C U B A

• EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Visible or invisible?
February 28,13
INTERNATIONAL organizations and countries put a great deal of effort into protecting young children. This ranges from the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, committed to achieving universal primary education worldwide by 2015 and to reducing the under-five mortality rate, to national and regional social policies directed to the same end.

• Cuba and Russia extend cooperative links
February 28,13
IN the framework of the visit to Cuba of Prime Minister Dmitry A. Medvedev and as a reflection of the two governments’ shared willingness to continue strengthening their excellent bilateral relations, based on traditional ties of friendship between the two peoples and countries, 10 legal documents were signed by Cuban and Russian representatives on February 21.

• Sixth Party Central Committee Plenum
February 28,13
FEBRUARY 24, Sunday morning before the constitution of the National Assembly of People’s Power, the 6th Plenum of the Communist Party of Cuba’s Central Committee held a meeting during which Raúl Castro Ruz, the body’s First Secretary, reported on deputies to be proposed as members of the new Council of State, since, "While the Party does not nominate, it cannot be oblivious to the election of the highest leaders of government," he emphasized.

• Statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
February 27,13
RENÉ González Sehwerert, Hero of the Republic of Cuba, has been subjected to a new arbitrary act on the part of the government of the United States, which has further limited the conditions of his supervised release, making them increasingly similar to incarceration. The U.S. government’s apparent purpose is to continue punishing him despite the many years of unjust and cruel treatment he has faced.

• The historical importance of a definitive process to guarantee the country’s future leadership
February 26,13
THE symbolism linking the February 24 constitution of the National Assembly of People's Power with this date in 1895, when the struggle for independence was resumed by the fusion of experienced Mambises of the first war with the new generation of fighters, under the leadership of the Cuban Revolutionary Party and Martí, was highlighted by President Raúl Castro in his speech closing the session, during which Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez was elected as First Vice President of the Council of State and approved as First Vice President of...
- Our greatest satisfaction is the tranquility and calm confidence we feel handing over the responsibility of continuing to build socialism to new generations

• We do not struggle for glory or honors, we struggle for ideas we consider just
February 25,13
DEAR compañeros,
I deeply appreciate the noble gesture of the people electing me as a deputy to Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power.

• Fidel meets with Medvedev
February 22,13
THE historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, met last night with Dmitry A. Medvedev, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

• Raúl receives Dmitry Medvedev
February 22,13
PRESIDENT Raúl Castro Ruz received on February 21 Dmitry A. Medvedev, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, who is on a working visit to Cuba.

• Raúl receives U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy
February 21,13
ON February 19, President Raúl Castro Ruz received the United States Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, President Pro Tempore of the Senate and chairman of its Judiciary Committee, who led a delegation to Cuba including Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, President of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee; Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D- Rhode Island; Senator Jeff Flake, R-Arizona; Senator James Mc Govern, D-Massachusetts; Representative Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland; and others.

• Raúl meets with President of Iran’s Special Envoy
February 21,13
PRESIDENT Raúl Castro Ruz received on February 20 Doctor Ali Saeidlo, Special Envoy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Vice President for International Relations, who is making a visit to Cuba.

• Raúl receives Uruguayan Foreign Minister
February 21,13
President Raúl Castro met on February 20 with Luis Almagro Lemes, Foreign Minister of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, who is making an official visit to Cuba.

• ECLAC to offer full support to CELAC
February 21,13
"THE Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is at Cuba’s full disposition in terms of its successful presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), because if Cuba is successful, the region as a whole will be strengthened," Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC secretary, affirmed in a master lecture delivered at the University of Havana, and later in a press conference.

• Cuba harnessing the wind
February 21,13
JUNE will arrive with renewed energy. This is not an empty promise, since from June 3-5, Havana will be hosting the 12th World Wind Energy Conference. It is the first time that a Caribbean country is hosting the event.

• Portrait of a quintessential Cuban woman
February 21,13
VILMA, una vida extraordinaria (Vilma, an Extraordinary Life) can be described as a faithful portrait of this quintessential Cuba woman. It is a book which takes us back to the heroine who put love into everything she did, who changed the lives of innumerable people. It is a book which shows that inside this delicate woman, stood a pillar of strength.

• More than 2,000 friendship groups around the world
February 21,13
KENIA Serrano Puig, president of the Cuban Friendship Institute (ICAP) told Granma International that Friendship with Cuba organizations exist in more than 150 countries and number more than 2,000. In 2012, these groups undertook various initiatives opposing the U.S. blockade and supporting the release of Cuba’s Five anti-terrorist fighters unjustly imprisoned in the United States.

