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Panama thanks Cuba for releasing 3 of its citizens as 7 others remain detained

PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) — Panama’s government said Cuba has released three of 10 of its citizens detained on the island earlier this year and accused of fabricating subversive propaganda.

The three women, who were released, have arrived in Panama, according to a government statement issued Friday.

Panama thanked Cuba for the gesture and said it would continue efforts to ensure the well-being of the seven other Panamanians who remain detained and a swift resolution to their situation.

Cuba’s Interior Ministry has said that the Panamanians who were arrested in Havana in late February were paid to enter the island “with the purpose of making signs with subversive content, contrary to the constitutional order.”

The government has asserted that those detained said they were ordered to leave Cuba “once the objective was achieved,” and that they would receive between $1,000 and $1,500 each.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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