The third day of the 17th Habano International Festival will be dedicated today to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of Habano specialized houses in the world.

A Cuban mission will be present at the International Tourism Fair, BTL 2015 (February 24-March 1st), in Lisbon, Portugal, in order to establish a position of the Cuban tourist product in that European market, particularly Santiago de Cuba, Remedios in Villa Clara, and Jardines del Rey, and strengthen bonds with Portuguese partners of great importance for tourism operations towards the Caribbean destination.

Army General Raul Castro, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and President of the councils of State and Ministers, sent on Monday a letter of congratulations to the Cuban children's theater group La Colmenita, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its creation.

The Seventh Congress of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) will be held in April 2016 as announced this Monday during the 10th Plenary of the Central Committee of the political organization.

Cubans mark the 120 anniversary of the resumption in 1895 of the independence war against Spanish colonial rule.

Cuban first vice-president Miguel Diaz Canel stressed the significance of community work amidst current transformations, in which the human beings must be the protagonist of every action.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday that he visited the island a few days ago and that he met with Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Tuesday.

Cuba prioritizes the implementation of prevention through studies of hazard, vulnerability and risk of natural disasters, said today in this capital Major General Ramón Pardo Guerra, head of the National Staff of the Civil Defense (EMNDC by its Spanish acronym).

The First Vice-president of the councils of State and Ministers, Miguel Diaz-Canel, met on Thursday afternoon with Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Party leader in the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress, who headed a delegation of congresspersons that visited Cuba since February 17.

The Cuban Telecommunications Enterprise S.A., ETECSA, and the U.S. company IDT Domestic Telecom, INC. (IDT) have ended talks, with the purpose of signing an agreement of Services for International Telecommunications Operations, which will allow for direct interconnection between the United States and Cuba.

We want to make progress in the political, cultural and economic relations between the United States and Cuba, because the blockade hasn't had any success, asserted in this capital Nancy Pelosi, Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress.

The high level of participation by women in Cuban society and the rights guaranteed by the Revolution to Cuban women place the island in a very favorable stand in the world, as it has been acknowledged by the United Nations, said a Cuba lawmaker.

Cuba will be the venue of the 4th International Seminar on Tourism, Development and Sustainability, a meeting that will bring together researchers from around the world to coordinate actions and share and spread the best experiences on this issue.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met on Wednesday morning in Havana with a delegation of members of the U.S. House of representatives, headed by Democrats minority leader Nancy Pelosi and composed of Representatives Elliot Engel, of New York; Rosa DeLauro, of Connecticut; Collin Peterson, of Minnesota; Anna Eshoo, of California; Nydia Velázquez, of New York; Jim McGovern, of Massachusetts; Steve Israel, of New York; and David Cicilline, of Rhode Island.

The documentary Chávez y Fidel para siempre (Chavez and Fidel Forever) by Roberto Chile and Fabiola López will have its premiere on February 21 at the Morro-Cabañas Hostoric-Military Complex, venue of the Cuba 2015 International Book Fair.