Survive, nothing more: Cuba’s elderly live hand to mouth

Survive, nothing more: Cuba’s elderly live hand to mouth
Senior citizens receive food at a public food center part of the Family Attention System in Havana, Cuba. (AFP)
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Updated 21 June 2025
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Survive, nothing more: Cuba’s elderly live hand to mouth

Survive, nothing more: Cuba’s elderly live hand to mouth
  • The country is finding it increasingly hard to care for some 2.4 million inhabitants, more than a quarter of the population, aged 60 and over

HAVANA: With a monthly pension barely sufficient to buy 15 eggs or a small bag of rice, Cuba’s elderly struggle to make ends meet in one of Latin America’s poorest and fastest-aging countries.
As the communist island battles its deepest economic crisis in three decades, the state is finding it increasingly hard to care for some 2.4 million inhabitants — more than a quarter of the population — aged 60 and over.
Sixty is the age at which women — for men it’s 65 — qualify for the state pension which starts at 1,528 Cuban pesos per month.
This is less than $13 at the official exchange rate and a mere $4 on the informal street market where most Cubans do their shopping.
“Fight for life, for death is certain,” vendor Isidro Manuet, 73, told AFP sitting on a sidewalk in the heart of Havana, his skin battered by years in the sun, several of his front teeth missing.
“I manage to live, survive, nothing more,” he said of his meager income that allows him to buy a little food, and not much else.
As he spoke to AFP, Manuet looked on as small groups of people walked by his stall carrying bags full of food.
They were coming out of Casalinda, one of several part government-run megastores that sells goods exclusively to holders of US dollars — a small minority of Cubans.
Most rely instead on informal stalls such as the ones Manuet and other elderly Cubans set up on sidewalks every morning to sell fruit, coffee, cigarettes, candy, used clothes and other second-hand goods.

Near Manuet’s stall, 70-year-old Antonia Diez sells clothing and makeup.
“Things are bad, really bad,” she sighs, shaking her head.
Many of Cuba’s elderly have been without family support since 2022, when the biggest migratory exodus in the country’s history began amid a crisis marked by food, fuel and medicine shortages, power blackouts and rampant inflation.
More beggars can be seen on Havana’s streets — though there are no official figures — and every now and then an elderly person can be spotted rummaging through garbage bins for something to eat, or sell.
The Cuban crisis, which Havana blames on decades of US sanctions but analysts say was fueled by government economic mismanagement and tourism tanking under the Covid-19 pandemic, has affected the public purse too, with cuts in welfare spending.
As a result, the government has struggled to buy enough of the staples it has made available for decades to impoverished Cubans at heavily subsidized prices under the “libreta” ration book system.
It is the only way many people have to access affordable staples such as rice, sugar and beans — when there is any.
Diez said she used to receive an occasional state-sponsored food package, “but it’s been a while since they’ve sent anything.”

This all means that many products can only be found at “dollar stores” such as Casalinda, or private markets where most people cannot afford to shop.
According to the University of Havana’s Center for Cuban Economic Studies, in 2023 a Cuban family of three would have needed 12 to 14 times the average minimum monthly salary of 2,100 pesos (around $17) to meet their basic food needs.
Official figures show about 68,000 Cubans over 60 rely on soup kitchens run by the state Family Assistance System for one warm meal per day.
At one such facility, “Las Margaritas,” a plate of food costs about 13 pesos (11 dollar cents). Pensioner Eva Suarez, 78, has been going there daily for 18 months.
“The country is in such need. There’s no food, there’s nothing,” she told AFP, adding her pension is basically worthless “because everything is so expensive.”
Inflation rose by 190 percent between 2018 and 2023, but pensions have not kept pace.
Some are losing faith in communism, brought to the island by Fidel Castro’s revolution, and its unfulfilled promises such as a liter of subsidized milk for every child under seven per day.
“I have nothing, my house is falling apart,” said Lucy Perez, a 72-year-old economist who retired with 1,600 pesos (about 13 dollars) a month after a 36-year career.
“The situation is dire. The nation has no future.”
It’s not just the elderly suffering.
Cuba was rocked by unprecedented anti-government protests in 2021, and students have been rebelling in recent months due to a steep hike in the cost of mobile Internet — which only arrived on the island seven years ago.
In January, the government announced a partial dollarization of the economy that has angered many unable to lay their hands on greenbacks.


