• Systematicity and persistence: Key to the country’s development
May 21.12
AN expanded meeting of the National Defense Council was held during the morning of May 12, guided by the concept, emphasized by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the National Defense Council, that the complex problems which persist within diverse economic and social spheres in the country must be addressed with systematicity and perseverance.

• The truth about May 20^th and Cuba’s independence
May 17.12
PRIOR to the revolutionary triumph of 1959, circles of power in Cuba celebrated May 20th as Independence Day. It was said that this day, in 1902, saw the birth of the independent republic, that Spanish colonial domination had come to an end and Cubans were able to enjoy complete freedom.

• SAVE THE CHILDREN
Cuba is the best country in Latin America for mothers
May 17.12
LONDON, May 9.— Cuba is ranked first among Latin American countries in providing adequate support to mothers, followed by Argentina and Uruguay, according to a report by the non-governmental agency Save the Children.

• AGING IN CUBA AND LATIN AMERICA
Rapid population change brings challenges
May 17.12
IT is estimated that by 2020 there will be 200 million elderly people in the world and that half of these will live in Latin America and the Caribbean.

• Fidel’s release: a victory of the people
May 17.12
THE amnesty granted to Fidel and the others involved in the assault on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Garrisons and incarcerated in the Isle of Pines Model Prison after being sentenced in the Moncada trial (Case 37 of 1953), was an extraordinary victory on the part of the Cuban people.

• 40 years of friendship and solidarity
May 17.12
THE Julio Antonio Mella International Camp, located in Caimito municipality, Artemisa province, is a place which breathes solidarity. Without any doubt, it is also somewhere to make new friends and feel useful.

• Cuba to begin clinical trials of pneumonia vaccine
May 10.12
HAVANA.— Clinical trials will begin here this year for a vaccine against pneumococcus bacteria, developed by Cuban institutions, according to an announcement by Dr. Concepción Campa, director of the Finlay Institute.

• INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA
Unanimous support for the Cuban Five
May 10.12
Activities supporting the Cuban Revolution and the Cuban people, especially the struggle to free the Cuban Five, were the main topics of discussion at the Solidarity with Cuba Encounter held in Havana’s Convention Center, as part of the activities scheduled for international guests visiting Cuba to celebrate May Day.

• Caretakers of the marvelous Farola
May 10.12
THIRTY modest men from rural communities in the municipalities of Imías and Baracoa are responsible for the important task of maintaining one of the seven marvels of Cuban engineering, the majestic La Farola highway.

• Solidarity is key to freeing the Cuban Five and ending the injustice
May 10.12
"WE know that justice is on our side and that in the end it will triumph, because our friends around the world continue to grow, not only in quantity but in determination and energy… I know that many of you came to Washington from far away representing hundreds of others.

• International Tourism Fair 2012
Sustained increase in tourism to Cuba
May 9.12
CAIBARIEN.—Through April of 2012, the number of visitors to Cuba has grown by 5.2% in comparison with last year, as was announced during the opening of the 32nd International Tourism Fair, which initiated its sessions May 8 in Cayo Santa María, Villa Clara province.

• Chávez, in final stage of treatment, announces upcoming return to Venezuela
May 8.12
PRESIDENT Hugo Chávez of Venezuela announced this Monday that he is to return to his country in the next few days to "progressively join the frontline of battle," exactly five months ahead of the elections there.

• The Cuban almiquí a mysterious, solitary mammal
May 4.12
The Cuban almiquí is probably one of the least known endemic Cuban animal species, and the most sought-after among the island’s scientists.

• 25 years dedicated to humanist efforts
May 4.12
The Martin Luther King Jr. Center (CMLK) in Havana celebrated its 25th anniversary, April 25, and was acknowledged in a letter from Esteban Lazo Hernández, Vice President of the Council of State and a member of the Party’s Political Bureau.

• Friends lend a hand and their voices
May 4.12
Making the trip to the Julio Antonio Mella International Camp, outside of Havana in Caimito, in the province of Artemisa, Granma International was able to converse with members of the May Day Brigade who were offering Cuba their support in agriculture and other social projects.

• MAY DAY
Cuban workers celebrate May Day, united and determined to defend the Revolution and perfect socialism in Cuba
May 3.12
Massive demonstrations of support for the Revolution and commitment to socialism took place on May Day in all of Cuba’s 15 provinces. Workers and the entire people carrying banners and posters filled Plazas and avenues across the country.

• Raúl sends condolences on the occasion of Tomás Borge’s death
May 3.12
Compañero Daniel Ortega Saavedra
President of the Republic of Nicaragua and Secretary General of the Sandinista National Liberation Front

• Half a million workers celebrate May Day in Havana, united and resolved to defend and improve socialism in Cuba
May 2.12
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, presided during Cuba's national May Day march celebrating International Workers' Day, culminating in Havana's José Martí Plaza de la Revolución.

