Cuba blocks online newspaper launched by dissident blogger

An online newspaper established by dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez has been blocked by the Cuban government merely hours after going live. Her website, 14Ymedio.com, is not accessible in Cuba. Instead, users report that after typing in the web address, they are redirected to another website called "yoani$landia" that accuses Sanchez of hidden political interests and being "obsessed with money." There is speculation that the "yoani$landia" site is run by the Cuban government. The page itself asserts in one article, "This website is from a group of people who had enough of seeing Yoani Sanchez presenting herself as the Mother Teresa of Calcutta of Cuban dissidents." Sanchez, who became famous for her prize-winning Generation Y blog that championed freedom of speech and movement, says she wants 14Ymedio to "contribute information so that Cubans can decide with more maturity their own destinies." In Cuba, the country's three national newspapers and media are controlled by the state.