Staff members of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) met this week with directives of the University of Havana to consider ways for bilateral collaboration.

Panama´s President Juan Carlos Varela is expected to arrive in Havana Wednesday on an official visit which includes talks with President Raul Castro.

The first meeting of the Cuba-U.S.A Bilateral Commission will be held in this capital on Friday, September 11, the creation of which was announced by the Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodriguez, and the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, during the visit of the latter to Havana on August 14, the Foreign Ministry informed.

The Basilica of El Cobre located in the province of Santiago de Cuba is getting ready to welcome Pope Francis and will offer a mass on September 22nd in the church located 18 kilometers from the center of the city.

The English language will be a major requirement for Cuban university graduates in the near future, said Higher Education Minister Rodolfo Alarcon in a recent news conference.

Cuban President Raul Castro sent the National Ballet of Cuba a letter appreciating a recent ballet piece in homage to heroine Vilma Espin and the Cuban Women´s Federation.

The president of the Cuban Friendship Institute, Kenia Serrano, said that the fight against the over-50-year US economic, commercial and financial blockade of Cuba is top priority for solidarity actions with the island.

Esteban Lazo, President of the National Assembly of the People's Power, received Teresa Efua Asangono, President of the Senate of Equatorial Guinea, on Monday.

Salvador Valdes, member of the Politburo of the Cuban Communist Party and Vice-president of the Council of State, heads the island's delegation to the 10th Petrocaribe Summit and activities on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Charter of Jamaica, written by Simon Bolivar, the Liberator, scheduled for September 5 and 6 in Jamaica.

The President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kim Jong Nam, received, at the Mansudae Palace of Congresses, the First Vice-president of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, who is on an official visit to that Asian nation.

More than 120 academics from Latin America and the Caribbean will meet in Havana for the international meeting “Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean: Historic alternatives and current situation 200 years after Simon Bolivar’s Charter of Jamaica”.

Cuba and Serbia signed on Friday in this capital a protocol of cooperation to strengthen their parliamentary ties, and thereby contribute to boost the current economic and commercial bonds between both nations.

Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heraldo Muñoz, expressed on Thursday in this capital his government’s interest in strengthening and diversifying bonds with Cuba, in the political and cultural spheres as well as cooperation.

Chilean foreign minister Heraldo Muñoz, who is heading a large official and business delegation in Cuba, met on Thursday with his local counterpart Bruno Rodriguez as part of his agenda on the island.

Cuban first vice-president Miguel Diaz-Canel stressed the advancement reached in the biotechnological exchange between Cuba and China by describing it as a significant pillar of bilateral relations.