• in 1998, English writer Joyce Dunbar cycled across Cuba to raise funds for the National Deaf Children's Society, on behalf of a people with hearing impairment?
• in 2003, the Cuban town of San Antonio de Los Baños had no water for 2 days while a 100-year old aqueduct supplying the city was being repaired?
• in March 1997, Lucia Newman became the first United States journalist in twenty-seven years to be based in Cuba?
• in 1901, two former political adversaries in Cuba, the Cuban National Party and the Republican Party of Havana, united behind the presidential candidature of Tomás Estrada Palma?
• due to a violent intimidation campaign of the Federal Republican Party, no other political groups dared to contest the 1900 municipal elections in Las Villas, Cuba?
• after winning a 2004 Olympic bronze medal, Cuban hammer thrower Yunaika Crawford was not in the top ten at the 2005 World Championships?
• as part of Cuba-Venezuela relations, 50,000 Venezuelans went to Cuba for free eye treatment?
• competitions for the design of José Martí Memorial (pictured) in Havana, Cuba started in 1939, but the design that was finally constructed in 1953 was a variation on a design that had come in third in the fourth competition?
• in the midst of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, the Indonesian Murba Party pledged to send volunteers to Cuba?
• photographer Burt Glinn was at a New Year's Party when Fidel Castro took over Cuba, and he arrived at the scene before dawn?
• the Tugboat Spence and its barge Guantanamo Bay Express deliver cargo twice-monthly from Naval Station Mayport near Jacksonville, Florida to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba?
• the motif of "La Paloma," written by Sebastián Iradier in Cuba around 1863, can be traced back to an episode during the Greco-Persian Wars in 492 BCE?
• visual evidence of the installation of Soviet missiles in Cuba which triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was found in reconnaissance photographs by CIA analysts led by Arthur C. Lundahl?
• the Ten Years' War, which began in 1868, was the first attempt by Cuba to secure its independence from Spain?
• the Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca (pictured), built to defend the Cuban city of Santiago de Cuba from pirate attacks, was captured and partially destroyed by pirates while it was being constructed?
• the Cuban People's Party was barred from contesting the 1901 elections, as the government demanded the party produce a register of thousands of members in just two hours?
• the 1917 Pinar del Río hurricane is the third most intense cyclone to make landfall in Cuba, with a low atmospheric pressure reading of 928 mbar (27.40 inHg)?
• the Afro hairstyle (pictured) was once banned in Tanzania and Cuba?
• after a recent re-analysis, a hurricane in 1924 was found to be the earliest known Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, as well as the strongest hurricane on record to strike Cuba?
• Raul Macias, a Cuban-Mexican boxer parlayed his popularity into a successful career in telenovelas?
• Cuban tobacco grower Alejandro Robaina was dubbed the "Godfather of Cuban tobacco"?
• Cuban poet Cintio Vitier published his first book of poetry in 1938, at the age of seventeen?
• Cuban politician Raúl Chibás defected to the United States via motor boat to Miami after initially supporting Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution?
• Cuban First Lady Marta Fernandez Miranda de Batista became a contributor to Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital while in exile in Florida?
• Cuban economist Felipe Pazos was ordered to be executed by Raúl Castro in 1959, but was ultimately spared and allowed to leave the country?
• Black Panther Party co-founder Huey Newton said the Brampton Jail in Brampton, Ontario was "worse than any jail in Cuba"?
• Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine is supported by both the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus and Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez?
• Cuban Colonel Ramón Barquín, who unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow Fulgencio Batista in 1956, later founded Atlantic College and several other educational institutions while in exile in Puerto Rico?
• Hurricane Michelle (pictured), a storm which took place in the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, caused numerous deaths and large-scale damage in Jamaica, Cuba, Honduras, and Nicaragua?
• Iran and Cuba have been seeking to strengthen their relationship in recent years?
• Enriqueta Favez (pictured), a Swiss woman, studied medicine and served as an army surgeon in the Napoleonic Wars disguised as a man, went to Cuba in the 1820s and married a local woman?
• Fernandina's Flicker (Colaptes fernandinae), a woodpecker endemic to Cuba, is threatened by habitat loss and now there are fewer than 800 left in the world?
• Paul Boucherot and his partner Georges Claude built an ocean thermal energy conversion plant in Cuba as long ago as 1926?
• Cuba-Pakistan relations were strengthened due to Cuba's assistance after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake?
• Bill Paparian, who visited Cuba while mayor of Pasadena, California, was reported to admire both Che Guevara and the U.S. Marine Corps?
• John Singleton Copley's painting, Watson and the Shark (pictured), was based on a real-life shark attack that occured in Havana, Cuba in 1749?
• national service in Cuba's law enforcement agencies is regarded as more dangerous than serving in the country's armed forces?
• anarchism once was the strongest current in the Cuban labor movement?
• 85 percent of the tobacco grown in Cuba is produced by members of the National Association of Small Farmers?