• Interview given by Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz to the national press after exercising his right to vote, February 3, 2013, Year 55 of the Revolution
February 21,13
(The Comandante greets those present, speaks with some voters and the people on the electoral board and then casts his vote)
Journalist Ana T. Badía.- We are so happy to see you, Comandante! Truly, we say that from the heart.

• We deserve to live to see that day of justice
February 21,13
ON the last day of the 3rd International Conference for World Equilibrium recently held in Havana, Alvaro Colom, former President of Guatemala, kindly gave an interview to Granma. He is a man who speaks deliberately, and barely raises his voice. Tall and slim, at first sight one does not perceive any trace of the Mayan cultures which characterize his country, but he has fully incorporated this ancestral heritage.

• CUBAN WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT
Beyond the figures
February 21,13
WE wake up in the morning and the media tells us about the world. Among the deluge of headlines in recent days one figure stands out which defies simple mathematical analysis: 48.86% of deputies to the Cuban National Assembly are women. This is an event which cannot be overlooked by the National Secretariat of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) and one we wish to share with our people.

• Text of the letter from Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro to President Hugo Chávez on the occasion of his return to Venezuela
February 18,13
DEAR Hugo,
It gives me great satisfaction that you have been able to return to the American land you love so much and to the sister people who give you so much support.

• Renovation of Santiago de Cuba July 26 monuments
February 14,13
SANTIAGO DE CUBA.— In preparation for the 60th anniversary of the Moncada assault, an extensive building and reparation program is underway on the July 26 monument complex, which includes the principal buildings involved in the 1953 assault on the Moncada Garrison, organized and led by Fidel Castro.

• Machado Ventura meets with young deputies
February 14,13
COUNCIL of State and Ministers First Vice President José Ramón Machado Ventura, met on February 7 in Havana, with the youngest, recently-elected deputies to the National Assembly of People’s Power, which will be convened February 24.
- Final results of February 3, 2013 elections

• Cuba’s anti-drug strategy strengthened as global challenges intensify
February 14,13
DESPITE growing international challenges and the complexity of the region’s drug trafficking problem, 10 years after Cuba implemented two anti-drug operations: Coraza Popular and Aché III, the country’s strategy continues to demonstrate its effectiveness. In 2012 a minimal presence of such illegal substances was detected internally (25kg); no suspicious flights were noted; the interception of drug-trafficking boats declined from 52 in 2011 to 24, and practically all drugs thrown overboard along the country’s coastline were collected by, or turned over to authorities (2,961kg).

• 2013 PEDAGOGY CONFERENCE
A vote of confidence for quality and inclusion
February 14,13
 A greater commitment and further actions to eliminate illiteracy in a short time frame, clearly defined inclusion policies and consolidation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) with specific educational measures were the central decisions of the 2013 International Pedagogy Conference.

• More than 5,000 kidney transplants performed in Cuba
February 14,13
SINCE 1970, when the first kidney transplant in Cuba was performed, a total of 5,149 patients have benefited from the procedure, significantly extending the life spans of the majority, according to Dr. Juan Carlos Michelena, coordinator of the country’s kidney transplant program. He reported that the current survival rate of patients receiving a kidney in Cuba is 80%, on a par with rates in more developed countries.

• Raúl receives ECLAC secretary
February 14,13
PRESIDENT Raúl Castro Ruz received on February 13 Alicia Bárcena, secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), who is currently visiting Cuba.

• Cuban Pastoral Council confirms solidarity with the Five
February 14,13
CLOSE to two years after it was founded, the Cuban Pastoral Council remains committed to the cause of the Five, its coordinator, Reverend Pablo Odén Marichal, affirmed in a press conference at the International Press Center.

• 3RD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR WORLD EQUILIBRIUM
A much more universal José Martí
February 8,13
A much more universal José Martí emerged from the 3rd International Conference for World Equilibrium, the closing session of which took place January 30 in Havana’s International Convention Center.

• Eusebio Leal Spengler receives French Legion of Honor Order
February 8,13
"OUR gratitude to the Republic of France and all the French people for presenting me with this distinguished and beautiful recognition. I commit myself to fighting for my country and defending the ideals of equality, liberty and justice which you raised aloft as early as 1879, with the French Revolution. ¡Qué viva Francia! ¡Qué viva Cuba!" said Havana City Historian Eusebio Leal Spengler, upon receiving the French Legion of Honor Order Medal at the degree of Commander. The award ceremony took place in Havana’s Napoleonic Museum.