A man is injured in a struggle with an escaped lion in southern Turkiye

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A man is injured in a struggle with an escaped lion in southern Turkiye

A man is injured in a struggle with an escaped lion in southern Turkiye
ISTANBUL: A farmer was seriously injured when he was attacked by a lion that had escaped a zoo in southern Turkiye on Sunday, local media reported. The lion was later shot dead.
The male lion, named Zeus, escaped his cage at Land of Lions in Manavgat, a resort city on the Mediterranean coast, in the early hours, the private Demiroren News Agency said. A few hours later, he attacked the 53-year-old man, who was sleeping outdoors after watering pistachio trees.
“I heard a whispering sound. When I lifted the blanket, the lion fell on me,” Suleyman Kir told the agency. “We struggled and fought. ... I grabbed his neck and squeezed. At that moment, he ran off a little.”
The Ilhas News Agency reported that police officers searching for the lion heard the noise of the struggle and scared it off by shooting into the air. Ilhas also showed footage of the lion strolling outside homes before disappearing into scrubland.
Kir was hospitalized with wounds to his head, shoulder and legs. Police teams and drones found the lion in a nearby wooded area.
Land of Lions’ website boasts that the park holds “the world’s largest lion family” of more than 30 animals. It also contains tigers, bears and wolves.
It wasn’t clear how the lion escaped but an investigation has been launched. The zoo did not comment on Sunday.

China used embassies to undermine Rafale sales after India-Pakistan conflict— French intelligence 

China used embassies to undermine Rafale sales after India-Pakistan conflict— French intelligence 
Updated 1 min 31 sec ago
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China used embassies to undermine Rafale sales after India-Pakistan conflict— French intelligence 

China used embassies to undermine Rafale sales after India-Pakistan conflict— French intelligence 
  • Pakistan says it downed five Indian planes during May fighting, including three Rafales
  • China’s defense ministry rejects French claims as “pure groundless rumors and slander”

PARIS: China deployed its embassies to spread doubts about the performance of French-made Rafale jets after they saw combat in India and Pakistan’s clashes in May, French military and intelligence officials have concluded, implicating Beijing in an effort to hammer the reputation and sales of France’s flagship fighter.

Findings from a French intelligence service seen by The Associated Press say defense attaches in China’s foreign embassies led a charge to undermine Rafale sales, seeking to persuade countries that have already ordered the French-made fighter — notably Indonesia — not to buy more and to encourage other potential buyers to choose Chinese-made planes.

The findings were shared with AP by a French military official on condition that the official and the intelligence service not be named.

Four days of India-Pakistan clashes in May were the most serious confrontation in years between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, and included air combat that involved dozens of aircraft from both sides. Military officials and researchers have since been digging for details of how Pakistan’s Chinese-made military hardware — particularly warplanes and air-combat missiles — fared against weaponry that India used in airstrikes on Pakistani targets, notably French-made Rafale fighters.

Sales of Rafales and other armaments are big business for France’s defense industry and help efforts by the government in Paris to strengthen ties with other nations, including in Asia where China is becoming the dominant regional power.

France is fighting what it calls a disinformation campaign against the Rafale.

Pakistan claimed its air force downed five Indian planes during the fighting, including three Rafales. French officials say that prompted questions about their performance from countries that have bought the fighter from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation.

India acknowledged aircraft losses but didn’t say how many. French air force chief Gen. Jérôme Bellanger said that he’s seen evidence pointing to just 3 Indian losses — a Rafale, a Russian-made Sukhoi and a Mirage 2000, which is an earlier generation French-made jet. It was the first known combat loss of a Rafale, which France has sold to eight countries.

