Havana, April 23 (RHC)—Cuba condemned destabilizing and interfering policies against Syria and pointed out that the UN Security Council was not designed to act as an instrument to cause change of regimes in any country.

Havana, April 23 (RHC)—The traditional march that Cuban workers will stage on May Day has raised great interest in the Latin American workers community, currently involved in a permanent struggle for the defense of their labor rights.

 
Havana, April 23 (RHC) -- Cuba’s tourism sector showed a 5.3 percent growth at the end of the first quarter of 2012 when over 950,000 visitors arrived in the country, according to the National Bureau of Statistics and Information (ONE).

According to the bureau’s website, 48,214 more visitors arrived so far this year than during the same period in 2011.  During the month of March, Cuba achieved a sustained increase compared to January and February, with the arrival of more than 300,900 tourists.

According to specialists, contributing to this increase was the recent visit of Pope Benedict XVI, who is always accompanied by a considerable number of believers wherever he travels.

Experts suggest the greater number of visitors is also due to the increase in advertising of Cuban products and events through the Authentic Cuba promotional campaign, carried out by the Ministry of Tourism at fairs and tours of Latin America and Europe.

During the first week of April, Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism reported the arrival on the island of the one-millionth foreign tourist -- five days before that number had been reached the year before.

Canada remains the largest market of tourists to the island, followed by Argentina, France, Italy, the UK, Germany, Russia and Spain.
 

Mexico City, April 23 (RHC) -- Cuban teachers have taken the "Yo Si Puedo" (Yes I Can) literacy program to indigenous communities in five districts of Mexico City.

About 150 residents in the Mexican capital have been taught to read and write in the first stage of the program, thanks to the Cuban teaching method.  The teachers are already involved in the second phase and will soon see the first graduates of the area.

This educational method was developed by the Cuban educator Leonela Relys and was first implemented on March 28, 2001, as an initiative of Fidel Castro, leader of the Cuban Revolution. Since then, more than five million people have benefited from the literacy program in more than 28 countries.

Havana, April 23 (RHC) -- The President of Cuba’s National Assembly of People's Power, Ricardo Alarcon, met on Sunday in Havana with his counterpart from the Republic of Benin, Mathurin Coffi Nago.

During the meeting, the parliamentary leader of Benin said his visit aims to reaffirm his country’s solidarity with the people and government of Cuba.  He also expressed his admiration for the spirit of resistance and courage of the Cuban people, in withstanding endless difficulties throughout the last five decades.

Coffi Nago, whose visit runs until April 28th, also said that Cuba is an example for developing territories and the Third World.

Ricardo Alarcon told reporters in Havana that the meeting with his African counterpart would help strengthen relations between the two parliaments and the peoples of both countries.

Havana, April 23 (RHC) -- Activists in more than 25 countries joined the international campaign “Five Days for the Five” held in Washington D.C. to demand the immediate release of the Cuban anti-terrorism fighters imprisoned in the United States.

The campaign in the U.S. capital, which included meetings with diplomats and politicians, documentary screenings, workshops and peaceful demonstrations, was regarded as successful in drawing attention to the injustice committed against the Cuban Five.

During the last day of the campaign, Mexican solidarity activists held a rally outside the U.S. embassy in Mexico City and distributed flyers describing the case of Gerardo Hernandez, Fernando Gonzalez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero and Rene Gonzalez.   

In Puerto Rico, several organizations signed a joint statement calling on the White House to release the Cuban Five and three Puerto Rican political prisoners also locked up in U.S. prisons.

The Russian group “Venceremos” joined the worldwide demonstration of support by organizing a gathering in front of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to protest the unjust imprisonment of the Five.

Similar activities were also held in Guatemala and Belarus, where solidarity organizations demonstrated in front of the U.S. embassies in their respective countries and signed declarations of support for the cause of the Five.

Gerardo, Ramon, Antonio, Fernando and Rene -- known internationally as the “Cuban Five” -- were jailed in September 1998 for reporting on violent plans by far-right anti-Cuban groups based in Miami.

Havana, April 23 (RHC) -- The Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC) has called on the people to participate in this year’s parade on International Worker’s Day, May 1st, to show their support for the Socialist Revolution and its leaders.

The call was issued in the weekly newspaper “Trabajadores,” in which the CTC also stated that the event would serve to express the people’s support of the social and economic guidelines of the Cuban Communist Party.  The parade will also demand the freedom of the internationally-known Cuban Five, who have been held in U.S. prisons for over 13 years.

Havana, April 23, (RHC), -- Activists in over 25 countries joined the international campaign “Five Days for the Five” held in Washington D.C. to demand the immediate release of the Cuban anti-terrorism fighters imprisoned in the United States.

Havana, April 23, (RHC), -- The president of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba, Ricardo Alarcon, met on Sunday in Havana with his counterpart from the Republic of Benin, Mathurin Coffi Nago.