• 3RD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR WORLD EQUILIBRIUM
U.S. court to review decision allowing government to conceal evidence proving Five’s innocence
February 8,13
IF the evidence relating to the five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters concealed by the U.S. government were to be released, it would provide irrefutable and convincing arguments to prove their innocence, free them immediately and allow them to return to their homeland.

• The Last Soldiers of the Cold War
Breaking through media silence
February 8,13
ON the afternoon of September 14, 1998, Fernando Morais was in a taxi with his wife Marina, navigating the chaotic traffic of Sao Paulo, when he heard a brief news item on the radio, almost lost among the many international events reported. The previous weekend, the FBI in Miami had arrested a group of Cubans accused of espionage within the United States.

• Young people vote for the future
February 8,13
"A very significant day for Cuban youth," is how Lisara Corona Oliveros, national president of the Federation of University Students (FEU), who cast her vote in Bayamo, described election day.

• Alarcón: a system not copied from anyone
February 8,13
EVERY election process in Cuba is a reaffirmation of sovereignty, of endorsing a system which is not copied from anyone and has its roots in the Mambí (rebel) tradition, affirmed Ricardo Alarcón, President of the National Assembly of People's Power after voting at a polling station in Havana’s Playa municipality.

• Cuba: Democracy and participation
February 8,13
ELECTIONS are an important moment in any nation’s life, but above all in the context of a world where democracy is constantly discussed, but nothing much is done to promote popular participation in government decisions. For Cubans, it is a festivity, part of a daily exercise of opinion, affirmed Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, upon exercising his right to vote in Havana’s Playa municipality.

• Democratic participation in elections
February 8,13
ALL is going well in Guantánamo, and around the country. I have seen on TV the widespread participation in these elections, said First Vice President José Ramón Machado Ventura, after casting his vote in the eastern province of Guantánamo.

• 612 National Assembly of People's Power deputies and 1,269 Provincial Assemblies of People's Power delegates elected
February 8,13
THE 612 candidates for deputies to the National Assembly of People's Power and the 1,269 candidates for delegates to the 15 Provincial Assemblies of People's Power, were elected on February 3, according to information given by Alina Balseiro Gutiérrez, president of the National Electoral Commission (CEN), in a press conference.

• UNIVERSITY OF HAVANA
Modern, committed, socialist
February 7,13
ON January 5, 1728, the Dominican Order established the Real y Pontifica Universidad de San Gerónimo de La Habana in the San Juan de Letrán Convent, now the University of Havana.

• Raúl receives former Presidents of Dominican Republic and Guatemala
February 7,13
PRESIDENT Raúl Castro Ruz received on January 30 former President Leonel Fernández Reyna of the Dominican Republic and Alvaro Colom Caballero, former President of the Republic of Guatemala, who both attended the 3rd International Conference for World Equilibrium, which took place in Havana.

• Young people vote for the future
February 7,13
"A very significant day for Cuban youth," is how Lisara Corona Oliveros, national president of the Federation of University Students (FEU), who cast her vote in Bayamo, described election day.

• "I hope these are the last elections without our sons"
February 7,13
AFTER casting her vote, Mirta Rodríguez, mother of Antonio Guerrero, one of the five Cuban heroes unjustly imprisoned in the United States, expressed her hope that they themselves will be able to participate in the next general elections,

• The happiest woman in the world
February 7,13
LAS TUNAS.—Just before she went to bed, Míriam Velázquez finally discovered the reason for the mischievous whispering to each other of her twins Rafa and Carlitos. "We want to come with you early in the morning when you go to vote."

• Raúl votes in Segundo Frente
February 5,13
PRESIDENT Raúl Castro Ruz exercised his right to vote in the municipality of Segundo Frente’s Constituency No. 2, where he interacted with other voters who had lined up early to elect representatives to the National and Provincial Assemblies of People’s Power.

• Fidel together with his people
February 4,13
SHORTLY before 5:00pm on February 3, the applause and cheering of people gathered at Electoral College No. 1, Area 13, Constituency 13 in Plaza de la Revolución, announced the arrival of the leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, the Comandante en Jefe, walking slowly and carefully but with his characteristic smile and good humor, ascended the access ramp to the voting area, his two ballots in hand, and exercised his right to vote in Cuba’s general elections.

• General principles guiding Cuba’s electoral system
February 1,13
THE country’s Electoral Law, Law No. 72 (1992) establishes two types of elections:
a) General elections every five years, to elect Delegates to Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power, their presidents and vice presidents; deputies to the National...

• José Martí World Solidarity project growing
February 1,13
THE immense value of the ideas of Cuba’s national hero extend beyond its borders, and even beyond Latin America and the Caribbean, which explains the huge attendance at the 3rd International Conference for World Equilibrium, in which the José Martí World Solidarity Project is playing an ever more important role.