“Of course, all those, the nations that bought Rafales, asked themselves questions,” Bellanger said.
French officials have been battling to protect the plane from reputational damage, pushing back against what they allege was a concerted campaign of Rafale-bashing and disinformation online from Pakistan and its ally China.

They say the campaign included viral posts on social media, manipulated imagery showing supposed Rafale debris, AI-generated content and video-game depictions to simulate supposed combat. More than 1,000 social media accounts newly created as the India-Pakistan clashes erupted also spread a narrative of Chinese technological superiority, according to French researchers who specialize in online disinformation.

French military officials say they haven’t been able to link the online Rafale-bashing directly to the Chinese government.

Intelligence assessment says Chinese officials lobbied potential clients to ditch French planes
But the French intelligence service said Chinese embassy defense attaches echoed the same narrative in meetings they held with security and defense officials from other countries, arguing that Indian Air Force Rafales performed poorly and promoting Chinese-made weaponry.

The defense attaches focused their lobbying on countries that have ordered Rafales and other potential customer-nations that are considering purchases, the intelligence service said. It said French officials learned of the meetings from nations that were approached.

Asked by AP to comment on the alleged effort to dent the Rafale’s appeal, the Ministry of National Defense in Beijing said: “The relevant claims are pure groundless rumors and slander. China has consistently maintained a prudent and responsible approach to military exports, playing a constructive role in regional and global peace and stability.”

In recent years, China has stepped up disinformation campaigns on global social media platforms like X, Instagram or Facebook, using networks of state-sponsored influencers, sites that pose as news organizations, and fake social media accounts to spread narratives from Beijing.

France’s Defense Ministry said the Rafale was targeted by “a vast campaign of disinformation” that “sought to promote the superiority of alternative equipment, notably of Chinese design.”

’Strategic French offering’

“The Rafale was not randomly targeted. It is a highly capable fighter jet, exported abroad and deployed in a high-visibility theater,” the Defense Ministry wrote on its website.

“The Rafale was also targeted because it represents a strategic French offering. By attacking the aircraft, certain actors sought to undermine the credibility of France and its defense industrial and technological base. The disinformation campaign therefore did not merely target an aircraft, but more broadly a national image of strategic autonomy, industrial reliability, and solid partnerships.”

Dassault Aviation has sold 533 Rafales, including 323 for export to Egypt, India, Qatar, Greece, Croatia, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Indonesia. Indonesia has ordered 42 planes and is considering buying more.

China may be hoping to weaken the security relationships that France is building with Asian nations by spreading worries about the equipment it supplies, said Justin Bronk, an airpower specialist at the Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank in London.

“From a point of view of limiting Western countries’ influence in the Indo-Pacific, it would make sense for China to be using the performance of Pakistani weapon systems — or at least purported performance — in downing at least one Rafale as a tool to undermine its attractiveness as an export,” he said.

“They certainly saw an opportunity to damage French sales prospects in the region.”


Pope sends condolences to victims of Texas floods

Pope sends condolences to victims of Texas floods
Updated 40 min 34 sec ago
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Pope sends condolences to victims of Texas floods

Pope sends condolences to victims of Texas floods
  • 50 people lost their lives in the Texas flood while 30 people remain missing

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo on Sunday sent condolences to the families of devastating floods in Texas which have left at least 50 people dead and nearly 30 more missing, many of them children.
“I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in a summer camp in the disaster caused by flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas. We pray for them,” said the US-born pontiff following Angelus prayers.
Rescuers searched through the night to try to locate 27 girls and teenagers missing from a riverside summer camp after flash floods caused by torrential rains on Friday, when the Guadalupe River rose eight meters (26 feet) in just 45 minutes.
Nearly 300 millimeters of rain per hour suddenly fell, a third of the average annual rainfall.


