lifted

Volker Turk, the high commissioner for human rights at the United Nations, has issued some of his harshest criticism yet of the recent sanctions the United States has imposed on Cuba.

On Monday, Turk drew a line between the increasing restrictions on the Cuban economy and reports of heightened death rates, particularly among children.

“The fuel restrictions imposed since early 2026 and recent tightening of extraterritorial sanctions, taken together, are directly harming Cubans, especially the most vulnerable,” Turk said in a statement.

“Children are dying because doctors lack access to essential medical supplies and medicines. This is unacceptable.”

Such “severe sanctions”, he added, run contrary to the “basic principles of international human rights law”. He called for them to be “lifted immediately”.

Turk’s comments are a direct response to the suite of actions taken under US President Donald Trump to tighten pressure on Cuba, a Caribbean island that has already weathered a decades-long US trade embargo.

Starting in January, the Trump administration moved to cut off Cuba’s foreign oil supply, a linchpin for its ageing energy grid.

First, it severed supplies of oil and funds from Venezuela. Then, on January 29, Trump issued an executive order declaring Cuba to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security. As such, he said, any country that supplied it with oil would be subject to steep tariffs.

In the months since, the Trump administration has continued to layer sanctions on Cuba. In May, for instance, penalties were announced against Cuba’s Interior Ministry, its National Police and its Directorate of Intelligence.

Those were followed this month by sanctions targeting Cuba’s president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, as well as members of his family.

The sanctions are designed to penalise those “responsible for repression” in Cuba, an island whose communist government has been accused of stifling dissent, as well as imprisoning and torturing activists.

Turk on Monday acknowledged Cuba’s human rights record and called on the country to “release all those arbitrarily detained”.

But he also pointed to the mounting death toll associated with the US sanctions, which have isolated the island country from much of the world.

The sanctions freeze any US-based assets the target may have, but they also prohibit entities from conducting business with the sanctioned parties. That can result in difficulties accessing global financial systems and other international platforms.

The de facto oil blockade has also resulted in the increasing frequency of power outages, and essential services like public transportation and medical care have faced reductions. Turk pointed to those downstream effects in his remarks.

“Cuba faces increasing isolation,” he said. “Companies are leaving. Fewer airlines fly to the country. It is almost disconnected from international payment systems.”

Turk’s office has also highlighted the human costs of the sanctions. According to the statistics it cited, infant death rates have doubled, reaching 9.9 for every 1,000 births. The survival rate for childhood cancer, meanwhile, has declined from 85 to 65 percent.

In March, the Cuban government also warned of medical needs going unanswered as a result of the energy shortage. It estimated that there was a backlog of 96,387 people awaiting surgery, 11,193 of whom were minors.

It also underscored that 16,000 patients needed radiotherapy, and another 2,888 required dialysis, two treatments that depend on steady electrical supplies.

Turk’s remarks also pointed to the risks posed by the Atlantic hurricane season and other natural disasters. Within hours of his remarks, western Cuba was rattled by a powerful 6.1-magnitude earthquake. Summer heat alone could cost lives, he explained.

“Rising summer temperatures risk increasing the spread of vector borne and waterborne diseases,” Turk said.

“The hurricane season further increases exposure. This creates a perfect storm for social and economic deterioration and suffering for the Cuban people.”

Trump has repeatedly suggested that he is considering military action in Cuba to remove its leadership after the US-Israel war on Iran reaches an end.

Since January, only one Russian oil tanker has been allowed to reach the island, leaving its foreign fuel supplies largely depleted.

DISCOVERING a destination that feels like you’re living a fairytale is always fun, but it is even better when the place has less crowds.

Annecy in France is often overlooked by its busier neighbour – Geneva in Switzerland.

Follow The Sun’s award-winning travel team on Instagram and Tiktok for top holiday tips and inspiration @thesuntravel.

But according to Holiday Pirates, the destination feels as if it’s been “lifted straight from a fairytale”.

The lakeside town can be found near the Swiss border and to get there, travellers can head to Geneva Airport and drive under an hour across the border to Annecy.

And just like a fairytale, the town has its own castle… in the middle of the water.

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Le Palais de l’Isle dates back to the medieval period and sits in the middle of the Thiou Canal, which stretches around two miles long and is an outlet of Lake Annecy – Europe‘s cleanest lake.

The canal flows through the Old Town and is the reason Annecy got its nickname as the ‘Venice of the Alps’.

And travellers can visit the castle as well, which also used to be a prison but is now a museum where you can see the preserved cells and learn about the architectural history of Annecy.

It costs just £3.46 per person to visit.

It isn’t just the castle that makes the town fairytale-like though; visitors can also explore pastel-coloured houses in the Old Town and bridges covered in flowers that cross the canal.

For a nice walk, you can wander the entire length of the canal from Lake Annecy to the Fier River via a flat trail.

On Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, there’s a market in the Old Town as well.

On Tuesdays, the market sells local produce and then on Fridays and Sundays the market is slightly bigger, with other goods such as locally-made textiles also sold.

You’ll find Musée-Château d’Annecy in the Old Town too, where visitors can browse regional sculptures and paintings.

For those who like seeing nature and wildlife, head to Parc Animalier de la Grande Jeanne, which is an open-air zoo with free admission.

Across the park visitors can see different types of deer and goats, with one recent visitor commenting: “The hike included a beautiful lookout point over the city”.

At the edge of the park you’ll find Basilique de la Visitation – a 20th- century cathedral with views of the surrounding mountains from its bell tower.

Also at the edge of the park is Plage des Marquisats, which is a small lake-side pebble beach with crystal-clear water and free entry.

For couples visiting, make sure to cross the Pont des Amours bridge near Jardins de l’Europe – a tree-lined lakeside park; kissing on the bridge is supposed to lead to a lifetime together.

From the town you can rent a bike and cycle your way around Lake Annecy on a 26-mile dedicated loop, stopping off at the quaint villages along the way including the medieval village of Duingt, with stone buildings and narrow alleys.

When it comes to eating in Annecy, there are tons of local cafes and restaurants to choose from.

The destination is known for its melted cheese, including Fondue, Raclette and Tartiflette, which includes potatoes, bacon and melted Reblochon cheese.

Thanks to its lakeside location, a lot of restaurants also serve fresh fish.

If you fancy a pint you can even head to a pub, such as Captain Pub, with a wooden bar and tall stools inside.

You can expect to pay around €4.70 (£4.06) for a pint in most places, or for a glass of wine, €6 (£5.18).

There’s a whole host of places to stay in Annecy.

For example, you could stay at Mercure Annecy Sud Hotel from £74 per night.

The hotel features modern interiors, with a restaurant, pool and spa.

Alternatively, right by the lake you could stay at Hôtel Impérial Palace Annecy from £189 per night.

The hotel was built back in 1913 and boasts rooms with balconies overlooking the lake.

The hotel has two restaurants and a bar that faces the lake, as well as a spa.

If you want a bargain holiday, you could head to Annecy for three nights with Holiday Pirates from just £115.50 per person, in early October.

You’d stay at Hotel Les Muses, with flights included too, to Lyon Airport – which is about an hour and 40 minutes from Annecy.

Or you could fly to Lyon Airport from London, costing from £29 return in June and then hop on a Flixbus from just £13.49 per person, per way.

Alternatively, direct flights from London to Geneva cost from £56 return in June.

You could then hop on a 45 minute Flixbus to Annecy from the airport, costing just £5 per person, per way.

You could even tie in a stay in Geneva as part of your trip and explore the city as well as Annecy.