• Chávez returns to Venezuela, Raúl sees him off
April 26.12
Last night, Wednesday, April 25, President Hugo Chávez Frías returned to Venezuela. Army General Raúl Castro, President of the Council of State and Ministers bid him farewell, after a brief but animated conversation at Havana’s José Martí International Airport.

• VILLA CLARA’S CAYS
A Cuban exclusive
April 26.12
THE cays of Villa Clara, with more than 6,000 rooms in 5-star hotels and plans to double this figure, are an exclusive, paradisiacal environment, to be featured at the 32nd International Tourism Fair FITCuba 2012, to be held May 8-12.

• MAY DAY
More than 1,000 participants from 62 countries
April 25.12
As of the final week in April, more than 1,000 representatives from 162 trade unions, social organizations and Cuba solidarity groups from 62 countries on all continents, have confirmed their plans to participate in the national May Day march culminating in Havana’s José Martí Plaza de la Revolución, May 1.

• Parliamentary leader of Ghana emphasizes solidarity between Cuba and Africa
April 25.12
Joyce Adelina Bamford-Addo, President of Ghana’s National Assembly emphasized the historical ties of solidarity between Cuba and the African people, during a meeting with her Cuban counterpart Ricardo Alarcón.

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs Declaration
April 20.12
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba has learned of the decision made by the government of the Republic of Argentina to expropriate 51% of the oil company YPF, as stipulated in national legislation. Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales is a subsidiary of the Spanish corporation Repsol which operates in Argentine territory.

• DECLARATION OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT
For our second independence
April 18.12
THE Summit held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, gave evidence of the ever-growing abyss that exists between "Our America", as Martí called it, and the "turbulent and brutal North that despises us."

• A message to my people
April 18.12
April 14, 2012
"Year 54 of the Revolution"
Dear compatriots:
Returning to the world of the absurd after a very brief visit to the homeland which has led to the most diverse ramblings – some at a level of insanity only possible for the detractors of our society – it’s time for me to pay a debt I owe to my people with these words.

• April uncensored
April 16.12
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the exemplary victory of the Venezuelan people against a brazen coup attempt, Granma offers readers the epilogue of a newly published book about the events of April, 2002, entitled Abril sin censura (April uncensored), by Germán Sánchez Otero, Cuban ambassador to Venezuela at the time.

• FIDEL MEETS WITH NGUYEN PHU TRONG
Renovation has not been an easy task
April 16.12
Just prior to his interview with Granma, on the afternoon of April 11, Nguyen Phu Trong, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, had the opportunity to meet with Fidel and our conversation began with his impressions of the encounter.

• Raúl receives President of Mexico
April 12.12
Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, received on April 11, the Honorable Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, President of the United States of Mexico, who is on an official visit to Cuba.

• Dinosaurs in Havana
April 11.12
The exhibition Dinosaurs in the Park, a gift from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is an attractive and instructive option for Cubans and visitors of all ages, who visit Havana's Almendares Park this summer.

• Alarcón meets President of Ethiopia’s House of Representatives
April 11.12
Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, President of Cuba’s National People’s Power Assembly met with Abadula Gemeda Dago, President of Ethiopia’s House of Representatives, during the leader’s visit to Cuba.

• Seven rare almiquíes sughted in Cuba’s Alejandro de Humboldt National Park
April 11.12
Members of a joint Cuba-Japan scientific expedition within Cuba’s Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, at the eastern end of the island, recently found seven healthy adult individuals of the species Solenodon cubanus - known as almiquíes.

• Cuba: A million tourists already!
April 11.12
As of April 5, Cuba had welcomed a million tourists this year so far, five days earlier than in 2011, according to a Ministry of Tourism press release.

• Alarcón meets President of Ethiopia’s House of Representatives
April 11.12
Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, President of Cuba’s National People’s Power Assembly met with Abadula Gemeda Dago, President of Ethiopia’s House of Representatives, during the leader’s visit to Cuba.

• Raúl receives Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary
April 10.12
Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba's Central Committee and President of the Councils of Ministers and State, received, on April 9, Nguyen Phu Trong, Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary, who was making an official and friendship visit to Cuba.
- Cuba will never forget the generous solidarity shown by the beloved, hard-working Vietnamese people, during difficult moments for our Revolution
- It is hard to find, in contemporary history, a relationship of friendship as special as that which unites our two parties, states and peoples

• Council of Ministers: We must analyze every problem comprehensively
April 5.12
President Raúl Castro opened an expanded meeting of the Council of Ministers, March 31, expressing congratulations to the Cuban people for the support and respect shown Pope Benedict XVI during his recently concluded visit to the country.

• Statement from the International Relations Commission of the People's Power National Assembly of the Republic of Cuba
April 4.12
NEARING the 180th anniversary of the eviction by force of Argentines from their Malvinas Islands, this sister people and their government are still claiming the restoration of sovereignty over this territory.

• WOMEN IN CUBA
Professionals first, mothers later
April 4.12
BEFORE even finishing her first four years of university studies, Laura had decided she wanted to pursue a doctorate. She is now almost 35 and her promising research project should soon provide the foundation for a well-documented Ph.D thesis.

