For his feats in the conquest of Mexico the Spanish Crown granted Francisco García Holguín land in the northeastern part of the island from the Jigüe to the Marañon Rivers in 1545, prompting García Holguín, his wife Isabel Fernández de Sandoval, and some followers, to found the first village in the area.... More


Cuban singer-songwriter, Silvio Rodríguez, will offer a concert on Sunday, January 19th, in Old Havana’s Saint Francis of Assisi Square to mark the 15th anniversary of Habana Radio station.... More


Havana, January 18 (RHC)-- Cuba's First Vice President Miguel Diaz Canel visited the facilities of Radio Havana Cuba on Saturday, where he expressed his interest in the work of the radio station and exchanged views with the workers about their major concerns and successes. ... More


Washington, January 18 (RHC)-- U.S. President Barack Obama says the United States will not apologize for the National Security Agency’s controversial spying programs at home and abroad, but promises modest changes. During a major policy speech on Friday, Obama ordered changes to U.S. intelligence-gathering practices, but the changes fall short of the drastic cutbacks demanded by privacy activists.... More


Caracas, January 18 (RHC)-– Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he plans to pay an official visit to Iran in the near future to strengthen mutual relations and discuss avenues for further improving cooperation.... More


Cairo, January 18 (RHC)-- Five people have been killed and several others wounded after Egyptian police used excessive force against anti-government protesters in the capital, Cairo, and the city of Alexandria.... More


Brasilia, January 18 (RHC)-- Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff Friday said federal funds should be distributed to all states, irrespective of their political affiliations.... More


Kabul, January 18 (RHC)-- An Afghan fact-finding mission has found that a recent U.S. airstrike has killed at least 13 civilians in the country’s northeastern province of Parwan. A member of a fact-finding mission said on Friday that 13 civilians, most of them women and children, were killed in the U.S. airstrike in Parwan Province on Wednesday. Initial reports had put the death toll at eight.... More


Kabul, January 18 (RHC)-- The death toll from a bombing and shooting attack at a Lebanese restaurant in central Kabul has reached 21. The Lebanese restaurant in Kabul's central district of Wazir Akbar Khan came under attack on Friday. A bomber blew up his explosives near the entrance of the restaurant and then two gunmen stormed in to spray diners with bullets.... More


Brussels, January 18 (RHC)-- A first round of negotiations for a Multiparty Trade Agreement between the European Union (EU) and Ecuador concluded successfully on Friday in Brussels, said officials with the European Commission (EC).... More


Havana, January 18 (RHC)-- Cuban First Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel has welcomed the Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, Chen Changzhi, who is paying an official visit to the Caribbean island.... More


Tegucigalpa, January 18 (RHC)-– Honduran lawmakers have passed legislation that allows the government to shoot down planes suspected of trafficking illegal drugs through the impoverished country. ... More


Gaza City, January 18 (RHC)-- Three Palestinian youths have been injured by Israeli soldiers who fired live rounds and tear gas at protesters near the border fence in the Gaza Strip. ... More


London, January 18 (RHC)-- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange sharply criticized U.S. President Barack Obama’s proposed surveillance reforms Friday, calling them “small” and saying it is “embarrassing for a head of state to go on like that for 45 minutes and say almost nothing.”... More


Columbus, January 18 (RHC)-- In the United States, the family of an Ohio man whose “agonizing” execution took nearly 25 minutes is to sue the state, saying the way he was executed was in violation of his constitutional rights.... More


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