cup and Kylian Mbappe netted 10 goals to become the tournament's all-time top scorer, the chances of the Paris St-Germain right-back or the Al-Nassr winger lifting the coveted trophy appear slim. And it is not the first time that Africa has failed to make a big impact. Part of the reason for the historic lack of success is down to the fact the award, which was first handed out by France Football magazine in 1956, was not open to players representing non-European nations until 1995. That was the year that Liberian striker Weah scooped the prize after h...

Bakers and millers say their customers are asking why folic acid is now being put into their products. The government is giving manufacturers until the end of 2026 to conform to the new legal requirement, announced in 2024, that folic acid should be added to non-wholemeal wheat flour. Shipton Mill, in Tetbury, said it had been receiving "20 emails a week" about the issue while Hobbs House Bakery, which has stores in Gloucestershire and Bristol, has had questions about it on social media. The government said the move could prevent about 200 cases of issues such as spina bifida in newborns every year. What is folic acid? Folic acid is a man-made version of vitamin B9, which is also known as folate. A person's body requires folate to make DNA and other genetic material. The human body cannot synthesise B9 in sufficient amounts, so it must be obtained from the diet and folic acid is considered essential. It is found in leafy green vegetables as well as eggs and be...

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday there was a chance of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine ,   while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said U.S. negotiators trying to broker a deal would soon visit both Moscow and Kyiv. ‌Putin, speaking at an economic forum in Russia's far east, said a number of countries including the U.S. and China were ready to support a peace settlement. "Ultimately, however, the problem must be resolved by the countries involved in the conflict — Russia and Ukraine," he said. "We are grateful to everyone attempting to contribute to a settlement. Is there a chance? In my ​view, yes, there is." In Kyiv, Zelenskiy said  in his nightly video address that preliminary dates had been set for a visit by U.S. negotiators. "We ​expect to see representatives of the U.S. president here in Kyiv," Zelenskiy said. "There will be a meeting with them ⁠in Mo...

Ukraine wants to close Russia's skies and has a plan to do it. In an announcement on Sept. 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky gave few details about what it would entail, other than making clear it would involve lots of drones. "There will simply be drones in Russia's skies on a scale that has to be taken into account," he said, as he warned "every airline that uses Russian airspace" against flying over the country. "The Russian sky will be  de facto closed ," he added. The following day, the president said that some airlines had already stopped service to Russia. "We have received information that the first airlines began to refuse flights to Russian airports after our announcement about the drone danger, which objectively exists in the skies of Russia," Zelensky  said  in his evening address Sept. 2. "This is a correct, completely logical response to the available facts ... We must protect lives. Ukraine has already offici...

BANGKOK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln will dock in Thailand next ​week, a Thai official said on Tuesday, following a prolonged deployment in ‌the Middle East and reports of mental health concerns and deteriorating conditions aboard.   The Lincoln, which left the Middle East on Saturday, has not made a port call in more than 200 ​days, setting a modern-day record  for consecutive days at sea, according to ​Democratic lawmakers. Typically naval deployments are for between six and nine months, ⁠but during times of conflict, that can be extended. The ship, which has roughly ​5,000 sailors and Marines aboard, will be in Thailand for "rest and recreation after ​their long sea journey", the official said, asking not to be named. Thailand's Navy said a U.S. Navy carrier strike group would make a brief stop in eastern Thailand for the purpose ​of rest and recuperation, with no exercises taking place. It did not name ​the three ve...