Havana - A two-day meeting of the Latin American Hotel and Tourism Investment Conferences (SAHIC) opens today at Melia Cohiba Hotel in Havana, with the eyes set on the island''s growing tourism.

Havana - New legal changes on housing legislation in Cuba are taking effect today to favor the granting of subsidies to the most vulnerable ones and self-employed construction. The agreement 8093 of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers updates the provisions on housing, in which the Ministries of Construction (MICONS), Justice, Labor and Social Security, Finance and Prices and the Institute of Physical Planning are directly involved.

Beijing - Children and youths from Cuba and China gathered at the island''s embassy in Beijing on Saturday to celebrate their day and the anniversaries of the organizations to which they belong.

Geneva - Cuba has showed in Geneva its willingness to contribute to preparing the 11th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), to be held in Buenos Aires, diplomatic sources said today.

Beirut - Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Cuban First Deputy Foreign Minister Marcelino Medina reviewed here the state of bilateral relations in several fields.

Havana - Manuel Marrero, an advisor at Cuba''s Energy and Mines Ministry (Minem in Spanish), told Prensa Latina that the nation ''needs foreign investment in order to develop, particularly in expensive and high risk sectors such as oil exploration and production.''