BREAKING NEWS

Raul Castro, Machado elected top Cuba party chiefs

HAVANA - Cuba's ruling Communist Party elected President Raul Castro and First Vice President Jose Machado Ventura to lead the country's highest political body on Tuesday, choosing party veterans to oversee a new economic course for the Caribbean nation.
The choice of Castro, 79, who replaces his older brother Fidel Castro as First Secretary of the ruling party's Central Committee, was expected. But the appointment of party stalwart Machado Ventura, 80, as Second Secretary was likely to disappoint many Cubans hoping for new blood at the top.