Facts on topics related to Cuba

Philippines

• 1,200 journalists, human rights advocates, and leftist activists have been killed in the Philippines as a result of Gloria Arroyo's counter-insurgency program "Oplan Bantay Laya"?
• 40,000 people were estimated to make a living from seaweed farming in the Philippines in 1997?
• 1970's Super Typhoon Joan, the largest storm of the season in size, is the strongest typhoon ever to hit the Philippines?
• 1985's only super typhoon, Super Typhoon Dot, is the sixth-most intense tropical cyclone in terms of wind speed to affect Bicol Region, Philippines between 1947 and 2004?
• footballer Edward King was honored for heroism in the Philippines and tactical skill in France and later became Commandant of the Army Command and General Staff College?
• Austin Coates's Rizal: Philippine Nationalist and Martyr is the second biography of Filipino national hero José Rizal authored by a non-Filipino?
• General Douglas MacArthur's staff threatened United States Army Lieutenant Colonel Charles S. Lawrence with court martial if he confiscated nearly 2,000 cases of food from Japanese-run firms in the Philippines, and that the stores were destroyed during the Battle of Bataan in early 1942?
• Lualhati Bautista’s Tagalog novel, Bata, Bata… Pa’no Ka Ginawa? became a film starring Vilma Santos, an actress turned first female governor of Batangas of the Philippines?
• Meralco's John F. Cotton Corporate Wellness Center was the first implementation of a corporate wellness program in the Philippines?
• Filipino basketball player Gec Chia's walk-off buzzer beater in the 2002 UAAP semifinals brought his coach Joel Banal to his knees, and he later described the shot as "a miracle"?

Cyprus

• "Comme Ci, Comme Ça" was performed in French at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, despite being the Cypriot entry?
• Scorpions were transported to Cyprus in 1974 to protect the British Sovereign Base Areas during the Turkish Invasion?
• Section 171 of the Criminal Code of Cyprus, which prohibited homosexual acts between men, was repealed just eight days before a May 29, 1998 deadline set by the Council of Europe?
• among all European Union member states, Cyprus is the only presidential republic? (pictured: EU flag)
• despite being born in Harlow, England, Alex Stavrinou qualified to play for the Cyprus youth football team through his father's Cypriot heritage?
• during the Ottoman–Venetian War of 1570–1573, the 8,500-strong Venetian garrison of Famagusta in Cyprus held out for eleven months against an Ottoman army of 200,000 men?
• in 1902, 23-year-old British archaeozoologist Dorothea Bate discovered a new species of dwarf elephant in a cave on the island of Cyprus?
• the Cypriot women's basketball team was disqualified at the 2009 Jeux de la Francophonie for exceeding the permitted number of naturalized players?

France

• "4 Mots sur un piano", which deals with the theme of a romantic relationship between two men and one woman, was the fifth best-selling single of 2007 in France?
• 11-year old Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein is regarded by Jacobites as third in line for the throne of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland?
• 18th century Franco-Portuguese industrialist Jácome Ratton (pictured) left a vivid account of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake in his memoirs and was exiled to the Azores during the Napoleonic Wars?
• 18th century French artilleries were the most efficient at cannon operation (pictured), capable of firing 150 shots per cannon daily during siege?
• 18th century French salons were often led by those who were creating the Encyclopédie?
• footballer Edward King was honored for heroism in the Philippines and tactical skill in France and later became Commandant of the Army Command and General Staff College?
• Cambodia's Mongkol Borei District was part of Thailand until the French demanded it back in 1907?
• Camille Le Mercier d'Erm and his colleagues formed the Breton Nationalist Party in 1911 to advocate the independence of Brittany from France?
• Catherine II's Instruction to the Legislative Assembly was banned in pre-revolutionary 18th-century France as a "libertarian book"?
• cinematographer Lawrence Sher first developed an interest in photography after his father convinced him to take a 35mm camera on a Teaneck High School-sponsored trip to France?