• Frei Betto receives International José Martí Award
February 1,13
THE Brazilian writer and theologian, Frei Betto, received the UNESCO 2013 International José Martí Award during the opening session of the 3rd International Conference for World Equilibrium, on January 28.

• Advocating closer relations between France and Cuba
February 1,13
A shared will to strengthen relations between Cuba and France was expressed during a meeting between Ricardo Alarcón, President of the National Assembly of People's Power and a French delegation headed by Senate President Jean-Pierre Bel.

• Raúl and Lula tour Mariel Port facilities
January 31,13
"THIS is the most complex construction project initiated in Cuba," President Raúl Castro Ruz commented to former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during a tour yesterday of the installations in Mariel, destined to become the principal import-export facility in Cuba.

• Raul’s message
January 28,13
REPUBLIC OF CUBA
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF STATE AND MINISTERS
Dear students
Dear compatriots
Last July 26, in the eastern province of Guantánamo, I committed myself to marching with you tonight, as 60 years ago, to pay tribute to José Martí, the national hero and everlasting guide of the Cuban Revolution.

• Martí on the Isle of Pines
January 25,13
NUEVA GERONA, Isle of Youth.—The El Abra Farm-Museum is one of four national monuments in this special municipality, and the place where a youthful José Martí lived and recovered from injuries he acquired as a prisoner working in Havana’s San Lázaro quarry. What would have happened to him if he hadn’t arrived at the farm on October 13, 1870?

• U.S. MANIPULATION OF CUBAN MIGRATION POLICY
Are U.S. political leaders interested in normalizing migratory relations?
January 25,13
OVER the last 50 years, the United States government has manipulated its migratory relations with Cuba as an instrument of political pressure and coercion. On the one hand, the blockade’s economic stranglehold has been tightened over time, not relaxed, while at the same time illegal emigration has been encouraged and politicized. Cuba is the only country in the world whose citizens are immediately accepted and documented after entering U.S. territory illegally, since all Cuban émigrés are considered ‘refugees.’
- Migratory regulations functioning well

• Cuban Parliamentary History
January 25,13
CUBA’S parliamentary history can be traced back to the very beginnings of the independence struggle in the country, when all of the insurgent forces on the island came together in a single government. The first decision made by this body was to establish the equality of all human beings in Cuban territory, which had, until then, been colonized by the Spanish slaveholding empire.

• Elections set for February 3
January 25,13
IN just a few weeks, on Sunday, February 3, more than eight million Cubans will exercise their right to a freely determined, direct, secret vote to elect 612 deputies to the National Assembly of People’s Power 8th Legislature (2013-2018) and 1,269 delegates to the country’s 15 provincial assemblies, also for five-year terms.

• Cuban and Venezuelan Foreign Ministers meet
January 25,13
FOREIGN Minister Elías Jaua of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla met January 21. During the meeting in Havana, they addressed important issues on the bilateral and regional agenda, in particular the 1st Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), at which Cuba is to assume the presidency for the year 2013.

• Youth and the Conference for World Equilibrium
January 25,13
YOUTH are to have a strong presence at the 3rd International Conference for World Equilibrium January 28-30, convened in honor of the 160th anniversary of the birth of José Martí, Cuba’s national hero.

• Cuba on the road to Latin American and Caribbean unity
January 25,13
CUBA is to assume the presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) at the next Heads of State and Government Summit of the bloc in Chile, January 27-28.

• Elías Jaua meets with Chávez in Havana
January 22,13
VENEZUELAN Foreign Minister Elías Jaua met yesterday, January 21 with President Hugo Chávez to share information on the country’s political situation and make decisions regarding the upcoming Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

• Center for Cellular Engineering, Organ and Tissue Transplants inaugurated
January 18,13
THE Center for Cellular Engineering, Organ and Tissue Transplants (CICEL), which will contribute to the improvement of the country’s national organ transplant program, was inaugurated January 15 in Havana, on the occasion of Cuban Science Day.

• New customs regulations
January 18,13
NEW customs regulations, more appropriate given current conditions in Cuba and more consistent with international practices, have gone into effect to facilitate the movement of travelers and baggage.

• New Cuban migration and travel policy
January 18,13
WITH the January 14 introduction of a new travel and migration policy, Cuba has taken another step toward ensuring that travel and migration are legal, orderly and safe, as well as taking a positive stance regarding emigration.