• Raúl receives WHO Director General
April 4.12
ARMY General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, received Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organization (WTO), during her recent visit to Cuba.

• Good Friday holiday in Cuba
April 4.12
DURING his meeting in the Palace of the Revolution on March 27 with President Raúl Castro Ruz, the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church expressed his desire for a recess in non-essential work activities on Easter Friday, in the context of religious commemorations of the passion and death of Jesus of Nazareth.

• 8th gerontology & GERIATRICS CONGRESS
Cuba offers valuable experience
April 4.12
MANY countries could learn from Cuba’s experience developing a comprehensive approach to medical care, based on equity and social justice, and focused on prevention and the promotion of good health habits beginning at an...

• Alarcón meets Vice President of Belgian Senate
April 4.12
THE President of Cuba’s Parliament, Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, held a meeting March 2 with Danny Pieters, Vice President of the Belgian Senate, who made an official visit to Cuba.

• UNION OF YOUNG COMMUNISTS
Beginnings
April 4.12
ON January 28, 1960, Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara publicly introduced the Association of Rebel Youth (Asociación de Jóvenes Rebeldes - AJR) as a new youth organization which united young Cubans in one group, capable of directing and giving substance to the desires and concerns of young people in support of the Revolution.

• René in Cuba
April 2.12
SHORTLY after noon on March 30, Hero of the Republic René González Sehwerert, one of the five anti-terrorist Cuban fighters sentenced unjustly to long prison terms in the United States, arrived in Cuba for a private family visit

• SERVING THE POPULATION
Continuing priority for the Revolution
March 29.12
MARCH 24, 1962, Celia Sánchez Manduley was designated Presidential Secretary of the Council of Ministers, as stipulated in Decree-Law 3143.

• Official Note
March 29.12
The Council of State, at the proposal of its President, has agreed the following cadre movements:
1. To release from his position as Vice President of the Council of Ministers José Ramón Fernández Alvarez, who has held this responsibility for many years.

• Cultural Landscape of El Cobre declared a National Monument
March 29.12
THE cultural landscape of El Cobre and the named places along the way of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre – such as Cayo La Virgen and Barajagua – have been declared National Monuments of the Republic of Cuba, according to Resolution 01 of 2012, issued by the National Monuments Commission attached to the Ministry of Culture.

• Pope celebrates first mass in Antonio Maceo Plaza de la Revolución
March 29.12
SHORTLY after 2:30 pm on March 26, His Holiness Benedict XVI arrived on Cuban soil. At the bottom of the aircraft’s stairs, arriving at Santiago de Cuba’s International Airport, the Supreme Pontiff was received by President Raúl Castro Ruz, accompanied by the city’s Archbishop, Monsignor Dionisio García Ibáñez.

• Benedict XVI’s tribute to the Virgen de la Caridad
March 29.12
SANTIAGO DE CUBA.— As anticipated in his first words upon arriving in Cuba, Pope Benedict XVI began the second day of his visit at the Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, to pay tribute and "express gratitude at the feet of the Mother of God for her efforts on behalf of all Cuban sons and daughters."

• Your encounter with the Cuban people has given you the opportunity to understand us more fully and confirm the legitimacy of our efforts
March 29.12
Your Holiness:
Since your arrival on Cuban soil, our people have welcomed you and today we bid you farewell, with affection and respect.

• I take with me, within the deepest part of my being, each and every one of the Cubans who have surrounded me with their prayer and affection
March 29.12
Speech given by His Holiness Benedict XVI during the farewell ceremony at Havana’s José Martí International Airport, March 28, 2012

• Fidel and Pope Benedict XVI meet
March 29.12
SHORTLY after the multitudinous mass celebrated in Plaza de la Revolución, Pope Benedict XVI received the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz. The meeting took place at the Apostolic Nunciature in Havana.

• Raúl receives His Holiness Benedict XVI
March 28.12
Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of Ministers and State received, on the afternoon of Tuesday March 27, His Holiness Benedict XVI, Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and the Vatican City’s head of state, who is making a pastoral visit to Cuba.

• Today Havana is the site  of another Papal mass
March 28.12
Today hundreds of thousands of Cubans from the capital and neighboring provinces are filling Havana’s José Martí Plaza de la Revolución to participate in the second mass celebrated on Cuban soil by Pope Benedict XVI, as part of his pastoral activities in the country.

• In the name of the nation, I offer you our warmest welcome
March 27.12
Speech given by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Councils of State and Ministers, at the ceremony welcoming His Holiness Benedict XVI, at Santiago de Cuba’s Antonio Maceo Airport, March 26, 2012, Year 54 of the Revolution
- I ask our Father to bountifully bless this land and its children

• Revolver carried by Antonio Maceo in Costa Rica
March 22.12
SANTIAGO de Cuba.—The donation to Cuba of the revolver handed over to the Costa Rican authorities by Major General Antonio Maceo, after the attempt on his life in that country on November 10, 1894, became a tribute to the leader of the Cuban Liberation Army in his native city, with the commemoration on March 15 of the 134th anniversary of the Protest of Baraguá.