Azerbaijan

• Welshman Sir Gore Ouseley arranged for Azerbaijan to become part of the Russian Empire in 1814?
• Azerbaijanis live in Iran, Georgia, Turkey, Iraq and the United States, as well as Azerbaijan?
• Dushanbe riots in 1990 were sparked by the rumour that a couple of thousand Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan had been resettled to Dushanbe?
• Martyrs' Lane in Baku, Azerbaijan, is dedicated to those killed by the Red Army during Black January and later to those killed in Nagorno-Karabakh War?
• Qabala treasures, monetary treasure troves discovered in Azerbaijan, contain drachmas of Alexander the Great and denarii of four Roman Emperors?
• after being imprisoned for allegedly leading Islamic militants in Azerbaijan, Ahmad Salama Mabruk began leading a new militant group within prison?
• as Azerbaijan Commissar of Public Roads, Chingiz Ildyrym oversaw the construction of the first electrified railway in the Soviet Union?
• during one of the Caspian expeditions of the Rus, the city of Barda in Azerbaijan was saved from complete destruction only by an outbreak of dysentery among the Rus?
• during the G-8 Summit in Germany on June 7-8, Russian president Vladimir Putin offered to deploy elements of an American anti-misssile shield in Qabala Radiolocation Station in Azerbaijan instead of Poland and the Czech Republic?
• in the early 1990s, Surət Hüseynov successfully led a military coup d'état in Azerbaijan to become the Prime Minister?

Mozambique

• Mozambican journalist Carlos Cardoso was murdered while investigating the privatization of the country's largest bank?
• Cyclone Jokwe killed 16 people in Mozambique and left at least 55,000 homeless?
• Filipe Nhussi, the current defence minister of Mozambique, was president of the top-division football club Clube Ferroviário de Nampula?
• Lothar Neethling of the South African Police confiscated and denied crash investigators access to the aircraft flight recorders from the wreckage of the air disaster which killed President Samora Machel of Mozambique in 1986?
• Paulo Zucula headed the National Disasters Management Institute before he replaced Antonio Munguambe as Mozambique's Minister of Transport and Communication in March 2008?
• Ricardo Rangel co-founded Mozambique's first full color magazine Tempo, as a voice of opposition to Portuguese colonial rule?
• Tofo in southern Mozambique draws foreign tourists to its beaches and population of whale sharks?
• tufo is a Mozambican dance said to have originated when the Islamic prophet Mohammed migrated to Medina?
• Kuxa Kanema is a documentary about the Mozambique government’s first attempts to create a national cinema?
• a large portion of the vocabulary of the coastal Mozambiquean language Ekoti derives from a past variety of Swahili?

Malaysia

• "ultra" was a phrase frequently used in 1960s Malaysia and Singapore to describe racial chauvinists?
• Malaysia's Sedition Act disregards criminal intent in passing judgement?
• Malaysian royalty's immunity from legal prosecution was removed after a 1992 assault incident, involving Tunku Majid of Johor, sparked a constitutional crisis?
• Wayne Wang handpicked a song for his movie Chinese Box that a group of teenagers from Sarawak, Malaysia, made their professional debut on Boys & Girls 1+1=3 with?
• buildings in Kuala Lumpur have Mughal, Tudor, Neo-Gothic or Spanish architectural styles modified to use local resources and for the climate of Malaysia?
• Article 10 of the Constitution of Malaysia guarantees citizens certain rights on condition that these rights are not restricted by the government?
• Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia provides quotas and other affirmative action policies for the Malays and other indigenous people of Malaysia, but was intended as a temporary provision?
• C. C. Too, a leading exponent of psychological warfare in Malaysia, crafted a campaign to turn public opinion against the communists during the Malayan Emergency?
• Guinness Black Lager is a new black lager which is being test marketed in Malaysia by Diageo for sale in the west under its Guinness brand name?
• Gurdwara Sahib Klang, a Sikh Gurdwara in Malaysia, was constructed with donations collected by Sikh Sangats all over Malaysia, including a large sum from the Prime Minister's Department?

Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Save the Children's State of the World's Mothers report ranked the United States 28th, citing a lifetime risk of maternal death six times greater in the U.S. than in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
• Sam, an army dog who served with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, posthumously received the Dickin Medal in 2003 for holding off armed rioters in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
• Selmo Cikotić was recently appointed Defence Minister for Bosnia and Herzegovina?
• Sulejman Talović, who went on a shooting rampage at a shopping mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, was a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina?
• the former United Nations commander in Bosnia, Colonel Bob Stewart, has been accepted as a prospective parliamentary candidate for the UK Conservative Party?
• there are fifteen distinct police agencies enforcing law in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Serbia

• church services may be held in Serbia under the crown of a zapis, a large oak with a cross inscribed into its bark, sacred for the village at which it is situated?
• Crveni Krst, a neigborhood of Belgrade, Serbia, was built around the alleged burial site of Saint Sava?
• Flora Sandes, who served with the Serbian Army, was the only British woman to officially enrol as a soldier in World War I?
• Hrelja, a 14th-century semi-independent feudal lord under Serbian suzerainty, built the defensive tower (pictured) in Bulgaria's largest monastery, the Rila Monastery?
• Milan Obrenović II, who was the ruler of Serbia for less than two weeks in 1839, may have been too ill to ever have been aware of the fact?
• Vlasina Lake in southeastern Serbia is famous for floating islands arising from chunks of peat broken off the shore?
• American blogger Pamela Geller has strongly defended former Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic and denied the existence of Serbian concentration camps?
• in Serbian legend old people who had outlived their usefulness were ritually slain by their children in a custom known as lapot?
• in October 1788, near Tomaševac (in present day Serbia), Friedrich Joseph, Count of Nauendorf and approximately 300 Hussars routed 1,200 Sipahis?
• notable figures buried at New Cemetery in Belgrade include Ivo Andrić, winner of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Literature, and Zoran Đinđić, the Prime Minister of Serbia who was assassinated in 2003?

Singapore

• "Disneyland with the Death Penalty" became a famous description for Singapore (pictured) following the 1993 publication of William Gibson's article of the same name?
• "ultra" was a phrase frequently used in 1960s Malaysia and Singapore to describe racial chauvinists?
• "Majulah Singapura", the national anthem of Singapore, was originally a theme song for events held by Singapore's City Council during colonial times?
• masters of Singapore-registered ships are subject to a fine of S$1,000 if they do not hoist the Red Ensign (pictured) before entering or leaving port?
• Lord Canning wanted to build a port at Canning, now in West Bengal, that could rival Singapore but gave up when the Matla River surged its fury on the new port town in 1867?
• computer simulation techniques were used to review the design of One Marina Boulevard in Singapore?
• golf was introduced to Singapore by Sir John Tankerville Goldney in 1891 while he was Chief Justice for the Straits Settlements?
• New Zealand currently has free trade agreements with Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Chile and China?
• Singapore's 5.4-ton Pegasus is the first helicopter-portable 155mm howitzer with a self-propelled capability?
• Singapore's Burmese Buddhist Temple has the largest white marble statue of the Buddha (pictured) outside of Myanmar?

Cuban

• the Black jack, Caranx lugubris, was first described in 1860 by Cuban zoologist Felipe Poey in his two-volume work Historia Natural de la Isla de Cuba, or "Natural History of the Island of Cuba"?

Fidel Castro

• Cuban politician Raúl Chibás defected to the United States via motor boat to Miami after initially supporting Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution?
• Argentine spy Bill Gaede was so successful in his clandestine operation of sending technical information from AMD to Cuban representatives that he was invited to meet Fidel Castro?
• an exploding cigar was at the heart of an alleged plot by the Central Intelligence Agency to assassinate Fidel Castro?
• despite denouncing Fidel Castro's 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks, politician Carlos Rafael Rodríguez became one of Castro's most trusted allies after the 1959 revolution and served as Vice President?
• former Key West mayor Captain Tony Tarracino was a subject of Cuba Crossing, a 1980 film about a plot to kill Fidel Castro, and of the 1985 Jimmy Buffett song "Last Mango in Paris"?
• in 1988, after flying to space with first Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Méndez, Yuri Romanenko was invited to an underwater fishing trip with Fidel Castro?
• photographer Burt Glinn was at a New Year's Party when Fidel Castro took over Cuba, and he arrived at the scene before dawn?