Emergency at Afghan border as migrant returns from Iran surge ahead of deadline

Emergency at Afghan border as migrant returns from Iran surge ahead of deadline
Updated 57 min 5 sec ago
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Emergency at Afghan border as migrant returns from Iran surge ahead of deadline

Emergency at Afghan border as migrant returns from Iran surge ahead of deadline
  • Numbers of people crossing the border have surged since mid-June, with a peak of more than 43,000 people crossing at Islam Qala in western Herat province on July 1, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday

ISLAM QALA: Tens of thousands of Afghans streamed over the border from Iran in the days before a return deadline set for Sunday, the United Nations said, sparking an “emergency” situation at border points.
In late May, Iran said undocumented Afghans must leave the country by July 6, potentially impacting four million people, out of the six million Afghans Tehran says live in the country.
Numbers of people crossing the border have surged since mid-June, with a peak of more than 43,000 people crossing at Islam Qala in western Herat province on July 1, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday.
The UN migration agency IOM said more than 250,000 Afghans returned from Iran in June.
UNICEF country representative Tajudeen Oyewale said this was an “emergency” situation in a country already facing a “chronic returnee crisis,” with 1.4 million Afghans returning from traditional hosts Iran and Pakistan this year.
“What is concerning is that 25 percent of all these returnees are children... because the demographics have shifted” from individual men to whole families, crossing the border with scant belongings and money, he told AFP on Thursday.
He noted Islam Qala could accommodate the vast numbers but was inadequately equipped in terms of services, saying, “When you start hitting more than 20,000 people (a day) that is completely beyond the planning scenario that we have.”
The agency has engaged emergency processes to ramp up water and sanitation systems built for 7-10,000 people a day, along with vaccinations, nutrition and child-friendly spaces.
Many people crossing reported pressure from authorities or even arrest and deportation.
“Some people are so afraid that they don’t leave the house themselves... They send their young children out just for a piece of bread, and even those children get arrested sometimes,” said 38-year-old Aref Atayi of the pressures Afghans face in Iran.
“Even if I have to beg in my own country, it’s still better than staying in a place where we’re treated like this,” he told AFP on Saturday, as he waited at the IOM-run reception center for some support to help his family resettle.
Massive foreign aid cuts have impacted the response to the crisis, with the UN, international non-governmental groups and Taliban officials calling for more funding to support the returnees.
The UN has warned the influx could destabilize the country already grappling with entrenched poverty, unemployment and climate change-related shocks and urged countries not to forcibly return Afghans.


Japan’s emperor begins a weeklong visit to Mongolia that will honor POWs

Japan’s emperor begins a weeklong visit to Mongolia that will honor POWs
Updated 06 July 2025
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Japan’s emperor begins a weeklong visit to Mongolia that will honor POWs

Japan’s emperor begins a weeklong visit to Mongolia that will honor POWs
  • The emperor said it’s part of his effort at atonement and remembrance of the tragedy of war fought in the name of his grandfather, Emperor Hirohito

TOKYO: Japan’s Emperor Naruhito began a weeklong visit to Mongolia on Sunday during which he plans to honor thousands of Japanese prisoners of World War II who were held under harsh conditions in the country.
Naruhito’s visit marks the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII. In recent years, he has toured some of the places where the bloodiest battles and bombings occurred, including Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Hiroshima. The emperor has said it’s part of his effort at atonement and remembrance of the tragedy of war fought in the name of his grandfather, Emperor Hirohito.
While the vast majority of Japanese soldiers were taken to Siberia, around 12,000 to 14,000 ended up in Mongolia, which was fighting alongside the Soviets against Japan.
Most of the POWs were put to hard labor and construction work for the Mongolian government’s headquarters, a state university and a theater that are still preserved in the capital Ulaanbaatar. The prisoners toiled under harsh conditions and scarce food. Japanese records show about 1,700 of them died in Mongolia.
“As we mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war this year, we should never forget the pain and sorrow of the people,” Naruhito said last week. “I believe it is important to not forget those who died, deepen understanding of the wartime past and to nurture the peace-loving heart.”
Naruhito had previously visited Mongolia as crown prince in 2007.