• Rural elementary schools adjust to current changes
March 22.12
OF the 7,000-plus elementary schools within the Cuban education system, 4,894 are in rural areas, serving 174,000 pupils.

• Cuba: very low prevalence of tuberculosis
March 22.12
AS a result of systematic control and treatment of tuberculosis programs in place since the early years of the Revolution, Cuba currently has a rate of seven cases per 100,000 inhabitants, locating it among countries with a very low prevalence of the disease and which can achieve its elimination as a health problem, as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO).

• First Cuban built cargo ship for Venezuela
March 22.12
SANTIAGO de Cuba.—The first multipurpose cargo ship, built for Venezuela in this city’s DAMEX Shipyard, as part of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) integration project, has been officially delivered to the Bolivarian Navy.

• U.S. reconfirms restrictions on travel to Cuba
March 22.12
WASHINGTON, March 20.— The United States government has reconfirmed its policy of denying U.S. citizens unrestricted travel to Cuba, in a new statement issued by the Treasury Department.

• Congress considers additional tax on companies operating in Cuba
March 22.12
WASHINGTON, March 19.— Congressional Representatives are analyzing a new measure to impose a 10% tax on companies which maintain relations with Cuba, in yet another attempt to reinforce the blockade.

• Cuban bank reviews restrictions on currency imports and exports
March 22.12
THE Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) has updated regulations on the import and export by individuals of freely convertible currency, Cuban pesos (CUP) and the Cuban convertible peso (CUC).

• CUBA’S NEUROSCIENCES CENTER
Advanced technology to end silence
March 22.12
BEYOND scrutinizing the mysteries of the human brain, Cuba’s Neurosciences Center (CNEURO), maintains as its first priority the placing of its arsenal of knowledge and advanced technology in the service of primary health care.

• Holy See condemns U.S. blockade of Cuba
March 19.12
VATICAN CITY.—The Holy See has condemned the U.S. blockade of Cuba, in a statement given March 16, prior to Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the country.

• Archbishop of Havana
Press Release - March 15, 2012
March 16.12
In the evening of Thursday, March 15, after more than 48 hours of uninterrupted and non-authorized permanence in the interior of the Diocesan Sanctuary and Lesser Basilica of Nuestra Señora de la Caridad in Havana, the 13 persons who had occupied it were removed from this sacred place.

• 60 YEARS AGO
Fidel’s valiant exposé
March 15.12
THE death of Eduardo Chibás (1), on August 16, 1951, was an irreparable loss in terms of popular aspirations of – almost certainly – winning the June 1952 elections.

• Havana cigars confirm hand-rolled leadership
March 15.12
THE 14th Havana Cigar Festival which recently took place in the Cuban capital was a gratifying event for the 1,500-plus participants. Aficionados of the finest tobacco in the world expressed their gratitude to the organizers for the unique opportunity to visit cigar factories where the famous Cohíba and Romeo y Julieta brands are hand-rolled.

• Women under-represented in decision-making positions
March 15.12
WE are not born women, we become women, Simone de Beauvoir’s existentialist philosophy told us, a long time ago. Since that poorly understood warning, we have continued leaning a few things… wrong.

• There is much to be learned from Cuba
March 15.12
"THE greatest asset Cuba has is its young scientists – highly qualified and motivated to work hard. That’s why I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the future, one of them wins a Nobel Prize," said the eminent U.S. molecular biologist Peter Agre, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Chemistry and Honorary President of the International Biotechnology Congress Havana 2012, during a press conference.

• Nuclear energy vs humanity
March 15.12
"A full year after the Fukushima accident, the lives of children remain very limited; they cannot run freely through the streets or swim in the pools."

• Editorial
Welcome to His Holiness Benedict XVI
March 12.12
ON Monday, March 26 the Cuban people will warmly and respectfully receive Pope Benedict XVI, Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City, as a guest of the government and the Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops.

• SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS
The exclusion of Cuba by the United States government is unacceptable and unjustified
March 9.12
Gustavo Machín (Moderator) - Good morning to all those present.
Minister of Foreign Relations Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla will give a statement to the press; I will therefore cede the floor to him.
Bruno Rodríguez - Good morning.

• Colombian President Santos: no consensus reached on Cuba’s participation in Summit of the Americas
March 9.12
BEFORE returning to his country March 7, after an official visit to Cuba, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said that no consensus had been reached on Cuba’s presence at the coming Summit of the Americas, indicating that for that reason, "It is very difficult to extend an invitation."

• FIDEL WITH MEMBERS OF THE PEACE BOAT DELEGATION
"We are obliged to win the battle for survival"
March 8.12
IT will be difficult to forget the image which closed the meeting. Fidel standing, with a kimono over his sports jacket, very serious and surrounded by 10 hibakusha, as survivors of the atomic bombs dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are called in Japan.

