Havana, Feb 19 (IANS) An unusual cold front chilled parts of Cuba Monday with the temperature dropping to as low as four degrees Celsius, Cuba's Meteorology Institute (Insmet) said.

Havana, Feb 12 (IANS) Cuba and Brazil agreed to boost their bilateral sports cooperation after establishing a working group to follow an activity program scheduled for the years 2013-2016.

Havana, Feb 9 (IANS) Cuban tennis commissioner, Juan Antonio Pino, one of the best players in the island's history, hoped his country will make a successful return to Davis Cup as part of America 3 group.

Havana, Feb 5 (IANS/RIA Novosti) French climber Alain Robert, popularly known as "Spiderman", took his climbing career to new heights when he scaled Cuba's landmark Hotel Havana Libre.

Havana, Feb 5 (IANS/EFE) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who remains in Cuba convalescing from his fourth cancer surgery since June 2011, "is much better", retired Cuban head of state Fidel Castro said.

Havana, Jan 26 (IANS/EFE) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is recovering from his Dec 11 operation to remove a tumour, but is still fighting "the more difficult battle" against cancer, one of his top aides said.

Havana, Jan 24 (IANS) Cuba has successfully performed over 5,100 kidney transplants since Feb 24, 1970, an achievement on par with that of developed nations, an expert said Wednesday.

Havana, Jan 10 (IANS) Cuban fencers Ramon Fonts, Rolando Tucker, Eduardo Jons and Rafaela Gonzalez have been selected to be inducted to the Hall of Fame of the International Fencing Federation (IFF) as a part of its centenary celebrations.

Havana, Jan 3 (IANS) Australian swimmer Chloe McCardel plans to swim across the shark-infested waters of the Florida Straits without the protection of a cage, Cuban media announced.

Havana, Dec 27 (IANS) The number of foreign tourists visiting Cuba is expected to reach nearly 2.9 million in 2012 and 3 million in 2013, according to the Cuban ministry of tourism.

Havana, Dec 24 (IANS) Cuban scientists are trying to cure cancer with a homeopathic drug manufactured from the venom of scorpion, according to participants at an annual symposium held in the country.

Havana, Dec 24 (IANS/EFE) The Cuban government will study the development of a national water policy with an "economic" focus that will allow its use to be controlled and change the current water rates that are subsidized by the state, state media reported.

Havana, Dec 20 (IANS) Cuba has opened its second biodiesel plant and plans to build three more to produce green fuel from inedible plants, the state-run TV reported.

Havana, Dec 17 (IANS/EFE) Russian oil company Zarubezhneft plans to continue drilling in deepwater areas off Cuba "in the next few days", using a Norwegian rig that is on the island, state media reported, citing state-owned Cubapetroleo.

Havana, Dec 17 (IANS) Cuba's tourist destinations Varadero and Cayo Coco are among the 25 best beach resorts worldwide, according to a survey by one of the world's largest global travel networks.

Havana, Dec 8 (IANS/EFE) Preliminary figures from Cuba's first census in 10 years indicate a decline in the island's population and an increase in the number of homes, official media said Friday.

Havana, Dec 3 (IANS) A study to assess Cuba's mining resource potential for a national development strategy was presented at a national workshop that ended here Saturday, Cuban National Information Agency reported Sunday.

Havana, Dec 1 (IANS/EFE) The first round of talks here between the Colombian government and FARC rebels has ended with progress on mechanisms for incorporating civil society into the process, which is aimed at bringing an end to a decades-long armed conflict.

Havana, Nov 29 (IANS/EFE) Cuba's government has created a new business group comprising 38 companies involved in the manufacture and sale of medicine and provision of services in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Havana, Nov 29 (IANS/EFE) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is once again in Cuba, where he arrived with substantially more security precautions than normal to undergo treatment.

Havana, Nov 27 (IANS/EFE) The Brazilian−Cuban joint venture Brascuba S.A. will soon start production in Cuba of Brazil's popular Plaza brand of cigarettes, official media said.

Havana, Nov 27 (IANS/EFE) The number of people diagnosed with AIDS in Cuba from 1986 to Oct 23, 2012 totals some 17,224, of whom 80 percent are still alive, official media said Monday.

Havana, Nov 20 (IANS/EFE) The Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas Monday launched the second phase of their peace talks here.

Havana, Nov 10 (IANS/EFE) Starting in December, the Cuban government will lease select state-owned eateries to their workers to run as independent businesses. This has been available to barber shops and beauty salons for some time.

Havana, Nov 2 (IANS/EFE) Cuban President Raul Castro said that Hurricane Sandy dealt a "really hard blow" to the eastern province of Santiago, the area of the island most affected by the storm.