• Cuban migration policy and U.S. manipulation
From paradox to anachronism (Part I)
January 18,13
MIGRATION is probably the most persistent issue in conflicts between the United States and Cuba since 1959. On January 1 that year, U.S. migration policy regarding Cuba became another tool in its hostile policy, utilized to stimulate internal destabilization and discredit the Cuban revolutionary process.
- From paradox to anachronism (Part II)

• Cuba and Bolivia celebrate 30 years of continuous relations
January 18,13
THE 30th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic links between Cuba and the Plurinational State of Bolivia was celebrated on January 11 in Havana with a will to extend links between the two sister nations.

• Cuba and Costa Rica seek to consolidate bilateral relations
January 18,13
CUBAN Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla met with his Costa Rican counterpart, Enrique Castillo Barrantes, in Havana, January 10. It was a meeting described by both parties as constructive for developing bilateral relations, restored in 2009.

• Raúl bids farewell to Peruvian President
January 17,13
PRESIDENT Raúl Castro Ruz accompanied President Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso of the Republic of Peru to José Martí International Airport on January 12, at the end of the Peruvian leader’s brief visit to Cuba to fulfill a full working agenda.

• Fidel and Raúl meet with Nicolás Maduro and other Venezuelan leaders
January 14,13
THE leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz and President Raúl Castro Ruz met on January 13 with Vice President Nicolás Maduro of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, who is visiting the country with other Venezuelan leaders.

• Cuba ready to implement new Migration Act
January 10,13
THE Cuban Immigration and Foreign Travel Office (DIE) has announced that the conditions are in place for the entry into force of legal regulations related to the updating of the migration and travel policy, scheduled for January 14.

• INFANT MORTALITY RATE OF 4.6 PER 1,000 IN 2012
Once again below 5!
FOR the last five consecutive years Cuba has registered an infant mortality rate of under five per 1,000 live births, demonstrating the human development index achieved. In 2008 the rate was 4.7/1000; in 2009, 4.8; in 2010, 4.5; in 2011, 4.9; and in 2012, 4.6.

• Scientific achievements impact daily life
January 10,13
THE development and introduction of the digital video colposcopy camera, SUMASCOPE, for the early detection of cervical cancer, is among the most important scientific accomplishments achieved in Cuba during 2012, according to Dr. Lina Domínguez, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA).

• Molecular Immunology Center increasing products
January 10,13
MORE than 14,000 patients in Cuba are benefiting from bio-pharmaceuticals produced at the Molecular Immunology Center (CIM), which in 2012 increased products for the treatment of cancer and other non-transmissible chronic illnesses.

• Antonio Maceo Brigade
More than 30 years of solidarity
January 10,13
THE Antonio Maceo Brigade has struggled for 35 years to promote solidarity between Cuba and its émigré community in the United States and Puerto Rico.

• Message from the Cuban Five
January 10,13
To our dear Cuban people:
The arduous year of 2012 has come to a conclusion, with its tremendous battles and important victories, with the difficult experience caused by Hurricane Sandy, from which we are recovering, but above all with a tremendous demonstration of the fact that unity among all Cubans, and loyalty to our patriotic ideals, will always allow us to succeed in any effort and overcome every challenge.

• José Martí
January 10,13
ENRIQUE Collazo describes him as "small in stature and slim; his being was the embodiment of movement; his talent was great and varied, his brain perceived and reached great heights; he was refined in temperament, an intelligent and tenacious fighter who traveled widely; he knew the world and its inhabitants. While his character was excessively irascible and absolutist, he was always in control of it, which made him an amiable, affectionate, attentive man always prepared to suffer for others. He supported the weak, taught the ignorant, protected those who suffered. He was aristocratic in his tastes, habits and customs, and took democracy to its limits. He was a very restless, impassioned man, who wanted to move as quickly as his thinking, an impossible challenge."

• Major anniversaries of 2013
January 10,13
DURING 2013 the Cuban people will be celebrating major patriotic anniversaries, in round figures marking decades or five-year periods.

• Cuba: One million Argentine tourist nights in 2012
January 10,13
BUENOS AIRES.— For the first time, Cuba recorded more than one million tourist nights from Argentine visitors in 2012, according to Luis Aguilera, director of the Latin American section of the Cuban Tourism Information and Promotion Office.

• Christ of Havana statue restored
January 10,13
THE restoration of the Cristo de La Habana statue has been completed to coincide with the 54th Anniversary of Comandante Che Guevara's taking of La Cabaña Fortress with the Ciro Redondo 8th Column. In a solemn act of commemoration, the first unveiling of the monument on December 25, 1958 was remembered along with its artist and sculptor, Jilma Madera.

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