• Fidel and Raúl visit Chávez
March 8.12
ON Friday, March 2, Fidel and Raúl visited President Hugo Chávez in the hospital where is recovering from surgery.
Fidel and Chávez talked for close to two hours and were later joined by Raúl. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff called during the meeting to wish Chávez a prompt recovery, and conveyed greetings from Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
- Photos of the first part of their meeting and the Venezuelan President’s walking physiotherapy

• Communiqué from the Conference of Cuban Catholic Bishops
March 8.12
To all Cubans:
As has been announced by the communications media, Holy Father Benedict XVI will visit our country, God willing, this coming March 26-28. This good news has engendered great enthusiasm in Catholic communities and parishes.

• We cannot co-exist with impunity
March 2,12
THE meeting of the Council of Ministers on February 24, headed by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, initially focused on the work of improving central state administrative agencies (OACE) undertaken by the Implementation and Development Commission.

• 85TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF JUAN ALMEIDA BOSQUE
We will always remember you, Comandante
March 1,12
THIS February 17 was the 85th anniversary of the birth of Comandante of the Revolution Juan Almeida Bosque.

• Could the February 24 incident have been avoided?
March 1,12
IN an article published 15 years ago in Trabajadores newspaper, I outlined certain aspects in response to this question on the basis of facts confirmed at the time.
The lamentable incident of the downing of two light aircraft on February 24. 1996 could have been avoided.

• Havana cigars maintaining international supremacy
March 1,12
THE 14th Havana Cigar Festival, dedicated to the Cohíba and Romeo and Julieta brands, which took place in Havana from February 27 through March 2, with 1,500 participants from 70 countries, was an ideal space for aficionados of the art of smoking.

• Guamá: dreaming wide-awake
March 1,12
THE wind whipped our faces aboard the motorboat providing access to the Villa Guamá. We were surrounded by luxuriant nature, wetland vegetation growing on both banks and extending beyond our line of vision.

• Raúl receives Chávez
February 27,12
AFTER intense days of emotion and visible demonstrations of support from the Venezuelan people, President Hugo Chávez arrived smiling at Havana’s José Martí International Airport on Friday, February 24. He was received by President Raúl Castro Ruz, whose welcoming embrace also came from the Cuban people.

• Raúl receives U.S. Senators
February 24,12
PRESIDENT Raúl Castro Ruz received yesterday evening, February 23, Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat, Vermont, president of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Richard Shelby, Republican, Alabama, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Leahy and Shelby are members of a delegation of U.S. Congress senators and representatives currently visiting Cuba.

• Esteban Lazo meets with religious leaders
February 24,12
COUNCIL of State Vice President Esteban Lazo Hernández met on February 22 with a group of leaders and representatives of different Cuban religious denominations and fraternal associations.

• Why Cuba must produce the food it needs
February 23,12
FOR a country like Cuba, with scant natural resources and severe financial limitations, it is inadmissible to continue spending millions of dollars every year on imported foodstuffs, many of which could be produced nationally if the agricultural sector were more efficient and were to make due use of advances in science and technology in order to increase yields.

• 8TH UNIVERSITY CONGRESS 2012
The Five: Uniting intelligence for the good of humanity
February 23,12
GREETINGS from the Cuban Five, serving unjust prison terms in the United States, were communicated during the closing session of University 2012 in Havana’s International Convention Center. The Five called attention to the importance of this event "in uniting intelligence for the good of humanity and the very survival of the human race."

• The historic landmark of February 17, 1957
February 23,12
"Today, 55 years later, and seeing that day from the distance of more than half a century, February 17, 1957 is still felt intensely, with more admiration for and commitment to the Revolution, Fidel, Raúl , and the people," affirmed Felipe Guerra Matos, affectionately known as Guerrita, who came down from the Sierra Maestra mountains with the rank of Captain.

• Cuba and China strengthen economic relations
February 23,12
BEIJING.— Council of Ministers Vice President Marino Murillo Jorge, head of the implementation commission responsible for the guidelines approved at the 6th Communist Party Congress, met in Beijing with Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu to discuss the progress of bilateral economic relations and other shared interests.

• Havana Cigar Festival returns to Cuba
February 23,12
IMPELLED by the mystique of cigar aromas, the 14th Havana Cigar Festival is returning to Cuba, providing a celebration for entrepreneurs, artists, journalists and cigar lovers, involving seminars, competitions, tastings, exhibitions, and tours of plantations and factories.

• Death of Vitali Vorotnikov, a great friend of Cuba
February 23,12
MOSCOW.— Vitali Vorotnikov, former President of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (SFSR) and ambassador to Cuba from 1979 to 1982, has died at the age of 86 years.

• CIREN: guaranteed sustainability
February 23,12
RESEARCH programs in Havana’s International Neurological Restoration Center (CIREN) are reporting income which guarantees this Cuban scientific institution’s economic sustainability.

