Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega announced Sunday he managed to convince Cuban authorities to lift the month-long ban on street protests by “Ladies in White”—the wives and mothers of political prisoners.
Cuba began granting licenses to people to build homes “with their own effort”, an initiative approved last year by President Raúl Castro. The granting of the permits was finally approved by the National Housing Institute for people who are the owners of land, homes or other areas included in the new resolution.
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez called for respect for the political and electoral system of Cuba that this Sunday was holding municipal elections among candidates from an only party.