Army General Raul Castro, President of the councils of State and Ministers, received the President of the Republic of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis, who is on an official visit to Cuba.

The intense drought this year in the country will prevent the production of some 87 000 tons of rice destined to be consumed by the Cuban population, according to the plan of 2015.

Jorge Carlos de Almeida Fonseca, President of Cape Verde, arrived in Cuba Monday afternoon on an official visit.

The Cuban Academy of History (AHC by its Spanish acronym) granted the Foreign Correspondent Academician title to Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís, who is on an official visit to Cuba.

The President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis, expressed in this capital on Monday his country's interest in establishing scientific, technological and human bonds with the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), of the BioCubaFarma business group.

Reymil Luis Ferreira Justiniano, Minister of Defense of the Pluri-national State of Bolivia, began today in Havana the first activity of the program of his official visit to Cuba.

The President of Cape Verde, Jorge Carlos de Almeida Fonseca, is expected to arrive in Cuba Monday evening on an official visit.

Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis arrived in Havana on a two-day official visit aimed at deepening relations with Cuba, which were reestablished in 2009 and to promote bilateral trade.

The Cuba-Vietnam cooperation project for rice production, implemented since 2010 to date, has allowed increasing yields to up to 4.58 tons per hectare.

Up next, the press release issued by the Cuban delegation to the negotiations for the reestablishment of direct postal service between Cuba and the United States, as published by the Cubaminrex Web site:

Cuban emigration organizations in Miami that make up the Marti Alliance coalition will march on Saturday, December 12, to demand the immediate lifting of the U.S. economic, financial and commercial blockade against the island.

Cuba reaffirmed on Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland, on the occasion of Human Rights Day, its commitment to the enjoyment of the basic and inalienable rights of all human beings.

Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro sent Venezuela´s President Nicolas Maduro a message stressing his brilliant and brave speech on December 6, just after the results of the legislative vote in that country were released.

Deputy Lorena Peña, president of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador, met on Thursday in this capital with Deputy Esteban Lazo, president of the National Assembly of the People's Power (ANPP), during a visit the legislator of the neighboring country paid to the headquarters of the Cuban Parliament.

Cuba and the United States expressed their willingness to keep on with their bilateral dialog on the expropriations of US property after 1959 and the damage inflicted on the Cuban people by the over-50-year US blockade of the island.