• Jurists award National Law Prize 2011
February 23,12
DR Juan Escalona Reguera was awarded the 2011 National Law Prize during the closing session of the 7th National Union of Cuban Jurists Congress for his links with law, his work on the development of this science, his outstanding contributions and profound knowledge of its teaching and practice.

• Esteban Lazo receives President of the Ghanaian Council of State
February 22,12
COUNCIL of State Vice President Esteban Lazo Hernández received in Havana Professor Kofi Awoonor, President of the Council of State of the Republic of Ghana, who is visiting Cuba.

• Special declarations from the ALBA-TCP Political Council
February 16,12
SPECIAL Declaration of the 8th (Extraordinary) Meeting of the Political Council of ALBA-TCP (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Trade Treaty of the Peoples) on Cuba’s participation in the 6th Summit of the Americas, and its rejection of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on this country by the government of the United States.

• Cuba would attend the Summit of the Americas, from its traditional position of adherence to the truth
February 16,12
IN response to a respectful consultation on the part of the Colombian government, Cuba has stated that if it were invited to the so-called Summit of the Americas, it would attend on the basis of adherence to the truth and with its traditional foreign policy of principles.

• AIDS in 2012
February 16,12
MORE than 25 years after the discovery of the AIDS virus by French physician and virologist Luc Montagnier, I asked Dr. María Isela Lantero Abreu, specialist in Epidemiology and head of the STD/HIV/AIDS Department at the Ministry of Public Health in Havana, how she would describe the current global situation of this disease.

• A portrait of Camilo from Venice
February 16,12
IT is a moving experience to enter the birthplace of Camilo Cienfuegos, a Comandante in the Rebel Army, reach the room in which he was born, see the Beso de la Patria Diploma he was awarded, his father’s sewing machine… Camilo was and continues to be much loved in Cuba and many distant parts of the world, as he is in Venice, where there is an artist called Rosa Penso, who also loves Cuba.

• Philip Horowitz, René González’ lawyer: "Prison was bad but supervised liberty is insulting"
February 16,12
CUBAN anti-terrorist Rene González Sehwerert has completed four months of his supervised liberty on February 7. That day we talked with his lawyer Philip Horowitz for close to half an hour.

• Valentine’s Day letter from Adriana to Gerardo: "Come back soon, I need you"
February 16,12
We reproduce here a letter which Adriana Pérez O’Connor sent to her husband Gerardo Hernández, incarcerated in USP Victorville, California and sentenced to two life terms plus 15 years. A friend of the couple, Yoerky Sánchez, posted in on Internet and CubaDebate is sharing it with readers so that we will never forget the terrible injustice which separates these lovers.

• Frei Betto: the Cuban Revolution is an evangelical work
February 16,12
THERE was a time – I have been coming to Cuba for more than 30 years now – when there was talk of emulation, after rectification, and now, of guidelines. If Stalin was still prevailing, Cubans would be called "rectificationists."

• Zuleica Romay: the greatest contradiction of our era
February 16,12
ACCORDING to Fidel, Zuleica Romay, president of the Cuban Book Institute, presented "an exceptional text," adding, "She has said it all, she has left nothing out." During the encounter he referred to certain aspects of Romay’s opening address, in which the writer warned, "As in predictable crime novels where the...

• NINE HOURS OF DIALOGUE WITH THE LEADER OF THE REVOLUTION
"He is the same Fidel as always"
February 14,12
NINE hours of conversation, with two brief recesses. This can be said quickly, but anyone who has followed the leader of the Cuban Revolution during the last 50 years knows that these 540 minutes presuppose the intensity of a number of libraries and a lasting emotional charge, which will not be forgotten by those who experienced it.

• FIDEL LAUNCHES TWO VOLUMES OF GUERILLERO DEL TIEMPO
"Our duty is to fight until the last minute"
February 9,12
"Good day," Fidel cheerfully greeted the audience in one of the International Convention Center’s smaller halls, and with these magical words the launch of the memoirs of the leader of the Cuban Revolution began.

• RESPONSIBLE MOTHERHOOD AND FATHERHOOD
Space for two… still to be achieved
February 9,12
Although Decree-Law 234 granting fathers paternity leave and the right to take care of their babies in the first year of life, barely 100 men have taken advantage of this opportunity

• It has been a grand Summit
February 6,12
CARACAS, Venezuela.— Solidarity, cooperation, complementarity, reciprocity, sustainability, technological sovereignty and economic union, are the fundamental principles behind the work of ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) for more than seven years.

• Raúl’s words
February 6,12
Comments by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers during 11th ALBA-TCP Summit of heads of state, Venezuela, February 4, 2012. Year 54 of the Revolution.

• Vatican Museum loans Havana oldest example of New World indigenous Christian art
February 2,12
THE Vatican Missionary Ethnological Museum has loaned to Havana its oldest example of New World indigenous Christian art, to be exhibited for 12 months in a temporary exhibition hall in the Havana City Museum.

• Brazil highlights its relations with Cuba
February 2,12
BRAZILIAN President Dilma Rousseff began the second day of her official visit to Cuba by honoring José Martí, Cuba’s national hero. Accompanied by Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Rogelio Sierra, Rousseff placed a wreath at the foot of the monument in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución.

• COMMUNIST PARTY OF CUBA FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE
A profoundly democratic process
February 2,12
"THE objectives approved here were discussed throughout the country in a profoundly democratic spirit," emphasized President Raúl Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) Central Committee, during the closing session of the Party’s 1st National Conference, held January 28-29 at Havana’s International Convention Center.
- Resolution outlining work objectives approved by National Conference

• Cuba: Reform or Revolution – a book for the battle of ideas
February 2,12
THIS is essentially a book for battle, for the fight against Cuba’s adversaries, according to intellectual Rolando González, a José Martí scholar and current rector of the Institute of Art, upon introducing the most recent work by renowned Cuban researcher, essayist and journalist Enrique Ubieta Gómez, Cuba: ¿revolución o reforma? In Havana’s Casa del ALBA Cultural.

• Raúl receives Brazilian President
February 1,12
PRESIDENT Raúl Castro received in the morning of January 31 President Dilma Rousseff of the Federative Republic of Brazil, who is on an official visit to Cuba.

• Brazilian and Cuban Presidents visit Mariel Port
February 1,12
IN the afternoon of January 31, President Raúl Castro Ruz accompanied Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to the port facility of Mariel. There they were given an account of the investment process and the strategic importance of this future container terminal, both for Cuba and the region.

• Our responsibility is to promote greater democracy in our society, beginning by providing an example within the ranks of the Party
January 30,12
Speech by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Councils of State and Ministers, closing the 1st National Conference of the Party, in the International Conference Center, January 29, 2012, "Year 54 of the Revolution"

• Raúl presides over Communist Party Conference
January 28,12
THE 1st National Conference of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), presided over by Army General Raúl Castro, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, began this morning.

• Communist Party Conference begins tomorrow
January 27,12
THE 1st National Conference of the Communist Party of Cuba begins this Saturday, as agreed by the 6th Congress. It has been called to objectively and critically evaluate the organization’s work. Its opening on January 28 is a tribute to from Cuban communists to the national hero José Martí on the 159th anniversary of his birth.

• Panama: Luis Posada Carriles extradition sought
January 26,12
PANAMA.— A Panamanian attorney recently applied to the Supreme Court of Justice for the extradition to Panama of Luis Posada Carriles.

• Mariela Castro: "The United States government is preoccupied with the LGBT movement in Cuba"
January 26,12
JANUARY 23-26, Havana’s Convention Center hosted the 6th Sexology Congress, focused on the central theme ‘Sexual education within processes of social change.’

• EDUCATION IN CUBA
Figures speak for themselves
January 26,12
IF anyone should ask how much it costs the country to provide children, youth and adults full access to education, the answer would be simple: millions.

• Cuba: 2.7 million tourists in 2011
January 26,12
THE National Statistics and Information Office (ONEI) confirmed the arrival of 2.176 million foreign visitors in 2011, a record for Cuban tourism.

• Reflections of Fidel
The fruit which did not fall
January 25,12
CUBA was forced to fight for its existence facing an expansionist power, located a few miles from its coast, and which was proclaiming the annexation of our island, which was destined to fall into its lap like a ripe fruit. We were condemned not to exist as a nation.

• Torchlight march for Martí and Cuba
January 24,12
THIS Friday, thousands of torches will illuminate Havana’s streets in honor of José Martí, Cuba’s national hero, on the eve of the 159th anniversary of his birth.

• Editorial
Cuba’s truths
January 23,12
OVER the last few days, the media and representatives of certain governments traditionally committed to anti-Cuba subversion have unleashed a new campaign of accusations, unscrupulously taking advantage of a lamentable event: the death of an ordinary prisoner, which possibly only in the case of Cuba, is converted into news of international repercussion.

• 3,000 Cuban benefit from regenerative therapy
January 20,12
REGENERATIVE therapy has benefited 3,000 patients in 10 Cuban provinces with promising results, according to Professor Porfirio Hernández, the pioneer of this innovative treatment.

• Cuba seizes nine tons of drugs in 2011
January 19,12
HIGH demand in the United States, the world's largest consumer of narcotics, which stimulates shipments along international drug routes in the vicinity of Cuba’s borders, contributed to the dramatic increase in drugs washed up on national coasts, comprised the bulk of the 9,181 kg seized in 2011.

• Sentences given to Posada and accomplices upheld in Panama
January 19,12
THE Second Appellate Court in Panama has upheld the 5th Criminal Court sentences handed down to terrorists Luis Posada Carriles, Gaspar Jiménez, Guillermo Novo, Pedro Remón, César Matamoros and Panamanian José Hurtado for crimes against collective security.

• In photos: Fidel’s meeting with Ahmadinejad
January 19,12
THE Iranian Presidency has circulated images of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s meeting in Havana with the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro.

• Scientists confirm commitment to the Revolution
January 19,12
SANTA CLARA.— Cuban science will rise to the challenge posed by updating the country's economic model, assured José Miguel Miyar Barruecos, Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA), while presiding over celebrations for Cuban Science Day in the central province of Villa Clara.

• Population of 31 and under protected against acute hepatitis B
January 19,12
THE Cuban population of 31 years and under is vaccinated against acute hepatitis B, a severe infectious liver disease caused by a virus transmitted by direct exposure, usually infected blood or body fluids such as semen.

• SUBISDIES FOR HOME CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR
To benefit low-income families
January 19,12
GRANTING subsidies to people who need to undertake home construction or repairs, and who do not have the means to do so, is the essence of a new measure which went into effect in Cuba January 15.

• Death of our compañera Gisèle Bulwa
January 19,12
WITH profound sadness we have received news of the death on January 8 after a painful illness, of our compañera Gisèle Bulwa, a translator since 1974 with the French department of Granma International.

• Raúl receives Brazilian Foreign Minister
January 18,12
PRESIDENT Raúl Castro Ruz received January 17 Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil, who is on an official visit to Cuba.

• Cuba and Brazil: excellent bilateral relations
January 17,12
DURING a visit to Cuba, Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota had official talks on January 16 with Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.

• Cuba exceeds electricity generation tenfold since 1959
January 17,12
HAVANA.—The triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 made it possible to initiate a transformation of the electricity system of the country, which currently generates tenfold the power existing then.

• Molecular Immunology Center increases exports
January 16,12
THE Molecular Immunology Center (CIM) had a positive year in 2011, exceeding its annual export plan and immunizing a larger number of patients suffering from advanced lung cancer with the therapeutic vaccine CIMAVAX–EGF.

• Raúl receives President of Iran
January 12,12
ARMY General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, received in the evening of January 11 Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who was on an official visit to Cuba.

• For a world in which all human beings are respected
January 12,12
"CAPITALISM is in decline. The world needs a new outlook which shows respect for all human beings," the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said during a master lecture given at the University of Havana within its Aula Magna, where the visiting leader was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Political Science.

• The first day of freedom
January 12,12
IT was night in Santiago de Cuba. Not one more soul could squeeze into Céspedes Park or the surrounding streets. For the first time in quite a while people were breathing easier in the indomitable city – no more sirens announcing crimes, no...

• DECEMBER 31, 1901: FIRST ELECTIONS IN CUBA
"Democracy" inherited from the yankees
January 12,12
THE process of Cuba's "Americanization," formed in U.S. thinking during the 19th century, expressed itself with absolute disdain toward the Cuban people.

• Jamaican Prime Minister receives Cuban Vice President
January 12,12
THE new Prime Minister of Jamaica, Portia Simpson-Miller, received on January 6 Esteban Lazo Hernández, Vice President of the Council of State, who headed the Cuban delegation to the swearing in of the Jamaican leader.

• BUENA CALETA
Favored by Nature
January 12,12
THE Girón settlement, on the southern coast of Matanzas province, is far behind us and only seen through the car’s rear-view mirror, as we proceed over a road that leads to the town of Guasasa.

• Order of Solidarity for Liu Yuqin
January 12,12
THE Order of Solidarity awarded by the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba was presented to the ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Liu Yuqin, who is ending her diplomatic mission on the island.

• EPIDEMEOLOGY IN 2011
26 communicable diseases eradicated or controlled
January 12,12
IN developing surveillance and prevention programs for communicable diseases, Cuba demonstrated positive results in 2011, taking into account that 26 infectious diseases remain eradicated or have been controlled, as have some of their clinical forms.

• International appeal for the return of the Five
January 12,12
THE call from the International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5 to send messages to President Barack Obama asking him to release the five Cuban anti-terrorists found a response in many parts of the world.

• Lazo heads Cuban delegation to swearing in of Jamaican Prime Minister
January 5,12
VICE President Esteban Lazo Hernández is heading the Cuban delegation participating in the swearing in of the elected Prime Minister of Jamaica, Portia Simpson Miller, today, January 5, in Kingston.

• October 1962 Missile Crisis
January 5,12
President John F. Kennedy did not react with common sense to the U.S. defeat at the Bay of Pigs. He sought revenge. The Taylor Commission, established by the President to analyze the fiasco, recommended initiating new political, military, economic and propaganda measures "against Castro."
- If the United States presumes to humiliate our country, this it will not achieve!
- A people like this is invincible!
- Let the United States start giving evidence of good faith, not with promises.
Action not words!
- Differences with the Soviets
- Five Points

• 4.9% infant mortality rate in 2011
January 5,12
FOR the last four years Cuba has achieved an infant mortality rate of below 5.0 per 1,000 live births, the lowest in the Americas together with Canada – sustained by the revolutionary government’s health policies which guarantee equality of access to medical services for mothers and children.