Havana, Nov 2 (IANS/EFE) Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas will perform for the first time in Cuba Dec 3 in a concert to help the UN's worldwide campaign to end violence against women, Cuban official media said Thursday.

Havana, Oct 29 (IANS/EFE) The number of Cuban transsexuals who have had sex-change surgery has risen to 20, an official said.

Havana, Oct 29 (IANS) Cuba has postponed a nationwide military drill after the destructive Hurricane Sandy caused 11 deaths and millions of dollars in damage in the island country, state-run daily Juventud Rebelde said Sunday.

Havana, Oct 10 (IANS) Joseph Blatter, president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), has postponed a scheduled visit to Cuba from October to early 2013, a Cuban sports official said.

Havana, Oct 13 (IANS/EFE) One of Fidel Castro's sons said the former Cuban president "is well" and maintains a daily routine that includes reading and physical exercise.

Havana, Oct 23 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Fidel Castro, the leader of the Cuban revolution, has

Havana, Oct 17 (IANS/EFE) Cuba announced Tuesday the elimination of exit permits for taking trips abroad and will annul the requirement for a letter of invitation as part of the longed-for and long-awaited travel reform that will take effect Jan 14, 2013.

Havana, Oct 16 (IANS) Thanks to a bumper harvest, Cuba's sugar production is expected to grow by 20 percent during 2012-2013, state-run sugar company Azcuba said.

Havana, Oct 11 (IANS/EFE) The Cuban public health system closed 465 medical centers during 2011 and laid off the personnel who worked there, a move made in keeping with the government's ongoing "readjustment" to reduce costs and more efficiently utilize resources.

Havana, Oct 4 (IANS) Cuba Wednesday said its forest cover had increased to 27.3 percent from 13.4 percent in 1959.

Havana, Sep 29 (IANS) Cuba has approved an investment programme to build several plants to produce biofertilizers and biopesticides, as part of its efforts to revitalize the depressed agricultural sector, a senior official said.

Havana, Sep 27 (IANS) Top officials from Cuba and China have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral economic and trade ties.

Havana, Sep 28 (IANS/EFE) Between January and August of this year, Cuban notaries handled some 45,000 property transactions, with gifts of real estate exceeding sales, an official with the justice ministry said.

Havana, Oct 2 (IANS/EFE) Cuba will dedicate a monument and construct a city square to pay tribute to legendary boxer Teofilo Stevenson (1952-2012), a three-time Olympic and world champion, state media said Monday.

Havana, Sep 25 (IANS) Cuban scientists said they have concluded the second round of the clinical trial of a potential vaccine against prostate cancer.

Havana, Sep 25 (IANS/EFE) Cuba's 2012 Census, whose phase of compiling data ended Monday, will be submitted to random sampling in order to check the quality of the island's first population count in a decade.

Havana, Sep 24 (IANS/EFE) Cuban scientists have developed a new variation of a drug used to prevent the rejection of organ transplants and which constitutes the first nanopharmaceutical product that the island has manufactured on an industrial scale.

Havana, Sep 19 (IANS/EFE) The eldest son of former Cuban president Fidel Castro said Monday that his father is "lucid and working hard", despite having made no public appearance for several months.

Havana, Sep 12 (IANS/EFE) The Cuban government has approved a package of measures to rescue the system of autonomously managed farming cooperatives known as UBPCs, which cultivate 28 percent of the nation's arable land.

Havana, Sep 11 (IANS/EFE) People over 60 will make up 31 percent of Cuba's population by 2030, the official weekly Trabajadores said days before the start of the island's 2012 census.

Havana, Sep 10 (IANS) Cuba achieved its best performance in the London Paralympics 2012, which ended Sunday, winning nine gold, five silver and three bronze medals.

Havana, Aug 24 (IANS/EFE) The number of women serving in government posts increased in the past two years in Cuba, where females now hold around 45 percent of the seats in parliament, daily Granma said Thursday.

Havana, Aug 22 (IANS/EFE) Three former deputy industry ministers were among 13 people sentenced to prison for "offenses associated with corruption", Cuban daily Granma said Tuesday.

Havana, Aug 21 (IANS) Cuba received more than 1.8 million overseas visitors in the first seven months of 2012, an increase of over 5 percent compared with the previous same period, the country's National Statistics Bureau (NSB) said.

Havana, Aug 20 (IANS) US marathon swimmer Diana Nyad continued to pursue her "Xtreme Dream" to swim across the shark infested waters of the Florida Straits, from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida.