Cuba

Russian Patriarch Kirill and the head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Francis will meet next week in Cuba. This will be their first, historic meeting.

It will be an unprecedented event and a huge step towards repairing relations between the two churches after almost a thousand years.

Pope Francis will stop in Cuba on his way to Mexico next week to hold a historic meeting with Patriarch Kirill of the RussianOrthodox Church, the Vatican said on Feb. 5.

Cuba's President Raul Castro began an official state visit to France on Feb. 1, his first ever to Europe, which is being seen as a key step in rebuilding his island nation's ties with the West.

The Cuban leader was welcomed under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris before being driven down a virtually deserted Champs-Elysees avenue, decked out in Cuban flags.

The start of the largest carnival of Greece was declared by Patras Mayor Costas Peletidis on Saturday. He addressed the people of Greece that flocked to the Georgiou Street despite the low temperatures.

Dutch food and cosmetics giant Unilever will begin operations in Cuba in 2017 after communist officials authorized a joint venture with state firm Intersuchel, they said on Jan. 11.

Around 110 000 foreign nationals have visited Bulgaria for the winter holidays, a tourism official has said

Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Romania were the main source of tourists to the country between December 15 and January 06, according to Rumen Draganov, Director at the Bulgarian Institute for Analysis and Assessment in Tourism.

Brunei
Brunei has banned public celebrations of Christmas, violating Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Somalia
There will be no Christmas or New Year celebrations in Somalia for fear that activities could evoke Islamist attacks, according to the Muslim-majority country’s government.

The world-famous Turkish dance group Fire of Anatolia started its eighth China tour on Dec. 18 with a well-received performance at Shanghai's Oriental Art Center.

The two-hour show - featuring a synthesis of Turkish folk dance with ballet, modern dance and other dance disciplines - earned a period of sustained applause from the Chinese audience.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had a series of brief meetings on the sidelines of the Climate Change Conference COP21 that is held in Paris.

Mr. Tsipras met with Suwith Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Albanian President Bujar Nishani and the President of Bolivia Evo Morales.

The economic and political changes occur in Greece make the country a great bargain for travelers, as eturbonews website reports.