Cuban people will be able to receive subsidies from the government as from 15 January to purchase building materials and pay for labor to start, repair or rehabilitate housing, according to a publication of the Official Gazette on Wednesday.»

The nearly 60 members of the 54th Solidarity-with-Cuba Nordic Brigade that arrived Monday in Sancti Spiritus, travelled to the nearby province of Villa Clara to pay a visit to Commander Che Guevara Memorial.»

The Cuban Chess Federation is celebrating the beginning of 2012 with the Latin American record of Leinier Dominguez and the inclusion of Oleiny Linares and Lisandra Ordaz among the top 100 females.»

The ninth edition of the Panama Jazz Festival will take place from 16 until 21 January and among the main guests are the Cubans Chucho Valdes and Omara Portuondo, who will perform as a duet, organizers said.»

An attractive three-game series is at sight when Sancti Spiritus face from Tuesday to Thursday Industriales Blue Lions in the headquarters of the latter, in the continuation of the 51st Cuban baseball national season. Roosters Yunier Mendoza outstands with a 400 average.»

Bolivia will start on Tuesday a new stage in the democratic construction of the Plurinational State, when the 56 judges elected in historic elections swear in during a ceremony in the city of Sucre. Bolivia became in 2011 the first nation in the world to choose their judges by popular vote, after the original Judicial Body elections held last October »

Cuba confirmed on Tuesday that Pope Benedict XVI will visit Cuba on March 26 to 28.  The Pope will arrive in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba and he will be welcomed by Cuban President Raul Castro, informed the National Television News.»

Cuba registered an infant mortality rate of 4.9 per 1000 live births in 2011, holding alongside Canada the lowest rate in the Americas. An article published by Granma today also appointed the eastern Cuban province of Las Tunas with the lowest mortality rate of the island, with 3.5 per 1000 live births.»

Many Cubans feel tourism like a distant issue. It is an indifferent subject even for many others due to their scanty wages, which must be used in other daily affairs. Nevertheless, when analyzed from the nation’s point of view, tourism turns to be a way to raise fresh foreign currency.»

Without the Cuban Revolution there would not probably be any current process of Latin American rapprochement in favor of the peoples, said President Daniel Ortega in a message for the 53 anniversary of the triumph of that emancipatory exploit.»