Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the Russian upper house, the Federation Council, will pay an official visit to Cuba from November 14-17 to meet with the country's leadership and to take part in celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of the foundation of Havana, the upper house said on Thursday

The political crisis in Bolivia, which led to the resignation of President Evo orales under the pressure of the armed forces and protesters, is another sign of the alarmingly increasing role of the military in the regional nations' democracies and return to the past-century army's self-proclamation as "guardians of the order," Professor Pia Riggirozzi, who heads the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Southampton, told Sputnik

The United States has recognized opposition lawmaker Jeanine Anez as interim president of Bolivia, Acting Assistant Secretary for US Department of State's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Michael Kozak said Wednesday

Unions of coca producers in the Bolivian province of Chapare, loyal to deposed President Evo Morales, have said they do not recognize opposition lawmaker Jeanine Anez's claim to the presidency and declared a "national mobilization" demanding the return of Morales